Sonia Lyakhovich, Period 1, 11/4/21

 Goal Setting & Growth

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

Right now I have a few goals for myself. In the beginning of this year I decided that I wanted to spend this year working on self-reflection and expanding my knowledge. My goal was to start reading the news more often and to get a better understanding of politics, as in a year I will turn 18 and I will be voting and making important decisions. In addition, I wanted to work on my spiritual health. I started to read the Tanah whenever I have time, not only for religious purposes, but because people often reference the Old Testament and I wanted to have a better understanding of it. Finally, my goal is to better understand the prejudice that I come into this society with. I have caught myself many times judging people for their life choices and for who they are. My goal is to better understand why I do that, and try to unlearn this.

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

In order to achieve my first goal, I have been listening to the news in the morning on my way to school and on my way home, often discussing it with my father. While me and him have differing opinions on many topics, it is actually more beneficial to me that way. I get to have a debate and see different points of views. I am also taking AP Macroeconomics to understand the economy. I have been pretty active in working on learning about Judaism more. I have continued to participate in the Jewish Club at school, as well as keeping in touch with my advisors from this summer to learn from them as well. I have not had as much time as I would have liked to read the Tanah as well as interpretations of it and hope to work on that in the future. Lastly, I started taking Sociology, where I learned about how people’s backgrounds and childhood experiences impact the way they think, which has made me more self aware. In addition, I think a lot of what I have learned in Mythology has also helped me understand different societies, customs, and points of view better. 

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

I think that my goals are a reflection of the world around me. My life is changing as I am becoming an adult and getting ready to go to college and my goals will help me to understand this world and thrive in it. I am learning about Judaism, which is my culture and history, which is what I would leave as I would go to college. The pursuit of knowledge in sociology is to help me understand the people who I will be around, because I will be in a completely different environment. Finally, understanding politics and economics is to help me make informed decisions once I am old enough to vote.