Laura Persichetti: Advice to current DrEds

• Take the time to reflect. You only learn as much as you are willing to go deep.

• Play without any consideration of being judged. Just fully allow yourself to explore your body, your emotions, your creativity and you- give yourself this freedom and truly discover the joy in that.

• Don't take yourself or school so seriously- no one checks your grades later. My lowest grades were in child psychology and adolescent psychology- now I work in this field!

• Enjoy pizza at Sam's Pizzeria!

• Meet friends outside of the drama program.

• Travel.

• Don't be afraid to be alone or explore who you are. People come and go. Stress will come and go. Places will change- but you are the only part of your life that is consistently there. Connect to your heart beat and learn to be your best friend instead of your biggest critic.

• Don't wait till last minute. You have so much time to get everything done, you just have to plan it out. Ignoring this piece of advice and procrastinating anyway is part of being a student, but you'll have to deal with the consequence of that, which is another ball of unnecessary stress.

• Be a TA at some point.

• Appreciate your professors but also remember they are human too, so appreciate that too and get to know them.

• Keep the drama in the classroom and let things go.

• Take care of your physical body. Wow do I ever wish i did this in university. Drink more water than alcohol.

• Windsor is not the whole world so make sure you get out and explore.

• Keep a journal even when you don't have to submit reflections anymore.

• Enjoy seeing your friends every day.

• Get a fun job during university so you get a break from university.

• Give yourself time to rest and sleep, but not as an excuse to avoid doing something else, but instead to self-nurture yourself and rejuvenate.

• Schedule to do things that you love to do and bring you joy.

• If you're struggling, reach out to someone. There are so many services and strategies that exist to make life just a little bit easier.

• Believe in yourself. And I really, truly mean believe in yourself. You can do anything you set your mind to. It might take an extra step or unfold in a different way than you anticipated but you have the power to create anything you want. Enjoy exploring your creativity through DRED and allow it to continue to flourish afterwards.

• Always, always do work that you love. Life is too short for any other option.

• Do something kind today. Then if you feel inspired to contribute to 7 billion good deeds post it to Instagram or YouTube with the hashtag #gooddeedsproject (Then visit the website to view it on the Good Deeds Feed at www.gooddeedsmovement.com!)

If you need any support, reach out!

www.lauralouise.ca