Fernanda Roman-Blog 2

 Reimagining My Future: Mental Health, Education and Breaking Generational Cycles.                    

By Fernanda Roman 

June 2025

Topics that define your life 

           There are certain topics that are more than just academic but essential to create a life you are proud of. Through the 3 presentations of Mental Health, Education, and Family Expectations I realized that this topics need to be explored honestly and openly in order to get a complete grasp of it. These topics are the ones that shape your life, and is important to be in touch with them.           

Mental Health and Social Life 

A correlational relationship

    Mental Health and Social Life are like two sides of the same coin. Without one, the other struggles. When talking about these topics we used to separate them, however, how well you are in one defines the other. For example, how many times have you been in a situation when you fell overwhelm, like your head is full of different things; but the moment you are with friends your head starts to feel lighter. In order to have a good mental health you need to maintain a good relationship with people because, wanted or not, humans are social animals we are born to live in society.  

Modern Issues

Digital Era or more like Loneliness Era

    As the world evolved into a digital world some issues came with it. In a world where we are connected to technology is funny how we seem to be so unconnected with humans. In this presentation we learned that Americans now spend 53 minute more indoors every day compared to before of COVID. Social media has replaced a lot of the real life interaction, not in a good way.

Because of this we entered a loneliness epidemic. Modern problems require modern solutions, there are a lot of resources that we have available for mental health at Miami Dade College that we do not take advantage of. However, most students are not aware of this services because the school does not promote them as they should. Having into consideration the importance of these topics nowadays we should bring more attention to it.

Education=Economic Power

    This presentation showed that higher education lead to a higher earnings. Now, lets talk about how expansive higher education has become. Currently, access to higher education is wildly unequal. There is a low percentage of students that can finish their studies without having to commit to any debt. A person that has more economic stability will be able to pursue more difficult careers, that at the end will receive higher salaries. For examples doctors, a person that wants to become a doctor has to study day and night to earn his degree. There is no time for work and earning money. So lets make two scenarios, one is a person that their parents will pay for his whole education. Remind that these is a long career that takes on a lot of years, each year is a year you have to pay. So this person is able to just study all day calmly knowing that his studies are being covered. Now, we have the other scenario which will be a student that does not have the resources to pay for his education. So he get a student loan to start his career. Student debt has become a regular issue that is frightening all young adults. Imagine being worried in getting your degree, while still trying to figure out how you will pay for it, and try to maintain a decent lifestyle at the same time. Its a lot of pressure for a kid that is trying to make their way into the real world. Economics, will ultimately decide the level of education you will receive. Basically how much are they willing to pay for their future salary. Now, we understand how money can play a crucial role in receiving a good education.

Family and Careers

Do we truly choose our future, or are we born into it?

    In the presentation of Family and Careers there was a question that stand out "to what extent do our careers truly belong to us?" I was able to relate strongly. I come from an academic and stability focused family. That is great but it could put a little too much pressure on you. When deciding which career to pursue, you feel the need for it also to be accepted by your family. For example, there are families that all follow the path of lawyer, so when you reach the certain age when you need to start thinking what degree you want the unconscious manipulation starts. The comments from your father that being a lawyer is a family tradition that has not be broken. They paint their career as not a choice but a duty to be fulfilled. So it seems like you were born to in that family to be a lawyer, nothing else. However, it is important to understand that at the end you are your own persona. What you want for yourself is your choice because is your future, not yours family. Do not be scared of talking about your preferences, or being the different one. It is most likely that your family will understand, and you are making it a big deal just in your head.

Gender, Culture and Career Expectations

    Across cultures careers are shaped by tradition, gender and class. In some cultures there are some fields that are dominated by genders, for example, engineering is a men's field and nursing is women's field. This could intimidate people into not pursuing a path. However, more people are entering new fields, men's fields are having a woman as best student, and  vice versa. Don't be limited by the expectations of society to choose your future.

Final Thoughts

     Every generation has to face different issues, we have ours. However, after this presentation you know which are the main topics that will define your life and how to handle them. Nobody knows how to live life, so just try, we all are trying. Keep your head up and understand that the most important thing now is yourself, you can change everything around you to your favor, just believe in it.