Student Voices: A High-Schooler’s Perspective Channeling Your Emotions

Many different and thought-proving things and events go on in the typical human’s day. Among these are emotionally-grasping events, stuff that will reach out to your deepest emotions. While anger and sadness are two of the most aggravating and negative emotions that typically go on in our daily lives, it is still important to remember that they’re not the only emotions to remember to channel. We have to express all our feelings, and that means all of them, for the most positive lifestyle available — and in this blog article, I aim to help you do that.

First of all, why is it important to express yourself and what’s inside you? Isn’t it okay to stay secretive, hold all of yourself inside you? That is definitely not true. I read somewhere, “The anger that warms your heart now will leave you cold in the future.” and it really stuck with me. In fact, it’s one of the reasons that pushed me to write this article. Storing any kind of feeling or emotion, no matter how deep or how light it is will only lead to your downfall: anger to malice, sadness to depression, even happiness to ecstasy and probably greed. It’s important to let yourself out and be free, taking everything lightweight while fighting the world.

There are many ways to do this, and I hope that these words that I will write now will aid even one person in expressing themselves.

One, of course, is to breathe. When stressed or provoked, always remember to not act out of your heart, but rather by your mind. Sometimes, emotions reduce the oxygen level in our brain, which leads to the failing to make proper decisions. Therefore, it’s always important to compose yourself and to breathe. Whether you do this in small successions and easy airspaces, or whether you’d like to go extensive and take this a step further by putting time off for meditation. That’s a good way to calm yourself and to breathe, and that’s our number one goal here.

Two, graphic or literary media. This refers to: in the graphical area, drawings, paintings, coloring, art, graphic design, photography, whatever; and in the literary segment, it means the writing or expressing yourself through works such as poems, stories, passages, vignettes, and others. This is a personal favorite for me, and I encourage anyone to try it, whether you have any or no talent in drawing or creating. I promise you, something good always comes out of this.

Three, exercising. By channeling your emotions through action and activity, you’re giving your brain a better distraction: stimulation. This leads you to using your emotions, whether negative or positive, to proper exercise, which is another great thing. Not only is there one benefit here, which is the becoming free of your abstract heart, but rather since there are many physical improvements that you will see.

I’ve only given three, but that’s because expression is different for everyone. There’s no point in listing all infinite possible solutions with the knowledge that the person reading this is probably going to pursuit another way when it comes to channeling, and that’s totally okay! In fact, I encourage it. Branch out from these three possible solutions. Build from them, or take them from the base, just be sure to do so before you do something you’ll regret. Channeling and expressing your emotions isn’t just for the people around you, but rather for you, and your especially special mental health. I’ve talked about mental health in a previous blog post, so I guess this blog is just a small sector of what mental health has to offer. In any case, until next blog now! —

Jon Zaccary C. Regala, Grade 10

Shayan Fareed

Shayan Fareed

Shayan Fareed is an Undergraduate Ambassador for StEPS who recently graduated from Warwick Business School with a BSC in Management. Prior to that, he completed his A Levels at the prestigious Aitchison College. During his time at the University of Warwick, Shayan cherished the vibrant campus life and considered it his home for the past three years, leaving behind fond memories as he moves on to new endeavors.

Faiza Omar

Faiza Omer

Faiza Omer has a Masters in Finance from Punjab University. She is a highly experienced Communication Coordinator with excellent leadership and project management skills. She is skilled in crafting engaging content for various platforms and managing internal and external communications. Faiza has received several certificates and awards, demonstrating her proficiency in teamwork, customer service, and administrative expertise. As Communication Coordinator at StEPS, she successfully leads and manages multiple client projects. Prior to this, she worked at DNATA Emirates Group, providing passenger services and coordinating flight operations.

Rida Fatima

Rida Fatima

With experience in education management and administration, Rida takes the lead in handling university applications and follow-up protocols.

Wasim Hashmi Syed

Wasim Hashmi Syed

Mr Wasim Hashmi Syed, Senior Advisor, Professional Development and Transnational Education.Mr Wasim Hashmi Syed has over twenty years of visionary experience in initiating and leading educational initiatives with tangible outcomes, creating international linkages, and providing development opportunities for Pakistani youth under the country’s vision 2025. He has been involved in various government and foreign-funded projects, including monitoring research and development projects in IT and engineering.

As an Advisor and Consultant at the Higher Education Commission (HEC), he managed programs aimed at increasing the number of PhD faculty, providing scholarships for students, and fostering collaboration with foreign universities. Additionally, he oversaw the monitoring of research and development projects and played a key role in policy development for higher education institutions. He established collaboration with  more than 30 international foreign universities and organizations. He played a significant role in launching and overseeing scholarship programs and initiatives related to information and communication technology.

He also served as an Advisor International Linkages at Pak-Austria Fachhochschule Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology Haripur, he had engaged in obtaining charter for Institute from HEC and PEC.

In his role as General Manager Monitoring/Projects at the National ICT R&D Funds (IGNITE), he monitored numerous technical projects funded by academia and local industry.

Mr. Hashmi obtained his Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from University of Engineering Technology Lahore. He also holds MS in Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management, from the University of Louisville Kentucky USA, and a Ph.D. (in progress) in Transport Engineering University of Hasselt Belgium.

Zeeshan Riaz

Zeeshan Riaz

Zeeshan Riaz is an internationally experienced consultant with over 25 years of proven track record with comprehensive experience of advising corporate, higher education, consulting and training institutions.

Zeeshan leads the business development, international brand building and student recruitment initiative in the region for StEPS partner institutes.

Zeeshan has extensive experience in corporate strategy and development in Europe, Middle East and Asia, working in a range of industries with extensive involvement in Green-Field and Public & Private partnership development projects.

Which provides a unique platform with in-depth knowledge of the global job market to advice on career growth and educational pathways for professionals and students.

After primary education from Smedstad School in Oslo, Norway, he pursued higher education from Norway, Pakistan and UK in Computer Science with Business Management followed by MBA specialising in marketing.

He is a UK certified Clinical Therapist and British Council certified Trainer of Trainers (TOT).

Saima Asghar Riaz

Saima is a TESOL qualified Warwick Alumna, with over two decades of experience in student counseling, teaching, teacher training, and English language assessment. She has been representing her alma mater for international student admissions since 1998, and has successfully supported hundreds of students with their university, scholarship and job applications globally. As a certified DiSC and ‘How Women Rise’ coach, she supports professionals in bringing about workplace improvements through behavioral change.

Saima is a British Council trained and certified IELTS professional and has taught English at The University of Warwick, Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Kinnaird College for Women, and the Virtual University of Pakistan. She has trained educational professionals at Kinnaird College, Lahore College for Women University (LCWU) and the Ali Institute of Education, and has been a consultant trainer for the Punjab Judicial Academy for development of soft skills of district judiciary and judicial staff of the Lahore High Court.

With extensive experience in education management and administration, Saima has been the Founding Director for the Directorate of Faculty Development & Internationalisation (DFDI) at LCWU, and successfully launched a Faculty Development Centre as well as Pakistan’s first university-level mandatory Citizenship programme in collaboration with the British Council. She was thus responsible for supporting the enhancement of teaching and research capability of Asia’s largest women’s university, creating linkages with local and international partners, enabling students in social entrepreneurship projects, and raising the university profile on an international academic platform.

She is a member of the board of Advisors at the Pakistani Schools in Fujairah and Ras Alkhaimah and of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital Lahore.