Before you say anything – yes, I know that we are already a full week into 2019. I put this post up later because my feed was already inundated with enough goals & resolutions & mantras to make my head spin last week. To be honest, seeing everyone’s motivation overwhelmed me more than inspired me. (Does that make me a bad person? LMK.) In any case, I wanted my mood board & resolutions to be completely my own, and not influenced by anyone else’s goals.
Mood Board
Instead of adopting a mantra like in 2018, I compiled a mood board to represent my resolutions. I am a very visual learner, so this just makes the most sense for me. Putting this together really helped me to visualize what I want 2019 to look like! (Plus, aren’t the colors just so on-brand?)
Resolutions
I wrote down my resolutions in my journal (I’ll get to journaling in a little bit!), but I thought sharing them on the blog would be a good idea as well. Beyond holding myself accountable, it’ll be nice to look back on my goals in the future! With that being said, let’s get into my resolutions:
1. Adopt a healthier lifestyle (in every way)
This one is represented by the top right photo in my mood board, and it might be my most important. I am striving this year to make my health a top priority in every possible way. For me, this means a number of things:
- Exercising more often
- Drinking more water
- Washing my face/taking care of my skin
- Strengthening my faith
- Incorporating more “me” time into my schedule to prevent burn-out
I’m graduating college this year which means there’s no excuse for me to put my health on the back-burner. This resolution is my determination to take care of myself now, so that I don’t regret it later.
2. Create, and create often.
Speaking of graduating, once I’m done with college I’ll be taking on a 40-hour work week, big-girl job. Although I am super excited to jump into working as an engineer, my biggest fear is that I will let my creative side fall away. I neglected my blog during both of my internships the past two summers, and I don’t want that to happen for good!
As a result, my 2019 resolution is to make creativity a priority. That means you can expect way more content from me this year both in this space and on YouTube! I’m already brewing some pretty exciting things for the new year, so stay tuned for them 🙂
This also includes keeping dance in my life! I’m blessed to be able to dance on my school’s team and be part of something so wonderful, but once I graduate I unfortunately won’t have that luxury anymore. I hope that at the end of 2019 I’ll still be dancing and taking classes, because it is and always will be one of my biggest passions!
3. SAVE $$$$
If you’re wondering why there’s a piggy bank on my mood board, I hope this clears things up for you! 2018 was definitely the year of spending money. While I was abroad I did my best not to limit my experiences due to my budget, and I’m so thankful that I was able to save up the money to do so. HOWEVER, that means the current state of my savings is nowhere near where I want it to be!
In 2019, I want to save as much money as possible. For me, this means spending money more consciously. Examples of this are limiting the amount of times I eat out and watching how much I spend on Madewell (RIP my addiction). If I consciously budget what I spend and what I save, then I will be able to make significant progress towards this goal during 2019!
4. Make more time for strengthening relationships.
This sounds bad, but hear me out. From going abroad, to becoming an RA and moving into my own room to having such a stressful workload, I spent a lot of time alone in 2018. With all of this time on my hands, I was able to learn a lot about the level of “alone time” that works the best for me. I learned that I really truly cherish my alone time, and that I need it to avoid burn out. At the same time, though, I learned that quality time with friends is important to me, and in retrospect I did not give myself that in 2018.
As a result, in 2019 I aim to make my relationships a stronger priority. This means following through on plans (no more “we should hang out sometime”s that lead to nothing!), and checking in with my friends more often. I also hope to spend more quality time with my family in 2019 – I truly love getting to hang out with my family, and I want more of that this year.
5. Practice gratitude more intentionally
While cleaning out my room this year, I found a little jar titled “Good Stuff in 2014” with index cards of the great things that happened in 2014, the big and the small. 16-year-old Katrina was so smart, and she didn’t even know it.
Gratitude is so powerful! Appreciating all of the little good things really helps to put everything in perspective. With all of the stress that came with 2018, I think gratitude is something I desperately need in my life. In 2019, I plan on practicing gratitude more intentionally through journaling and recording a 1 second every day video. I’m so excited to look back on all of the wonderful things (big & small!) when this time comes next year.
Final Thoughts
I used to be so against resolutions, but for some reason this year it seems to be the one thing that will stick. I’m so proud of these resolutions and goals! Writing these resolutions down made me feel so confident and prepared for the new year, and I can’t wait to see what 2019 holds.
What are your intentions for 2019?
