To My 2021 Self

Minyen Hsieh
Minyen Hsieh
Published in
2 min readJan 1, 2021

reflection and goals

Introduction

2020 was an important year for me. I went through some failures, low moments, and savored a little harsh truth of the reality. However, I also learned so many lessons. I grew as an individual and starting to comprehend that the things that didn’t work out, actually worked out for me. I acknowledge what I’ve accomplished this year and will continue to accomplish in 2021.

Goals To Achieve In 2021:

(1) Academic Learning

I have only been learning Data Science on my own through online tutorial videos and articles. Now I’m going back to school for a master’s degree, so I will try hard to make my education worth it. There are many subjects I’ve been diligently working on, but SQL in particular has been neglected for a long time. I will start tending to it soon.

(2) Campus Part-Time Job

Spring semesters presumably won’t have as many openings as Fall semester, but I will try my best to seek a part-time role. I hope to acquire a decent student position that can help lessen my living expense and won’t negatively influence my studies.

(3) Medium Blog

Having my own blog serves to be beneficial in many ways. My writing skills have improved, and it has allowed me to reflect on what I’ve done, where I’m headed and to adjust my steps accordingly. In 2021, my goal is to compose at least one article each month, with emphasis on my school projects.

(4) Improve My English

As an international student, language is always a big mountain to climb. I’ve found myself having a hard time holding a conversation with people. I plan to improve my English by listening to the All Ears English podcast one episode a day. The hosts believe and preach, learning English is for Connection NOT Perfection, and that is exactly what I need.

Brief Conclusion

This time going back to the U.S. (within 3 weeks) is with the identity of a graduate student. What comes next is fully entering into the workplace, so I can no longer mess around as when I was an undergraduate. I urge myself to constantly work hard over this journey and to believe in myself that I can do anything I put my mind to. Thank you to those who supported me in 2020. I wish everyone well in 2021.

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