Week 1 of 52 | Learning Spanish & Launching a Youtube Channel

INTRODUCTION

“New year, new me” ????????‍♀️

I’m hoping sharing some of my goals, struggles and progress this year will help hold me accountable and maybe even motivate a few of you in the process.

Although I’m a believer that you can make a change at any point in time if you put your mind to it, I ALWAYS take advantage of the mental reset and newness January 1st brings. I read a few years ago that writing down your goals regularly increases your chances of accomplishing them. Since then, I’ve made it a point to write a goal list at the beginning of the year and have seen real results from doing so.

Every week of the year I’ll be sharing a brief reflection that includes what I’m currently working on, how it’s going and what I’m learning in the process.

GOAL 1 – PRODUCE REGULAR CONTENT ON YOUTUBE

Though my channel has existed for years and was thriving at one point, I’m still considering this to be a year of the “official” launch of KLY as a brand. Redesigning my website was step one; getting back active on YouTube is step two. I’m slightly concerned with how ambitious my goal of posting 4 videos per month is considering I probably posted that many total in 2018, but if this is my last attempt at being a “content creator” I have to give it my all. I already prerecorded a couple videos to give myself a head start; ideally, I’d like to record and edit everything 1-2 weeks in advance with Saturday mornings being my edit time and Sunday being my posting day. I have an agenda to map out my ideas and schedule. Let’s just hope I can stay creative and on top of things!

GOAL 2 – BE CONVERSATIONAL IN SPANISH WITHIN 1 YEAR

So…..I studied Spanish in high school all four years (two of those years were considered to be college level.) Unfortunately, the saying “If you don’t use it, you lose it.” couldn’t be more true. By the time I graduated from college, most of it had slipped away. (Imagine what terrible shape I’m in now 10 years after my last class!) My biggest struggle has always been discomfort with communicating verbally, so I’m forcing myself to do just that this time around. I’m currently using Duolingo to rebuild my vocabulary and started online tutoring sessions with native speakers. I’ve had a small boost of confidence this week after finding the most basic level courses are too easy for me. My pronunciation is good enough from what my instructors say and my strength is still reading. I’m feeling pretty accomplished after my hour session today. I was able to understand most of my teacher’s instructions without translation and was able to hold basic conversation about my job, how my day went and my favorite books to read.

My goal is to fly through the first few levels to refresh my memory, then take things a bit slower when I get to new content. Since I can’t really afford to pay for tutoring services all year long, I’m giving myself until March to get a handle of things. Wish me luck!

CONCLUSION

I’ll keep y’all updated with how I’m balancing my work schedule and personal goals. I can already tell this is going to be a VERY busy but rewarding year. I’m looking forward to sharing more with you all in the weeks to come!

Until next time…

LET’S CHAT!

Which 2019 goal are you most excited to pursue in your life?