Study More: Starting college is extremely stressful in many ways. One thing that I learned from first semester is that I need to learn to study more and get creative on different ways to memorize and learn different terms. With being organized, I have decided to color coordinate my notes to match my flashcards. Each class has three colors. Using more diagrams and pictures in my notes will help me understand the material better. 

Eat healthier: I definitively have taken my high metabolism for granted these past years. Working out on occasion and eating whatever I wanted will soon come to an end. Searching through Pinterest makes wanting to eat healthier easy, but pictures are pictures and recreating pictures is hard to do. Breaking old habits and creating new ones takes time. I know that I can change my diet in a week, but I plan on eating healthier foods such as more fruits and veggies daily. 

Exercise four days a week: Working out can be hard in college, but it can be used to relieve stress. My goal this semester is to work out 3 or 4 days a week. Going to Zumba, yoga, and the gym is something I hope to get into. Not only because it is healthy thing to do, but because I want to become more active and love exercising. Running is not my strength, but I enjoy doing it. As soon as it gets warmer, I hope I can run outside and explore Eau Claire a little more. 

SAVE, SAVE, SAVE: I currently am not the best with managing my money and that needs to change very quickly. Since I don't have a job right now, every dime is valuable and important. With that being said, I need to start getting creative on how to save money and what I really need and what I want. 

Use my planner more:​ I have noticed that when I use my planner more, that my week runs more smoothly. I have been pretty good about keeping my planner updated, but I need to start putting big events such as tests or projects in my weekly view rather than just my monthly view. Color coding my events could help see what I have going on in just a quick glance. In addition to using my planner more, I want to work on my note taking skills. Using different colors and drawing visual representations of ideas can help me improve my test taking and memorization skills. 

Go to bed earlier: Being in college is a weird thing. You wake up at a different time everyday, which means you don't have a consistent sleep schedule. Right now I go to bed around midnight every night, but I want to start going to bed around 10:30/11 so I can get up earlier and get some stuff done before I go to class.  

Forgive: "Forgiveness is not about letting someone off the hook for their actions, but freeing ourselves of negative energies that bind us to them." This year I want to improve on my forgiveness skills. I have recently found myself in a bundle of mixed emotions with certain people and I have learned that they are not going to change, but I have to. Though their actions may have hurt me, I can not expect them to realize that and ask for forgiveness. It is up to me to be the bigger person and move on with my day.

Get rid of negativity: In addition to learning how to forgive, I also want to get rid of the negativity in my life. As much as I want to be friends with as many people as I can, sometimes it is best to let go of some friends who bring more negativity into my life. Stress and negativity, in my mind, work hand in hand. Negativity brings stress and stress increases the negative thoughts. It is never easy to let go of friends, but somethings you need to do what is best for you and for your success.  

Set goals: Since the day we were born, we have set goals big and small. When we were younger, our goals can range from getting 100% on our spelling quiz to getting Dairy Queen after my softball game. Though some of our goals are silly and small, setting and achieving our goals is apart of our daily life. One of my recent goals is to get all A's and B's this semester. I know that if I put my mind to it, I can accomplish it with a little bit of work.  

Travel more: Exploring the world is something I have always wanted to do. Whether it is just to a boarding state or across the globe, I want to experience the world and everything it has to offer. Every state has hidden beauties and secrets that is waiting to be discovered and appreciated. 

Spend more time with family: Going home on the weekends can be very difficult to plan and make happen. Not having a car at college means that the only way I can go home on the weekends is if I can find a ride home. When I do go home, I want to spend more time with my family doing memorable things. Recently, rock climbing has been the new family activity. Maybe we can go on a family vacation and go rock climbing when Ana is older. 

Put down my phone: When you look around now a days, you see a lot of people on their phones and not talking to whoever they are with. It's kind of sad that people are unable to go in public, or anywhere, and not be able to put the phones down and talk. During this next year, I hope to be able to put the phone down and have conversations with the ones I am with. 

Work more: Growing up means getting a real job and making your own money My wake up call came when I had a budget of $100 a month and had to provide for myself. Though I already had my food and living paid for, having only $100 to spend a month was a challenge. My plan this summer is to work my butt off and be able to buy what I want when I want.

Volunteer monthly: When I was in middle school, I was very good at volunteering monthly with my mom, but as she got more busy with work we both slowly stopped going. This years I want to make more of an effort monthly to volunteer around my city. I love working with people and hopefully can get my friends to join me. 

Give rather than receive: "Give. Even when you know you can get nothing back." Growing up, parents tell you to give rather than receive. This quote recently gave me new look on life. During the holiday season, we always get our hopes up about what gifts we are possibly getting. A new camera, clothes, shoes, movies, games, etc. I hope that I can start giving others gifts rather than hoping for my own. The happiness and wide smile that comes across their faces makes it all worth it. 

Help out around the house: My mom is always nagging me about how I need to start doing more around the house. I do the dishes on occasion, but I know that I need to do it more often. I hope that this summer I can help out around the house more without my parents asking me. 

Try something new: Going to college is the perfect time to start trying new things. I wouldn't describe myself as shy, but I find myself being shy when it comes to trying new things and getting involved in things I haven't done before. I think sometimes I get anxiety when it comes to the unknown and the potential of messing up. But I need to get out of that mindset and find new things to become involved with. This year I hope to get more rock climbing, photography, different forms of exercising, and many other activities!