New Year

My New Year Goals – 2019

Abi Leah2 Comments

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New years are great because they gives everyone a chance to start fresh even if things in your life keep right on going. There’s a new mindset and a fresh look on the projects we’ve been working on. And I think that’s great.

1. Take up photography again.

I’ve always loved photography. It’s such an easy way to capture life’s big (or small) moments. While I’ve taken a break from photography, I’ve been saving quite a few ideas on Pinterest and admiring some of my favorite photographers’ works. I hope all of that inspiration-searching pays off in my own work.

2. Make it to a least one (but hopefully more) sporting event.

I’ve never been a fan of playing sports, but I can appreciate those who are. College is great because there are always sporting events happening on campus and most of the time, the tickets are either free or cheap. So this should be a good time to get out there and cheer on my classmates.

3. Go camping with some friends.

Camping is one of those things that I’ve never done but I’ve always wanted to do. Last semester, I gathered up a group of friends to go camping but due to weather and other things, we didn’t get out. Hopefully this year I can be more intentional about making that camping trip happen.

So those are some of my goals for this year! If you’ve been following on my Instagram, you’ll also know that I’ve been striving for sustainability and less waste in my life. I wrote a blog post with more goals specifically for zero waste over here. What are some of your goals for this new year?

signi

4 Things I Learned in My First Weeks of College

Abi Leah2 Comments

Hey everyone! How are you? I’m doing pretty well! I just finished my second week of college and it’s was amazing. I loved every moment of it. I’ve met so many people and had so much fun getting to know my classmates and hall mates. Through all of it, I’ve learned quite a bit about life and relationships. Today, I wanted to share 4 of the major lessons I’ve learned these past two weeks on campus.

1. It’s Okay To Say No

There are so many activities set up for the freshmen during the first couple weeks of school. Sports games, parties, gatherings, and meals were some of the events set up at my school. It was a lot of fun, but it was also overwhelming. There were so many people to see and talk to and so many names to remember. At one point I had to say no to a group contest event, and instead took some time with a few friends to go to the lake for the day. It was so relaxing and a great break from being around so much noise and so many people. That’s okay. Yes, I want to make friends, but I also want to take care of myself.

2. The Syllabus and Textbooks Will Be Your Best Friends

One thing that is very different from high school is the use of syllabuses. In high school, a syllabus was something that the teacher gave you but never used. In college, however, the syllabus is your road map for the year. Lose it, and you’ll be lost. I’ve found that some professors won’t even mention homework at the end of the class because they assume that you are reading and following the syllabus. The same goes for textbooks. Just read everything and make sure you’re on top of it!

3. High School Friendships May Change

I had a great group of friends in high school, and at the end of Senior year, we all agreed to stay in touch and still be friends. Things change, though, and people change too. Not everyone wanted to stay in the group. And that’s okay. Give them space and continue growing the friendships that you have on and off campus.

4. It’s Okay To Push Yourself

For those of you who don’t know, I am an English Literature and Digital Media double major and Honors student working part time. I get asked a lot why I chose to do so many things, especially my first semester Freshman year. The short answer is this: because I know I can. I believe that college is time to grow your interests, to learn about the world and yourself, and to push yourself to be better than you were. For me, that means double majoring. For others, that might mean something else. I could have chosen to wait to decide to work or double major, but I have the time and the mindset now. Why wait? That doesn’t mean that it’s not hard – it is sometimes – but it also doesn’t mean that you can’t push yourself.

Those are the four major lessons I’ve learned so far in college! What are some things you want to know about college? What have you learned so far? Let me know in the comments! I would love to hear from you!

My 2018 Goals

Abi Leah12 Comments

Hello, friends! You have survived the first week of the new year! Yay! How has it been so far? My days have been pretty crazy as my second quarter of school ends this week and we are scrambling to have enough assignments in the grade book.

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It’s that time again to reflect on the past year and make goals for the future. 2018 is going to be a big year for me, as it is the year that I graduate high school and enter the world of college. While I am very excited for this year, I know it’s going to include lots of scary and uncomfortable changes. But that’s what life is full of! So the best thing is to make this year a great year. You with me? Here are my 6 goals to make this year great.

1. Grow in my devotion to God.

Every year I have had a different theme representing who I wanted to be and focus on for the year. Last year, my theme was peace and the year before it was hope. This year, my theme is devotion. As I looked back on 2017, I noticed how my relationship with Him has faltered a bit due to doubt and personal struggles. What I realize now is that I was resisting God because I wanted so desperately to be in control of things in my life. But, I’m not in control, God is. This year, I want to work on growing closer to God and trusting in Him for my future.

2. Keep my family relationship strong.

My family isn’t perfect but they are wonderful and I love them. We are already seeing the stress that senior year brings but I don’t want that to hinder our family relationship. This year, I want to continue to keep our relationship strong, even while I’m at college.

3. Stay connected to my friends.

I have been so blessed to have great friends who are very involved in our community as well as each other. But that also means that we are constantly busy. While we may not be around all of the time, I still want to stay connected to my friends and keep my relationships with them.

4. Finish Senior year strong.

Senioritis is real. I didn’t realize how real it was until I got my first acceptance letter. Although there is a lot of pressure among my senior class to give up and stop caring now that I’ve been accepted to college, I need to continue doing my best work in class and outside of class. To do this I will:

  • Set priorities
  • Stay organized
  • Stay motivated

5. Invest in myself.

I believe that a healthy mind and body leads to healthy relationships and a happier life. This year, I want to really make an effort to invest in myself. This can include getting back into photography as a creative outlet, writing music as a way to de-stress, and learning to say no when I am stressed and in need of rest.

6. Invest in my blog.

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you might have noticed that I took a couple of breaks this year. Part of that was because of my sanity, the other part being health-related. While I don’t know what this year will have in store for me, I want to put in a greater effort to be involved in this lovely blogging community. Specifically, I’d like to:

  • Host a giveaway!
  • Comment on 200 posts through the year.
  • and Host guests for collabs!

So that’s what my 2018 looks like! What are your goals for the New Year? Are there any things that you are really excited for this year?

signi

Looking Back: 2017

Abi Leah5 Comments

Hello, everyone and happy New Year! This year has flown by so quickly! Time really does fly when you’re having fun, or just busy. :)

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2017 has been a crazy year for me. Between all of the travels and my surgery and starting Senior year, I’ve been busy! But I wouldn’t change that business for the world! It makes life interesting. :)

In the beginning of the year, I wanted my theme to be growth. But as life continued, I found that my theme was becoming peace. Peace in my school decisions, peace about the future, and peace about who I am, were all really important for me this year.

Popular Posts

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I posted a list of some things that I Want, some things that I Need, some things to Wear, and some things to Read for my 2017 Christmas Wish List.

Link: here.

 

This year I celebrated 3 years of blogging! I talked a little bit about all of the changes on my blog and how I came to be happy with those changes.

Link: here.

 

This summer I took a trip to Europe with my family to visit my grandparents and cousins. It was so much fun and we took so many pictures.

Link: here.

 

March was a particularly good month for me this year. My family hosted quite a bit of people and we did some traveling too. I also worked on memorizing Bible verses and worked on my photography.

Link: here.

 

 

2017 ended pretty nicely for me too! My sisters and I hosted a group of girls for a New Year’s Eve party. Ending and starting the two years with my friends and family is a blessing and I am so grateful that we had that opportunity.

So, how was your 2017? What were some of your favorite parts/memories? I hope that your New Year is just as great!

signi

January Memories

Abi Leah2 Comments

Hey, everybody! How was your January? It was a great start to a new year with new goals and a new mindset. For me, January went by all too fast.

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I started off January with my friends. We had an amazing time ringing in the New Year and laughing together. On the fourth, I worked on my scrapbooks! I’m so close to being finished with the last one. Then on the seventh, it snowed. It was so much fun even though the snow didn’t stay long.

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Picture Creds: Sis

On the ninth, I received my business cards from Vistaprint. I was so excited and so pleased with how they turned out! And two days later, I received my Vistaprint Promobox. I totally forgot about it so it was an amazing surprise to receive in the mail. :)

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Then my friends and I started a Bible study type thing for us all to memorize Bible verses together. So far we have memorized Matthew 10:28 and Philippians 4:4-8. To help me memorize my Bible verses, I started a journal. On the left page, I write the Bible verse and my initial thoughts. On the right page, I write a “React and Respond” section where I write my thoughts at the end of the week and things that I want to remember about the verses that I studied.

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On the thirteenth, my friend (shout out to A) taught me the basics of video making. Then on the seventeenth, I uploaded my very first Youtube video! (3 Things You Should Know About Me) I am super excited about my Youtube channel. Ya’ll can expect some great things coming soon! Also, I’m hosting a GIVEAWAY! (More about that here.)

My school had to move the piano into the common area for an event and they decided to keep it there for a couple of days. It was wonderful hearing so many people playing songs and everyone connecting over the music.

This month I also participated in a Photo-a-day challenge. It was a lot of fun! Here are some of my favorite pictures from this month.

Other Things I Loved

  • 52 Lists Project book
  • 52 Lists To Happiness book
  • Pinterest “tried it” button
  • VSCO
  • Nothing Bundt Cakes
  • Sherlock Season 4

That’s all! How was your January? What are you looking forward to this February?

signi

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Hello 2017! + New Year Goals

Abi Leah6 Comments

Happy New Year! Can you believe it’s 2017?! It’s gone by way too fast. But then again, I say that every year. You’d think I’d be used to time changing by now.

Okay, so I’m going to start off by saying I don’t like using the word “resolutions”. I feel like they should be more of goals because it doesn’t matter to me whether I meet them or not, as long as there are progress and growth.

With that “mini-rant” out of the way, here are my 2017 New Year Goals. My theme for 2017 is growth so this year I’m making goals that will hopefully help me better myself.

2017goals Continue reading →

3 Things I’d like to do this year

Abi Leah8 Comments

Hey, everyone! So today I thought it might be nice to share some of my New Year Resolutions. I couldn’t share all of them because well, I have quite a few things I would like to accomplish. So instead of explaining all of my goals, I picked three that are especially important for me to conquer this 2016 year.

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1. Learn to cook a couple of meals.

I like helping my mom out in the kitchen and baking is one of my favorite things to do but I haven’t really had much of a chance to explore cookbooks and pick recipes to try. So this year, I really want to pick some recipes from the many many cookbooks in my house to try. And maybe I’ll share a few of my favorites with you all. :)

2. Read 25 books.

Finding time to read fun books that are not required for school can be tough, but it’s a challenge I’m willing to tackle. I didn’t want to pick too big of a number of books to read but I think 25 is a reasonable amount. Of course, I will need to find time to go to the library which for me is fun so I’m not complaining. :)  If you guys have any suggestions on what to read, let me know in the comments and I will check them out!

3. Finish a devotional.

I own many devotionals that I have yet to finish reading. Many times I have just picked bits and pieces from different books but I really want to read right through a devotional. My aunt gave me a devotional last year that I think will be a great one to start working my way through.

So there are my top three things that I want to do this year. What are your top three New Year Resolutions? Let me know in the comments below!

signi

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Happy New Year! – 2016

Abi Leah3 Comments

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Hey, everyone! How was your Christmas break? Mine was wonderful even though we didn’t get to spend Christmas with our extended family. The beach was beautiful and so were the sunsets.

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Can you believe it’s 2016 already! The months just flew by.
I hope this year is a great one for all of you and I hope that your New Year Resolutions are conquered. ;)

Happy New Year!

signi

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New Year: 2015

Abi LeahLeave a comment

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Happy New Year!

So as you might have noticed, my blog has a new look. With the new year, my blog got a new look. It looks great if I do say so myself. :)

New Years are great for remembering the past and looking forward to the future, to reflect on what you learned and make goals for the future. I have a good feeling about this new year: 2015. I feel that this year will have something special in store for all of us. And with that said, I want to challenge all of you to make today better than yesterday but to also not do something you will regret.

I can’t wait to continue this journey with all of you. God bless!

signi

“Love the Lord, all his saints! The Lord preserves the faithful but the proud he pays back in full. Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord.” – Psalm 31:23-24