Look, I know New Years is not everybody’s jam— and frankly, it also weirds me out that industry booms while preying on people’s insecurities and hopes to 180 their lives just because we’ve narrativized this random day in the middle of winter to be an “ideal fresh start.” All of that is B.S., really, and I personally like to follow more natural rhythms for energy exertion and rest that align with the seasons… but I also love the dreaminess of the last days of the year— the hopefulness, the optimism. So indulge with me for a moment as I flesh out my goals for the upcoming year.
This year I was PISSED to find that last year’s me did not write myself a sappy letter-to-self in the way that I have been doing every year since I was fifteen. It took me a couple of minutes to remember that I felt overwhelmed by the task of reflecting on lessons learned in 2022, so I cut the flowery language and just gave myself a list of bullet-points that described my “ideal” life in the new year followed by six more bullet-points (technically seven, but one is just empty) under a heading titled, “Bucketlist.”
The image of my perfect day-to-day life moving into last year’s new year, is almost exactly what I envision for this year's.
I wrote my 2022 letter to self (that’s a confusing (but correct?) way to say the letter that I opened in 2023 about 2023) like seeds of manifestation with intentional usage of I statements: I read, I go, I feel, I write, I accept…
I did not fulfill all of my statements to the full image that I intended when I wrote them, but they appear to me now as seedlings— all of which are sprouting little roots, some bigger than others, but all steadily growing.
I wrote sometime earlier this year that it surprised me in looking back on all of my end-of-year-letters-to-self that year after year I wrote the same goals without realizing it. Running a half marathon was on my list for close to FIVE YEARS before I finally did it, and I genuinely didn’t realize I’d been thinking about it for that long.
The repeats on my list year after year all center around reading, writing, running, and in the past few years: getting a grip on my social media/phone addiction. And those are exactly what my list centers around this year.
I’m structuring this year’s letter-to-self a little differently: I’m actually giving myself some notes of reflection on this year (because I know future me really does appreciate it) and I’m mixing in bucket list/big shot goals for myself as little (and big) challenges for myself. I like to give myself challenges as a low-stakes way to get myself out of my comfort zone, keep a sense of direction in my leisure life, and to create opportunities for surprising myself.
I intentionally don’t put too much pressure on myself to meet challenges that I set for myself. I have never been a tough-it-out girl for much of anything that wasn’t deeply intrinsically motivated. Instead, I let myself find my way to challenges. I let myself fail. I let myself try new methods and drop them. I let myself take breaks and focus on other things. I employ a full-hearted que sera sera approach that usually allows me to find my way to the goals and challenges I set for myself eventually.
This year’s example of one of my que sera sera challenges was my yearly running goal. In 2022, I wanted to double the miles I’d ran the year before. I didn’t make my goal (300 miles) by a little over 50 miles, so in 2023, I gave myself the goal again. This year, I hit 300 miles by April. It helped that I was training for the marathon, and then I took close to two months off from running, but I ended the year with 500 miles. It took longer than expected, but the satisfaction was the same, if not stronger because I’d beat my goal so much sooner and significantly than I expected.
This particular goal leads into one of my big shot goals/challenges for this year (and lets be honest, probably 2025 too), but I want to share a handful of my 2024 New Year’s goals because they’re not all just “go to the gym and get ripped.” Maybe you’ll find a goal you’d like to steal, and maybe you’ll send me some of your goals for the new year. (Please!)
Some no B.S. goals:
Utilize the library more often
I have been saying for years that I will read the books that I have and stop buying new books… to no avail, but I've been using Libby and Hoopla a lot more this year and got a St. Louis library card in addition to my Greenville card AND all the books I can access through WashU’s libraries, so there’s really no excuse this year!
Read one academic/social science book alongside (at least) one leisure book every month
I’m still pretty new to Sociology as a discipline, but I’d like to keep cultivating my familiarity with other related fields. I also want to remind myself of all the different ways that academic work can present itself. And everyone needs a good leisure read! Especially grad students.
Prioritize thrifting instead of buying new (if I even need to buy something at all)
I have too many clothes. Across multiple houses in multiple states. I forget the majority of what I own unless it’s in front of my face. There’s little reason to buy new clothes from a storefront. And its more fun (and probably better for my brain) to go looking for what you need instead of instantly gratifying myself with the click of a button.
Set aside time to write creatively every week
I was gifted The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron for Christmas and am looking forward to implementing the lessons and practical tools laid out as a way to practice creativity every day. The most famous points from this book are the idea of morning pages (wherein you write three stream-of-consciousness pages first thing in the morning— whatever comes to mind— to free your mind to focus better on your creative work) and weekly artist dates (where you take yourself to do something to spark your creativity.) Luckily, three pages of morning journalling is pretty easy to commit to (though it may get annoying at some point), and St. Louis has a lot of free art & writing things to do.
Prioritize friendship (new & old)
Community is difficult to foster as you’re settling into a new place and trying to juggle long-distance relationships is not easy either, but I want to continue being intentional about connecting with my friends and creating space to develop new relationships. I feel a pull to find a romantic partner, as most twenty-something’s do, but I’m reminded frequently (mostly by Louise) that romantic partners aren’t where the majority of your social and emotional fulfillment come from— its your friends (and yourself.) I want to be extra intentional about scheduling friend dates, phone calls, and sending letters in 2024.
Some big shot (low-key B.S.) goals:
Run 1,000 miles
Remember when I said that I beat my 2022 goal of doubling what I ran the year before? Well, because I ran 500 miles this year, I think it only makes sense to try to double it next year! If we break it down, that’s 2.7 miles a day, or just under 20 miles a week. Stay tuned!
Improve swimming enough to feel confident in signing up for a half Ironman
I love triathlon, but I have now done, like, five tri’s where I’ve backstroked the entire way because I haven’t quite gotten the hang of freestyle. I didn’t grow up swimming and have only recently started learning the correct way to swim. Let’s just say… it’s not easy. But I think if I put some elbow grease in, I could definitely work my way up to being able to swim 1.2 miles. In WashU’s pool that’s about 80 laps. Currently I can swim about 2 before I’ve gotta catch my breath… but we all start from somewhere!
Draft a poetry chapbook
I’ve been wanting to compile a chapbook of poems for a while, but have not practiced discipline in actually drafting poems. Hopefully practicing lessons from the Artist’s Way book and getting a little more serious about one of my longest (yet least practiced) hobbies will lead me towards this goal.
Some bucket list items:
Roll down Art Hill just because
I just feel like it would unlock something in me.
Run to the arch
It’s only 7.5 miles from my apartment and pretty much a straight-shot. Run club usually does an arch run once a semester, but I missed it this last time.
Do that 1 mile every hour for 24 hours challenge
WashU also has a student organization that is organizing one of these sometime in the spring, but I’ve always wanted to do one just because.
Figure out a way back to Northern Ireland for thesis research
I’ve gotta write another thesis and I'm pretty certain I want to do it in Northern Ireland [topic censored until I get things sorted!] but that requires funding and funding is hard to come by, especially at the masters stage. It would be a miracle to be able to start collecting data this summer, so we’ll see!
Read all the books my academic advisors have written
I’ve had some really phenomenal mentors through my academic career, but I haven’t read a single one of their books! I feel like that’s definitely blasphemy and I want to fix it.
Try a pilates class
This Instagram reel was all I needed to see.
I know lots of folks have uneasy relationships with this time of year, and setting goals and making bucket lists are not always the right thing to do. Life is not linear and we don’t need to be leading our lives like we’re running a business— that is to say, always going, striving for bigger and better (especially through the limited lens of what constitutes success in our public culture), and working for others. We can live our lives as a labor of love— like the public library.
Okay, I’m going to stop myself short with these metaphors. My point is: moving into the new year doesn’t need to be all about focusing on what went wrong this year or what you want to “improve.” It can be about giving yourself permission to rest, to play, to invest in the things and people you love (including yourself.) It can be about getting yourself out of your comfort zone in ways you haven’t before, but it can also be about simplifying, releasing, and saying, “This is enough.”
Wherever you’re at in these last few days of the year, I hope you’re finding some joy.
And as a parting gift, as I sign off on the second and a half year of my newsletter-meets-blog, here are…
Some pods to get into the New Years spirit!:
How to slow down and reflect ahead of the new year (NPR’s Life Kit)
Ready to get running? (NPR’s Life Kit)1
On making resolutions for your social life (A Social Life, With Friends)
How to find a book you won’t want to put down (NPR’s Life Kit)
End the doomscroll (Self)
How to actually start meditating (Self)
Making friends Anywhere you Move (NPR’s Life Kit)
How to waste time (How to Keep Time by the Atlantic)
How to know Your neighbors (How to Keep Time by the Atlantic
How to work through a creative rut (NPR’s Life Kit)
Anyone can do a triathlon, what’s stopping you (The Triathlete Beat)
Creating a workout routine (for real this time) (Self)
I especially loved this one!
“It can be about giving yourself permission to rest, to play, to invest in the things and people you love (including yourself.) It can be about getting yourself out of your comfort zone in ways you haven’t before, but it can also be about simplifying, releasing, and saying, “This is enough.”” THIS is why i love the new year and setting goals. i always have overarching new year goals but i allow myself room to be flexible with that!
i looove your goal of utilizing the library more and to thrift more! does ireland have free public libraries like the states? ive always been curious if the library system is the same elsewhere.
i really want to learn to upcycle and make my own clothes this year! i also dont need to buy anything new, haha!