Final Draft Goals

“Arriving at one goal is the starting point to another.”  ~John Dewey

                       

                                  

1.The main reason for setting a goal is for what it makes of you to accomplish it. Goals are what we create as achievable stepping stones in our life that demonstrate we are in complete control. What are your goals? Do you have a goal you wish to accomplish but don’t really know how? Maybe you are concerned with the obstacles you will face? Well I have found that setting goals are the best way to turn our dreams into reality. I am going to tell you about a system that can help you achieve your goals. While reading this, I want you to think about one short term goal that is important to you. For me it is graduating from La Guardia Community College Psychology program by 2015 and following my dream in becoming a child psychologist.

 2. “The SMART system” I read somewhere that whenever you set goals they should be SMART. Meaning, that the goals we set should be 1) Specific, 2) Measurable, 3) Attainable, 4) Relevant, and 5) Timely bound. In other words a specific goal has much more greater chance of getting accomplished than a general goal (Short term/long term.) When you measure the progress you have made, research shows it helps you stay on track and get to your target by a certain date. You can attain mostly any goal you set when you plan the steps you will take wisely and establish that time frame. To be realistic, a goal must represent an objective toward which you are both willing and able to work. With the time frame you scheduled for that goal that’s when it should be accomplished. Identifying goals that are most important to you, you begin to figure out the ways you can make them come true.

3.Child Psychology is one of the many branches of the field Psychology. It focuses on the behavior and mind of children from its prenatal development all the way through adolescence. What interests me most is the fact that child psychology doesn’t only deal with how children grow physically, but also with their mental, emotional and social development. I love children and having a career that I am able to work with them is something I am looking forward too. If you generally like and want to know more about how people perceive the world around them and how they react to it, this is something you may want to consider. It is not an easy road. Becoming a child psychologist can take many years to accomplish. It’s an extremely rewarding career which involves the most vulnerable members of our society. It is all about helping. Helping others with whatever their need may be. In order to work with children one must have the patience and skills to communicate with those young clients who have not developed the cognitive or verbal capacity to express the problems that are causing them distress. 

4.This is why child psychology is something so important to me. I lost a 13 month old baby cousin with Down syndrome. Her death was tragic to every member of my family. I wanted to learn more and do something in her honor as far as my future consisted of. Not only do I want to make my parents and my family proud because I come from a family that is of something but I also want to be successful too. My family is my support group and my motivation to succeed. Every parent tries to give their child the best and when the time comes when I have children I want to be able to give them that and more, so what other way than preparing yourself for the future and living the American dream. Who hasn’t dreamt about owning a house one day? Since a little girl I always dreamt of a big house to live in one day with my husband and a whole bunch of children. I want to have the opportunity for prosperity and an upward social mobility that has been achieved through hard work. That is the American dream I live by. I want to strive to get those good grades in La Guardia and maybe even make the Dean’s list. I have always been a good student in school but I never pushed myself for more and that is what I want to accomplish here. I want to excel in all my exams. Challenge myself in reaching a 4.0 GPA so that I can get into a good program at a different school afterwards.

5.To Conclude despite the challenges life itself throws, anything you wish to do or wish to become is possible. All you have to do is believe in yourself and never give up. With a career path like this one, where you will have to give a lot and put a lot in with the many years of education, it will all be worth it in the end. Surrounding yourself with positivity and managing your stress is another method that helps. One advice my parents always told me is “Keep your eye on the prize” and I share that with you. Never lose sight with your goal. The road of becoming a psychologist is a long one and can be difficult but not impossible. Getting good grades is important that way they help you get into a great grad school. Getting a high GPA can even grant you scholarships where you can save a few dollars as well since we all know college is expensive. Doing your research is another because that way you are aware of the requirements ahead of time. I believe in self motivation also for the reason that we humans are our own biggest critics and realizing you are progressing is realizing you are one step closer to following your dream. In about 8-10 years from now I picture myself becoming a Child Psychologists. My goal is to work very well and hard to make it happen turning it into reality despite whatever obstacles I might face.

                                                          By: Dioska Kiana Ceballos