Students Share Their Goals for the New Semester

Story by Krystal Black
Photo by Anne Langan

With every new year, people make goals to make the incoming year better than the last. For Central Michigan University students, along with the new year, comes a new semester. Whether you’re trying to maintain a certain GPA or you want to get more sleep before your early classes, it’s important to set some goals for the semester.

A Fresh Start to the Year
Freshman Kara Dobulis said self-love is her overall goal for the year.

“My goal for this upcoming semester is to start taking better care of myself,” Dobulis said.

Freshman Anthony Miser had a different idea in mind for his New Year’s resolution.

“One goal I have for next semester is to improve my study habits,” Miser said.

Making new goals for each semester is all about learning from previous semesters. Miser explained that his goal came from how he chose to complete his work last semester.

Dobulis also said that she wants to learn from what she put herself through last semester.

“Now that I know that I am capable of the workload that comes along with college, I need to start focusing on my physical and mental health,” she said.

Staying Focused and Reaping Benefits
Another tip for creating a goal is asking yourself why you want to (or need to) make a change. Dobulis came up with her goal by thinking about how last semester affected her.

“Last semester I didn’t always make time for the things I love to do because I was always stressing myself out,” she said.

Miser also identified the reason he wants to make a change.

“The reason I have this goal is because I have already established such a strong social lead in college, and now I want to focus more on academics,” he said.

When creating a goal, ask yourself whether this will benefit you in the long run (or not), how it will affect you now and if this goal is attainable with your schedule.

Dobulis hopes that her goal will allow her to have a more successful semester.

“I hope that by putting myself first I will be able to continue to excel in my academics and have an overall better semester,” she said.

If you are unsure of any changes you need to or want to make, try some of these:

• Organize your assignments, and find a system that works best for you.
• Get more sleep!
• Read a few new books.
• Complete your homework before the day it’s due.
• Practice budgeting your time better.
• Wake up earlier for your first class.

Here’s to a Happy New Year and an even greater new semester!