Looking Back at 2016 and Planning 2017

One of my last posts before a long hiatus from blogging was a recap of my 2015, and looking forward to 2016. It was one of my favorite posts so I wanted do it again!

2016 seemed to be a giant sufferfest of nonsense all over the world. Every time I thought things couldn’t get worse, something else awful would happen. At the same time my personal life was flourishing.... It’s strange to feel so happy yet see so much sadness around you. Is this what they call survivors guilt?

Last year I made a few goals for myself and I wanted to reflect on how they went and what I can do better in 2017!

Goal One: Spend more time with friends and family

I sucked at this one. There is no way around that…I am one of those people that constantly denies being busy, but really I am extremely busy. I should probably quit lying to myself about it. I think the first step is intentionally making time for people instead of just hoping plans will magically come up and fit into my schedule.

One way I was successful at in this area was making new friends and venturing out of my comfort zone. You probably wouldn’t guess from my internet personality, but I am extremely shy and hate talking to new people. This year I broke through that and combatted some social anxiety head on. Even though I wasn’t the best at making time for people that are already super important to me, I added some new people to that group and that is a win on it’s own.

New friends from 2016! Grace and Kristin have been with me on multiple adventures!

Goal Two: Get into the gym more, get pull ups and heavy squats back

This goal changed for me entirely! I kept going to my old Crossfit gym, but I was majorly lacking motivation. Forcing myself to go more wasn’t helping. I watched my boyfriend compete in amateur boxing throughout 2016 and slowly realized I wanted to give it a shot. I quit the CrossFit gym and started training at a local boxing gym instead.

I won’t lie, it’s been super rough! Half of the time after sparring I consider quitting and question my decision to give up lifting and CrossFit. Boxing hasn’t come naturally or easy and I get extremely frustrated, and unfortunately for me I cry whenever I get frustrated. It's not exactly the brave face I want to show when I am trying to punch someone in the face/avoid getting punched in the face. Regardless of my annoying habit to cry in response to frustration, I know I need to push myself. I can’t always pursue things because I happen to naturally be good at them. Sometimes you suck at something and then you continue practicing forever until you are good at it. It might be too late for the math homework I gave up on in 4th grade after I had a frustration cry attack, but I can work on it now.

I don't know if it's possible with where I am at emotionally and skill-wise with boxing, but I am going to put it out there. I want my first fight to be in 2017. So when I am not out on the trails there will be a lot of time spent in the gym.

Photo I took of one of my teammates Jordan (in blue) in an amateur fight in Portland. Hopefully this will be me in 2017.

Goal Three: Do at least 10 new hikes, go on more photo adventures

I think it’s safe to say I crushed this goal ;)

40 hikes in 2016, and a lot of those were after April! I have no specific number of hikes I want to do in 2017, but I want to keep getting out there and exploring once a weekend if I can! I also want to do my first backpacking trip this year in the summer.

Goal Four: Travel. Big trip, small trips

Another goal crushed! Last year I took small trips to Austin, Mexico, Los Angeles, and New York City. For my big trip I spent two weeks in Hong Kong!

For 2017 I have some ideas of where I want to go, and some trips in the works, but I am not worrying too much about where I end up. I know travel is important to me and I will always make it a priority. I also have a lot of airline miles and watch a lot of low airfare websites so I want to be a little more spontaneous this year.

2017 is going to be the year where I start helping others more. There is a lot of scary stuff on the horizon and posting on Facebook how upset I am about it isn't going to fix anything. After some rough years I took A LOT of time for self care and focusing on my needs, but I don't need that intense focus on figuring my stuff out anymore. It's time to do more for the community and world around me. Words mean nothing without actions so it's time to back my opinions up with some doing!

So hello 2017, you have already started out pretty great! I definitely want to give a huge thank you to everyone that's been following my journey. Whether you have read every post from this inconsistent blog or followed my Instagram, I appreciate every like and comment from all of you!