2024 reflection and 2025 goals

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Hi! My name is Riley, and I am now a post-grad girlie living in Kentucky. I just graduated from the University of Kentucky with degrees in Marketing and Business Management. I’ll be starting my big girl job on January 2nd at a local real estate firm, working as an Assistant Property Manager. I would say that in this life, my family is the most important, especially my dog, Rory (see her below). I also somehow found and held onto a 13 person friend group from high school. These are the people I get up to the most crazy adventures with and will continue to do so this year.

This post is intended to be a quick reflection on my year and a written record of my 2025 goals. This blog started originally to write about all of my Semester at Sea adventures, but for some reason or another, I really struggled to write those thoughts down this year. Semester at Sea was a long-time dream that I, cynically, never expected to happen. It’s an expensive and unnecessary semester that takes you far away from everything you know and love. However, it worked out like nothing ever has and then so much more joy sparked from it. I was also fortunate to have a wonderful summer at home and a fun last semester of college this year. This blog has become a place for me to write about all the things I love: reading, travel, friends and family, and just general life. I am so grateful to have taken the leap and started this website. Thanks to you for reading!

This year, I was lucky enough to visit 11 new countries (Thailand, Malaysia, India, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, Ghana, Morocco, Portugal, Germany, and the Netherlands) as well as 2 new states (Louisiana and Mississippi). I achieved my goal of visiting 3 more of my hometown friends at school (NKU, Dayton, and Georgetown College) as well as my financial goals of beginning an investment portfolio and retirement account. I also graduated from college, read over 140 books, and was able to spend so much valuable time with friends and family. I am so grateful for 2024, regardless of the challenges, and I am really excited for 2025.

As for my goals of 2025, I have set 15 pretty lofty goals as well as created a 25 in 2025 reading challenge (will be a separate post coming soon!).

2025 GOALS:

Save X Amount for a House | I am lucky enough to be living at home with my parents for the next year, so saving to buy my own home is a big goal of mine. Though I don’t want to share just how much I want to save, I know this is a big amount and I will have to be dedicated to reaching this goal.
100 CyclST8 Classes | This is my local cycle studio, started by @madymartin, and I just love going to classes there. I really feel so much better physically and mentally when I’m going to classes there, so 100 classes is a good way to hold me accountable.
Four New States | I am so grateful to live in a country where so many different places and landscapes are just a short flight or drive away. I have already planned a trip to NYC in January and I’m hoping to see Kansas and Michigan (my two SAS roomies) and maybe somewhere else out West.
Get My Kentucky Real Estate License | With my new job, I am opening so many networking doors into the real estate world. My boss has offered to pay for my license, so this is definitely a goal for the first part of next year. I may never get that into sales, but I know this will be so helpful for my own house hunting and my job in general.
Earn $10K in Non-Salaried Income | Ok, this is maybe my most lofty goal for sure. I’ll likely be documenting the process throughout the year here on the blog. With me moving home, I know that I need to stay busy for my own mental health. I just do best with a full calendar. I’ve been working to establish myself on some freelance platforms like Pangea and Upwork as well as looking for side gigs, like babysitting or an after work retail job. This goal is one I will be ok if I don’t accomplish, but I just want to see how much I can push myself.
Leave Town Once A Month | With graduating early and moving home before a lot of my friends, I know I have so many cool places to visit and that it will be so good for me to make a goal of leaving monthly. I’ve already planned January’s to NYC, so I’ll just have to stay ahead of the game so there’s no last minute plans.
Open a New Travel Card | I actually already accomplished this one because they ran a holiday deal, but I’ve been wanting to open a travel credit card for a while. Since I travel lots and only plan to keep traveling more, I wanted to be smart with my spending and use miles and points to my advantage.
Max Out My Roth IRA | I began my Roth IRA, a retirement account, this year. I barely contributed this year just because of studying abroad and just general life, but I am determined to put in the max contribution next year.
Invest $2000 | Outside of retirement investing, I really want to build my overall portfolio this year. I use Fidelity Investments, and this year I just want to diversify my earnings more.
Read 150 Books | As of this post, I have read 145 books this year, so next year I think I can definitely do 150. I did not discover audiobooks until August, so that will definitely help to pass the time at work and I plan to get some treadmill reading in during lunch breaks too.
Get TSA Pre-Check | For my non-USA readers, security in our airports is crazy. This program allows you to go through in-depth background checks once and then have less hassle in the airports for the next 5 years. Since I fly at least a few times a year and I plan to keep traveling, this is just a smart investment for my time and sanity in the airport. Just have to sit in a government office and answer forms for longer than I’d prefer.
Post 100x on Here | This blog has been such a wonderful creative outlet for me in the second half of the year. I have so many post ideas and things to say, so I know a consistent schedule will be more fun than work. The true goal is to post 3x a week, but 100 is my safer goal.
Attend Mass More | For those that don’t know, I am born and raised Catholic. I am strong in my faith through prayer and service, however, throughout college, I fell off on my consistent attendance of Mass. In this new year, I want to do my best to go every Sunday and sit with my grandma. Mass lifts my spirits and makes my week start off way better, so I think this is something I need to do to get my routine down.
Call Someone Everyday | Maybe this is relatable, but I hate calling people because I don’t want to bother them. Logically, I know they would decline my call if they couldn’t answer, but I also just feel like a bother. So this year, I am going to get over that because I’m being ridiculous and I know consistent communication is appreciated by all my friends and family.
Find A New Hobby | As I move into post-grad life, I’m realizing just how much time I spent on school. With that, I’m wanting to find a fun new hobby to add to my life. I plan to try out different types of volunteer work and different crafts and adventures to see how I can add to my year. Some thoughts for this are hiking, games at an old folks home, crocheting, and coloring. I’ll keep you updated!