Yay! I can’t believe it, but my baby, Tea End Blog, is already 4 years old and I’m celebrating. Celebrating the love of tea and literature, the hard work, the growth and all that has been wonderful this past year in tea, books, and my tea sipping bookworm life.
At the beginning of every year I write this celebratory article to reminisce about the past year but to also share my aspirations as well as my mantra for the upcoming year. I’m about to sprinkle some positive vibes into 2019!
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ACCOMPLISHMENTS
"Silence Is Golden. If It's Not Worth Saying, Keep Quiet."
2017 was a rough year for Tea End Blog. The year ended with a writer’s block so intense that I really thought that I would hang up my writer’s coat and quit blogging for good. Thankfully, I received encouragement from my tea sipping and bookworm friends and in 2018 I decided to start an annual tradition of creating a mantra, a positive slogan characterizing what exactly I wanted to accomplish. My very first mantra was, “Silence Is Golden. If It’s Not Worth Saying, Keep Quiet.” This mantra helped me write with more purpose in 2018 and to avoid writing about tea, books, or anything that I wasn’t excited about. The cool thing about having a mantra is this: it actually works!
2018 was characterized by less writing but more quality posts. I turned down so many collaborations this past year, happily, and focused on what I wanted to say on my blog. Having a mantra for Tea End Blog worked out so well that I am happy to introduce my mantra for 2019: “Do Good. Fear Not.” This mantra is meant for me to focus on good things that I want to accomplish and to not allow my fear of failure to prevent me from moving forward. We’ll see how it turns out!
Being An Educated Boss
Earlier last year, I finished a book entitled, “In the Company of Women” by Grace Bonney that inspired me to fully express my creativity, wisely. After reading this book, I realized that although creativity flows out of me like tea from a tea pot, business savvy is something that most artist lack. And I’m one of them. I decided to take courses in business management, and I am so happy that I did! I’ve learned so much to help me be a better small business owner. I chose to take online courses as they have always worked better with my schedule and in addition, I just love the flexibility that online schooling affords. I attend Penn Foster Career School and have already taken the “Starting Your Own Business” program. Up next, I will be taking a program a little more intense called, “Small Business Management”. I’m so excited!
More Books. More Reading
In 2018, I set a goal to increase my reading just like I so easily increase my tea consumption. Reading and tea sipping are both time consuming hobbies but reading takes an added effort: finding a quiet place, allowing your mind to focus, taking an hour or two to really make way in a book. It’s not as easy to do in such a fast-paced world. But I love it and I wanted to do more of it, so…I did! I performed more Book Reviews in 2018 than I ever have in my previous years of blogging. What is more is that I actually stuck to my TBR list and enjoyed almost every read that I opened. Hopefully I can keep this up in 2019!
ASPIRATIONS
Blogger Turned Author
I’ve always been a writer. I’ve written short stories, poems, plays, novels, and of course, blog posts. However, I’ve never published my work. Now I finally know exactly what I want to write about and more importantly, what type of writings I would like to share with you all! In 2019, I am working on a special writing project that will involve tea, travel, love, and life. I want my writing to shed light on the wonderful beverage that is tea but also to shine a bright light on the wonderful people who sip it.
Sipping with Purpose
Since I am focusing on writing a book about tea rituals and cultures from around the world, I am planning to sip with more purpose in 2019. I am focusing on teas native or known to 32 specific regions so don’t be surprised if my Tea Reviews seem to focus on a particular region or country, this will be purposeful with my book in mind.
Sharing More Healthy Teas & Self-help Reads
I receive quite a few emails requesting me to help with ailments such as sleep deprivation, anxiety, depression, indigestion, and much more and I do my best to answer all of your questions. First of all, thank you so much for trusting me enough to come to Tea End Blog and ask these important questions. Considering that I, myself, have suffered from a lot of these illnesses and that I, myself, actually use tea to cure and help me I just feel like it’s time for me to be more open on the blog about these things. In 2019, I will share more tea and books that I have used to heal myself from illnesses such as anxiety and depression.
A new year is like a fresh pot of tea, it’s simply delicious! I plan to savor all of the time that I have in 2019 to never forget all of the hard work and dedication that have brought me to this point as well as aspire to all of the hopes and joys that I have for my blog. What about you? What is one thing that you plan to accomplish in 2019?
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What is one aspiration you have for 2019?