Today is my birthday. Since it’s so close to the beginning of a new year, every year I find myself reflecting on what I’ve accomplished and what has change in the world and with myself after Christmas and up to January 7th. I don’t typically do resolutions, but I do find myself wanting to purge all the extra junk from my house. I started doing this in 2009, but I finally see an end in sight.
I’m just curious what some people are setting out to do for their own goals in 2010. In the short term, I’m getting ready for another semester at Rutgers teaching creative writing and poetry, a 10-week poetry intensive with the Acentos Foundation at Hostos College in the Bronx, and a workshop on revision for young writers at Urban Word NYC. For my own writing and sanity, I find myself wanting to break down the goals here:
WRITING GOALS
-Complete the 32 Day Writing Challenge that I’ve started doing with inspiration from novelist Carleen Brice. If you want to peek in on some of the cool links or join, visit the facebook group.
-Extend this goal to continue writing daily throughout 2010.
-Finish my second poetry manuscript. It’s about halfway done, so I don’t want to jinx it and go into too much detail.
-Finish the YA novel. If you’re wondering what it might be, I mention it in an interview that I did with Diamond Sharp for GirlSpeak.
-Start working on a nonfiction manuscript that I want to start.
-Apply for several workshops and residencies for Summer and Fall 2010.
-Submit at least 3-4 times/month.
PERSONAL GOALS
-Finish planning my wedding and honeymoon! EEK!
-Continue walking and exercising and do so daily.
-Cook my own meals more often. (You’d be surprised how much better you feel if you do this).
-Expand my financial education. (You can have good credit and save, but what do we do to spend and invest money responsibly and ethically?)
2009 ACCOMPLISHMENTS
On a lighter note, some of the accomplishments in 2009 that got me started with the list above.
What I did in 2009 was a crazy mishmash of activity. It looked like this:
1. I spent the summer reviewing edits and plans for Arc & Hue.
2. I published Arc & Hue in September 2009, which was followed by a schedule of 30 readings in several cities, such as Chicago, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and D.C.
3. Taught two semesters at Rutgers and one class at Middlesex County College
4. I went through my closet with help from my good girlfriend Alexa. (It was like my own “Sex in the City” moment. YAY!)
5. I made progress on several poems that are part of the new manuscript.
6. Focused on feeling better with rest, exercise, better food, and vitamins.
7. Submitted to 15 anthologies and journals. (Much fewer than I usually do.)
I’d like to hope that I can accomplish more in 2010 than I did last year, but also enjoy this year more. Hopefully, you’ll share some goals for 2010 or some of your successes from 2009.
Happy New Year!
Tara
