Happy New Year!
I swear to god, I blinked in 2020… and all the sudden it was 2022. I didn’t just skip a year, it was like transporting two years through time. I don’t say that literally but you get my point. I cannot believe how fast time is going.
So before I blink again and it’s 2024, I’d like to take this time to reflect on 2021 and also set some goals for 2022. I mean, isn’t that what the new year is all about. It’s weird to think of life as a TV show, but when I think of 2021, I think about my life as a whole new season with a new cast and a brand new script.
In 2021, I was lucky enough to be able to travel around America with my friends and family. I went to Nashville, San Francisco, Washington DC, Los Angeles, Colorado, Florida, Virginia, to name just a few places. I had never been to many of these cities or hadn’t visited in a long time. On these trips, I swear, I laughed so hard I lost my voice for a week and made memories that I will never forget about.
In 2021, I got BUSY. Currently, I have three jobs, which has been a lot but nothing I haven’t been able to handle. I work with the social media team at my college, Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM), where I help run the different social media platforms with my amazing boss, Fanny.
I also help run the social media platforms for Red Carpet Green Dress which is a sustainable red carpet organization who has designed dresses for Zendaya, Marlee Matlin, and many more amazing people. Plus, they advocate for sustainable fashion, equality, diversity and for fair and safe working conditions for garment workers.
Finally, this year I have been focusing on my third job as a content creator. I released a podcast in 2021. I’m now in season two. Check it out if you’ve missed it. eLEXYfy, The Place for Fashion. Thanks to my podcast, I have met so many great people and learned a lot more about fashion sustainability. Balancing my YouTube channel, blog, podcast, social media, and the two other jobs, plus school, has been a lot of work.
I noticed something had to give and it tended to be working on my own content. But I am going to work on changing that in the new year. Some of my favorite brands to work with this year were Nuuly, Pinterest, and MAC. My goal for 2022 is to start working with two other brands: House of Sunny and CHNGE.
School this year has been amazing. I finally had some in person classes this past quarter which has completely altered my college experience. I went to Los Angeles Fashion Week – a dream come true. I was a part of the FIDM social ambassadors club and FIDM MODE, my school’s magazine, where I was a writer, stylist, and model. Once my schedule lightens, I hope to join the Black Student Union and Phi Theta Kappa.
I met some of the most amazing people this year. People that, no doubt in my mind, will be in my life forever. The memories that I have created with these people will never fade. I am so lucky to have such a support system – people who look out for me, celebrate my successes and try to make me happy when I’m sad. I can’t wait to see what journeys are yet to come with these people!
I know historically 2021 has been a challenging year for many around the world in our own country. But if I look at life through my individual prism, not factoring in all the challenges in the world, I might just say that 2021 could be one of the best years of my life.
What Goals Do I Have for 2022?
I am so excited for what this year holds. I am already looking forward to so many upcoming adventures. I’m going to Utah with my friends in January. I am going to Paris with my school, and possibly (cross fingers) going to Greece with my family. And I might even be studying abroad in Rome.
My goal is to reach 20,000 followers on Instagram by the end of this year. I want to focus more on my social media this year, and hopefully make it a more permanent job. I want to learn more about sustainable fashion and work with more sustainable brands or small businesses. I want to get more internships throughout the year so I can learn more about what jobs I might want to pursue in my future. I also want to make my blog more prominent. Usually when I get really busy, I let my blog fall behind so I can focus on my YouTube channel and Podcast but I don’t want to do that anymore. I would also really love to get invited to more influencer events this year.
I WILL be going to New York Fashion Week. Just putting it out into the universe so I can make it happen. I have been wanting to make it to New York Fashion Week for a few years now and I know I can make it happen this year. I really want to see more of the sustainable shows that are being held because in previous fashion weeks, their sustainable representation hasn’t been the best. I already know of a few sustainable brands that will be showing so I am looking forward to that!
I also want to add to my list some basic goals of working out more, cooking more and decreasing my screen time. I love reading books and cooking but I never seem to have time to do it. Besides my job, because all of my work includes being on my phone, I would like to decrease my screen time. I would like to replace that by reading more. At least a book a month. I have a weird relationship with working out, I tend to work out everyday for a few months and then get busy and don’t have time to do it. I want to create a healthier relationship with working out by finding out what works best for me and be more consistent plus stick with it. I don’t care about working out to make my body look a certain way or lose weight. I simply want to be healthy so I’d like to dedicate around 30 minutes every day to working out. Finally, I have an amazing apartment with an amazing kitchen and I absolutely love cooking but I never have time. I would like to learn more vegetarian recipes and focus on cooking more in my amazing kitchen rather than just heating things up.
These are just a few of my goals. I’m hoping this year will be a year of growth and learning more about myself and what works for me. As mentioned, I can’t wait to see what this year has in store for me.
I hope you all had an amazing 2021. What are your goals for 2022?
