I count myself among the millions of people who don't buy into the New Year's resolutions phenomenon. However, I do think about goals I want to achieve within a new calendar year.
1. Educational
I only have one semester left of my bachelor's degree, so if I can attain my financial goals, I can graduate in May of this year.
I hope to take and get a good score on the GRE so I have my choice of schools to move on to pursue a Master's Degree in Library Science (MLS) starting this fall. My first choice school to pursue the MLS is Kent State University.
In the fall I also hope to be accepted into the Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) in the creative writing program at Cleveland State. The MFA at unique in that it allows to choose from four different Ohio campuses to take courses -- yet be rewarded the MFA from the school you apply to. One of the universities that participate in the MFA program is Kent State. So I will take my MLS and MFA courses on Kent State's campus, but my MFA will be from Cleveland State.
2. Financial
I want to start my final semester of my bachelor's degree with at least $10,000 in scholarships. Not only will this cover my tuition, but it will cover books and materials, fines owed, my Graduation Application fee, bills I'm backed up on, and personal loans I owe.
If I receive the financial help to get through this last semester, I can use my income tax refund to FINALLY get another car.
3. Occupation change
If all the above comes to fruition, in June I will apply to secure a job in a library environment to prepare for my future as a librarian.
4. At home
I want to get another cat-- my baby cat is very lonesome due to the recent death of his brother. His happiness is first and foremost my priority, and I have lots of love to give another cat in addition to him.
5. Vanillerotica literary ezine
I would like to find some volunteers/interns to start putting out issues of my magazine again. As much personal satisfaction as I get from working hard and putting it out on my own if everything I want to achieve above happens, I won't have the time. Plus, I still really want to believe my magazine has a place in this world, and I refuse to give up on that possibility.
6. Intimate education
In high school, I didn't receive proper sex ed. Not that I plan on acting on anything, but knowledge is power, and the more knowledge I have about sex and interpersonal relationships, the more I can make informed decisions. Which is why I want to find a Planned Parenthood to assist me with this education. This is a BIG step for me - not only for finally embracing my bodies' sexual autonomy after years of living with the emotional aftermath of my sexual assaults - but also because I am Pro-Life, so choosing to patronize a place that is Pro-Choice is a bold move for me.
7. LGBTPQ+ activism
As I do every year, I plan to spread awareness about bisexuality through journal clips in the popular Bi Women Newsletter, community groups, and my organization-- the Bisexual Initiative of Greater Cleveland.
8. Writing
Towards the end of last year, I found a publication that publishes what I write. So I want to start putting my stories out there as well as my journalism clips. I also want to finally publish my first poetry book as well as some of my longer short stories in order to prepare everyone for the eventual publication of my short story anthology. I'm going to be a legitimate author soon dammit!
So here's to another year of good health, hard work, and hopefully goals being reached. Happy New Year's everyone!
