Self- awareness. Clarity. Serenity.

These were the lessons taught during the “Mastering Self- Awareness” seminar hosted by the Counseling Center on Tuesday.

The seminar was organized by Dr. Leah McMillan, the assistant director of the VSU Counseling Center, who has worked at the center for over seven years.

“My professional and personal experiences revealed the need for a seminar at VSU discussing self-concept and how our students can create and maintain self-awareness,” McMillan said.

“Self-awareness is a crucial concept in allowing students to identify their sense of self, become secure in their self-concept and understand the connection between self- awareness and interpersonal relationships.”

The seminar includes creative activities such as listening to a stream of quotes and responding to them, and writing down adjectives that describe you and discussing which one was the most difficult to express.

It also included a self-esteem test and an action plan for improving self-esteem.

Dr. McMillan spent time explaining the difference between positive and negative self-esteem, and the “faces” that people with low self esteem would wear.

She also listed tools that can improve a person’s self-esteem, like conversing with themselves daily, exercising and practicing a positive attitude.

Dr. McMillan had hopes that a variety of students would attend because the program would be applicable for both “traditional” and “non-traditional” students.

“College is the time in students’ lives where they begin to process who they are, who they want to be and what purpose they have in life,” McMillan said.

“In this transitional period, students can create their self-awareness and learn to be secure in their own beings.”

Susanne Alsaker, a freshman undecided major, attended the program hoping to learn more about developing her personal way of making choices and choosing values.

“Being an international student, I wanted to take advantage of this because we don’t have this kind of seminar in Norway,” Alsaker said.

Alsaker also attended the “Keep the Fire Burning!” seminar organized by the Counseling Center earlier this semester.

“I really liked it, it helped me be more motivated,” Alsaker said.

The Counseling Center has hosted various seminars this month, including “Assertiveness Training” and “Relaxation Simplified”.

Although “Mastering Self-Awareness” was the last seminar organized before midterm, the VSU Counseling Center website will post an after midterm schedule with additional Fall 2012 seminars.