Along with the holidays, December also brings the end of a year and the beginnings of a new one. At the beginning of 2017, I made 17 goals that I shared with you all, in hopes it would motivate myself and others to create goals they would stick with. To keep up with them, and remind myself throughout the year of goals I was slacking on; I did “goal check-ups” every 3 months or so. Today, I am sharing my Final Goals Check-Up to get real with you all about the ones I met and the ones I didn’t.

1.Eat healthier: semi-MET! At the beginning of the year I focused on eating less snack food, then I transitioned to vegetarian (which I loved!) for a good 4 months. Once I stopped being vegetarian, I was still eating healthy, but I’ve slowly started adding more snack foods into my daily eats again. I’m going to try to start replacing my bowl of Frootloops with oatmeal again, and start to make small healthy replacements like that.

2. Read 36 Books: MET! With the help of school reading and discovering a few new books, this goal was accomplished.

3. 300 Followers (updated to 1,000 then updated to 1,500): MET! This is one of the goals that is totally due to you all. To think I started out this year with barely 100 followers is insane. Absolutely Olivia has grown so much more than I initially thought it could. I could go on and on about how amazing surpassing this goal (by a lot) feels, but that’s for a later post. 😉

4. Make 1 of my own designs: Ugh, this is one that would’ve been the coolest to meet, but in the end I don’t think I spent enough time working towards this. Maybe next year…

5. Post at least 4x a month: MET! I even upped my posting schedule to twice a week (8 times a month)

6. Exercise for 20-30 minutes a day: semi-MET. I was pretty good at doing this throughout the whole year until the last month or so, but other than that I did better on this goal that I thought I would!

7. Sew/DIY more things: MET! I did this a lot more this year, and have many more clothing DIY’s in mind for the new year.

8. Earn all A’s: MET! Having this goal written for all of you to see definitely motivated me to work hard and meet it. This is probably the one I am most proud of for meeting on this whole list.

9. Learn to Juggle: Not met yet, but I still have a couple weeks to do so 🙂

10. Become more fluent in Spanish: As much as I’m on my phone, you think I would’ve been able to get in at least 10 minutes of Spanish a day, but alas I didn’t. My only excuse for this one is that I’m currently learning French, and don’t want to get the two mixed up.

11. Learn 5 New Hairstyles: MET! I’ve broadened my range of hairstyles to things like: Bubble Braids, topknots, half-up Dutch braids, ring braids, and a braided updo!

12. Journal Every Other Week: MET! I slacked on this one for 3/4 of the year, but finally found a system that works for me. Each day I write down my high, low, God moment, and/or an anecdote from that day. If you want a whole post about how I journal, let me know in the comments!

13. Avoid Procrastination: MET! I’ve gotten so much better at doing homework, writing blog posts, and planning ahead of time. Except for when it comes to cleaning my room…

14. Take an Art Class(es): MET! I’m currently taking photography at school and love it! I’m learning new skills and the coolest techniques that are fun to try in my own time as well.

15. Run 3x a week: Oof. This one was not met in any way, shape, or form. i was very active this year, but running was not the main way I got my exercise. It will be part of next year’s goals though!

16. Draw 1-2 designs a week: This was an ultimate fail, but I’ve realized designing clothes isn’t where it’s at for me.

17. Visit 3 new places: MET! With the help of summer travels, I’ve gone to Cairo, Illinois; St. Louis, Missouri; and Clarksville, Tennessee.

Bonus- 600 Instagram Followers (updated to 900): MET! I have a little over 1,015, and couldn’t be happier. The growth means getting to know more of you guys, amd making some pretty cool blogger friends. If you’re not following my Instgram yet… head on over to @absolutelyolivia! 🙂

Overall, 13 out of my 18 goals were met, which I’m very happy about. I’m super excited to create new goals to push to meet next year. 2018 has been sending good vibes my way, so I can’t see all the great things it brings to my life and Absolutely Olivia! Leave a comment below telling me what goals you all have met this year, and feel free to drop any questions or blog post ideas while you’re down there. Thanks so much for reading, and all the support you have shown me this year!

💜Happy Holidays, Olivia

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