▶ BCM210 RESEARCH PRACTICES IN MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION
Once given the topic of university students, I instantly thought of myself and what really represents a university student. Being one myself, the first thought that came to mind was mental health — especially my own. In my opinion, I felt it was the most valid topic considering the fact that university life is and can be one of the most stressful events in a person’s livelihood since it determines your future career path as well as shapes you into the adult that you will soon become.
After discussing with my professor about my proposed topic, soon I began my research. With my own knowledge already in the back of my mind, I found that my presumptions were correct about mental health being a valid topic to be researching about — many of the findings that I found show that university students are the most prone to developing mental health issues. I admit I found it difficult to specifically research about what I wanted to look for because my professor told me to narrow down my focus as mental health was a very vast topic — there are just too many things that you can talk about and search about so I needed to narrow my focus.
I admit that procrastination was a big problem for me whilst trying to complete the tasks given to us when researching, as ironic as that sounds I still pushed through and found crucial information that I later incorporated into my group project. It got a lot more difficult when the pandemic hit and especially when it hit hard; I feel the most productive when I am not at home but because of the recent outbreak of the virus — it’s hindered my motivation and productivity. Nonetheless, my group and I still pushed through and coped with the circumstances during the panic in the city.
If ever another situation like this were to happen in the future, I would take into account previous events that had happened and work differently than I did before.
Jessica Pauline Camille Ablog Mercado 