Taking a More Positive Spin in 2018 [A Student Reflection]
By: Carlee
I sat down a few days before New Year’s Day and reflected on what, if any, New Year’s resolutions I should tackle in 2018. I kept thinking I wanted to “better myself,” or “feel better about myself,” but how do I improve on such a broad, generic idea? If I wanted to change something about myself for the better, I needed to narrow it down more.
I thought about what improvements I could make so that this spring would be easier for myself. I will be a full-time student with two part-time jobs, I will be applying to get into my major, and I will have a 60 hour internship to complete. I will also be the first person to tell you how nervous I am. I catch myself saying things like, “I’m so busy,” or “I’m stressing out.”
Last year, I met someone just like me, who would talk about how they never had time for themselves and how they were always busy. I give them credit because they are extremely busy, but it almost seemed like they were talking about being busy so much that it was causing them more stress than if they were to embrace their schedule.
So, I decided for myself that in 2018, I want to focus on talking less about how stressed and busy I am, and hold on to the positives more. For example, when someone asks me how the semester is going, I would normally say something like, “stressful, but I’m getting through it,” but how lucky am to even have the opportunity to achieve a college degree? So, instead, I want to say something like, “Great! I’ve been learning so much about my major, and I love seeing my classmates everyday.”
Instead of making all of my responsibilities seem like a chore, I want to think about what makes my everyday responsibilities great. I sometimes freak out after a long day of school and work because I have so much to do, but there are many reasons to embrace what I do. At Miles Psychological Services, I am always the smiling face our clients see when they first come through the door. This internship will help me build some real world volunteer experience to proudly display on my resumé. Everyday, I learn something new in school that fascinates me, and I love making new friends who have similar interests.
I believe that taking this new mindset with eliminate much of the stress that I put on myself, ultimately leading to a happier and more successful me. I will do my best to be take the word “stress” out of my vocabulary as much as I can, and replace it with more words like “excited,” and “hopeful.” Maybe by 2019, I will be less stressed and happier with myself than I am today.