Hey Alex,
I hope you’ve had a nice week! Painting was sort of a drag – I just did prep-work the whole time, didn’t even pick up a paintbrush – but the weekend was a lot of fun. I got to see a free concert in Davenport by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band for the Juneteen Festival, a celebration of when news of the Emancipation Proclamation reached Texas. I also tried making curried vegetables and pineapple, which turned out really well!
This challenge was pretty difficult for me. Whenever it comes to setting goals, I feel that I always set too many and spread myself thin, so I had to be choosy and pick just what I really want to do and can commit to. After some thinking, I’ve decided that my two goals for this summer are to prepare everything I need for the Fulbright Application and to create a weekly video blog.
Buddhist ruins that were part of a 12th century city called Polonnaruwa. Photo from http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/
Fulbright Application:
As we talked about, I really – really – want to spend a year teaching abroad right after college, so I’m applying for an English Teaching Assistanceship in Sri Lanka. To make sure my application is done in a timely fashion, I’ve created a timeline to follow this summer.
Week of June 16 –
- review Fulbright requirements
- read articles on writing application statements
- brainstorm for application statement
Week of June 23 –
- Draft application statement
- Contact Augustana’s Fulbright representative to schedule a meeting to review statement (preferably Friday, July 5th)
Week of June 30 –
- Revise statement and send it to Fulbright representative
- Meet with representative
Week of July 7 –
- Email people I’ve chosen for letters of recommendation
- Make revisions of statement suggested by Fulbright representative
Week of July 14 – Off
Week of July 21 –
- Return to statement for another revision
- Stay in contact with people writing letters of recommendation
This should get my materials well on their way for the October due date. During the summer, I will also read books about Sri Lanka, Buddhism, and Sinhala – the predominant language spoken in Sri Lanka.
Video Blog:
Like you, I’ve felt like there’s been something missing from life. For me, I feel the pressure to create things; I find fewer things more satisfying than knowing that I’ve made something. I initially wanted to make a habit of writing, but I tried this week and found it very frustrating, so I’m going to try videos instead. Each Sunday, I will upload a video of about 5 minutes in length about a topic of my choosing. This is going to be a pretty casual thing and more just an opportunity to be creative and have fun while still having some accountability about the process. I’ll be sure to send you links to the videos I make!
To make sure that both of these projects are completed, I’ve decided to curb my greatest source of distraction: the internet. On Monday through Thursday, I will only allow myself an hour on the internet, and on Friday through Sunday, I will only allow myself three hours.
So that’s what I’m hoping to accomplish this summer! I hope I haven’t bitten off too much, but I feel pretty confident that I’ll be able to do this as long as I stay disciplined and confident.
Love you,
Chase
