2018 New Things: An Evaluation (and what I want to do moving forward)

Last year – or one year and 17 days ago, to be precise – I published a post in which I announced that I will try to do 10 new things in 2018. And the result… deeply astounded me.

Out of the 10 new things I set myself up to do last year, I was only able to do one.

WOW, KATE.

But because I kinda want to make up to (deeply disappointed) January 2018 Kate, I will look further into each New Thing and torture myself in embarrassment at the same time.

This is going to be fun, y’all.

1. Finish a horror movie without running away. I didn’t even watch any thriller last year, wow. But I guess it was to be expected since I was extremely busy for my last year in uni.

2. Make no-bake cheesecake. In my defense! I was going to do this over the holidays. But as I was spending Christmas and New Year’s in my grandparents’ house and all of the people living there either have diabetes or high cholesterol, I decided to just do it when I get back to Cebu.

3. Enroll in an art class. This is the One New Thing that I got to try out last year. So I signed up for one of Craftsy’s art courses because they had a promo back then. The course I signed up to is Kateri Ewing’s Startup Library: Painting with Watercolors. It was ah-mazing. I love the teacher and it tackled watercolour basics which really helped me understand watercolour better.

4. Make a popsicle house. I can’t believe I forgot I had this as a New Thing! And my brother had a project where he had to build one, hng.

5. Go to the gym. I don’t wanna talk about it.

6. Participate in an open mic. I remember I had plans on doing this last April at a popular tea house in my hometown, when I went home for a long break. But I learned that they no longer have an open mic there which was sad. I also didn’t know any other place that holds an open mic. So there you go.

7. Pierce ears. Omg, I was going to do this! But again, I had no time. Also, I was supposed to do it with my best friend but I only went home twice last year. Again, sad.

8. Eat sushi. Again not much free time = no time to go eat out. I did try out eating Korean barbecue and kimbap for the first time last year. So that sort of makes up with trying out new food, yes? Yes. And for a picky eater, I’d say that’s a win.

9. Listen to an album from a genre I don’t usually listen to. Um… I don’t think it counts because it was only one song but I listened to KDA’s Popstars.

10. No chicken or pork for a week. This is the one that I was disappointed at myself the most, to be honest.

All that said, it was quite disappointing for my first ever New Things year. For 2019, I will be tweaking things a bit and just try out five. Also, I’m going to add in a monthly assessment section on my Side Notes every month for this.

Five New Things I’m Going to Try in 2019

1. Make no-bake cheesecake

I am adamant in doing this, okay??? My family think I can’t make food outside instant stuff and frying eggs and cooking rice. I’ll show it to them. Also I just think it’d be nice to finally be able to try making something no-bake. I’ve seen them on Pinterest and they just look delicious and seem easy to do.

2. No chicken or pork for a week

As a notoriously known meat-eater, this is another thing my family don’t think I can accomplish. They don’t believe I can live with just fish and veggies. But I want to prove to them and myself that I can do this. This one’s going to be hard, though. So I’ll probably create a meal-plan for this specific week.

3. Attend a yoga class four times

I honestly have no idea how I’m going to do this but I want to try. I’ll have to research on yoga classes near me that I can attend to.

4. Attend a live watercolour workshop

I tried enrolling in an online art course last year. This time, I want to see if I get out of my introverted shell more and interact with people with the same interest. It’ll be fun too!

5. Post five video on Youtube

I’m still not sure if I want to appear on the videos or do a voice over or… just make videos but I haven’t dipped my toes on creating videos for fun and not for a school project. So this is going to be fun and anxious-filled.

Other than these five New Things, I also have three Big Goals I hope to achieve this year:

  • Have a collab with a huge brand on my blog
  • Save up for the CMA Board Exam (which I hope to take either this year or next)
  • Write a 100-page book. (I have no idea what it will be right now, but I just want to write one hehe)

I WANNA HEAR FROM YOU!

Did you achieve your goals last year? What are your goals for 2019? Share them below!

xx Kate

Comments

Vinny says:

Good luck with everything, Kate! I’ve been also thinking about reducing my meat consumption but it’s sooo hard, especially in my family culture. I’ve cut down red meat but I just can’t give up chickens!

Thank you Vinny! I’m the opposite, I think I can give up chicken just fine but red meats hnggg, will be super hard haha!

Sarah says:

I really liked reading this post, I think it’s because I’m nosey and like knowing people’s goals lol. I’d find giving up chicken for a week so difficult, or meat in general for that matter! I hope you manage to accomplish everything

I’m exactly the same! I love reading other people’s goals because it’s just super interesting what they find important to achieve at a certain time in their life Oh yeah, I’m definitely going to prepare for that particular week. Thank you so much, Sarah!

Lee Bowden says:

If you Dared me and said you’d give me $100 to not eat meat for a week I MIGHT CONSIDER it… consider it. Not do it, but maybe possibly could do it. All the others, no money to do, I’d do it.

Take away my pig and cow for a week. Idk who id be.

GOOD LUCK THIS YEAR KATE <3

PS I missed out on your giveaway win by now, but know that it was because I realized that one thing I really need… is a portrait photo of myself that's not a selfie!

This is something I will have to do this year. Then maybe… I'll ask you to consider making it art like you do.

Good luck on your 365 art challenge too!

Aha! Yeah, I’m definitely gonna prepare for that week myself 😀 Thank you so much Lee!

Leave a Reply to Lee Bowden Cancel reply


This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.