For the past two weeks, I have been in a town not too far from Montreal called Verdun, where my aunt lives with my cousin and her two children. I took this trip to relieve some previous stress and anxiety before entering my first day of Graduate school this coming Tuesday.
Instead of talking more about my trip, I'll show you some pictures. Though I haven't really traveled much around Montreal, I still had a good time! Below are some of my surroundings when I did go out on the town.
How does my trip apply to Student Affairs? For one thing, after a long and stressful semester or full on school year, we need a rest so that we will be fully charged to handle the next task. It's hard being a super hero/heroine to the students of your institution. It is extremely important that you take a break for yourself or else you'll be burned out way before you know it.
If you are in the burn out stage, it is best that you take some time for yourself, even if it is brief. Take a walk, dedicate 30 minutes to alone time, do some breathing exercises; the possibilities to release the stress are endless.
Another way this applies to student affairs is learning about the world around you. Globalization is important, especially if you wish to learn about different nations and how they go about things. During my stay in Quebec, I (still) have limited language knowledge (the primary language of Quebec is French). Though I did know a few bits and pieces of French, I still had some anxious times where I found it hard to express myself.
My cousin reassured to me (plenty of times) that the Quebecois speak English too. There were plenty of times where I forgot about this too and was too shy to ask.
From what I've seen around me in Quebec, it is A LOT neater, friendlier and more beautiful than where I live, New York City. Now don't get me wrong, there are a lot of beautiful places in the city that never sleeps, but being in a different atmosphere didn't make me hate where I live. I'm a New Yorker and will always be one. But sometimes, we do need a change in pace.
Having "Learner" as my 5th strength in my recent Strengths Quest, I wanted to know more about Quebec -- even more about Canada itself. For example, I've learned that they have eliminated their pennies or one cent coins (interesting eh?). Also, since this is on the news a lot, free health care. Taxes are distributed better according to income. Even seeing a lot of "Grown in Canada" or "Made in Canada" made me excited.
The question I have been asked a lot while I was here was "Would you want to live in Canada?" My answer to that is yes. Yes because I love the environment. It is pretty friendly to me and I would love to visit other parts of Canada. I would even study French harder in order to communicate better with my family as well as the people in Quebec.
Now that my time up here is done, I am refreshed to start school on September 2nd. Thank you very much for reading!
