In my new environment.
In every new environment you need time to adapt, so did I need time to adjust to my new lifestyle/environment as a student again.
Remember I said it has taken me 10years to achieve this goal of mine but I was ready to quit just a week after the course started! Why? Well because THE REAL WORLD OF ACADEMIA,had become an unfamiliar territory after ten years of leaving it,everything is so fast paced now!
I struggled,I most confess, with lectures, with the advancement in the technology that is to help me make studying simpler,with the procedures and standard of learning required of me at postgraduate level.I felt I couldn't cope mentally and that I wasn't up to scratch and won't be able to do this!
I even cried and thought to myself,"I have made the wrong decision definitely"(even when inside of me, i know this is fear of the unknown rearing its head).Most of all I felt lonely,isolated and distant,I had moved from London where I had lived for 10 years to East Midlands. My usual bubbly self lost my confidence in those few weeks.
I allowed myself to think of everything that could possibly go wrong. I thought to myself I will never make new friends, so I will not have mates to hang out with. I thought to myself, I will never able to use the library systems because it was too advanced, I thought to myself, the environment is for young people I certainly am out of place!
But I was missing the point! The point that it is indeed a NEW TERRITORY for me! And yes every new territory comes with its own systems and methodology and it may be different to what we are use to. What we need to be doing when we find ourselves in a new place/new situation/new encounter/new process, is to open up to it foremost.Embrace this new experience.
Then remind yourself of why you are there,doing this.Remember God has a purpose for your life,keep this at the forefront of your mind always.Think about the benefits you hope/know it will bring to you/your life!
Then start learning the culture of this new territory, see if you can find things in it that are similar to where you are coming from and if not then learn theirs!
Also,help your self.Come out of your shyness or self consciousness,put on your inquisitive cap,ask for the help you need,ask questions,be friendly be the 1st to introduce yourself,tell others you are new, and make friends, and be patient with yourself ,it does take time to adjust. At least that is what i did, now I can tell you I have new mates:Tamara,Franschesca,Dahphne..... and we roll together (Daphne even invited me along with the others to her house to celebrate the Chinese new year,I have never tasted so many Chinese dishes as prepared by Daphne!)
we share our fears and come up with solutions and support for one another, I have borrowed books using that seeming complicated library systems after Mauri (my mate on the course)showed me how.I have asked for support round other things that is new to me in my studies( by approaching a couple of PHD students to be my mentors).As the days go by,my confidence is being renewed,I am gradually settling in to my new life and the adventure it promises to bring! That's my story so what is your own new territory that seem insurmountable right now? I tell you, break it down into little chunks and keep keeping on,remember,tough times don't last but tough people do! Remind your self of the goal you want to achieve and let that reinforce your motivation. All the best.
Thank you to you all friends,family,colleagues,who have stood by me encouraging me all the way, I can never repay you enough but from my heart I would like to say thank you!
Remember I said it has taken me 10years to achieve this goal of mine but I was ready to quit just a week after the course started! Why? Well because THE REAL WORLD OF ACADEMIA,had become an unfamiliar territory after ten years of leaving it,everything is so fast paced now!
I struggled,I most confess, with lectures, with the advancement in the technology that is to help me make studying simpler,with the procedures and standard of learning required of me at postgraduate level.I felt I couldn't cope mentally and that I wasn't up to scratch and won't be able to do this!
I even cried and thought to myself,"I have made the wrong decision definitely"(even when inside of me, i know this is fear of the unknown rearing its head).Most of all I felt lonely,isolated and distant,I had moved from London where I had lived for 10 years to East Midlands. My usual bubbly self lost my confidence in those few weeks.
I allowed myself to think of everything that could possibly go wrong. I thought to myself I will never make new friends, so I will not have mates to hang out with. I thought to myself, I will never able to use the library systems because it was too advanced, I thought to myself, the environment is for young people I certainly am out of place!
But I was missing the point! The point that it is indeed a NEW TERRITORY for me! And yes every new territory comes with its own systems and methodology and it may be different to what we are use to. What we need to be doing when we find ourselves in a new place/new situation/new encounter/new process, is to open up to it foremost.Embrace this new experience.
Then remind yourself of why you are there,doing this.Remember God has a purpose for your life,keep this at the forefront of your mind always.Think about the benefits you hope/know it will bring to you/your life!
Then start learning the culture of this new territory, see if you can find things in it that are similar to where you are coming from and if not then learn theirs!
Also,help your self.Come out of your shyness or self consciousness,put on your inquisitive cap,ask for the help you need,ask questions,be friendly be the 1st to introduce yourself,tell others you are new, and make friends, and be patient with yourself ,it does take time to adjust. At least that is what i did, now I can tell you I have new mates:Tamara,Franschesca,Dahphne..... and we roll together (Daphne even invited me along with the others to her house to celebrate the Chinese new year,I have never tasted so many Chinese dishes as prepared by Daphne!)
we share our fears and come up with solutions and support for one another, I have borrowed books using that seeming complicated library systems after Mauri (my mate on the course)showed me how.I have asked for support round other things that is new to me in my studies( by approaching a couple of PHD students to be my mentors).As the days go by,my confidence is being renewed,I am gradually settling in to my new life and the adventure it promises to bring! That's my story so what is your own new territory that seem insurmountable right now? I tell you, break it down into little chunks and keep keeping on,remember,tough times don't last but tough people do! Remind your self of the goal you want to achieve and let that reinforce your motivation. All the best.
Thank you to you all friends,family,colleagues,who have stood by me encouraging me all the way, I can never repay you enough but from my heart I would like to say thank you!
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