Goals Paper Essay

My second long-term goal is an academic goal. My academic goal is to graduate from the University of Central Florida with a bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education. This academic goal of mine is very important to me because I want to be a teacher. I have always wanted to become a teacher since I was a young girl but I foolishly did not pursue my dream. I am now at a point in my life where I recognize that tomorrow is not promised. Therefore, I have decided to pursue my dream of becoming a teacher and will not allow myself to steer off that path. My third long-term goal is career orientated. This long-term career goal is to simply become an effective elementary teacher. By becoming an effective elementary teacher, I will be able to make a positive difference in the lives of my students. I know firsthand the importance of an effective teacher because I experienced what one was like. That person was my fifth grade teacher and she made such a positive difference in my life at that time. I want to be able to do the same and so that is why becoming an effective elementary teacher is my long-term career goal. Now that I have identified my three long-term goals I will now discuss how I will accomplish these goals. In order for me to achieve my personal long-term goal of becoming a homeowner, I have set a short-term and an intermediate goal. My short-term goal which will help lead me to becoming a homeowner is finding a job, because I am currently unemployed. The only income I have at this time is from my husband’s full-time job. His income alone cannot qualify us for a mortgage loan. Therefore, I intend to consistently look for employment on a weekly basis. Although this short-term goal may seem to be an easy one, it is not. The reason it is not is due to the fact that there are a lot of people currently unemployed whom are looking for work themselves. This has a negative effect on me because it makes my chances of finding a job much harder. However, I am determined to find a job no matter how many applications it may take. I will make sure that I attach a resume and will make follow-up calls to each of the employers that I have submitted an employment application to. I will also keep a positive attitude on my pursuit for employment so that nothing sabotages my short-term goal. With that said, having a job is not the only thing that is necessary for me to achieve my long-term personal goal. I will also need to have some money saved to put down towards the purchase price of a home. Therefore, I have set an intermediate goal to have saved at least two percent of $195,000 dollars within the next two and a half years by putting $130 dollars per month into a savings account. I am confident that I can achieve my personal long-term goal as long as I adhere to the short-term and intermediate goals that I have indicated above. As for my long-term academic goal to achieve a bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education, I have set a short-term and an intermediate goal that will assist me in obtaining it. My short-term goal consists of two parts. The first part is to take a minimum of four courses, per semester, that are required for the type of degree I am seeking. The second part is to maintain a grade point average of 3. 0 or higher. In order for me to meet these short-term goals I will make sure that I follow the education catalog which outlines all the courses I need to complete and I will make sure that I consistently keep up with all assignments. I will also keep myself organized and maintain a positive attitude in every course that I take. My intermediate goal is to earn my associates degree at Valencia by the year 2012. I know that I can accomplish this intermediate goal as long as I adhere to my short-term goal stated above. Now this may sound like an easy thing to do but in reality there are always challenges that can arise and put a damper on things. One of the challenges that I face in meeting my short-term goal is procrastination. I tend to procrastinate when it comes to studying and completing assignments that I find to be challenging. This course has already taught me the importance to stop procrastinating and to study. I plan to utilize the information from our course to stop the cycle of procrastination and to study in an effective manner. I also intend to consistently reaffirm my long-term academic goal so that it will motivate me to keep in line with my short-term and intermediate goals. Lastly for my long-term career goal, which is to be an effective elementary teacher, I have set a short-term and an intermediate goal. My short-term goal is to get hired as an elementary teacher shortly after obtaining my bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education. In order for that to happen, I will submit employment applications at several elementary schools for a teacher position. I will also make sure that I provide a resume along with my portfolio to all of the schools that I have submitted an employment application to. My intermediate goal that I have set which will assist me in becoming an effective elementary teacher consists of developing professionally on a personal level and on a career level. Once I am employed as an elementary teacher, I plan to attend workshops that will improve my skills as a teacher so that I can apply such skills in the classroom. In time I know that I can be an effective elementary teacher because I have a passion to teach and love being around children. In summary, I have a long-term personal goal to own a home, a long-term academic goal to earn a bachelor’s degree, and a long-term career goal to become an effective elementary teacher. All three of my long-term goals are very important to me and in essence builds and/or relies on the other. In order for me to accomplish my three long-term goals, I have set S-M-A-R-T short-term and intermediate goals for each. I also believe that I will be able to achieve all three long-term goals because of Valencia. One of the reasons why Valencia will assist me in reaching my goals is simply due to the fact that this community college is very affordable. Also, this community college has many wonderful professors that are dedicated in guiding students successfully on their career paths. Valencia Community College also has many resources available to me that will assist me in obtaining my associate’s degree and will prepare me with the skills needed to be a successful student at UCF.