Ryan Hourican, Period 5, 10/15/20, Day B

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

The major goal for many at this time is to get accepted into a good college. This year could determine how I end up in the future. I could get into a fantastic school and do great or I could settle for a safety school and hope I do just as well as I would have in the better school. College has been on my mind for years and the goal has always been to go to the best one. My opinion on which is the best might have changed but the goal is still to get in because my future depends on it. I have many more goals for my future but the thing that can help me achieve all of those is the college I go to. Like many I want to be successful and happy and the college I go to could either help me get there or leave it as the difficult task it is. The major goal is success but the minor goal that can help me achieve success is college.

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

Throughout the years, I've been working hard to set myself up to go to a good college. I've worked hard in the classroom, done community service and have done my best to be the greatest version of myself that I can be but becoming a good football player is something I've done that I would have never guessed would help me achieve this goal. Of course the grades have to be good which is why I've worked hard to keep the grades high my entire school career but during this time I have been working hard on the field and have caught the eyes of a few college coaches. From what I've been told, they can give me a better chance at getting into their college purely based on the fact that they want me to play for them. I haven't gotten into college yet so I'm still working hard to be the best I can be.

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

This day in age college is almost mandatory if you want to do well and find a good paying job.  This, of course, makes me want to get into the best one. The biggest thing that affects my perception of this goal is my parents and my sister. My sister is already at college and she has been a big influence on who I am. Because she's the older sibling, I've always been chasing her, trying to be as smart as her. This pushed me to get where I am and have all these opportunities but she also has been helping me in deciding where I might want to end up by telling me the ups and downs of each so I don't have any clouded judgement on any school I look at. My parents also have talked to me a lot about college and have been big supporters. They are helping me currently with college work but most importantly they have brought me to each college I might want to go to. The campus is a big part about choosing for me and driving me to each one is helping me decide which college is the favorite. They each helped me in forming my goals for the future and all thats left to happen is to wait and see who accepts me and who doesn't.

Mitchell Hayutt, Period 5, 10/15/20, Day B

 At this point in current time, what specific goals do you have for yourself? Why?

     At this point in my life, my main goal is to get into one of the colleges of my dreams and succeed in the world of finance. This is a huge goal for me because I know that the world of finance relies on connections and communication. These factors are the main reason that I strive to get into a school like UPenn or NYU. These schools offer not only a top tier education, but also a vast amount of connections that will help me secure an incredible job right after college. If I can achieve this, my next goal is to just work hard and succeed throughout college. I want to be a standout student in terms of my grades and my social participation in events and clubs. In other words, I hope that my college experience is a perfect balance between academic success and a generally great time with new friends. 

How do you demonstrate resilience towards achieving this goal? 

   I have been demonstrating resilience towards achieving this goal all throughout high school. Ever since freshman year, I knew that I would have to get the best grades possible in every class if I wanted to get into a top tier college. Thus, I’ve been consistently opting to take the most rigorous AP classes, and making sure that I worked hard and did well in all of these classes. In addition, I spent a lot of my time volunteering and participating in clubs because I knew that this would also help me in my college applications process. Over these past four years, I’ve taken upon a lot of difficult challenges, including some of the toughest classes that the school offers. No matter how complex the challenge, I always found a way to adapt and overcome, because I know that resilience and cooperation are vital qualities that will help me in my future. 

How does the world around you affect your perception of this goal? 

    As I get closer and closer to achieving my goal, I start to feel like I could have done so much more than I have done. This is because the world is always adapting and improving in countless ways, and it is impossible for us to keep up with the constant change. It seems as if every year, it gets harder and harder to achieve your dreams, and only the strongest and most determine actually succeed. Although it may seem difficult, I still pride myself in finding inspiration from people around me who have succeeded in the past. I choose to surround myself with other positive people who want to work hard and succeed in life. I also choose my role models and other people that I choose to idolize very selectively. The best idols are those that have succeeded due to their own hard work, and are able to inspire young and motivated students, such as myself, to achieve their dreams. 

Jolie Huang, Period 2, 10/19/20, Day A

Jolie Huang
Modern Mythology
10/19/20
Period 2


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

Just like every other senior in the school, my goal is also to get through such a different college process than what we all know of! With this goal of getting through my college applications though, I think my main goal is to stop being a procrastinator. Embarrassingly, procrastination has been something I’ve been dealing with the 5th grade; It all started when I pulled my first all-nighter because I had to read 10 chapters of “My Brother Sam Is Dead” at once. I think the main thing that’s keeping me from fixing my procrastination is my mindset of being able to pull things off last minute. It happens with my tests and projects where I do it last minute and everything turns out fine for me… but what about my college apps? Surely, it won’t be the same: how could I do something in a week whereas some people do them over months? My problem has gotten to a point where it’s almost the end of October and I haven’t started my common app essay or my art portfolio yet. Every time I tell myself to do something, the little voice in the back of my head always tells me, “What you’re doing right now is so much more fun and relaxing!” Then, 5 hours pass. Then, I get frustrated with myself because I know I wouldn’t be feeling like this if I had just done what I had to do earlier. Then, I tell myself, “It’s ok, I shouldn’t worry about this too much because I’ll pull this off in the end.” Repeat. It’s an endlessly toxic cycle that I’ve constantly looped around. My main goal is to break this cycle and the most effective way to solve this is to stay focused on my end goal and take things day by day.

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

One thing that’s been helping me out is making a to-do list of all of my tasks. Since middle school, I’ve been in the habit of having a planner of some sort to keep my assignments and deadlines noted at all times. Organization is definitely a key part in trying to curb procrastination because there’s more structure in your routine that you’d want to stick to. Something I learned recently is that procrastination is the result of you wanting to avoid the negative feelings of anxiety and discomfort that come with approaching a daunting task. So to overcome this, you need to figure out the reason why you need to finish said task, what bigger goal you would achieve after finishing, and (most importantly) what would happen if you just didn’t do the task at all. Writing down these reasons next to the bullets on my to-do list have been really helping me out. If I see something along the lines of “Jolie, you’re going to fail the SAT if you don’t put in the effort of finishing a chapter of the workbook”, then I’ll have the motivation to get started. Lastly, I’ve been into keeping motivational statements in my mind a lot to keep myself focused and not get bogged down by feelings of negativity. They could be things like “doing a little is better than doing nothing” or “if you do it now, you won’t have to do it later”. I think this goes hand in hand with my belief that structure keeps you from straying away from your goal. If I have a mindset of taking things one step at a time instead of multiple steps all at once, I’ll become less stressed/overwhelmed and finish my tasks efficiently.

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

The pandemic has given me an invaluable opportunity, which is more time and less schoolwork. It’s unfortunate that our progress in the school year has been going slower than normal, but I could flip this around and see it as something positive. Ending school everyday at either 11AM or 2PM both give me hours in the afternoon to get things done. I could only see this as a chance given by the universe to finally solve my procrastination problem. Another way the world affected my perception of this goal is that everyone is also taking advantage of having more free time because of the pandemic. If everyone else is also doing it, then it’s a sign for me to also act upon myself and improve my work ethic. We don’t know what other time we’ll be able to experience something like this (hopefully never again), but if we see it as something positive, then something equally as positive will come out of it.

Brice Joseph, Period 2, 10/19/20, Day A

Brice Joseph  
Modern Mythology
10/18/20
Period 2

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

The current point in time is definitely a new experience for everyone. I would have never expected that our high school journey would be interrupted by a global pandemic which would change the way we live our lives quite possibly forever. However, throughout these times, I still have a few goals I wish to reach and work towards. My main goal currently is to finish college applications. There is still a lot for me to do such as writing essays and finding a major that I am comfortable and enjoy pursuing. College is a big step in life and preparing for it is definitely a goal I am working towards. Finding a being accepted into a college that I have interest in a goal that I hope to reach once I finish college applications. Another goal I have at this point in time is maintaining a healthy balance between everything in my life. From schoolwork to college applications, it is not the easiest thing to find a balance especially with the unique school schedule. Remote learning is something that I need to learn to adjust to and setting aside time for specific things like college apps and school work. Staying on top of my work and college application are the main goals I have at the current point in time

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

Staying on top of my goals has not been the easiest thing to do. There has been many setbacks like time management, remote learning, test cancellations, etc. that have prolonged me reaching my goals. Although these circumstances, I have found ways to continue to work towards my goals despite the setbacks. As the workload gets heavier and heavier, I found creating a schedule of what I have to do has greatly helped me become more productive and organized. This has helped me in my schoolwork and staying on top of my work and not letting myself fall behind. With everything going on, applying to college is also a daunting task. However, I have set aside time to do college research as well as career research in order to find a college and career I wish to pursue. I think I have done a pretty good job as I am getting closer to actually reaching this goal. I have started writing college essays and applying to scholarships which is a good start towards my goals.

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

Although there is a lot going around in the world with the global pandemic, the world around me does not really change my perception of these goals. With these changing and uncertain times, my goals stay set in stone. Yes, the current situation does make it more and more difficult but I can't just sit around and waste time. These goals require work to be done and I have to put everything into working towards these goals not just for me, but for my future. This type of mindset has motivated me to keep on working despite everything life throws at me.

Jade Lombardo, 10/16/2020, PD8, Day C

Jade Lombardo
Modern Mythology
10/16/2020
PD8

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

Currently, my goals are to finish my many college essays while also keeping up with schoolwork. Like many people, I am struggling with writing and editing my common application essay. I feel like my words aren’t flowing that much, and that what I’m trying to convey isn't coming out the way I want it to. The application deadline of November 1st is also in two weeks, making me even more stressed to try and finish it on time. I’m also aiming to do well on schoolwork, which takes up a lot of time even though I’m doing remote learning. I feel that learning remotely isn't as great as it would be if I was in school, so my goal is to keep up with the homework and lessons and to not fall behind.

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

I demonstrate resilience towards this task by trying to work on college applications at least once a day. This helps me split up my work efficiently and not get overwhelmed if I do a lot of it in one day. I also ask for outside opinions on whether or not my essay makes sense and if it is conveying what I’m trying to convey. I demonstrate resilience towards keeping up with schoolwork by watching extra videos of people explaining topics to me. This is especially the case for AP physics and AP calculus, because I usually don't get the concepts the first time the teacher explains it. By doing this extra work, I usually start to understand the lesson better, and it also helps me complete the homework.

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


The world around me affects my perception of these goals as normal. Many of my friends are also applying early decision or action to schools, and are trying to edit their essays on time. This makes me feel less alone in my own struggle, knowing that almost everyone in my grade is going through the same thing as me. My parents are also encouraging me to finish the essay before the deadline of November first, which encourages me to keep going. I also know that many people are struggling with online school, and that they aren’t learning as much as they could be if it was in person. I understand this struggle, and it also makes me feel less alone.

Celina Lin, PD 8, 10/16/20, Day C

Celina Lin
Modern Mythology
Ms. Fusaro
10/16/2020

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

A specific goal that I have for myself currently is being able to maintain a balanced lifestyle between school workload and work. Because being a senior this year means having to apply to colleges and spending time on college applications. I want to be able to maintain a good grade for each class and definitely take every single thing seriously because I feel like by committing more time and effort into doing each assignment would just be better for the sake of myself. I know that sometimes I would go the shortcut to achieve something but sometimes that might not be the best choice. Especially when approaching school assignments, I think that I have shifted my mindset in how to do them. Sometimes, things aren’t as easy as you expect. I feel like back when I was younger, the easier the assignments, the happier I was. That was because I didn’t have to utilize my brain at all, I could go the easy way and easily get a 100. But entering high school, I wasn’t satisfied with this method at all. I thought to myself instead of going the easy way, why not try and work my brain harder. I want to be able to understand each aspect of the lesson the teacher is teaching or if I didn’t understand something or got a question wrong, I needed to get an explanation for it. I thought that if I approach things that way, I would see improvement. I was tired of doing things without putting in all my effort, so I decided to change and try and improve on the areas I am lacking. Also, I personally think that balancing school workload and work is not an easy thing but I think that if I manage my time appropriately, I would be able to handle it. A lot of the time I would feel overwhelmed with the school workload because I wouldn’t have any time to work school assignments on the weekends. In order to work on achieving my current goal, I have to utilize time management and be able to handle the workload coming from both school and work.

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

I think I’ve been trying to give myself a break whenever I can because incorporating school work and work itself together is a lot more tougher than I expected. A lot of the time, I have negative thoughts floating in my head because I would always concern myself with “Did I not work hard enough?” or “What have I done wrong?” I am constantly worried about the areas that I am lacking in because I would want to improve on those areas. Resilience to me is being able to refrain from having such negative thoughts and approach things in a more positive way. After all, there are just too many things in life for us to appreciate and be grateful for. I want to push the negative thoughts out of my mind and be able to generate motivation for myself to do things voluntarily. I want to be able to do things at my own decision and my own pace instead of being forced by others. I think through that way, I would be able to improve as a person.

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

After being in quarantine for a few months, I realized that I can actually accomplish a lot of things. I got motivated by seeing how other people utilized quarantine and looked at it from a positive viewpoint. I thought quarantine would be dreadful because that meant I couldn’t be with friends or go outside as frequent. But, seeing videos online of how people were properly utilizing the fact that they had more time at home, I wanted to do the same for myself as well. I started taking online lessons and I became more active as well. I also thought to myself that if people can make huge progress during the few months of quarantine, why can’t I also do the same and utilize my own time and do something productive. So, I am pretty grateful for quarantine because it gave me time to reflect on what areas I need to work on and allowed me to consider what exactly I want to pursue in the future

Svetlana Doronkina, PD 5, 10/01/20, Day B

Svetlana Doronkina 

Modern Mythology 2021

10/01/20

Period 5

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

    At this current point in time, my goal is to survive the senior year with my mind intact. COVID-19 and remote learning have completely uprooted the traditional setting and way of learning I’m accustomed to - everyone is doing their absolute best to make the adjustment, but it’s simply not the same. College applications and supplementals are difficult to balance with the workload of classes - making my end goal doing well in both categories and retaining my sanity. 

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

    I demonstrate resilience towards achieving these goals because, despite the challenges I’ve met along the way, I haven’t given up. Balancing work, school, and social life has been incredibly difficult but working on time management has truly helped me persevere. I’ve learned that keeping a calendar of all perspective due dates are beyond useful and plan to use more organizational tactics to keep this and all possible objectives flowing smoothly.  

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

    The world around me has been frankly, a mess - it’s shown me nothing but despair and darkness as of late. It’s disheartening to watch all these stories of brutality and discrimination being told, knowing this pain extends to an endless number of people. It’s made me realize that my problems aren’t as large as they feel and that there are more important things going on; people deal with much more pressing issues every day - if they can do that, I can make it through the college application process.