I’m aware, it’s been a pretty long time since my last post. And that’s not okay. I have a bunch of excuses, trust me, but ultimately I know that it’s just not okay. And not even just for you (assuming people are still interested in reading this blog) the reader, it’s not okay for me the writer. I started this blog to give myself a creative outlet and the only person I’m truly letting down by not writing for it is me. So, with that being said, I’m back and super prepared to hold myself to my own promises. In some ways, this post is the start of a new chapter in this blog. I still plan to outline all my travels, but for now I’m staying in one place so my average post is going to have to be a little different. I’m starting a new version of the blog and we’re at the start of a new year, seems like a fitting topic for a new post. I think that when you start new things, you look back to the old to gain perspective on the new and when you do that, you learn a lot about yourself. So that’s what I’m going to do with this post. Look back, learn things about myself, and move on from there 1. Having a goal means you have something to strive towards I’ve discovered that I get a lot more out of working when I have some goal to reach. This is especially true for physical fitness. I worked out a lot while I was abroad and have continued to do so now that I’m back, but I seem to be more motivated when I have an end goal. Right now, most of the motivation is winning. I play a bunch of rec sports (including broomball, which was a new one for me. I promise I’ll write about that soon!) which is super fun and keeps me competitive. But as far as general fitness goes, I need a goal to attain. So I’ve decided that I want to run the Twin Cities Marathon this fall! That way,the pain that is running won’t be for naught. 2. Future plans don’t have to change I have always planned on attending graduate school and, though I may have deviated from my original timeline, I know that drive is definitely still there.. I thought that maybe having an extra year off could affect how I thought about it, but it hasn’t and I really don’t think it will. Don’t ask me exactly what I’ll be applying for or where, but I know I’ll be applying this year with the intention of starting in the fall of 2018. 3. You don’t have to be travelling to document your life The main point behind this: I have taken almost no photographs and barely busted out my camera since I got back, which isn’t great for me. I’ve come to realize that I love being able to look back on all the photos that I have, so now into the future I need to try and take more. And this point goes for the blog as well! My life isn’t any less important to me now that I’m not trekking around the globe, so I should still want to write about it. 4. You’re never as young as you used to be Okay, here me out on this one. I understand that 24 is not old. I get it. But what I mean by this is I can’t just go workout without stretching like I used to. So I’m going to at least stretch before I play sports (starting now, since I definitely played soccer last night without stretching) with the ultimate goal of getting back into yoga and eventually stretching for 10 minutes a day. I don’t know when I’ll accomplish this one because it doesn’t really feel like I have 10 minutes on any day, but I’ll get there eventually. This main point is that I need to pay more attention to my body in all ways, and take ownership of that awareness. 5. Take little breaks to avoid being “burnt out” The next two points are sort of related, but this one is basically saying that saving all my vacation time for one long trip isn’t going to be very productive for my mental health. I feel like I’m the type of person that needs to take mini vacations every once in awhile to break up the monotony of work. And I don’t mean that as a negative towards my job, I’m really loving what I’m doing right now, but having to be in one place for the majority of the week can get mentally exhausting. So if I can break up that cycle occasionally, I’ll be more mentally focused and keep myself happy! 6. Travelling will always be important I’m itching to go somewhere new and exciting. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Twin Cities and I am so, so happy to be back, but I also have this extremely strong desire to explore new places and see new things. It’s always been a part of my life, and have a feeling it always will be. Hence the above point. I’m not saying I need to traverse the world any time soon, but I do need to keep the explorer inside me happy so that the rest of me can be happy too. I think this stems from an internal desire to be connected with the world around me. I realized this after I participated in the Women’s March in Saint Paul a few weekends ago. I in no way bring this up to initiate a political discussion (everyone is free to have their own opinion even if it doesn’t match mine), I just mean to say that I felt connected to so many people, complete strangers, just by showing up to a location and that feeling was more important to me than I realized. That’s what I love about travel; it gives you connections to the places, people and experiences that shape your world. On the travelling note, I learned something else this past Christmas: I can still snowboard! Well, not according to my brother, but he hit a shed while on his board this trip, so I’m not sure that he’s the expert on the topic. For Christmas, I met up with my family in San Diego to head up to Bear Mountain for 5 days of slope time! It was so much fun! It had been 7 years since I last boarded, so it took a solid two days to even sort of be functional, but by the end I felt pretty good. Erin and I had a bunch of laughs down the slopes while we were taking it slow to re-learn too, so at least I didn’t look like an idiot all by myself. Plus, my dad did one better than me by falling off the chairlift (right at the beginning, so there were no serious injuries). Honestly, I think the only one who avoided humiliation on the slopes was my mom. I really missed my family, so it was nice to be all together and I can’t wait til the next time I get to see them all again! That’s it, for now. Although there’s never too much you can learn about yourself :)
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Meet AnyaHi, Hola, Bonjour, Ciao!
I’m Anya Phillips, a data analyst and travel enthusiast who is always on the lookout for the next adventure! Categories
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