Holidays New Year's

Hopes and dreams for 2018

Happy New Year! May 2018 sparkle with possibilities. (Lauren VonKampen/YJI)

Atkins, Iowa, UNITED STATES – There is something spectacular about the beginning of a new year. It is a time filled with new hopes, dreams and aspirations. As for me, my hopes and dreams for 2018 are closer and more palpable than many of my dreams in past years.
In 2018, I will chase my goals relentlessly. I plan to continue to make my photography and journalism goals become a reality. From continuing to run and grow my own photography business in small-town Iowa, to being published on local and international platforms, I will make these dreams come true.
I have hopes that this coming year will also have a strong emphasis on traveling. I plan on traveling around the United States: to Florida, North Carolina, and the western portions of the country. Highlighting it all, however, I hope will be a mission trip to Honduras in the summer. I dream of expanding my horizons in world travel in this coming year, and these trips would be the perfect opportunities to make this a reality.
Most importantly, it is my hope and dream that 2018 will help me grow as a human being. I hope to see things I have never seen before, learn things I have never learned before, and understand things I have never understood before. I dream of connecting with people I have never met and being in places I never dreamed of finding. I hope to gain a greater understanding of the magnificent people and places that I share this earth with.
As 2017 comes to a close and the opportunities of 2018 open up to me, I cannot help but feel overwhelmed with excitement. Each of the 365 days that lie ahead of me are filled with countless possibilities to make my hopes and dreams come true, and I am ready to pursue each and every one of them.

Laura VonKampen is a Junior Reporter for Youth Journalism International.