A blog-style compilation of reflective journals documenting my journey.
April 13, 2024
Summer Plans and Development Gaps
My professional long-term goals include going to professional school and making a difference outside of an academic setting. Personally, I want to fulfill a life of service and happiness. The skills that I need to achieve these goals mainly include communication. Learning how to communicate with individuals of different backgrounds and wants in life is essential in my professional success. I believe that these skills can be a little more refined by engaging in various activities throughout college. Getting in a professional program also requires showing that I am truly dedicated to the cause. I need to demonstrate this through my grades and my extracurricular activities. This can include volunteering to show that I am comfortable in a professional setting, in this case, it would be a hospital or clinic. The final skill I feel I still need to develop is balance. I am in the process of figuring out how to balance the social, academic, and personal aspects of my life. I know it’ll take time and I am being patient with it.
This summer I would like to work on demonstrating my dedication through volunteering. I would like to volunteer at my local hospital. It would help me to ensure that I want to actually work in that setting. I am also looking at jobs at smaller locations to see if they would allow me to help. Volunteering at hospitals is the main opportunity available to me. I even plan on shadowing professionals so I can get the best idea of what they do. Additionally, volunteering or working this summer will help me with balance. I might even try to take a class. So I need to learn how to balance volunteering, class, and now my family since I will be going back home for the summer. Volunteering at a hospital is a high priority for me because I believe that it will help me take the next biggest steps toward going to a professional school. It will help me confirm my desire and I think it will feed into the life of service that I want to live. I’ve started looking at websites like LinkedIn to see what’s available in my local area, but I’ve mainly looked at hospital websites with volunteering programs. In these programs, I would get the opportunity to see how a hospital is run and help with small administrative tasks that would ultimately provide a window into the life that I want to have. There are two or three that I know of that take volunteers and I would like to look into it more.
September 9, 2023
Success Strategies
Success has a variety of definitions. For this semester at A&M, success would be maintaining a good GPA and feeling like I learned something from each of my classes. I would be happy if I was able to get high grades and maintain it throughout my time at A&M. I know this might not always be the case, but if I knew I did everything I could, I couldn’t be happier. In addition to grades, something that will also contribute to success will be the network of connections I make. I would define this semester even more successful if I made solid friendships. It’s important to me that I make lasting friendships and connections that will remain stronger for a long time. Essentially, my main goals for the semester are to expand my social circle and maintain high grades.
I think I would consider my time at A&M to be a success if I made the most of my opportunities. I want to know that I took advantage of every resource, actively participated in my community, and studied hard to get where I am at that point. I recognize that the resources and opportunities I have as a student will not always be available to me, and I want to ensure I use the tools to help me in the future. As I continue towards the year, I have that goal in the back of my mind.
Even though it’s only the third week, I am beginning to find myself hesitant to start on assignments. I believe it’s because I place this negative expectation on them. For example, I may not start on a lab report because of the length of the assignment or to watch a video for my psychology class because I don’t think it would be particularly helpful. By automatically implementing these negative connotations, I am decreasing the motivation I have to work on it. I’ve been trying to overcome this by breaking down tasks into smaller sections. Lab reports often have multiple components so breaking the lab report into these smaller sections will allow me to feel as if I can complete the report in increments rather than working on the whole report in one sitting. I find it extremely helpful to think this way.
I often study by myself but work better when someone is there with me. Even if we aren’t doing the same assignment, it’s great. I like having company and knowing there is someone working with me, even if we’re completely different majors. I hold myself accountable more often and get a lot more work done compared to when I study completely isolated. This is why I lean towards the library whenever I want to study. Watching others study motivates me to study even more and I am glad that this school has numerous study spaces for every type of studier.
My success strategies are redefining themselves as I transition into college life, and I have allowed it to happen. I understand that the strategies I used in high school may not be very helpful right now. I’m learning the most efficient ways to study for me and am trying multiple techniques. I know that it may take time, but I am willing to try my hardest to hone in on my skills to make this school year as successful as possible.