Happy New Year Everyone!!
It's the first day of the first week of the first month of 2016 (here in Toronto), and I felt like making one of those posts about how last year treated me (or how I treated myself last year) and what my plans are for this year.
TL; DR: 2015 was a good year. Here's to an even better 2016!
Ok, here we go!
In 2015, I:
- got rid of all of my furniture and most of my possessions,
- went on a cruise with my family, celebrating my 28th birthday in the Caribbean on the water complete with (if I recall) 14 different birthday songs and many people I love,
- moved to Korea for a great job teaching high school English with the help of an awesome, generous, kind friend,
- met some really good new friends, one of whom convinced me to pursue what could be a life-changing endeavour, another of whom keeps me motivated, another of whom listens to me winge (is this a word?) with patience, and more,
- gained greater clarity on where I want to be in the years to come,
- set SMART goals for my finances, my career, my health,
- developed a better relationship with food (eating when I'm hungry, less comfort eating, no more binging but not by force),
- started working on a better relationship with my body (this is a bigger job, pun intended),
- started work on getting to a better relationship with my self (lifetime work in progress),
- discovered that standard classroom teaching is not my forever, especially since I have a great job now and still feel this way,
- was able to go to the wedding of a special friend of mine and felt more included in THEIR day than I could have expected,
- learned more about the way I respond to the world, how the world can change, how I can change, and how I have already changed,
- spent quality time with my family during the holidays. Even now as I type this, my mum is sitting next to me working away on her own laptop haha.
Whew! I wouldn't be surprised if there was more that I forgot, but that's a lot on its own! I'm quite pleased with the way the year went, even when it wasn't pleasant in the moment.
So what's next?
In 2016, I'd like to:
- renew my contract for one more year,
- accomplish the short- to mid-term goals I set in 2015,
- build my portfolio and skillset in web developing,
- do a better job of lesson planning ahead of time,
- continue with the habits I formed in 2015 re: eating and physical activity,
- criticise myself less,
- love myself more (i.e. actively do things to show love to myself).
TBH, I'm just seeing how things go. It doesn't feel as much like a new beginning as I'd thought it might, and I suspect it's because a lot of the changes that I wanted to make were made during 2015. I'm impatient and if I genuinely want to do something I don't do well with waiting until a significant moment to start over. Plus it isn't starting over. I've learned that (in my life, anyway) everything goes in waves, or cycles. There are new phases, but I don't hinge all my hopes on them, because I know myself better and that has helped me to make better habits last longer. When I slip, I let myself slip, then I get back on track. Life can be stressful without us realising; there's no need to bring it on ourselves.
Anyway that's all for now. I'll make another post about my trip here and the trip back... when I'm back in Korea.
I love you all, be well!
Angel xo
