I remember joining my grandfather in his office as a little girl, looking at his globe sitting atop its brown shiny frame; I was able to look at it and move it in any direction I pleased. He was happy to show me where he had been and even told me stories. It was this moment that I knew I was going to learn and gain knowledge through personal stories of people in any part of the world.
From a very young age, I knew I was a curious being. Of course, most kids are curious beings, however; I never grew out of it. I find it frustrating when I can’t ask people why they do the things they do or what led them to the journey they are currently on. For many people, these questions are absurd and weird and frankly, “none of my business”.
My educational journey has shaped me into the person I am today, from travelling to high school to Bishop’s University and then to Thompson Rivers University.
Let’s start with travelling. In the year 2007, my parents had decided to take my older sister and I on a six-month trip around the world. We had been excused from school, as my father was a principal on his sabbatical so he was able to teach us in our “free time”. The only time I really remember learning any traditional school-related subject was when he pulled out a times table sheet for me to do while waiting for our afternoon safari in Kruger National Park. We visited countries in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Oceania. Each and every moment of the trip has had an impact on me in some way, either in the moments I experienced during the trip or moments I think about in the more present period of my life. This created a sort of wanderlust in me, to see the world and learn from it. I knew travelling would be my main form of knowledge gain.
In high school, the summer before entering into my last year, one of my best friends and I decided to partake in a volunteer trip with Free the Children to Kenya. We had been planning our trip since the 9th grade. We were so excited to finally go. What we hadn’t thought of were the feelings we would have when we came back. Fast- forward three weeks. My friend Jessica and I sat in our hotel room crying for hours upon hours after our arrival at the Montreal airport. We wondered how the world could be operating in the way it is, why people are so oblivious to the abundance of issues that there are. This is where I gained momentum for changing the world through knowledge production and sharing.
I attended Bishop’s University in Sherbrooke, Quebec before attending Thompson Rivers University. In my first year, I studied business. I failed every midterm in my first semester. I got incredibly discouraged that there wasn’t a place for me in academics, that I didn’t have what it takes, and that I wasn’t smart enough. I failed my first out of seven math courses you needed to take for the business program – twice. In my second year at Bishop’s, I switched into international studies because I knew it wouldn’t be possible for me to complete the business program. In the summer between my first and second year I had gone to Spain to be a nanny. When I came back I thought it would be interesting to take Spanish as my language requirement. Bad idea. I had taken the language placement test and had to go into the second year course. Clearly, I had not learned enough Spanish to take anything beyond the beginner class as I failed it. After getting so discouraged with my studies at Bishop’s I finally decided it was time for me to do something different.
I am now an interdisciplinary studies student at Thompson Rivers University and I could not be happier with my choice to be here and in this program. It fosters my learning in a way that I actually like learning in a school setting. The teachers push you to think outside of the box and try your very best. Being able to choose the classes that I am actually interested in has made my experience in the school setting the most enjoyable experience I have had yet. I have never had a more positive educational experience than the one here at Thompson Rivers and for that, I am grateful.
Although all of these experiences have shaped my intellectual abilities, a major life event that occurred last year pushed me even further. Living in Kamloops and being at least a four-day drive away from home for the first time (for a long period of time) had me very stressed out as well as the many assignments (tests and papers) I had during the craziness of the semester. I was pushed over my limit and ended with a hospital stay, a flight home, and a medical leave from school. This was incredibly discouraging for me as I wondered again “am I cut out for this”. Luckily, I took this time to take care of myself, spend time with my family, and read as much as I could to prepare myself for the fall semester.
This experience has led me to a newfound interest in the field of mental health and the outdoors. The study of mental health is hugely interdisciplinary and can be paired with my above interests of travelling, the study of people, and personal stories.
I believe that my resilience and perseverance throughout my educational journey thus far has pushed me to have a positive outlook on life and know that anything is possible. With this, I plan on studying interdisciplinary studies for as long as I can, pursuing a masters and a PhD (hopefully), looking to change the world through knowledge production and sharing.