I find that sharing my personal and academic goals for the semester holds me to them, and I have someone who can occasionally check in and inquire about my progress. In this case, sharing them on the internet for potentially hundreds of people to see should definitely hold me accountable. I’m not usually one to set semester goals. A lot of my goals are more short-term and look more like a to-do list than traditional, quantifiable goals. I also have a lot of long-term goals that relate to academics and my career, but those are always subject to change. I’ve never really set “midterm” style goals that can be met in a few months as opposed to a few days or a few years.
I’m in DC this semester which makes for both a busy and challenging Fall semester. I have two people who can hold me accountable for the academic requirements of the program: my thesis advisor and the DC Program Director. My internship supervisor can hold me accountable for my internship and professional development-related goals. Who will hold me accountable for personal goals and all the goals in between?
These may be odd goals, but these are things I hope to accomplish this semester beyond succeeding in my internship, passing the public policy class, and turning in my thesis on time. My hope is that I can reflect on whether or not I met these goals and how, and if I didn’t meet them, how I can meet them in the future and what I can do better next time.Â
- Write a thesis that I feel good about.
Too often I’ve turned in papers that I only felt okay about, particularly when it comes to political science papers. I love my topic and have quite a few resources at my disposal. I know if I put a lot of time and effort into researching and writing the paper I’ll feel immensely better about the paper. A 40-page research paper is something to be proud of, and that’s how I want to feel by the time December rolls around.
- Engaging with at least two people a week here in DC.
Networking is a huge benefit to being in the city for political science. My goal is to meet or chat with two people a week who can share their career stories and offer advice. To break it down further, I’d like to meet with one HC alum and one person from my office who was recommended to me by someone.Â
- Go to every Metro stop.
There’s 98. I’ve been to 14! This will be a great way to explore all of the DMV area.Â
- Cut my law school list in half.
My list of law schools to research is excessive. I need to start dedicating time to researching what programs schools offer and what makes them unique. This will help me narrow down my list significantly.
- Study for the LSATs.
I’ve been told that the LSAT is one of those exams where the earlier you start studying, the better you’ll do. I guess that’s the case for most exams no matter how inconsequential, but for the LSATs studying months, if not years, in advance will give me the opportunity to retake the exam with less pressure if need be. It also gives me plenty of time to study question types before taking practice exams and then creating a study guide or study plan based on which parts of the exam I do well on and don’t do well on. Â
- Get back into running.
While at school I was running consistently. I prefer running outdoors to running on a treadmill so I kind of neglected running this summer, preferring to go on walks or to the gym to combat the heat. Now that cooler weather is on its way, I want to start running again.Â
- Assembling a recipe book for myself.
Now that I have a kitchen and I’m without my mother to cook with I’ve been making meals all on my own. Some of them have been your typical broke college student ramen, but oftentimes I try to recreate the meals that I love. Assembling a book of all my favorite recipes from home, my bakery job, the internet, and the ones I’ve created would be a great resource to have probably for the rest of my life.