I am naturally programed for setting goals I guess, from childhood my mother was a driving force in my need to establish goals for myself and not be afraid to set my sights high, “Reach for the Stars”. She taught me that there was nothing wrong with dreaming the big dreams and has been supportive all the way, she is a possibility thinker. Unfortunately my father was more of a practical thinker and even though he didn’t say it out loud, didn’t put a lot of value in setting goals that would stretch my limits.
The area that I would like to improve is my organization skills and time management skills. One of my students once told me that I was unorganized, referring to my in box of mail that was sitting on my counter behind my desk. It is true when it comes to my mail organization skills I need to learn better time management skills. I try hard to keep organized when preparing for classes. I guess I have always been that way, even as a child I remember the excitement of organizing my new clothes for the first day of school, but as the days went by that excitement did too. It is like new shoes when they come out of that box they have that new shoe smell, no stains, just brand new leather and I just can’t wait to put them on and walk around in them. But as time goes by and my new shoes get dirty and lose that new smell, I lose that excitement. So goes my classes, they lose that new class feel and so my excitement to be organized are gone. So I need to keep excited and that organization and time management will remain throughout the term. This class has helped me find some great tools like the Learning Corner and others, to help me stay organized and motivated.
The Term at a Glance is a great tool for me so that I can see the requirements I have for each day, each week and the term. I have found this to be a great tool this term and so thankful to have received this tool. The to-do list is another tool that will help me manage my time more effectively. I have used to-do list especially when preparing for a trip or a weekend Honey-Do list.
OSU resources that I plan to get involved with include the Student Sustainability Initiative (SSI), Academic Success Center and the Veterans page. SSI has a gardening and landscaping group that will help me with making a connection with the OSU campus if I can get a cooperative program going between the Heritage Farm in Clark County and OSU. The Academic Success Center provides help when needed and has a large variety of pdf documents that can provide success information. The Veterans page provides a good starting point with connections to a lot of the things that can help veterans like myself, be a success.
In developing my short and long term goals I tried to choose them based on those things that would help me to be better organized or continue my degree. My long term goal was developed because it is a major milestone that I must complete to continue my degree pursuit at OSU. The long term goal will be a challenge since it could require that I change jobs or at least work shifts.
This has been a very rewarding term for me and I hope for you also. I wish all of you the best of luck.
