Welcome to 2021! It feels to strange for me to say “Happy New Year,” since our year didn’t end on a high note. If you didn’t see on Instagram, my Poppy passed last Wednesday due to complications from COVID-19. He recently finished chemo for leukemia in November and he and my nana both contracted COVID mid-December. He willingly went on a ventilator (but took the time beforehand to call his kids and wife just incase) and was stable until Tuesday when he started to decline rapidly. My nana, mom and uncle were able to go see him in his final moments while my Dad and I flew to Tulsa. As soon as we landed we got news that he had passed and I’ve been in Oklahoma since. The one thing I can say for sure is that my Poppy has a fast-pass, VIP spot in line at Heaven and is rejoicing with Jesus – the man had no sins!

It feels silly to even be writing a blog post right now. I feel like I’m in a weird limbo and it comes in waves. I’m sad our greatest influence is gone, sad that my nana lost her life partner and my mom lost her dad, and I’m confused why out of all of the people that could be taken to this disease one had to be him. I don’t really know how to grieve, but luckily I got a jumpstart on my New Years resolutions mid-December and I plan to dive into my work to keep me busy but take time to process when needed. I hope you all will keep my family (mostly my nana) in your prayers and hang with me during this really hard time.

That being said, I want to transition into sharing my goals for 2021. I feel like 2020 was a year of self-growth – I found a healthier lifestyle I somehow enjoy, I focused more on what makes me happy and I said farewell to one-sided relationships and nurtured those that valued me as much as I did them. I want to use 2021 to expand my self-growth into a more meaningful year. This year, I plan to focus more on evolving into a better version of myself. Think of it as Kayleigh 2.0. My Poppy was truly the greatest man there could ever be, so I want to work on being the best person that I can be (because I can definitely say I haven’t always tried to do that).

Side note – I created a mood board this year much like everyone else and set it to my phone screen and laptop background as a constant reminder. It’s shown below if you’d like to make it your own! All images are via Pinterest.

I feel like a lot of my goals are going deeper on what I set forth last year, so without further adieu let’s dive in.

MY OVERALL 2021 GOALS:
1. Find something that fills the void that I think a glass of wine does at the end of the day. On that note, drink less in general. I know we all drank a ton during quarantine, but it’s my priority to scale back in 2021 overall (sorry friends!!).

2. Create a consistent workout routine that evolves into my daily routine and doesn’t feel forced. Similar to my summer with OTF, I want to find a routine that I can keep up with 6 days a week to prioritize my mental health (more on my journey below).

3. Put myself out there and actively go on dates and meet new people (even friends!). TikTok has shown me that social media is the way to meet people these days and I want to continue meeting new people/dating.

4. Stop putting my happiness second out of fear of discomfort. Whether it’s family/friend related or work related, I found myself sacrificing a big chunk of happiness to make others happy last year. This year that’s going to change.

5. Continue to excel in my career and put away 20 – 40% of my paycheck into savings each month (obviously depending on my financial state each month). This year I was able to really become financially stable and I want to continue that into the new year even more.

6. Become more involved with Kayleigh’s Kloset and pursue expanding onto other verticals and prioritize this space more. We all know why consistency has varied heavily because of work, but this year one of my main focuses is to give this space the time and effort it deserves – especially after y’alls feedback. My Poppy turned his passion into his career and that’s what is driving me.

7. Move into my adult dream space. My lease is up in April and a big priority for me is to move into a new space this year. I’ve been in my building for all (nearly) 5 years in NYC and moving is such a stresser for obvious reasons. I have an amazing doorman who is like family, but I’ve ultimately outgrown the area and have had more issues than good with my unit recently. Plus, COVID prices in prime areas right now are too good to not take advantage of.

8. Be firm with my boundaries. I feel like a lot of 2020 consisted of gathering bearings and 2021 needs to be sticking to my guns. I found myself working past 6pm nearly everyday and constantly checking emails while it was after hours because the expectations were muddled. This year I will work during 9-6pm hours and try to be better about not working a minute past outside of busy season.

THE FITNESS PART:
To continue my fitness journey this year I want to come up with a consistent schedule and routine to stick with until Memorial Day. Technically speaking, if you start on the 3rd of January there are precisely 109 days until the first day of May. While I don’t think I can tackle 109 days, I wanted to create a 14-week fitness challenge for myself where I workout (somehow/some way) 6 days a week. NOTE: this can include low-impact/20 minute workouts, walks through the neighborhood, etc. This does NOT mean Orange Theory 6 days a week for 14 weeks straight… lol. That said, I do plan to transfer to Orange Theory in New York and see where that leads me.

To kick start my fitness journey this year, I wanted to create graphics for stories to hold myself accountable and keep me in line. It’s a bit of a crazy challenge I’ll admit, but if you’d like to join me feel free to share! I love you all and am wishing a year of happiness and health for you. What are your goals? Have a great day and thanks for reading!

Read my 2020 goals HERE.

Read my 202 fitness goals HERE.

My 2019 goals HERE.

My 2018 goals HERE.