Blog post #4


            I came into this class with a bit of experience on caring for myself mentally and physically and it was refreshing to have a course that I could apply my journey to. It felt great having my own thoughts solidified and validated along with so many other students. The hardest part about taking the controls to care for yourself is simply just starting. Taking that first step is always the most difficult, there's still a lot of work ahead but the worst is truly over. Moving forward I hope to continue to be unafraid of asking for help, and making sure to stop and celebrate all the things I think are worth celebrating. I don't want to hold back on being happy to "save it for a special occasion", or thinking that being happy now means something will probably ruin the mood later.


            Since the start of my college journey my career goals have changed a ridiculous amount of times and it all led to where I am now. I think this semester has helped me just "go for it" in terms of what I really want to do. I've made my full time job consist of coursework and internship applications, all of which have been stressful, disappointing, incredible, and scary all at once. I went in feeling like there would be no call backs or interviews, but I tried to keep our Daring Greatly book in mind when those intrusive thoughts became overwhelming. By the end of this semester I'll have completed nine interviews, six offer letters, and one unbelievable internship acceptance.


            All I can offer as far as advice to new and existing STEM students is this: It will be hard, it will be exhausting, and it will be worth it. Keep your mental and physical health up to par by breaking down your work into 45 minute chunks, taking breaks when you feel like you've hit a wall, and asking for help from everyone that might be helpful. Those are the main things that have really added quality to my experience as a student. If I feel like I'm just not absorbing any info anymore from studying, I'll go and do whatever I think is fun and decompressing. breaking things down into smaller pieces of time makes the burden not so heavy anymore and allows you to keep your brain from just shutting down completely. Asking for help is a big thing though, it takes some proactiveness but it's worth it in the long run and it also help relieve some of the weight rather than struggling to figure out something on your own! Portion out your time, take breaks if you can, and ask for help.

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