Keeping My New Years’ Intentions

Ah the start of another Monday! Does anyone have exciting plans for the week ahead?! I haven’t figured out what I’ll be doing this weekend, but knowing me it’ll be something decided super last minute. That’s just how I roll, ya know!?

Any who, I’ve been stuck in a creative rut the past couple of days, which made writing this blog post a little difficult for me. I always strive to bring fresh, fun content to the blog, but sometimes the ideas just aren’t flowing! For me, my ideas come from being inspired by things around me, and I guess I just haven’t been feeling inspired lately! What’s one of your favorite ways to get out of a creative rut?

As I was brainstorming ideas that I felt would be interesting to write about, I stumbled upon the list of Intentions I set for myself back in January. It seems like the beginning of 2018 was so long ago, but thinking about where I’m at right now makes the year seem like it went by really quick. Does that make any sense?!

As I read through the Intentions I set, I felt a sense of pride in what has been accomplished, and a little FOMO for the ones that haven’t quite panned out yet. For today’s blog post, I thought it would be fun to share five of the Intentions I set for myself back in January and give you all a little recap about where they stand now!

I also want to note that this year, I decided to choose a ‘word of the year’ because I had seen a couple other people doing that way back when. 2018 was the year of efflorescence: a time of flowering and blooming. This year has surely been the year for that! I moved 12 hours away from home thinking it was going to be magical, and truth be told, it wasn’t as magical as I had hoped! You know me, I’m always keepin’ it real!

Anyways, let’s get started with the Intentions before this blog post becomes a novel that no one wants to sit and read!

Be Mindful and Worry Less.

I definitely think that this is the Intention I’ve been most successful with so far this year. I don’t know if it’s because I moved somewhere without knowing a single person, or just the changes that naturally occur in post-grad life, but I feel so in tune with myself. I don’t really know how to explain it! I guess I just feel like there’s so much out there for me to experience and learn, and the only thing that can hold me back is me.

I’ve always been one to take chances, and I feel like taking chances has become so much of who I am that I don’t even think twice about the major decisions I make in my life. Of course when I first moved, I worried about a lot of adult stuff, but I’ve learned that life is always going to keep moving, and you’ve just got to keep up at a pace that works for you. Worrying about things that may happen or already happened is useless. I know that is easier said than done, trust me, I get it. But it’s all about living your life to the fullest, embracing every moment for what it is.

Be present, always.

This definitely aligns with what I just mentioned. Would you rather be present in the moment, or worrying about things that may or may not happen? There’s a lot of stuff in life that we don’t have control over, but what we do have control of is whether or not we decide to be present. I’ll admit that I often find myself worrying about the future and what could be, but I’ve come to realize that it will be what it will be.

Hannah Montana knew what’s up: Life IS what you make of it. If you want to move somewhere, make it happen! Want to do something on your bucket list? Make it happen! I’ve found that when you take what other people think out of the equation, you’re much more fulfilled with the outcome because you’re making decisions for YOU. I used to worry SO MUCH about what people would think. I’m a Libra! But honestly, when I started making decisions with only myself and my feelings in mind, I felt more and more like myself. You’re allowed to be selfish sometimes!

Travel to Denver + D.C.

Okay, so this one definitely did not happen … yet! The year is still young! I haven’t had the opportunity to travel at all this year, which makes me really sad because I love traveling. I’m so grateful for the travel opportunities I had in 2017, and I’m hoping that 2019 will provide me with some of the same opportunities, and many new ones!

I miss the days of having summer vacation and literally just being able to go on vacation whenever you felt like it. The real world doesn’t really allow for that kind of thing, but I hope to find a nice balance between the two in the next year! Are there any places you think I need to go next year? Comment below!

Live Outside My Comfort Zone.

All I can do is laugh about this one because every day I’m living outside of my comfort zone. Those that are close to me know that I’m stubborn. When I make a decision about something, I like to stick to my word. This is very true with my decision to move to South Carolina, to go to Italy on a whim last summer — basically every major decision I’ve made LOL.

I moved to South Carolina because I always wanted to know what it would be like to live at the beach. Needless to say, I’ve learned so much from this experience!

Be Adventurous.

This one also relates to the Intention above, but I still feel like I have a lot of work to do with it. I love exploring and going on adventures to places I’ve never been before, and truthfully I haven’t had many opportunities to do that this year. I’m mentally planning all of these trips and things that I want to do. I’m determined to make them happen in the next few months or during 2019.

I’m looking forward to what the rest of this year has to hold, and I’m also really pumped about 2019. The number ’19’ is one of my favorites, so fingers crossed that it’s a great year for all of us!

Well, those were my Intentions! Did you set any Intentions for yourself at the beginning of the year? I would love to hear about them in the comments below! As always, keep it real and radiate positivity. Good vibes, always, friends!

Until next time,

Alicia <3