Wow! The month of March is gone already! Where does the time go? It is crazy to think that only a month ago I was beginning this project, unsure of what I wanted to accomplish. To say I accomplished my goal 100% would be a lie. I was not able to take 1 hour a day every single day (especially at the beginning). It is interesting how easy and routine it became at the end of the month. I either woke up an hour earlier or made a plan with a friend/family member. I started this project with the idea of mental health in mind and was unsure of what I was going to do. As time went on, I discovered so many new things about my life. I gained a new appreciation for my parents and ALL their hard work and I learned I don’t always have to do what my friends want to do. I learned it is okay to take time every day to be totally and completely alone and I learned that although important, school isn’t everything. I may not have taken 1 hour a day for 31 days but near the end, I was in a routine where I was thinking of myself and making sure I took that hour because after those 60 minutes, I felt better. It’s difficult to explain because I don’t think my personality changed, others probably didn’t know the difference but I did. Most of all, I gained an appreciation, one I didn’t have before for not only my friends and family but my whole life. Like Neil Pasricha explains in The Book of Awesome, there are so many wonderful things in our life that go unnoticed. People don’t take the time to think about how lucky we are JUST to be alive. We are the only species in the world who are this developed and for that we should be grateful. Taking one hour to do exactly what I wanted allowed me to realize how many great experiences I can have and I still have many more options. Although this project is over, I will continue to implement what I learned. If there is a time when I am feeling stressed, sad, anxious or depressed, I now have a beneficial and productive coping mechanism.
I tossed around many ideas for my final response and presentation for this project and I was stumped. My first thought, as a Communication student, was a final paper. I can write and I can research, it is what I have been doing for four years. However, when I began researching for the paper, it all seemed too technical. This project was about me, not an American scholar who studies mental health among university students. I wanted to share with Sharon and my class, what I learned and how it made me feel. This could not be expressed through scholarly writing. My next idea (again with words) was a creative writing piece, maybe a story of some kind. But again I realized I wanted to reflect on MY experience, not a story. Finally, after entering one of my final blog posts I realized something. Almost all of my entries have pictures to further explain and visualize my experiences. I realized a visual aid, paired with a final reflection blog post, would be the best compilation of the past month. With this in mind, I began working in iMovie to create a 3 minute movie (presentations were a max of 4). This experience turned out to be one of the most difficult and time consuming (I am a perfectionist) projects I have completed. I would estimate I spent a total of 20 hours on this final video, making sure I included the most necessary materials and figuring out the program. However, it was one of the most rewarding projects I have ever created and all the hard work was worth it. I have uploaded the video to YouTube and will provide the link.
When completing the initial research for this project, I discovered how serious mental health is for university and college students. A survey collected by the American College Health Association (Kadison, 2000) reports 61% of college students reported feeling hopeless, 45% said they feel so depressed they could barely function and 9% felt suicidal. This information opened my eyes to the problem and the need for a solution. It is safe to assume all schools provide students with some form of support. With further research, I discovered that a 2008 study completed by Yorgason et. al, proved 67% of student participants either didn’t know their school had mental health services or were not given adequate information on such services. This information (among others) proves there is an issue that needs to be dealt with. Looking at these numbers and looking at my classmates, it is clear that many of the people closest to me are likely struggling with similar issues. This realization is the main reason why I chose to focus on my own mental health and attempt to find appropriate coping mechanisms for stress.
I gained much more from this project than I anticipated. I hoped I would become a happier person because I discovered a method to cope with stress. This project provided me with this coping method but I learned much more. This project turned into a process of self-discovery. I learned more about myself in this last month than I could have imagined. I learned that I often do things I don’t want in order to avoid conflict. Knowing this, it is now important for me to take time for myself so I don’t resent those around me. The most important lesson I learned from this project is appreciation, an appreciation for life (mine and those around me). I realized there is so much that I want to do, and so much that I CAN do. I am so lucky to live in Canada, so lucky to have amazing parents, so lucky to have my friends, my brother, my cottage and my health. There are many people who have nothing and to feel upset about my life is just selfish. This project has taught me to manage my time so that I am able to take an hour (and not feel guilty) for me. I hope to continue with these new discoveries and I hope to never lose this appreciation.
Above all, presenting these projects in class, i learned how truly amazing my classmates are. Every single project had meaning and every single presentation was inspiring. It took a great deal of courage for everyone to stand in front of fifty people in a vulnerable state. I have so much respect for everyone in my class, it will be extremely difficult to say “see you later” at graduation (never goodbye). Some presentations were so sincere and so emotional, it brought the whole room to tears. In September of 2008, we began as 60 strangers, 60 children excited, nervous and anxious to begin this new chapter of our lives. Four years later, we leave as responsible, educated adults but most of all friends. The most incredible feeling is knowing that we will be working in the same industry and many of our lives will cross again.
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