Thrive Week 2022: Students share stories of resilience
Resilience is defined as the ability of people or things to recover quickly after something unpleasant.
We all face unpleasant realities in our day-to-day lives and building up that resistance can be a challenge.
For fourth-year anthropology student Ashley, she recently shared how she built up her resilience by persevering, despite not being able to see what was lying ahead.
At the end of her first semester, she found that she didn’t want to specialize in any of the sciences she had studied in the Life Sciences program.
“So, I decided to take a leap of faith, enrolling myself in two first-year anthropology courses as electives. I ended up falling in love with the subject, so I transferred into the program,” says Ashley.
That change brought with it a new dilemma. Unsure of what she wanted to do with her anthropology degree, Ashley acted on the advice of a career counsellor at the Student Success Centre, taking the SOC SCI 2EL0 Introduction to Career Planning Through Experiential Learning and completed a 12-month internship in financial services.
“Despite knowing absolutely nothing about the financial services, I had supervisors and colleagues there to teach and help me along the way,” says Ashley.
“If I had given up in my first year or when I was confused about future careers, then I would not be where I am today.”
Third-year Social Sciences student Zuzanna recently wrote about how she learned to be more resilient when academic and personal responsibilities piled up and the stress started rising by taking things one step at a time.
“Recently, I felt totally overwhelmed by my schoolwork load and personal responsibilities […] However, I demonstrated resilience through accepting the situation. I couldn’t change it at the moment, and the best thing I could do is work through the tasks causing me stress one by one.”
And when it all seems too much? Put work on pause and recalibrate says Zuzanna.
“Take a deep breath and try to relax for at least a small section of your day. This can be for five minutes, an hour or even more! You know what your body needs most.”
“Take some time to unplug from what is stressing you and instead do something that brings you joy and peace. This time is for you and only you. Other things can wait.”
And when it comes to advice for their fellow students, Ashley and Zuzanna both say adopting a more optimistic outlook can help.
“I tell myself that, up until the present moment, things have always worked out one way or another. While it seems a bit cheesy, I think that everything really does happen for a reason. It’s a matter of perspective!” says Zuzanna.
Read Ashley’s advice for other students unsure about their academic paths here. And read here for more about how Zuzanna juggles the big and small tasks that everyday life throws at her.
Could you benefit from learning some stress management strategies? Join the Stress Less drop-in session today from 3:30-4:20pm. The virtual event will explore stress management tactics like mindfulness, tapping, progressive muscle relaxation, and other techniques.
Email Zeinab Khawaja khawaz@mcmaster.ca to receive the link for the online meeting.
