Stepping Back and Redefining, Part II

Well, I didn't go on a Canyon Drive/Ride... Well, actually, I did a partial Canyon Drive with my dear friend and stopped off to go star gazing for a few minutes. We found cool constellations and it was awesome! While I was flustered when I first left, I had good music and the canyon was deserted (because of the recent/continuing fires), and it is always a humbling moment for me to gaze into the sky and to realize my relative insignificance, but yet my overwhelming worth.

In light of my redefining mood lately, here are some goals I have determined to work toward:
1) I want to learn about astronomy and become an amateur astronomer.
2) I want to be financially stable, and out of debt enough to own a home in the next 5 years, however small it may be.
3) I want to travel to Florence, Italy, and possibly other parts of Europe - but I'm not leaving until I see the Sistine Chapel.
4) I want to earn a Master's Degree in Education.
5) I want to take refresh my Spanish so that I can be conversational and not shy about my knowledge, to better communicate with students and their parents.

And we've all heard the rule of thumb that a goal is no good without a plan, so here are my immediate plans to work toward each of these goals:
1) With my next paycheck I'm going to purchase a small green laser pointer so I can point at what I'm seeing, and share it with others.
2) I am going to take 2 - 3 BYU Independent Study personal enrichment courses: 1-2 on Astronomy, and 1 on personal finance. These will help me learn the skills and have the resources I need to accomplish two of my goals, and keep me in the habit of studying like a student until I actually begin my Master's Program.
3) From my personal finance class I'm going to learn to budget and I'm going to set and stick to a budget that includes, at the minimum: 10% tithing, 10% savings, 10% toward Italy, maximum monthly debt payments, and living expenses.
4) I will remain on a waiting list for the BYU Reading Endorsement program, and also watch for other cohort experiences that tie into a Master's Program, and work to take advantage of those opportunities.
5) I am going to get and take an independent study conversational Italian course (for my trip), and a conversational Spanish course (for goal #5).


I feel better now that I have a few clear defined goals to work toward and a way to get there. Now I'm going to work on setting myself a schedule, and getting myself to stick to it. :)