New Year, New Goals

2015 has been...a lot of things.

I've had a lot of personal and professional triumphs, quite a few setbacks and frustrations, heartbreak and loss, happiness and love.

I think 2016 will be the same, because no year is all good or all bad, but I want to set some goals for the coming year to keep myself on track and stay focused on having the best year yet!

1. Finish my dissertation and graduate and become Dramber.

This is, by far, my biggest goal this year. I have one more chapter to write, and then the editing process begins, so I'm hoping to finish in August or December.

And yes, anyone who talks to me will have to call me Dramber.

2. Have and maintain an emergency savings fund.

When my car needed a new engine (that, thankfully, was paid for under a warranty claim) I realized that I have basically no savings. This year is the year I get that safety net, however small it is, in place.

3. Blog more regularly.

I love the creative outlet that blogging allows me - it's not academic, and it's not life or career changing in any immediate way, so I don't feel any pressure. It's time to stop letting something I love fall through the cracks.

4. Be better to the people I love.

They don't love me because of what I do for them, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't be good to them.

5. Get rid of closet and house clutter.

I've lived in my house for 6 years. Imagine the amount of stuff I've accumulated. Oh lord.

6. Go somewhere I've never been.

There's talk of a New York City trip in the fall, and I would love to travel a little more locally - I just went to Nashville for the first time this year, and would like to explore around Memphis more.

7. Start "popular history" book.

While I love teaching, I don't know that I want to be a full time professor, at least right now. The culture of academia in America is changing pretty dramatically, schools are no longer safe places, and there isn't enough money to pay good teachers in a lot of cases. 

One of the things I know I want to do, however, is write "popular" history books. I HATE that academics only talk to each other - why can't we write good, well-researched, analytical books that don't have Foucault-level jargon that is totally unnecessary. Good, fun, entertaining, informative history books for relatively well-educated but non-history PhD readers. That's what I want to write. It's time to get started.

8. Take better care of my skin.

For real.

9. Take better care of my feet, while I'm at it.

I have TERRIBLE luck with my feet. Just this month, I've dropped a knife on my foot, sprained my ankle in a pothole, gotten a blister, stubbed my toe so hard I was sure it was broken, Regular pedicures and being less clumsy are on my list for things to try. 

10. Drink more coffee.

I just wanted one thing I know I'll accomplish. :) Plus it's good for your skin, right? Two birds with one stone!