Well, well. Another season has passed and (to my suprise) more goals have been crossed off my list! September and October proved to be very busy and tested a lot of my patience and determination. November and December brought a lot of friends & family time and gratitude. All were rich in experience, and as I recapped this I was flooded with amazing memories. 

Looking forward, I hope to get back into a regular writing schedule as I rearrange several obligations in my life, which hopefully means I will look at my 101 list with intent. If you've made goals for yourself in the past year, I invite you to reflect on them before springing completely into the new year. And, if you need inspriation for new goals to make, check out some of the ones I crossed off as 2016 came to a close.

Wooo! So many more adventures happened in between these photos, but here are the highlights! I feel so much gratitude for all the shows I've been able to go to. It was truly a musical and magical year for me, I'm excited to see where I end up next! I've got about a year left in this challenge, so I think it's time to kick it into high gear and be massively productive in the months ahead! Who's in?!

Oh hi there. Thought I gave up? On the contrary, I've been out and about making progress all summer! I'm switching up my progress reports now that I'm about halfway through this, so look forward to quarterly updates as I keep moving towards the finish line (not that I'm anywhere near ready to see it!).

I've honestly been less than interested in keeping tabs on myself lately, but how else can you measure progress? I've been rethinking how I set these goals, and what each category meant to me when I started this challenge. It's proven to be a really random arrangement of progress, and I don't know if it's truly helping me in the way it's supposed to or if I'm just running around doing fun things because I 'challenged' myself to. Maybe this is the halftime feeling I need to work through.

Originally I started this list because I felt stuck. Now I feel like a super ball bouncing off every wall. I'm sure there are so many lessons here somewhere but for now I'll let you see for yourself what I've been up to since May.

Completed will be bolded. In Progress will be italicized. Incomplete items will stay normal.

Start date: May 15, 2015
End date: February 9, 2018
{24 COMPLETE, 77 TO GO}

As you can see it's a pretty long list! I can't even begin to scrape the surface on how much my life changed over the summer, but trust me there are some big events on the horizon for me. I'm looking forward to sharing it all with you (potential empty promise but it's really too amazing and inspiring to keep to myself so hang tight!). For now, here's my story in photo form.

So many unanswered questions! You guys must be all like.. how was Colorado?! All that Bonnaroo stuff looks neat.. Hey was that Bassnectar? What's with the white shirts? What's with the rocker hand symbol? Didn't you have a birthday somewhere in between this? How do you have a full time job!? (surprise, I quit) Did you say new house? Wait who's RJ? Do you ever stop dancing?!?!

No. No I do not. 

I’m rather impressed with myself for the way I spent April. I think I maximized the amount of fun that I could handle/afford, and I managed to go on a more adventures than I can count. I’ve been feeling insanely restless (beyond my normal amount, if it were possible) and I don’t know what I’m searching for. But in the process, I’m checking off a ton of goals, so it must count for something!

I can’t believe it’s been almost a year since I started this challenge. I’m over 1/3 of the way there, but have only 16/101 goals completed. That’s a red flag to me, and it sounds like I’m going to have to reevaluate my methods. I’ve just been kind of aimlessly checking things off instead of making diligent effort towards certain goals (ahem, fitness). You’ve gotta keep yourself in check, because who else is going to? Let’s see what I did and where I went during the month of April.

Completed will be bolded. In Progress will be italicized. Incomplete items will stay normal.

Start date: May 15, 2015
End date: February 9, 2018
{16 COMPLETE, 85 TO GO}

I could go on and on about all of the place I went in April and how much I loved each and every experience, but instead I hope to inspire you to go out and live your own! Check out a place you've never gone before, even in your own town. Strike up a conversation with a person you find interesting. Go forth and be friendly, kind, curious and excited about the world around you. Until then, I'll be doing the same.

If I were to recap March, I wouldn't know where to begin. The usual ebb and flow felt more like a rapid current, and to be completely honest I didn’t think about my goal list a whole lot. Instead this  month has been spent planning and restructuring a few areas in my life, and I feel like my progress was made in that way instead. If I’m being even more honest, I’m glad this is going to be a short one because I don’t have time for anything else.

Completed will be bolded. In progress will be italicized. Incomplete items will stay normal.

Start date: May 15, 2015 
End date: February 9, 2018
{14 COMPLETE, 87 TO GO}

Well, well. I haven’t touched my fitness goals in far too long and even though I only ran one (pathetically exhausting) mile, I feel good! The weather plays a huge role in how active I am, and I hate being cold. Especially running in the cold. I can’t think of a more miserable activity. I’ll definitely be taking advantage of the warm evenings ahead! 

Guess who’s one step closer to being a full-fledged adult? Not that I like that idea, but a 401-k is a great investment that I’m proud to be making. Not many 23 year olds can say the same thing. And I figured out what all a 401-k entails, so look out for another blog post about finances (something I have no credibility with, but I can at least share my insights).

I feel like I went to more than one show in March but for the life of me, I can’t remember. Infected Mushroom last weekend was insane and I had an absolute blast. They’re a classic group who helped pioneer electronic music so I was thoroughly geeking out over the experience! 

While I was in Nashville a few weeks ago I had some of the most incredible tacos I’ve ever had at a place called Local Taco. Seriously, these tacos are a force to be reckoned with (watch out Taqueria Tsunami) and I can't wait to get my hands on another round.

So now it's a new month, and I have no idea what to expect from myself. But, I kind of like it that way. April is going to be absolutely packed with live music and I can’t wait to dive into it! Let’s hope I come out alive.

February came and went, and even though we got an extra day this year, it disappeared as quickly as ever. I don’t mind though, because I welcome March with open arms. This month always feels like a breath of fresh air, you know? This time last year, I was feeling similarly. It was around March when I first heard of this goal challenge and thought it might be too ambitious for myself. Well, truthfully, it is. But that’s the point. I don’t have time to work on each of these aspects of my life all the time. But, I can work on bits and pieces; one one-hundredth of my goals is more manageable than the whole picture. The challenge is keeping me motivated, and even though I may not cross off everything, I’m still making a hell of a lot more progress than if I had never started. My mission for you this month is to ditch your mental block and go out and breathe the fresh spring air! Let it fill you with inspiration and positivity.

Although February is my least favorite month of the year, I conquered a couple more goals, and added to the progress of several others. Let’s recap:

Completed will be bolded. In Progress will be italicized. Incomplete items will stay normal.

Start date: May 15, 2015  
End date: February 9, 2018
{13 COMPLETE, 88 TO GO}

This challenge has already started to cause a ripple effect, and I’ve inspired a fifth person to join in my goal-oriented mindset. My mom. She’s been playing with the idea of making her own list ever since I first heard about the challenge and blabbed on about it to her. I’m so glad she finished her well thought-out list (we're good list makers, the two of us), and I can’t wait for us to continue to encourage each other through all we do. Sounds like we’re going to need to do some 5Ks, her fitness goals make mine look like a joke. I have no doubt she’ll be able to meet her goal of running a half marathon! Way to go mom. And just because I’ve met my goal doesn’t mean I’m going to stop trying to talk my friends into doing this with me. Make your own list and get to it already!

Another high note from this month is the fact that I actually started to get my student loans managed. I’ve made a couple of payments, and it feels good to not have that looming in the back of my mind. I’m pretty good at procrastinating when I want to, especially when it comes to ugly topics like finances. This is a good step towards building back my credit, which I’m proud to say has already risen 100 points since I last wrote about it. Not bad for a baby adult with number anxiety.

I realize my site has been pretty quiet, and my blog post goal has trickled significantly. Keep in mind I have huge overarching plans for Eclectic Avenue. Trying to do it all at once isn’t going to end well, so I’ve shifted gears a little bit and have become more social media focused with my brand. I’ve been able to keep up with it more frequently because it’s quick and easy, while publishing blog posts can be a lengthy process on a good day. Tell your friends, the best place to find me is on Twitter (@EclecticAve, @MastermindRJ) and Snapchat (MastermindRJ). Add me, follow me, interact with me. I always am up for a good conversation. ​Until then, go out there and do whatever it is you love doing! Life is too short not to.