New Year’s Resolution to Become a Better Student by Ellie

New Year’s Resolution to Become a Better Student by Ellie - January 2016 Scholarship Essay

In order to become a better student, I have made a New Year’s resolution to keep up with a day planner to organize my assignments, studying times, and extracurricular activities in one place. This planner can be used to store dates of AP tests and when work is due, as well as my cheer practice schedule and various club meetings to help keep me aware during hectic weeks.
My biggest problem as a student is forgetting about the due dates of a Biology lab or putting off Stats homework or a Choir solo to accomplish other, more fun tasks. I can now write down that I have an assignment to complete or need to review specific material, and when I open my planner at home, I think I will feel more accomplished checking off tasks on my list than procrastinating. In addition, monthly and weekly calendars will show a visual countdown of how many days are remaining until midterms, Senior Night, or the next three day weekend. By putting down all of my upcoming clinics and college visits, I will also have more positive events to look forward to as I work my way through all of my AP coursework.
By keeping record of assignments and Honors Society meetings, I will learn the ability to manage my time significantly better so that I can binge watch Friends rather than staying up all night writing the day before a big research paper is due. Now, instead of having to guess whether or not I actually need to do that Econ homework tonight, I can check the due date I wrote down when I received it. If I’m struggling in any of my classes, I can schedule a tutorial time with that teacher and know to not plan breakfast with a friend or a make-up test at that same time. Instead of cramming all in one night, I can create and write in daily or weekly studying goals when finals start approaching. Improving my time management and having a schedule I can see and stick to is going to be vital as I push to become a more successful student athlete.
Keeping up with a planner is going to remove some of stress from a lack of structure in my schedule and add some much needed organization to my sometimes (usually) overbearing course load and busy workouts. This resolution is very realistic because while the planner itself does not create large changes in my life, it helps me to be more conscientious of my school requirements and the demands from my extracurriculars. Utilizing a planner will instill in me habits and routines that organized, involved students all use to thrive in their own schools.