My 5 Goals for 2017

I don't like New Year's Resolutions. Sure, I like the idea of them, but in practice, they just fall flat (for me at least). However, I love setting goals because goals, unlike resolutions, are tangible. In fact, I remember getting some of the best advice of my life the first year of college. My counselor asked us to compose a list of measurable and thus tangible goals that we wished to accomplish during the school. I loved the idea of writing down measurable goals because it was something that could strive towards accomplishing as opposed to just dreaming of accomplishing. 

Anyway, why all of this talk on goals? Well it's going to be 2017 in a few short days and I came up with the incredibly unique (note the sarcasm) idea of composing a list of my goals. Okay, they're technically New Year's Resolutions, but I enjoy ignoring politically correct phrases on occasion (were there is no offense to be had of course). 

So, here are my 2017 goals: 

1. Travel to Europe and have one experience that puts you out of my comfort zone. We are considering a cabaret show in Paris. I know, not exactly the most unque thing to do, but it's something that does make my traditional upbringing nervous. 
2. Graduate from my master's program and clearly identify what job title I wish to aspire to. I know this sounds odd, but with my degree (Technical and Professional Communication) there are a lot of different roads I can take. In order to avoid confusion and set myself back, I want to make a decision on which road I want to drive down in my Honda CRV (it has great mileage so I should be fine).
3.  Become a better travel photographer. My photography skills are amateur at best, so I would like to practice my photography skills during each of my trips in 2017. My goal is take at least 20-30 photos on each day of travel. 
4. Be more consistent with blogging. I tend to blog whenever I'm on vacation and don't make the time to write when I'm in school or working. In 2017, I want to write a blog post at least 2 times a week. 
5. Read 50 books. I am a voracious reader and usually am able to read 60 books in a year with no trouble. Unfortunately, graduate school has taken up all of my time this year. Although I reached my goal of fourty-five books (I changed it from fifty when I realized that I wouldn't achieve it during finals week), I really want to challenge myself in 2017. 

So there it is, my goals for 2017. What are yours? 

Best Wishes, 

The Pseudo Southerner