Dear 2014

Dear 2014,


You will be my bitch.

I learnt a lot in 2013, but in the end, 2013 kind of made me it's bitch. I'm not okay with this fact, and so, this year, I hope to be able to apply the lessons I learned in 2013 to 2014. For those of you who don't know me, I stink at applying theory. As in epically, royally stink at it. 

In math class, we would have these long answer word problems where you'd have to apply this formula or that to the question. It made about as much sense as a purple rhinoceros. None. I was in a psych class last year and the final was all application. It was a nightmare. Same goes for English classes. They give you themes and ideas you're supposed to apply to the novel and then relate it back to some greater life lesson (at least in high school we had to, university is all complicated in that you might as well forget what you learnt in high school).

I guess my brain just isn't wired the same way since any time I'm asked to apply theory to a situation, the most obvious way of application always escapes me and I embark on this weird and strange roundabout way of getting to the same point, but never quite reaching it. If that makes any sense....

The reason for this sad little story/goal/rant thing is because...this year...I'm turning twenty!!! I'm crying a little bit inside each time I think about it, and it's times like these that I'm glad I was born in December. It's like postponing the inevitable. Procrastinating my birthday. It's perfect. It's kind of sad. 

Among other menial goals for this year, such as blog more, eat more healthy, do nothing less, etc., I have a few big goals I want to accomplish via mini goals. I'm all for instant gratification. I hate waiting for weeks on end to see the fruits of my trials. The mini goals to get to the big goals is a tactic I picked up from an acquaintance of mine during my 2013 summer hostessing days. He had his shit together. I want my shit together too, damn it.

I don't know much about how other 20-ish-year-olds operate, but in all honesty, left to my own devices, I'm a hot mess. I make Trisha Paytas look like she's frigging Kate Middleton with how much of a walking disaster I am. Further proof of this is walking towards the "DANGER OPEN EXCAVATION" sign while trying to find the entrance to Winners with my aunt. 

2013 has also made me a believer in Karma. This belief is what moves me to apologize to any and all peoples I have hurt, trash talked, bitched, and put down in the past year. I'm not perfect, nobody is, everybody talks about somebody, but I feel like my lack of filter makes what I say about people especially harsh. So, I'm sorry.

I kid, I kid! Please don't throw a stiletto at me.... 

I take pride in knowing that at least I can admit all of my bad qualities and habits shamelessly, which kind of makes me a good person, right? No? Okay. I feel like we all say, "this is the year I will be a better me!" But seldom does it actually happen. 2013 taught me that I can be very determined when I want to be and can accomplish basically anything under a severe time crunch. Time is always a good motivator for me. For instance, I had a small list of things I wanted to accomplish before I turned 19, and lo, I did it! So now, I have a small list of things I want to accomplish before I hit 20. Two decades of surviving, the least I can do is contribute and pretend like I'm a responsible, functioning member of society. That list is for my brain alone to know, but with any luck, time is with me and so is karma. Here's an example of my big goal/little goal plan:

BIG Goal (BG): 

Get into New York Fashion Week

Little Goals (LG): 

-Blog more = popularity spike = getting noticed (getting noticed is BIG, guys)

-Follow fashion things more, i.e. Red Carpet specials for awards shows, fashion mags, etc. 

-Lots of shameless self promotion on the social media things, for example, follow me! Twitter: @aly_bean Instagram: @aly_bean1

-Apply for a press pass to NYFW, failing that, where there's a will there's a way. 

-Learn more about what it means to be a PR, seriously, don't ask me job requirements, what I need, or if I'm good at any of the stuff I ought to be good at to be a PR. I'm an expert and dealing with damage control, though, which brings me to me next goal...

-Become an expert damage control fixer, I deal with it, I just rarely fix it. In a firm believer in everything will work out in the end. Maybe not the best approach for PR?

If I'm not good at anything else, the one thing that I can say with the utmost certainty is I work fabulously under pressure.

In closing, I'd like to thank 2013 for the lessons it taught me. Some were learnt the hard way, but sometimes that's the only way to learn somethings. Others I had so much fun learning and hope to learn again and again this year! Goodbye 2013, I won't miss you. 2014, you couldn't have come sooner!

What are your hopes and aspirations for 2014? Do you bother with the whole resolution thing? Let me know! Comment and follow me on Twitter and Instagram!

XOXO,

A. Bean