Lauren Peysakhova, Pd 8, 5/18/2022

Lauren Peysakhova

Pd. 8

5/18/2022

Goal Setting & Growth

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

The last time I filled out a blog with this question, I remember I was in great stress scurrying and

hoping to get into my dream college. Now, I sit writing this committed to a college I did not

think I would go to, and beyond excited for my future. From these past few months, I have

learned that nothing goes as expected and everything happens for a reason. I know we hear these

sayings often, but I don’t doubt the truthfulness of them. At this current point in time, my new

short term goals are to study for my AP exams and take them with pride. The reason that this is a

big goal for myself is because I feel that throughout this entire year, we have been studying for

the test, and now, it is time to showcase all that I learned. This test proves that I have been

retaining the information and am eager to learn. I am excited to display my understanding of the

material and hopefully see what I can do for my next steps to continue improving in each subject

area.

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

With this goal in mind, I am demonstrating resilience by studying for my AP exams. This year

especially, I feel that it is a little more difficult to study for AP exams because all my study habits

have been reset from before COVID-19. The first two years of high school are meant to build

your study habits so that in eleventh and twelfth grade, a student can comfortably take difficult

classes. With the pandemic forcing everyone to stay home, our study habits deteriorated, and

soon, I was relying on my notes for tests and writing things down rather than memorizing them.

From discussing with my peers, I noticed that this was a common trend all around, and now,

since school is in person, I had to readjust my study habits to learn to memorize material again.

This past year, I have been studying the material of all my AP classes and putting in a lot of

effort to understand what my teachers are teaching. Putting in the effort in class is only half of

the process. To prove my hard work, I have also created a study plan for each of my AP classes

and have looked over the material for each unit. In addition to this, I have been taking practice

tests to ensure that I am well prepared for the test.

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

A lot of my peers are also anxious to take the AP tests and I noticed that a lot of other students

have been encouraging each other to do the best that they can. In addition to that, our school

places a good amount of emphasis on test taking, so I feel that a lot of students feel pressured to

study for these AP tests and do well. Lastly, as seniors, a lot of students know where they are

going to college and want to prove their acceptance worthy. By scoring well on the AP, not only

can the students get credit at their college, but they can also reveal that the college made the right

choice in accepting them.