5 NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS

New Year's Eve is one of my personal favorite days of the year, and that's because it's the day I set forth my resolutions for the coming year. This year especially, I'm picking five of my top goals for 2017 to document here. I have lots and lots of goals for the new year, but these are my top five favorites that I'd like to share with you. 1) @KatesPositive2017 I've decided to make an Instagram account for 2017 (shameless plug), and it's going to be my way of documenting every day in a positive way. I'll find the good in every day, capture it, and reflect on it. For the past 15 years of my life or so, I've been trying to start a new journal every year on January 1, and as you can guess, I give up by the end of the first month. Something as easy as an Instagram post should be manageable and a fun new way to keep a log of my year to reflect on later. Feel free to follow to see my year unfold! 2) Fitness Routine Before college, I don't think I had ever voluntarily gone to a gym to exercise. I was the girl who hated physical education all through K-12, and quite honestly, I never indulged in physical activity. Having a workout facility near me on campus now, however, has inspired me to try it out, and quite honestly, I love it. This past semester, I went to the gym probably twice a week at most, and it was never consistent, usually just as a stress reliever. For the new year, my plan is to go to the gym two to three times a week after my night classes. I definitely prefer going to work out at night, and with this schedule, if I'm not going out, I'm putting in time to exercise. I have definitely taken advantage of this new plan to buy some new activewear as well. 3) 17 Books Most likely my most ambitious goal for the year, I plan on reading 17 books over the next 365 days. I'm not sure what they are yet, but I do plan on spending more time unwinding with a book rather than Netflix or Hulu. By reading more, I do intend to spend less time mindlessly watching, but rather engaging my mind into something interesting like a good book. To keep consistent with this plan, I'll be documenting the books I read on this blog as well in order to reach my goal. 4) Study Habits One thing I'm very proud of from first semester was how well I did in school. My studying was productive, and I did a good job with maintaining my grades. However, when I get frustrated in a class, I tend to sink back and not put my best effort forward. For classes that come easily to me, there's no problem, but college courses can be challenging and ignoring the problem doesn't help. So one of my goals is to excel in classes I would normally become impatient with. Office hours, resource centers, and extra effort will be put forward for classes that don't come to me as easily in order to keep my grades up. And just think how proud I will be in May! 5) Eating Smarter Let's face it: it's the dorm food. Limited options, repeated choices, and lots and lots of burrito bowls contributed to the fact that I did not eat well first semester. However, one of my goals for second semester is to find better options in the dining hall. While I'm proud of myself for eating breakfast every day, this semester I plan on making better choices when faced with the food in the dorms. As easy as it is to get pizza or pasta every day, I'll try to make smarter choices that make me feel better throughout the day. I also plan on trying new foods in Iowa City and finding some more healthy options when I'm eating out (I shouldn't be eating at Bruegger's *everday* even if I want to) Wishing you a very happy new year and a great start to your 2017! ​​

xo Kate