#Gophergrowth

[umnpfacsadmin-blog]

The purpose of Peer Facilitators at the University of Minnesota- Twin Cities is to assist in fostering a healthy, respectful community within the residence halls and throughout the university, by being an educational resource for well-being and growth. #seedforchange #gophergrowth #pfacs4lyfe

PFacs Retreat 2015

[umnpfacsheather]

Love Self-Compassion, Love Myself

Coming from a background where score is everything, I used to suffer from perfectionism. However, coming to the U switched me on a growth mindset. Living in a non-native and diverse environment, I know from the very first moment that not everything I do would be perfect, especially using english to communicate with others. That was the moment I started to accept my vulnerabilities. Instead of getting mad at myself for not doing things right, I now would sit down and gently tell myself I’m just not yet there and it’s okay :)

[umnpfacscarolyn-blog]

PFacs Planning Thoughts

What are the most important lessons you’ve learned about wellbeing?

Recently I’ve learned a lot a lot a lot.. a lot... a lot about well-being and how there are so many factors to it. The two biggest things I’ve been working on are doing things that make me really happy and at peace with myself and focusing on being proactive with things that I know stress me out. For example; I allowed myself to go home with my boyfriend this weekend, something I would never normally do because I’d be too worried about all the things that I’m not working on or putting off. I found, however, that I had such a great weekend and I was so happy that I’m in a way better state of mind to allow myself to work on everything in a way better mood and frame of mind. Letting myself focus on me and my happiness is a positive feedback practice because it influences other areas of my life positively. For being proactive about myself, I’ve been forcing myself to get non-homework tasks done between classes and it’s been fantastic for my sense of productivity, which also helps lower my stress levels.

How can you share that learning?

To share these wonderful new things I’ve learned, I’ve been helping my roommates and classmates to realize that 1.) they deserve to take care of themselves, like, we work. very. hard. and 2.) they are allowed to take small breaks or shift their focus for a bit because it can help them a ton. I try to give my friends examples to help them see how beneficial it is to really focus on themselves for a little bit.

[umnpfacskarin-blog]

Reflection

How was the event? What went well, what didn’t go so well?

 The event went well. Everyone loved the food, and the movie. The problem was that no one knew who we were, or why we were there. They were confused.

  What student feedback did you receive during/ after the event?

 Many people enjoyed it, and said thank you to us. They were all confused about who we were and why we were throwing the event.

 Share any advice you have for future/current peer facilitators who may encounter some similar obstacles?

 Create posters or flyers that say what we are, and why we are a thing. Maybe even the dates of our next events or contact information.

 What is one thing you appreciate about your building partner following the event?

 She stayed level headed, and was an amazing baker. She really did an amazing job and was an amazing partner.

What is one piece of constructive feedback you’d like to share with your building partner?

 I’d appreciate if we got there at the same time next time, because I feel bad I wasn’t there an hour early like you! You got so much done without me! (This is my fault as well, I was busy!)

[umnpfacscarolyn-blog]

October Event Reflection

The October event went really well; we were expecting it to fall apart to a degree because we felt really unprepared for it in terms of the supplies we had but the RD, CDC and Noelle really came through for us. We weren’t expecting many students to show up since we were unaware of how much advertising had happened but we were pleasantly surprised when residents not only showered up, but came early! They said that they found out through their CA’s so we’re assuming that the CA’s emailed hem and they may have also seen the poster in the lobby. The residents seemed really excited for their Bailey Hall t-shirts and they also enjoyed the cupcakes, snacks and movie.

The cupcakes and t-shirts were definitely the hit of the night since they went so well, but the actual incentivizing of the t-shirts was a bit mismatched because we didn’t have enough resources and groups/involvement planning for the event. It was encouraging, however, to hear residents discussing different groups that they were in and inviting each other to events.

If I were to give advice to future PFacs it would definitely be to plan for every possible thing that could happen in case there are no supplies or all the supplies just because it is very reassuring to have a backup plan. I would also say to plan t have multiple things/activities occurring because it can be hard to tell what people are really going to enjoy so if there are multiple activities then it is likely that residents will find something they enjoy.

My building partner, Karin, is absolutely awesome because we complement each other other so well and had a pretty good handle of things in terms of facilitating the actual event. I would say the only constructive criticism I could give her would to focus on staying calm during the event because she did seem a little nervous or anxious during it.