What is your vision? Why do you do what you do?

---

Greetings y'all, hope everyone's summer has been an experience to remember!

Whether it was taking classes, doing an internship, scrolling through Facebook, or resting - good, bad, or a roller coaster of emotions, my hope is that you were able to have a few key takeaways from whatever you ended up doing! You can always learn from whatever you've done.

For me, this summer was an amazing time, because I was able to do a missions trip up in Michigan (something I initially wasn't aiming to do ._.) I thought much of my time would be spent helping others and serving as a volunteer through a church (in a sense).

But in fact, I discovered a lot about myself.

Not only about my faith (granted it was a mission trip :P), but also over specific characteristics about me - how I cope with anxiety/stress, what my limit of social energy is, how I communicate my thoughts/feelings/challenges to others. All these things were not what I expected to learn during that time, and I have realized that having a better understanding of oneself helps not only in who I am, but who I want to be in the future.

It has given me a heart for greater intentionality over what I do and what I want to do.

Starting this 3rd year, I realize I do not want to constrain myself to a goal that falls within the 4 years I have in college. Because as much as high GPA, doing well in classes, and getting a degree are great goals, what will happen once I accomplish those things? Sure I can be proud of myself for finishing these checkpoints in life, but then I will have to spend some time thinking up more checkpoints to pass in life,

Which isn't bad.

But I feel like there is something wrong with having goals that are very short-sighted - goals that don't consider life as a whole.

I remember during high school, I had goals of doing well in school and getting a high GPA because I wanted to get into a good college. Do well in SAT and ACT, and live out a life that is all for the college applications. Those are great aspirations.

But once I got into college, all those things didn't matter anymore. (in a sense) I rarely look back at my scores and GPA (let alone remember them). What I do remember is the tiredness I felt each day when I sacrificed sleep and the times I could've enjoyed with others for a number that I easily forgot. I did so much for something I thought would last a lifetime, but now is a passing thought.

That is something I do not want to repeat in college.

That's why, I am trying to flesh out a vision that I want to see happen for my lifetime. Sure, there are many things I would love to do in this short amount of time - learn lots about graphics, get stronger by weight training, meet lots of people, prepare for HackTX, invest in my church, go to hackathons, read more books, and get more sleep (ahh such wishful thinking).

But even more so, I want something that surpasses the now. Something that continues on after college that I'm striving for.

As of now, my vision is:

Invest into people who will transform the world by leading boldly, programming communicatively, and writing insightful posts that inspire peers and internet passers alike.

I know that this vision may change in the future, and I may not always have the energy and excitement as I originally had for the vision. But I hope that it will be something I can look to remind myself what I'm doing and why I'm doing it, bringing about a greater intentionality over everything I pursue after.

Now the question for you is: What's your vision?