Establishing Goals

Setting goals for yourself is an important aspect to help achieve success in life. Setting goals not only helps guide you to be successful, but also helps a person believe in themselves

Some people say that with dedication, persistence, and time people can accomplish any goal. Others say that people are limited in what they can accomplish and need to be realistic when setting goals.

From writing thoughtful poems to research papers, I have experienced composing a diverse portfolio of literary analysis and criticisms throughout the school year. I started out the year writing minimally. By the end of the year, I noticed I was able to express my ideas and thoughts in a more clear and concise way on paper. Ultimately, each composition allowed me to widen my horizons as a writer and see how I could improve as a writer.

1. Do you feel that the Bearington plant has the right equipment and technology to do the job? Why?

When I was eight or nine years old, I decided I wanted to be a writer. By this age, I had already gone through the phases of wanting to be an artist, a cook, an astronaut and was extremely satisfied with my new choice of profession. After all, I loved to read so why not write? Reading was my true love: during second grade, I conquered all of Harry Potter over the course of two months. My mom’s rule was that I had to read the book before watching the movie, so I read and read. I would compete in, and win, all the school reading competitions as well as the summer library competitions. Writing, I decided, was the next natural step.

It’s difficult to be a successful author in today’s day and age, as there is competition everywhere, and it is easy to be drowned out, no matter how hard you try to put your name out into the world. Generally we tend to think of success as how much money an author makes or how well known they are among the common populace. However, true success should be defined by the quality of the story, regardless of how many people know it, and the satisfaction of having written it, regardless of how much it made. It takes a willingness to grow and to work hard to achieve literary success and notoriety. A successful author develops a growth mindset through the education and life experience they receive from their younger years into adulthood. Carol Dweck in Ken Bain’s What the Best College Students Do, describes a growth mindset as having a mastery perspective, “they believe that they can master something and grow in their abilities if they try. If they don’t succeed, they look for new strategies rather than deciding they ‘just can’t do it.’...Mastery students think abilities can expand. The helpless they’re fixed (Bain 109).” A growth mindset and strong ethos is critical to the success of authors as is demonstrated in the lives and works of Richard Adams, Dan Abnett and Hunter S. Thompson.

Goals are what propels people forward in life so that they can be more successful, or at least believe they are becoming more successful. Having a goal is what brought me to Duquesne University. Being the youngest in my entire clan of a family has put tremendous pressure on myself to be great. Therefore, I am here in this urban arena to see whether or not I can make something of myself and prove to my family that even though I am young and quiet, I can have a presence within the family. Another reason is linked to another goal: independence. Growing up, I was always independent, and at times when I was just a child, that was not always accepted. Now coming to accredited Duquesne University to pursue my degree will enable me to accomplish my

The advantages of being a published writer include choosing your hours, your workplace, and what you write about in the first place. Some of the biggest disadvantages are that you don’t get any employer benefits, and even though you might have a popular book, it’s not guaranteed that you’ll be a popular author with a high salary. Even so, I still plan on being a writer, even if it’s just a side job. I plan on publishing at least one book before I leave high school, and hopefully, an entire trilogy before I’m out of college. After that, if I’m a successful author I will continue to write full time but if not I will work it on the side like J. K. Rowling did. So for my post-secondary education, I’m planning on taking a course and majoring in architecture or neurosurgery. All in all, I think that I will be a successful author and that I will really enjoy doing it full

J.K. Rowling once said, “Imagination is not only the uniquely human capacity to envision that which is not, and therefore the fount of all innovation. In its arguably most transformative and revelatory capacity, it is the power to that enables us to empathize with humans whose experiences we have never shared” (“J. K. Rowling Quotes."). I want to be a writer. A writer is a person who is a fountain of imagination and innovation. A writer is a creator of worlds, a spinner of new realities and master of creativity. When I was younger, I would often spend hours sitting up in trees, my feet dangling and swinging lightly to an unknown rhythm; I would listen as the outside world seemingly stood still. My younger sister would always be a few branches away, and she would plead for stories. I spun worlds of monsters and heroes, worlds full of love and magic and insanity. I would become immersed in my stories as my listeners, and started jotting down concepts that would come to me during a dull day. Once, I had a journal full of oddball ideas and intrepid adventures. I adore my gift, and it’s inspired me to become a professional writer so I can give my ideas a new life, and become real.

My post secondary goal after high school is to go to the Vet Tech Institute of Pittsburgh to become a veterinarian technician within a span of eighteen months. I am hoping this Honors English course will help to improve my writing skills, note taking skills, and get me use to the type of things I will experience in college. If I were to improve as a writer it would benefit me by improving my ability to do lab write-ups. If I incorporate my grammar skills into my vocabulary it will also benefit me in seeming to be a more intelligent young adult, which will hopefully cause the teachers to take me more seriously. By becoming a better writer I could become a better student altogether. Becoming a better note taker is a skill I really hope I adapt

I see myself as a writer in ten years when I’m out of college and on my own. The obstacles I

My biggest concern is about how I cite my sources in my paper. I don’t feel like this is my strong suit and I do not want to readers to get annoyed with the “as [insert source name] stated…” I have tried to work on the in text citation this week and have not made progress on it because I don’t know what I would put in place of it.

Also, the campus is very beautiful and spaced out and it is developing as there are new building being made. I believe that it is important to set goals because it is a way to be organized and know what you have to get done. Setting goals is a way to be motivated to keep achieving success. This means that

Everyone should have personal goals that evolve around anything that needs to be accomplished. I set goals on a daily basis. One goal that I seem to have not truly focused on has been my college education. Considering all things, I decided I needed to focus on my college education. The first thing I needed to accomplish was to enroll in an institution for higher learning. Now that my enrollment is complete, I am an official student at the University enrolled in the undergraduate program for business management. As a student at the university, I now have to set personal goals so that I will be successful in my endeavors. My personal goals are to gain personal growth and development and graduate from my undergraduate program in business

If you ever entertained any ideas about writing professionally, you will want to look at setting long-term goals as a writer. Create a big picture: what kind of writing will you be doing further down the road? Would you like to a published novelist with a library of books to your credit? Do you intend to be a nationally-acclaimed reviewer for cultural magazines? What is it you are hoping to achieve for the future?