i didn’t do a mid-year check in post last year since i only had one goal, but i figured 2022 was a good year to resurrect this one. i enjoy taking a moment around the middle of the year to see how i am doing with my goals for the year, so here is how 2022 is looking so far.

get a job. DONE! i am 2.5 weeks into my role as the new york program manager for multiplying good, a national nonprofit i am very excited to have joined. and at the time of this post going live, i am on a work trip to indianapolis!

get out of the house. i feel like i’m doing a good job of this, having explored lots of new neighborhoods and places in my months in new york. with my job being fully remote i know i’m going to need to be more intentional about this as i settle into a routine, but i like my progress thus far.

go on at least 5 weekend road trips to new places. i did a long weekend in boston to see lauren and sam, but otherwise i’ve mostly been in town. i’m realizing i need to prioritize this more, because it’s so easy to stay in the city with all the things that are always happening. jeremy and i are going upstate when he visits in september and i am toying around with a few other ideas, but realistically this is more likely to be 3 weekend road trips. and that’s great.

explore new neighborhoods in new york. i am still figuring out the best way to tackle this one, but i am fairly proud of how much i explored before i started my job. and i have a long list of places i have yet to visit. if you’re interested: april wanderings / may wanderings

begin learning spanish. ha! there’s always one, isn’t there. i started out fairly strong at the beginning of the year, doing my duolingo lessons every day and making pretty decent progress. and then i got distracted by visitors and job interviews and general life, and i fell off. i want to restart this practice and i am also going to look into private lessons now that i have a job, because it is something i would like to make happen.

watch a non-english language movie each month. i missed march but made up for it with two in may and am on track to complete this. so far i have watched films in hindi and norwegian and plan to expand that over the rest of the year.

take at least 3 train trips. this has not yet happened, but i am likely making a day trip to dc in july and will take the train for that. and of course i’ll do a train trip to baltimore at some point in the fall for a hockey game. even if it’s only the two i’ll be happy, but i figure i can probably carve out a third journey at some point.

host at least 4 get togethers. working on this! last week we had a friends dinner when my parents were in town. this weekend i am having an early birthday bagel brunch in central park with my friends, and while alex and marcus are here this summer i’m hoping to host a dinner at my apartment.

i thought i would add in my reading goals so i could check in on those as well.

main focus areas.

of the 35 books i have finished this year, here’s how i am doing with the focus areas i set for myself:

• bipoc authors — 15
• nonfiction — 13
• books translated from other languages — 1
• books set in new york city — 4.5
• lgbtq+ authors and/or books that center lgbtq+ characters — 4
• works by authors with disabilities and/or centering disabled characters — 1
• books set primarily outside the united states — 11

read 4 poetry collections. surprisingly, i have finished 3! i’ve found that i enjoy reading poetry before i go to bed each night, which has helped me work on this goal.

host a book swap or two. i’ve not done this yet, but a book club group i’m in just talked about doing this later in the summer so i think it will happen.

read at least 3 books over 500 pages. i have not yet done this, but i will be starting pachinko soon and have an idea for one other one i’d like to read this year. i might alter this goal to be two books, with three as a stretch goal.

some things are well on track and other goals have altered as i have found my groove in new york. regardless i am really grateful to be exactly where i am.

xx