Due to an unexpected quarantine from my daughter’s exposure to a COVID positive person, I found myself stuck at home for two weeks in January with my husband and daughter. Thankfully, all of us remained asymptomatic and tested negative for COVID. However, I adhered to the health recommendations to quarantine, and I did not work or leave the house outside of medical appointments for 14 days. Homebound, I decided to make my 2021 vision board a fun, creative activity I could do with my daughter.
Below is the result of crafting together that day.
I tend to be a visual learner and have found vision boards to be powerful tools. I’ve shared this before, but years before I became a mom, I made a vision board about being a parent. My husband and I spent over a year trying to get pregnant before I had a miscarriage. I eventually became pregnant with my daughter almost a year after our loss. It was pretty amazing to look back at that vision board, even though my dream of motherhood took some time to materialize.
If you want to try your hand at making a vision board, below are some tips:
- Review your goals or vision board from the prior year (or semester or quarter). Reflect on what you’ve accomplished and acknowledge your achievements!
- Do you have any remaining goals that will continue into the next year (or another timeframe)? Do you need to remove some obstacles before you’re able to achieve these goals? Consider removal of a barrier to be an initial goal.
- Think about your goals for your specified timeframe (year, semester, or quarter). What plans do you have for various areas of your life? You can focus on several areas of your life or many, but here are some to consider: work/career, finances, personal relationships, health/fitness, spirituality/well-being, education & development, rest & relaxation, or hobbies & fun.
- Are your goals S.M.A.R.T. ? S = Specific, M = Measurable, A = Achieveable, R = Realistic, T = Time-bound. If not, design them to be S.M.A.R.T.
- After you’ve thought about your goals (I also recommend writing them down in a planner or calendar!), gather supplies: paper, scissors, tape, glue, markers, and items with images you can use in your vision board (magazines, calendars, catalogs, or Pinterest photos/pins).
- Start cutting out and collecting images or words that inspire you or remind you of the goals you have set for yourself.
- Get at least one photo of yourself to place on your vision board. I also included pictures of my family in mine.
- Assemble your vision board, making sure to include the year or goal timeframe (e.g. Semester I 2021) and a photo of yourself!
- Place the vision board in an area you frequently see. I made my 2020 vision board and hung it on the wall by my desktop all last year. I replaced it with my 2021 vision board this month.
Before I made my 2021 vision board, I reviewed my 2020 vision board (per step 1 above). I posted my board last January on my FB and IG pages:
Upon review of last year’s vision board, it was reassuring to see how many things I accomplished or goals I achieved, despite a worldwide pandemic and various stay-at-home orders:
- The photo of a mom and her newborn in my vision board was a nod to my much-anticipated maternal newborn and pediatric rotations. I got to attend an emotionally moving c-section birth as part of my maternal newborn clinical rotation last year. My classmate and I witnessed a father cry with overwhelming joy and love for his newborn child – it was so sweet that my classmate and I were both moved to tears. I got to complete my preceptorship in a NICU. I had wonderful experiences during my rotations.
- I had a bunch of images related to nursing, education, and graduation. I graduated from nursing school with my BSN and passed my NCLEX last year.
- I have “RN” and a pile of money on my board. I started my first job as a Registered Nurse before the year ended.
- I have travel luggage, a camera, vacation views, and photos of families having fun doing various physical activities on my 2020 board. My family and I managed to squeeze in two family vacations last year – one to Solvang (thanks to a good friend’s timeshare) and another to Bishop (as a result of tagging along on my husband’s business trip). We did not travel the way I originally envisioned after graduation, but my family enjoyed ourselves and explored new places while safely adhering to health orders.
- I have images from “Hamilton”, the musical. I had tickets to watch the musical in-person with my husband at the Pantages in May. The show was canceled due to the pandemic. Luckily, our theatre tickets were refunded. I had to be satisfied (but “I will never be satisfied!”, a la Angelica Schuyler) watching it on Disney+. A benefit with watching the musical at home is that my daughter gets to enjoy it, too. My daughter periodically requests Alexa to play the songs, particularly the ones sung by any of the Schuyler Sisters.
Before the pandemic, I was excited to be part of the graduating class of perfect vision, 2020. I remember being a total dork and declaring this to my classmates well before the pandemic became a reality. After the pandemic started, I forgot about being part of the class of perfect vision. Earlier this year, however, my church’s mothers’ ministry had a Zoom meeting challenging members to think about how 2020 was the year of perfect vision. It was interesting to consider: I had to be laser-focused in my commitment to my goals to avoid distractions and overcome the obstacles of an unexpected pandemic. And maybe 2020 had me re-focus and let go of attachments and what I thought my life should look like. My family did not travel to other states or countries for vacation as in previous years, but we got to experience adventure and explore new places locally and within the state. My daughter speaks fondly of Solvang as much as she does of Spain (we visited in 2019). Even with letting go of attachments and expectations of what I thought things should be like, I didn’t accomplish all my 2020 goals – I still need to add more physical activity in my life and to declutter my home – but looking at my old vision board, I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished in 2020! Now, onward to 2021!
The Mature Student Nurse 