Week 14 – Personal

It is scary to think that now I only have 3 weeks left in Ole Miss. I have been reminded of this a few times this week as our professors are beginning to ask us to reflect on our courses and how we have felt about the Ole Miss Campus and education system. I firmly believe that I have learnt so much this semester and I believe a lot of it is down to having fantastic tutors, engaging classes and challenging yet rewarding assessments. Kelly and I both agree that we have been blessed with the classes and professors here and I personally feel that I will go home with a more in-depth and greater understanding of multiple education issues.

I have noticed that along with growing professionally, I have grown personally in a number of ways. This week was rather hard as someone I loved dearly unfortunately passed away at home and I found it a real struggle being here when I believe I was needed more at home. I found myself having to put on a strong front and still attend classes when I would rather have been elsewhere. It was hard not being able to say a final goodbye by attending the funeral but I was comforted with the thought of much happier memories which I focused on as I realised there was nothing else I could do. Being away from home at such a time has not been easy but I am proud of myself for sticking it out and continuing on as normal as possible.

One of the main things I will miss when I leave Ole Miss is the independence that I have gained from as they say ‘learning to stand on your own two feet.’ I will not deny I have made some funny mistakes while here. For example I recently discovered that sometimes I was using fabric softener rather than detergent to wash some of my clothes. Of course upon discovering this I was a little embarrassed to say the least! But I have learnt to always make sure I read the labels and to not make assumptions based on observations alone. We always encourage our students to not see their mistakes as failures but rather opportunities for improvements and I couldn’t agree more! As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, ‘all life is an experiment.’’The more experiments you make, the better !’ 

During my time here I have also learnt to cook (without burning my food) which to me is a huge success! My dad was always teasing me saying that I would set of the smoke alarm even from making toast and he was not far from the truth. However I am now not only cooking decent meals for myself but have also found pleasure in baking. (To my surprise and delight my cupcakes seemed to have gone down a treat with my roommates as they quickly disappeared!) I will not deny that when I first arrived I was living of a diet of ramen noodles every night but as the weeks passed I began to try-out new things and through trial and error have developed a much healthier diet! I have also taken advantage of the free exercise classes offered at the Turner Centre at Ole Miss and have worked hard to get my fitness level up, something of which I am proud of!

My time at Ole Miss has helped me to step out of my comfort zone. I am thankful for the opportunity to do so as I would not have done otherwise and I am looking forward to returning home and being able to cook dinner without setting of the fire alarm! 

References

Deonaraine. R, (2003) Power Quotes to energise your life, Lincoln, iUniverse Inc