I spent time...reflecting & resoluting
take a bow 2023, and then move over
think what you may about new year’s resolutions but I personally love when life asks you to take a second and reflect. reflection breeds growth, insights gratitude and shifts perspective - three of the things that continue to propel me forward in this lifetime.
I don’t get super structured with how I choose to reflect though - I tend to take more of a kitchen sink approach to it all. over the last few weeks I have spent my many walks over the brooklyn bridge thinking about the chapters of the year past and the blank slate of the one to come. the result is a generally a brain dump of a note, a pinterest board and a journal entry or two.
whether you set resolutions or not, giving yourself the opportunity to grow whenever you can is an effort worth making. growth it’s hard, I hate it sometimes, but I always have made the choice to push through it and I can tell you one thing - my life hasn’t gotten worse! whether it be at the start of the new year, the end of a bad day or in the middle of a workout class, grow grow grow.
after looking through my ongoing brain-dump of a note, there are some themes that came up. what has resulted is the fabric of what I’m entering the year thinking about…
home & community
get involved - having recently moved back to new york and into a new neighborhood, I want to really get involved in my community in a meaningful way. i’ve landed in a place I intend to stay for a while and think it will be fun and fulfilling to find a charity to get involved in, a local matcha shop to become a regular at and a sweet old neighbor I can wave to in the mornings.
host - game nights, trivia, movie nights, dinner parties. everything & more. excited to have a place to be able to do this in and I hope to capitalize on it often.
comfort - my family just moved out of the home we’ve lived in for the last 9 years (the longest we’ve ever been anywhere) and with that I have realized how much of a comfort having a nearby home brought to me. it had opened up a hole that I now hope to fill with the comfort of my own home. step one, get a couch…
mind & body
routine - can’t say i’ve ever had a real routine before, i’ve always done the things that make me feel good (walk in the morning, workout most days, hot water with lemon when I remember, skincare etc etc) but i’ve taken a loose approach to it all by just allowing myself to do the things as I feel on any given day. with that, i’ve spent the last two months building a routine for myself that is a bit more structured and I have fallen completely in love with it. my body has felt better, my mind has felt clearer and i’ve found myself going to bed excited to have my morning rituals on the horizon. there will always be a level of freedom baked into how I structure my days because it’s just as important to stay adaptable as it is to stay consistent and the sweet spot between the two is where I will sit for a while.
longevity - ever since a watching the documentary series ‘live to 100’, I have loved the idea of being able to live a capable life for as long as I can. in the series they go on to explore some of the blue zones of the world to understand how and why certain communities of people make it to their 10th decade at higher rates than the rest of the world. after a year of experiencing some health issues I didn’t think I would have to deal with until my elder years, I realized how much I want to take care of my body not just for right now but for myself at 50, 65, 80 and beyond.
career & money
work hard - 5 years out of college, 3 jobs and 1 year of studying in paris later and i’ve landed in a job I am over the moon about. it’s a place I always hoped I would land but never quite new how I would get here. the time has come and I cannot wait to work my ass off for it. one of my life mottos is ‘meet the moment’ and I feel like that is exactly what I am channeling with this new opportunity.
dedicate time - to meeting coworkers, to work-related events, to writing this lil thing, to staying curious.
support & subscribe - I have loved being involved in a community of substackers and truly look forward to every newsletter that lands in my inbox. continuing to support & subscribe to all the creators that inspire me to do this.
budget - gotta get real with myself on this one. there are things I want to be able to afford and freedom I want to be able to grant myself as life goes on. money is a big part in making that possible and i’d be remiss to continue to ignore that out of convenience for what I want in the short run. step aside girl math, real math is on its way.
life & adventure
love - always something I am looking forward to. i’ve had love, I have love and i’m excited for the next chapter of love to come through in my life. no rush and no desperation for it, but an excitement for wherever it may be. if I can have a +1 to bring on family trips that isn’t my tragically uninterested best friend that would be a great marker of success on this front. until then, sam, keep packing your bags.
sports - tennis is a sport i’ve always wanted to actually play, it’s a great thing to do on weekends with friends and is very social. catch me practicing at a court near you. plus, it’s just very chic and I can’t say i’m not taking that into consideration.
outdoor adventures - after a year of traveling europe, i’m craving adventure that’s a bit closer to home. a desire to travel to places in the united states I haven’t had the chance to go to before and to revisit some old favorites. namely states like montana and colorado. and places like upstate new york and newport, rhode island.
style
taste - my style has worn many hats over the years and experimentation has always been at the forefront of that. but an overarching theme of my life right now is leaning into the things that are so comfortably me and with that I am in the process of refining my palette. focusing more on the things that hit every time than the ones that look like they might fill some non-existent hole in my wardrobe.
conscious purchasing - some version of this is always on my list. maybe this is the year I actually make it stick. after going through closets of unworn and neglected items of clothing in preparation for this move, I am driven to never have to do that again. plus as you can imagine, a new york city apartment closet is only so big so we’re adhering to a strict(ish) one in, one out policy from now on.
a signature gift - there’s always something to be celebrating and gifts to be exchanged in the process. whether it be a birthday, a housewarming, an engagement or even just surviving the month, I am always searching for little things to give my friends. I had a thought recently about how fun and convenient it would be to develop a ‘signature’ gift to give. something that is unique, useful and doesn’t add to all of our growing piles of clutter. I love a candle and am always happy to give or receive one, but i’m trying to just go a liiittle outside of the box here. I feel like it’s a worthy endeavor.
words
balance
ground
settle
aspire
joy
thanks for reading, live your life, enjoy your year !!!
xx
e