Advise to my future self as a person and as an OT
It is a very strange feeling to be near the end of my 3rd year as an OT student, a 22-year-old young lady, with a whole life ahead of me. It is overwhelming to think that in just a year’s time, I will be graduating, hopefully, and soon entering a whole new world with more responsibilities, bills, and even more challenging obstacles.
According to healthline.com, anticipatory anxiety describes fear and worry about bad things that can happen. It also focuses on things that cannot be controlled. (Legg &Raypole, 2020). As someone who likes to take control and be in control, anxiety is something that really dampens my thoughts, and I have to constantly remind myself that certain things are beyond my control, just like the future of myself as a person, and as an OT.
The best advice I can give to my future self, and as an OT is a poem written by William Henry Channing (1810-1884), titled “My Symphony.” This poem has made me see life from a different perspective and I cannot thank my matric form teacher enough for introducing it to me!
This poem advises me to be grateful for every little and big thing that happens in my life. This means being thankful for what I have and for what I do not. As a blooming OT, I am still learning, and I have come to realise that it is okay to not know everything. I should be grateful when my client with depression gets out of bed in the morning and be encouraged to celebrate their small (and big) achievements. It further advises me to stay true to myself and have faith in myself. According to research, it has been proven that self-belief helps one embrace the journey of life, with all it’s challenges and makes one realize that each challenge gives us new skills, and new strengths. (Robbins, T. 2022)
“To be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich;” are the words that I admire the most. I have learned in the past, throughout life so far, that not everyone respects you. There will always be people that are envious of you and your achievements, sometimes it is those closest to you. However, the most important thing that I should remember is that my actions speak volumes, my kindness will touch the most hearts and being humble is what I will be worthy of. Speaking of money, we all love it, I do too, but when you do what you love and are passionate about, money finds you. According to a recent study by Business News Daily, it was reported that many individuals work in jobs that make them happy rather than for money, and it has shown that it leads to higher levels of success. (Morrison, 2022)
The poem also reminds me to study hard, follow my dreams and work hard to fulfil them. My role model is my future self, so I shouldn’t give up even when it gets too much and strive to be the best version of myself. I must learn to express optimism, and positivity, and opening my heart to the greatest of blessings that life has to offer. I also believe these words remind me to open my heart to new opportunities, and to take risks, by stepping out of my comfort zone.
Furthermore, the poem tells me to “await occasions, hurry never.” This speaks volumes because it reminds me that patience is key. Good things come to those who wait. I should not feel discouraged if a colleague gets a job before me, my turn will come. We each live a unique life, and we each have a unique timeline…
Amongst all the advice, the most important one is “to let the spiritual, unbidden, and unconscious grow up through the common.” In all the craziness that life throws my way, I should always make sure that I am true to my religion, and never let go of my spirituality, and even though we live in a world that is very trendy, I should live a life that is suitable for me, myself and I because I am me and nobody else can ever be me.
Just like the KAWA model that we learn about in OT, the rocks represent all the different challenges in life, such as anxiety of the future, trauma, loss, the unknown, balancing work life to personal life, there will be personal attributes (driftwood) that will help me overcome these challenges, such as being optimistic, working hard, being kind to everyone and being enthusiastic and brave, all of which will help me to become the better version of myself. The water represents the flow of life, the constant things that will always be there to provide support, such as my religion, my family and friends, and hopefully one day a family of my own.
There is still a long road ahead, with many challenges, many worries, and anxieties and I like to believe that there are many happy moments in between… That being said, I should always keep in mind that “the past is my lesson, the present is my gift and the future is my motivation!”
