Reflections on the Past Year

I figured a good way to get started on my goal setting for the next year is to determine what I have accomplished in the past year.

1. Completed my 200 hour certification to teach yoga.
This was a long term goal of mine that I was not expecting to accomplish this year.  I began working at a new yoga studio last summer.  They offer a training at the studio, three or four weekends a month for about three and a half months.  When it came time to apply, I realized that at that moment, I had the time and money to commit, the willingness to do it, and the ability to do it easily as I already worked at the studio and spent a lot of time there.  I realized that the only thing at that time stopping me from doing the training was me.  So, I signed up, didn't get much sleep for a few months, and came out with a different outlook on life.

2. Lived in one house for longer than 9 months.
This may not seem like a real accomplishment, but given that I haven't lived in one place for more than nine months since I was 17, this was definitely a change in my lifestyle.


3. Bought a bicycle.
This was a major change to my lifestyle and has played a large role in my future goal setting.  Prior to the bicycle, I walked most places.  If I didn't have time to walk (distance was not much of a factor) I would metro.  This limited my ability to do things that were not on the same metro line, or within a mile or two.  Upon getting my bike, I began traveling almost exclusively by bike.  I began to see the metro area differently.  I was able to cover more distance and see areas that are not easily public transit accessible.  I have harbored an interest in transportation and regional and urban design since I was very young.  After getting the bike, I began to realize that a personal car free society is really possible (it might take awhile though).  In a future post I will write about my transportation and planning focused goals.


4. Learned (basic) Swedish.
I studied Swedish during the fall semester (2010) and this summer.  I started studying as a step toward accomplishing my goal of living in Northern Europe (topic for goal setting post).


5. Learned (some) Finnish.
I took Finnish lessons this past spring semester, despite not really having the time to fully commit to it.  However, it was fun, I did learn some Finnish, and took a step towards one of my goals of moving to Northern Europe.

6. Vacation on the French Riviera
This vacation came into being very haphazardly one day as my friend and I were half joking about going to Monte Carlo.  A few hours later, we had plane tickets to spend two weeks wandering around Southern Europe, between Barcelona and Cinque Terre.  One of my favorite movies is Alfred Hitchcock's To Catch A Thief so I chose to spend the largest allotment of time in and around Nice.  The glitz of Monaco was surreal; I had never seen a yacht store before, never mind a dozen within a few blocks of each other.  While it seemed very superficial, in that everything was so perfect, it was absolutely stunning and I wish I had been able to spend more time in Monaco itself.  I was shocked at how nice I found Nice considering that I had heard from so many people that it is a gritty industrial town.  The art was great, the beaches gorgeous (I'm not a huge sand beach fan) and the city so laid back, but not lazy.
This vacation also made me realize that I am capable of traveling on my own in places where I do not speak the language (in Spain and Italy) and that I am the type of person who likes to roll with the punches and see where life takes her.