Sofie to Korea

With 2023 being just hours away, I spent some time reviewing my goals for 2022. Like always I have followed through with some, completely abandoned others, and made a half-assed attempt on the remaining goals. A year ago my vision for 2022 were:

• Read one Korean book per month Haha, this one lasted through March. In total I finished 5 Korean novels and 3 textbooks
• Finish first volume of Quartet intermediate Japanese Done!
• Take the N3 JLPT exam Done! Results will be out by the end of January
• Practice writing Chinese characters every week This didn’t even last into February. Guess I just can’t be bothered.
• Have weekly italki lessons in Japanese and monthly lessons in Korean Done!
• Increase Korean reading speed This one varies depending on what I’m reading but I feel a slight improvement
• Continue healthful and wholesome eating Done! I’ve cut way back on take out and cook almost all meals from scratch
• Explore new recipes every month Maybe didn’t do this every month but I did expand my repertoire
• Take active steps to improve and care for my mental health Done! I’m always work in progress but a few sessions with a therapist and a solo-trip to Seoul have done wonders for my anxiety. Regular exercise is also important and I spend time in nature every day.
• Help others whenever I can I hope I have done good for my family. I have also made more charitable donations this year than ever before as I feel it’s needed more than ever
• Go to Korea! Done!! Went back for the first time since the corona crisis in July 2022 and it was awesome!

So with some goals for 2022 met, others abandoned or greatly modified – what then are my goals for 2023?

• Finish volume two of my Quartet Japanese textbook
• Continue doing weekly Japanese lessons and monthly Korean lessons on italki
• Read more advanced content in Korean – review an advanced text every month
• Read first thing in the morning instead of turning on my laptop
• Challenge myself to the N2 JLPT (who doesn’t love a challenge?)
• Read 6 Korean novels during 2023 (I already have several titles sitting on my shelf)
• Reach a speaking level in Japanese that matches my comprehension level

I enjoy setting new goals for myself and don’t mind terribly if I don’t reach them all. To me, my goals are more like guidelines and they are always subject to change. I sometimes overestimate how useful something is while at the same time underestimating how time-consuming it is (e.g. handwriting Chinese characters), which is usually why I abandon a goal.

If you have any goals for the new year – language related or otherwise – feel free to share them in the comments.

Happy New Year to all!