As we move through August we get closer and closer to college move-in. This semester I’m actually moving in around the 18th because I’m going to be a resident assistant! All residents assistants at my university move in early and go through two more weeks of training and prep before everyone else comes back the first couple days of September. The spring training was a blast, and I’m sure fall training will be just as fun.

Of course, all of this means that the start of my second year fall semester is quickly approaching! Last semester I decided to set some goals for myself and I’m really pleased with how things went. If you want to read all about my second semester goals, check out this post. Want to know more about how things actually went second semester? Click here.

What are my third semester goals? Great question!

Things I want to do this semester:

Publish at least 10 blog posts.

Last year I only managed to publish seven blog posts each semester. This semester, the goal is 10. Ideally I’ll be posting a lot more than that and I’ll have things scheduled out in advance, but I’m trying to be realistic here.

Visit a farm.

If you read my post on unexpected things that may happen when you go to college (click here if you haven’t, a must read for incoming freshmen!), then you may remember I used to go to a pumpkin farm with my family every fall. This fall, it doesn’t have to be a pumpkin farm, but I really want to visit some sort of seasonal farm. They’re just so cute! And I love the tradition.

Have a fall photo shoot.

My last fall photo shoot was a great time, and I loved the results. I want to try to get at least one in this fall! If I can combine this with going to a pumpkin farm, even better. An apple farm could be fun too.

Go to a soccer game.

Alright game day is weird at my university, because we don’t have it. Soccer is big though, so a soccer game feels like something I should try to get to. Especially since I didn’t make it to one last year! I’d love to also see a rugby match, but I’ll start with one soccer game and see how that goes.

Join a club and become an active member.

Alright. Last year I signed up for clubs but wasn’t able to follow through with any of them. They either met during my classes or once a month (at most) on weird days and I would forget about the meetings because they weren’t a habit. I eventually ended up in a club I started going to in late November, and never even got the emails (which will hopefully change this year). But this year I want to be more involved. I have a couple of ideas for clubs I would be interested in joining, so hopefully I can get more information on them and report back at the end of the semester that I did in fact manage to join a club. And be active in it!

Academic Success: What worked last semester?

• Going to my professor’s office hours
• Keeping a detailed to do list
• Waking up around the same time everyday
• Listening to my body and what it needs
• Asking for help when I needed it

I plan to continue doing all of these things, because they work for me. If I do them, I do well. If I stop doing one of these things, everything goes downhill very quickly. I plan on avoiding the whole going downhill thing and getting through this semester as smoothly as possible.

What are my top priorities?

1. My health. If I’m not well and don’t take care of myself, I’m useless. I have to stay on top of my chronic illnesses and make sure I’m doing everything I can to be as managed as possible.
2. My service dog. Similarly, if something happens to my service dog, it requires my immediate attention. She can’t take care of me if I don’t take care of her!
3. My academics. This is why I’m studying at a university in the first place. The end goal is a degree, so after taking care of myself and Peggy comes taking care of my education.
4. My job. I cannot express how grateful I am to have gotten such an amazing position. It will give me experience I couldn’t get anywhere else, a great opportunity to connect with people, and make the best contribution towards tuition that I could possibly manage. I am so lucky to have gotten one of the few spots available, and am so excited to get started and meet my residents!

To all of my fellow college students:

Don’t be shy! I’d love to hear from you. Share one of your semester goals in the comments below, and good luck this semester! We got this.