Sarah Danilov, Period 1, 09/29/21

Sarah Danilov

9-29-21

Goal Setting & Growth

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

Since this is the beginning of my senior year, I have much more to think about regarding my future than any year prior. I have now been catapulted into the reality where I have to make a decision about what I should do, as well as, what I want to do. One goal I set for myself this summer was deciding on a college that's right for me. I understand that this is a step that all high schoolers have to go through, however, I am determined not to regret my decision. I have heard many stories about high schoolers who applied to colleges because their friends or significant others were going, high schoolers who were restricted by family from going to their dream school, and high schoolers who simply weren’t able to find their dream school and regretted not doing enough research immediately after. This after all will be the first life-impacting decision I will be making and I would hate to make a mistake.


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

Although I set my goal of finding the school that's right for me in the summer, I have not gotten close to the finish line. Procrastination is one of my fatal flaws, and I did not understand how bad it had gotten during the pandemic until I started my senior year. Procrastinating my work turned into a daily routine for me, which I haven't been able to break out of. However, I started to work past that in order to achieve my goal. I realized that one of the many obstacles in the college application process is to manage time wisely and get a better grip on the reality of how long it will take to apply. I have been actively researching schools that have not only the academics that I am interested in pursuing but also the environment and atmosphere that I want to experience for the next four years of my life. Over these fast two weeks, I found multiple schools that I would like to visit and learn more about. Additionally, I met with the school guidance counselors in order to receive advice about the research process. I have used their tips to be able to find colleges that might fit my expectations better.


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

I believe that our classmates have the most impact and influence on one’s college application process. Everyone is on a different path and step of the process, which can be stressful. For example, I am currently undecided about my major for college however, most of the people I know from my school were sure about what they wanted to pursue since freshman year. Due to the different stages, we each are on, it is sometimes difficult to achieve or work towards my goal. Earlier this year, I was afraid of getting criticism for applying to schools that have previously not been popular with students from our school. However, I realized that I put too much emphasis on others' outlooks, which connects to the reason I set this goal. I wanted to learn more about schools that I haven’t heard of before.