On Sunday January 26th from 4pm-6pm I attended the Honors and Scholars Wellness Workshop, as a professional development event. At this workshop I learned about different areas of wellness and how I can improve my performance in them. For my first activity I learned about physical wellness pertaining to eating in a healthy way. Here, I made trail mix and learned about the benefits of the ingredients and what the proper serving sizes are. I even took home a small jar that holds one serving size of a snack. At my next activity, I learned about environmental wellness. This includes surrounding yourself with good influences and taking time to respect the Earth. Here, I took home a succulent plant to remind me to practice environmental wellness. Finally, I learned about mental wellness by practicing meditation and making vision boards.This is a professional development event because if you are not balanced and well, it will affect your ability to complete work and move on to the next step in completing your goals.
I struggle with wellness and balancing important aspects of my life. I tend to prioritize my academics and time with family at the expense of my physical and mental health. At the end of last semester, I realized that I needed to shift my priorities and refocus on balance and wellness. I knew I needed to work on exercising consistently, eating healthy, and giving myself time to decompress. I have taken steps to do this including: working with a personal trainer 3 days a week, taking a boxing class 2 days a week, being more selective on the foods I eat, and setting aside time for me to sleep and do nothing. This reprioritization has made me feel healthier and decreased the effects of my anxiety disorder. The Honors and Scholars Wellness Workshop gave me an opportunity to evaluate the steps I’m taking and look at alternative actions.
I will continue to work on my overall wellness and employ the strategies I learned at this workshop. In order to flourish in a professional setting, I need to ensure I am not neglecting other areas of my life. I am determined to be successful in my career and I am willing to work on myself in ways that are not related to family and academics in order to do so.