It has been a while since I last posted anything on here. I really don't have mood and honestly speaking, time. Running here and there, juggling with different hats sometimes could be very overwhelming yet fulfilling. I have never pictured my undergraduate experiences could be so intriguing as what I have now. Alhamdulillah praise be to Allah. In this entry, I would like to share some of my random hunch on stuffs, including my latest excitement: research assistant position.
**** Crimson CORPS ****
Somewhat vague on the organization name, Crimson CORPS is one of the counseling training programs under Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) in Indiana University. Its main objective is to train and to supervise selected undergraduate candidates who are interested in peer-to-peer supports and outreaching programs on campus. Members are supervised and monitored by accredited counselor who earned Master's degree or PhD in either Counseling Psychology or Social Work. It is one of its own, and aimed to bridge the relationship between counselors and students because research shown that students would prefer to talk to their peers than to counselors when they happened to have problems. What we are trying to do is to be a good listener, not a problem solver, to our friends and colleagues.
Crimson CORPS organizes numerous training programs and outreach programs throughout the year. One of the most prominent outreach programs is Depression Screening test at which we, the members, would give out a set of questionnaires to students on campus and kindly ask them to rate different prompts based on what they feel at that moment. Surprisingly, there are so many people whom we observed to be relax and laid back reported to be very depressed or mildly depressed. Some of them even checked suicidal thoughts, too! That's something serious and shocking to me, knowing the fact there are so many people out there who is suffering from depression. Another component of that screening is to eliminate stigmatized thoughts about mental health issues like depression, hypertension, ADHD, bipolar disorder, and many more. We told the respondents that our program is not just for them, but also their friends and colleagues who are suffering from mental healths issues and we asked the respondents to refer them to CAPS.
Crimson CORPS also serves as a safe based for me to express my concerns and thoughts about different things. In a smaller group (task team), we can practice our skills and discuss areas at which we could improve, without the fear of being judge. Well I guess great minds think alike! Many people wonder if Crimson CORPS is only open for Psychology major, and the answer for that would be nope. We open the application every year for almost everybody who is interested in this issue of mental health awareness. In fact, we even have Economics, Biochemistry, and Mathematics majors joining us. So, join us people!!! Lols.
**** Random ****
Well, life is hard and sometimes you might drown into the ocean of problems and difficulties. You can't tell when I was having tough moments of my life, especially living in a foreign country as USA, man it is difficult. But if we're strong enough, we'll endure and succeed. Alhamdulillah, ever since I first arrived in the States, I have been branching out and learned to adapt with the natives. It helps me a lot, especially when you need someone to proofread your papers! The only advice is to not fear talking to people and asking for help if you need them. I was born with certain features - no shy (when it comes to learning) and talkative - that help me endure with those difficulties. Barrier of language is unavoidable since English isn't my first language, but that is not the reason to not triumph. Just a little advice, sometimes you have to give up your shyness and fear of being judged in order to get something bigger: knowledge. Know that it's okay to make mistakes because from them you learned your lessons, inshaAllah.
**** Research Assistant Position ****
Alhamdulillah, Allah gave me this opportunity to be working in the Socially Situated Cognition Lab under the supervision of Dr. Eliot Smith, soon. I have been accepted quite unexpectedly because Dr. Smith's lab is very competitive in the field of Social Psychology and frankly speaking, I was overwhelmingly anxious and nervous. His research interests focus on how people observe themselves (in-group) and others (out-group), accessing them positively and negatively, and behave differently toward them. This gauged my attention the first time I perused the website. Thinking about my long-term goal which is to be in Counseling Psychology program in the United States, I know that this research would better equip me with the knowledge of cross-cultural ideas and personal biases. I know people don't take Psychology seriously, but I truly value the field of studies because the significance that it would impact people with.
So, talking about the position, I'd start working as a volunteer this semester (November 10) helping one of the graduate students, Steven Sherrin on his newly launched project on how our bodies give information to people to act in a positive or negative ways. I will be instructing participants, running the experiments, coding data, and doing some write up. And next Spring and Fall, I will be doing all that with course credits counted into my graduation. InshaAllah I can do it. I would just want to take this opportunity to encourage people out there to grab any potential opportunities that lie beneath you. Don't be afraid to do something different because that would help to increase your merits in your future career. I hope this entry could open our eyes in viewing the world differently and to not be afraid of the what you have. Plus, the world needs you in many shapes, ways, and forms.
Love muah muah,
azzahrawifazuan
