My Personal Curriculum for the Rest of 2025 -

What is a personal curriculum?

The concept of a “personal curriculum” has taken the internet by storm on platforms like TikTok and Instagram (check out @xparmesanprincessx on TikTok, who is widely credited with starting the trend), but what does it mean? It’s essentially a way to structure your time so that you can intentionally make space for hobbies, learning, and personal development. There is a strong focus on learning (the curriculum part, harkening back to school days), whether it’s languages, skills, or subjects. A curriculum can include various elements, such as books, podcasts, online courses, projects, and more, and may take place over a few weeks or months.

This may sound a little too formal, but it doesn’t have to be! The main point is to bring learning back into our lives, and make space for our actual interests which may sometimes get pushed aside in our busy lives. Being intentional about how you want to structure your time, having a plan, and having goals can go a long way in re-centering your passions.

Creating my personal curriculum

If you’ve read some of my other posts, you may know that I recently moved to Australia from the US for a fresh start after leaving my government job. I started this new chapter to use it as an opportunity for personal growth, upskilling, and finding joy. With this in mind, I wanted my curriculum to blend a mix of different things.

I started my curriculum by writing a list of all the things I wish I had more time to work on, things I really want to learn, and skills I want to develop. After writing out this whole list, I narrowed it down based on what I realistically could accomplish and what investments I was comfortable making. My final list includes five focal points:

Language Learning
Fiber Arts
Writing
Web Design
Manifesting

Other ideas that really sparked my interest, and I might incorporate if I have time, include climate-focused volunteering, enrolling in one of Harvard’s free courses, and learning to make pasta from scratch.

Ideas for creating your own curriculum

Check out the Personal Curriculum Trend on TikTok for inspiration. You can also have a browse on Instagram and Pinterest for curriculum ideas, or revisit things you’ve saved to help get an idea of what you’re interested in!
Tip- Some people are using Notion to structure their curriculum. You can make it as detailed as you’d like, including links, articles, assignments, and projects. I am keeping mine very simple and mainly using a productivity app, Finch, to hit goals like my daily writing goal and weekly French class.

Language Learning

For years in high school and university, I studied French. I never got to a fluent level, but was somewhat intermediate. Unfortunately, I didn’t keep up with the language, and I was never as engaged in the classes as I wish I had been.

I have always wished I could speak another language, since it opens so many doors for travel and living. I know enough French that this seems like a great starting point for working towards fluency. To help accomplish this goal, I needed something beyond Duolingo. I also know that if I enrolled in an online course, I would not learn as much, so I signed up for weekly French lessons downtown through the Alliance Francaise.

This is something I have already started, so I thought I would include it in the curriculum. I also plan to continue my Duolingo streak, read a French book I bought, and listen to some French music or TV. I hope that by the end of this 8-week course, I will be more confident in speaking French and can continue working towards fluency.

In the future, I think it would be a great experience to do an immersive trip to practice the language. But first I need to do a bit more work!

Fiber Arts

If you’re not familiar with the term “fiber arts,” this is a broad category of art that incorporates weaving, knitting, crocheting, felting, and embroidery. Earlier this year, I picked up crocheting and love it! Sadly, since I moved to Australia, I have fallen off my crochet projects. I have half of a beanie that I am really struggling to finish.

It is just one of those things right now that I wish I devoted more time to, but I always forget about it. Being mindful about my time means intentionally incorporating time for hobbies, such as crochet. I also really want to teach myself to knit. I love crochet, but there is so much that you can only do with knitting. This is also a hobby I have already made the investment in (I have the needles and yarn), so all I need is time.

I am hoping that once I get better at knitting and reignite my passion for fiber arts, I might find knitting/crochet clubs in the city.

Writing

As you can see, I have a jumpstart on this task. It has been my goal for a while to start writing more. And beyond that… publishing my writing! Starting a blog was a bit of a leap for me, but it’s a great outlet for putting together my thoughts and continuing to work on my writing.

Writing, like any other creative medium, takes practice to get proficient. My goal for this curriculum is to create a daily writing practice. Every day, I will write something, even if it’s just a few paragraphs in my journal or working on my novel. I am looking forward to developing this skill and maybe feel more confident in my work and thinking of myself as a “writer.”

Web Design

The process of creating a blog has made me realize how useful web design is as a skill. I want to sign up for a course so that I can really understand how to use digital tools to create beautiful, unique websites. This is not only a really great and valuable professional skill, but also will be creatively fulfilling to work on.

I plan to sign up for a course through the platform Coursera, which has free course options. I’m also looking forward to checking out YouTube for ideas and tutorials, and getting to test out my skills on this blog site.

Here are some of the free Coursera courses I’m interested in:

Build a Full Website using WordPress by Coursera Project Network
Web Design for Everybody: Basics of Web Development & Coding Specialization by University of Michigan
Web Design: Strategy and Information Architecture by CalArts

Manifesting

Several experiences I’ve had over the past couple of months have been pushing me towards manifestation. To me, manifestation is a great tool for really focusing your energy and getting a clear idea of what you really want for your future, along with focusing on gratitude for what you already have.

I will be starting a 21-day manifestation challenge, where each day I plan to devote time to intentionally think about my goals, feelings, and gratitude. For me, this will include journaling, art, vision boards, and meditation. Making this a daily practice helps set aside time to purposely reflect, which is something that is easy to forget.

Manifestation journalling prompts

What are you grateful for?
Write about a day in the life you really want (when you have the dream job, met a personal goal, etc.), as though you already have it.
What habits are keeping you from realizing your dreams? How can you leave those behind?

On a side note, manifestation combines visualizing, planning, connecting with emotions, and taking action. I consider my personal curriculum to be a big part of my manifestation practice- I know what I want my future to look like, including what skills and knowledge I will need, and I am actively taking action to get myself there. I think this is a great way to view this curriculum practice, and it can be really transformative.

Why create a personal curriculum?

If you’ve read this whole article and are still undecided if a personal curriculum is for you, I want to challenge you to think more deeply about the benefit. This concept of a curriculum can really help you identify what your true interests are- including interests that maybe you have neglected or never even pursued. Your curriculum can help reconnect with your inner child (ever wanted to study Egyptology or whales?), and spark your excitement for learning! It can also help you think deeply about your career path and how to get where you want to be.

It is easy to go through life getting bogged down in daily tasks and stress. When I am not being intentional, my daily routine involves going to work, coming home and eating a boring dinner, watching hours of TV or doomscrolling, and then going to sleep. No time for hobbies or learning. All of a sudden, you look up and realize you never did any of the things you wanted to.