Goal 6 (with a dash of Goal 2)

Last semester I deemed as my "get shit done" semester.

Which is why this semester was very purposefully designed to be the "get inspired" semester, a cheesy way of saying that I want to focus on my personal growth. Because it's crazy how little inspiration and productivity overlap. At MIT, it's easy to get so consumed by the firehose of psets, clubs, friends, and UROPs that you can barely catch your breath to ask yourself "What am I here for?"

But with the sudden influx of free flexible time here at Cambridge, its been a welcome change to casually read or take up new hobbies or to just think. Because that's exactly what is lacking at MIT: time to reflect. There's so many opportunities for growth that are simply missed because there's no time to stop and consider the point of anything or think about what is gained. If you look at it from Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, MIT leaves you stuck at esteem and searching for a sense of achievement, and it's difficult to reach your highest potential when you have no time or energy to invest in it. When your mind is so jumbled with everything else, self-growth is no longer a priority.

But one change I've made since coming to Cambridge is making that time for self growth, and that involves writing daily. By writing, I'm forced to reflect on what I do and do things deliberately instead of approaching everything as a checklist of tasks. It helps me to go beyond doing a thing into doing the right thing. I allot my time more wisely to the things I care about, I get more time to think in thoughts rather than in schedules, and I feel more relaxed than usual. And I found out that there are so many unconsidered dimensions of thoughts that don't crystallize until I get them down on paper. In this way thoughts are kind of like icebergs: on the surface, each thought only shows a small percent of itself, but once you purposefully try to uncover its meaning, you realize there's so much more to discover. So if anything, writing has helped me become more aware of who I am, what I think, and what matters to me. And that sounds like a pretty good first step towards getting inspired.

Goal 5

It's strange how such a new experience can feel so familiar.

The uneasy faces of confidence and the nervous checks on my habits echo my experiences in freshman year. I'm the new kid and it's the first day of school when there's too much new sensory input to not feel self conscious. Am I laughing too much? What do they think of me? These sound like silly insecurities, but they've definitely crossed my mind. But these are the opportunities that brought me to Cambridge in the first place; another chance to be the new kid, another round of experiences to grow from.

And if I've learned anything, putting myself in uncomfortable situations is the best way for me to grow. It's so easy to retreat back to the people, the places, and the mannerisms that I'm used to. Although I'm in a different Cambridge, there's still many other MIT and US exchange students who I could go to as we all try to find our niche in this new habitat. But I came here to experience something new so I'm throwing myself into that mindset. Instead of easing in to it, I'm jumping headfirst into the things that I'm afraid of because why not. It's kind of like entering really cold water: it's easier to jump in and withstand the shock than to take it slow because you'll get used to it faster. So say hello to the new ballroom dancing, lone traveling, strangely un-athletic athlete who is now Connie :)

This past week has brought a lot of new adventures. There were salsa and waltz classes (I prefer salsa) that pushed my bodily coordination to its limits, but were fun nonetheless. I met many similarly clumsy and nervous individuals, and we laughed with each other and at each other as we tried to improve our barely there skills. There was also the badminton practice that helped reaffirm my goal to become more fit as my supportive teammates met my weak playing with only encouragement and helpful tips. Frisbee was also an option until I realized that the cold, rain, and muddied shoes would probably prevent me from going at all. But ballroom dancing and badminton are a start!

There's been a lot of changes and I'm optimistic that each new experiment will push me closer to Goal 6: finding future Connie. Existentialist? Maybe, but that's not a bad thing is it?

Goal 2

I came to Cambridge with a lot of goals in mind.

It just so happens that my study abroad program falls at the start of the New Year, so some may call these resolutions, but I prefer to call them goals. Resolutions are driven by a desire for results; my goals are just ways to focus on getting the most out of my study-abroad experience. And if it so happens that fulfilling them also changes how I live post-Cambridge, then all the better.

So as with everything important in my life, I made a list of what I wanted to accomplish here:

1. become a better speaker
2. write for a public audience (blog!)
3. be healthy, eat well, and exercise
4. make new friends and gain new perspectives
5. do things that scare you (ballroom dancing, traveling alone, etc.)
6. figure out your future (grad school?, start a company?, design education?, etc.)

So here you have Goal 2. And why writing? Because I want people to understand how I think, and I've found that a lot more difficult than it sounds. Although I often write thoughts and opinions for myself, I don't know how to write those same things for others to read. The unfiltered journal writing that I do is quite different from the polished and well-phrased writings of Brain Pickings or the zany, interesting pieces of waitbutwhy. 

So I'm approaching this exactly the way I would approach improving any skill: practice. I'll be writing weekly posts about anything and everything: my travels, my goals progress, my experiences, my thoughts...And I'm tackling blogging as a design challenge. How do you write in a way that appeals to a diverse audience? How do you make your thoughts and experiences relatable? How can you inspire others to believe what you do? 

And at the end of this, I hope to (does that make these sub-goals?) become a better, more consistent writer and get at least one reader to think about something in a new way.

So here goes nothing: welcome to Goal 2.