Frederick Len, Period 2, 12/05/22

Modern Mythology 2023: Atomic Habits & Growth

• At this current point in time, what specific standards have you set for yourself?
• How and why did you come to craft these standards?
• How do you demonstrate resilience towards achieving these standards?
• How do you assess yourself? What adjustments do you make? How often?

My academic standards have been greatly influenced by the expectations my parents had of me. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been instilled with a value for maximum effort. To my parents, it was the effort that mattered more than the grade: anyone can get a good score on a test if they cheat, or on a project if they delegate everything to other people. What mattered was the effort that I put in, because only then can academic learning and success be assured.

These values were put to the test for me during my freshman year at Staten Island Tech. I had to adjust my mindset to a new academic environment where I didn’t have the easy grading or light homework loads that my K-8 school had. My grades dropped in that first semester because I didn’t manage my time well, procrastinating constantly and leaving homework unfinished until the last minute, such as on the ride to school or during the lunch period right before I had to hand it in. My new laptop certainly didn’t help, making it all too easy for me to tune out of the lesson, missing deadlines and souring relations with my teachers. It was horrible, and it was only once the pandemic happened that my parents were able to rein me in before I spiraled out of control.

Since freshman year, I’ve continually raised my standards for the effort I put into my academic work. Homework went from being done the car ride before it was due to the day it was given. My motivations for learning transformed from pleasing my parents to learning for my own sake. I went from putting in the bare minimum when it came to class participation to helping fellow students with studying through sharing my own study sheets. Of course, I don’t expect myself to be perfect. I will sometimes procrastinate on an assignment until the evening before its due, or get carried away with my laptop and ignore a part of the lesson as it's being taught. Thankfully, because of the mistakes I’ve made in the past (and the severe consequences I had to pay for them), the cycle of adjustment that I have for correcting any classroom failings is much quicker than it is before, allowing me to focus back into the lesson or the homework assignment before it escalates into a greater problem.