Though my time at Capilano has been brief, the work that I’ve managed to produce has delivered a number of pleasant surprises. Since I’ve been out of school for nine years, I’ve definitely worried that my ability to apply my skills in a university environment would be weak and that I might struggle with the challenges of university life. However, as I continue to progress through my courses, I’m becoming more in tune with my abilities and developing an understanding of how to make the most of my skills and talents. One example of this was a 1000 word paper I had completed for my USS100 class on managing stress. The focus of the assignment was to reflect on how stress has influenced our individual lives, particularly in the domain of academics, while also referencing the content discussed in class.

This assignment helped me to establish a better idea of myself and my abilities in an academic environment. By reflecting on various situations in my life when stress has been present, perhaps abundantly present, along with how I was able to accommodate and handle those situations with grace, I quickly came to realize that I had spent much of my past being unnecessarily critical of myself in respect to my abilities. Coming to this realization has helped me to reduce the amount of anxiety I feel when encountering a new situation, challenge or assignment. In turn, I’ve discovered that I’m able to quickly dive in to my assignments, reducing my apprehensions, and allowing me to complete tasks with relative ease. I wound up writing a total of ~3000 words for the assignment and received a 100% grade. Along with the excellent grade, I had received very positive feedback from the instructor, Mr. Ross, “I was so glad to read that you have made sense of these experiences and have constructed a coherent narrative that explains who and what you are. Great job!” I believe my strengths in reflection and introspection allowed me to write an in-depth review of my experiences dealing with stress, as well as to accurately assess what I’ve been through and who I’ve grown into. In hindsight, if I could do it again, I might try to reduce the word count of my assignment to make my writing more concise. I sometimes worry that I tend to drag out my thoughts more than I need to. At the end of all things, this assignment not only boosted my morale through a high grade, but it also really opened my eyes to the truth of what I am capable of and how I can handle a wide variety of stressors. It has given me a new perspective on being proactive in my life and has really assisted me in meeting the demands of University.