Being trendy, pretty, smart, a good student, sporty, a party animal, cool, special, always online (facebook), experienced in work and travelling and so on... These are all things which a student has to be today.
There are lots of students who lose themselves by doing things which “people just do today”. They forget their own preferences and don’t know what they really want to do in their life. It is often very difficult to know limits and boundaries especially when a person is in a new environment.
With all these social expectations to achieve, students may be driven to search for “non-thinking-times” maybe by being tempted to drink alcohol or even worse being tempted to experiment with drugs. Family, friends, self-doubts or unachievable goals can be a compelling reason to escape in what can be addictive pastimes.
The question is, how can we get students to speak about their health and social care concerns? It takes a lot of courage to speak about uncomfortable topics. So there should be a way to encourage students to say what they’re thinking. This might also be an opportunity to find other people who struggle with similar problems.
The Portsmouth LINk Blog is an internet resource which provides students (and all residents of Portsmouth) with a forum to discuss health and social care issues they face. This gives students the opportunity to influence health and social care services which in turn might improve those services which support students.
Students need a forum where they can speak about their health and social care concerns without being judged. They need people to help them make the best of their situation by listening, empathizing and taking forward the issues which are important to students. The Local Involvement Network (LINk) is such a forum and will provide for as much participation and involvement as a student has time for.
But you should never forget: Change is only possible if you want to change something in your own right. Article written by Lucia Pescatore.
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