Strategic Goal Setting

Hi everyone!

What a week! I hope you all are feeling happy and confident that you had the best week possible in your chase for college and future opportunities! With new semesters starting and the looming thought of new year's resolutions, I thought it would be the perfect time to talk about strategic goal setting!

 

Now this isn't your typical, "I want to get an A" goal setting. This is goal setting with focus and steps to help you achieve your goals and gain that feeling of accomplishment! Let's get started ...

1. Define your goal - What is it that you want to accomplish this week, semester, or year? Is it getting an A, is it gaining more followers on Youtube, or is it loosing weight? Whether it is academic-related or more personal, you need to accurately define this goal. Be specific in your goal. You need to quantify it so that you have something to aspire to.
2. Quantify your goal - Now that you know what you want to accomplish, it is necessary to put some numbers or some adjectives to it. So you want to get an A, great, but where do you want to get that A? In Bio? In Class Participation? Gym Class? ... etc. You want to get healthy, does that mean eating more salads or working out three times a week?  I don't know about you, but I am more likely to work out everyday if my goal is to lose thirty pounds, than if my goal is to "get healthier." Think about it and structure your goal so that taking steps to do it, will be easier. That brings us to ...
3. Make your procedure - How ya gonna do it folks? How are you going to map out your days and your weeks so that you have no choice but to succeed in accomplishing your goal? Your goal is to raise my GPA (1.), by increasing all of my classroom grades by five points (2.), and I am going to do this by a). using my commute to school to read my notes, b). stay after school twice a week to work in the library and meet with a teacher, c). locate one classmate who I can study with the week leading up to a test. These three procedures are all small, but very doable aspects of helping this student reach their goal.
   
   Your goal will seem more manageable when you break it down into actionable items that can be worked into your schedule easily.
   
   
   
   
   
4. Create Check-Ins - If you've ever seen The Biggest Loser on NBC or any of those weight-loss shows, you know that they do a check-in at the end of each episode to see what was lost. Make a check-in a regular part of your goal. For the student above, it could be checking on their grades in each class on Fridays, or if your goal is to increase your number of youtube followers, have a check in at the same time every two weeks. Once you know the numbers, think about what happened that week to help you reach your goal or give you a little setback. Use this as fuel to continue working towards your goal. If you fell off the wagon, then create a new procedure to counteract that until the next check-in. We are all human and we make mistakes, but what's important is to keep working hard to accomplish those goals that you have set!

Setting goals is a part of growing and improving to help us reach a better spot in life. Set yourself up for success by following those four steps so that once you are done with the semester, the year, or even this week. You know that you worked as hard as possible and did everything in your power to accomplish them!

What are the goals that you have set for yourself and how are you accomplishing them? Feel free to comment below or tag me on twitter at @Chasing_College.

enjoy the chase,

skylar

BLOG-IVERSARY: Letter to Myself

Hi everyone and Happy July 26th! Today, Chasing College is celebrating it's first birthday!! While my plans for this blog developed over months, my first post was published on this day last year! Thank you all for following along and for being my inspiration for this blog.

To celebrate, I thought I'd get personal with you all and write a letter to myself; specifically a letter to the 17-year-old me about to embark on her college journey! While I hope this is entertaining and insightful into why I post the things I do, for those of you struggling with your transition from high school to college or even from college to adult life, just remember you aren't alone!

Dear Me:

First things first, choosing to attend Elmira was the best decision (and will be up to this point) you ever made. While I know that you are terrified of many different things, please know that you will survive and thrive through it all! You will laugh and cry more than you ever have, but you will spend weeks smiling because of the life you have created there for yourself. Take advantage of this opportunity to grow and become the independent self that you know you want to be.

When the opportunities come to get involved on campus, take them! It is perfectly acceptable for you to spend your first semester getting used to your classes and navigating campus. But by Winter, start attending those club meetings that you've always wanted to and for heaven's sake go to the dance studio once in a while. Just because one of your friends doesn't want to go, that doesn't mean you shouldn't pursue something you know you'd enjoy! This will not only help you take a break from studying and reading for that horrid Freshmen Writing Class, but it will help establish friendships that will span your four years and beyond!

Unfortunately Skylar, you will see who your true friends are while you're away at college. College is about learning who you are and what you want out of life, so don't let anyone make you feel like you can't do that. While it will be difficult when friendships end, don't be bitter towards them ... they have their own issues to work on for themselves, as do you. Use this freedom to become introspective on what you want out of your college experience and on what you want out of life in general. The newly found independence in your sophomore year will work wonders for your future career!

I know you don't want to teach and you want to do something more than stand in a classroom all day and talk to kids, but your student teachings and all of those sample lesson plans you write will be worth it. Each experience will connect you home in its own weird way and give you the background you need to be successful at the next level, so take advantage of that! These and the leadership opportunities you gain as an upperclassmen set the stage for something that you will love doing every day. (I won't tell you what it is because I don't want to spoil your "ah-ha" moment.)

Now, for the part I know you want to know ... the boy. While you two just started dating - you two are the only ones you will ever have to explain your relationship to. Hands down, the hardest part about your college experience will be nurturing and supporting this relationship, but Skylar, it will be worth it. Your feelings are your feelings and they will never change, but remember you have to stick up for yourself too! There will be heartbreak at times as you both attempt to grow and experience college, but follow your heart because it will lead you right where you want to be ... and yes, you will get the ring!

Finally, if there is one thing I, your 23-year-old self, wants you to know, it is this: Stay true to who you are and what you believe. Your faith and your personal convictions will be both tested and strengthened during college and even grad school (yes, you will get in to grad school so don't worry about that B in History of Recent America). Take the time to make decisions, friendships, interviews, jobs, memories, and everything else in life exactly how you want them to be. These next six years will be a crazy ride, but your parents, sister, and the boy, as well as, all of the amazing friends you have yet to meet will help make it every ounce of the perfection you always strive for! Much love!

enjoy the chase,

skylar

Jump Starting Your Career in High School

Hi everyone and Happy Thursday!! I don't know about you, but I am particularly ready for the weekend ... only two more days!! Today, I want to talk to you all about how you can get started on building your career while you are still in high school or college.

Oftentimes, I feel like students are really excited about their future career and want to jump start into it right away. I was no different as a high school and college student. Because of this passion for the field you plan to work in, you should certainly channel some of your energy, time, and focus into it if it is your passion! So, here are some of my tips and ways that you can build your career while you are still a student!

1. Start a Blog - Blogging is not just for the experts and professionals, you too can get started building your career by creating a blog that caters to a topic you are interested in. Every career is applicable but especially: education, business/marketing, fashion and style, engineering, writing/communications, and the arts. For some of them you may need to brainstorm a little harder, but creating a blog that helps you learn about your future career, as well as, establish that you're hardworking and passionate is especially amazing. This can connect you with other people in the industry and expose you to other opportunities in your future field!

Starting a blog about something your passionate about only helps
your knowledge of the subject grow!

2. Find a Summer Job - While this may be fairly obvious, finding a summer job that fits the career you would like is a great way to jump start your career experience. If you are interested in studying art, try working at an art store or gallery. If you are interested in business, any position in retail or sales can really help you gain general experience and understanding about the business world, which will be incredibly helpful. Babysitting is always useful if you plan on working with other people in the future (think: education, speech pathology, social work, psychology ... etc.). These jobs can set you up for even more opportunities once you get into college!

3. Create a Business - You don't need to be 30 years old with a college education to start your own business. Think about what you love doing and what you may be able to offer your community or the area surrounding your home. If you love photography and want to study it in college, offer to take pictures of area families or set up an Etsy account and sell your favorite photographs. If you want to be a mechanic or retailer, offer to help out family members with odd jobs in their vehicles like changing the oil or cleaning them! This gives you customer service experience and great references for once you officially apply for full-time jobs! ( My boyfriend was 15 years old when he started a lawn mowing business, once he had a few clients in his community, he opened it up to other lawn work and landscaping projects!)

4. Volunteer - I talk about volunteering a lot (Check out this post and this post) but it is truly amazing how you can start your career just by simply volunteering with someone once a week. If you want to study Hospitality, volunteer with Relay for Life or with a festival near your hometown, if you plan on studying Education, then offer to help a teacher or tutor some students. The opportunities are endless, if you want to work as a dance instructor or choreographer, volunteer with a local theater troupe and your dance studio! Truly, it is without a doubt a great way to get a jump start on your career and make connections for future internships or job opportunities!

These are just a few ideas, but when you are only 16-17 years old, your opportunities may be limited, so make sure you get creative and ask family members if they have any suggestions. All of these opportunities will not only help you gain knowledge on your career field, but it will also help you gain those skills (active listening, time management, customer services) that are going to be necessary no matter the career you follow. Just remember, you are never too young to pursue your passion!

enjoy the chase,

skylar

P.S. If you are thinking about starting a blog or finding an opportunity in your community and aren't sure where to start, feel free to contact me and I would love to give some ideas or suggestions that may help you!! You can reach me through my contact page!