Goal Setting for Success: How I Plan to Thrive in My Second Year of College

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A rainbow over Mount Tom that I saw from Chesterfield, Massachusetts in 2019.

I’m a big goal-setter. I set goals for every track season, every New Year, and every summer. I haven’t achieved every single one of my goals, but I’m pretty good at sticking to things when I’ve committed to them. It feels nice to have certain areas of focus, even if things don’t end up exactly as you pictured. Some of the goals that I achieved at UMass my first year were finding mental health support in Massachusetts, visiting my grandparents at Loomis Village Retirement Community in South Hadley, and making new friends in college. This year, I want to build on what I started last year and take it to the next level.

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This year, I want to be doing the track workouts instead of being in a boot and taking splits for other people!

Goal-setting can be difficult to do effectively. Often, I just start with vague ideas about things that are important to me. But quantifying them and putting in clear guidelines around what success means is the difference between a bad goal and a goal one.

Goal 1: Stay Healthy!

One of the biggest things I struggled with throughout my first year of college was injuries. As a UMass track athlete, I had to adjust to a new style of training, and my body was banged up in the process. I had a stress reaction in my shin that sidelined me for the entire indoor season. I struggled with turf toe and lower back pain that I trained through. And after the outdoor season, I sustained a hamstring strain that hindered my summer training. It has been a rough transition to college athletics for me, but I don’t want it to stay that way. This year, I’m committed to being really dialed in to my nutrition, recovery, and prehab. I know I may not be able to prevent every injury, but I want to be better.

Goal 2: Explore More of Western Massachusetts’ Natural Beauty

The natural beauty of Western Mass is another thing I want to take advantage of more next year. There are so many great places to enjoy the outdoors here, and I know how beautiful they can be from my frequent childhood visits. However, it’s been difficult to get to a lot of these places as a college student without a car. 

Making plans with friends who have cars to go out for a hike or swim is one way I can change this for next year. Even if it’s just once or twice, I want to take advantage of these trails and parks while I can.

Goal 3: Take More Honors Classes

Surprisingly enough, I only took one Honors course last year. It was Honors 201H: Ideas That Change the World. (My first semester, I used Arabic to fulfill my Honors requirement, as it was a six-credit language course. This only fulfills an Honors course requirement for one semester, though, even if you continue taking the language.) This coming semester, I’ll be taking two Honors courses—Honors 391AH: This is America: Race and Racism in American Popular Music and Honors 221H: The Springfield Renaissance. I’m really intrigued by how creative and thought-provoking these classes look, and I’m looking forward to experiencing more Honors coursework. Finally, I’ll be taking a third undetermined Honors course in the spring.

Last year, student-athletes gathered to compete in a game of LGBTQ-themed jeopardy at Athlete Ally’s inaugural event.

Goal 4: Facilitate more Athlete Ally events

Last year, a few other athletes and I kickstarted Athlete Ally at UMass. We had a solid start to our program with a successful event called Dessert Date, and I want to build on this in a number of ways. First of all, we’ve restructured our e-board and will be tabling at the Student-Athlete Welcome Back. Our biggest impact event will be hosting the first openly gay D1 men’s basketball player (and former UMass student) Derrick Gordon during homecoming weekend. Following the Derrick Gordon visit, we’re planning to collaborate with another student group, Black Student Athletes United, to discuss the intersection of race and sexuality. I’m excited to help Athlete Ally grow and reach more student-athletes at UMass!

Goal 5: Stay on track with my reading goal

This year, I started reading a lot more. I’ve been using a website called Storygraph that has really helped me step up my reading. For the past few years, I’ve been tracking the books I read in a Google Sheet, but Storygraph’s platform is so much more visually appealing and user-friendly. This year, my reading goal was to read 40 books (I’ve read 30-something the past few years). But after using Storygraph, I’ve been motivated to up my goal to 50! By reading for around 45 minutes to an hour most days, I’m sure to stay on track to read 50 books by the end of the year.

The graph of my reading goal is my favorite feature on Storygraph.

I’m slowly creeping towards being ready for the school year to start again. Having some goals on the horizon gives me something to look forward to. It not only motivates me for what’s to come but also helps me feel a sense of agency in my future. It reminds me that things don’t just happen to me, I can go out there and make things happen. These last few weeks before the semester starts are a great time to get goal-setting!