Journal Entry #11

Write a one-sentence statement of one of your most motivating goals or dreams in your role as a student. You can simply copy one that you wrote in Journal Entry 9 (or create a new one if you prefer).

One of my most motivating goals as my role as a student is to make the presidents or deans list every semester.

Write a list of personal qualities that would help you achieve this educational goal or dream. Use adjectives such as persistent, intelligent, hard-working, loving, articulate, organized, friendly, confident, relaxed, and so on. Write as many qualities as possible.

1. focused
2. persistent
3. organized
4. motivated
5. intelligent
6. healthy
7. determined
8. hard-working
9. outgoing
10. confident

Circle the three qualities on your list that seem the most essential for you to achieve your goal or dream as a student (from step 1).

1. determined
2. hard-working
3. confident

Write three versions of your personal affirmation. Do this by filling in the blanks in sentence formats A, B, and C below. Fill the blanks with the three personal qualities you circled in step 3 above. NOTE: Use the same three personal qualities for each of the three formats.

Format A: I am a _____, _____, _____ man/woman.
Example: I am a strong, intelligent, persistent woman.
Format B: I am a _____, _____, _____ man/woman, _____ing _____.
Example: I am a strong, intelligent, persistent woman, creating my dreams.
Format C: I am a _____, _____, _____ man/woman, and I _____.
Example: I am a strong, intelligent, persistent woman, and I love life.
Don't copy the examples; create your own unique affirmation.

I am a determined, hard-working, confident woman.

I am a determined, hard-working, confident woman, creating my future.

I am a determined, hard-working, confident woman, and I will succeed.

Choose the one sentence from step 4 that you like best and write that sentence five or more times. This repetition helps you begin taking ownership of your affirmation and desired qualities.

1. I am a determined, hard-working, confident woman, and I will succeed.
2. I am a determined, hard-working, confident woman, and I will succeed.
3. I am a determined, hard-working, confident woman, and I will succeed.
4. I am a determined, hard-working, confident woman, and I will succeed.
5. I am a determined, hard-working, confident woman, and I will succeed.
6. I am a determined, hard-working, confident woman, and I will succeed.
7. I am a determined, hard-working, confident woman, and I will succeed.
8. I am a determined, hard-working, confident woman, and I will succeed.
9. I am a determined, hard-working, confident woman, and I will succeed. 
10. I am a determined, hard-working, confident woman, and I will succeed.

Write three paragraphs--one for each of the three qualities in your affirmation. In each of these paragraphs, write about a specific experience when you displayed your desired quality. For example, if one of your desired qualities is persistence, tell a story about a time in your life when you were persistent (even a little bit!). Write the story like a scene from a book, with enough specific details that readers will feel as though they are seeing what you experienced. Your paragraph might begin, "The first quality from my affirmation is... A specific experience in my life when I demonstrated that quality was..."

I was determined to enlist in the military and nothing was going to stop me. I had just gotten back from the horrible, ice and snow covered winter in the hills of beautiful West Virginia. The green grass and the giant monstrous palm trees were an absolute delight to see! The smell of the orange blossoms, the open flat land where you could see miles and miles. So great to be home. Our blue little country home hadn't changed a bit either. The same dark blue shutters around the front window and the blossomed gardenia bushes in the front flower beds! Home sweet home and nothing could beat it. I spent a few months running around, seeing everyone I had left behind right after graduation and catching up but wasn't being productive. My father, the man I will always look up to because of his ridiculous amount of wisdom convinced me to follow a dream... enlist in the Air Force. "But I'm too heavy and I can't lose weight!" I used to always tell him. But I saw a recruiter anyways. Staff Sergeant Smith couldn't have been any more blunt and forward yet supportive and sensitive the first day I met him. "Well, I will tell you that you are definitely over the maximum weight limit by a handful but I run a program on Tuesday's and Thursdays where my recruits come in and we train together." I went on to explain how shy I was and how much I truly honestly cared about what other people thought of me. "Judgement free. We are all here for a reason and if this is something you want to do and getting this weight off of you is a goal you need to accomplish in order to follow this dream, we support you and are there for you no matter the circumstances." So for two or three weeks, I went and met with the other handful of recruits at the recruiting office in Kissimmee and we trained, pushing each other to our limits and never leaving anyone behind. We were all going to succeed. Then one day, out of the blue, I woke up early in the morning, the sun barely peaking over the flat horizon and the giant palm trees and said to myself through sleepy eyes, "I'm going to go for a run." I forced my stiff body out of bed, stretched, changed into something comfortable and threw on some sneakers before opening my garage door to the humid, sticky morning air and setting off. At first it was difficult but I did it every morning, working hard towards my main goal. Right at the crack of dawn, and within 3 months, I was 15 lbs below the maximum weight! That was almost 50 lbs in 3 months. But I was determined to meet that max weight limit and there was nothing going to get in my way.
When I received my medical discharge, I felt like the world had ended and my life was over. I came back home to this beautiful sunshine state and decided to put everything behind me. It was a new day and a new beginning. Within two days of being home, I had a job serving tables and making decisions on where to go to school and what to go to school for. I gave work my all, working hard everyday, always having a positive attitude and saving up as much money as I possibly could. By September of 2011, I was enrolled into Brevard Community College and ready to begin my education. Next to my enlistment, I had never been so excited and full of joy in my entire life! I was ready to start!
I took two easy and simple classes my first semester, one being the On Course class which I am now rereading the book and blogging my journal entries. I was making a difference and succeeding. My only fear before starting school was meeting new people and asking the questions I needed to ask in order to make sure I understood every lecture in every class. One thing I learned within my first semester was the level of confidence I actually possessed. I had absolutely no fear of throwing my hand vigorously up into the air to ask a question about anything I didn't understand, especially in my intermediate algebra class. I was healthy, determined, hard-working, and confident all through my first semester landing me a place on the presidents list.
My goal for this upcoming semester is to be determined, hard-working, and confident as I was in my first semester. I've done it more than once in many different situations which takes the question from being "why?" to being "why not?". I know I can... And I will!
Until Tomorrow! <3