A peek into my Reslife diary: Intern Reflection by Residential Life Marcom Intern – Chloe Low Yen Ting.
It’s been a year of writing for Reslife and this article is in some sense, my last homage to the blog that I’ve held ever so dear to me. Through sharing the compelling stories of others, I’ve also shared some pieces of myself, my worldview and thoughts on subjects that I have come across in my own residential life. This blog holds a sliver of my journey in University, and is somewhat of a time capsule of the things that I’ve discovered along the way. In this heartfelt reflection, I share my happy moments, the growing pains and the stronger me that came out of it.
Kicking back after finals, with a group of treasured hall mates.
Growth doesn’t come all at once, it creeps up on you in ways that you may not even realise. Interviewing people from all walks of life, I have gained a wider perspective of the world and reaped inspiration from the strengths of its people — each having their own unique story to tell. Speaking to Amber, who works as a student COVID-19 Swab Tester, I’ve learnt to pursue resilience in hardship and trying times. Hearing the story of Wenbo, a Peer Student Supporter, taught me that it only takes one to make a difference. From my supervisor, Bell, I’ve learnt to be kind and say “thank you” often. To not take for granted the work that others put in and to show appreciation for the little things in the day to day. Unknowingly, I’ve morphed into a better version of myself — one more tolerant of different worldviews and empathetic towards those that I meet.
Learning didn’t stop there. While the deliverables of my job were a steady constant of two articles and twelve Instagram posts a month, it never felt the same as each semester came along. There were always new ways to flesh out an article, different tones of voice to explore and innovative methods to improve the make of our Instagram designs. Even as the year came to a close, I wouldn’t say that I was fully satisfied with what I had left behind, as I still see much room for improvement and areas in which I have fallen short. But there’s beauty in that. Doing the same thing again and again, but never getting bored of it. The will to improve is an attitude, and that’s a takeaway that has been deeply ingrained.
Screengrab from my last interview with Bell and our interviewee, Assistant Professor Caroline Lim.
But that’s all the good stuff. The stuff I’ll willingly put out into the world. As a parting gift, I thought that I’d also talk about the other side of things — the equally important parts that aren’t so shiny or well put-together. As Reslife moved towards a greater emphasis on mental health during my term, in some ways, I’ve been forced to come to terms with my own mental health as well — and as a struggling university student, it isn’t always pretty.
Pictured: A small, year one, semester one me not understanding how University works and yet, feeling the weight of it. It really does just get overwhelming sometimes.
Other times, good friends make all the difference.
Living on campus is a rather unique situation: you’ll be studying, socialising and figuring things out, all whilst surrounded by other university students who are also studying, socialising and figuring things out. There will be times that you will experience self-doubt, feelings of loneliness and exhaustion to the point of being driven on just coffee alone. You will experience feeling lost in life, tired-out and possibly, even go through the worst heartbreak of your entire life.
But that isn’t all, of course. With all that you go through, I promise that there will also be times where you’ll laugh the hardest, achieve your greatest milestones and make some of the best memories that you will ever make — and these experiences will outlive the bad, and last a lifetime.
It’s truly an experience that needs to be lived-out, and I can’t fully encapsulate its beauty in only less than a thousand words. So as I leave my Reslife journey here, I hope that you too will be able to experience all this and more. For I promise that while it is a crazy journey, it’s definitely one well worth the ride.
I wish you all the best and more.
Signing out with love,
Chloe
