My personal list of goals for 2019
I don't know about you guys, but 2018 was probably the hardest year of my life to-date. Between being injured most of the year, facing social turmoil amongst my friends and relatives, and dealing with an insanely stressful and busy set of responsibilities, I felt I had nothing left to share emotionally by summer break. Despite being incredibly painful in many ways, I see now in retrospect that it was growing pains.
I'm so grateful now to be the person I am because of what I've encountered. I feel I've come so far in a short amount of time, but I'm certainly not done yet. As December made it's way to January, I started to wonder what growth 2019 would bring, and wondered how differently I would handle stressors...
I usually am not one for resolutions. I feel like the idea of a resolution is good, but most just end up being empty promises by February. However, I do like making goals for myself, and after much consideration in the first few weeks of the new year, I've made a list of the things I want to do in 2019. Feel free to read and see what goals you like (or don't like), and share yours as well.
19 Promises I'm Making to Myself in 2019
1. Diet
When I was a young kid, I was bullied for being chubby (even though in retrospect, I was a perfectly healthy child). Despite my knowing I am healthy, I often still see myself as being less fit that I want to be. I've always counted calories and been so conscious to not overeat, and what I've realized is that that isn't healthy for my mind or body. So, this year I'm choosing instead to focus on the quality of food I eat, rather than the calories. I'm making a promise to myself to only put food into my body that makes me feel good and gives me the energy and support I need.
2. Fitness
In the same vein, I've always felt like exercise was a punishment for not looking the way I wanted to. Because of this, going to the gym was only fun sometimes, and I often petered out on my commitment to going because I got tired of it. So, this year I'm promising to go not to look a certain way, but to be a stronger person. I will work out because the strength and energy is good for me, and because it will help me live a longer, healthier life. The numbers on the scale do not determine my success.
3. Sleep
As actor and college student, I usually have the craziest schedule, and it often results in poor sleeping habits. So, I'm making a goal of getting at least 7 hours of sleep a night. The biggest tools I have for this are that I stay off my phone after rehearsals are over, and I drink a cup of tea and read a few chapters in a book before bed. My first read is re-reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone!
4. Water
I am SO terrible at forgetting to drink water! Water is SO important to your health- it is essentially the basic fuel for your body. And, you need a lot more of it than you think! (if you don't know, take your weight in pounds, divide that number by 2, and thats the number of fl oz you need to drink daily). I need to drink 60fl oz a day, so for me, getting a Hydroflask was the right move. At 40oz, if I drink 2 in a day, I get more than my goal! Plus, its durable, keeps my water cool all day, and I can decorate it with all kinds of cute decals and stickers.
5. Mindfulness
For me, anxiety has always been a part of my life. I'm just a naturally anxious person, and over the years I've had to try and find ways to cope with that. Being an actor has actually really helped me deal with my anxiety, but I still have bouts of anxiety. I'm making it a goal to practice meditation for 10 minutes a day. I really like using the app Headspace to do this, because I can tell the app how often I want to meditate, and what kinds of meditation I'd like to do, and it sends me notifications reminding me to take time to center myself.
6. Tap Dance
Okay, so from here on out these may not be goals for everyone out there! I've been learning to tap for about a year now, and I've picked up a lot of skills and steps in that time. I'd definitely say that I've made it into the advanced beginner level, but I don't want to stop there! My goals are to solidify my Quadruple Buck Time Steps, learn to do Wings, and refine my form and style as a tapper.
7. Jazz Dance
Dance is something I didn't begin doing until college. As a musical theatre performer, my skills in dance are something I've always been really self-conscious of. Because I haven't had the training until recently, I didn't have the vocabulary, technique, flexibility, or confidence that I was any good. What I've failed to realize though is that I've learned so much in the last few years about dance! My biggest goal is to start thinking of myself as a dancer- because changing my mindset should boost my confidence, and in turn, boost my progress. Beyond that, I want to work on expanding my dance vocabulary, getting deeper pliés, cleaner turns, and getting my double pirouettes.
8. Flexibility
I never really thought about the importance of flexibility before I started dancing. But it's not just something relevant for dancers- flexibility is good for everyone! So, in 2019, I'd like to get both of my side splits, as well as build up the strength to have a bigger range of motion in my leaps and kicks.
9. Singing
I've been singing for a long time now, and my voice is something so integral to who I am as a person. However, I still have some bad habits I'd like to break! This year, I am going to work on strengthening and expanding my upper range, and learning to not fall back on crooning the notes when I'm not sure what I'm doing. (Strong and wrong is the name of the game, my friends!)
10. Acting
Acting is kind of a hard thing to measure, so these are things that I personally want to experiment with more so than "improve". Overall, I just want to expand my gestural vocabulary, push the boundaries of the emotions I explore, and paint more emotionally colorful pictures with my songs/monologues/scenes. I also want to work on a new monologue once a month, and read a new play each month.
11. Social
2018 was a difficult year for me, and a big reason for that was that I was hanging onto friendships that did more harm than good. So a big rule of 2019 for me is that I only want to foster relationships with people who are healthy for me, and I want to distance myself from toxic people. Additionally, I want to work on speaking my truth to others more often, instead of holding on to everything and growing resentful. Finally, I want to make a conscious effort to initiate more social interactions with my friends and peers instead of waiting for others to reach out to me.
12. Romantic
Throughout the rollercoaster that has been my college experience, I haven't really take time to just be with myself. So, rather than looking for a relationship, 2019 is going to be the year of "dating" myself. I'm going to take myself out to dinner, buy flowers for my self "just because", and spend some time really figuring out who I am and what I want.
13. Family
My family is really close, and going away for school was really tough for me at first. Now that I've figured out my relationship with my parents and sister while I'm away, I want to work on how often I keep in touch. I want to call my parents once a week, and take more effort to initiate conversations with my parents and sister. Also, I want to practice showing my gratitude for them more often, for all they've done to support me.
14. Reading
I was SUCH a bookworm as a child! But now that I'm an adult, I really haven't read for fun in years! I honestly really miss it, which is why I'm promising myself that I'll read for at least 20 minutes every night before bed. Not only will I get more reading in, but I think I'll sleep better too! In 2019, I'm going to finally read the book series that inspired my favorite movie- Mary Poppins.
15. Rehearsals
If you don't know, I was recently cast in a production of Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame stage musical, and I'm in a constant state of auditions right now for upcoming productions! A lot of responsibility is placed on me to learn all of my lines and music before blocking and dance rehearsals begin, so I want to do at least 3 hours of rehearsal and memorization on my own every week.
16. KCACTF
In college theatre, there is an annual festival that happens nationally called the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF, for short). Its a week of shows, classes, auditions, and competitions where collegiate theatre artists can learn from each other, as well as guest speakers who are professionals in the industry. Last year, I was a finalist in the Musical Theatre Scholarship Awards Competition, so I'd like to make it to that same level or better this year. Additionally, I'd like to get callback s for the Next-Step Auditions, which are like a unified audition at the festival for professional companies. Finally, I'd like to attend at least one class that's outside of my skill set or comfort zone this year, and not just classes on things I'm already familiar with.
17. Auditions
2019 is starting off very busy, and a big reason for this is auditions! In the theatre world, January, February, and March involve a TON of auditions, mainly because these are the months when show attendance is down because every one is broke after Christmas. So, my goal is to attend all or as many local/regional auditions as I can (including sending in audition tapes), as well as auditioning for Disney (parks, and Broadway). Above all else, my biggest audition goal is just to have a ton of fun, and make some new friendships and connections at auditions.
18. Mental Health
2018 was not a great mental health year for me. but I learned so much through all the struggles I encountered, and 2019 is going to be the year of being ME. I want to confront emotions as they come, cut ties with toxic people, and surround myself with love. I want to work on taking criticism seriously, but not personally. And I want to believe that the people around me truly do want what's best for me, even if it's not what I want. Finally, I want to forgive those that have hurt me, and forgive myself for the mean things I'v thought of myself in the past.
19. Blog
2018 is the year I had the idea of starting this blog, and I'm so glad I did! This has been an amazing creative outlet for me, and I'm so grateful to all of you in this community who have supported me in 2018. My goal for this year is to post once a week, and to be less judgmental of my posts, and to just have fun with it! 2019 is going to be full of so many great adventures, and I can't wait to share them all with you!!
2019 is going to be AMAZING!!
XO, Katie
"Some Imagination, Huh?!"