In my first year, I heard about all the different BEST trainings BUAS provide. I always like to work on my development, and I thought this was a good way to gather feedback for the PCM course. Therefore, I signed up, but the sessions got cancelled due to a lack of participants. When my second year came around the corner, I decided to try again and sign in.

With a few nerves, I went to the first gathering of the fear of failure/how to deal with stress. When I entered the classroom, the room was packed with other students. It felt great to see that I was not the only one struggling with stress and fair of failure. It started off with an introduction. The lecturer told us all about what we can expect from the workshop, the time it would need from us and what the outcome could be. After that we got a great lecture from Nikki Polmer, she gave us a feeling of how she experienced stress and how she learned to deal with it. Nikki has an interesting story and I think a lot of students can relate to her so defiantly check her out! 

In the second meeting, we went more in dept and the group shrunk down to about half its size. Eventually, we ended up with about 6 people, at this point we could really go in dept. During these intimate meetings, we got to know about different ways to bend irrational thoughts into helpful thoughts. It was really nice to have these intimate meetings. In the end, I can say I got to know my fellow participants. Before every meeting, we had to do a small homework assignment. For example, write down your goals or make online quizzes.

During the weeks I participated in the trainings, I Definity got to know myself better. I was more conscious of things that brought energy or cost me energy. I am also more aware of my thoughts and I learned to bend negative thoughts into positive ones. We learned about different ways to cope with stress and learned the ones that would be fitted to me. During the end of 2020, I had some people telling me my posture changed, in their opinion I walked more with my chest forward and looked more confident. I worry less so I don’t have any annoying lingering thoughts that keep me awake at night. We only have one gathering left, and I’m really looking forward to hear and see my group members. In this meeting, everyone shares their progress and were celebrating the results while enjoying cake.

We all have to deal with stress for the following 50 years, with this training I learned tips and tools that I can rely on for the rest of my career. It is nice that I can take this experience with me to the next year of BUAS and these hours are also for the free elective program.

I would definitely recommend signing up! The trainings are available for all BUAS courses and I think it’s an addition to your time at BUAS. Want to learn about the BEST trainee I got? Read my previous article.