Hello from Sanshika

I am Sanshika Bhardwaj in S5 and studying at Balfron High School.

I am honoured to be the new Vice President and Wellbeing Officer of the Junior VMS. I am an aspiring medic and have taken Higher Human Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Maths and English.

Some of my pass-time hobbies to further develop my wellbeing and skills are Judo and playing my tin whistle.

I am Shraddha Meti and am currently in S5 at Mearns Castle High School. I am so delighted to say that I am one of the new wellbeing officers for the Junior Virtual Medical Society!

The subjects that I am studying are Higher: Maths, English, Biology, Chemistry and Geography and I am an aspiring medic!

In my spare time to improve my wellbeing and de-stress from work I like to play piano and also do Karate.

During the pandemic, the importance of wellbeing has increased substantially and now more than ever it is important to look after ourselves both physically and mentally.

Wellbeing is important to us because of the uncertainty that the pandemic has posed to the application process such as exams being cancelled, and so it’s significant to focus on wellbeing to make the most out of our day and stay positive.

What we have done to push ourselves out of our comfort zone – Shraddha

Pushing myself out of my comfort zone was a big step for me and I believe this is extremely relatable to other people as well.

However, once I was out there, I realised that I really enjoyed it and completely regretted my previous actions of shielding myself with my comfort zone.

In order to do this, I first started answering and asking questions in class, this was something very small but looking back at it, this actually helped me with my confidence a lot and helped me to overcome the thought of people judging me.

I then started to play piano for wider target audiences, such as concerts that have 200 or 300 people attending.

My parents were always the ones that encouraged me to do so and so the first time doing it, I was disappointed to say the least as to why I was always stopping myself from performing.

Now I am so eager to play for concerts and orchestras and this has helped me to build my confidence and teamworking skills, whilst also allowing me to thoroughly enjoy the process and I owe it all to my parents.

Thinking of the advantages that these experiences have brought me, I have learnt to never give up an opportunity that is in front of you because there is always something that you will gain from it.

After further consideration, I wanted to do something on a national level, this is when I signed up to become a committee member for the Virtual Medic Society.

Here I am!

It’s great to see how far I have come by simply taking small steps to reach this point.

What we have done to push ourselves out of our comfort zone – Sanshika 

I used to love my comfort zone – no lying there. However, now my perception of comfort zones has changed. I remember even until S2, I was petrified of saying anything in class I was worried about being judged or getting my answer wrong.

I was part of the choir but always wanted to stand at the back where no one could hear or see me. I remember sitting down with my parents and them explaining to me the importance of confidence and developing as an individual. I am incredibly close to my parents and that talk made me realise that I was missing out on so much.

Rather than enjoying the moment and learning from my mistakes, I was hiding away from my fear of being wrong or losing. My mother and I then looked for breathing exercises which really worked for me and we worked on yoga which helped to stop overthinking and focus on one thing at one point.

Once developing my mindset further, I decided to join my region’s swim team (something I had been disregarding for many months) and I also ended up joining my school’s debating club.

Now being one of the more senior pupils at debating I take place in competitions and focus more on the argument rather than noting how many people are at the venue.

This journey has had many epiphanies so far. I have realised that there is so much more to me than the scare to leave my comfort zone. And this realisation would not have been possible without my parents!

We really hope that we can bring you are own personal insights and the importance of physical and mental wellbeing through these blogs. We will also provide activities and opportunities for you to develop your own skills while developing your health so make sure you look out for them!

We can’t wait to work with you all to make the VMS an even more positive place and for all of us to develop as better future medic, dentists and vets.

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