2015 was focused on getting my feet rooted to the ground, reestablishing the “new normal” as a working woman after 20 some years spent as a student (quite a few of them spent ill). 2016 will be a year focused on ME: my physical/spiritual well-being, as well as in fostering relationships with those around me.

2015 was filled with chaos, new beginnings, some ends, and constant running, running, running. I hope to establish a solid relationship with me, myself, and I this year by taking a step back and some deep, deep breaths. I hope to create stable schedules so that I have consistency in my lifestyle, instead of finding myself at 11:30PM, wondering where my evening went. I need to learn more about who I am, what I like, how to budget my time and energy to incorporate healthier eating and exercise into my life.

As some wise person has supposedly said, “You have to help yourself before you can help others.” My life is without direction or purpose, my body with a few dozen extra pounds that I don’t need, and I have a humming in my brain telling me that I need to set my life back on track (if it ever were!), so I have come to the conclusion that I need to spend some time with myself. After all, friendships and relationships come and go, but I am forever stuck with myself and my body… In the literal sense of “until death does us apart“!

In 2016, I hope to run my first 5K since high school, as well as plan a fundraising event for The Aneurysm and AVM Foundation to celebrate my 5th “Annie-Versary” after my craniotomy.  I want to focus more on Burgundy for Life, possibly beginning the process for applying for Non-Profit status if I can get all the pieces together. (By the way, we hit 2600 Likes on our Facebook Page today! Horray!!)

I also want to dive deeper into my hobbies. Photography and writing are some that I want to begin pursuing seriously again (I’ve began taking some online classes).  I also began my “planner addiction” during the holiday season, since I figured there’s never anything wrong with getting more organized, and it’s high time I developed a hobby to spend a little bit of money on. Decorating, organizing, and utilizing my planner is like my love for writing, graphic designing, and compulsive planning all pulled into one.  I enjoy making cute things and sharing them with people on Instagram who are also into planners.

(The one I got was Filofax Pennybridge Raspberry Pocket Size. I wanted something small to fit in my purse and carry around.  And tiny, I got, but for hardcore planning, I probably want to buy an A5 sometime in the upcoming months…)

I will be devoting my 2016 to getting my weekly schedules established so that I can hit my weight loss and health goals, learning to cook more things and meal prep, and spending the next year figuring out what my long-term goals are in my career, life, and passions are!

Recap of 2015

• I completed my first year of working full-time.
• I leased my very first apartment.
• I started a new job to further my career.
• I no longer have to work 3 nights a week (like I did for a year with my old job) in order to feel secure about paying my bills.
• I read 41 books. There were a few good finds. I now fully embrace the eBook culture (not enough money or space to be buying books in NYC; the library is great.)
• I met a lot of people and made a lot of new friends.
• I finally set up Burgundy For Life’s website, and reached almost 2600 Likes on the Facebook Page.
• I celebrated my 4th “Annie-Versary“; for a while, I didn’t think I would get this far in life.
• I saved up my first $30k.

What are YOU focusing on in 2016?? 

Cover Photo: Rokujizo, Kyoto, Japan