Alvin Mei, Period 8, 10/27/2021

 Alvin Mei

Period 8

10/27/2021

Modern Mythology 2022

• Goal Setting & Growth

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

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

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

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

My main goal is to overcome my own urges to procrastinate and to write an excellent essay that will get me into top tier colleges.During the summer, my friends that I hung out with started to worry about their college applications. One of them began their application and essay early, and that made me realize that I would have to do the same soon. Despite my friend reassuring me that it was fine for me to do it later, I was still anxious about my college applications, and I swore that I would start it before school started. Fast forward to the end of September, I haven't started it yet. When I realized that a lot of people had at least started their essays, I put together a list of colleges that I wanted to attend. I started my essay shortly after putting together a list, and I believed that the essay would be quick to write and complete. I was proven wrong when I actually started my essay. I brainstormed for ideas and found none. I had no clue what to write about, so I thought to myself, “ah, screw it” and stopped working on it. I procrastinated until I realized that I have to start working on it if I really wanted a good essay. I’d have an intense writing session for a day, then I decide that I’ll work on it later this week. When the day arrives, I decide that I’ll work on it later and later until I read my essay again and decide it’s not good enough. I throw away the old essay and go through another intense writing session, and this cycles through multiple essays.

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

As the deadline approaches, I’ve been slowly but steadily increasing the time I spend on my essay. I’ve been prioritizing my time at home to the essay, and I’ve been trying to save time at home by doing my homework whenever I have free time at school. Not only that, but I’ve decided that my first draft definitely does not need to be perfect, as this concern was a major source in why I procrastinated in the essay. I’d give up halfway and decide to scrap it and write another one. I decided to just find an idea that resonates with me and to stick with it until the bitter end. Of course, I also try to have fun. I don’t think that dedicating all your time to slaving away at an essay is healthy or good for the writing quality of my essay. It is still important for me to enjoy senior life, while putting aside the proper time to work on my essay.

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

In school, I would often ask people where they were in their college apps, how their scores and extracurriculars were to compare myself to them. People around me were talking about their ambitions to attend Brown or Cornell, and I’d be disheartened to find out how behind I was with some people, be it essays or extracurriculars. I constantly compare myself to others and that demotivated me from working on my applications. I procrastinated more when I was hit with a rut of demotivation. I’m thankful that one of my friends spotted my behavior and told me “stop comparing yourself”. I realized that it was unhealthy for me to be constantly comparing myself to others, and that really, I should be going at my own pace and not become demotivated by other people.