With the new year in full swing, Texas State students are looking to make the most out of 2022 by establishing personal goals and working to establish a healthier mindset.
Students like Julia Maldonado, a political science junior, are focusing on how to know themselves better this year. She said she feels as though if she made things harder for herself this past year and that the struggles she faced could have easily been avoided.
“My goals for this year are to kind of know myself better and know my limitations and [my personal] possibilities of what I can and can’t do,” Maldonado said. “I kind of based that on how much I really struggled last year with school and everything, and I think I took from what I learned from 2021 and I want to use that to make myself better in 2022.”
The struggles Maldonado faced last year weren’t external but instead internal. This year, she’s committed to overcoming those personal struggles by focusing on her classes, getting a new job and shifting her focus to the more important things in her life in hopes of improving herself and her mental health.
Maldonado also hopes to enjoy her time in college by making more friends at Texas State and attending more concerts. Overall, Maldonado plans on working on herself as a whole rather than focusing on a specific resolution or goal.
Autumn Breig-Ruiz, a fashion merchandising sophomore, is also working on setting goals focused on the bigger picture. Breig-Ruiz is establishing goals that will help her achieve a lifestyle she will be proud and happy about by the end of the year.
“I would say my main goal is to be better with my money and definitely save a good portion by the end of the year to know I am on the right track for my future,” Breig-Ruiz said. “So that way I am prepared when I get out of college.”
Breig-Ruiz plans on moving to Austin to pursue a career as a stylist. After college, she wants to get her own apartment and be able to fully provide for herself.
“What better time is there to start than now? I really want to be able to support myself after college and the only way I can do that is if I start now,” Breig-Ruiz said.
Breig-Ruiz finds importance in making goals for the year because it gives her something to look forward to and something to work toward. She makes goals by writing them down in the notes app on her phone. As she completes her goals, she crosses them out and rewards herself with either new decor for her bedroom or a treat from Insomnia Cookies.
After recently getting a job at Lululemon, Breig-Ruiz is already getting a head start on her goals and has started saving for the future. As a recent transfer student from UTSA, she is also looking forward to her future as a Bobcat.
Being involved on campus plays a significant role in a student’s college experience. As a member of Texas State’s Fencing Club, Peter Cu, an accounting junior, is committed to pushing past his limitations to become the best he can be for his team.
“My goal for this year is to beat the captain of the saber team and I want to go to my first national ranking tournament for fencing,” Cu said.
As treasurer of the fencing club, Cu keeps track of dues and funds for hosting games and tournament outings. He also helps introduce other Texas State students to the sport and helps out students in the club, giving them tips to improve their skills. Cu will be preparing for the national tournament this summer in July.
Cu has been on the saber team, or fencing club, since he arrived at Texas State three years ago. In 2021, Cu said he struggled to maintain a focal point throughout the year as his life was occupied juggling a busy schedule filled with work, school, fencing and his social life.
“I got my first job and I have been working almost as much as a full-time person. That was really rough and then doing school on top of getting an officer position, having to go to every practice, trying to get better at every practice, taking lessons, and also trying to be more socially active, it was a lot,” Cu said.
For 2022, Cu seeks to move past these obstacles and beat his previous records to become better at his sport. He also hopes to organize all the various aspects of his life so he can learn to focus on one thing at a time.
With the first half of January out of the way already, these students are looking ahead and keeping a positive attitude to discover what they accomplish and how their lives develop throughout the year.
“I am so excited [for the new year],” Breig-Ruiz said. “It feels like a fresh start or like a new beginning. I really like where I am in my life right now, but I look forward to seeing what progress I make and who I will be at the end of the year.”
