The Soundtrack to 34: Goals And Word of the Year

Happy Belated Birthday to me! First, I wanted to say that I turned 34 on April 6. My personal New Year has been going well so far. I’ve been gaming with my friends, watching my favorite shows and movies, and discovering new TV shows and music artists. I’ve also been discovering new music, as I love doing, and slowly but surely getting back into writing in every aspect, in full swing, along with relaxing. If you’ve been reading my blog since last year, you know that instead of making my goals and sharing my word of the year, I’ve decided to make my birthday my new year. With that being said, enjoy the soundtrack to 34, featuring my goals and word of the year for 34.

Interlude: Word of the year

I started choosing a word of the year in 2021. I enjoyed the idea of having a theme for what I wanted my year to be like. The first word I’ve ever chosen was shine. I chose shine because I love stars and always felt like I wanted to shine as bright as I possibly could. In 2022, instead of settling on one word alone, I chose a group of words: “create,” “creativity,” and “creative.” It didn’t feel right choosing just one because they all felt right.

I chose “consistency” as my word of the year for 2023. It felt fitting, as I wanted to start trying to be consistent with everything. Did I succeed? Probably not, but it’s okay. Last year, I switched things up by starting my new year on my birthday. Dream became the word of the year. I dreamed big throughout the year, and I continue to dream big.

This all brings me to my word for my 34th year. The word I chose for the year is thrive. I almost chose the word flourish instead. However, I changed my mind. I changed my mind because the quotes under flourish weren’t giving me what I wanted. I wanted a word that had quotes I would love posting. Instead, I chose another word I had been thinking of, which has the same vibe as flourish. This year, I want to thrive in every aspect of my life. That applies to my personal life, my blog, my friendships, my creativity, and the list goes on.

“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.”

Maya Angelou

Speaking of thriving, that brings me to talking about my goals. I have several things I would like to accomplish before my next birthday. When I said I want to thrive this year, I meant that in more ways than one. Below, you will find a list of various goals, including personal, blogging, music journalism, street team, content creation, and miscellaneous.

Track 1: Personal

• Read at least 10 books
• Buy a new planner and use it
• Continue learning ASL and other languages I’ve been learning
• Learn/start a new hobby
• Meditate or get into yoga (I slipped on this last year, but this year I’m going to try)
• Celebrate my small wins

Track 2: Blogging

• Post at least 1-2 times a week
• Start writing reviews on my blog (this is something that’s up in the air)
• Use my blogging content calendar regularly
• Collaborate with at least one other blogger
• Promote my blog and/or blog post three times a week
• Finally, create a blog posting schedule

Track 3: Music Journalism x Street Team

Last year, one of the many goals was to pitch to a few magazines. While looking into magazines to pitch to, I stumbled across a music magazine looking for writing contributors. One thing led to another, and I ended up joining the writing team. That turned into me also applying to be part of a music street team and a few other magazines. While I could go into more detail about it, that’s something I will touch on more in a future blog post. It felt more than necessary to make this a section of its own.

• Write at least two music reviews a month
• Keep my portfolio updated every other week
• Set monthly goals when it comes to writing articles
• Create a dream interview wishlist
• Create a pitch tracker/planner to keep track of everything I’ve pitched/want to pitch
• Collaborate with another music writer

Track 4: Content Creator

• Post consistently across my social media accounts
• Create a digital product freebie
• Declutter my YouTube account (possibly to get back into it, but maybe not)
• Start streaming on Twitch (I’ve been wanting to do it for quite some time now)
• Promote my blog/articles I’ve written more often
• Grow my audience on my social media profiles

Track 5: Misc

• Go to the movies alone (I didn’t get to do it when I was 33, so hopefully it can happen while I’m 34!)
• Take myself out on a solo date (same as above)
• Buy a skateboard and try to relearn how to skateboard (I still want to make this happen)
• Relearn how to sew and craft at least one project (first, I need to buy a sewing kit)
• Learn more about astrology and enneagrams
• Write more songs and poetry. Possibly get into writing stories. (I miss writing fanfiction)

Outro

That’s all for my goals in my 34th year around the sun. This year, I wanted to keep it simple and concise, rather than having a lengthy list of goals. I also created a mini playlist to accompany it. Feel free to check it out, and also feel free to check out my Instagram and other blog posts.