Wisdom Well May 2025

Dear Reader,

Life transition is a period of significant change and a possible turning point in a person’s life. Transitioning from post-secondary education to the workforce can be difficult as it involves navigating and adapting to new roles, responsibilities and expectations. As a significant life change, the transition can elicit feelings of excitement and at the same time it can prompt a feeling of loss and uncertainty. Few things to consider while going through a life transition; 

Acknowledging that transitions can be stressful and practicing self-compassion can be a good starting point. It is not uncommon for people going through major life transitions to experience a range of emotions including excitement, anxiety and feelings of uncertainty. With that in mind, prioritizing your mental health is essential as doing so will help you be better equipped to handle the transition, possible setbacks and stressful situations.

Make time for self-care and activities that help you deal with stress effectively. Helpful activities for optimal emotional health include engaging in a physical activity, practicing mindfulness, connecting with nature, finding creative outlets to express your feelings and seeking social support can all be a good starting point.

Speaking about your experience with someone you trust can also ease the burden of the transition from post-secondary to full time work. It can be helpful to connect with family, friends, former classmates and mentors to discuss your experience. In return they may be able to provide a different perspective, reassurance and some guidance. It can also be helpful to find likeminded individuals in your workplace to connect with as workplace friendships can provide support and minimize feelings of isolation and loneliness.

If after trying the suggestions above you find that you are having difficulty coping, I encourage you to seek professional help. A counsellor or a therapist will be able to support you in coming up with a personalized plan to help you navigate this challenging and exciting life transition.

Amharic version to follow below.

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ውድ አንባቢያችን፤

እንደ ወላጅ/አሣዳጊ፡ ልጅዎ በባሕሉ ሲሸማቀቅ ማየት አሣሳቢ ይሆን ይሆናል። ይሁንና፡ ለመመሣሰል መሞከር የተለመደ የአፍላ ዕድሜ ፀባይ መሆኑን ላረጋግጥልዎ እፈልጋለሁ። "ከጓደኛቹ ጋር ለመመሣሰል በሚያደርገው ተስፋ የቆረጠ ሙከራ በት/ቤት የሚያሣየው ሁኔታ ለየት ያለ ነው" ብለዋል። እስከዚህ ባለው፡ ዕፍረቱ ወይም መሸማቀቁ ከየት እንደሚመጣ ለማወቅ ይሞክሩ። በባሕሉ ለምን እንደሚሸማቀቅ ይወቁና እንዴት እንደሚሠማው ለእርስዎ የሚያጋራበት ጤናማና ፍረጃ የሌለበት ቦታ ይስጡት። እንደ ካናዳ የባህል ተለያይነት ባለበት ሀገር እንኳን ወጣቶች ጉልበተኝነት ለደርስባቸው፡ ከቦታቸው ውጭ እንደሆኑ ሊሠማቸውና ባህላቸውን እንደ መፀየፍ ሊሉ ይችላሉ። በባህሉ ወይም በሌላ ልዩነት የተነሣ የሚያበሽቁት ከሆነ፡ ይህ ዓይነት ጉልበተኝነት በግለሠብ አዕምሮ ጤና ላይ ዘላቂነት ያለው ተፅዕኖ ስላለው ለዚህ ጉዳይ መፍትሔ መሻት አስፈላጊ ነው።

በባህሉ እንዲኮራ ስለ መርዳት ጥያቄዎን በተመለከተ፡ በሚከተለው ላይ ማንፀባረቅ ጠቃሚ ይመስለኛል።

ስለ ባሕሉ ምን ያህል ያውቃል? ቋንቋውን ይረዳል? ስለምግቡ ምን ይሠማዋል? ሄዶ ለመጎብኘት ዕድል አግኝቶ ያውቃል ወይ? ወላጆች/አሣዳጊዎችና ዕንክብካቤ ሠጪዎች ልጆች የራሣቸውንና የሌሎችንም ባሕል እንዲወዱና እንዲያከብሩ ለመርዳት በጣም የተሻሉ ስለሆኑ፡ የባህሉን የትኛውን ክፍል እንደሚወድ አውቆ በዚያ ላይ እንዲገነባ መርዳት ይረዳል። በተጨማሪም፡ ባህላዊ ቅኝትና ማብራሪያ ወጣት ሰዎችን አዎንታዊ ማንነት እንዲፈጥሩ ስለሚረዳ፡ ከሌሎች ጋር ያላቸውን ግንኙነት ስለሚያሻሽልና በዙሪያቸው ስላለው ዓለም የበለጠ ግንዛቤ ስለሚሠጣቸው ጠቀሜታ አለው።

ለማጠቃለልም፡ ባህል ከቋንቋና የቤተሠብ መሠባሰብ በላይ መሆኑንማስታውስ የሚጠቅም እንደመሆኑ፡ የኔ አስተያየት፡ ልጅዎ ከባህላዊ ዕሤቶቹ ጋር የበለጠ ግንኙነት እንዲሠማው ለመርዳት የጋራ የሆነ መሠረት መፈለግ ነው። ልጅዎን ዘና በሚያደርጉ መንገዶች ባህልዎን ወደ ዕለት ህይወትዎ ለማምጣት መንገድ ይፈልጉ። ልጅዎን በሆነ መንገድ እንዲያደርግና እንዲሆን ማስገደድ ወደኋላ ስለሚቀለብስ፡ ይህንን በቁጥጥር ሣይሆን በተፅዕኖ ማድረግ ይረዳል።