12 Goals to Reach by Year End 2012

Martice with Black Girl in the Big World put out a challenge to create a list of 12 goals to accomplish by the end of 2012.  With 4 1/2 months to go before the year ends, we came up with our own list.

#1 Brand Take A Leap as a go to source within the travel blog community.  This includes establishing relationships with travel bloggers in an effort to promote each other's initiatives.  We supported Martice by purchasing Black Girl Travel T-shirts.  Our next effort will be partnering with Jennifer P of Imported Chocolate.  She will be assisting us in setting up a screening of our pilot episode of Take A Leap in NYC in early December.

#2 Sharee will obtain her first real estate client (outside of herself), and sell her townhome in Columbia, SC. She'll then use the monthly savings to fund her Roth 403b.

#3 Rhonda will start a blog dedicated to financial education, obtain 25 referrals for her ValuTeachers reps, and facilitate 10 solo financial education presentations.

#4 Speak the local language when we travel abroad to both Italy and China.  We're nervous about this, although we have taken a few months of Rosetta Stone's online lessons in Italian. Ciao!!

#5 Get to know Bronx, NY family members.  That's a side of the family we know very little about, and just as it is a whole lot of us down here, there are tons of cuzzos up there.

#6 Attend a Clemson University (our Alma mater) football game this Fall.

#7 Raise an additional $5000 for Take A Leap webseries with approaching September 1 deadline.

#8 Sell 100 copies of our four short films on DVD or via online.

#9 Establish a financial emergency fund.

#10 Pay down credit cards. It helps that we have 0% interest for more than a year.

#11 Do what we love.  The Holstee Manifesto states that "If you are looking for the love of your life, STOP; they will be waiting for you when you start doing the things you love".  Whether in work or play, hopefully we'll both be able to find that special someone.  Sharee's story is in the travel blog section.

#12 End the year in Shanghai, China!!!

These are our 12 goals, both shared and individual.  The year isn't over yet. What do you hope to accomplish??

Guest Post--- Martice Sutton

Every time I meet someone and they find out I lived in India for 9.5 months I am immediately bombarded with questions, but the first one is almost always " what made you want to go there?" as their face either lights up with excitement or turns down in that weird way that shows disappointment or disgust. Depending on who I'm talking to the answer varies but most times I find myself really searching for the honest answer and I think it really was as simple as why not?

While in undergrad I majored in international studies and studied abroad in Barcelona, Spain. Like many students who study abroad I took the opportunity to travel throughout Europe and since then I was always hungry for more. I'm not exactly sure when my fascination for India began. It could have been a mixture of Slumdog Millionaire, Eat, Pray, Love, and my IS background. I was taken aback by this colorful land that was tainted by so many social issues. I wanted to help in some small way, I wanted to explore its complexity and be a part of the country's vibrant colors, spices, and traditions.

So when it was time for post grad options I knew that I wanted to work abroad. I finalized my plan to participate in a social enterprise fellowship that took US graduates and placed them with social enterprises in India to shadow innovators and also offer perspective on ways to improve their enterprises. Once I actually got to Hyderabad, India and actually began my expat life I found myself asking "why the hell did you come HERE?!" Slumdog Millionaire is an accurate account of life in India... Hot as heck, dirty as heck, and crazy as....you get the point lol. There are so many negatives in the country that scream at you such as poverty and corruption that it's hard to get to the positives.

The best way to sum up my India experience is that it brings out the best and the worst of people. There were times when I found myself screaming at auto drivers trying to cheat me and then there were times where I gave so much of myself and could see so much growth in my character. Many expats living throughout India have confirmed this sentiment. Overall I'm grateful for my time in India. Yes people stared at me, ran up to me and snapped pictures like I was an animal at the zoo and ignored me but I also trekked a mountain by myself, lived on a train for two weeks with 400 Indians exploring 12 of the country's cities, and learned to be unapologetically me! When I think of all the positive experiences I have no choice but to say thank you dear India for all that you've shown me.

Martice currently works in Washington, DC with a social enterprise organization.  Continue to follow Martice on her blog at Black Girl in the Big World and Twitter @blkgirlbigword