Nourishment VitalityRethinking Stress:In the Eyes of a Student – part #3 “UNDERSTANDING OUR PURPOSE”. Nourishment Vitality is excited to share a series of guest blogs from our international intern Brian Baretz from Tulane University New Orleans USA. This week’s blog covers the ever-increasing important topic
What is it that you want to take away the most from college?
Some common responses may include.
- Getting a good education
- Learning more about yourself and what you want to pursue
- Gaining skills to prepare you for life after college
- Making friends and having fun
With this in mind, think about what you have done to work toward these goals. What steps have you taken to make the most of your college experience? There is so much opportunity and possibility that college campuses have to offer. However, the lure of our comfort zone can prevent us from pursuing these opportunities.
College is whatever you make of it. The more active and willing you are to take chances, the more you will grow and learn more about yourself.
The School System: Friend or Foe
Our classes are supposed to educate us on topics related to our fields of study. Teachers present us with information that we absorb and then we display our knowledge through various means. I have reasonable doubts about the efficiency and productivity of this system. The values instilled in every student is that a 4.0 or A+ is a proper indication of understanding the material the best or learning the most. However, having the best grade doesn’t always translate into getting the most value from a class.
Students are conditioned to care more about the grade they receive than the knowledge they gain. They direct all their energy and attention into completing the assignments and studying for the tests in the most efficient and timely manner. This includes mindless work habits, and simply memorizing the material instead of actually trying to retain it. This is a byproduct of the school’s emphasis on grades as opposed to other indicators of learning, such as engagement.
Being Willing to Fail
Attending college is such a privilege. Having this buffer period toward learning more about ourselves and what we enjoy, gives us a real advantage in life. Making mistakes is a crucial part of these developments, as learning more about what it is you don’t like, has similar value to learning about what you do like.
Putting yourself in these uncomfortable situations will give you the most possible upside but also the most potential for failure. This fear of failure can outweigh ambitions toward exploring what your environment has to offer and finding people and activities that will enrich your life. All these experiences are building blocks for your future. The more you are willing to try, the stronger idea you will have of what you want your life to look like after college.
Finding Your Passions
I think the most important aspect of what college can offer is finding what you’re passionate about and what you love to do. We are offered a lot of options, but that doesn’t always make it easy to find. You’re trying to find a mixture of what you like doing with a practical application and ways of supporting yourself in the future. It can be easy to force a major and possibly neglect whether or not you like doing it. That being said, you may not find your way through school, but that doesn’t mean it’s hopeless.
The Authenticity of Being Different
- Many successful and happy people don’t find what they’re looking for in school.
- People aren’t all wired the same way, and thrive in different kinds of environments.
- You can’t equate your own value to what an institution says as intelligent or successful.
- Following the predominant belief system around you is easy and effortless, but challenging it is what’s most difficult and where the deep work begins.
- Your own self-worth can only be derived from what’s inside you. The more you choose to follow your own unorthodox voice, the more you will be rewarded in ways that may not always be understood by others.
Going Forward
Going into my last year of college, this is information I wish I implemented at the start. Looking back at my time I have some regrets, but have had a lot of impactful experiences based on my decision to go against the perceived norm and follow my own desires. I urge those still in college to do the same. Don’t get caught in complacency or in sacrificing your own inclinations in fear of standing out.
My best advice is as follows…
- Act in accordance with your own intrinsic values, and don’t let others deter you from doing what you want to do
- Meet as many people as you can, avoid preconceived judgments
- Try and take classes that you care about, and find interesting
- Don’t be afraid to try something alone, some of the most profound experiences happen that way
Thus concludes my blog Rethinking Stress:In the Eyes of a Student – Part #3, and my 3-part blog series Rethinking Stress: In the Eyes of a Student. For those reading, I hope you gained some value or adjustment in your perspective. Even the slightest change in attitude can make a notable difference.
If you aim to succeed through the lens of others, you can only go so far.
But if you measure your success through your own means, your possibilities are endless.
For even more information on how to deal with topics such as stress and anxiety, holistic weight management, body image, and the importance of relationship stress and conflict, follow the link NourishmentVitality.com.
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Blog written by Nourishment Vitality Intern Brian Baretz (Tulane University)
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LINK to blog #1 in the series “To Do List Monsters”
LINK to blog #2 in the series “Phones Control Us”