Today, is the first day of the year and in this post, I want to share my “2017: New Year’s Resolutions” with all of you. I hope everyone has been able to enjoy Christmas and the holidays in general with family and loved-ones. These things are not real resolutions, however, these are the things I want to work on this year. Please stay tuned, because I have some super exciting news!!
reading
Read more books. When I was young, I used to read so much. I 
would go to the library a few times a month and get the max. amount of books and read them all. I remember during summer, you were allowed to barrow the double amount of books and it still was not enough. Therefore, I would like to start reading more in 2017. I have a lot of e-books on my phone that are really interesting, however, I have not finished. Besides e-books, I also have normal books that I really want to read. I have not yet decided which book will be my first, however, I believe that I want to start with a book from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Other than that, I am really excited to read Ijeoma Umebinyuo’s Questions for Ada and Rupi Kaur’s Milk & Honey.
writing
Write more. One of my guilty pleasures is to write. I used to do creative writing when I was younger and always used to make creative writing assignments for my Dutch and English classes. I even remember when I was much younger, around 6 or 7, the whole class had to write a story with Christmas as a theme, and the best story would be chosen to be the story for the Christmas play. My story actually won, and I used to be so proud of that. However, somehow, I traded creative writing in for writing in a diary and that never really changed. Therefore, I would like to write more. Mostly, because I believe in creating a narrative by expressing and voicing your own opinions and views, instead of people having their own unimportant assumptions about you.
photography
Take more pictures. Photography is something that I love very much. I have had the luck of having the majority of my youth captured through both photography and on video. I think that photographs can tell different stories, and it is up to the beholder what he or she sees in a photograph. Other than that, I truly believe that photography can be a way to express yourself, or it can help you creatively. Therefore, I will share my pictures on my photography Instagram and hashtag SnTwistedPhoto.
networking
Enlarge my network. I find it really important to network and to be in continuous contact with people that are either professionals, students, entrepreneurs or whatever it is that you are and what you are focused on. By going to events that are in your line of work, your field of study, or just your interests, you will meet people with whom you have something in common. Most of the time, there are plenty people that are interested in doing what you want to do, or they are actually doing it. The point is for you to try and learn and share with others in order to move forward. Of course, you can do it alone, but sometimes you just need a little inspiration or just a simple push into the right direction. Remember that everyone has their own success story, everyone can teach you something you do not know. Just be open to advice, and do not be afraid to ask for help. I hope to attend quite some events in 2017.
traveling
Travel more. I think the whole world would like to travel more. And I will try my best to travel more, farther and longer. First of all, I will start 
2017 by going to Asia. Yes, me! I am going to visit a good friend of mine who has been studying Chinese in Chongqing since 2015 and we have decided to travel from China to Laos and Thailand. I’m very excited about this, because I get to see another part of the world outside of Europe and Senegal. I will be gone for about a month. We have already been arranging hotels, bus trips and flights. Other than that, we have been sharing beautiful pictures of beautiful places that we both want to see. So, we are both super exited about this trip and I promise you all that I will share pictures of this whole trip.
what about work?
You may ask, why getting a job is not on my list.. The answer is quite simple, because I 
have decided that having a job is not the most important new year resolution I have. I believe that there is always a job out there waiting for someone to take. Whether that is me, is another question. Some things I put on the list, will not always necessarily be available for me to do. My main point is to do things that are more out of my comfort zone, explore and maybe I will roll into an amazing job. In addition, the first thing people that have graduated are expected to do is find a job. And this list is my resistance against it. You should know that I am an Aquarius and I love to rebel for the sake of it. Even if I would find a job, I would expect it to be something different than expected or totally not related to whatever it is I studied, (I really do not remember what I studied lol). So, I am curious about what 2017 will bring me.
New Year’s Resolutions? or “Resolutions”? Anyone? Please share in the comments below!
Other than that, I want to wish EVERYONE an outstanding beginning of the year! Remember: nothing will change if you do not change 🙂 Therefore, if you want different output, you need to change the input! At least, I know it will be an interesting and exciting beginning of the year for me! I cannot wait to go to Asia!
Love & kisses
Khady