The new year isn’t even a month old, and I feel as though I’ve already achieved plenty! There are so many things to look forward to this year, and many more goals I hope to achieve. Some of them are personal or secret, but a lot of them apply to this blog – or my writing – so I’d like to share them with you! (I read once that telling others about your goals makes you more likely to achieve them… but I’ll get to that again later.)
First of all, I want to complete a working manuscript of a novel this year. Not a NaNoWriMo project – though NaNoWriMo is so much fun! – but the level of manuscript I’d work on publication with. To me, they’re very different things!
I’d also like to do more volunteer work. Currently, I volunteer as a public relations writer for my high school. I’d like to expand my volunteering to make a bigger impact on the world – maybe by volunteering with the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library or by helping gather donations for Reach Out and Read Toledo. Literacy is something I feel really strongly about, so I hope I can make a difference in literacy and education.
Since I plan to graduate this spring with a bachelor’s degree, I have a couple post-graduation goals I hope to achieve: either get hired at a full-time job, get accepted to graduate school for Publishing, or both. I have several passions, so it can be very difficult for me to choose, but those two goals will remain the same no matter what!
I would like to attend a professional writing conference this year, as well. I think this is one of the only goals I’ve already secured: I have plans to attend the AWP Annual Conference in Chicago this March! I’ll be going with members of the UT Writer’s Guild, so this will be an adventure to remember – you may get to read a guest post or two about the trip written by my traveling companions.
And, last of those goals I’m posting today, I want to learn something big and new this year. I’m leaning towards Japanese – I speak a little Japanese, thanks to two years of college language classes – because one of my friends and I have decided we’ll be multilingual. (She’s got a head start – she’s already fluent in three languages.) If I choose Japanese to be my Big New Thing, I will focus on speaking rather than writing, since my speaking skills are awful compared to my written Japanese. However, I’m also leaning towards either Spanish (which I pronounce fairly well) or Tagalog, which my father speaks.
POLL: Should I pick Japanese, Spanish, or Tagalog as my Big New Thing of 2012?
These are the goals I want to achieve, and I’m hoping you can remind me! Now it’s your turn: what are your goals for 2012? Do you have a Big New Thing you want to learn? Is there any way I can help you learn it? Leave your thoughts in the comments!
Feliza Casano 
I love your goal list and the fact that the wheels are already in motion on so many of them!
Since you’re looking for feedback on languages, my opinion is Tagalog. I am a family historian and amateur genealogist in addition to being an editor and writer and whatever other hats I happen to be wearing at the moment. My grandparents spoke Slovak and German. I remember my grandfather saying grace at Christmas dinner in Slovak…and I wish I’d had the foresight to learn from him because it’s part of who I am.
For me in 2012 – ANYTHING new will be treated as a Big New Thing! 🙂
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I’m pretty excited about that, too – now I’m WAY more likely to actually do them.
I’d love to learn more Tagalog (I do speak some, but poorly and in limited vocabulary)… I used to know the Hail Mary in Tagalog, but I’ve forgotten everything but the first line (Aba ginoong Maria…)
Here’s to lots of Big New Things for both of us!
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Great goals! If you’re in the Chicago area, and like sf/f, you may want to add WisCon to your cons. It’s in Madison, only a couple of hours from Chicago.
As for your poll, Spanish is probably the most “useful” of the three because there are so many places where you’ll encounter it. I’ve got a soft spot for Japanese though, so if I were choosing for myself I’d have a tough decision to make.
Happy New Year!
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Thanks, Kimberly! I’m in Northwest Ohio, so that would be probably 6 hours or so from here, since Chicago is 4 hours away… I’m interested in an SF/F conference in Pennsylvania or in the Columbus area, so we’ll see about that.
See what I mean?!? It’s a really tough decision for me – I’ve taken Spanish AND Japanese classes, so it’s even harder because I know some of both!
And a very Happy New Year to you, too!
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The NWOWF presents a writing workshop each fall on a Saturday. Topics and presenters vary, but the guidelines are “small, sociable, and hands-on.” We deliberately aim for plenty of networking and hands-on writing time….in fact, I need to start planning for 2012! 😉
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The writing conference is a great goal. I attended my first one in Philadelphia last year and got hooked. Networking with other writers is very powerful and inspiring.
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Which conference? I’m considering a graduate school in Philadelphia, so I’d love to know what’s available in the area.
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