Christine Wu, Period 5, 11/30/2020, Day B

• At this current point in time, what specific goal(s) do you have for yourself? Why?

Probably like every other senior in the United States right now, I am currently struggling to juggle both my college applications and my schoolwork. I admit, maintaining a balance between the two is quite hard, and is something I’d like to improve on, especially nearing January 1st. I have two essays due very soon--the 8th, in fact--and my very short term goal as of now is to get it done before the deadline. It’s nothing big or flashy, but it is something I’m going to be putting my entire mind into this week. Editing essays, especially on your own, is undeniably pretty difficult, which is why I usually ask my friends for help. Two sets of eyes are better than one, and we catch more mistakes that way, and it adds a bit more fun to what is usually a long and tedious process. Writing essays, especially when nothing comes to mind, is even more difficult, even though I had finished my Common Application essay a month prior and had a sense of what to do. Unfortunately, I’m a chronic procrastinator, and I also get easily distracted, some of my worst traits, which isn’t good when it comes to balancing two very important aspects of my life thus far. This is one of my more long-term goals, to stop putting everything at the last minute and get working, a very hard mentality to consistently put effort into, in my own personal opinion. This is incredibly important nearing college deadlines, since I have many supplements I still need to complete prior to the January 1st deadline, and I shouldn’t leave it for the last two weeks to do, even though I know it is very tempting. This is also very important in regards to everyday life as well, as maybe I would be less stressed--and get more sleep--if I stopped doing my homework around 8:00 every night!

• How do you demonstrate resilience towards achieving this goal? (or these goals?)

I admit, it is insanely difficult to actively gather and put effort into writing these essays! I don’t particularly like divulging into different aspects of myself as a person; I rather pretend I do not exist at all, but recently, after reading the prompts, which were actually pretty interesting, I decided to get a move on instead of wallowing in my own pity. I started reaching out to others who wrote these essays a couple of weeks or even months prior to me, asking for advice. I even asked some of my friends to edit them for me, because we’re all in this together, and we all understand how arduous the college essay process really is. This fits into my larger goal at hand as well, for I started to do something called the Pomodoro method--in which I work for four 25 minute intervals, with a 5 minute break between each interval, and a 15 minute break after the total four intervals had passed--while working on my college essays. I also decided to turn off all my devices besides the one I’m working on, in order to stop getting distracted. It still rarely works, but I’ve been getting better at forcing myself to maintain focus. I’ve even started to use these methods while doing homework, and I admit, it’s getting me pretty far. Again, it’s not perfect, but hopefully with more resilience, I can get even further! 

• How does the world around you affect your perception of this goal? (or these goals?)

The world is huge; that is a given. It is in this large world that I realize that so many others have the same problems as I do, whether it is also college application season wherever they may be, or issues with procrastination. I’ve always thought that I was unique, and in more cringey terms, “not like other girls,” but life isn’t about that. I think the knowledge that I’m not alone pushes me forward even more, whether it’s complaining to my friends that “ugh, I don’t want to write this college essay,” just for them to say “same,” or seeing someone halfway across the world rant about online schooling on TikTok or Instagram. This enables me to write my essay, to do my homework, to learn something new, to perhaps finally stop procrastinating all the time, because countless people before me have done it, because countless people I know, or don’t know, are doing it, and countless people after will do it. But at the same time, I suppose the constant stimulus of social media takes away from my goal to stop getting distracted and stop procrastinating, for there’s so much to look at, but I do try my best to avoid getting on social media while doing my intended work, which is better than nothing!