2017, a Reflection. 2018, a New Start.

     2017 was a year of overcoming obstacles and paving my way to self discovery. In Decemeber 2016 I set a few goals I wished to accomplish in 2017. Here they are... 

  • get fit 
  • get As 
  • book senior portraits
  • have a fun summer  

Get Fit. Well that sort of happened and then sort of unhappened. Throughout the spring and early summer I was in the best shape of my life. I didn't just look healthy, I felt healthy. Somewhere around August that started to fade away. I'm still a bit confused about whether or not this change was due to lack of exercise, food, hormones, or stress but I would guess it's a bit of everything. The past month I've begun to pick myself back up. 

Get As. Yeah no. I used to be an all honors all A student. Last year kicked my butt. Honestly I just didn't commit myself the way I had previous years. 100% my fault. Oh well, you live and you learn.

Book Senior Portraits. Yessssss. This was by far my biggest success of 2017. Not only did I book senior photos but I basically built an entirely new portfolio and fell in-love with photography all over again. I had never really charged for pictures before and was crazy nervous to just dive in but I did research (A LOT OF RESEARCH) and communicated with my peers and other creators and I got (pardon my French) shit done. Success. 

Have a fun summer. I did a lot this summer. I took senior photos, I worked at my other job, I played soccer in SWEDEN, I visited two of my best friends in Nantucket, but did I have fun? If I take each part individually then the answer would be "yes" but as a whole, no, I didn't have a fun summer. I may sound like a spoiled brat for saying that but I don't feel bad. Well yes... I feel bad but I shouldn't. This summer dug up some seriously emotional obstacles that I'm still trying to overcome and in the end I think I spent my summer focusing on the wrong things and the wrong people. Next summer will be different. 

     I don't think any of these goals were complete failures. I did give myself the skills and knowledge to be healthier, my grades in most of my classes improved from my first semester, I booked senior pictures, and I did make great memories with great people over the summer.  Here are some moments worth sharing... 


So maybe 2017 wasn't a complete disaster; good friends, memories, and lessons came from it. 

Here's to 2018, with almost the same goals but hopefully better results.

  • create a healthy lifestyle
  • read more
  • improve my organization 
  • create memorable moments
  • build my photography artistically 
  • become more aware and independent. 

Overall I wish to focus on myself and how I take care of both my mind and body. I want to push past my mental health issues and create my own happiness, as well as continue to capture these moments with my camera. 

what are your goals?