Retro: 2021-2023 Goals

Lets take a look into the future and describe the Victoria of 2 years from now in an ideal situation.

its 2023, January, and I am 21. I graduated college in 2022 after winter quarter and spent spring quarter fine-tuning my skills in computational linguistics. It payed off, and I am now an engineer and natural language specialist at a startup working with an AI system that does natural language processing. I've been with them for about 6 months and love (almost) every second of my work. I often get in flow doing projects and enjoy meetings with my team. I feel like I am making an impact at the company through my work and that the company has the potential to make an impact on the field. The work is challenging but achievable and I feel like I have a clear set of goals and ideological priorities to guide me. I have a list of professional contacts and mentors that I feel have helped guide me on my journey and who I reach out to and maintain connection with. I enjoy reading various books, from fantasy novels to books about life, and feel like I learn something from them or find peace in reading. I can make a very good cup of coffee, and wake up every morning to sit and watch the sunrise and enjoy the moments of the sunset. I do not live in San Diego and have met new people wherever I am and enjoy spending time with them doing a variety of activities, whether its wine nights or partying (post covid joys) or simply exploring the world around us. I am appreciative of music and the arts in some way, and regularly engage myself in that world, whether its admiration or things of my own creation. I study languages for some time each week, and find enjoyment in getting to know other people and cultures through their tongues. I have plans to travel to another country as soon as I can make time to do so. I am physically fit and engage myself in exercise regularly. I am a good cook when I need to be, but usually eat simply. I live off of very little money and do not spend much time on material possessions or temporary pleasures.

Ok, lets turn that into goals:

1. Job in engineering and/or natural language processing at a company that does AI work
2. Maintain connection with reading
3. Make a very good cup of coffee
4. Find peace in small moments of life
5. Move out of San Diego
6. Meet new people and maintain connections
7. Appreciation of the arts and language
8. Travel and explore the world
9. Maintain a healthy body
10. Give up reliance on material or temporary pleasures

Goal #1: Get a job doing what you love

Skills needed:

• programming languages
• undergraduate degree in linguistics
• understanding of NLP systems and AI
• networking and connections

Actionable Items:

• [ ] start working on self-made projects
• [ ] complete homework early or on time to the best of your ability
• [ ] learn as much material from your classes as possible
• [ ] do outside research, such as reading papers
• [ ] go to office hours for professors and TAs
• [ ] schedule time to interact with people on twitter and LinkedIn
• [ ] document your journey

Goal #2: Maintain connection with reading

Actionable items:

• [ ] read a book every 2 weeks at minimum
• [ ] read 1 books a month to improve your functionality at minimum

Cautions:

• don't go broke buying books please

Goal #3: Make a very good cup of coffee

Skills needed:

• coffee making skills
• i really don't know

Actionable items:

• [ ] watch YouTube videos on coffee making
• [ ] experiment with different things

Cautions:

• again, please don't go broke

Goal #4: Find peace in small moments

What this looks like:

• finding flow while doing mundane tasks such as cleaning or walking
• watching the sunrise or the sunset daily
• appreciating the smell of coffee
• setting aside time to think and reflect on the past or the future
• exploring the unusual and being ok with discomfort

Goal #5: Moving out of San Diego

Preparation:

• [ ] limit material possessions and spending
• [ ] save money (maybe work over summer?)

Goal #6: Meet new people and maintain connections

Actionable Items:

• [ ] schedule meetings with friends at least 1x a month
• [ ] be involved in class discords and study sessions
• [ ] start exploring more as the world turns to normalish

Goal #7: Appreciation of the arts and language

Actionable Items

• [ ] Go to museums and concerts
• [ ] Practice music
• [ ] Do art
• [ ] Learn languages

Goal #8: Travel and explore the world

Goal #9: Maintain a healthy body

Actionable Items:

• [ ] exercise 5x a week
  • [ ] go for runs and surf
• [ ] live mostly food consciously
• [ ] meditate

Goal #10: Give up reliance on material or temporary pleasures

The things I buy should (1) be necessary for survival and function, (2) improve my flow state, or (3) significantly benefit my happiness for a long period of time.