I recently received a lovely email from my dear friend, H. Those who've been reading Traveling & Buttondowns know that H is currently in India. For the past 27 days, she's been without WiFi. She sent me an email with some of her goals for the upcoming school year, and I thought that was a genius idea, so I had to try it out.
Save up and purchase a more expensive, quality item (maybe these or a DLSR camera?)
Improve photography skills
Get my license
Find another organization to volunteer at (I'm now working at the organization I volunteered at for the past 3 years)
Find time to work at my job
Try out a new restaurant
Try something new each month
Stay organized
Redecorate my room
Continue blogging
Try out new recipes
Do my best in school, at all times
Get rid of / help my procrastinating problem
Take a cooking, photography or art class (or all 3!)
Go 24 hours without social media (for text messages- only responding to emergencies, family, and school related topics)
Read at least one book every month (and blog about it)
Eat more fruits and veggies
Attend more school events (ex: football games, plays, etc.)
Make a new friend in each class
Complement others more
Spend more time worrying about myself and less time worrying about others (as in getting caught up in others' Twitter drama, gossiping, etc)
Go a month without shopping (AH!)
Craft more often... including gifts for friends (Inspiration here and here!)
Go thrifting
Have a "crafternoon" with a friend (Any takers?)
Attend a fitness class
Listen to new music
Go to a concert
Get enough sleep
More goals will be added when I think of them! I'm excited to share with you when I complete these goals.
PS: I found this via Carly at College Prepster today. I think it's a great slideshow to view for everyone and I'm only a few slides in. It emphasizes why you should write down your goals!
My answer will always be "To read," I love reading. My favorite subject is English and a good book puts me over the moon. Unfortunately, I haven't read as much as I'd like/should have recently. Why is that? Well I don't go to the library that much anymore, and the books I do want to read are usually checked out. I'm not crazy about rereading books, so to buy them from the bookstore or for the Kindle doesn't appeal to me. My brother has a Kindle that he doesn't use often, and when he does use it, it's for apps. (So pointless, I know!)
However, with the library having due dates and me never returning the books on time, I think it might be best for me to borrow my brother's Kindle and buy some books to read. Depending on my schedule, I might spend an entire rainy afternoon curled up with a book, or just 10 minutes a night. (Does anyone read right before bed? I typically can't do it because I either get too into the book and have to keep reading or I'm reading an exciting, action book and I can't go to bed with all the dangerous adventures in my head... I'm a scaredy cat. I don't do scary movies. I love action movies, but scary movies are a no. Even when I watch One Tree Hill (especially when some of the crazy, scary drama happens, I have to watch a happy episode of How I Met Your Mother or New Girl before I go to sleep. I have to.))
One of my goals for the 2014-15 school year is to read more books, at least one book a month. (More on my goals in an upcoming post!) Hopefully with the usage of a Kindle, I'll be able to accomplish this goal.
What books do you recommend I read? My mom wants me to buy one book at a time to ensure I read the entire book...
Here are some books I've been looking at for a while...
After watching the infamous Orange Is the New Black on Netflix and falling in love with the different characters with such interesting backgrounds... I'd love to hear the real story. (Did you know OITNB was based off this book which is a true story?) I know that the TV show is probably more "dramatic," but I'm excited to hear all about Piper Kerman's story. I love memoirs; my eighth grade English teacher recommended The Glass Castle to me and I loved it!
After hearing millions of bloggers talk about how amazing this book, I know I must give it a try. I love smart, funny, quirky reads, which is why I'm really excited to try this book out! It might be the first book I read. Check out the reviews if you aren't convinced!
I'm debating between starting Divergent or Where'd You Go, Bernadette? first. When Divergent was all the rage, all my friends were reading it. As I was loaded with schoolwork and didn't read much, (I get addicted to good books and can't stop reading them, which is why I didn't read during the school year) I didn't read it. But everyone wouldn't and couldn't stop talking about how good a book Divergent was. EPP, who isn't into reading, told me about how awesome Divergent was and emphasized that she typically doesn't like books. I'll be reading it either first or second! I'm considering buying the entire series at once, but I read the third book was horrible, so I'll probably just buy the first one first.
I remember in eighth grade talking with my English teacher (she was amazing) about book recommendations, and she recommended this book to me. She said she'd need my parents' permission before lending it to me, and my parents were fine with it, but by the time I had gotten it, she had already given me another book to read. Ever since I was little, I have loved mystery books. Cam Jensen, anyone? Even to this day, mysteries still appeal to me... White Collar, Psych, Sherlock. This book sounds so interesting with the mixture of mystery, religion and art- some of my favorite things! I can't wait to start this novel.
I adore Mindy Kaling. I was about to do a blog post about how I need to start watching The Mindy Project as it sounds like it'd be my new favorite show. I loved her in The Office and her tweets are on point. At a sleepover with my two of my favorite people in the world, MNR (BFF since kindergarten) and AF, MNR recommended this light, hilarious read.
Another light, comical read recommended to me by MNR and AF. The title of the book is me in a nutshell, and it's Tina Fey. I'm excited to read it. I love reading those "laugh out loud" reads. I can totally see myself reading this book in public (like on the subway) and laughing out loud... Is that a thing? Do people bring their kindles with them on the subway? Well one day, when I'm a local NYC-er or DC-er. One day...
The current #1 bestseller of Kindle. The reviews are outstanding and the book sounds interesting. I've read lots of books dealing with death, such as Thirteen Reasons Why. One of the questions the author answered was "This is a book about death, but it's not depressing. Why is that?" She answers with "Maybe because it's really about the power of love- of family, friends, music- and therefore it ultimately affirms life." Such a beautiful answer and I can't wait to read this book.
I'm really excited to read these books! Do you have any other book suggestions? I'd love to hear them! I'll be doing my research on more books to read through blogs and reviews... I will be reviewing the books as I finish them, so you can hear my thoughts on these books!
