Okay, if you read my blog regularly you will have noticed that I have spent time this month reviewing and recapping the last year and decade. I think it is so important to give yourself the time to look back and reflect on your successes and not-quite successes. So much happened, so much changed, so many resolutions and goals were met AND missed. I finally feel like I’m at a place to talk about my goals and resolutions for 2020. I am so motivated and excited about everything going on in my life right now, I can’t wait to keep working on these projects and goals. So without further ado, here is what I’m trying to accomplish this year.

The Hold Overs

Sustainability - I’m working hard to keep my efforts going using my own shopping bags, bringing my own coffee cup to the coffeeshop, eating mostly vegetarian, etc. But I don’t want to loose the momentum. I really want to clear out some of the plastic in my bathroom, so I will be investigating more sustainable beauty products, refillable containers, etc. in the bathroom and around the rest of my house. I’ll share my recommendations when I’ve figured out some tricks and good picks.

Read 60 books - last year it was 50 and I read 58, so this year I’m upping my goal by another 10 books to keep the momentum going. I notice that once I hit my goal, my reading slows down substantially. I definitely work harder when I have a specific outcome in sight. So far, I’ve read some excellent books this year, and it is still January.

break 1:50 half-marathon time - I wanted to do this last year, but after running the LA marathon in March, I was pretty burnt out on running and really needed those hours (literally multiple hours on certain days) to practice and accomplish other things. I’m feeling the itch to run consistently again, but not excessively so I’m picking this one back up in hopes that 2020 is the year I finally run a comfortable sub 8:30 mile (technically, it would have to be a sub 8:22 mile). Stay tuned for races and events that I register for this year.

Grow corpSonore - Madeline and I have been working hard to grow our musicians wellness platform. We accomplished so much last year, and we recently checked in on our goals for the year (that we wrote in August) and realized we have already crossed many things off our “hopes and dreams” list and are moving in the right direction. We have a monthly newsletter, 2 podcast episodes every month, guest submission articles, pre-release book reviews sent to us directly from the publisher, and so much more. We recently hatched a HUGE plan and goal for the future and I can barely sit still, I am so excited to start working on it. Stay tuned for more information and better yet, subscribe to the newsletter here to be the first to learn of what is happening in sound body wellness land.

Develop Active Violinist products - I started this last year, but it turned out to be a huge undertaking so I am going to keep chugging along on this one and maybe in 5 years it will be a resolution I can actually say is complete. I recently designed pencils and stickers (perfect for your Hydroflasks, VSCO girls) but I’m working on practice journals AND supplemental technique offerings for violinists. I started working on both of these things last year and quickly realized that they are MASSIVE projects. BUT, they are completely absorbing for me and something I am so excited about that it seems worth it to add them to my resolutions every year.

New Resolutions

Cuppa - for those of you who don’t know me, I spent a pivotal time of my childhood in England. From age 9 to 14 I lived in a small village outside of London and my afternoon snack, break from homework snack, watch TV snack, and all-around go to small meal was a cup of tea and a hot cross bun or scone. Over the last few years I’ve been noticing that the United States doesn’t really do casual British tea. It is either a big Downton Abbey style affair with tiered serving dishes and a very formal dining room with too much lace OR it is bubble tea or Asian style tea. I also find that coffee shops never do tea exactly right, even when they are trying to be intentional OR they carry mostly whacky tea flavors and very few classic black teas. I am a lover of simple afternoon tea and have been dreaming of opening a tea shoppe for years so this year I’m starting my tea journey with pop up tea parties all over Los Angeles. You can follow along on instagram @cuppa.la I am currently perfecting my clotted cream and scone recipes. Look out for more news about cuppa and our first official tea parties coming soon!

East German Music Recital - this is another big project that I am finally brave enough to share with the world. Last April, I performed in Leipzig and Potsdam and then spent some time exploring both cities AND Berlin. I started wondering who the contemporary composers of violin music were from that area of the country - specifically during the GDR when the wall divided the country and kept a culturally rich area of Germany out of view from the West (after all, it is the same place that Bach and Mendelssohn lived and worked). I uncovered many names of composers and titles of pieces but no scores or recordings. This immediately struck me as odd and I started putting together some research. I’ve spoken to curators at museums and administrators at various Germany cultural centers who agree that this has not been explored to the extent it deserves. This year, I am digging into this big time and am going to unearth and perform some of these works and bring exposure to the seemingly silent years of one of the most fertile birthplaces of some of the most famous violin repertoire.

No Clutter! - I am a clutter queen. I can’t help it. I love books and actual sheet music but I also let unnecessary things pile up on my computer, in my inbox, and in small piles all over my house. I’m over it. My goal is to clean out so much junk, file things properly and clean out (and keep them clean) corners of my life and home that have piles of things building that need to just be dealt with. Earlier this month I cleaned out my inbox and got rid of almost 500 emails that were either no longer relevant or just junk to begin with. That small step made me feel so much better and less harried. I’m excited to find that same peace with other clutter in my life.

Contribute to the Conversation through Talks, Workshops, Critical Writing - I always feel nervous about presenting my findings, research, ideas, information, etc. to groups because in the back of my mind there is always a little voice whispering “but what if you’re wrong?” Well, I have done gobs of research, I’ve written a dissertation, I’ve given several workshops in the past and I feel ready to enter the conversation on a higher level. My resolution this year is to stop just attending the talks, and listening to others, but to join the conversation myself through (more) critical writing and research, workshops, discussions, and lectures. Stay tuned for more information on when and where this happens. I’ll be sure to include it in the AV newsletter AND on my events calendar.

Step Into My Power - I’ve been saying this all month and so far it feels fantastic. I’ve grown tired of waiting for people to realize they should respect me, pay me on time, hire me at a respectable rate, and not treat me poorly, or disregard me professionally. I don’t have time to play your game. I have things to accomplish (hello! read this blog post already) and I simply have no interest in being undervalued. This is my mantra. It spurs me to ask for more, to be taken seriously, to talk to people I often might think don’t want to hear from me, and to advocate for myself and my ideas politely, but firmly. I think everyone should step into their power this year. One month in and I wish I had committed to this 10-years ago.

Budget - I typically live with the mindset that I don’t have any money and can’t afford many nice things and experiences. I’m not saying that I’m going to start taking myself out for Michelin-starred meals every week, I simply mean that I want to pay better attention to where exactly all of my money is going, and focus on my big goals and more adult habits. Recently, I averaged out how much I was spending on alcohol, for example. For no specific reason, I have been drinking much less these days and instead of leaving that “extra” money in my checking account, I now deposit it into my Roth account. If you’re a financially savvy person (especially artist), what tips and tricks do you have for making a budget, sticking to it, and planning time off/vacations, investments, saving for large purchases, retirement, etc. I want to know! Financial wellness is also important for musicians.

There you have it. My big resolution list for 2020. What are your resolutions for the new year? P.S. You can hear Madeline and I chat about some of our resolutions on the most recent corpSonore podcast episode that drops 2/1/2020.

Leave a comment below with any tips or tricks, thoughts, questions, or concerns. I’m always down to collaborate with, and learn from others. Happy 2020!

The Goals and Resolutions Post: 2020

The Hold Overs

New Resolutions

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