Brandon 1

Tiana Brandon
Professor DeBacker
CSP 100 Section 201
22 July 2016
The Impact of Purpose & Goals
I sat in the staircase of Alice Lloyd, the only place when I could find
solitude, near midnight as the hot tears streamed down my face. All I could
think about was the possibility of failing my Summer Bridge math class and
what it would mean for my future as an engineer. With less than a week
before my first University of Michigan math mid-term, I felt an enormous
amount of pressure. I found myself asking why am I here and even am I
really good enough? These doubts that weighed on my spirit, but focusing
on my purpose allowed me to pull through. My purpose is to improve the
quality of human life through innovation while pursuing adventures and
spending time with people in whom share a mutual love for me. Within this
purpose, I value achievement, enjoyment, and community mostly.
I value achievement because it gives me hope that I can contribute to
humanity in some way and improve the lives of people related to me. Much
of my family relies on government-sponsored welfare to attain basic
necessities like food. As babies are born into my family, I question if they will
feel forced to follow suit. By gaining achievements, I can be an example to
them to show that they do have other options in life, and that there is a life
outside of modern American poverty. Furthermore, my STEM path

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concentrates on improving the lives of others through inventions that
promote ease, education, and protection. Making achievements within this
field allows me to simultaneously help people inside and outside of my
family. The most important step to fulfilling this value is to graduate from the
University of Michigan. This integral component will provide me with an
extended period of exploration and reflection during adolescence
necessary to establish a fulfilling self-identity and a positive direction in life,
as Damon describes in Path to Purpose. Attaining my degree and undergoing
the college experience will give me a good start into a successful, fulfilling
career and start me off on good terms with adulthood.
I value enjoyment simply because life is too short and rare to not find
happiness. I find enjoyment in many things, but one major one is travel.
As humans, we only have so much time to see the world, and I believe it
is vital to see as much of it as possible. Exploring our surroundings and
discovering differences helps me decipher who I am from who I want to
become. This contributed to my decision to attend a university on the
other end of the country and expose myself to foreign cultures. Emma
Pettit pointed out that the fatal shootings this week of the AfricanAmerican men Alton Sterling and Philando Castile have stirred a public
outcry. When I think of these black men whose lives are ended by a
sudden decision of an officer, one of the many things that cross my mind
is what would they have done over five years if they knew their death
was going to come so fast? This same idea is expressed in Pr. Vic

Brandon 3
Strechers TEDxUofM Talk when reflecting on how Steve Jobs medical
issues inspired him to invent Apple. Before I leave the only home I know
forever, earth, I want to see it. I want to travel to other countries, hear
languages I cannot name, and meet people who look nothing like me. This
will make me feel like I made my time meaningful. A specific goal
pertaining to this value is traveling to the Netherlands to work with the
Ocean Clean-Up. I believe in their mission of fixing the environment, and I
would love to explore Dutch culture and work with my favorite element,
the worlds beaches.
Rooting from my religious preferences, I believe that I could not have
achieved my success thus far without the help of those around me. My
family members who provided me with a home, my mentors who showed
me what I want in life, and my friends who helped me jump over every
hurdle life seat in front of me all shaped me into the person I am today. I
feel a need to give back to my community, and foster the same support
from another troubled adolescent. I see it as a cycle: someone supports
me, I support someone else, and they support someone else later down in
life. The Protg Effect by Annie Murphy expresses the value of these
types of relationships through the context of learning. She says it
contributes to nachas which translates to pride and satisfaction that is
derived from someone elses accomplishment. Experiencing this type of
relationship will put me at peace because I will be able to help someone
succeed in the same way that I was helped. A goal for me pertaining to

Brandon 4
this value is to mentor someone at some point in my life, and help them
make decisions that lead to success.
Remembering these values boosts my confidence and inspires me to
continue chasing my dreams. I am developing patterns that reflect a
growth mindset in order to avoid having more nights like the one before
my math exam. As I explore this mindset of believing I can achieve
anything and survive college, I find that my attitude changes. Originally,
my mindset matched the one statistically predicted for me, but I am
finding that it is changing over time. Instead of feeling lost or intimidated,
I feel equal to the other students on campus. Instead of fear, I feel
excitement about where I can go from this point on. I am taking life
slower, day by day, to explore deeper into my purpose and declare my
individuality within this campus of over 40,000 students.

Works Cited
Damon, William. The Path to Purpose: Helping Our Children Find Their Calling
in Life. New
York: Free Press, 2008. Print.
Paul, Annie Murphy. The Protg Effect. Times Inc., n.d. Print.
Strecher, Vic. "On Purpose: Vic Strecher at TEDxUofM." YouTube. YouTube, 13
Apr. 2014.
Web. 15 July 2016.

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Pettit, Emma.
One Trigger Finger for Whites and Another for Blacks: What the
Research Says.
Chronicle of Higher Education, 2016. Print.

The Impact of Purpose & Goals

I sat in the staircase of Alice Lloyd, the only place when I could find
solitude, near midnight as the hot tears streamed down my face. All I could
think about was the possibility of failing my Summer Bridge math class and

Brandon 6
what it would mean for my future as an engineer. With less than a week
before my first University of Michigan math mid-term, I could feel every prick
of pressure from the thorns of the stem on the blue rose. It seemed to cut
through me, searching for something within the blood that ran down my
fingers as I tightened my grip around the flower. The rose criticized me and
asked why are you here and even do you really think youre good
enough? This imaginary rose, colored a deep and dark blue, criticized me
satirically, secretly encouraging me to explore and destroy these doubts that
weighed on my spirit. The only way to get through this mental breakdown
and emotional devastation was to pluck each blue petal, which depicted my
individual goals, to glance at the center, my purpose.
My purpose is to improve the quality of human life through
innovation while pursuing adventures and spending time with
people in whom share a mutual love for me.
I.

Value #1: Achievement

I value achievement because it gives me hope that I can contribute to

humanity in some way and improve the lives of people related to me.
Much of my family relies on government-sponsored welfare to attain basic
necessities like food. As babies are born into my family, I question if they
will feel forced to follow suit. By gaining achievements, I can be an
example to them to show that they do have other options in life, and that
there is a life outside of modern American poverty. Furthermore, my STEM
path concentrates on improving the lives of others through inventions that

Brandon 7
promote ease, education, and protection. Making achievements within
this field allows me to simultaneously help people inside and outside of
my family. The most important step to fulfilling this value is to graduate
from the University of Michigan. This integral component will provide me
with an extended period of exploration and reflection during adolescence
necessary to establish a fulfilling self-identity and a positive direction in
life, as Damon describes in Path to Purpose. Attaining my degree and
undergoing the college experience will give me a good start into a
successful, fulfilling career and start me off on good terms with adulthood.
II.

Value #2: Enjoyment

I value enjoyment simply because life is too short and rare to not

find happiness. I find enjoyment in many things, but one major one is
travel. As humans, we only have so much time to see the world, and I
believe it is vital to see as much of it as possible. Exploring our
surroundings and discovering differences helps me decipher who I am
from who I want to become. This contributed to my decision to attend a
university on the other end of the country and expose myself to foreign
cultures. Emma Pettit pointed out that the fatal shootings this week of
the African-American men Alton Sterling and Philando Castile have stirred
a public outcry. When I think of these black men whose lives are ended
by a sudden decision of an officer, one of the many things that cross my
mind is what would they have done over five years if they knew their
death was going to come so fast? This same idea is expressed in Pr. Vic

Brandon 8
Strechers TEDxUofM Talk when reflecting on how Steve Jobs medical
issues inspired him to invent Apple. Before I leave the only home I know
forever, I want to see it. I want to travel to other countries, hear
languages I cannot name, and meet people who look nothing like me. This
will make me feel like I made my time meaningful. A specific goal
pertaining to this value is traveling to the Netherlands to with the Ocean
Clean-Up. I believe in their mission of fixing the environment, and I would
love to explore Dutch culture and work with my favorite element, the
worlds beaches.
III.

Value #3: Community

Rooting from my religious preferences, I believe that I could not

have achieved my success thus far without the help of those around me.
My family members who provided me with a home, my mentors who
showed me what I want in life, and my friends who helped me jump over
every hurdle life seat in front of me all shaped me into the person I am
today. I feel a need to give back to my community, and foster the same
support from another troubled adolescent. I see it as a cycle: someone
supports me, I support someone else, and they support someone else
later down in life. The Protg Effect by Annie Murphy expresses the value
of these types of relationships through the context of learning. She says it
contributes to nachas which translates to pride and satisfaction that is
derived from someone elses accomplishment. Experiencing this type of
relationship will put me at peace because I will be able to help someone

Brandon 9
succeed in the same way that I was helped. A goal for me pertaining to
this value is to mentor someone at some point in my life, and help them
make decisions leading to success.
IV.

Recap on the How-To

Remembering these values boost my confidence and inspire me to

continue chasing my dreams. I am developing patterns that reflect a

growth mindset in order to avoid having more nights like the one before
my math exam. As I explore this mindset of believing I can achieve
anything and survive college, I find that my attitude changes. Instead of
feeling lost or intimidated, I feel equal to the other students on campus,
despite societys claim that I am less through stereotypes. Instead of fear,
I feel excitement about where I can go from this point on. I am taking life
slower, day by day, to explore deeper into my purpose and declare my
individuality within this campus of over 40,000 students.

Brandon 10

Works Cited
Damon, William. The Path to Purpose: Helping Our Children Find Their Calling
in Life. New
York: Free Press, 2008. Print.
Paul, Annie Murphy. The Protg Effect. Times Inc., n.d. Print.
Strecher, Vic. "On Purpose: Vic Strecher at TEDxUofM." YouTube. YouTube, 13
Apr. 2014.
Web. 15 July 2016.
Pettit, Emma.
One Trigger Finger for Whites and Another for Blacks: What the
Research Says.
Chronicle of Higher Education, 2016. Print.