Liam is one of the recipients of the Attitude Trust Communication Scholarship. In this blog, he writes about the challenges he's faced at University and what's got him through.
Of all the life skills necessary in order to succeed, perseverance is the most important. It's not a quality that can be taught in the classroom, it is something that comes from within. The academic challenges I have faced throughout the year have instilled in me a great appreciation of the need to back yourself in order to achieve.
At the start of my studies at the New Zealand Broadcasting school in 2017, I knew what to expect in terms of practical assessments and requirements. Of course, as most people know, imagining something and doing something are two completely different things.
So, when I came to the biggest hurdle of the year, namely Newsweeks, I was soon to learn the necessity of self-belief and perseverance.
Newsweeks involved sourcing and writing stories for radio bulletins during the first four weeks, as well as for online publishing during the last week. It involved amassing a portfolio of stories covering specific subjects. The skills we needed to prepare for Newsweeks were drilled into the class earlier in the year but the constant demand for stories over several weeks was difficult to picture until it was undertaken.
The first week of Newsweeks wasn’t too stressful or difficult, as we were working on an upward scale of two bulletins a day, then three, then four until we reached six bulletins a day. By the second week I was starting to feel more and more pressure to keep up my story output on a variety of subjects ranging from local body stories, to emergency stories and Court stories.
It was at this point I faced the biggest test of endurance I have ever faced in my education so far. It was a must pass, in order to pass the course and the pressure led me to doubt myself and my ability to get through Newsweeks.
From the third week on however, I pushed myself mentally to give every day and every story my all and to channel the pressure I was feeling, into strength.
Though it was probably the longest five weeks of my life, the determination to back myself and persevere at maintaining and improving my work output, was enough for me to get through Newsweeks and emerge stronger and more confident. The experience of being able to channel focus and confidence to overcome fear and doubt, is something I feel will be an invaluable asset to draw upon, wherever I end up in life.
I now believe firmly in the power of mind over matter and understand the importance of self-belief and perseverance in getting through tough challenges or tests. The feeling of satisfaction and pride after successfully getting through or achieving something that you initially had serious doubts about, is one of the best feelings you can get in life. I’m pleased to say that I have learnt the crucial life skill of perseverance in the face of adversity.
