Personal Narrative: Becca's Life

The car was packed with everything she could fit into the trunk of her mother’s vehicle, and soon enough Becca was driving through her neighborhood in Shelburne Falls, the town she had lived in her entire life, anxiously beginning her freshmen year as a Health, Wellness and Occupational Studies major at the University of New England. As she drove down the back roads she knew so well, she could not help but think back on all she was leaving behind. Her quiet home amongst farmland, the bed she collapsed in each time she had a bad day, her costumes and shoes from her fifteen year dance career, pictures and clothes and the four bedroom walls that had provided her comfort for the entirety of her life. Nerves took over her thoughts and as the drive …show more content…
alarm, a noise she has already grown to despise in just three short weeks at school. As she stretches to wake up, her mind drifts back to her senior year, when she was awoken by her mother rather than an obnoxious beep that always seems to interrupt her in her deepest sleep. Instead of heading downstairs for homemade pancakes, she puts her feet on the cold floor and walks down the hall to the shared bathroom. After getting ready and grabbing breakfast from the dining hall, Becca heads to class which occupies her day until eleven when she goes back to her room to spend the remainder of the day studying and completing homework assignments. Classes keep Becca interested, especially since she knows they are leading her to her long term goal, which is to become an occupational therapist. Part of what determines life satisfaction is how time is spent and research has shown that those who have higher levels of well-being feel as though they are achieving goals, even if they are only short term (Matuska & Christiansen, …show more content…
13). Supportive relationships also correlate with a reduced risk for mental health disorders and even chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease. Research has shown that people who are content with their social relations generally are less sick and are better able to handle stressful situations. Feeling physically safe also plays a key role in feeling balanced as discussed in dimension one of the Model of Lifestyle Balance. Without this feeling of security it is difficult to focus on other occupations that bring meaning to ones’ life (Matuska & Christiansen, 2008). For Becca, feeling safe has come relatively easily at UNE as she has grown very close with her roommates. Through them, she has met other students and is developing relationships with them as well helping to extend her social network. Each day, she calls home to talk to her parents who she has remained very close with since she left home. She finds that talking to them helps to calm her nerves, make her feel more at home and reduces her stress level. These social relationships and interactions almost serve as an outlet, critical for the maintenance of Beccas’ happiness at school. If she did not have her friends or her parents, she would feel as though she had no one to go