Two weeks away from a new year, and it feels like everything is ending. Christmas decorations everywhere, the festive vibe that surrounds us, and the excitement about things coming to an end is already prepping me for 2017.  These are some things that are getting me excited ready for an amazing new year:

I revamped my blog design to the one you’re seeing right now. This is the first theme that I have ever purchased, and I finally settled on this one because of the multiple layout variations (6, to be exact) that this design offers. And knowing myself, I’m quite prone to changing my blog design every now and then. I’m still getting the hang of it, and I’ve realized that most of my images suck (it makes my blog look like a piece of sh*t, to be really honest). At the beginning I tried using the pictures I had taken on my iPhone, but I grew tired of spending so much time editing them that I guiltily switched to using pictures I found online. But because of this, I lack a ‘consistency’ in my aesthetics that I have yet to find, and I hope I can improve my photography skills for 2017.

I am almost done with college applications. This is my second attempt to get into college (long story), and I’m much more certain about my choices this year. I should be able to say good-bye to all college-related stuff in a few days and, man, won’t I be glad about that. Well, at least until the decisions come out in March-April.

I am going back to my homeland next week! It’s been 8 years since I have last been back in Taiwan, and I can’t wait to see my entire family. I have waited long enough. I’m so ready to eat all the food, visit all the amazing bookstores, relish the Taiwanese culture that has been missing from my life, and just enjoy the change of environment. There’s also a possibility that I’ll be traveling up North to Tokyo! Japan is one of the top countries I want to visit in my lifetime, and though I’d be going for just a few days, I want to see and learn as much as I can in that time. We’ll see how that goes.

2017 will be drastically different for me. Besides going back to my country, I’ll also be attending my brother’s graduation in California later in the year (another exciting event!). Mainly, though, 2017 will be the year I pull myself out of the comfort zone of my country. Up to this year, I have learned so much from school and on my own – but most of that learning has taken place in the country I grew up in, which is nice – but it’s time I stepped out of my shell.

I’m planning to go traveling (solo) on my own at any given opportunity (or opportunities). I originally intended to go backpacking, but because that won’t be financially feasible nor put my parents at ease (me? a girl traveling alone? ya crazy?), I am considering traveling via an NGO or organization that allows me to work or volunteer in exchange for living a food. I want to travel, but reduce the costs of doing so as much as possible.

Finally, 2017 will be the year I begin my college career. I have been out of school for a year now, and being unemployed nor enrolled in any school has brought out all the possible fears that I used to dread horribly. My worst case scenario (not getting into college) happened, and I have learned my lesson and so many other things by being out of an arranged system that I can’t say I genuinely feel bad for not following the traditional track. With this experience, I do feel more confident about my choices once I go into college. I’m worried about how I’ll adjust to the academic life again, but in terms of ‘life skills’, I think I can survive better than I did last year!

How will 2017 be different for you?

Misty Prose