Goodbye 2016, welcome 2017!
It’s a new year, with new ambitions and hopes, and now’s probably the time when a lot of people would make their new year’s resolutions. I don’t like the idea of resolutions; instead, I like to have “goals” with no set deadlines (i.e. by the end of the year). So, here are my goals for 2017 for this blog.
1. Churn Out More Recipes
Instead of just writing about food in restaurants, I want to create more recipes on this blog! At home, I cook almost everyday, so I would love to share my own food on the blog.
Two things I’m passionate about are vegan food and food styling. For those who didn’t know, I am a practicing vegan since September 2013. I also love to make food look as delicious at it tastes! So, I would love to share what I know for those who are interested. π
2. Publish More Travel-Related and Photography Posts
Something you should know about me is: I love travelling! I love exploring various countries to learn about the culture and people, and eat their delicious food! As a globe trotter, I love to talk about my experiences when travelling, whether it be tips, things to see, foods to eat or even crazy travel stories.
I’m not sure if you read it, but back in December, I wrote an article about the best things about travelling solo around the world. The post was a bit scandalous with my friends (whoops), but those were just my opinions. For 2017, I want to write more posts like this because they’re so much bfun to write!
3. Start Youtube Videos
With the new year coming up, I really want to start making Youtube videos about food, baking, food styling, food in Calgary and travelling. I’ve been approached by a lot of people about how I make my cakes and cakepops, so I think doing high-quality videos is something I will do this year!
For example, the video below is one I made about my travels in Japan over May 2016. I want to create more videos like this, but about food instead!
4. Post Regularly and Do Some Collaborations!
The past few weeks has seen a bit (or a lot) of inactivity on the blog, and I’m really sorry about this! As 2016 came to a close, I was thinking about how I want my blog to look like, and now I want to transition it to more of a lifestyle blog, rather than just a food blog. My goal is to post weekly so I see more visitors to the site.
For the blog, I also want to start some collaborations with companies, other bloggers (and Instabloggers) and local organizations! As a Calgarian blogger, I want to empower and celebrate our local artists, startups and businesses! Hopefully with Canada 150, I will have a lot of opportunities to collaborate with other bloggers, artists and businesses.
5. Make my Instagram Lit
If you’re not following me on Instagram, you definitely should for those drool-worthy food pics! ;P
This year, I want to grow my Instagram base, and produce better-quality photos. My goal by the end of 2017 is to grow my follower base to (at least) 8k, which may seem ambitious but doable in my opinion. I also want to make my photos more creative and of higher quality, a bit like TaraMilkTea’s and Lichipan’s! Soo…be on the lookout! π
On top of my blog goals, I also have some personal goals that I want to fulfill this year. These goals are really open-ended and have no specific action items.
My personal goals
- Desire Jesus more, and live a life that is pleasing to Him.
- Worry less and lean more on God.
- Serve people in some way (missionary trip, help people locally, etc.).
- Get an engineering job or some other sort of job.
The one thing that identifies me as an individual is my faith in Jesus. I am unashamed and unapologetic of my faith, which is sort of an oddity for much of my generation (millenials). This year, I just want to live a life that desires and depends on God more, instead of my own abilities.
Holiday Depression
For the past few weeks, I’ve been hit with a mild case of depression. I felt lost and was full of despair. I just didn’t know what to do with my life, and found myself worrying every morning. When I woke up, I didn’t want to get out of bed. The arrival of the holiday season didn’t help because I saw many people so jolly, when so many other people in the world were (and are) suffering.
Meeting people was something I dreaded. I rejected going to get-togethers because I asked myself, “how can I celebrate when so many people are suffering?” I didn’t know what I needed to do in my life, and questioned God in everything. It felt like everything was hidden by fog.
After a bit of soul-searching, I realize that my faith simply wasn’t strong enough. God can do amazing things, but I failed to see this in my life and in the world. As the new year starts, I want to be more optimistic, and just trust God with my life and how he wants to lead me. I pray that God will work in me to do amazing things in this world in 2017.
This will be the verse that I want 2017 to reflect. My own plans, weakness and worries are nothing in comparison to God’s.
This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plan, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.
β1 Corinthians 1:25
Hi! I’m a fellow YYC blogger who’s just started π Great content you have here!
[…] go along with this recipe, I made my first Youtube video! Yay! I’m so excited! If you read my 2017 goals, you’d know that starting Youtube videos is one of my goals for the year, and this is a step […]