Dear Future Sarah,
2016 has come to a close and 2017 is just beginning. Here's a list of personal goals that you should accomplish over the course of the year:
Go to the library.
If this whole engineering thing is going to work out, you'll need to stay on top of your classes – you fell behind last semester, and that can't happen again. Start going to the library from day one. Do every single homework problem or practice exam your professors give you. If you don't understand something, see your professor or get a tutor. Learn to manage your time and separate work from home.
Visit at least three places you've never been before.
By the time this article is published, you'll be leaving for a trip to Israel – that's one new place. You've wanted to go to San Francisco your whole life, so make it happen – that's two. Number three (and four, and five...) are up in the air.
Make a memory jar.
The premise is this: you take a jar, and you stack some nice paper and a pen next to it. Every time something positive happens, you write it on a piece of paper and slip it into the jar. At the end of the year, you open up the jar and read through all the notes. You've wanted to try this every year, but never got around to it. Make it happen this time.
Read more books.
You have a long queue of books that you've been meaning to read. Find time to actually read them. You were such a bookworm as a kid, but you've started to believe that you don't have time for it anymore. That's just an excuse; there's always time. Make time.
Plan for the rest of college.
By the end of this year, you should either have completed an internship or have one lined up. You should know when you'll be studying abroad. You should know for certain whether you're getting a minor, and you should know whether you'll take an extra semester to fit all your classes.
Get off of social media.
No, don't delete your accounts. But the truth is, you spend way too much time staring at your phone. That time could be spent studying or reading or talking to people or getting things done. Start becoming more aware of how often you use your phone, and try not to use it as much.
Be active in making the world a better place.
Keep volunteering. Donate to charities and organizations that you believe in. Stand up for your friends. Listen to people and amplify their voices. Don't accept bigotry and hatred as normal.
Take small steps to make your life and the world around you better. A year from now, come back to this article and see how you did. Hold yourself accountable, so you can come back and see how much you were able to accomplish.
Good luck. You can do it!
With love,
Present Sarah
