In the next year, what are 5 improvements you would like to make regarding your life? Create a plan to accomplish each one.

1. I want to decorate my apartment like a real adult. This means…not being cluttered and making sure that things match. Which will be difficult as I’m picking up a lot of secondhand furniture but that’s where couch covers and such come into play (I know I’m getting a brown leather couch and some white armless sofa chairs, so a black couch cover and just having white chairs might be nice). I think I’m going to aim for black furniture because it matches with everything. I have a walnut bookshelf but I may spray paint it black or something (I built it incorrectly so the back panels are facing the wrong way…don’t ask, so to avoid that embarrassment the spray paint may be needed) — or chalkboard paint! That could be fun. For a dresser, though, I’m going to get an 8-cube shelf and then get those cloth boxes that fit right inside of it. Mostly because I hate moving really heavy dressers and it could be fun.
   For kitchen stuff, I might get things with a hint of purple or blue or whatever catches my eye, pretty much all my stuff is neutral colored. Oh and this “being an adult” thing means having a nice, clean, put together fridge. This means getting matching Tupperware (I have a bunch of random stuff right now, and a few sets of nesting doll-esque stuff. The goal is glass containers, same size, for meal preps because I have a lot of plastic stuff that’s gross). And then also a slow cooker, nicer cutting boards and knives, new blender, maybe an air fryer…I have lots of plans that will slowly come to life.
   As for posters/art/decorations, I hate just having random stuff that sits there so I plan to get plants (and also have an herb garden with rosemary, thyme, basil, mint, and green onions — I mostly use these), potentially hang up pages from my “adult coloring book”, and/or make my own things. For the bathroom, I have some bright turquoise stuff and I think it’s a fun theme to stick with. The goal is to be somewhat more minimalist and not cluttered, and have a relaxing atmosphere. It can be tough to do with a studio apartment but I’ll make it work.
2. I want to have a home workout setup if I can’t make it to the gym. This includes a suspension training setup (TRX), a plyo box, a barbell, plates/clips, a 50 pound kettlebell to match my 15 and 25 pound ones. I’ll get an imitation TRX system, one of those wooden plyo boxes that can be placed on a bunch of different sides for different heights, and I’ll try to find a lot of things for cheap. I plan to go to nearby sports stores and look for kettlebells first, that’s a priority because I can at least do a lot of stuff with just kettlebells. But as I’m on a budget…I’ll need to be careful and think about what I really need.
3. I would like to get involved in my profession’s professional organizations to bring change and new ideas to the table. I know I want to get involved in the ethnic diversity committee, and the interesting thing is that our profession is small enough that you can make a difference at any level. They are also often looking for volunteers, I’ve learned. However, I also know I can’t serve on a committee unless I’ve got my life together, so I know that I need to give myself time to adjust to a new job, new city, making new friends, and dealing with a pandemic and a possible furlough/unemployment stint. So once I’ve figured that out I will be contacting the ethnic diversity committee chair to see how I can help, looking to see when elections are done for various positions in the state/national organizations, and seeing where I can volunteer.
4. If I’m going to be a trail runner…I want to be a trail runner. I’d like to stick with this. I don’t know what type of trails will be out there, and I don’t know how far I will have to drive to get to trails, but I know this is something I want to do. Thankfully I will be in a warmer area and I plan to reach out to someone I’ve seen on instagram who is very experienced with trail running and has tips and is FROM the area I’m moving to! Very helpful. I still don’t have the right type of backpack, but I purchased some very small backpacks that I plan to add various wraparound straps to…somehow. Velcro might be the move there. I’m struggling a little with this because I really just want to get huge and endurance running doesn’t really fit with that — but I think I can strike a nice balance and have periods of lifting more (winter) and running more (summer). If I could drop some pounds but continue to build up muscle I think that would serve me well.
5. I want to really get into the barefoot game and start collecting items that help. I already have a little balance beam I made with a shovel handle (my mom helped me, I think she thought I was a little crazy but she helped!), various size balls to roll on (although I’d like some more softer ones too). I want to make a rock mat (people say to glue them down but I’m going to leave them free. I will just need river rocks and a rubber very flat container (with edges because it’ll go on my porch). I also want to get some good toe spreaders and other things that I can think of that I can’t right now. I tend to be very creative in my ways of…saving money so I want to continue with that.

There are a lot of things regarding mental health, discipline, and other items I’m struggling with right now but I do know that when I organize other parts of my life, those parts become easier. I enjoy projects, I enjoy having to do things and think about things and accomplish things, they give me joy. I want to choose that joy every time. Lastly, one over-arching goal is to save money. The goal is to start with $1000 in the savings, pay my dad back for the deposit and first month’s rent because I have zero money right now, and then aim to have 3 months worth of rent saved up. I’m basically starting from zero and still not making much as it is, but that’s alright, we’ll get there. So, off to trail run.