Meadow Wind is a second-year psychology student at the University of Maine. She has lived in many places but has lived in Rumford, Maine the longest.
“It’s a small, rural town surrounded by plenty of hiking trails and home to the ski resort Black Mountain,” Wind said.
The shift from small-town life to a campus of 10,000 students has been an interesting change for her. What she finds most challenging of all is the transportation system.
“The transportation system in this area is horrible. Now that I have a car, it’s easy to get around, but without one it was difficult to enjoy the area, given that there’s not much to do unless you travel to Bangor. With that being said, I’m sure there’s plenty of stuff to do in Orono that I just haven’t done,” Wind said.
She mentions that she was not as involved on campus last year as much as she wanted to be.
“I’m trying to get more involved this year. I’ve joined a few clubs and try to go to many on-campus events, including sporting events,” Wind said. She feels that the school offers plenty for students to get involved.
Wind studying psychology at UMaine stems from the fact that she wants to become a psychiatrist.
“I chose to pursue psychology as my major because I am very interested in learning about how people’s minds work, as well as what treatment looks like for those who are struggling with mental illness,” Wind said.
The life of a psychology student can be stressful, and now that this is her second year, Wind has begun to experience the workload that comes with studying this type of science.
“As a psychology major, who is also in the Honors College, I spend most of my time reading and writing papers. Although, now that I have a lot of my foundational classes out of the way, I am taking more science-based classes that will have more of a variety of assignments,” Wind said.
Wind’s rigorous course load might look intense, but her passion for her major helps her during her studying.
“I enjoy learning information that is seemingly ‘common sense’ but actually isn’t. I enjoy learning about stereotypes and how to combat them in day-to-day life. Additionally, I am excited to begin to learn deeper science behind the brain and how to do good research,” Wind said. Her passion for both people and science will serve her well in her future career.
However, Wind’s passion for science isn’t the only thing helping her get through her classes.
“I combat stress by keeping extremely organized. Last year, I created a combined syllabus for all of my classes so that I knew exactly what was expected of me and due each day. This helped my brain not stress about forgetting to turn something in. I keep a planner on me at all times as well, just so that I can refer to what my daily schedule looks like,” Wind said.
Wind’s organization strategy goes well with her journaling hobby, which helps reduce stress for her as well.
When she has the time away from her busy schedule, Wind can be found decompressing by going to the gym and reading.
This time at UMaine will teach Wind valuable skills, both for her mental health and in her career. She has found useful ways of reducing stress and anxiety in her personal life as well as learned how to effectively disregard biases in her field. Students like Wind will help make the field of psychology exceptional and progressive. There is no doubt that Wind will be someone to watch once she graduates.
