New Year's Goals!

Hey guys! Happy Monday! This is my first Patreon post of 2019! Have you guys set any New Year's Goals/Resolutions?

I didn't intend to, but I started writing a list of things I'd like to accomplish this month and it kind of ended up to be a list of goals for 2019! I thought I'd share them with you guys because I'd love to have your input on them!

1. Stop buying fast fashion. This is the one that started everything else, and to me, this is my most important goal for the year! I caught myself spending too much money on cute new clothes this past year, and okay, granted, most of the new clothes I bought were after my breakup and I was going through a major treat yo' self month (or two), but I kept losing weight or changing my style and since my college town has the worst thrift stores ever, I found myself online shopping a lot. I wasted a lot of money on clothes, and more importantly, bought cheap quality items that were made with unethical labor, so this year, my goal is to completely cut out fast fashion unless I NEED something (such as if all my jeans burn in a fire and I can't find any on Poshmark/Depop/thrifting/Plato's/sustainable clothing brands). I've been much more eco conscious lately, and thinking about recycling and using less plastic if possible, and I'm not perfect at all, but I've slowly begun to minimize all the plastic and new products that I purchase. 

The Lord already tested me a couple days ago with a pair of gorgeous mom jeans that were not sustainable, and I looked everywhere online to see if I could buy them second hand, and no one was reselling them! But I kept a level head at 3 in the morning, and found them at Plato's a couple of days later, so I'm kinda proud of myself. It's so stupid, I know!!

2. Cut bread out of my diet completely. Okay, I gained a lot of weight over this winter break, just because we have so many delicious things at home, and I love baking! I made this incredible turtle cheesecake for my family and friends, and I don't regret it at all, but I think I put on 10 pounds!! Yikes, So I'm back to as keto of a diet as possible, and I know that I'm gonna have some cheat days if I go out to eat with friends, so I'm not gonna be ridiculous and say I want to cut out every carb out of my life. I just don't ever have a need to eat bread, so I'm cutting that out completely this year. I guess that maintaining a keto diet (not ketosis hehe that's impossible for me) goes with this goal, but I'm going to try my best and not beat myself up if I have the occasional chipotle bowl!

3. Put ** in my savings each month! I'm not going to share the amount, but I would like to put a more hefty amount in my savings each month. In general, I want to be more wise about how I spend my money, and to put aside more since I do plan on moving out this next fall and I want to be sure to have an incredible bubble of protection when it comes to rent and food.

4. Support one artist a month in some way! That sounds vague, but I'd like to get more involved with other artists this year! I'm a hermit and also an introvert, so I never ever want to message or talk to mutual artist acquaintances, so I think I need to man up and just do it already. I don't think I'll bother anyone? Oooff you don't understand the anxiety I have about bothering people..

5. Find ethical alternatives to things I usually purchase. When it comes to packaging supplies, I'd like to begin using biodegradable and recycled products mainly, so I'm going to slowly get rid of the stock of supplies I already have and only purchase biodegradable products from now on! 

6. Read three classical works. I'm thinking about Anna Karenina, Wuthering Heights, and Jane Eyre. Three books might sound like so little for some of you, but for me, that's insane! I never read, I would rather draw or hang out with friends or watch a show, but these three novels are some of my favorite stories (well, Anna Karenina not so much, but I love how tragic it is and it's such a classic).

7. Update my Patreon game!! This is where you guys can come in. I know I need to update my reward tiers so that they can be better for you all, so let me know how I can do that!

8. Move out this fall.

I've sort of been struggling with being positive this week; I've had a weird change of events and maybe dealing with a little bit of seasonal affective disorder, so I've been very bummed about things. I'd been dating someone for a month and it kinda fell through, and logically, I'm glad it didn't go further (I'd have been settling and he didn't really appreciate my work), but for some reason, it really bummed me out for a couple of days. I did a lot of contemplating about myself and my character, and realized I let worry and anxiety control me a lot! I did found a lot of verses and quotes talking about worry, and I talked to my mom and best friend about it and kind of got through to why I've been harboring negative feelings about a lot of things. My mom's great at encouraging me to be the best that I can be and to not back down or compromise or settle for anything, so I feel empowered! 

Lastly, I have kind of unfortunate update.. it seems that I'm not going to Japan. :(

I was completing passport forms and communicating with the trip coordinator, and she called me to let me know that due to budget and housing difficulties, the whole trip is cancelled and moved to the fall (and will be much more expensive). I'm really bummed, I was super excited to travel abroad this spring break, but I'll talk to my friends about taking a trip during that time anyway, and my friend said we could probably still go to Japan during the summer and stay at her grandmother's house. I'll talk to them in person when I get back to college this Saturday, but we'll try to figure something out!

All of a sudden, this post became sad and depressing, but I'm pumped honestly! I did a bunch of admin and schoolwork today, and also received so many encouraging comments on my newest YouTube video, so I'm thinking of fun new video topics to talk about (aaaannd I have a couple of prerecorded videos so that I can post during this next semester in the case that I don't get to recording anymore pieces). I'd also love to update my video editing game; I want to have super aesthetic videos that are art themselves, so after this post, I'm gonna go brainstorm for my upcoming YouTube videos.

MOVIES

I watched Good Will Hunting and related so much to the main character. I learned a lot from the movie about opening up and taking risks and being hurt, and ugh I love Robin Williams. He's my favorite :(

MUSIC
Water on the Bridge- Chelsea Cutler

Reasons Not To Die (Demo)- Ryn Weaver

Used To Be- Devon Baldwin

And some Post Malone... I'm so white..