Birthday Bucket List

I’ve been 22 for a little over a week now so I think I’m qualified to give my opinions on what it’s really like. I don’t want to bum anyone out, but it’s almost exactly like 21, except on your birthday people are going to keep playing an insanely upbeat Taylor Swift song which seems like it would be annoying, but it’s glorious.

I spent the entire week before my birthday brainstorming a list of 23 things I want to do before I turn 23. I’m not sure why, but getting it done before my 22^nd birthday was a priority. Some of the things on the list are admirable, but most of them are extremely embarrassing, but I’m going to share them anyway.

1.     Leave The Country 

This may seem basic, but I've always wanted to travel, and I feel like this is a practical goal.

2.     Read the ENTIRE Bible

This was something I was supposed to be working on for the year but I slowly drifted away from it. This is definitely one of the ones I'll be mindful of.

3.     Run a half marathon

I am laughing as I type this but we'll see what happens.

4.     Become a yoga novice

I've always wanted to get into yoga and now that it's so popular, I feel like it will be easier to pick it up.

5.     Hit a fitness goal

This one is super vague so it's probably just going to be recurring. So I'll set new goals as I achieve the old ones.

6.     Go see a movie alone

I have some serious anxiety about this, but one of my most trusted friends says that it's a life-changing experience.

7.     Become a Morning Person

My Passion Planner schedule starts at 6:30 so I think my day should as well.

8.     Do a Whole30

This is going to be extremely challenging, but I want to start eating healthier and this force me to try some new things.

9.     Learn Calligraphy

My handwriting is awful and I follow at least 15 Instagrams dedicated to the most beautiful calligraphy and I'm so jealous, so I'm going to try to pick it up. 

10. Learn to Play Tennis (somewhat well)

I've always wanted to get into tennis. This is probably going to be my year of becoming Serena Junior.

11. Start Writing my Novel

This should actually be "Finish Novel" because I started a few years ago. Some of my ideas are extremely dated and I've changed so much I might just scrap it and start over.

12. Learn Wine Appreciation

I'm not trying to become a Sommelier, I just want to be comfortable in the wine isle at Kroger. This one is going to require some trial and error of course, but adults should be able to order a glass of something they enjoy with dinner.

13. Go to a Concert I’ve Always Wanted to go to.

I went to a Beyonce concert this past summer and it was one of the best experiences of my life. I used to be so hesitant of concerts because I thought it was a little ridiculous to spend so much money on a single night of fun, but I definitely want to start investing in memories.

14. Learn to Balance my finances

I am extremely irresponsible with my money at times. Luckily I'm still an emerging adult so it's not a huge deal, but I need to get my life together.

15. Learn to Say “No”

I have the hardest time saying No to things. After reading Shonda Rhimes' book, The Year of Yes, I realized that I have the opposite problem. She felt like saying no limited her from experiencing life, and I get so swamped doing things that I don't want to do, that I don't make time for myself.

16. READ. READ. READ.

Reading is such a simple pleasure and it's definitely one of the best parts of my life. I love getting lost in stories and digesting new information. I wish I could drop all my responsibilities and read books for days on end. 

17. Create a space you love

I've never been completely in love with any of my bedrooms (as a college student, I've moved A LOT). I'm going to spend this year cultivating my tastes and actually deciding on what decor feels true to my personality.

18. Obtain a Professional Wardrobe 

I would definitely say I have a shortage of "dress up" clothes, and with my impending graduation, I need to expand my wardrobe.

19. Save Enough Money to Survive for Six months

Once again, I can be really irresponsible with money, and anything could happen. I definitely need to work on saving a 'nest egg' for emergencies.

20. Take a Road Trip

I know traveling is already on the list, but there's just something different about the memories made traveling in a car with friends.

21. Learn to Drive a Manual Car

This is definitely a practical skill to have, and I'm always impressed when people say they can drive stick. I guess I just want to be impressive too.

22. Finish Spanish Dueling

I've been working on this one for YEARS and for some reason I just CAN'T stick with it, but I'm working on it.

23. Fall in Love

Super embarrassing, but if you know me at all, you're probably surprised this wasn't #1 on the list. I completely understand that my identity is in Christ and I don't need a relationship to define me. But with that being said, I completely adore romance novels and I want to live in my own version of one. 

I think all of these fall somewhere in between practical and mortifying, but I definitely am going to try as hard as I can to achieve them all. I have a hard copy version of this in the back of my Passion Planner, and I will definitely be holding myself accountable. A few may change over time, but come September 20th, 2017, get ready for the coolest 23 year-old on the block. I don't plan on taking this list too seriously, but I highly suggest you all make one as well!

Be Blessed, 

Andie

2016 New Years Resolutions!

 

              It seems as though a lot of people are getting sick of listening to their friends and family talk about what things they hope to change in the New Year.  I love the idea of New Years Resolutions. Though I think changes can be made at any time, I love the idea of looking at a new year like a clean slate. As with every other aspect of life, I tend to go a bit overboard with my resolutions. I’m sure it as a lot to do with my obsession with making lists. Though my list is pretty long, believe it or not, I had even more last year so I'm making some progress. Well without further explanation, here’s my NYR2K16 list!

1.    Read More Books

I love reading so much. In 2016 I hope to continue and actually reach my goal of at least one book every two weeks. I find that this goal is extremely simple over the summer, but once the school year starts, between class, work, studying, and sorority obligations I have no time to get any of my “for fun” reading in.

2.    Post More on the Blog

I’ve toyed with the idea of being a more consistent blogger for some time now. I think the New Year is the perfect for me to set specific goals about content and how often I post. I have so many blogs that I check everyday and I've always thought about spending some time to get my own thoughts and input out there.

3.    Become a Morning Person

I am so jealous of those amazing girls who manage to wake up, work out, make tea, and enjoy their breakfast all before 8AM every day. Personally, that sounds like a nightmare (I’ve always said that the Holy Spirit doesn’t move before 10). I am the worst with getting up early but on days that I manage it, I get SO MUCH WORK DONE. By the end of 2016 I want to be one of these magical fairies getting work done early.

4.    Buy More Makeup

This one probably seems a little weird, but I really want to expand my makeup collection. I have been completely obsessed with makeup since I was a little girl. I received huge makeup kits as Christmas gifts every year from 6 – 16 years old. Doing my makeup and doing makeup for others brings me so much unexplainable joy, so I think expanding my collection is a completely healthy thing to strive toward. J

5.    Become a Yoga Intermediate

Yoga has been something that I’ve always wanted to get more involved with. I find some amazing videos on YouTube and get into them every few weeks, but I want to challenge myself and get better at it. Also, Carly from The College Prepster is a total Yogi now and she is #LifeGoals.

6.    Keep My car/room tidy

My friends and family are constantly teasing me about how messy I let my bedroom and car get sometimes. I feel happier and more at ease in a cleaner environment so another goal for this year is to keep my life a little more tidy.

7.    Use my planner more often

Like most College Sorority girls, I use a Lilly Pulitzer agenda. Even though this past semester has been the busiest one of my life, I used my planner even less than usual. I was constantly forgetting due dates and meetings, even though I constantly carried my $40 planner with me. I have one more semester with this planner and I plan on making it count.

8.    Read the entire Bible

Reading the entire Bible is something I’ve always wanted to do at least once in my life. I decided I could hold myself more accountable if I gave myself a time limit.

9.    Save Money

I have some pretty specific money saving goals. After reflecting on 2015, I realized how frivolous I was with money, I worked approx. 15-25 hours a week and I ended the semester with nothing to show for it. This year I’m going to be more cautious when it comes to every day spending.

10. Make Deans List

With how much I worked this year, and my lack of planning with my agenda, I really allowed my grades to slip. I plan on going to Master’s school after undergrad and I need a more competitive GPA if I plan on getting into a good program.

11. Go to the Library 2x a week

I only went to the library a few times this semester and every time I went I got an incredible amount of work done. I have a hard time focusing in my room because of my personal distractions. There’s something about going to the library, making a list of things you need to do, and not leaving until that list is complete. I plan on working a lot less this semester do I will be able to get more study hours in.

12. Go to the Gym 2x a week (minimum)

This is definitely the most achievable goal on my list. I already go to the gym relatively often, usually 2-3 times per week. However, some weeks when I’m not in the mood of just busy, I will skip the gym all together. Giving myself a minimum amount of times to go per week allows me have a set goal, which will hopefully get me into the gym around 3-5 times per week.

Why I Started My Quiet Time

Last Spring Break, I went on a trip to Panama City Beach, FL with my college church. It was an amazing experience that changed my life forever and I will be going back for my 2016 Spring Break as well. While on the trip, we were given about four hours of free time every day. For the most part, we spent it in the pool and on the resorts' private beach. Every day during this free time, I would see my friends and kids from the other colleges sitting either by the pool, in the dining area, or on the beach with only their bibles, journals, and sometimes some headphones. I had no idea what they were doing, so I just watched them the first few days. One day one of the girls said, "I'm going to have my quiet time on the beach if anybody wants to come."

I didn't go, because I obviously didn't know what they were doing, but I was extremely curious. I asked some of the girls who were on the trip what their quiet time consisted of and I got a few different answers. For the most part, it seemed like they mainly read their bible, listen to some worship songs, and journal their thoughts, what they learned, and things they need to pray over. I had never taken time to just sit and be with God while focusing on the scripture. I also only used my journal to organize the notes I take while at church. I thought it was really cool that so many young people were setting aside time in their day to just hang out with God so a few weeks after the trip, I decided to try it.

I started my quiet time while reading Mark Batterson's, Draw The Circle. It is a 40-Day Prayer Journal that encourages the reader to spend time with God, write down the things they need to pray for, and "circle it in prayer", meaning pray over it repeatedly. I could not recommend this book enough! It was amazing and I've never felt closer to God than I did while reading it.

After finishing the book, I struggled finding inspiration to sit down and have quiet time and I felt myself slipping further and further away from God. I thought getting more involved in my church would help me find the closeness I'd been missing. I started serving whenever I could and I just got getting busier and busier. I thought that I would find fulfillment in my small groups, serving on multiple church teams, volunteering to help with service events, and watching sermons on Youtube. Though all of those things are amazing, they didn't give me the feeling I'd been looking for. I didn't feel any closer to God, I was just tired.

When the semester was over, I went from being too busy to completely bored (So. Much. Netflix.), but I still didn't feel closer to God. While scrolling through Pinterest one day I found random blog post with a list of passages Christian women should read, I liked them all, but some of them were amazing, so I decided to write them down. I immediately went and found another blog post about being a Christian in college, once again I wrote down my thoughts and questions in my journal, then I decided to pray over them. After a while I noticed that about 45 minutes had passed and I felt extremely uplifted. I started a whole Pinterest board for Quiet Time inspiration and started mapping out the verses I would read in the coming days. I didn't even realize I had been doing it every day until flipping through my journal a few weeks later. I felt at peace, like I had finally achieved equilibrium. 

This semester I've been busier than ever before. I don't always have an hour to put towards my quiet time but I've learned that doing it for only 10 minutes is better than not doing it at all. Sometimes I have to squeeze it in between classes, or take the time during my lunch break at work, but I try not to skip it. I occasionally have my quiet time right before bed. I just recommend taking some time out of your day every day to sit and talk to God, read over his scripture, and listen for what he says in return.