Savannah Boyd

I realize that I am not the same person I was four years ago, even though it seems like there is not much difference between eighteen and twenty-two numerically. I am taking this freshman English class as a senior student who is graduating in three weeks. It is amusing to reflect upon the experiences and transformations that have made me the person I am today.

When I came to the University of Georgia I had no idea what was in store for me. My parents did not attend college; I was on my own to figure out the culture. I found that my conscientious and more studious habits began to disintegrate in the presence of social pressures. To counteract this, I began to set goals for myself. Each day, week, and semester I would set new goals for myself. These goals ranged from cutting out desserts at meals to promoting more healthy communication with my roommate. As I reflect, I recognize that although setting these goals was easy, pursuing them was much more difficult. Furthermore, I have realized that an individual’s goal pursuit is not so isolated. I recognize that my personal goals are vulnerable to interference from various factors, especially my interpersonal relationships. I began to read more literature on self-control and interpersonal relationships. This lead to me to declare a psychology major and pursue research in a self-control and behavior lab. I began to apply this knowledge to my life, such as denying myself a night out with friends to be productive. I also systematically analyzed my friend’s self-control and found myself gravitating toward those that had high self-control, which ultimately lead to me achieving more of my goals.

Now, I am conducting independent research on a topic that I am passionate about: how we pursue goals in the presence of others, especially people we are close to. The consequences of this phenomenon are extensive, since we seldom act alone in pursuing our goals. I was fortunate to discover this my junior year and it has transformed the way I approach school and life. I now know more about how to set realistic goals and actively pursue them. Presently, I am faced with achieving one of my greatest goals thus far: getting into a social psychology PhD program. I hope to achieve this goal by continuing training through a clinical research aide position at Vanderbilt University, which I will begin on May 26. Setting and pursuing goals really does pay off!