fear.garden :: blog

Goals for 2026

2026-01-24

I never really ever set goals for myself, but maybe this year it's time to start. I feel like putting them on my site for everyone to see will solidify them as "real", so maybe that'll help me feel more motivated?

Rhythm games

I had one goal in 2025, and it was to clear the XTREME inferno chart in Wacca by the end of the year. I did that! It was not a good clear, but it was a clear. I think rhythm game goals are the most attainable for me, so here's a short list of what I'm hoping to achieve in Wacca this year:

  • Achieve SS in XTREME inferno
  • Hit rainbow ranking
  • Start getting consistent SSS for level 12/below charts
  • Start getting consistent SS for level 12+/above charts
  • Start getting consistent S for level 14/above charts

I would like to try more tournaments as well, though I always get too nervous to play on stage and I always do terribly in front of other people. It's a great way to practice social environments though LOL, and even if I fail there's 0 consequence to anything, even if it's super scary in the moment! I did 2 Wacca tournaments and 1 SDVX tournament last year, and I did extremely shittily in all of them... it was good exposure practice though.

I'd also like to get better at Chunithm this year, I've finally come around to it and I'd love to be able to play higher level charts like the master for IMPACT plus some of the other USAO songs. Low level Chunithm is bland as hell, but I really do like the challenge offered in the higher difficulty levels -- it's also less physically exhausting than high level Wacca charts (which require a higher range of motion), so it's good for me on days where I lack the physical strength to play Wacca (yayyy 24/7 exhaustion).

Languages

I always think to myself, "I should learn Japanese!" but then never actually try. I think finding a place to start is the hardest part -- where the hell do I even begin? In this age of the internet, there's almost an overwhelming amount of resources available online (and not all of them are good!). However, prior to writing this I actually saw a post titled Japanese is Embarrassing, Do It Anyway by Gnocchibabu in the Nekoweb feed, where they shared their own journey and what's helped them the most as a novice -- their insight is actually super helpful.

Alternatively, I might work on re-learning French; it's mandatory in Canadian schools, but I enjoyed it and even took supplementary classes throughout high school... then never proceeded to use it afterwards. Phalanx had also suggested Chinese to me, as Chinese people actually make up a pretty significant demographic in the Toronto area and it would be super relevant to the places I usually hang out. I don't know if I would actually end up ever using it though...

If I end up trying to learn a language, I will most likely just pick one and stick with that for now, as I feel like trying to learn multiple would just be overwhelming and wouldn't help me feel less lost in the whole thing lmao

Other skills

I was thinking that I might try getting back into art this year! It's kind of hard though. I used to draw a lot back before high school, but of course being the token weird kid in my class, my drawings got made fun of a lot (I mostly drew dragons and MLP characters) and I kind of internalised that for life. I had a brief return to it in 2022, but I struggle with sticking with it now as I fail to enjoy what I make, and just feel dissatisfied and stressed out by how absolutely dogshit my skills are. I know I'll never improve if I don't try in the first place, but I think I got cursed as a kid and the first step for me will be trying to unlearn the "people hate everything you make because it's you" thing.

Also, this one is also something random I occasionally consider: video editing, specifically in the context of making typographies lol (idk they're just interesting to me). Stuff like this or even the B.B.K.K.B.K.K. video, where it's animations synced to music. That seems fun! I guess it's After Effects stuff? Not a huge priority, but something that intrigues me nonetheless.

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And yeah, that's kind of it. Who knows if I'll achieve anything off this list, but it doesn't hurt to consider doing things beyond my usual. I guess we'll see if I remember to look back in 2027?