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Focus Word For Senior Year

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Today We’ll Choose a Focus Word for Your Senior Year

Resolutions can be great, but they can also be hard to carry out.

    • For this exercise, you’ll choose one word as a “focus word” for the 25-26 school year. This will be a word that hopefully you’ll come back to many times throughout the year and in many aspects of your life.
    • This exercises has been effective for many people who struggle to follow through on resolutions, and a side bonus is that it allows you to fully explore the nuances in a single word.

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Free Write

Choose a few of the following topics to free write about for 5 minutes:

    • What were a few highlights from your life from Junior year/summer?
    • What were a few tough things/struggles from last year?
    • What are some hopes you have going in to your senior year?

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Your Accounts

Think about the different accounts or aspects of your life:

    • Your life accounts are things like friendships, school, sports/music, responsibilities, your health, etc. (essentially your commitments and priorities)
    • Write a few sentences on several of your accounts.
    • Include how things are going in that are now
    • And then write about how you want that area to be improved by the end of your senior year.

***Take about 10 minutes with this. Choose 3-4 accounts to focus on.

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Highlight

Now, take your highlighter and highlight 5-10 words that stand out to you or get your attention.

    • Pay attention to verbs
    • Pay attention to repeated words or synonyms
    • Pay attention to words that get you imagining something important or transformative

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Research (a tiny bit)

Pick three of those words and do the following:

    • Look up the meaning of each word in the dictionary (it might surprise you)
    • Look up synonyms and antonyms

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Choose Your Word

Pick a single word that will be your word of focus for this year.

    • You can use the list or one of the three words you just narrowed it down to
    • OR you can choose a word that came to mind as you did this exercise
    • Examples of words that have been a focus for other students in the past: exhale, persevere, finish, exhale, release, hope, risk

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Complete The One Pager

Complete the one pager

    • This word is primarily for you; you don’t have to share with the class unless you want to
    • Complete the one pager which includes the word, a dictionary definition, a symbol or drawing, synonyms, and a few sentences on why you chose this word and how you think focusing on this word will bring about growth in your life.

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Write your word on the Senior Year poster in the back of the room, and complete the exit ticket that explains your word.