Keeping Up with the OTs: Moving with Motivation

November 10, 2017
by Kaitlyn
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Graduate school can be stressful and at times, difficult. Juggling school, work and all the other demands of life is not always a piece of cake. In those times where I feel overwhelmed and like I have too much on my plate, I simply find ways to remind myself why I chose the path I am on now and why I do everything I do.

With that being said, I love to replenish my motivation through interactions with my patients, colleagues, classmates, family, friends, and people in everyday life. In addition to that, I’ll use the Internet as a resource to find inspiration (thank you Google and YouTube!). This past year, I attended the AOTA Annual Conference in Philadelphia and they played a video of Al Roker discussing the positive impact occupational therapy had on him and his son. I love to watch this video when I need that little push:

Here is one of my favorite quotes that encompasses my deep rooted feelings for occupational therapy as well:

“I’m an occupational therapist, an obscure profession if there ever was one. We are few and far between, maybe because we have chosen to serve people with disabilities. All disabilities. Not a glamorous endeavour, nor a lucrative one. And I say serve because we deem that in helping we see weakness, while in serving we see wholeness. We’ve opted for wholeness nearly a century ago and have been at odds with the system ever since. We don’t fix people, you see, with them we simply try to find a way to meaning, balance, and justice. I chose occupational therapy because it blends science and humanism, intellectual rigour, and compassion.”
— Rachel Thibeault

All in all, I believe that an ethical life is one that involves doing the most “good” that you can. For me personally, being an occupational therapist is a profession where I am able to do the most “good” that I can. With OT, I know that at the end of my life I can look back and say that I lived one that was fulfilling and meaningful.

I have met the most incredible people just in the short time I’ve been an OT student and I’m looking forward to a lifetime more of such inspiring encounters.

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