With only a little over a week left in the semester, freshmen, sophomore and junior students’ heads are spinning with optimistic thoughts of summer vacation.While unwanted short-term goals like final projects and papers are in the periphery of our minds, they are largely overshadowed by the desirable goals we form for the summer. Whether it is beginning a novel, learning how to knit, saving up money through a summer job or being the star of an internship, summer months lend most students four months of completely self-scheduled activity.Setting summer goals is a superb way to further personal interests that fall to the wayside during a busy semester, but even things we want to do sometimes fall to the wayside of summer laziness.Consistently breaking personal promises to yourself can be discouraging, especially when you know you had infinite time and resources to achieve your goal. Instead of beating yourself up about it – something I am very guilty of – prioritize some new personal goals to achieve in the upcoming months.To ensure that your summer goals come to fruition, like learning how to skateboard, play guitar or speak German, it is essential to set goals that are attainable, measurable and specific.During the SCORE Pittsburgh resiliency training offered by the University’s counseling services, Mental Health Counselor Patti Schwartz instructed the group about SMART goals. SMART stands for specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely. Setting SMART goals takes a vague desire and turns it into a more specialized plan of attack. By making your objective measurable and timely, you can ensure that your goal’s progress can be tracked, and therefore you will feel obliged to work harder to meet your personal deadline. If your goal is not achievable or realistic, reject it for something that is. Focusing on the positives rather than the negatives will help you move forward, rather than stay stucking in frustration over past failures.Psychology professor Robert G. McInerney once explained to my class that people could be more or less alive. It was the first time I had considered the idea that without purposeful goals and actions, it is possible to drift through life without really being present to what living truly is. The idea of being a zombie that is only a product of its own environment terrified me.By creating and completing personal promises and self-directed goals, you are taking the first steps in a journey to becoming a better you and asserting your personal autonomy. Achieving goals, no matter how small, creates a sense of accomplishment and personal pride and fosters further positivity, freeing the mind bit by bit from the bear trap of negativity and insecurity, where I so frequently land. While the time is there this summer, try the things you have always wanted to like canoeing, art classes or writing poetry. Make room for self-growth. Be present in the moment and live.