1.17.2010

Today Begins My Daily Blogging.

A friend reminded me on Thursday that the best way to clear your head and get through busy times is to write things down. In honor of this, I'm going to try my very hardest to blog every day. I'm already doing a photo project where I take a picture each day to document my year; I might as well write to go with it. (For interested parties, the link to my photo blog is on the right hand side of the page, under "365 Days of Photography.")

Earlier today, while watching Julie & Julia, I thought that maybe I needed a goal. A tangible one. I mean, I have "Get good grades," "don't screw up your internship," and "don't waste time," but I thought that I should have something tangible. Finish something, write a novel; keep a blog - I didn't know, but I was damn sure I needed one.

And then I realized that those goals are probably enough. That maybe it was enough to work on bringing my GPA up to a 2.75, and to make sure that I made it through the Student Affairs Internship without embarrassing myself - maybe they are enough.

I've always expected too much of myself. "Too much" might be the wrong phrase. I have high standards for myself, and when I don't meet those standards I feel as if I have failed. And yet, most of the time there really is success in there somewhere. I don't want to lower my standards - I appreciate that in most aspects of my life my standards are high. I just wish I could learn to see the successes when I get to the end and haven't reached that highest of standards.

I decided to think about this semester and my current goals before trying to set a new one. So, in honor of full disclosure:
  • Classes:
    • Succeed (and by this I mean get at least a 'C,' if not much higher) in "Leadership Skills for the Public Sector," a Political Science class that I took my first semester at WSU-Vancouver and had to drop out of;
    • Bring my GPA up to a 2.75 so that I can be certified as a Public Affairs Major;
    • Be proud of each and every paper that I write (and there are a number of them).
  • Internship:
    • Be ahead of the game. This means:
      • Be finished with the readings each member of the SA Management Team has given me before I go in to their office;
      • Have questions prepared for each interview that I do.
    • Plan my time accordingly, particularly when it comes to Recruitment and Retention programs that I will be involved in;
    • Ask for help
      • Remember that this in an internship and it is okay to still be learning;
      • Remember that, though I am learning, I am working with professionals, and asking for help is better than wasting their time.
  • Student Government:
    • Fulfill my job duties:
      • Three office hours a week;
      • Senate meeting minutes mailed out on time;
      • Sponsor bills and by-law amendments.
    • Attend one ASWSUV Event per month.
  • The ONE Campaign
    • Event focused on Women in Poverty;
    • Finish out the year strong with the Campus Challenge.
  • Campaigning
    • Properly delegate to my team;
    • Make sure the candidates communicate exactly what they want to the Student Body;
    • WIN.
On top of all of this, I don't think I could take another goal. It's good for me to recognize this, though my inner overachiever is telling me to take on one more thing. I won't though, except for this:
  • Remembrance:
    • One photograph a day
    • One line a day in the "One Line A Day" Journal I received from Michelle for Christmas
    • One blog per day
    • One letter to Audrey per week
These items of remembrance will help me to document this semester, and my life - I'm tired of not remembering the good things and only focusing on the bad. It has hindered my growth as an adult, and I'm ready to let myself grow.

Hopefully I will finally be able to use this blog the way that I wanted to - as a way for me to look back on my time at WSU-Vancouver and as a young adult and see that I have succeeded - even if I missed one or two of the "high standard" goals.

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