::blows dust off keyboard and pulls away at cobwebs on computer::

Is this thing still working? Because it’s been a looooong time. But I am determined to be back. I am determined to make this blog work. I am determined to do what I couldn’t do last year.

2018 started off really great for me, but somewhere down the way, I faced so many closed doors. So much, in fact that I just shut down and decided that if I was going to be constantly told “No”, I wouldn’t try. I put on a smile on my face and tried to tell people “I’m fine. I’m okay”, but in truth (a truth I didn’t want to face), I wasn’t okay. I wasn’t fine. I was tired of rejection and if it was just gonna come to me anyway, then what is the point of even trying.

Well, I do not want that to happen to me this year. I don’t want to be easily discouraged by one failure, and then let that failure define who I am for the rest of the year. I won’t go as far as to say 2018 was shit year, because it honestly wasn’t it. Not all of it, anyway.

I had some highs like:

• Visiting San Francisco for a potential job and rekindling my love for the city
• Going to Japan twice last year and going back to Korea for a short vacation
• Starting a new job in travel

There were highs, but not enough to pull me out of the hole I dug myself into. Well, I don’t want to put myself in that hole ever again. So this year, I made goals (not resolutions because those never get accomplished) that I want to look back on at the end of the year and smile that I actually did them. Most of my goals fall in line with the vision I have for this blog, so I’m looking forward to sharing my progress with you as a way to keep myself accountable.

Here are my 2019 goals:

1. Start up my fitness routine again. Work out 4-5 times a week, start a Beachbody program and finish it. Initially, I want to lose at least 19lbs every three months, since it is 2019. But I want to make healthy choices about it and not do some kind of crash diet. Currently, I am 196lbs, so if I follow this plan, I’ll be at 117lbs by March 28. (I weighed myself in December, just FYI.)
2. Pass the TOPIK I exam this year. If you don’t know, TOPIK is the Test Of Proficiency In Korean. My goal is to pass the TOPIK I (Level 2) test in either April or May of this year. I want to eventually work in Korea again (or at least with a Korean company) so proficiency in Korean is necessary. I am gonna work my way up from Level 2 to Level 5, which I believe is the level most universities and companies accept non-native Korean speakers at. 화이팅~
3. Visit Chicago–>Toronto–>New York City by fall 2019. It’s been a dream of mine to visit these cities, well mostly Toronto and NYC. But Chicago is a new beast to tackle, somewhere I’m considering moving to. So yeah. I also have friends who live in each of those cities, so seeing the places they call home will be great.
4. Start blogging regularly again. This one is self-explanatory. I’m shooting for posting every Sunday with new content. So stay tuned~
5. Start writing again. I’ve always wanted to be a writer/author but never considered doing it professionally, not even recreationally. Maybe it’s time to start that again. My goal is to find some kind of essay publication, like Modern Love, and even participate in NaNoWriMo this year.
6. Achieve financial stability. Toward the end of 2018, I started becoming more aware of my financial debt and trying to find ways to consolidate it. This year, I want to do more research on this and finally implement those plans so I am not constantly worried about my money into the rest of my 30’s.
7. Learn how to cook! I know how to cook…just not how to cook well. I want to be able to make a meal I’m confident in and not just like, “Well, I made a thing. I hope it’s good.”

These are all my goals for this year. Again, I’m gonna use this blog to continuously monitor my progress in this, which would give Goal #4 some progress in itself. I am so excited to share this progress with you all!

I hope wherever you are, you had a good end to 2018, an even better start to 2019, and will join me in making 2019 a great year.

With love,
Jayneezie ♥