Our mental health
The past 18 months have been chaotic and challenging. You have probably found it stressful at times, or perhaps you have enjoyed some of the time spent at home. Spend some time reflecting on where you have come from on your journey to IB:
- How have the past two years impacted you?
- How have your beliefs and values been affirmed or challenged by the pandemic?
The biggest challenge that I faced in the past two years will definitely be the transition to a new school, UWC. It was my first international school in my whole life and everything I see and met was new to me. I was excited for sure, but very nervous and anxious at the same time. I wasn’t sure if I could fit into the school or catch up with the academics as I’d never studied any subjects in English. At such times, the new friends that I made helped me a lot. I was surprised by how optimistic and resilient they were. Before I came to this school, I always had a sense of inferiority in many things and I was scared to try new things. I am still in the middle of developing optimism, but being in a new environment definitely helped me become a more resilient person. I’ve also realized that creating and performing music truly helps me when I feel overwhelmed. The thing that helped me have a sense of belonging to this community was also music; I met many new people through music activities/classes and I am really thankful that I had music. In terms of life during the pandemic, I was able to acknowledge my weakness and strengths as I had more time to face myself. I realized that taking care of my mental health was very important because I tend to overthink on my own and feel anxious about something that can actually be solved if I talk to someone. I am aware that during IB, there will be times that I will feel overwhelmed or anxious. Through this unit, I learned that I should always talk to someone when I have any worries. I’ve also learned that feeling anxious can happen to anyone and it’s nothing wrong to say it out loud. Since I went through a quite rough road of adapting to a new environment, I feel like I can support someone in a similar situation and I hope I can.
Leave a Reply