How has it been one month since my 21st birthday?
Where have these past few weeks gone? This last month has honestly been the
must surreal catalogue of events and I cannot believe that I am also nearing
the end of my first year at university- how has this happened?
Needless to say, following the events of Eating Disorder
Awareness Week 2017, University Mental Health Day 2017, Sock It to Eating
Disorders, the on-going developments of SHSU Mental Health Society and working
on assignments and revision for my degree, my emotions have been somewhat scattered.
I have been attending lectures, seminars, practicals, scheduling meetings,
talking to national charities, gathering marketing materials for support
resources, completing assignments and all the while trying to make time for
myself. Yes, it has been exceptionally hard, but the fact that I am thoroughly
enjoying what I am doing is making it all the more easier. There is no
pretending that my chaotic levels of emotion have not played havoc with my
disordered thoughts and negative feelings, but I have acknowledged these and
tried desperately hard to suppress them. This of course makes meal planning and
eating all the more of a challenge, but I am committed to my recovery and I am
not minimising my attention to my own health and wellbeing. University life is
about balance and as much as I find it an incredibly difficult challenge, I am
working on it every day and seeking the necessary help I need to make those
steps to move forward.
Anyway! Moving on to the main reason for this post- I
promise it is positive! SHSU Mental Health Society is progressing quite nicely
and there are even more exciting plans lined up over the coming weeks! However,
for now I wanted to share something that I am very proud of and want to work
exceptionally hard on…
A few months ago I applied to be a Student Minds Fundraising
Champion and to my surprise, I was honoured, alongside 7 other individuals, the
title! This means I will be trying my best to fundraise with the committee and
student members of SHSU Mental Health Society to generate money for Student
Minds, so that they can continue with the fantastic work that they do in
improving the mental health of the student population.
So our first event will take place on Tuesday 21st
March 2017, where we will be collaborating with SHSU Volunteering Committee to
host a Quiz Bingo at Hubspace in the Students Union. Entry will be £1 per
person, which will all be donated to Student Minds! We want to use the event as
an opportunity for friends to meet up and socialise, but most of all to have a
laugh! Of course, as a society, we will be bringing some service signposting
resources should anybody like to take one. We are very much looking forward to
being involved with this event and we hope that it encourages people to come
out and enjoy an alternative activity with their friends!
My next fundraising activity is something I am very excited
about (even if I aren’t running!). On 29th April 2017 I will be
taking part in the Student Colour Run Sheffield! If you have not heard of this
event, please go on their website and follow their social media accounts
because it looks like it is going to be so much fun! I am so excited to be
taking part in a huge event where I will have the opportunity to meet so many
new people- but of course, my main focus is to fundraise! I do not yet have a
link to a fundraising page, however, I will be sharing this wherever and
whenever possible, and it would be fantastic to have some support. Obviously my
fitness levels are not up to scratch and due to previous damaging behaviours, I
have told myself that this is not an excuse to go to the gym and train in
preparation. I will complete the event and even if that just involves walking
or jogging, I am not willing to sacrifice the hard work that I have put in
mentally and physically to get where I am today.
So there we have it, a little update on some of the exciting
things that I have planned ahead- obviously completely glazing over the mass of
assignments and revision I have to complete in the meantime, because I am not
living my life to purely strive for academic success. I am living my life to
experience joy, pride and happiness!
Please keep an eye out for my donation page when I have got
it up and running for the Student Colour Run 2017- your support would be very
much appreciated!
For more information about Student Minds, take a look at this link:
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