The start of another semester is like the start of a brand new year, in that it makes me want to make goals and resolutions. I guess I’m a sucker for new beginnings. I know that a lot of people frown on constant goal-making, but I embrace it! I’m on board with anything that makes me more productive. I hope my goals can help inspire you – and don’t forget to share yours, to inspire me, too! I could use all the help I can get…

Semester Goals – Fall 2015

Keep My Desk Clean

I worked so hard on my desk this summer, you guys. I found my shelving unit, painted it from dated dark brown to bright white, and made the insets metallic gold. I trekked to the distant land of IKEA to get a nice white desk top. Which, naturally, was assaulted by falling Quad Day goodies on the first night and now has two fantastic holes punched in it. Luckily, I’ve been able to cover them up, but I’m weirdly attached to my desk now, and it deserve better than mess and abuse.

Cook Healthy Meals

Dining hall eating was easy. I could fill half my plate with french fries and the other half with carrots, drown all of it in ranch dressing, and call it a day. But apartment eating is going to be a little harder. Hopefully, it’ll be a little healthier, too. The best thing about apartment life, though, is having a kitchen, so I’m really looking forward to finding great, easy, healthy recipes. And hopefully, sharing them with you guys!

Use My Planner

For someone who loves organizational stuff, I’m really, really disorganized. I get a planner every year, use it religiously for about two weeks, and then it disappears under my bed, never to be seen again. Sometimes I think of it, wistfully, as scramble through the panic of forgetting something, but for the most part, I’m just not great about using a planner. Hopefully, this year will be different. Between my planner, Google Calendar, and my bullet journal, I’ll be able to keep my life in order.

Go To Office Hours

I told you guys to go to office hours in my first week checklist, but I’ll admit, it’s something I’m terrible at. I actually didn’t go my first week, because literally every single one of my professors has their office hours Wednesday afternoons, when I’m at work. It’s kind of crazy. But hopefully I’ll be able to reach out to my professors and arrange times to meet, not just because it’s good practice, but because this semester is going to be hard.

Get Involved at HoHo

The HoHo might sound like a tasty, questionably-preserved dessert cake, but it’s actually campus slang for the Honors House, the home of my honors program. Everyone I’ve met through my program is just a phenomenal human being, and so I’m really hoping to get more involved at the HoHo this semester, and get to know the people there a little better.

Improve My Relationship

My relationship, by the way, is awesome. I’ve been dating Carlos for three years now, two of them long distance (he goes to school in Chicago!), so we’re old pros at this. But that doesn’t make long distance dating easy, and it always feels like we’re putting our relationship on hold until we see each other again. We’re already planning visits, and before we left town, I picked up these cute little notes for us to pass:

Ace My Hard Classes

Yes, yes, I know, after a lot of indecision, I’m an English major. But I’m not actually sure how to pronounce Nietzsche (update 9/13/2015 – it’s “nee-chuh”), much less figure out what he thought about the world. I’m officially into Critical Theory, the hardest part of the English curriculum. Add that to a 300-level LGBT Film and Lit class, my honors seminar of Gender and Language, 300-level informatics, and an undecided fifth class, I’ll be doing a lot this semester, say nothing of choir and debate. But I’m determined to keep my GPA up, and I know I can do it!

Live Deliberately

College is weird and hard and frightening, and it’s so easy for me to slip into a safe, boring routine that keeps me comfortable. But comfort breeds complacency, and with a full class schedule, a bunch of extracurriculars, and a blog to keep up with, I really can’t afford to get lazy. Habits are great, and building positive ones is always a goal for me, but beyond that, I want to do stuff on purpose. I want to choose what I’m doing for a reason, and then do it with passion and focus.

And those are my hopes for the semester! I love making goal lists to help me stay accountable, so feel free to share your goals for this semester in the comments! We can keep each other on task, and I’m curious as to what you guys are getting done – I’m sure it’s a lot of incredible things!