What Are You Looking Forward to in 2020?

This year – the beginning of this new decade, I have nothing big happening in my life. I set a mini-goal for myself to have an experience of some sort once a month.

That’s it.

I sat at my desk soon after the holidays were over, attempting to reminisce on the year that just passed with my co-worker when we both admitted that we don’t remember much of 2019. The year passed and here we were and we don’t know what happened before.

What We Didn’t Do vs What I Will Do

We both realized that we didn’t stop to smell the roses. Each day was just a means to an end to a weekend that we ended dreading. Every day was the same. From one holiday season to the next, it was all the same until the shopping madness began again.

To our horror, it seemed like we only then realized how many years had passed much in the same way. Most days I kept trying to push things until tomorrow and tomorrow became never. Some days, I was looking forward only to the Saturday of that weekend and commiserate on how the weekend was so short.

I spent most days on the couch, watching series and movies and youtube videos, static and unmoving except to have meals that I do not recall.

This year, I’m determined not to let it pass by in a haze. When I look back on New Year’s Eve 2020 (2021? What’s the proper way to address NYE?), I want someone to be able to say any month and I would be able to immediately conjure up an image that made that month extra wonderful.

Does that mean I’m planning something huge each month?

No, just something meaningful to me.

I started a list on my bullet journal of experiences I even vaguely desired, in no particular order. I didn’t want an itinerary, but I wanted options on hand. As the month of February looms around the corner, I will have options ready so I can schedule it somewhere in between the life that happens.

For January, in lieu of going to the Temple for Chinese New Year (#coronavirus being a concern), we decide to opt-out of densely populated areas. I was only slightly disappointed as I was lil bits freaking out over the idea. But I was also quite excited to attend my first CNY temple celebration. It looked so cute.

Instead, we packed up all four dogs and drove out to Santa Barbara. There was this Instagrammable spot that I’d been wanting to see for a year. It’s called the Santa Barbara Chromatic Gate. We took a family photo and that’s my first Instagram post of the year.

Check out the Annual Santa Barbara Kite Festival!

Next month, possibly the Gentle Barn – which is not a new experience to me, but one that I have only been to once and haven’t visited since. I had a great time there and got to meet so many animals. It was also a great place to reignite my veganism (or at minimum, my pescetarian life). I’m not perfect and I’m Filipino. Meat is a large part of my life, but I’m not at all against not having it again. Sometimes, I need a reminder and I love being reminded not to eat meat.

Not to mention that I have a trip to Japan that I’ve been failing to plan for years and another cruise lined up later this year. A possible trip to Budapest and Italy.

It’s not just one thing, but the idea of how many things a life can experience. Those are the things that I’m looking forward to this year. From ice cream by the shores of Malibu looking out over the ocean to seeing new countries… I look forward to all the possibilities this year.

This post is in participation of the 7 days, 7 posts challenge via Daysixyfive.com – an awesome personal blog that I was lucky to stumble across while browsing wordpress reader discover.