My New Years Resolutions/goals

Happy New Year Everyone!!

Since it is official 2018, that means it's time for a new and improved me (I know that's so cliche). As I was looking at my New Years resolutions from last year, it gave me some ideas of what I should try to work on this year. I'm going to definitely think of some goals for blogging specifically that I would like to improve on, but I've also got some good ones that I can try to do just in life too.

My blogging goals and resolutions:

1. Be better at updating and connecting on social media besides Instagram: I'm usually really good at keeping people aware of my newest blog updates on Instagram, but I'm not too good at updating my Facebook page. I get so preoccupied with posting on Instagram, since it's my main source of exposure, that most of the time I forget to post my recent blog posts on Facebook as well. I also have to keep up with my Pinterest profile by posting all the pictures that I download on my Instagram and blog to my FashionFitnessFun board. In 2018, I'm going to make an effort to post to all social media accounts as much as possible!

2. Interacting more with others on Instagram: The way to make friends is to talk to them right? Well the same goes for bloggers too! A new goal of mine is to interact with other bloggers by commenting on their photos or posting shoutouts on my stories of my favorite bloggers. This way, people will see that you are open to being social with others by taking time to comment and like other peoples photos.

3. Try to take more pictures for blog: If any of my friends are reading this, they are probably thinking, seriously?! Believe it or not, I run out of pictures for my blog a lot. Sometimes I find myself making blog posts based off of the pictures that I already have. This year, I want to be more mindful of what I'm doing by taking pictures of everything to share with you guys! I love taking spur-of-the-moment photos and they will make my Instagram, Pinterest and blog more exciting!

4. Try to write more fitness posts and update my shopping wishlist: It's no secret that I'm lacking fitness posts, and I really need to work on that. The issue with fitness posts is that I'm not able to take good pictures at my gym, and I can't write a blog post without pictures! My solution to this problem is to try to combine multiple posts into one, so it doesn't seem like a big deal that I'm not using photos for the gym. For example, I can do a post where I talk about my favorite healthy meals after working out, so I'll talk a little about my workout and a little about what I like to eat after workouts. For the picture part, I'll put pictures of me making the food/the final results of the food, so the post will still contain fitness aspects, but not at the gym.

5. Try to read others posts more: The biggest issue with not being able to read other bloggers posts is the lack of time that I have in my day. With school, my gym time, homework, and working on my own blog, there is almost no time left to read what other bloggers are writing about. In 2018, I'm going to try my absolute hardest to read more from my favorite bloggers, along with reading more topics that I'm interested in. A great way to read more about your favorite things is by downloading an app called Bloglovin. This app is kind of like an Instagram Facebook mix for bloggers specifically, so you are able to post a picture with a little excerpt from a post. If someone is interested in that post, they will "heart" it and maybe even click to read the full story. The app brings the reader directly to the bloggers website to read the full story. The more followers that the blogger has, the more audience they will have!

My Profile

My life goals (that sounds so serious!):

1. Spend more time with my family: This is a big one for this year. The time that I have to spend with my family is sacred since I am going to be off to college next year. Although it's easier for me to be cooped up in my room watching Netflix on my laptop, I really want to make the most of this year and be surrounded by my family. Once I start up school again and the hours of homework come in, I'll be sure to manage my time, so I will still have some time to relax at the end of the day by sitting in my family room with everyone.

2. Don't have a bad case of Senioritis: Since it's my senior year of high school, and I just got into college, it's bound to happen that I develop Senioritis. For anyone who doesn't know what that is, Senioritis is when a senior in high school gets accepted into the college of his or her choice and they realize that they don't need to have all that unnecessary stress of homework or studying anymore. They get rid of this unnecessary stress by not doing the homework or barely studying for a quiz or test that they know they won't do well on. My goal for this year, especially towards the end of the year, is not to go into "Senioritis mode" because it is super hard to get out of. My motivation for not having Senioritis is that I start an senior internship in New York City in May, so I have to maintain good attendance and grades until then. On this internship, I'm going to be working for a company called Olah Inc., where I'm assisting the denim trade show and social media pages

3. Workout more on weekends: This is a big one for me! On the weekends, I'm worried about other things-homework, sleeping in, blog posts, hanging out with friends, etc. that I don't have enough time in my day to do to the gym. During the weekdays, I have a set routine- I go to school, go to the gym, do my homework, watch tv, go to bed. During the weekends, it's sort of a free for all and it's usually my "take off days". I want to change this by replacing the time that I am watching tv for exercising. I can watch tv at any time of the day, but the gym is only open, and not extremely crowded, for a certain number of hours. If I can do this mostly every weekend, then I will definitely see better results.

4. Maintain a healthier diet: dieting is just as important as the amount of time you invest to workout, so why do one without the other?! This year, my goal is to change the way I eat. Change all of the pretzels and goldfish to salad and protein. I want to start by having a protein shake or a smoothie for breakfast every morning. This will give me a healthy start to my day, and keep me awake in the morning. Another thing that I can do to keep a healthy diet is to have smaller portions of food rather than big ones. A good way to stay with smaller portions of food is to pour bagged food into a bowl, where it has a contained size, instead of just eating until your full. This is going to be a challenge for me because I get hungry super easily, especially when I'm bored (at school). A good way to balance hunger is to drink a lot of water as well. I definitely feel like I'm not drinking enough water throughout my day, since I don't carry a water bottle with me. This year, I'm going to try to be conscious about how much water I'm drinking to keep that healthy diet.

5. Try to enjoy every moment: This may seem cliche, but it's true. Enjoying each and every moment is a very important thing that a lot of people feel that they don't actually do. Most people are so preoccupied with planning for the future and worrying about stuff that is not going to even matter in a couple of months, that they don't enjoy the place that they are in at the current moment. That is definitely something that I do all the time. I love to plan things, and I am a very future driven person, that I don't take the time to live in the present. I'm going to try to fix that this year by avoiding as much stress as I possibly can and just laugh more. There's no way to take away every single worry or every single thing that is stressful, but there is a way to minimize the stress and forget about it until a later date.

I hope I've inspired you with ideas for your list of resolutions. These resolutions are all about making you a better person and improving yourself!