Happy New Year, everyone! My husband and I rung in the new year with our family in one of our favorite locations: a family home in Rhode Island. It was filled with great food and drink, laughter, and fun games. I hope everyone had a wonderful time welcoming 2018!

I’m sure you were asked the popular question: What are your resolutions for next year? I know I was. Back in 2016, I wrote a post about why I think forming habits might be more productive than creating resolutions. Since 2015, I have created “themes” for each year and established specific, targeted goals for each theme. In 2015, my theme was “Control.”  In 2016, my theme was “Health.” And this past year (which I did not blog about) my theme was “Improve.” Throughout 2017, I worked hard to improve my skills in my job (area of focus) and education. I started graduate school to boost my skills in literature with the hopes of teaching English in higher education. I have transferred the skills I learned in the classroom to my current job in marketing/communications and public relations. My journey in academia has also helped boost my creative writing craft in the blogging world, where I have aimed to provide clear, concise, and engaging content for my readers (thank you!). The past few years have been my most challenging, yet successful yet—it’s been quite a ride, and I am looking forward to the future!

This year, I am thrilled to have two themes: Perform and Travel. 

Here are my goals for Perform:

• Try out and perform in a public setting for a local community theater
• Practice my guitar/singing twice a week and share progress through videos

For those who do not know me well, I spent most of my childhood/teenage years on stage. From singing at All-State competitions to performing in local community and high school productions, the stage was my second home. When I went to college, my passion to perform got lost in studies and opportunities in my major, so I am excited to soon feel that rush of adrenaline and be back on stage. With the talents of singing and a love for music, I also used to play guitar and sing, which also fell by the wayside. Playing guitar and singing brought me such joy; I remember feeling so gratified when I disciplined myself to perfect that chord or song. I look forward to practicing again, learning songs, composing covers, and sharing them with you all (gulp!).

Here are my goals for Travel:

• Travel outside of the country at least once and write about my experiences
• Take more spontaneous trips and explore the state and area that I live in and write about my experiences

OK—so I am cheating a bit with the first goal. For Christmas, my husband surprised me with plane tickets to Ireland in March! We are both anticipating a trip that we have dreamed of for the last three years. While traveling around during the holidays, my husband and I realized the unfamiliarity we have with our own state. We decided that this year we are going to take advantage of the awesome places we can visit in our state and throughout New England!

I can’t thank you all enough for continuing to read my blog and supporting one of my passions: writing. What are habits that you want to form in 2018? Please share in the comments! Wishing you and yours a Happy New Year!