So, after a very long haul and nervous wait, I finally received my acceptance letter to study Psychology as my undergrad at uni. This has taken me two long years that were filled with enough doubt and nerves and unmotivated moments to last me for a long time. I know to a lot of people, this isn't even that big of a deal. But it represents a lot. The learning curve for adjusting to university life, the higher and more intense levels or work and independent study were very new and hard for me to grasp. And this was on top of some personal stuff my first year that made my general mental health during this time very difficult. I ended up failing a pre-req course and feeling like I didn't belong in this academic environment at all. Everyone else around me seemed to have their shit together (which is another issue for another post) and I felt like I was never going to find it in myself succeeding in that environment. Being in the classes I'd already heard a lot about, conducting research, all of this felt so elusive and it was really frustrating to want it so much and not be able to succeed in the ways I had wanted.
Admittedly, there is still room for improvement, but I know I put in a lot of tedious work and committed to a lot of trial and error in figuring out what works best for me to study and learn best. Slower than a lot of people, for sure but I am insanely proud that I did this all on my own. As previously mentioned, this is and was very new to me. I didn't have to work much to get good grades in high school and as a result had pretty poor time management and independent reviewing skills, along with very few decent study methods. The 'studyblr' side of tumblr revealed a plethora of interesting study tips, routines and ideas and I adopted as many as were practical, invested in a day journal and told myself "you get one shot at this, this is just short term pain for long term gain". I went out of my way to find relevant volunteer work, which also ended up giving me excellent friends as well. To be honest, though this year had its painful moments, and times of personal growth and change that were ugly and difficult and hard it has been an amazing one that gives me a lot of hope, optimism and excitement for where my life is heading.
My general plan is to put my nose back to the grindstone and really kick ass with my initial research and design courses, and put more courses towards my minor as well, because after my first year I'm eligible to apply for the Psychology Honours program, which I'll need to do if I want to apply to graduate school. The other option is too also apply to the co-op program (alternate studying semesters with paid work terms in relevant psychology fields) but I'll need to talk to my adviser before I make any decisions there. I also want to lay the tracks for graduate work by getting more relevant volunteer hours and hopefully get some lab experience before getting official references and such. I mean, god, if I'm being honest this amount of work is intimidating and scary as hell but I'll be damned if I don't take it all by the horns and try because I'd be doing myself a disservice by not giving it my all. I'm eager to work, and I want to learn new things and be open to all kinds of paths and dedicate myself because this is for me, and for my future. Am I the determined, intelligent, impassioned person I think myself to be if I don't work my damndest?
Admittedly, there is still room for improvement, but I know I put in a lot of tedious work and committed to a lot of trial and error in figuring out what works best for me to study and learn best. Slower than a lot of people, for sure but I am insanely proud that I did this all on my own. As previously mentioned, this is and was very new to me. I didn't have to work much to get good grades in high school and as a result had pretty poor time management and independent reviewing skills, along with very few decent study methods. The 'studyblr' side of tumblr revealed a plethora of interesting study tips, routines and ideas and I adopted as many as were practical, invested in a day journal and told myself "you get one shot at this, this is just short term pain for long term gain". I went out of my way to find relevant volunteer work, which also ended up giving me excellent friends as well. To be honest, though this year had its painful moments, and times of personal growth and change that were ugly and difficult and hard it has been an amazing one that gives me a lot of hope, optimism and excitement for where my life is heading.
My general plan is to put my nose back to the grindstone and really kick ass with my initial research and design courses, and put more courses towards my minor as well, because after my first year I'm eligible to apply for the Psychology Honours program, which I'll need to do if I want to apply to graduate school. The other option is too also apply to the co-op program (alternate studying semesters with paid work terms in relevant psychology fields) but I'll need to talk to my adviser before I make any decisions there. I also want to lay the tracks for graduate work by getting more relevant volunteer hours and hopefully get some lab experience before getting official references and such. I mean, god, if I'm being honest this amount of work is intimidating and scary as hell but I'll be damned if I don't take it all by the horns and try because I'd be doing myself a disservice by not giving it my all. I'm eager to work, and I want to learn new things and be open to all kinds of paths and dedicate myself because this is for me, and for my future. Am I the determined, intelligent, impassioned person I think myself to be if I don't work my damndest?
Here's to a challenging and productive future; cheers.
xx
r.
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