Nika Imamberdieva, 5/2/22, Pd 1

Goal Setting and Growth:

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

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?)

Considering this may be the very last blog I write, I felt it only fitting to first circle back to where I began and evaluate my successes, or lack thereof, in achieving my goals from the beginning of the year. With the first blog, my goals were centered around organizing my life and improving upon my time management skills. Given that the start of senior year was a very stressful time in my life due to college apps and my various extracurriculars, it was necessary for me to get myself on track and find a balance in my day-to-day activities. While I definitely struggled with this goal several times along the way, I found that each day I got one step closer; that is until December 16, 2021, otherwise known as the day I was accepted into my dream college. This was a turning point for me, because it felt as though all my hard work throughout the years finally amounted to something. Whether it be countless hours of work, sleepless nights, or even struggles I faced in my relationships with friends and family, it was all worth it in the end. Having achieved this lifetime goal, I was able to, for the first time in my life, let myself go; that is to say, let apathy take over. It became as though all the progress I made in structuring my life was undone. Suddenly, there was no incentive for me to keep trying as hard as I always have and I took advantage of that. This was largely due to a number of the people around me telling me that “I was done.” Their consistent reassurance that I could just check out was very persuasive, so I did exactly that. However, this newfound feeling of freedom existed in bliss for a few very short weeks. I quickly came to the realization that this person I became wasn’t me. I couldn’t just stop caring about my schoolwork and do whatever I wanted. Instead, I had to find a way to keep my academic integrity and rigor intact, with only one key difference. This time, I was allowed to prioritize my health, that is with things like sleep, as well as my relationships with loved ones over my schoolwork. In this way, I would still remain dedicated to achieving academic excellence, but with a huge weight off my shoulders that now permitted me to focus on myself.

And that brings me to today, where the new specific goal that I have set for myself is to make the most out of what's left of my senior year. With this I’m hoping to take these next few weeks to make lasting memories with close friends that won’t be there with me next year, all without school-related stress getting in the way. Getting to this place over the past few months was difficult because of all the pressures that came with being a senior. However, now that I’m finally here, I wish to relish every moment while I still can. One day, I’ll open my eyes and my entire high school experience will be in the past, so while it’s still in the present, I hope I can make it count. 

I believe that achieving this goal won’t come easy, especially because there will be days where I find myself feeling stressed out, yet again, over things like AP tests or final projects, and I’ll probably lose sight of what’s most important. To me, that’s making amazing memories with my friends that will last a lifetime. So far, I’ve gotten the chance to demonstrate resilience towards achieving this goal in that I’ve maintained a good balance between focussing on my academics and focusing on myself. If there was ever a day where I had a lot of homework to do or tests to study for but I wasn’t feeling my best because I was exhausted or overwhelmed, I just let myself sleep. I would often come home and knock out with the plan to wake up in an hour or two, but when I physically couldn’t, I allowed myself to keep sleeping. This was only possible because I didn’t have as much pressure coming from the biggest source: myself. Instead, I became aware of the fact that I could always make up my homework assignments, and that on the day before a big test it was more important to be well rested than to review once more material that I already had sufficient knowledge of. 

Furthermore, the world around me played a huge role in my perception of this goal because it seemed as though everyone was on my side and supporting me. All of my teachers were very understanding when I requested extensions or revealed that I had trouble with certain assignments. Additionally, my parents were among some of my biggest supporters because they prioritized my well being above all else. If ever there was a day where I woke up feeling completely out of it, they encouraged me to stay home to take care of myself. These factors made it seem as though this goal was actually possible for me to achieve. Nevertheless, the biggest thing that affected my perception of this goal was the role all of my friends played in trying to achieve the same one. As of right now, almost every senior that I know, whether they attend tech or someplace else, is trying to make the most out of their last few weeks of high school. It’s crazy to think that one of the biggest and most pivotal parts of our childhood is coming to an end as we dip our toes into adulthood. Having come to this mutual realization, every senior around me is finding a way to savor these ever-so-fleeting moments. With everyone working together to achieve this goal and bring each other up in these bittersweet times makes it all the more apparent that we, as the graduating class of 2022, will be successful in basking in the glory of what’s left of our high school experience.