New Year, Same Me {Just Better}

I hope you all had a fun & festive NYE! Today I’m back at it again with another New Years post (If you missed my NYE post from last week you can view it here or by scrolling down). In this post, I’ll be sharing a few of my goals for 2018. I’m super excited for the new year to begin.  I don’t 100% believe in “New Years Resolutions” but I really do believe that every day/year is a fresh start and that setting goals for ourselves is super important.

“By improving yourself, the world is made better. Be not afraid of growing too slowly. Be afraid only of standing still” ~ Benjamin Franklin

In this post, I’ll also be sharing some pictures from a shoot that my BFF Abby and I did with the amazingly talented Kaitlynn Hutchins. If you are looking for a photographer in Maine, check her out on Facebook or visit her website here!! As you can probably see, we had so much fun shooting with her. Side note: Many of the photos on my website were done by her!

Something that I am always working towards is enjoying life as much as I possibly can, living in the moment, and letting go. A little less worrying, a little more fun. I am an uptight, type-A kind of girl. It’s hard for me to let myself go and not worry about something. However, I feel like the older that I get the easier it is to be comfortable in a wide variety of scenarios and have faith in myself. In 2018 I want to care just a little less about certain things, spend less time worrying about what others think, and when something goes wrong, sweat it just a little less.

Staying connected. I’m not really talking about staying connected on social media, I’m talking about staying connected to people: enriching my relationships and creating new connections with people. A little less scrolling on my phone, a little more reaching out to loved ones/those who inspire me. It’s so easy to get caught up in my day-to-day routine that I forget how easy it is to send a text, facebook message, or letter to my friends/family. This year I definitely want to write more handwritten letters!

I think this is funny, but one of my goals actually revolves around someone else. In 2018 I want to help my boyfriend Greg be better at budgeting. A little less spending, a little more saving. I already created a monthly budget spreadsheet for Greg but now I just have to remind/convince him to actually use it.

Stay up to date with the latest pharmaceutical and medical news. I’m used to doing school work for more than 40 hours a week but I think it’s important to study beyond my school work. This year, I want to really educate myself and go beyond my class assignments to learn more. A little less social media time, a little more independent research. I want to actually take the time to read more articles that I see posted on LinkedIn and open more emails that I receive from Pharmacy Times, Modern Medicine, etc to really help myself be the best pharmacy student that I can be.

I don’t think this post would be complete without me mentioning that I really do want to work towards the traditional/common/popular resolutions: eat better, workout more, be healthier. A little less cellulite (this is me being 100% real with you), a little more muscle, a little less candy, a little more fruit. I’ve never been a fan of diets but this year I really do want to continue/start eating more minimally processed foods with as few ingredients as possible (I like to use the app Fooducate and I’m a big believer in reading food labels). I also slacked a lot this past fall when it came to working out so I really want to get into a good working out/stretching/yoga routine this year. No joke, I watched my blood pressure increase more quickly then I thought was possible this fall/winter after abandoning my normal workout routine and that really scared me. Another way that I want to work towards a healthier Sarah is by drinking more water. I’m already a really good water drinker but I want to become even better. To start, I think I need to buy a new water bottle so I’m going to take care of that this week!

Well, that concludes this lengthy New Years Resolutions post. I do have many other goals for myself and will work to write them down over the next month so that I’m able to conquer 2018. Thanks for reading this and please feel free to share your resolutions in the comments below (I’d love to hear them)! Overall, it’s all about taking baby steps to a better you and a better world in general. Happy 2018!

XOXO ~