Hashtag Goals

Let's be real. Goals are SCARY.

And for me, it's a little complicated as well...being a Christian means I trust the sovereignty of God over my life, and that He has a plan in all things that I do, and oftentimes it can be easy for me to mistake this comfort for an excuse for lethargy, and not plan or goal-set whatsoever. But in reality, trusting God and working towards a future are not at all mutually exclusive. To me, it's more that my trust in God inspires me to define my aspirations in the assurance that He won't let them go to waste, if they're according to His will.

But, still, like...I'm a normal person. I'm not God, and don't have a birds-eye view over my life. So like. Bleh.

I HATE SETTING GOALS BUT FINE. HERE WE GO. JUST RIP OFF THE BAND-AID, MASON.

---

1. Memorize Philippians by the end of the school year

Just like the last two blogs, I'm starting off with something Christian-ey; and just like the last two blogs, I'm following it up with some self-aware statement about how I'm a Christian.

Sorry it's just. What else am I supposed to do ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

But seriously, in my life, the Bible takes a lot of precedence: firstly, my number-one non-negotiable activity day-to-day (wow that was a lot of hyphens) is to spend time reading the Bible and in prayer, but secondly, memorizing books of the bible has been a fantastic way to enrich my spiritual life and knowledge over the last couple years. In high school, I memorized 10 chapters of Romans, and since college I've memorized the books of 1 Peter and Colossians. Next on my list is Philippians, which I'll hopefully start the first week of March.

I was also told (by an undisclosed source) to include more photographs, which is my justification for the monstrosity on the left (also a side benefit of titling your blog "Let's be Real"-being able to post un-postable pictures on it)

I typically do around five verses a week for the books I've memorized so far, and with 104 verses in Philippians, this would leave me a month or so into summer to finish the whole thing, but that's a flexibility I'm willing to allow. To be honest, I would have titled this goal "Memorize five verses of Philippians a week starting with the week of March 1st until I finish the book," but somehow that didn't sound as catchy. Not sure why.

As far as what I'm hoping to get out of it and why I chose Philippians specifically, it mostly has to do with its content. Philippians, above and beyond all of Paul's other letters, centers around finding joy and contentment in the Christian life, and pressing on toward eternity. That lesson is one I want to have near to my heart as I move into my upperclassman experience: not just the feeling of happiness, but the assurance of joy.

2. Work at the Undergraduate Writing Center

Okay listen. I'm an english major. Getting paid to read essays and edit them? Yes PLEASE.

That sounds so dry and dull, and I realize that both of my goals so far are extremely academic-sounding, but I do think this would be something that would bring me joy. Ever since switching into english from pure math (*gag*), I've been on the hunt (but as of yet unable) to find clubs and organizations that accurately fit my interests, since many of them are an apply-at-the-beginning-of-the-year-or-you're-screwed kind of a deal.

Even though this application won't be viable until next school year, I'm still extremely excited for the opportunity. Basically all this entails in timeline terms is filling out the application and submitting it for the due date of March 12: a few weeks away, as of now.

This goal is partly for experience's sake, partly because it'll be nice to have a job, but mostly because it means I can have both of these things and have fun at the same time. How cool will that be?

If there's one thing I'm passionate about, it's writing, and getting to interact with fellow students and expand my perspectives while being paid and racking up some job experience is just too good to be true.

3. Write a collection of 20 poems by the end of the school year

Okay I'm gonna be completely honest I basically just pulled this one out of my...head...BUT ANYWAYS STILL this is something I will do; writing poetry is very therapeutic to my soul, and I think that's a form of comfort I need to exploit with greater dedication.

To the right is my super-private-personal-secret journal-diary-poetry collection thing. Ya know..."dear diary," but in poetry form.

And in this goal, I actually already have a head start-I have a few already written for an application to a poetry workshop I'm hoping to take during spring quarter! Beyond those couple of poems, though, this really is quite attainable for me. Let's just say that, given the right situations, I can crank 'em out preeeeetty quickly.

Even though this is definitely my most recent (lol) goal, I really do think it'll be healthy for me. And beyond that, poetry is just something I enjoy participating in.

And even better, this is one I can't put a timeline on, because inspiration doesn't know a schedule. So, uh. Ha.

---

FINALLY. Ugh. Sorry...but in the spirit of being real, I absolutely hate goal-setting. It stresses me out and reminds me of how much is unknown and undone in my life. But for those very reasons it's also good for me, so...three cheers for personal growth, I guess.

Bleh.

Goals are SCARY. Let's be real.