I loosely divided it into four sectors, with a nice big “Double Happiness” in the middle–because really, that’s what it’s all about, no? The upper left corner is all about my new-found rediscovered passion for green living. When I was in elementary school, 50 Simple Things Kids Can Do to Save the Earth was one of my absolute favorite books. As I got older, I defaulted to green living…when it was convenient. But in the past year or so, I have felt a new sense of urgency when it comes to our planet, and dream of having the greenest home we can.

Contradictory as it may seem, the next corner is all about travel. Given the title and original intention of this blog, this can’t be any surprise. Some of these destinations (those in Asia) are planned for spring of 2011, but the others are a bit up in the air. Seeing the names of places I dream of visiting each day certainly inspires me to find a way to make it happen. And that camera there is my dream purchase so I can play with photography, which I love, and capture my travels.

The upper right corner is focused mostly on health. “Beautiful Back” is my vanity goal. I’m a sucker for backless dresses and halter tops, and I want a strong, toned back when I wear them. Some goals are food related, some sleep, some yoga, some my relationships and spirituality. All pretty straightforward, I think.

Finally, the lower right corner is a bit of a “catch all” category. It speaks to my desire to spend more time in nature, get a puppy or two when we’re settled somewhere, spend more time with poetry and art, and to apply and get accepted to a program for my masters in literature (more on that later).

I realized later that I neglected to add a few things, but had already taken out the recycling and filled up my board. Somehow, I’ll have to find room for these intentions: patience, vegetable garden, head stand, 10 push ups, $0 debt, sunrises, fireplace, Istanbul, Morocco. Most of them are details or expansions or tangents to other items already on the board, but specificity is key, is it not?

Have created a vision board? Do you have plans to? Please share links and experiences in the comments!

*Can you tell I couldn’t come up with a clever title?

Test prep (TOEFL Speaking) is still a big part of what I do, but mostly I have been doing private tutoring with students, working on their college essays. I also teach two small (read: one student per class) “precept” — or introduction to English literature — classes.

Helping students with essays, talking about how to structure a short piece of nonfiction, what a difference it makes when you trim all the fat and choose the most precise words, has been a dream. I know I’m rather spoiled at work, where students are very bright and hardworking, but I’ll take it. The other day, I literally got goosebumps as a student realized how he could restructure his essay to have a much bigger punch.

The lit classes are an absolute treat. I can’t believe I get paid to read and talk about The Giver and The Great Gatsby! My girls are such keen readers, too. (I like to think I have a little something to do with that, but I think they were delivered to me in pretty amazing shape.) The questions they ask and quotes they notice are really sharp, and this is all in their second (or third or fourth) language.

When I came to Korea, I had a few goals that were really important for me to accomplish. Then there were a few things I hoped would happen, but that would take a little more than just effort I put into them. The biggest was the ever-elusive “trying to figure out what the heck I want to do with my life.” It seems, though, that the graces have smiled on me, because I’m rather certain I want to continue doing this — teaching excited students about how truly awesome words are. Stay tuned for more on that.