Resolved to Reflect by Angela

Angelaof Boston's entry into Varsity Tutor's January 2016 scholarship contest

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Angela of Boston, MA
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Resolved to Reflect by Angela - January 2016 Scholarship Essay

The beginning of a new year brims with opportunity. It rests as a clean slate awaiting the scribe’s first marks. I intend to do just that. Resolutions are about challenging ourselves to achieve more. To alter something about our habits with the ambition to become a better version of ourselves. My resolution this year is to use my time intentionally and to write and reflect on it. I am going to do this through the use of a tangible tool, my Passion Planner.

My Passion Planner is going to be my sidekick throughout the year as I take on new challenges and integrate myself into the structured learning environment that is graduate school. My plan is to set aside 30 minutes to an hour each Sunday as the week kicks off to reflect on the successes of the past week and plan my schedule and goals for the week ahead. The Passion Planner is more than just a calendar book, it gives you space to write and be creative, make lists, jot ideas, and cultivate your goals. To promote a gratitude practice, it brackets off a tiny section each week and asks you to list the “good things that happened” that week. And it offers you a challenge, a quote, or inspirational message that reminds you to show up and be your authentic self, to think differently about your situation, or motivate you to spread joy to those around you. My resolution is to make the most of this investment in myself, so that at the end of the year I will look back and see what I have accomplished from the struggles to the triumphs and every detail in between.

I am resolved to reflect this year. 2016. My 27th year and my first to embark on my Master's in Public Health. Use of this planner will make me a better student because it will bring mindfulness to my day to day activities. The mad rush of school and the overwhelming workload need to be managed. My thoughts, feelings, and ambitions need to be tethered down, shaped, and made concrete through words and actionable items. This will keep me organized, focused, and refreshed each week. The reflection pages each month will give me opportunity to think differently and to shift habits that are not working well for my success in school. Through this resolution to reflect, I will maintain the awareness and organization to succeed in the spring, summer, and fall terms that lie ahead.

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