30/01/2020
Hey, everyone!
Firstly, welcome back to my journal! My goodness it's been FOREVER since my last entry. This post this evening is a huge update on what exactly happened over the course of the rest of 2019 and my plans for 2020 (of which includes journaling more here)!
First year uni was something else. Keeping a positive and encouraging vibe has been a really important part of my persona here on the forum, but also in my personal vision of my ideal self. I knew that if I was going to write journal entries here to share, I had to be in the right state of mind to do it.
To start off with definitely the heavier stuff, since my last post, I was in a minor car accident, went through a huge breakup and descended into a state of self-loathing. I heard from many people that the first semester would be like falling into a hole of suffering but I never expected myself to get stuck in it for so long. Those three key experiences left a lot of negative and irreversible stains on my life; I was unable to drive for a while (and driving means a lot to me), I lost a lot of friends and my motivation to even get out of bed in the morning hit rock bottom.
I was lucky it all happened towards the end of the semester and I had the month and a half in between to recover. So much happened in that period of time that made the healing significantly easier. I started seeing a headspace counsellor who was phenomenal. It was hard to convince my parents at first to let me seek professional help largely due to the stigma surrounding mental health in my culture but they trusted my counsellor as much as I did. He did an amazing job at helping me get back on feet and navigate through perhaps the most difficult part of my life yet. The weeks I spent in his office flew by like crazy but I came out of it more sure of who I was and what goals I wanted to set for myself to be the best version of myself I can be.
I also met Oliver. My current boyfriend was a game-changer. I’ll spare the details of how we met for this post but we have been dating for just over six months now and I have never been happier. Never have I met someone so loving, caring, sensitive and straight up amazing. I was really afraid of getting into another relationship and was advised against it by many people (I wouldn’t blame them; the breakup scarred me) but something inside me said he was worth it and boy, he is. You’ll hear lots more about him in this journal over the year as we navigate through our relationship together and share many more exciting memories to come.
Another thing that happened was going to MUED camp. I had a lot of trouble really getting into the swing of things at uni and was really apprehensive towards making friends but the camp did such a fantastic job at helping me settle into music education at the Con. I was able to talk to other members in the upper cohorts and make music for an entire weekend. It was because of this camp that I was able to remind myself why I chose to do the degree in the first place and it to this day is what resurged so much of my love for what I study and do.
My final reason will have to be my Tutesmart students. My 2019 cohort were absolute gems and while I avoided bringing anything from my personal life into work, they never questioned why I was feeling down and instead, provided me with support and gave me the space to thrive as an educator. Work for me was an escape from everything else; it was where I channelled my energy into my students, watched them grow and, in the end, formed irreplaceable relationships with them.
After the break, I began to feel more like myself than I ever had before. Semester 2 was met with its own set of challenges but I was ready to tackle them with raw enthusiasm and resilience. I won’t go into details about how it all played out but basically a significant improvement was made in my performance in uni, my relationships with people that now matter to me more than anything in the world and a greater sense of who I am.
All this aside, this is what’s happening for Angelina Nguyen in 2020!
1. I will probably be suffering at uni this year. I have two histories in Sem 1 which will be loads of work and will be overloading, on top of having prac, in Sem 2. It’s going to be a tough year but I know I’ll find my way through it with the support of friends, family and work.
2. I will more than likely be joining the amateur Irish music ensemble at uni. This might sound totally random but I actually love Irish music and when I heard that an ensemble was being established, I hopped straight on it. I’m planning to pick up the bodhran (Irish drum) and learning it as an extra skill because why not?
3. I will be doing the Australian Kodaly Certificate over the next three years. I am aiming to take Level 1 Secondary Education this year and, should I pass everything successfully, complete the AKC when I graduate (two certificates yay!)
4. I have been accepted into the USYD student newspaper society and will be the Con reporter for the year. I’m really keen to do more writing this year alongside working and studying and will be interested to see how I manage this on top of everything else I have going on.
5. I will be going to Bali for a study tour in July-August as part of my music education degree. I am super pumped about going overseas and look forward to being able to pick up new skills as an educator and musician in the experience.
That’ll be all for this entry (what a massive post). I look forward to sharing more of my adventures over the next year and keen to have each and every one of you on board. If you made it to the end of this post, thanks for sticking with me and cheers to an awesome new year!
Toodles,
Angelina
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Topic: Pros and the Con: angewina_naguen's Journey Waddling Through Uni (Read 25500 times)