Meet Jennifer Yeh | Neuropsychology student | Blogger

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jennifer Yeh and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jennifer, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
Since I am currently pursuing my master’s degree in the UK, how to balance between my study and work is essential. However, to me, the process of balancing does not mean equal dedication, but like a person walking on a tightrope. It is important to kinetic adjust along with the journey to keep you on track safely. For example, when it is assessment week at university, I will spend most of my time preparing for the assessments and trying to concentrate on my academic performance. On the other hand, when it’s vacation break or I have done what I need to do, I can without a doubt focus on my work which is sharing my journey on a public Instagram account.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
When I first started my journey in the UK, I decided to create a new Instagram account with the name “bristofer22” (which means Jennifer in Bristol, started in 2022). I aim to share all the good and bad things that happened during my study, and also share my travel experience to everyone. This place is like a customized platform for me. It is basically my digital public diary, or you can say it’s my footprint. I understand that most people, especially online workers, would become extremely obsessed with all the numbers such as fans’ numbers, numbers of likes and shares, etc. I have reminded myself that the original purpose of creating this little heaven is all about my journey instead of competitive commercial purposes.

To me, the biggest challenge regarding managing a public account is how you put your feelings into appropriate words without offending others. Compare to my personal diary, these posts are actually read by people all over the world, which means I have to be really careful about the description, respect everyone’s perspective, and behave with social responses.

What I am most proud of is that I get to use this platform for those voiceless people. I remember once traveling in Copenhagen, I met a woman who was part of the protest associated with female exercise in Iran. After having a little chat with her, I asked her if I could take a photo of her. She refused at the first time and yet approved for one picture. She told me she was afraid of the Iran government would arrest her for that in the beginning, but then realized this situation needed to be seen. In addition, she asked me to post her picture on my account no matter how many fans I had at that moment. “Even one is okay,” she said, “then people talk, people know.” To me, this is my first time realizing how big the power is of the internet and that what I am doing is really important to a person, a community, or even a country. Since then, I have secretly promised myself that I will dedicate myself and to use the voice I created for all the voiceless, even it is not strong enough to change the world, it is still a way to talk to the world.

more relevant stories:
part 1: https://www.instagram.com/p/CjRLZ33KppW/
part2: https://www.instagram.com/p/CjRLp4zKrbo/

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Recall my trip to Arizona, I find that Arizona is just a magnificent, gorgeous place to visit. I definitely introduce people to visiting the Grand Canyon national park as their priority. Moreover, it would be memorable if people can see the canyon from different angles of view – by helicopter!

It is also nice to stay in Page for a night and enjoy waking up in the desert with this cute town. What’s more, Page is a perfect place to stay for those who want to visit the Horseshoe Bend as well as Antelope Canyon. Both attractions are not far from Page and it was, to me, a more comfortable way to travel.

Antelope Canyon was a special place for me. At first, I realized that those pictures with exaggerated color editing were only exited in the internet. What you can see in person is not the over-orange canyon. In fact, I suggest that it would be amazing when you turn on the black-and-white mode on your phone. The marks of the pressure along with time were just beautiful. Watching light and shadow appeared as gently as running water on the surface of the hard rock canyon was totally speechless to me.

What I was surprised by the most was the scene of the Horseshoe Bend. It was just speechless and magnificent. You can even feel how small humans are just by standing beside those rocks (of course safety is the first priority). It was mid-December when I was there, some of the rocks were covered by snow, and yet the sun in the daytime was still as warm as usual. It was just perfect weather, perfect timing, and the perfect scene to enjoy. There were not many tourists at that moment and hence I recommend picking a nice rock, sitting on it and closing your eyes, trying to remember the sense, the sound, the temperature, and everything by all of your senses. I consider it as an opportunity to embrace not only nature but also ourselves.

Arizona is always a place for people to escape, gain energy from Mother Nature and enjoy whether it is a solo trip or a trip with friends, families, and be loved. Thanks to Arizona with its varied terrain, countless precious memories of mine were created. I am so ready to throw myself on that rocky road again!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
First of all, I would like to thank my parents who have been so supportive of me in pursuing my dream, which is to study abroad. I can feel my eagerness since high school and have imagined hundreds of thousands of times about what life would be like living in another country. Fortunately, the University of Bristol has given me the opportunity to study in Neuropsychology with £10,000 scholarship. With massive appreciation and gratefulness, I finally received the ticket toward the world I have desired since I was a kid and felt like a bird ready to soar into the unknown. Because of the journey in pursuing academic success, I get to expand my horizon and experience tons of eye-opening, exciting things. However, sometimes it could be quite overwhelming for me to handle especially in the balance between experiencing a new life and studying a master’s in my second language. Therefore, I would also like to thank my personal tutor, Kit Pleydell-Pearce, who has helped me go through some difficulties and always encourage me with his warmness.

Instagram: https://instagram.com/bristofer22

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/yeh-yi-yu