Goals

It’s a few days into the semester, and I know that I have to make goals for myself so that I can become a better writer from before college. This is good because I never made writing goals before. I was just constantly frustrated and never thought about making goals that I could reach. I think this is a good way for me to see the positive aspects in writing as I strive to reach my goals. 

Here are my goals for the semester: 

1) Try to brainstorm more without worrying about “bad writing”. I like this goal because in high school I would always worry about writing a good first draft because I don’t want to look like a bad writer in front of my peers. However, writing a “shitty first draft” will allow for me to explore more and write nonsense, which I can go back and fix more in the future. This will allow for me to be less stressed and overall have a better experience with writing. 

2) Put the online library to better use. In high school, I used EBSCO host for many papers, but I also looked to google for most of my sources. I should try to use the online library because there are many scholarly sources that are great for my essays. Exploring this library will allow for me to be better at finding sources, and not have to dedicate as much time trying to figure out how to find my sources and what sources I need. 

3) Reach out to other people to help me with my essay. When I am stuck, I tend to just give up or be frustrated alone. I should reach out to writing fellows and writing consultants when I am stuck. It is always good to have multiple opinions on my writing. I shouldn’t be shy because I think my writing is bad because these resources are here for me when I’m in need. 

4) Don’t compare myself to other people. Everyone’s writing style is different, so I shouldn’t try to compare myself to other people. When I compare myself, I tend to feel worse about my writing and be even more discouraged to write. I should only compare myself to my previous writings and focus on self-improvement. 

5) Don’t be scared to explore in writing and be more expressive. I feel like a lot of the times, I’m too scared to write about certain topics because I am scared that I won’t be able to find enough sources or enough to write about. I should explore and really find things I’m interested in. 

These are some of my goals that I want to start my semester with. Of course as the semester goes on, I’ll have new goals that I want to reach. I hope that I will be able to keep a positive attitude and learn to appreciate writing more.