Episode 18: New Year, Who Dis?
The year of Elevation!
What I’m Thinking About
What’s up folks!? Happy New Year and Happy MLK Day! I hope 2025 is treating you well so far, despite some of you crashing out with the Tik-Tok ban/non-ban (…and what’s happening in the Nation’s Capital today…). I want to welcome my new influx of followers and shoutout
for recommending my Subsatck, which is how a lot of you found me!For those of you who’ve been here since the beginning, one of my new year goals is to post once per month. I started this platform without a cadence because I wanted it to be a low lift effort as I recover from being a perfectionist. However, since this is something I actually enjoy, I want to be more intentional about posting.
Speaking of goals, have you all written down your goals for the year yet? I’m never quite prepared on Jan 1, so for me the “new year” generally starts a week or so into the year. This year is the first time in a long time where I am excited to make a new year plan and dream big and bold! My word for the year is “Elevation” and I look forward to seeing how God will show up and show out.
While I feel like the last 5 years were answered prayers (becoming Dr. KB was a 2012/2013 goal, moving to Atlanta was a 2008 goal b/c I had my heart set on going to Georgia Tech lol), I recognize that it is time to revisit dreams/goals that I made and haven’t accomplished, as well as, make new ones. I’ve grown and healed so much since 2020 and naturally the way I look at life has shifted.
One thing that I recognized about myself recently is that I am REALLY good at reminiscing on the past. Every day I am looking at the “On This Day” memories on IG to see what I was up to in the past. I am also very good and being present and in the moment. What I have gotten really dusty at is thinking and dreaming about the future. I used to be really good at dreaming about the future and manifesting in a grand way. I was DEEP into The Secret when it dropped, that’s until the audiobook made me feel like I was brainwashed lol. I think life kept happening to me and it made me more hesitant to think about what would come next. I still set goals and such, but they were smaller attainable goals. I want to DREAM BIG for my life with the understanding that some of these things won’t happen for a while (or maybe they’ll happen quicker than I anticipate).
I also know that I am a visual person and need constant reminders of what I am working towards, so I will be making a digital vision board for the first time this year (not counting the Pinterest vision board I made way back when lol). I want to make a digital vision board so that I can make multiple sizes and put it on my phone and maybe my iPad lock screen etc. I may end up printing it out so that I can see it in my home too, but essentially I want constant reminders of what I am working towards so that I can remember as the days go on.
Has this happened to anyone else? Did you let life snatch your ability to dream bigger than your circumstance? I can definitely relate! Let’s dream again!
What I’m Reading
Bitter & Sweet by Rhonda McKnight
Rating: 4/5
Rhonda has done it again! I gave her other Low-country novel, The Thing About Home, five stars, and this one was really close. If you are a fan of books that have a historical element and a little family drama, this book is for you. The book is about two sisters, Mariah and Sabrina, who were summoned to Georgetown, South Carolina by their grandmother to help with the family restaurant. While the sisters aren’t close at all, they are forced to work together to re-open the family restaurant since their grandfather is recovering from a recent stroke. The book is told in a dual timeline between present day and the 1920s, where we learn about their great-great-grandmother, Tabitha, who started the family restaurant during Jim Crow. McKnight does a great job weaving the stories together, as she illustrates forgiveness, love, sisterhood, motherhood, mental health, and preservation all in one novel.
Check it out and let me know your thoughts!
What I’m Watching
Brilliant Minds on NBC/Peacock
I think my mom first told me about this show. It’s a medical based drama, that focuses on neurologists at a hospital in the Bronx. The lead doctor is Dr. Oliver Wolf, who suffers from a rare condition that gives him a unique perspective on care, fueling his mission to change the way the world sees his patients. He leads a team of young interns in tackling puzzling psychological cases. With their help, he must also challenge his own personal and social limitations by navigating all the expectations, politics and complicated relationships that come with the job (as paraphrased from the wiki description).
Has anyone else checked it out yet?
What I’m Vibin’ to
While on vacation last month, I went down a rabbit hole listening to Odeal! Some of my favorite songs are ONOME, Soh-Soh, and Be Easy. I’ve had Be Easy on my playlist for a while, but I never explored songs by him until now. Def check him out if you want to imagine you’re on an island or at the beach, instead of the cold winter.
Bonus Track:
I don’t have anything to add today, so check back next time! Lo siento!