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02/01/2016

One Little Word | Finishing off 2015 & New Word for 2016

I'm taking time out of my Saturday to share this post I'd planned on sharing yesterday, but of course things got a little out of hand. Happy New Year to all of you, today I'd like to share a little bit more about my 2015 word DO, and share my word for 2016. For more information on One Little Word, or to sign up for the workshop, you can visit Ali Edwards' website (here).

2015 was my first time taking this class, and while I have enough content from this year that could help me get through this next year, I need the push from the monthly prompts to actually follow through. The excitement of knowing there was a new prompt every month to work on was possibly the only thing that kept me on track with my word every month. I may not have completed the prompt during that particular month, but it was always at the back of my mind while I went through the month, and even when completing it in the next month, I felt that I had a better understanding of the prompt and what I wanted to do for each prompt.

I didn't keep up with the monthly reviews and actually pulled out the ones that I had in my album from this year. It's not that I didn't want to look back at the month, but it wasn't something that I felt I needed to keep up with. Or perhaps my format for documenting my thoughts/feelings each month wasn't the best for me. This year instead I've decided to keep a notebook nearby to write my thoughts/feelings down throughout the month. I won't limit myself to doing it once a month, but I also won't force myself to write every day. I just hope that having somewhere to get all that out and see the change throughout the year will be good for me. I can tell I'm not the same person I was at the start of 2015, but I have nothing to reflect back on and see how far I've come.

In 2015 I started doing more writing. It wasn't on any of my goal lists, or intentions, but it's something that just sort of happened. I used to write all the time in school and it's been amazing to get back to that. While I didn't complete all the things that I wrote down I wanted to do this year, I did take a few small steps towards being where I want at this point. I did a few things that scared me a little (or a lot) like applying for the Kellie Stamps team (and making it onto the team) and applying for one other team, but being turned down (which is okay too). This next year is going to be full of amazing things, and I'm hoping that my word (which found me back in October) will help me out this year.

Here's the last few pages of my One Little Word album for 2015;






This year, I've decided that I'm going to follow Ali into the 6x8 album. I bought all the new supplies she listed in the shop for One Little Word (grey album, month dividers with stamp set, journal). I might go back to the 8.5x11 album in later years, and that's fine, but I want to try something smaller. Especially since I've been having so much fun with the 6x8 size that I used for Week in the Life and December Daily.

Alright ladies and gents. It's time to share my word for 2016. It's going to be BRAVE.

After my word chose me, I started listening to the Big Magic audio book. I fell in love with it immediately (I'm a huge Elizabeth Gilbert fan). I listened to it 5 times before I bought the physical book. When I read the book I fell in love with it all over again. Hearing the words and seeing them is a completely different experience and I loved it. I got so much out of it every time I listened to it, but I got so much more out of it when I read the words on the paper. When I realized a few pages into the book, that this was the book I'd forever come back to, I knew for certain that my word for the year was going to be BRAVE. That I needed a little more courage in my life, but brave was the word for me.

I'm so excited to take you all on this journey with me throughout 2016. If you've chosen a word for the year (through the class or just on your own) I'd love to know what it is! I'm not letting go of last years word DO, but my main focus this year is being brave. That might mean Brave Doing, but we'll see where this year takes us.

Happy New Year. Here's to another year.
-Alexandria.

1 comments:

amanda said...

Hi Alex
I loved reading this post about your successes with your word this year and your word for next year. I, too, achieved a lot of DOING in 2015, but a lot of it is not what I originally intended for the year. Instead, I now know that last year was about shedding some of the past and setting a foundation for the future. I am writing this in my new home at my lovely new desk in my lovely new home office (and spare bedroom). There are personal things that I didn't achieve last year, esp around documenting memories, photography and health, but am pleased with what I did.
My year for 2016 is FOCUS. I nearly chose it last year but it seems more appropriate for this year. Focus on the important things - some home renovations, focus on changing jobs, focus on specific creative projects and a focus on achieving 10,000 steps per day.
I hope we can motivate each other to progress our goals.
amanda

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