At least some of my goals are pretty straightforward lol. Travel-related goals really just require following the thread from beginning to end to figure out all the things you’ll need:

I’ve always wanted to see the northern lights. First I searched for tours to see where and when people tend to go. It basically split into Alaska or Scandinavian countries, and it was a lot cheaper for me to go to Alaska. I also found a place with large, skyward facing windows to allow for viewing from within a heated space, because I am not built for cold weather nonsense.

I’m no longer in school, so I like to travel off season. With a range of months in hand (auroras are best viewed from fall to early spring) I checked in with a friend to see if they wanted to come with (they did!), which further narrowed the date range. We found a package at a price point we both liked, booked flights that overlapped as much as possible, shopped for suitable cold weather clothes, figured out accommodations and necessary time off.

The first time I saw the light with my own eyes, I was actually surprised by how faint they were. They showed up way more strongly on my camera. But I really love astrological phenomena, so I spent most of the nights there bumbling around in the dark with my camera, fiddling with the long exposure settings, experimenting with various makeshift tripods (coat rack ended up being my favorite) and just laying back and watching the auroras while my friend was snoring away. I still remember one moment where the aurora was particularly strong, wiggling around in a large stripe across the sky directly above me.