Personal Growth Over the Last Year
This last year was one of sweeping changes, challenges, and opportunities for growth, the likes of which I haven't experienced before. 2023-2024 was an extremely challenging year for me both professionally and academically. I started a new project through my co-op which has proven itself to be the greatest professional challenge I have faced thus far. While working on this project, I undertook the most academically rigorous semester of classes I have ever taken. This year set me face-to-face with the reality that my emotional processing skills were not up to par with what was needed for me to succeed. In realizing this, I became increasingly reliant on my support network, and had to seek out new ways to help give myself the tools to succeed.
The first way I sought out to help myself succeed was beginning therapy for what I now understand to be long-undiagnosed ADHD. The rigor of my coursework and professional responsibilities made me come to terms with the fact that my inability to keep myself on task was more serious than I’d ever thought. I am incredibly privileged to have access to counseling services, and with the help of my therapist I was able to learn some skills to help me calm my brain and focus on thoroughly completing the tasks ahead of me. Attending therapy also helped me hold myself accountable for my goals, as I had regular check-ins with someone who helped keep me on track.
I also leaned heavily on my support group this year; my partner, particularly, was an absolute rock for me, even as she adjusted to some life changes of her own. We scheduled out specific times for us to work on our academics with one another to maintain our work-life balance and achieve our individual academic goals without sacrificing our time together. We helped each other study and bounced ideas off one another for each of our projects. Working together kept us accountable to one another for our academic goals, and maintaining our work-life balance helped us avoid burnout.
These methods helped keep me accountable to my goals and maintain my mental health through a rigorous year. Thanks to the help of my support network, I was able to keep myself more on task and focused this year in spite of the different challenges I faced. This year provided the most valuable education in accountability, mental health management, and work-life balance that I’ve ever experienced, and I am forever grateful to the people around me who supported me throughout this year.