Alex Z.
Photography by Emma Kraus
If you’re reading this, this too shall pass.
Every trial and tribulation thrown at you also presents an opportunity to learn and grow from the ebbs and flows in the ocean of life.
Some days the water sits as still as a mirror; you find yourself paddle boarding seamlessly through. Each stroke glides effortlessly, your ocean is filled with peace and tranquility.
Perhaps you feel like you can see things with a newfound clarity. You have all this undisturbed space to explore your curiosities, stretch your creativity, and bathe in joy. Last August I moved to Kigali, Rwanda for a research fellowship year and found an oasis of professional and personal development. It was a much-needed reprieve after a three-year crucible of medical school. Rwanda gave me the space to grow from all that I had learned.
Other days you find yourself in entirely different waters. You may spot a storm brewing in the horizon, or unexpectedly get caught in one without warning. Lightning rips apart the sky. Waves twenty, thirty feet high wreak havoc on your headspace as you struggle to stay afloat. Even the simple act of breathing can cause pain as the torrents thrash you around. A few weeks ago my grandmother suffered a large brain bleed, earning herself a bed in the surgical intensive care unit. I weathered the storm with skills I acquired both in and out of school, facilitating family conversations on goals of care and setting realistic expectations for my father and his siblings.
You will grow and evolve and become stronger for having endured the storm. Remember that help is just an arm’s reach away, even if you cannot see it through the downpour. You can always talk to someone, take a long walk, dive into a book, engage in a physical activity, create something new, commit to a distraction-free night of sleep. These lifebuoys are tools that will help you stay afloat and can sometimes even quell the storm itself.
A personal tool of mine has been mindfulness and meditation. The Headspace app (free for all BU students) helps keep me afloat both in calm waters and stormy seas. When I spot a storm on the horizon, taking the time to slow down and cultivating these three tenets can do wonders:
1. Silence. Giving you room to listen.
2. Stillness. Giving you room to feel.
3. Spaciousness. Just giving you room.
Practicing mindfulness is like donning scuba gear to explore the depths of my headspace. It has created space for introspection, from which a great deal of self-help can arise. Although we cannot control the waves, we can certainly learn how to ride them.
And remember,
This too shall pass.
Alex Z., Boston University
Free resources available to BU students that Alex Z. found extremely helpful:
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