Setting Some Goals For This Semester

NOTE: This is part three of my three blog series. Parts one and two discussed my first three days of school. Tonight, part three reveals some goals I have for this semester.

My, how time flies. Now that I think of it, I can't believe I'm in my fourth year here at SIU. It seems as if it was just yesterday that Carbondale was like a foreign land to me. Full of people with strange accents and a special breed of people who claimed to be part of something called "Cardinal Nation."

All jokes aside, Carbondale is now a second home to me and those people with strange accents hold a special place in my heart (lol.)

It's still a bit mind boggling how so much has changed since 2004. And I'm still here in Carbondale.

Heck, it's mind boggling to think how much things have changed from last year to this.

I just wanna go on record, saying the following:

• I am a changed man from last year. I feel as if I have matured and grown from last year and I feel good about it. I believe that my mind and my heart is in a better place than it was last year. I've put a lot of my own issues behind me in an effort to move forward with my life. And as of now, I am 100% happier than I was a year ago. A happy Lu benefits everyone, not just myself. It benefits everyone around me as well.

Now, since that is out of my system I can go on and reveal some of my goals for this semester. My goals are as follows:

1. Let's start with the education part, seeing that education is my top priority (not named Chicago Cubs baseball) as of right now. My first goal is to not miss any classes. It's easy to skip class when you don't want to go, or when the weather is bad, etc. But last year proved to me that my grades were better in classes I attended every day. Perfect attendance would be the first step in a successful semester.
2. Another goal I have which pertains to my education has to do with my poems. I'd like to write less depressing poetry. And really, I wouldn't call my poetry "depressing." I had a lot of bottled up emotions last year and poetry was the best way of expressing myself. With that said, I'd like to expand my poetic horizons. I have a laundry list of topics (most of which aren't depressing) that I wasn't able to write about this summer due to my bout with writer's block. I've got my first poem coming soon here to this blog, so stay tuned.
3. Something I don't want to do is drink away my semester. I've been down that road, and in retrospect it wasn't worth it. It felt worth it at the time, but I've just come to realize that I missed out on so much by being hung up on certain issues. Those days are (hopefully) behind me.
   
4. I'd like to keep my priorities in line. I've had issues in the past few years when it comes to prioritizing. This year, I'm making a promise to myself to keep my priorities in check and keeping what is most important to me in focus. Prioritizing correctly could be another key to having a successful semester.
5. As of now, I am still jobless and as long as that continues, one of my priorities must be budgeting. I want to be able to run on a tighter budget. Really, what I would like to do is a better job of budgeting my money until I get a job or until winter break when I (hopefully) get my job back at Z-Frank Chevrolet. I don't need to be spending my money carelessly, whether it be on partying or on unnecessary items.
6. Ooh, here's an obvious goal GET A JOB!
7. On to non-educational goals. I'd like to make Friday cleaning days and Saturday mornings laundry days. I want to do a better job of keeping my room manageable and keep my laundry (somewhat) in check.
   
8. I want to eat healthier and smarter. As my grandmother would say "No te llenes tus ojos ante de la barriga." Something like that loosely translates into don't eat more than your stomach can handle. On top of that I want to drink more water and apple juice cuz that stuff is healthy for me. Oh and late night junk meals are no good for me, seeing that just helps me gain weight. As I say that now, I'm super hungry!

Wow, I think that's it (for now.) Thanks for reading my blogs. I guess another one of my goals should have been to be a better blog writer. Oh well, there's always next semester.

Hopefully I'll be able to succeed at all of my goals this semester. In the end, it's all up to me....and I don't think I'd rather have it any other way.