New Year's Resolution in Becoming a Better Student for 2016 by Chris

New Year's Resolution in Becoming a Better Student for 2016 by Chris - January 2016 Scholarship Essay

If you were to ask me what my one New Year's resolution was to become a better student in 2016 I wouldn't be able to properly answer. For me, New Year's resolutions are an example of betraying your own goals. I have noticed time and time again that people who set a goal in mind, and then proceed to tell everyone about it, end up not doing it. You see this all the time whether it be on the television, the radio, in person, or online. People focus so heavily on what others think of them instead of just doing the things that need to be done in order to improve oneself. Around this time of year school is a great example of this. People go around telling their friends and family that their New Year's resolution is to get better grades in school or to get into a specific college for school, but in the end they never do it. People make the common New Year's resolution to lose weight, but those people are just as heavy, if not heavier, the next year after that. Now why is that? Well for starters, I specifically blame the anxiety we as humans feel when it comes to following our dreams or succeeding our goals. People are so self-conscious of what people think of them that they start to second guess themselves when they begin to explain their dreams, goals, and desires to each other. I suffer from this myself at times, but I've grown out of it significantly. Now I'm not trying to say that having a New Year's resolution is a bad thing, but I am trying to explain that when you create a resolution or goal the first thing you don't want to do is to start sharing it because in the end you will discourage yourself, especially when speaking to someone with more ambitious ideas or more fluid results. With that all being said and done, instead of explaining a New Year's resolution and reverting my personal progress, I will be explaining the steps I have taken in order to become a better student so that others may follow suit.
The first step I have taken in becoming a better student this year is that I have been putting a lot of time into self-study. When I was younger I wasn't a fan of studying because I was never challenged in school, nor was I all that interested in the topics we were learning. Nowadays I have been exceptionally interested in the field of study I plan on taking in college which is computer science. I have been buying many books, reading them, and applying them to some applications of my everyday life. For me becoming a better student is all about investing yourself on your own time to learn and to love the topic in which you plan, or are planning to study. Another step I have taken is to try and break out of my shell, and convert my social anxiety into positive energy. Being a student you need to have the right mindset, and the right ideas to propel yourself forward so you can obtain those goals you desire. Harboring negativity never gets anyone very far, and to constantly doubt yourself only holds you back from ever achieving the things you love, and for a student this is extremely important to overcome. While there are many other adversities that people face on a daily basis, for students the biggest one is finding acceptance amongst their peers. So having a positive and open mind will vastly expand your experience while being a student. Lastly, a step that I have taken in order to become a better student is being more accepting of other people's views and ideas. I used to be a very one track mind, but as I've grown I've become more and more fruitful when accepting differing opinions. When you go to school you're more than likely to be put into an environment of cultural differences, so it's always a very wise move to open your ears first before opening your mouth. Now with these steps that I have taken I have accomplished many of my personal "resolutions" and goals that I strived to ascertain. But the one goal I achieve on a daily basis of every year is that goal to learn something new, and to have fun with it.