About the project: We were put into groups to be responsible for one station at our ASC Wellbeing Expo. We had to identify a problem that teenagers face that affects their wellbeing, find a solution/strategies to enhance wellbeing/create awareness in this space, and provide strategies to overcome the issue. We needed to present our findings at our expo stall. Our assignment was to make a planning document, present it at the wellbeing expo, and write a wellbeing pledge/review in our portfolios. My group members included Stacie, Zaina, Beth, Zoe, and Amber.
“Wellbeing is not a destination, it’s a way of life.”
What were the biggest things you learned while completing this task?
The biggest thing I learned while completing this task is strategies that are most effective when trying to help with school-related stress. Having coping mechanisms that you can use when particularly stressed and nervous can help many teenagers. Some of these strategies include: walking with a friend, listening to music, practicing breathing, exercising, and taking breaks. Coping mechanisms can help you tolerate, minimize, and deal with stressful situations- such as school. Another thing that I learned was what are the factors in school that can make a student feel stressed. School can include academic pressure, competition, bullying social pressure, and time management and these are all factors that students may go through with a lack of support. These factors are constantly around, with thousands of students dealing with this with no source of help or shielding their emotions.
What is one piece of advice would you pass on to young people with regards to wellbeing above all else? Why?
One piece of advice I would reccommend to young people is don’t take things too seriously. Especially from the project and learning about how easily people can be triggered from aspect such as school, it is important to advocate for these issues and provide effective solutions/coping mechanisms to help with this. As a person who always wants to strive for their best and feels like they need to be perfect, it’s easy for me to empathise to young people who get caught up in the academic pressure and having to perform the best. It is estimated 10-30% of students experience some degree of academic stress during school. This statistic proves that, many other students are uneducated or unable to cope with these stress regarding school, which leads to a downfall in their wellbeing. Stress can majorly affect your wellbeing, so it is crucial to immend these mantras into young people starting from now. Don’t take anything too seriously because everything is out your of control, so just enjoy life.
Write down a pledge that you will commit to in regards to your own wellbeing. Why did you pick these things to commit to? How will you stick to these comments?
I pledge to always take intiative when it comes to my school related stress and seek help when neccessary.
I picked these things to commit to because I believe to not only strive to stress less but also to take initiative and talk to others when I’m feeling down. This will help me overcome my struggles with stress related with school, and could also mean a defining moment in my overturning a new leaf and helping others by relating with them. By knowing I can at least help others by proving a disciplinary role model, this will help me stick to this pledge and commit to it. Overall, wellbeing is extremely important especially for young students and should be advocated and spread more awareness.