New Year, New Vision

Vision boards are trending and they can actually help to keep you focused this year.

Raise your hand if you’ve attended a vision board party within the last month. I wouldn’t be surprised if most of you reading this have either attended one yourself or lived through one of your friends/ followers documenting their event on your timeline. With that being said, there is no doubt that vision boards have gained in recent popularity. (Maybe they’ve always been popular, but it definitely seems like they have been hyped up in 2018. I mean, who knew so many people got that excited by vision boards?) I’ve seen parties, tutorials, and numerous Instagram and Twitter posts all with people showing off their boards or talking about how bad they need to make one. But don’t get me wrong, I love a good vision board. I even made my own — and its pretty impressive if I do say so myself. In fact, I think that they can truly help you to envision and focus on the successes you want to achieve in any given year.

So, this year I decided to ring in the new year with a new vision. I’ve always kind of prided myself on being goal focused or goal driven, but every now and then I allow laziness to seep in and get me off track. It’s not that I don’t have goals or that I don’t have the means to go after my goals but more that I sometimes find myself becoming complacent. You know, when things are going well, or you’re in the safety of doing what you have always done, sometimes it doesn’t seem necessary to take risks and go after what you really want. But, this year I made the decision to finally switch things up. And it’s all documented on my vision board. (I’ve honestly been trying to make this vision board since this past summer… so the fact that it’s finally finished and I have photographic proof is truly an accomplishment!)

What I have learned in this process is that vision boards can actually be a lot of work. From gathering all of the photos, quotes, stickers, and designs that I wanted to use to actually putting it together in a way that not only inspires me, but is actually cute, my vision board ended up taking me three days to complete. (Yeah, I know, three days is a lot.) I didn’t spend all of my waking hours working on it, but dedicating three to five hours over three days was necessary to get the results I wanted. Thankfully, I had my best friend, who lent her creative eye and knack for crafts, to help get me through. And her vision board ended up coming out pretty bomb too! But the real reason why I pushed through and created something worth hanging in my room as a daily reminder is that this year I want to be focused. I don’t want to let laziness or anything else get in the way of what God has planned for me. And that is what my vision board symbolizes.

I chose to break my board down into three separate sections — personal goals, spiritual goals, and career goals. Each section speaks to a different part of who I am and who I want to become. For my personal goals, I chose to include photos of the different places I want to travel, reminders to practice kindness and help others, a new car (because I have been sharing with my baby brother for the last year), and photos to remind me of my health and fitness goals. And I do plan to finally take a few kickboxing classes this year. (Laila Ali may have some competition in 2019.)

My spiritual goals are more symbolic. I used a combination of bible verses that really align with how I want to live my life in 2019. My pastor says that 2019 is the year of fearless faith and I am claiming that. I also included the logo for a ministry I want to join this year just to help me continue to strengthen my faith and fellowship with other women who are seeking the same thing. This is something that is extremely important to me and I am planning to make it more of a priority in my life this year.

My final section is dedicated to my career goals. In 2018, I graduated from undergrad at Syracuse University with a degree in Magazine Journalism and English and Textual Studies. I was blessed to have an internship at National Public Radio from the week after I graduated until about a week before Christmas. The things I learned in school and through my internships helped to shape who I want to be as a journalist. Cue my 2019 career goals. In my career, I truly see myself continuing to build my brand and this blog as well as expanding my skills into podcasting and possibly videography and editing. I also want to be able to work for one of my dream publications like Teen Vogue or Oprah Magazine.

I just really love the way that vision boards are able to help you make things that may seem far off or far-fetched seem more tangible. I’m planning to use mine to give me the confidence and comfort to go after what other people may say is impossible. And I know that God will be right there with me every step of the way. I hope that you too will take this year to pursue a goal that your friends, family, and maybe even you thought was impossible. The sky is the limit. (Or maybe it is more fitting to say there really are no limits.)