My Goals 2023
by Tony Song
My family came to America in August 2021. Here I did not have friends and a job, facing different cultures, religions and politics. Most importantly, my English was bad, I did not understand what somebody said to me, even very simple things. Sometimes I was frustrated and awkward. So, I went to PVCC* and took a Nursing aide class, to help improve my English speaking and listening skills. After taking the class, I got an offer from UVA hospital, I became an anesthesia technician last October. This job is very important to me. On one hand, I can earn money to support my family life, on the other hand, it will give me more chances to improve my English level. I am getting familiar with my job right now, and my English is getting a little better. So, I have made some goals for this year.
The first goal is that the hospital will keep me employed in April. Why do I have this concern? The reason is my English is developing. I have only made a little progress in three months. Those co-workers who were hired later than me have been trained in other skills, for example, cell saver, offsite room, pediatric cardiac surgery, and so on. I think if I do not finish all the skills training in my probation, it is possible that I will be fired. So, I hope that the lead of day shift will train me in the next skill and I can have the chance to finish all the skills.
The second goal is that I always keep healthy. I have two conditions, one is that I have chronic low back pain, another is that I have pre-diabetes. So, I need to make a plan to keep me healthy, such as, exercise 3-4 days each week, eat not too much, do not eat junk food and so on.
I will try to take the TOEFL test at the end of this year, I hope I could pass by the third time. If I pass the test, I may take other classes and will get an associate degree or bachelor degree. There are reasons that I want the degree, the first is that I can communicate with other people fluently, totally understand what they said. I do not like the situation when someone said to me something, I do not understand. The second is that I have some chances that I can find a job that I am really interested in, my dream come true once again. The third is that I can earn more money, pay my daughter’s tuition, rent, gas, food, etc, even I can travel to Hawaii and Venice.