Miles Harrington, Period 8, 10/7/21

Miles Harrington 

Period 8 

10/7/2021 

Modern Mythology 2022 

Goal Setting and Growth: 

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

As college application deadlines quickly approach, my most urgent goal is finishing up all the work I need to complete for them. This includes writing essays and supplements, filling out applications on various sites, doing my FAFSA, and more. On top of this, I need to create around 10-15 art pieces to create a proper portfolio to submit to these colleges. With all this on my plate, I am setting more specific goals each week to get it all done in an orderly fashion. For example, this week I hope to complete my common app essay, common app application, and Columbia application since the deadline for those things are in November. The reason I’m doing all this is so I can reach my goal of going to a good college and making all the work I’ve been putting in for the past 3 years worth it. Over the years, I’ve gone out of my way to do many things that I didn’t want to do for the sake of bettering my chances of getting into a prestigious college and I wouldn’t want that effort to be for nothing. On top of this, for the longest time I’ve dreamed of becoming more independent at 18 and going away to college is a crucial aspect of that. I’m beyond excited to experience life living in a dorm where I’ll be able to get a taste of what it’s like to be an independent adult. So in sum, if I can make it into one of the colleges I desire, I’ll be able to continue my journey of working for the life I want to live. 

How do you demonstrate resilience towards achieving this goal? 

Ever since I decided to start working on the college application process, I’ve faced a plethora of challenges I had to overcome. My biggest obstacle is finding the time to get all the components of this task done since school takes up so much of my day. From the time I wake up to the time I 

end school at 2:03, I am consumed by school work leaving no time to work on my college applications. Even after school I must complete normal homework for my classes which on its own can take up a lot of my time. Furthermore, it takes me approximately an hour to travel home and once I’m home I must eat dinner and shower. With a typical bedtime of 10pm, to assure I’m not running on less than 6 hours of sleep a day, it’s quite difficult to fit in any other activities. This leaves me with only the weekend to get my college work done. To overcome this, I try to designate my tasks for the weekend before the time arrives so I don’t waste time contemplating it. I also try to wake up early to maximize the amount of time in my day available to work. If I feel I’m capable, I’ll try to get my normal school work done during 9th period and lunch so I can use after school to work on my college tasks. Another challenge I face is trying to navigate these

applications on my own, which can get quite confusing. In order to deal with this, I look up information and guides online that can help me with the process and if that proves unhelpful, I consult my friends. 

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

In Tech especially, all students are highly encouraged to go to college and barely anyone who graduates our school doesn’t. This combined with the competitiveness felt between my intelligent peers and I puts a lot of pressure on me to shoot high with my colleges and get into a prestigious school. In America in general, those who go to esteemed universities and have good educations are seen as smarter and more valuable members of society which only enforces my attitude towards my goal. Even my parents and family add onto the pressure to get into a good college since my past academic achievements have created high expectations for me in their minds. Unlike the rest of my family, I would be the first to get into a school beyond CSI and graduate if my goal is achieved. With all these factors combined on top of my own personal aspirations, getting into a good college has gone from a desire to a necessity for me which makes it imperative I complete my college applications to the best of my ability.