Some Successes, Some Losses: A Goal Check-In + Creating Summer Goals

Progress has its ups and downs. Let’s make some new goals.

I (and my mentor) firmly believe in manifestations. On every bit of spare scrap paper I find myself writing about what I can and will be in the future, and I think that’s how I’ve become so successful at my age. As someone who went a very unorthodox path to get to be where I am today—I am not in a field where I got my degree in this—I think I’m doing very well. I understand that being a creative is a full-time business and that I am the only one rooting for myself 24/7, so I need to hustle and get opportunities.

That’s both a boon and a bane because then I put an insane amount of goals and expectations on myself, which I then begin to beat myself up over when I don’t meet them. I’m slowly coming to realize that it’s okay not to be XYZ thing by the time I’m twenty-two—that is swiftly approaching when I’m writing this—and that I can take my time. That mindset has been truly helpful for me.

Let’s go over old goals and some new ones.

New Year’s Goals Check-In

Career

• I did pick up another freelance position at an international film festival for Caribbean artists. I’ve always been interested in the Caribbean as I’ve been there many times, and I actually wanted to have a minor in Caribbean Studies in college (but the classes were too sparse unfortunately for me to fit any). This seems like a good fit for me so far.

• I got two pay raises! My income has doubled from April to May alone, which is a very good sign for my future.

• I did get into graduate school, although I am going to the only one I got into. I did not get into Johns Hopkins—heck, I didn’t even land an interview there—and I was reject coldly from the University of Iowa. Everyone was absolutely shocked when I did not get into Iowa, but it’s okay. I’ll be heading to Towson University on a scholarship, but I’ll have to work several jobs in order to pay the tuition and graduate debt-free.

• I have not published any poems really this year, but I’m perfectly fine with that. I write a poem almost every night—although I stopped for a short amount of time—so I’m still producing a ton of content, I just haven’t been publishing it. I have been rejected everywhere and I simply don’t care anymore.

• The blog has really expanded! There are many of you subscribed to this blog and I am very thankful for your continued support.

Personal Goals

• I finally got You Need a Budget, so I’m making way towards all my financial goals and dreams.

• I have not been learning Bangla or Turkish in the way that I wanted myself to. I’ve been working so much that I feel too tired, which has led to a lack of language time. I’m someone who really needs structured classes in order to properly learn a language, so I’m really missing out on the time I was on CLS.

• Social media expansion has been working somewhat. Honestly, I hate social media but I force myself to do it anyways. Viewing it as a personal diary has helped with the notion that I need to post more often.

Summer 2022 Goals & Plans

• Get up to 100 new written pieces creatively. I want to write a lot of poems during this time to make up for the ground I’ve lost during the first half of the year.

• Pick up one or two new freelance positions + make $10,000. I just bought a car, so I want to make up for the income I lost buying that car as well as prepare myself for being capable of affording tuition. My end goal is to turn my freelance gigs into a LLC that has a range of clients, so I need to start preparing myself for that future.

• Publish 200 articles at MovieWeb. Fairly self-explanatory right here. I’m cranking out articles right and left, so it’s going well.

• Go outside more. I started a small-scale farm in my backyard, which has been quite the journey in itself, but I want to move my body more because as someone with endometriosis and other various health problems, I’m afraid that if I don’t change I’ll end up in the grave much sooner than intended.

• Don’t buy any books or clothes. I don’t want to hoard anything anymore. I live in a tiny room in our house, so I don’t want to bring even more clutter into it.

• Eat only until 75% full. Americans have a tendency to stuff themselves. I also want to try clean eating, as now I’m getting sick every time I eat classic American food and sweets—that just shows how bad all of this is for you.

• Do more digital detoxes. I live in front of this computer screen because all of my work is on here. I want to be able to log off and just read.

• Read 175 books. That’s right: 175. I’ve already read somewhere in the 110 range, but I want to read so much more and consume all the knowledge in the world.

• Watch 150 movies. I do this a lot already for work, but I want to be able to have my me time.

• Become more self-sufficient and independent. Times are hard here in the US right now, so it’s always better to become more self-sufficient outside of the bougie rich people.

• Start a new venture. I have an itch to start a business, but I don’t know what exactly yet. I want to build up my skills and do something.

• Start journaling and find more pathways toward wellness. I can’t keep grinding forever.

• See five Broadway shows.

• Get my license.

• Increase Twitter and Instagram followers. I don’t care much about the actual clout, but I’m thinking for business reasons. Make people more invested in me so they want to invest in my future financially and via other modes of support, whether it’s opportunities or networking.