By: Hannah Scott
Do you remember the stress of being an adolescent and having the pressure of doing well in school? Have you ever sat at your desk in class and gotten upset at a bad test grade?
Studies conducted by Research.com show that three-quarters (75%) of American high schoolers and half of the middle schoolers described themselves as “often or always feeling stressed” by schoolwork. That is a massive number of people dealing with similar problems around academics.
Despite its prevalence, these struggles can still feel isolating. It’s not uncommon to feel like everyone else is just naturally smarter than you. Dr. Olivia West, also called Dr. O, knows these struggles well.
“I never felt smart enough for college, which is why I went into the military. None of my family had ever attended college, and I didn’t feel that I was smart enough due to my learning disabilities.”
Now, Dr. O holds a Ph.D. in International Psychology and is an advocate, author, coach, consultant, Licensed Professional Counselor, and hypnotherapist who overcame those doubts and flourished anyway.
Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses, different starting points, and different endpoints. However, in the United States of America, children are required to receive an education until around the age of 18. It can be public, private, home-schooling, virtual, or other avenues, but it is mandatory.
Since this occurs typically in the beginning years of people’s lives, many feel as though if they cannot do well in school, they will never be able to do well in life. That is simply not the case.
“I did not know my path in life would lead me to where I am today. However, I will say that I believe my experience before going to college, such as in law enforcement and military, has also shaped my current work. In both fields, I was exposed to military trauma, violence, crime-related trauma, etc. which has shaped how I respond, care, and treat my clients with respect and compassion. It helps me to relate to military, race, and sex-based trauma, natural disasters, police brutality, famine, crime/violence, death, etc and how to speak about these topics as an expert consultant for news and media outlets, law enforcement agencies, organizations, schools, and universities, as well as a expert trainer and speaker on a wide range of topics that I can personally relate to,” says Dr. O.
Dr. O is the founder of Out of the Box Counseling, Coaching, & Consulting. They provide a variety of services, including professional development coaching and career coaching. With Personal Development Coaching, you’ll find qualified coaches ready to boost your development in more ways than one, targeting personal, professional, spiritual, and social areas for well-rounded life advancement.
A Career Coach provides clients with professional support, such as strategies, tools, and resources, to successfully navigate academics and entrepreneurship while encouraging them to become more proactive and take charge of their academic or work lives.
It’s never too late to take charge of your life and make a change. So, if you are currently struggling with your education or did in the past, know that it is not the only way to be successful in life.
Published by: Holy Minoza
