2017 Reflections
Hello 2018! Goodbye 2017! As the new year begins, I’d thought I’d take some time to reflect on 2017 on a personal level, share some highlights, and discuss my bookish habits of last year.
Personally, 2017 was an okay year for me. As with every year, it definitely has its ups and downs, but for the most part, the general consensus is that it was so-so. I did learn I had to take a break from watching the news 24/7 as it was getting to me and making me feel depressed. I worked on trying to be aware the current events around the world without letting it completely bog me down. Focusing on the positive, I feel blessed and am excited to experience a new year full of opportunities in 2018.
First off, my 2017 bookish goals! I purged a lot of books from my collection, got back into reading manga all the time, and I’ve been cutting out social media in order to read more. Though the graph doesn’t reflect it (because as always I forget to document what I’ve read on Goodreads), I went above and beyond my goal. This year I set the bar to 200 books! It will be challenge, but I think I can do it!
In 2017 I got to do so many new things and mini adventures, here are some my highlights!
Although I’m not a huge sports fan at all I finally got to see my first football game live! I had the opportunity to see my home team the Detroit Lions play live and it was pretty cool. It was definitely an immersive experience, plus we won the game! I enjoyed being able to see everything up close ad in person (we had great seats). The crowd was amped up which made the atmosphere lively.
I also got to go to my first K-pop concert ever! The company Subkulture Entertainment always puts on amazing shows throughout the US, and though Chicago is close by I could never make it to their concert. This year the Korean band DAY6 came to play in the Detroit area. I was not as familiar with a lot of their songs before the concert, but now I can say I am a fan. I went to the show with my coworker Katie (another huge K-Pop fan) and we had an awesome time. Their vocals are so good live and I loved their audience interaction. I hope to see them live again!
I also got to listen to award-winning author Beverly Jenkins speak in person, plus she autographed my books! Jenkins is an author of historical and contemporary romance novels with a particular focus on 19th century African-American life. She was so down-to-earth and funny as she shared her past experiences of writing, being an author, and her daily life. She was one of the pioneers for her genre of romance so it was really interesting to hear about her thoughts on publishing and writing diverse romance.
I also went to Motor City Comic Con for the first time this year! It was a fun convention, although I wish it wasn’t so crowded otherwise I could have enjoyed more stuff. I saw amazing cosplay, bought a ton of graphic novels, and even ran into old friends. One of the biggest highlights of the event was going to Levar Burton’s panel! I have been a fan of him since his Reading Rainbow days, which had a huge influence on my me as a child. His Q&A was super-laid back and it was fun to hear talk about Star Trek:TNG among other projects he’s working on.
I went to visit my friend Stephanie (Life’s a Cup of Tea) in Chicago during the summer and we had a blast! We went to Chinatown where we had Thai Rolled Ice Cream (delicious!) and did a ton of shopping. I ended up buying tons of K-Pop and face masks. We also went to Andy’s Jazz Club, in the downtown area. This was a real treat for since I love listening to Jazz and it was my first time going to a Jazz Club! The band that played last night was fantastic and I loved the nice atmosphere of the club. I would definitely go here again.
Last, but not least I also did Painting with a Twist for the first time. My cousin, who’s like a sister to me, got married this summer and this was one of activities we did for her bachelorette party. I thought it would be super difficult, but it turned out to be quite easy with the help from the instructor. There was fun music, conversations, and lots of good wine! I would go back again for sure!
As with last year I’ve met so many and made connections with awesome book bloggers and authors. It always makes me so happy to meet and talk with such awesome people in the bookish community. If you have been following my blog since the beginning or more recently, thank you for your readership and support! It means so much to me and I look forward to bringing new content, reviews, giveaways, and more collaborations to the blog in 2018!
Last but not least, a reflections post wouldn’t be complete without some goals that I want to achieve throughout the year:
- Work on time management skills
- Travel more
- Work on eating healthier and exercising more
- Continue to expand my reading horizons
- Focus on having a more positive attitude
- Budget money more carefully
- Practicing more self-care
What are your reflections on 2017? Have you set any goals for 2018? Let me know your thoughts in the comment section below!
It looks like you had a wonderful year Rachel! Wow! 200 books for 2018?! That’s awesome! You have no idea how many you read this year?
I think in 2017 I read about 160. I forgot to tally some of books on Goodreads so it’s not totally accurate.
That’s all pretty awesome. And 200 books?! I hope you reach your goal.
I also saw my first live American football game last year too. I didn’t like it too much though. They stop too many times throughout the game. Not that I was paying much attention because I’m not a sports fan either.
Thanks! I set the bar even higher because I realize I’m not reading as much as I want to lately. I used to read 24/7, and I need to cut down even more for social media. Would you like to do a buddy read in 2018? I know you mentioned it last year. 🙂
Oh yes! 🤣 I totally would. I think we mentioned it for the Indra Das book. It popped in my head when you mentioned buddy-read but any book is cool with me. Lemme know when works for you.
Yay! 😀 January & February are kinda hectic since I have some reads/ARCs to catch up on so maybe late Feb or for March. If that works? Let me know, I’d be open to any book.
Awesome! March should be good. I’ll email you.
Not sure if I just responded or not. My phone is acting weird. But March sounds good to me. I’ll email you.
I got both responses. 🙂 Looking forward to it.
Oh, good! 🙂
Those all sound like great experiences. And great goals for the coming year too! I’m working a little on time management too – have even gone so far as to install a couple of programs on a temporary basis so that I can see if I am actually doing what I intend to do when I am online (or if time runs away on me). I started seriously reducing my screen-time in 2016 and it’s made a huge difference in my leisure time and overall contentment, so I am trying this as a way of tying off the project and then just working to maintain the habits. Plus, it appeals to the geek in me, tracking all the stuff and seeing the stats. *grins*
Good luck to you in 2018! Let me know how those time management programs work out for you, I’ve heard they work pretty well. When I cut down on screen time I found I could get so much stuff done. Maybe I should try one of those programs too!