Procrastination

Let's face it: almost everybody we know procrastinates in one form or another, and nobody really even wants to do it. Well, most people don't want to. I consider myself a champion procrastinator, but am not necessarily proud of it. I have a lot of potential that gets wasted because of my tendency to get distracted, and I have lost out on certain opportunities because of my habit of putting things off until the last minute, most of the time not getting to them at all. The way I see it, the only time I really feel like doing something is if I am getting something for it in the short term (a paycheck, for example). This is a terrible way of thinking, and I really should stop, but there seems to be something programmed in my brain that just doesn't want to do anything that requires the least bit of work.

One of my long-term goals is to be a writer (fiction preferably), and I read constantly and consider myself an above-average writer, and I think I am a creative person. However, my laziness is getting in the way of things. So I decided that I am going to start writing on this blog as often as I can think of something to write about (but only one post per day for now). I guess it is to help me practice writing and getting past writer's block, although that has never really been a problem for me. Another reason is just pure boredom. I have so much to get done, yet it somehow never seems to be quite finished. And yet I STILL find time to be bored. So why not find something productive like writing to do in my free time? I am headed into college next year, and even with my aspirations of writing, I am planning on being a math major (something else I just happen to be good at). The way I figure it, it is tough to support yourself as an author. The way I have planned my future, it won't be as difficult. I want to be an engineer to earn a living and challenge myself, and to write fiction as a hobby on the side (at least until someone actually decides to buy something I have written, at which point I guess I have become a professional). This way I have a safe future, and am capable of raising a family while still having time to do the things I love. And some day, who knows, I may have an early retirement if I can earn some extra cash through my books.

Those are my dreams. For college, I am hoping to get into some pretty prestigious schools, even though I know the odds are slim. I know it isn't necessary to go to a school that is Ivy League or a top school in the nation, but the thing about those schools is these days they are offering pretty much free degrees to those who need them and are eligible to get into the schools. Yale, Columbia, and the Macaulay Honors College, my three top choices, would all be free for me to get a four year degree. So why not try?

The only thing that really is holding me back from achieving greatness is my aforementioned procrastination. I am only applying Early Action to one school of the eight or so I am applying to, and it isn't even necessarily one I want to go to all that much. Want to know why? Because I waited until the last minute. And that is a problem. So my goal for this year, before I head off to get a higher education, is to really strive to be the best I can be. Why let something as stupid as laziness get in the way of my chances?