This month, the renovations to Baycrest opened up new opportunities for co-op students.

With
the seventh floor being finally opened, there was a lot of work needed to be done. I like many
others, brought patients to the new floor and helped them unpack their clothes. I was given a list
of room numbers and asked to pick up each patient from their dormitory and move them to the
new floor. Later, I came to pick up their belongings to deliver it to them. After completing those
tasks, many of us helped the nurses set up the medical equipment and machinery near the
beds. This was done to ensure doctors have the right tools to help patients out at any time. We
were given instructions on how to assemble small parts, while the staff worked on building most
of it. I thought this was particularly exciting because I got a chance to explore new parts of the
hospital that were newly renovated. I also got to meet nurses and patients that I previously
hadn’t seen. I occasionally was delighted to have a chat with some of them and learn more
about their lives and how they felt about the new renovations. The coolest part I felt was the
experience I had helping assemble some of the machinery in the hospital. Although my job was
very small and didn’t really require much effort, I liked seeing internal components and how
each mechanism was being assembled. I felt this experience was very much needed especially
after the long months of having spent in the Occupational Health and Safety Office doing
paperwork and filing. I felt a little bored of doing the same tasks over and over again, and it was
nice to do something that was new and offered insight to other things in the hospital. I think it
was mainly the interactions with new people that made this job feel more entertaining. I really
learned a lot from the seniors and nurses during my time I spent working with them, like about
their hobbies, their careers and their personal life. Because of how much I enjoyed helping out
in the hospital, I think I will definitely try it out next time, especially if other renovations become
complete soon in Baycrest.

This experience really reminds me of the time I first started middle school. I was very introverted
and unused to seeing many unfamiliar faces. I did not make any friends in the first month and
felt lonelier and lonelier as the weeks past by. Without any company, I began to dislike school.
As I later discovered, this was the same with everyone. Many of the students were also having
difficulty finding friends because they were to scared to meet with new people. This reminds me
of my co-op experience. When I asked many of the patients how they felt about moving to the
second floor, they said they were worried about not getting along with their neighbours. In both
cases I find a recurring problem; that our instinct is to distance ourselves from those who we
aren’t familiar with. As I later learned midway through the year, I was too worried about the
possibility of finding a person who I’d never get along with. I eventually brought myself to
consider finding a new circle of friends in my new school. And sure enough, finding friends
wasn’t as much of a hassle as I originally expected. SImilarly, the patients at the hospital also
went through the same phases; they didn’t talk to their neighbours much at first, but eventually
grew lonely and finally learnt to get along with them. I tried to spend most of my time trying to
help them talk with each other. In the end, much to my surprise, my efforts really helped improve
their situation. Most of the patients said they were extremely surprised at how quickly they were
able to establish a mutual relationship in the short time being Thus, it goes without saying that
it's never right to castaway opportunities to establish relationships with people, since such
bonds you create with new people will likely become more meaningful to you in the future.
Likely in the near future, I will work a job at a workplace, filled with other employees. Learning to
get along with others will be an important skill, as it will help improve my working experience.
Being a new employee will open up new opportunities to learn from others. A way to maximize
this learning would be to dramatically increase the number of people I talk to on a regular basis.
Furthermore, surrounding myself with a circle of friends will help bolster my confidence, knowing
that I have co-workers who will likely support me and help in case if I make mistakes. This is
how I plan on doing to avoid getting caught up in a dreadful situation like I did when I was a
child. Lastly, it will make the experience a lot more fun, because I will have the ability to discuss
with this group and work together with them to achieve our goals and aspirations. Despite
having an utmost confidence in finding friends in our daily lives, and believing they are the most
important key to developing valuable lifelong relationships, I cannot help but think what will
happen if one accidentally meets enemies. Is it worth reaching out to just anybody or perhaps
is it better to do this only with those you know for certain will become good friends? In the future,
if I ever feel lonely or unaccepted, I will obviously take my shot at trying to find friends who care
about themselves just as they do about others and who want to continue sharing that
relationship for years to come. I will also try to give that same advice to younger people to
ensure that no one will ever get left out.