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2020 Goals and Intentions

Hi friends! I hope you had a lovely January and that your year has been off to a good start. I started my year with a weeklong mindfulness retreat in Sedona, Arizona. It was the most magical experiences and I couldn’t have asked for a better start to my year!

I initially wanted to share my 2020 goals before I went on my retreat but then I decided to wait because I had a feeling I might have some new insights while on the retreat and get clear on what I’d really like to accomplish this year. I know we’re already a month into 2020 so it’s a little late to be posting this but it took me all of January to really hone in on how I want my 2020 to look. Last year, I only achieved 4 out of the 10 goals I set for myself so, this year, I wanted to feel more confident about the goals I commit to. I have written out a list of 13 intentions and 8 goals for myself. Intentions are broader themes for the year whereas goals are specific and measurable. I have a few other goals in mind but they’re a bit more personal so I’m not going to share them on my blog, at least not yet.

Intentions

  1. I intend to show gratitude daily.
  2. I intend to trust the universe and the timing of my life.
  3. I intend to not be so hard on myself.
  4. I intend to continue living a compassionate vegan lifestyle.
  5. I intend to go on more adventures and travel.
  6. I intend to live more authentically.
  7. I intend to do the inner work this year.
  8. I intend to commit to my own growth and development.
  9. I intend to pursue my passions and what makes me happy.
  10. I intend to push myself outside of my comfort zone more and more.
  11. I intend to show myself love and compassion.
  12. I intend to support ethical, sustainable brands.
  13. I intend to be more conscious with my free time.

Goals

1. Travel to 3 new places.

It’s no secret I love to travel and explore new places so there’s no need to explain this one. I’ve already traveled to one new place this year, Sedona, so I just need to make it to two other new places, preferably more.

2. Read 25 books.

Last year, I met my reading goal and read 20 books. I’m really proud of myself for achieving this goal and carving out time in my schedule to read. I have always loved reading novels but I haven’t always made time for it in the past. Not only do I love diving into a good story but I also find that, after a long day at work staring at a computer screen, it’s nice to come home and read ink on paper for an hour or two.

Since I enjoyed having a reading goal so much last year, I decided to have one again for 2020. I feel like I could’ve read more books in 2019 had I not procrastinated the first few months of the year so I’m bumping up this year’s goal to 25 books. A sub-goal is to read 2 or more non-fiction books. I always gravitate toward fiction because I like a good story with themes, symbolism, foreshadowing, etc., but there are several non-fiction books I have been putting off reading so I’d like to read a few of them this year.

3. Start investing.

This is something I started thinking a lot about toward the end of 2019. As of now, I have a savings account and my savings are just sitting there doing nothing for me. I also don’t have any type of retirement plan through my job so I need to come up with my own. At some point this year, I’d like to start investing and get a head start on saving for my future as well as grow my money through compound interest.

A top priority for me when it comes to this goal is that I choose an investment option that aligns with my values. I do not want my money going to companies that are harming the environment or animals (i.e., no fossil fuel or animal agriculture businesses). As I move forward with this goal, I will be pursuing socially responsible investment options.

4. Go on an adventure once a month.

I got this idea from an article I read recently that encouraged people to go on more adventures. It doesn’t matter if they are big or small, local or abroad, just as long as you get outdoors, try something new, or meet new people. I decided to make it a goal of mine to go on at least one adventure a month. My adventure for January was a big one: going to Sedona for a retreat. But other adventures will probably be local, like hiking at the Everglades or paddleboarding at the beach. I love going on adventures so this goal is mainly to encourage myself to do more of what makes me happy.

5. Watch 1 documentary a month.

This was a goal of mine last year and it really helped me watch more documentaries and docuseries so I’m doing it again. As much as I love documentaries and learning new things, I always gravitate toward fictional works whenever I’m looking for something to watch on Netflix. This is why I feel like I need to keep this as a goal for myself so that I continue watching documentaries.

6. Meditate 3 times a week.

I have been trying to make meditation a habit for years and I just haven’t been able to stick with it. I always love the way I feel after I meditate and the clarity it brings me so I’m not sure why I’ve struggled so much to stick to a regular meditation practice. Hopefully, this is the year I will make it work. Starting the year on a retreat in which we meditated every morning really helped me get the momentum going to achieve this goal. While I would like to meditate every day as I did on my retreat, I think a minimum of 3 times a week is realistic for me right now.

7. Practice Spanish on Duolingo every day.

This was also one of my goals from last year but I failed miserably at it. I started out the year strong but then, when I went to Spain in March and had to delete the Duolingo app from my phone to free up space for pictures, I stopped practicing Spanish regularly. Every time I tried to get back into practicing on Duolingo, it never stuck.

I wanted to make this a goal again this year because it’s really important to me that I become fluent in Spanish. I am half Cuban so speaking Spanish is part of my heritage. When I was a kid, I didn’t really care to learn it and my Dad didn’t care to teach me or my brother. As long as I got an ‘A’ in my Spanish class at school, I didn’t care that I wasn’t fluent and couldn’t hold a conversation for more than a few sentences. Now that I’m older, I’m craving that connection to my heritage so I’m going to do my best to practice Spanish on Duolingo and practice in real life, too.

8. Start practicing yoga again.

I used to have a regular yoga practice about five years ago and I lost it when I canceled my gym membership to save money. I always intended to practice at home but rarely did. When I was on my retreat in January, we practiced yoga every day and we had the most wonderful teacher. Her classes reminded me how much I love yoga and how much I miss practicing it. A larger goal of mine is to become a certified yoga teacher but, in order to build up to that goal, I need to first start practicing regularly again so I can build up my flexibility and strength. I have already taken the first step toward this goal and signed up with ClassPass so I can take yoga classes near me. I’m aiming to go to two classes a week.

Those are all my goals for the year, at least the ones that I’m sharing publicly for now. I would love to hear some of your goals or intentions for 2020 if you have any. Please leave a comment below if you want to share.

Wishing you so much love and happiness in 2020,

Victoria

February 6, 2020
Thoughts

2019: A Year in Review

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! I hope 2020 is your happiest, most magical, love-filled year yet with many new adventures and wonderful memories along the way! I have a good feeling about this one.

Before I really start getting into 2020, I wanted to reflect a little on last year. 2019 was a pretty good year for me. It wasn’t as lifechanging as I had hoped it would be and I didn’t achieve all of the goals I had set for myself at the beginning of the year but I did make some pretty wonderful memories along the way, and that’s what counts. I spent time with loved ones, went on two incredible trips, read 20 books, and did a lot of daydreaming about the future. Below are some highlights and favorites from the past year.

1. Turning 25! 

In January of 2019, I turned 25 and my parents, brother, and sister-in-law surprised me with a trip to Universal in Orlando, FL. Despite what my mom might say, I really do like surprises and it was so sweet of them to do this for me. We had a lot of fun that weekend!

Turning 25 came with a lot of questioning and soulsearching. I didn’t have a quarter-life crisis or anything but I did think a lot about the kind of life I want to live. I now have a much clearer vision of the life I want to build over the next few years. Getting there, on the other hand, is the part I’m still trying to figure out. Here’s hoping that 2020 brings some more insight.

2. Traveling to Spain

In March, I traveled to Spain with my friend, Caitlin, and fell in love with Barcelona and Madrid. We visited La Sagrada Familia and several other works by architect Antoni Gaudí. We also rode bikes along the Mediterranean, visited a lot of museums, and ate some delicious vegan food (I don’t know about the rest of Spain but both Barcelona and Madrid are very vegan-friendly). 

I am so grateful I got to visit the country my dad’s family is from. I am really big on family heritage and my ancestry so visiting Spain was a really special trip for me. My dad’s parents immigrated to the USA from Cuba but, a few generations prior, his relatives had moved to Cuba from Spain. We still have distant cousins that live in Northwest Spain. I would love to go back with my dad one day and explore more of the country my ancestors called home.

3. Traveling to the Pacific Northwest

In the summer, I traveled to Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington, with my family. I had been wanting to visit Portland for so many years, both for the nature and the vegan scene there, so this trip was really exciting. Some of my favorite things we did on this trip included:

  • hiking the Skyline Trail on Mount Rainier
  • day-tripping to the Oregon Coast, in which we went to Cannon Beach and hiked the Cape Falcon Trail
  • visiting Mount Hood and hiking around Mirror Lake
  • eating some damn good vegan food at Virtuous Pie, Veggie Grill, Back to Eden, Nectar Cafe, and No Bones Beach Club
  • visiting Wayward Winds Lavender Farm
  • touring Duck Pond Cellars winery

4. Living a more conscious lifestyle

I have been passionate about the environment and climate change since I was a little kid and I always look for ways to lessen my impact and live in alignment with my values. Continuing to live a vegan lifestyle is the main way I have lowered my impact on the environment, and on animal suffering, over the past five years but there is always more that can be done. The main shift I made in 2019 was quitting fast fashion. I prioritized shopping more mindfully and supporting sustainable and ethical companies. It is important to me that the companies I am giving my money to are implementing sustainable practices, using natural and/or recycled materials in their products, paying their workers a fair wage, and maintaining safe working environments for their workers. I am happy with the progress I made last year and will continue to improve in 2020.

2019 Favorites

Before wrapping up this Year in Review, I want to share some of my favorite books, movies, shows, documentaries, and music I read/watched/listened to last year. I love a good story no matter what form it comes in and I like sharing the stories that made an impression on me with others. Let me know in the comments if you, too, have enjoyed any of the below.

Favorite Books:

One of my goals for 2019 was to read 20 books and I did it! I’m honestly really proud of myself for following through on that goal and for making the time to read more. I noticed that my reading preferences started to change last year. I have always enjoyed a range of genres, including contemporary, historical fiction, sci-fi, and fantasy, but I usually read Young Adult novels. Last year, I started gravitating toward more Adult novels (13 of the 20 books were Adult and the other 7 were Young Adult), which makes sense given my age. I still like YA novels but I’m definitely gravitating toward more mature stories.

P.S. If you want to be friends on Goodreads, click here and select “Add Friend”. I love using Goodreads to keep track of the books I’ve read and books I want to read.

Favorite Movies:

  • Little Women
  • Five Feet Apart
  • A Star is Born
  • Captain Fantastic
  • Arrival
  • BlacKkKlansman
  • Boy Erased
  • Call me By Your Name
  • Gifted
  • Captain Marvel
  • Avengers: Endgame
  • Joker
  • Wonder
  • Rain Man
  • Suffragette
  • Love, Rosie
  • The Hundred-Foot Journey
  • Aladdin
  • Instant Family

Favorite Shows:

  • Schitt’s Creek
  • Anne with an E
  • The OA 
  • The Handmaid’s Tale
  • Unbelievable
  • When They See Us
  • Stranger Things
  • Looking for Alaska
  • Shine On with Reese

Favorite Documentaries:

  • The Game Changers
  • Free Solo
  • Our Planet
  • The Need to Grow
  • Abstract: The Art of Design

Favorite Albums:

  • Lover by Taylor Swift
  • Golden Hour by Kacey Musgraves
  • Fine Line by Harry Styles
  • Heard It in a Past Life by Maggie Rogers
  • Nation of Two by Vance Joy
  • Strange Trails by Lord Huron

I’d love to hear a bit about how your 2019 was. What is one thing you did last year, whether it’s a goal you achieved or a trip you went on, that you are really happy about? And what are you looking forward to in 2020? Let me know in the comments below.

Wishing you love and happiness in the year to come,

Victoria

January 3, 2020
Thoughts

2019 Goals & Intentions

Happy New Year!!! I hope you enjoyed the holidays and spent time with your loved ones! It’s hard to believe another year has come and gone already… did 2018 fly by for you, too, or is it just me? The older I get, the quicker time seems to pass by, which is all the more reason to make the most of each day.

While I am sad to see 2018 go, I’m feeling really excited about the new year ahead. I’ve been thinking a lot about my future these past few weeks and, even though I don’t have any concrete plans just yet, I have a good idea of what I want to accomplish in 2019. At the start of a new year, I like to write down a list of intentions and goals for the year ahead. For me, intentions are more broad whereas goals are specific and measurable. I thought I’d share my intentions and goals for 2019 with you to inspire you to write your own if you haven’t already. I also feel like I’m more likely to accomplish them if I share them with people. Some of these might change as the year progresses but, for now, I feel really good about them.

Intentions:

I intend to:

  1. show gratitude daily.
  2. trust the universe and the timing of my life.
  3. practice mindfulness and being present.
  4. introduce more people to veganism.
  5. go on more adventures and travel.
  6. live more authentically.
  7. pursue my passions and what makes me happy.
  8. continue to push myself outside of my comfort zone.
  9. love myself fully, flaws and all.
  10. call in more friendships.
  11. support ethical, sustainable brands.

Goals:

  1. Travel to Spain – There are a lot of places I want to travel to but Spain is at the top of my list at the moment. I’ve felt a strong calling to go there for about a year now so I’m hoping to make that happen this year.
  2. Grow my blog and Instagram – I’d like to grow my following in the hopes of inspiring more people to live more sustainably and compassionately.
  3. Meditate at least 4 times a week – I’ve been wanting to make meditation a daily habit but haven’t been able to stick with it. I’m hoping to change that this year.
  4. Do a yoga teacher training – This is something I have known for years I would want to do at some point. I finally feel called to do it this year.
  5. Read at least 20 books – I love reading and I want to make time to read more this year. I tend to gravitate toward fiction novels so I’d especially like to read more nonfiction books this year.
  6. Watch 1 documentary a month – I also love watching documentaries and learning new things but, whenever I go to Netflix, I end up watching a fictional movie or show. I’d like to watch at least 12 documentaries this year.
  7. Practice Spanish daily on the Duolingo app – I am determined to become fluent in Spanish. I’m half Cuban so it bothers me that my younger self didn’t try harder to speak Spanish. I know enough to get by but I’d really like to be fluent within the next few years.
  8. Run a 5k – I love running and used to do cross country and track and field. Unfortunately, an injury my senior year of high school prevented me from running in college. Every time I get back into running, my injury flares up again. I’d really like to run more consistently, though, so I’m going to train to do a 5k. A big dream of mine is to run a half marathon and a full marathon.
  9. Do a workaway – This goes along with my intention to travel more. If you’re not familiar with Workaway, you can check out the website here. It seems like a great way to save money while traveling while also meeting locals and getting a true feel for the culture of a country.
  10. Quit my current job, or at least cut back my hours – It’s no secret to those who know me that I don’t love my job. I have wanted to quit multiple times but never went through with it. While I am very grateful my job has allowed me to save up enough money to travel and pursue some of my passions, I know I need to move on soon.

Well, there you have it! Everything I hope to achieve this year. I’d love to hear what your goals and/or intentions are for 2019. Comment below if you want to share. Wishing you all the best in 2019!

With love and light,

Victoria

January 4, 2019