Happpyyy New Year!!! Year 2017 will start very, very soon and I can only wish for more love and peace on earth as 2016 bids goodbye and 2017 signals a new beginning. I hope for better things to come - wishes and dreams, and more amazing adventures ahead.
I already stopped making resolutions because they're not my thing anymore so a few years back, I decided to join the Word of the Year bandwagon. So far I had #Understand2014, #Enjoy2015, and #Explore2016. I wanted my year to focus on my word and true enough, last year was full of explorations, adventures, and things that I never thought I could do.
A few days ago, I thought of what word I want to live by in 2017 and after some mental debate, I decided to go with LEARN. I always say that life is a learning process and that we never stop learning. Sometimes, we don't even notice that we've learned something out of what happened to us. As we know, learning doesn't just happen in the four walls of a classroom. It happens everywhere and in whichever point we are in our lives.
Next year, I want to be more intentional with learning. I don't want it to be a case of forgotten to-do list and what-not. They say that the best investment you can make is "yourself" and I agree. If you want to grow, develop your skills, and be better at something, you have to work on yourself. You have to invest in yourself.
I used to want to learn about everything under the sun but I realized that I can't be a master of something if I learn everything all at once, which is why with #Learn2017, I want to focus more on my current skills and work on them so that eventually I can say that I'm a master of something.
I used to envy those people who seem like they can do everything. Knowing everything does sound awesome but we have to admit that not all people can do everything. Some have it easy. Some have to work harder. Balance of nature. So I have come to settle with the fact that I may not have everything but I can always work on what I have and make myself better.
So here are some of the things I want to learn more about in 2017, along with the courses of action I intend to take.
1. Photography (Landscape & Street)
This comes as no surprise I guess. But with the recent events in my blogging life (such as winning Best Photoblog awards), I feel very motivated to work on my photography skills. I know I'm not an expert (as I always say) and that this blog really wants to inspire photography hobbyists and enthusiasts to keep creating meaningful photos even when they think that they aren't good enough, because that's exactly how I feel.
I want to focus on landscape and street photography, using both my DLSR and mobile phone. Night photography is something that interests me but it's not my priority for now. I want to work on taking photos in daylight and learning more about how to properly utilize the very tricky element of light.
I also have to consider post-processing which is another area of photography. I don't intend to learn everything this year of course, because I know I won't be able to, plus that seems very overwhelming.
How do I?
1. Join a weekly photography challenge (or any challenge that I see fit).
2. Read one topic about photography at least once a week.
3. Take photos daily.
2. Content Creation & Social Media
Since I'm currently working as a content specialist, I plan to capitalize on this. Content creation is very interesting and diverse and this 2016 alone, I've already learned so much! Thanks to my job - I can actually say I also possess a bit of creative thinking. Lol
For this area, I want to focus on video creation and utilizing Facebook for social media marketing. Sounds easy? Uh, nope! Took me an entire day editing a very simple video, ouch! Also, Facebook sounds like a no-brainer but there's actually so much to learn about it especially when you use it to market. We'll see about that.
How do I?
1. Read one topic about Facebook marketing at least once a week (and apply it on my page).
2. Practice creating videos at least once a week.
3. Journaling
This is the last and perhaps the easiest too. I've already been journaling ever since I was in grade school but there were some months that I lost touch with my journals. This 2017, I want to learn to journal more creatively, more freely, and more consistently.
Since most of my life is spent digitally, I want to have a way to escape it and spend time offline. I intend to do that through traditional writing - with a paper journal and a pen (in my case, fine-liners & brush pens). Also, it really is a great way to reconnect with my thoughts and just be.. me.
How do I?
1. Write daily. That's it!
I'm not going to pretend to be a superwoman so I guess 2-3 areas of learning for my personal development are more than enough. As mentioned, I don't intend to learn everything in 2017. I will just work on my own pace and adjust as necessary.
At the end of the year, I want to be able to say that I'm more confident with photography, content creation & social media, plus journaling. So of course, for me to know that I've achieved my goals, I need to have some sort of evaluation but I don't want to pressure myself with that so it will follow as I move along.
I shouldn't forget that I'm a wife and a mom first before anything else and these two roles require another area of learning that has always been in my agenda. So there's that. ;)
Have you thought of your word for 2017? Share below! And to end my last post for 2016, I wish you all a very happy new year, more blessings, happiness, and learnings along the way! Cheers to more adventures! See yah next year! ♥