Coping At Taylor's
“Hello humans!” Dr. Adnan greeted the new students from the Jan 2010 intake cheerfully as they entered the Beta Theatre. They were there to hear a talk entitled “Coping at Taylor’s”. Organized to give the new students advice on how to cope with college life, a talk like this could easily be a bore to them.
We all know how tough it is to sit through a talk or lecture which absolutely bores you. It’s like a visit to the dentist for people who hate dental check-ups – you Wish it would be magically over in the blink of an eye!
Well, to my pleasant surprise, the talk given by Dr. Adnan was refreshing and humourous. Dr. Adnan is a clinical psychologist and is also the Head of the Counselling & Psychological Services Centre (CPSC) at Taylor’s University College. He obtained his PhD and Masters in Suicidology in the United States. CPSC provides psychological services to all Taylor’s students.
Dr. Adnan spoke on the differences between high school life and college life, successfully coping with college and also touched on safety issues when living in Kuala Lumpur City. He started the session by singling out different students, asking them personal questions, injecting humour into his questions and at the same time making the students feel comfortable around him. Questions asked were what the students aspired to be, what their concerns about their program were, where they were from, etc. He was interactive, witty and had a voice that was a mixture of a Kelantanese and US English accent.
Well, here are a few of the many pointers from his talk for the new students:
One illustration I found interesting was the pencil illustration. It is an old, simple illustration that everyone had heard of, but Dr. Adnan interpreted it in a different way. Here it is:
If you tie many pencils up together in a bunch, you find that it is almost impossible for you to break the pencils into half. However, if you separate the pencils and single them out one by one, it is very easy for you to break the one pencil into half.
I have always been taught that the lesson learnt from this illustration is that unity amongst a group of people is very important. United we stand, divided we fall. However, in Dr. Adnan’s interpretation, the pencils represented tasks and assignments in life. When a huge task seems almost impossible to accomplish, separate and break the task up into smaller tasks. It will be easier to accomplish huge things by taking a small step at a time, rather than a huge step all at once.
To the new students: Hope you all have a ball settling down in Taylor’s College! Welcome, and all the best to you!
By SARAH TANN YANN JIA
We all know how tough it is to sit through a talk or lecture which absolutely bores you. It’s like a visit to the dentist for people who hate dental check-ups – you Wish it would be magically over in the blink of an eye!
Well, to my pleasant surprise, the talk given by Dr. Adnan was refreshing and humourous. Dr. Adnan is a clinical psychologist and is also the Head of the Counselling & Psychological Services Centre (CPSC) at Taylor’s University College. He obtained his PhD and Masters in Suicidology in the United States. CPSC provides psychological services to all Taylor’s students.
Dr. Adnan spoke on the differences between high school life and college life, successfully coping with college and also touched on safety issues when living in Kuala Lumpur City. He started the session by singling out different students, asking them personal questions, injecting humour into his questions and at the same time making the students feel comfortable around him. Questions asked were what the students aspired to be, what their concerns about their program were, where they were from, etc. He was interactive, witty and had a voice that was a mixture of a Kelantanese and US English accent.
Well, here are a few of the many pointers from his talk for the new students:
- College is a bigger place with lots of freedom, lots of opportunities, but both the new found freedom and opportunities come with a cost and new responsibilities.
- Set short term, intermediate and long term goals. Balance your life and always prioritize.
- Break huge tasks up into small manageable tasks.
- Manage time well for it can be your best friend or your worst enemy.
- Be assertive, use support and get involved in college activities.
- Malaysians have very polite ways of being rude. Do NOT take safety for granted anywhere you go.
One illustration I found interesting was the pencil illustration. It is an old, simple illustration that everyone had heard of, but Dr. Adnan interpreted it in a different way. Here it is:
If you tie many pencils up together in a bunch, you find that it is almost impossible for you to break the pencils into half. However, if you separate the pencils and single them out one by one, it is very easy for you to break the one pencil into half.
I have always been taught that the lesson learnt from this illustration is that unity amongst a group of people is very important. United we stand, divided we fall. However, in Dr. Adnan’s interpretation, the pencils represented tasks and assignments in life. When a huge task seems almost impossible to accomplish, separate and break the task up into smaller tasks. It will be easier to accomplish huge things by taking a small step at a time, rather than a huge step all at once.
To the new students: Hope you all have a ball settling down in Taylor’s College! Welcome, and all the best to you!
By SARAH TANN YANN JIA
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