Realizing that this was my last summer without any actual obligations (summer classes, internships, etc.), I decided that it was finally time for me to go after a few things that I just hadn’t had time for in the past. I chose goals that I honestly probably wouldn’t have given a chance if I weren’t making an exhausting attempt at allowing myself to be vulnerable. Some of these goals I went at without any hesitation and others were only slightly terrifying for me.
1. Become a plant mom
Yes, this is exactly what I wrote down in my journal at the beginning of summer. A few classes I had last year made me fall in love with plants, but living in a dorm my first year of college made it difficult to get any of my own. As soon as I moved back home I bought five, yes five, plants and only one of them died. So, I think I’m the real winner here. If you think you want to be a plant mom, but you’re afraid that you will let them die, I highly recommend getting any sort of succulent since they are drought resistant plants that you don’t have to water every day.
2. Learn to skateboard
Okay, so this was my worst failure the entire summer. The first time I tried, I think I was extremely excited and just went for it with a bit too much confidence. As you could probably assume, I fell down hard and yes it hurt for a solid week. After I fell, I tried a few more times on softer surfaces, but eventually just gave it up. Now, my skateboard sits in a corner of my room essentially just collecting dust. I wouldn’t necessarily call this a complete failure though, because I did learn that not every activity is meant for me and that is absolutely okay.
3. Go to my first concert
I ended up going to three concerts this summer and not a single act disappointed. Seriously, even the opening acts were entertaining. Traveling to a few different venues, I saw Juice Wrld, Bazzi, and Khalid and the most fascinating thing about them was the fact that they’re all 21 or younger. Aside from having the girl next to me at Juice Wrld nearly throw up all over my feet, I couldn’t have asked for a better first concert experience.
4. Convert from vegetarian to vegan
This was another goal that didn’t end up going as planned, but I still got something out of the experience. In July 2018 I became pescatarian and then became vegetarian in January of 2019. Cutting out fish from my diet was not quite difficult and I think I expected the same level of difficulty in converting to veganism. If anything, I just didn’t put in the amount of time and effort that this transition required from me and it all had a lot to do with convenience. Although I still eat foods such as cheese and eggs, I did end up cutting out most dairy products, especially milk.
The most important part about achieving these goals or at least making an effort to do so was writing them down and making a plan for myself. In the past, I had made goals that never manifested themselves simply because I had never laid out a plan and the goal itself was eventually thrown to the wayside. For me, goal-setting worked best when I first wrote down the goal, followed by a three to five-step plan to help me achieve it. After a first attempt, it was helpful to identify my strengths and weaknesses and use that information to tweak the plan that I had previously written out. I encourage you to set goals for yourself, especially ones that you wouldn’t typically go for.