Last year I made a 26 for 26 list. I'm pretty excited that I accomplished nearly every single one of my goals. Saying that, this year I don't think I want so many new tasks. Instead, I would like to continue a few things from last year as well as to try a few new ones.

• Paint my room
• Attend the crazy New Years Eve event whether by volunteering or as a spectator
• Deploy nationally with the Red Cross
• Take the prerequiste classes to apply for International Deployments
• Obtain the Red Cross Core Capabilities Certificate
• Step Up my game with the Red Cross - AmeriCorps program
• Try other areas of the Red Cross out
• Take a class of some sort
• Run at least a 10k (technically this was my goal last year)
• Snowboard
• Hike
• Jet skii for the first time
• Book a trip abroad (technically this was my goal last year)
• Volunteer with a big event
• Visit Long Island
• Camp
• Tour the United Nations (technically this was my goal last year)
• Read more real books
• Climb to the top of Lady Liberty (technically this was my goal last year)
• Watch a 92Y talk in person
• Start a savings goal for my next house & car
• Find a new place to hike (I love Bear Mountain, but I've done all the trails)
• Try something new
• Grad School? To apply or not to apply?

26 for 26

UPDATED: SEPTEMBER 25, 2016
I think I did pretty good. I only missed out on six, and there is still time.

Originally Posted: October 2, 2015
As I embark on yet another year in a new place, I was thinking of what I would like to accomplish this year. In no particular order, here are my goals to complete by October 1st, 2016.

1. Run at least a 10k race
2. Deploy nationally - LA floods
3. Snowboard at least once - It was AMAZING
4. Hike at least twice - Bear Mountain, w/Ciku in DC and in PA.
5. Attend a big parade in NYC - so many parades! Thanksgiving Day, Memorial, Pride Festival, FDNY, and more!
6.  Travel out of country (or at least have it booked!)
7. Learn to do something new (enroll in a class?) I did learn a lot of new things even if I didn't enroll in a class
8. Take one of those painting classes (wine and pallet)
9. Volunteer at a big race - NY Marathon! and Brooklyn Half Marathon
10. See a live concert (can be small) - Pandora Music Festival, tons of live music, Americana Festival, etc
11. Tour the 9/11 museum and memorial - when my parents visited we toured, now I have a pass
12. Tour the United Nations
13. Kayak the Hudson - only once and it was just what I needed
14. Take part in a snowball fight
15. Earn a rank in any martial arts or start my own class
16. Date
17. Have a picnic - I always pack food when I hike
18. Go up state at least once - when Glenn visited, we went all over the place from upstate to CT to MA. Everywhere!
19. Have someone visit me! - AmeriFriends passing through, my mom on a layover, Glenn, friends on layovers, my parents, Ciku!
20. Try the pizza place Hollis told me to try - it is closed down. :(
21. Climb to the top of Lady Liberty
22. Re-sign my contract with work - I still can't believe I'm no longer in servic year terms
23. Buy a real bed - my new place came with one
24. Visit all 5 boroughs - often through the Red Cross but nonetheless, I feel well versed in my community
25. Attempt to have a house plant or herb - RIP aloe plant. Stay strong bamboo shoot.
26. Tour a firehouse - maybe it wasn't a tour but I did volunteer inside one

What are your goals?

I love disasters

I love disasters. There, I said it. Not for the destruction and action as if it was a movie. I love deploying to disasters because in those craziest of moments, I feel the most needed. I can do something as small as handing someone a bottle of water and to that someone, I made a huge difference. Disasters give me hope in humanity when I see someone who has lost everything, with a smile on their face, helping a neighbor fix their home. I enjoy working in that environment because even when the only constant thing is change, the volunteers and staff still buckle down and put the client first. The long days energize me. I wake up looking forward to figuring out how I can help. It's the most wonderful feeling in the world. You meet people from around the country, in different organizations all trying to help. It's a connection that stays with you. It's also why the Red Cross is the first place where I feel connected with the organization and its' mission as a whole and not specifically just one location. I may be 1,500 miles away but when I head into the local Red Cross, I immediately feel at home.

Dear Oklahoma...

This year more than ever, people from home are consistently saying the same thing “you should come home.” Though it pulls at my heart, what really influenced me was a 2010 Leadership Council talk at UCO. I believe it was a guest speaker but it could have been Scott "the great" Monetti. Whoever it was, they talked about being content or rather to challenge ourselves daily to not be content.

When we become comfortable we can also become stale and develop a fixed mindset. Whereas, if we pursue a life of things that make us uncomfortable or at least challenges us, we can grow. Our ideas of what the world should look like, the perception of the people and culture around us and how to handle the future will be better off when we challenge our ideas and assumptions.

Yes, I fully agree that I could be happy at home. In fact, it would be incredibly easy to live there. I’ve developed meaningful relationships with my family and a few close friends, I could quickly find a job, I know where I could volunteer and I could open a dojo. I have connections and ties everywhere in the great state of Oklahoma. It would be easy. I would be simply content but being content is not enough for me.

I want to push myself past content and see just how far I can go. 

I want to be called out for a micro-aggression and not be defensive, when just last year I heard the term for the first time. I want to discuss stereotyping and cultures with a security guard long after all the students were picked up. I want to struggle to pronounce names because I live in a place where the ones I grew up with are considered the “unique” names. I want to sit on a bus with a man seeking refuge from his country during a time of "conflict" and have a 3-hour conversation using translating apps. I want to experience life not from a bubble with a radius of my own backyard but from meeting people, living in other cultures and being open to my own vulnerability.

So dear dojo, Red Cross and every other type of family back home, know I love you and miss you dearly but understand that I am exactly where I need to be.

Sincerely,
Jenn

                         

Don’t worry dad, I got this.

I have never felt, and actually been, more prepared for a position than I am for this one. I’ve spent my last three years bouncing from one contract or service term to another. I’ve lived in Michigan, Colorado and a couple different parts of Oklahoma. Each position and location was radically different from the previous ones. Yet it was through the variety of professional and personal experiences had, that I actually feel ready. As I told my dad the other day, “I got this.”

It was an odd feeling.

In Michigan I learned teambuilding and facilitation skills. My roommate taught me about standing up for oneself and how some comments are just not okay. I learned that I needed to find my own identity, separate from school. She also taught me about Nutella.

The summer after Michigan I drove to Colorado. I am still trying to figure out if this was the hardest experience I will ever love, or just the hardest experience. Either way, it was definitely a year of growth. I wish I had seen it then. While there, I faced social justice issues and learned about nearly every “ism” under the sun. I was exposed to the remarkable world of identities. I don’t think I’ve ever felt more lost. Later I finally understood how much relationships are key, that I need to be part of a group or club outside of work and that if I want to not just survive but to be happy, that I need to find a way to straddle the line of engagement and disengagement.

After completing a year of service in Colorado, I returned home to Oklahoma. I needed time to reboot. I needed to process. I needed to regain trust in myself after completely losing my shit in Washington and nearly walking out on Colorado (thank you Beth and Jen for all your help). Most importantly, I needed to find me. The phrase, “get lost to find yourself” was one I immediately loved when I saw it while in Michigan. What I didn’t understand then, is being lost is terrifying, lonely and filled with anger, sadness and confusion. I used the Red Cross to try everything I was beginning to learn from Colorado. Mainly to make time for things I love and to build up (and utilize) my relationships with a few key people. I learned to take charge, make decisions and further my facilitation experience. The people there showed me what it means to put the clients first. My official and unofficial supervisors modeled the way on how I hope to be as a leader. It was an amazing place to see the life-cycle of a project and to feel incredibly empowered and trusted.   

So now in New York when I’m faced with a problem or a question, I don’t feel lost. I simply start to problem solve based on what I know (thanks Dave Campbell for that penny of wisdom). When a parent is upset, I know to listen to hear if they are just needing to vent or if they really do want an explanation. I feel more excited than nervous to take on my giant roles. I’ve kept my honesty and have been extremely open to hearing feedback without getting defensive. I’ve joined a group outside of work and am soon about to help with the Red Cross. In short, I’m making a home for myself because I finally understand what I need to feel at home.

Thank you to each person who has been a part of my journey. No matter what occurred or how much, you influenced me.