Blog Post #3: Goal Setting!
[No CW/TW]
"So, Linus, what are your plans for your time at UCLA?"
"Well dad, uh, do I really have to do this?" I replied, as I sheepishly stared down at the list of goals my old man had "asked" me to write. It was still a week before I moved into the Courtside dorms, but my dad, being the kind of organized and strategic person he was, wanted me to list out my hopes and dreams for what I wanted to achieve in college.
"Yes son. It's pointless to have goals if you don't write them down and look at them often. You know that you're forgetful and never get anything done, blah blah blah" yeah okay I forgot what he said, but it's one of the many lectures that he's given me in my short lifetime thus far.
Honestly, I haven't thought about the goals I made for myself before I started UCLA until today, when I sat down to write this blog. So, we'll be looking over these goals together, and see if I achieved them, and if there are any new ones I can make for the next chapter in my life.
1. Meet at least 200 people. Well, I think I did that. If I include all the people I met from classes, in addition to the new Facebook friends I've added since starting UCLA, that should total more than 200... I hope.
2. Join an IM team, maybe win? Haha so I did join an IM team, but this was the year I was supposed to win, so I'll just say that I would've won if COVID hadn't interfered.
3. Graduate in 4 years with an actual degree (I went in Undeclared). Yep, that's done. Took awhile to figure out my major and minor, but basically done with that.
4. Get at least a 3.9, cuz there's no way UCLA would be as hard at high school. Oh, was 18 year old Linus a bum, I mean innocent and naive. For some reason, I couldn't find this exact goal in my plan, but I remember how after Fall Quarter, I was just chasing that 3.5.
5. Take a picture with a famous person. Someone, anyone, just gotta be famous. Glad to say that I did (check below)!
6. Get a girlfriend. I don't know anyone who didn't secretly wish to have an SO during their time in college, and it made sense logically. You'd be surrounded by THOUSANDS of other students, so the chance of you meeting at least 1 person and hitting it off is pretty high.
Looking at this list now, I have to say: I was pretty bad at goal setting. Not only was I naive, but because I didn't really know what I wanted, these goals were so generic and didn't really push my boundaries. I obviously achieved a few of these, and didn't make the mark of several others, but I never detailed how I would achieve any of these goals, nor the time frame. Basically, they weren't "SMART."
So, here's my attempt to make SMART goals, for the future:
Be able to dunk. This has been a lifelong dream of mine, and a goal I have every freaking year, but this year, it'll happen. Probably. Hopefully. I can still try, okay? Athletic prowess peaks mid 20s, so I still got a few years left. Anyways, there's more to it than just running and jumping and praying that my Asian genetics mutate mid-air. I plan on continuing my daily squat routine (which speaking of which, I need to get back to that tomorrow), but also work on my cardio and weight. I remember thinking I was heavy at ___, but after luxurious all-you-can-eat lamb chops at BPlate and almost finishing a whole De Neve late night pizza with a milk shake before bed, I know that I'll be lucky to maintain 170, especially during the freezing months on the East Coast. In addition to watching what I eat (which will improve when I move out), I'm hoping to average 7000 steps/day this year (while I'm currently averaging like 100 steps/day moving from my bed to my desk and back), and work on my plyometrics at least 3 times/week.
Make the (real) starting salary when I finish the masters program in 3 years. While one can argue that I'll be making that soon, the company isn't actually paying that much, and by crunching the numbers, most of the money I'm making, after tax (shame MA's tax rate is just as high as CA), is basically going towards my apartment. I'm hoping that with the starting salary, I can easily start planning to buy a house when I'm at least 30, but most likely before then. This includes making out my ROTH IRA for the next three years and onwards, as well as having enough emergency money for when thing go wrong. To do this, I'll not only have to maintain my grades, but to really learn and explore what I'll be learning. My time at UCLA has mostly been spent studying for the test (thanks awful profs), but now, looking back, I feel as though I've forgotten, or failed to correctly learn, a lot of necessary theorems and applications needed for me to succeed in this industry. I plan to maximize my time there by reaching out to the professors, finding ways to apply these machine learning algorithms, and truly understand why we use x over y to predict c, or the flaws of x and y and how to overcome them.
Make lifelong friends with my coworkers and classmates while I'm on the East Coast. Although many of the people I've met all seem to be... well... people I wouldn't typically hang out with (either at a different stage in life or just didn't click initially), I'm excited to get to know the rest of my cohort and the company as a whole. Our department's relatively small and very laid-back, and I'll be able to actually hang out and socialize with them once we move to being in-person again through meals, getting together on the weekends, or exploring the city/state parks together. The East Coast is much different than that of LA, but hey, I'm there for the experience.
These goals are all pretty attainable, and much better than the trash list I made 4 years ago. Maybe I did learn something at UCLA. Oh well, here's to achieving at least one of our goals!
(JW)
I really love the down-to-earth, casual way this post is written and I think it really allows for feelings of relatability, which I personally always look for when I'm reading blogs (or anything written from an opinion/personal standpoint). I think the transition from your younger, very relatable goals to more specific and constructed (but just as relatable) goals keeps people engaged in how you as a person has grown, and personally, has me reflecting on some specific goals to construct as I age (especially the financial stuff haha). Looking forward to seeing how your goals will pan out and evolve!
Oh my goodness reading your older goals was so funny I really liked it. I think it takes a lot of humility to post goals that you don't have anymore and poke fun at the fact but also a great deal of strength to instead decide to do something with that by posting new goals to follow. I really liked how you named them "SMART" goals, that was a nice touch. It is going to be such a fun and exciting experience going to the East Coast and I have no doubt in my mind that you will do amazing. I really enjoyed reading this and I can't wait to see where your goals will take you!