#ThisIs26: Twenty Six Goals At Twenty Six

I  just recently celebrated… or I should say avoided celebrating my 26th birthday. And while most of my friends were baffled by my alleged “mysterious” reasons as to not wanting to bask in the ambiance of 26… I really had none. I was pretty transparent in my explanations. I classify my year with my birthday as the beginning more so than January 1st. I classify August 9th as the mark of a new beginning, a whole new year to get things right or to add to the lists of “What was I thinking?”

Last year I started my 25th year in a strange place. Literally and figuratively. I was in the middle of the ocean with my family, and in the middle of several detrimental losses and life changing gains. I was in an emotional frenzy, but yet and still I celebrated for days on end with the people I loved. I was fooling myself into thinking that life wasn’t still happening. The months to follow came quickly and aggressively. While my teaching year was the best I’ve had, every other aspect in my life was in shambles. I became unsatisfied and overwhelmed with everything. So much so I became a shell of my former self. I stopped wearing my heart on my sleeve and became unreadable and unreachable to the masses.

2014 struck and became the year of the pile up. I dealt with life like I deal wit most things: in silence. It became more difficult voicing “What’s going on?” or “What’s wrong?” so I dove drastically into my work. If its one thing I take pride in and know I don’t fail at is my work.

So now I reach the crossroads in which I must pick a road and leave the other untraveled and unknown. With just about a weeks worth of 26 year old wisdom I’ve decided to take certain things into consideration, put more things under my jurisdiction of control, and leave other aspects up to fate. When I ask my students on the first day of school: Are the outcomes of our lives affected by fate, chance, or choice? I will smile because I know there is no right or wrong answer because I will be living life for the next year using all three!

26 Goals For  Year 26

1. Leave the country at least once                           13. Eat something i’ve never tried before

2. Go sky diving                                                          14. Expand the TNT brand/ build a bigger network

3. Be present & in the moment                                15. Increase my patience with all people

4. Shut off all tech/social media 1x month            16. Teach at least two new books this year

5. Let go of past grudges                                            17. Try a new teaching strategy

6. Apply & Get into the principal academy            18. Pay large amount of principle to Sallie Mae

7. Start mentor/leadership program                       19. Volunteer for substantial causes

8. Be a better friend                                                    20. Be more socially aware

9. Be a better sister/daughter                                   21. Lower my sugar intake

10. Take a road trip                                                     22. Tone up more (abs, abs, abs)

11. Write more consistently/frequently                  23. Exercise 4xs a week/ run 30 miles a mos

12. Leave work… at work                                           24. Run a marathon

                                                  25. Hang out/ Talk to my parents more

                                                  26. Be more than content: Be happy