It has been roughly one month since I began my educational journey in the Bachelor of Education program at the University of Northern British Columbia. I have felt overwhelmingly privileged to pursue my academic dreams, while continuing to live, learn, and grow on the traditional, unceded lands of the Lheidli T’enneh, and to have met the incredible educators and mentors taking the time to help guide, and walk along side me in my learning. Recently, we as a cohort were asked to consider our biggest learning opportunity thus far in the program, as well as other unexpected learning outcomes, and what conclusions we have drawn about ourselves in the process. Personally, this first month of the program has been very transformative, the reason coincidentally being my example for all three questions.
The beginning of the Education program coincided with some very dramatic shifts in my life. First, I had very recently been able to get the majority of what had been a long-term bout of debilitating chronic pain under control with the help of an amazing team of medical professionals, and therefore had begun to feel some relief from the emotional toll living with chronic pain can take on a human. Secondly, a myriad of experiences and the reassurance of my very best friend encouraged me to try once more to seek help with certain social difficulties, namely anxiety. In seeking help, I was able to make the commitment to opening up to my social vulnerability, and am making a good deal of effort to own, and work past it. This contextualises what has presented itself as not only a very surprising (to me) learning experience, but also what I consider to currently be my biggest learning opportunity and outcome thus far.
Collegiality, and community. Since my first day of the program, there has been an unfettered sense of community, and welcome amongst my peers, professors, as well as an overwhelming majority of associate speakers and participants we have met as of now. This is an experience that operates on several levels for me; like a new equation to factor into the sum of what I will be in the end of the program, and one which will influence my learning in the future. This sense of community is entirely new to me, and being that it coincides with the decision I have made to change myself, it has provided an irreplaceable opportunity for me to experimentally reach out and make connections with friendly faces. In so doing, I am beginning to learn what it means to build a network of community, and what it means to belong. What this tells me about myself? I, on a personal level, am capable of changing. If I was asked six months ago, I would have confidently said that I was going to do my best to float through this program unnoticed. Not that I would compromise on my teaching intentions, but that I hoped to do my best to be noticed by no one.
Now, I can not wait to continue to make connections, build new friendships, and learn as much as I can about my classmates, professors included. I want to come out of this program with a reason to stay in touch with as many people as possible. To an “average” individual, at least one within the demographic of individuals seeking to become teachers, the concept of that being a new and learned perspective might sound silly, but to me, it has been remarkably eye-opening. This realisation, learning outcome, and experience has impacted me on an intellectual, emotional, and spiritual level in orders of magnitude that I can not wait to explore. To this I owe the incredible individuals that I am lucky enough to share my learning journey with, both inside and outside the classroom setting. I will never forget what you have done for me.
Thank you.