New Year, New Goals | Student Blog

Ah ... year three. Finally. I am officially an upperclassman, which means I finally know what I'm doing, right?

Well ... maybe not. But, at least I have a much better idea! I am ready to start the year off with a bang! With this new year comes new responsibility. For one thing, this year I am an RA in the Juilliard residence hall. This is a huge undertaking but I am so happy that I was accepted to be a part of the team. I have met so many amazing people and learned so much about myself and what it feels like to be responsible for the safety and well-being of others besides myself.

Last year, my goals were about organization, productivity, and success in the new semester. Now, my goals are still the same but with the added bonus of responsibility, open-mindedness, exploration, and efficiency.

Here are five main goals I want to accomplish this year:

1) Put on the best opera performance ever!

This year, I have had the honor of being cast as Juno in the undergraduate opera, Orpheus in the Underworld by Offenbach. This opera is a wonderful challenge and I am so excited to work with my colleagues on this beautiful music. The role of Juno is a challenge for me because it is a role that is more ensemble-based. Since my focus is mostly solo singing, it will be good to work opposite the other voices in the sections we are singing together. I want to be able to find my most professional attitude and stand out through my hard work and expressivity as well as fit in as an integral part of the full picture.

2) Find a sense of stability even in the chaos

This year I feel much more at home and familiar with how things work at Juilliard and what I need to be doing to succeed. I want to be able to find a sense of calm and collectedness even in my most chaotic and stressful moments. Some of the ways I am doing this is through organization, schedule blocking, and immediate reaction/solution. One thing I have discovered that calms me down immensely is coming back home to my clean dorm room after a hard, long day. When I take the time in the morning to make my bed, throw away any trash, get rid of clutter, and pick up my clothes, I feel so much better later on. I also love having my essential oils diffuser clean so I can make my room smell like eucalyptus while listening to some calm rainy jazz music on YouTube to unwind.

3) Planning

Another thing that calms me down is something called schedule blocking, which is essentially planning as many minutes in your day as possible including waking up, brushing your teeth, going to classes, etc. I find that with a schedule that is full, I have less time to fall into a state that leaves me distracted from thinking too much.

4) Getting out of procrastination mode

I feel great when I react to or solve issues immediately. For example, when I get an email or add to my to-do list, I feel better when I complete things immediately. Deadlines can be the most terrifying things, but a lot of times, we leave things to the last moment for no reason. When I think of postponing something, I think of what else I would do instead, and if it is less important, I end up realizing that I should just do the work I have to do rather than putting it off until later. I have been focusing on getting things done far earlier than necessary, and this has allowed me to take many more opportunities that I would have had to skip over, gotten me to do better work, and has also left me feeling less stressed.

5) Open my mind to other ideas and explore ideas/the world

I have always been fairly open-minded, however, I feel like I can always do a better job to listen and observe. This year I am planning on trying to open my ears and mind to process, understand, and learn more. I realize every year that the more I learn, the less I know and so it is so important for me to keep learning as much as I can. That is why I am so grateful to be at Juilliard where I can learn from the most talented, influential, and intellectual individuals in the arts.

Thanks so much for reading! Till next time.

XOXO

Maggie