By MARY CHRISTINA BRITTO
We constantly hear from our parents and other adults that we can do amazing things in our life. That it is up to us to turn our lives around and we have the power to do so. For me, Taylor’s Lakeside was the place in which this change happened.
Parties, copious amounts of alcohol and even recreational drugs were a part of my life. I was abusing my life and myself. I worked just to be able to afford a party fix just so I could be in a state of extreme inebriation, in the hopes that I would not have to face reality.
Not only did I abuse myself, I was in an abusive marriage. I wish I could say that the abuse was just verbal; unfortunately it was physical too and many times of that year I sported black eyes. During a fight with my ex-husband, he even tried to push a cupboard on top of me.
I could not make it to work; as a television presenter and model, how I looked played a massive part in the job. Four years ago, at the age of 21, I was essentially broke, barely educated, hardly working, getting divorced and on a fast downward spiral.
Today, I am in my last two weeks in University. Soon, I will have a double major of Broadcasting and Journalism under my belt.
Here are my tips on how to turn your life around on campus.
Choose your company carefully
If like me, you are used to running with wild people and have had a less than conventional life. You are going to be drawn to the ‘Rebels’ or the
‘Misfits’. They are the ones that you feel comfortable with after all. They do not judge you. They do the same things as you so you fit in.
This maybe something that appeals to you, but if you are serious about fixing your life, you need to be very picky about your company. Finding people who have the same interests as the person you want to be and not the current person you are is very important to staying on track.
Spend time alone
Spending time alone is essential to hearing yourself. When you do this, you find out what you really want in your life. Opinions from other people are not influencing you on account of them being absent.
In solitude not only do we hear ourselves, but we also understand a lot about ourselves. A Chinese Proverb said, “Humans have three faces, the first we show to the other world, the second we show to close friends and family and the third, no one sees it, but us.”
In order for you to get to know this face that no one else sees, spend time with yourself.
Pick up a sport
I believe that the body, mind and soul are all connected. If your mind is out of sorts, you can work on your body and soul and your mind would sort itself out as a side effect. Or at least, this is how it worked for me. I started my yoga practice again and also started swimming after years of disregard.
The focus on the sport helped free my mind from the constant worry of, “Will I mess this up and go back to my old ways?”
Slowly, not only did I get physically stronger but my mind did too. Fitness and taking care of my body became a priority; hence it resulted in me taking care of what I put in my body, unlike before.
These three very simple tips and the fact that I was in TU bearing the responsibility of a student, helped. I am far from perfect but I am also far away from where I was when I first stepped foot on the campus grounds.
The point of sharing this with you is for you to understand that, “Every sinner does have a future and every saint a past.”
At some point of my life, I was in the deepest depths of despair, I fought and I came out of it and I am at a point where a monumental change is going to take place in my life. After I finish at TU in the next two weeks, I am going to Sri Lanka to produce my very own television show. If I can do it, so can you.
Parties, copious amounts of alcohol and even recreational drugs were a part of my life. I was abusing my life and myself. I worked just to be able to afford a party fix just so I could be in a state of extreme inebriation, in the hopes that I would not have to face reality.
Not only did I abuse myself, I was in an abusive marriage. I wish I could say that the abuse was just verbal; unfortunately it was physical too and many times of that year I sported black eyes. During a fight with my ex-husband, he even tried to push a cupboard on top of me.
I could not make it to work; as a television presenter and model, how I looked played a massive part in the job. Four years ago, at the age of 21, I was essentially broke, barely educated, hardly working, getting divorced and on a fast downward spiral.
Today, I am in my last two weeks in University. Soon, I will have a double major of Broadcasting and Journalism under my belt.
Here are my tips on how to turn your life around on campus.
Choose your company carefully
If like me, you are used to running with wild people and have had a less than conventional life. You are going to be drawn to the ‘Rebels’ or the
‘Misfits’. They are the ones that you feel comfortable with after all. They do not judge you. They do the same things as you so you fit in.
This maybe something that appeals to you, but if you are serious about fixing your life, you need to be very picky about your company. Finding people who have the same interests as the person you want to be and not the current person you are is very important to staying on track.
Spend time alone
Spending time alone is essential to hearing yourself. When you do this, you find out what you really want in your life. Opinions from other people are not influencing you on account of them being absent.
In solitude not only do we hear ourselves, but we also understand a lot about ourselves. A Chinese Proverb said, “Humans have three faces, the first we show to the other world, the second we show to close friends and family and the third, no one sees it, but us.”
In order for you to get to know this face that no one else sees, spend time with yourself.
Pick up a sport
I believe that the body, mind and soul are all connected. If your mind is out of sorts, you can work on your body and soul and your mind would sort itself out as a side effect. Or at least, this is how it worked for me. I started my yoga practice again and also started swimming after years of disregard.
The focus on the sport helped free my mind from the constant worry of, “Will I mess this up and go back to my old ways?”
Slowly, not only did I get physically stronger but my mind did too. Fitness and taking care of my body became a priority; hence it resulted in me taking care of what I put in my body, unlike before.
These three very simple tips and the fact that I was in TU bearing the responsibility of a student, helped. I am far from perfect but I am also far away from where I was when I first stepped foot on the campus grounds.
The point of sharing this with you is for you to understand that, “Every sinner does have a future and every saint a past.”
At some point of my life, I was in the deepest depths of despair, I fought and I came out of it and I am at a point where a monumental change is going to take place in my life. After I finish at TU in the next two weeks, I am going to Sri Lanka to produce my very own television show. If I can do it, so can you.