Health Science Reviews

By Patience Shoko

At the time of writing this reflection piece, I have just now completed my first semester as an honours student and what a journey its already been. Honours has been different from what I expected as a person coming straight from a BSc undergrad. The requirements for getting through honours are so different from those required to get through undergrad and there’s barely any time to adjust.

When we first started, I knew it was going to be hard, but I was not prepared for the level of difficulty that I have experienced. Honours is very fast paced and there’s often a lot of information to juggle at once. But I have managed to cope with it and it has been very rewarding. The lectures were very engaging and exposed me to so many interesting topics in the world of health science and the assignments while challenging, exposed me to information and skills I otherwise would have had no idea about.

On top of that I have learned and evolved so much as a student from this one semester alone. Honours has made me realise what my strengths and weaknesses are and how to improve on these. It has taught me how to manage my time better, how to be more responsible with my work and given me better decision-making skills. Honours has shown me that I am more resilient and motivated than I previously though I was which has helped me understand myself more. Lastly, through our shared difficulty I have met some wonderful people who have become my friends over time.

Despite honours being the most challenging thing I have done in my life so far, I do not regret enrolling for it. I believe that honours will make me a more capable scientist and person, and I am looking forward to what the rest of the year has in store for me.