It's a little hard to believe how fast 2016 has come and gone. In 2016, I have joined an amazing community of writers with Odyssey, prepared a research proposal for what was going to end up being my thesis, graduated from college, working my first job, and voted for the first time in a presidential election. While 2016 had many positives, there were definitely some downsides to it; these downsides happened to be lessons and I used them to make better decisions. With 2017, I find myself wanting to do so much more than I ever did; one reason for this is the fact that I will be 25 in May. Some of the goals that I have in mind for 2017 are:

1. Graduate School

I know it may be tough to get back into school after taking time off since May, but I have a good feeling that I do want to have an education to get a degree in social work; I do need to have a Master’s degree if I want to be a social worker. Even when I work as a billing assistant for my sister's private practice for psychiatry, I feel that I have gotten exposed to interacting with the patients that come in. I feel ready and determined to make my next move, I just hope that I will be accepted in one school for social work.

2. Living Independently

My whole life has been spent living at home. I'm at the point where I would like to begin to see what living independently is like. If I do happen to get accepted to a graduate school, I have plans in mind to dorm as I think of it as a first step. When I feel that I have learned enough with living alone, I do want to find an apartment to live in eventually. Despite having big ideas, I do know that I have to take one step at a time.

3. Writing/Leadership

I joined an amazing community by signing up to be a content creator for Odyssey in March, and I love it. Throughout 2016, I've learned the skills for more engagement and also that getting shares shouldn't be about competition. I think of Odyssey as a side job/hobby, and I feel that I have developed so much through writing. I would like to spend 2017 to continue developing my writing and becoming more of a leader with being a Contributing Editor.

4. Getting Fit

Typical the new year goal that everyone has, but sometimes it's a little tough to deal with that because of eventually quitting after a few days. Through going to physical therapy since July, I feel that I have become stronger. I may not be that strong yet, and that's okay. With physical therapy, work, and therapy, it is a little hard to squeeze in some time to think of exercise and practice what I do while at physical therapy. In 2017, I do want to be sure that I do plan and squeeze in some time for 30-45 minutes of exercise at least three days a week due to having physical therapy two times a week.

5. Improving Self Care

This is something I’ve only begun to learn this year when starting to see a new therapist in July. Whenever I feel a trigger or something has really been bothering me, I make sure to write it down. Since July, I have learned that it is okay to have my feelings on things, and nothing is ever perfect in the way we would like things to be. While we may have different methods to let things go such as reading, music, exercising, etc., the best thing to let anything out is to simply write things down. To write down various triggers, have a small notepad. To write down anything and everything that happens, use a plain notebook or buy a new journal. I plan to give myself more self care and write everything down in 2017 because word on paper or a screen can be more powerful than word by mouth. The more we write down, the more evidence that we have for anything that happened.