In a week, I will be a college graduate. After 16 years, homework is over unless I take classes in the future, which there are some travel writing and copyediting/indexing courses I’m looking at. I’m ready to focus on my writing and a couple part time jobs until I find work full-time instead of balancing class, work, and homework. I want to be able to put 100% of my life into what I love, and I’m hoping that will be an achievable goal now that school is almost over.

In the last four months, I’ve really thrown myself in to trying to accomplish as many goals as possible as part of my capstone project. I was using Chasing Dream Balloons as my big final project for my major, expanding my audience through various social medias, and creating a writing schedule. Keeping the schedule and seeing people actually view my site was a goal in itself, but I did other stuff too. I went to my thirteenth country, and got to sleep in the desert, ride a camel, explore Crusader ruins, float in the Dead Sea, experience a Turkish bath, and walk through Petra. I also made an amazing connection with my host family, and I’ve been sold on trying to do a form of a homestay in my future travels.

I got pretty good at making applesauce, and attempted snowboarding. I’ve sung karaoke twice now, and went to a concert. I also got a job in my field, and even though it’s part-time, it’s still something I am excited about. Some of my bigger goals won’t be accomplished until next week when I walk across that stage on Saturday and graduate with a BS in Professional Writing, hopefully with a summa cum laude honors.

But in a week, some of my goals are going to have to get bigger. I worry that within a year, I still won’t have a full-time job and I’m going to do everything possible to make that happen. I’m worried that even if I do get a full-time job, it won’t be in travel writing, and it will prevent me from doing my true passion: traveling. I know a lot of jobs have very little time-off, making it hard for even a weekend getaway. I love Vermont, but I’m worried that living here will also narrow my possibilities of becoming a travel writer, and that I’ll have to move to a big city to see any dream happen.

I know that I am not alone with my fears and dreams, so for my final presentation, I asked the senior Professional Writing class what their fears and goals were post-graduation. Most of the fears my classmates had revolved around success in life, whether it was in their chosen field or being able to support a family. Some people are afraid of being broke and stuck in a rut, that their “grown up” plans will fall through, Another big thing that was a little more time relevant was the fear of having to go back home and living in their parents’ house. That is a big fear for me because Maine has even less of a writing industry than Vermont.

Here is a list of some of the fears and goals my classmates gave me:

Fears

• welfare
• being broke
• being stuck in a rut
• not being able to set myself up for a career in a big city later if I stay in Burlington now
• I’m afraid I’ll never be able to commit successfully to a relationship
• not getting a job
• losing sight of the thing I love to do the most: writing
• not being able to manage a family and be a writer at the same time

Goals

• Move far, far away and try to create a life full of things I love
• Become more confident
• Lift “hella” weights
• retire early in the Irish countryside
• Be the shit– believe in what I do & who I am, and actually accomplish something
• create a character that people can take home with them, and change and envision how they’d react to different situations
• to write for a music festival
• see the Hagia Sophia
• to make someone in the world feel with my writing.
• to teach enough to change a life
• to change people’s perspectives of themselves & reality

By writing about my fears and dreams, I feel like I’m holding myself accountable, and, hopefully, my classmates. I’m telling the world at large what is going on in hopes of setting small goals to achieve these dreams. So how can we accomplish them?

Bloggers, bucket list writers, future grads, how can we hold ourselves accountable and make sure we get the best out of life and all the situations it throws at us; how can we believe in what we do, who we are, and actually accomplish something? Is it as simple as saying we can do this? When we’re little, we’re told, “if you set your mind to it, you can accomplish anything!” but will I be able to make my dreams a reality within a few years after graduation?

For all of you living your goals, how did you get there? Do you have words of wisdom to share with the Class of 2013?