Junior year is here, and it’s going to blow by fast. Here’s a list of 10 goals I’m going to set for myself. Hopefully I can reach them all!
10. Scheduling
My junior year is more packed than my other two years. I’m balancing a part time job on top of my leadership positions at the college, all while taking 18 credits and maintaining my writing on sites like this one.
Scheduling will be key to this. I’m heading into uncharted territory, but hopefully the journey will be a rewarding one.
9. Have fun
When you’re as busy as I am, it can be easy to lose sight of this. No matter how packed your schedule is, you should always devote time to distress and take care of yourself.
If not, you’ll just end up wearing yourself down.
8. Make good memories
I have a fair amount of great memories from my first two years of college. Others are horrendous. I aspire to make more positive to negative memories, which will be a challenge for me as I’m not afraid to get down and dirty to navigate controversial issues as a writer.
7. Make new friends
This one should be obvious, and is something I do every year. There’s always a bevy of new faces at the college, and some might just appreciate my dry wit.
6. Make good friends
That being said, the amount of true and best friends that I have is small, and for good reason. These are the people that will stick by me through thick and thin, not just when it’s convenient for them.
With any luck, I can add to this select pool.
5. Pass the torch to a new generation in my Film Club
I’ve served as the president of my college’s film club since I revived it freshman year. Since then, Film Club has rejoined the college as an official SGA club and is going into its first year with a budget.
I’ve led the club for two years, and am one of the two remaining original eBoard members. With a new freshman class, hopefully the club will be able to attract new faces with new ideas as to where to take the club. I’ve had my time in the spotlight, it’s time for the next generation to take film club into the next step of its evolution.
4. Push the boundaries of my design skills
I’m a fairly talented graphic designer. I won an English department award for my design and editing skills for my work on my school’s newspaper, The MCLA Beacon, and over the summer I worked in New England Newspapers, Inc.’s design hub, where I paginated four newspapers. I’ve also designed every advertisement for Film Club thus far, and have designed posters and ads for others upon request, such as an upcoming English department event talking about the rhetoric of the election. I hope to build off of these already established skills to make designs that will blow the socks off people.
3. Diversify and flesh out my writing
In the past, I’ve written for Hubpages, Goomba Stomp, my wordpress site, and of course The Odyssey. This summer, I scored a gig as a Huffington Post contributor, and I maintain a freelance contract with my local paper, The Berkshire Eagle, whom I run an entertainment blog for. I also write for The Beacon.
Needless to say, I want to continue to create quality content for all of these sites and publications.
2. Maintain my GPA
This one has become less important to me as college has progressed, but I’ve still been able to maintain an admirable GPA of 3.8 (on a 4.0 scale). Still, I wish to continue my academic success even as my workload increases.
1. Make The Beacon into something great
As I’ve mentioned before, I work for my school’s newspaper, The Beacon. My role is Managing Editor, the number 2 position in the newsroom. I previously served as Arts & Entertainment Editor, where I challenged the paper in terms of design, and the types of stories we wrote.
My section was the most consistently viewed on our site as well, with many of my articles exceeding 1,000 views. But there is more to be done.
My experience freelancing, contributing, and working for New England Newspapers has given me valuable insight into the newspaper business, and my fellow Beacon staff members have gained similar real world experience through internships.
We have a lot to work with, and after getting a few really nice sparks last semester, we’re prime to light on fire.
So that is my list. It’s a list built from a solid two years of trying to take advantage of the opportunities offered at a small college. I know the road to achieving these things won’t be easy, it never is, but I know I want to do these things and I know that I can and that gives me great hope that they’ll come to fruition.
Odyssey Lost is a series of articles salvaged from the now-defunct Massachusetts College of Art and Design chapter of The Odyssey, written by yours truly.
Mitchell Chapman 