Change it Up!

Courtney Morris
Change it Up!

I have recently begun to appreciate the importance of switching things around occasionally.  This can be beneficial for our physical, mental, and emotional well beings.  While it can be great to have a routine, as this allows many of us to be productive and consistent in our work and social activities, it is often too easy for us to get stuck in a habitual rut, especially as the temperature starts to drop and we want to bundle up in the warmth of our homes.  The lack of new physical activity and mental stimulation can take a toll on us all.

The cure for this? Simple! Try something new...or perhaps call that friend or family member you rarely speak to anymore but really miss and make a date to catch up.  Or, perhaps try a new activity which makes you a little nervous; extra points for the further you venture out of your comfort zone as this is where the most opportunity for character growth is offered.  What's the worst that can happen?  If you're brave, try doing this once or twice a week for a more exciting life and see where it takes you!

Asking for Help

Asking for Help

Cara Chill

  I have recently taken notice in my life that asking for help seems to have a negative connotation.  Ever since I can remember, if I did not understand something, I would ask for assistance.  However, in adulthood, I am noticing a lot of individuals who see this as a sign of weakness or incompetence.  When did we start to say that it is not acceptable to ask for help? Many of us would admit to going above and beyond when it comes to helping our friends and family but when it is us who needs help, we have a tendency to refuse it.  Understandably, it is not the most comfortable experience to admit that you may be struggling.  However, if you do not seek help, how are you supposed to receive it? I have been ruminating over this topic for a while now and simply cannot grasp it.  I have finally come to the conclusion that you have to accept that you cannot do everything yourself 100% of the time and there is nothing wrong with that! Even the best and the brightest have had trouble at one point or another.  There are many people throughout history who have struggled and ended up succeeding in the end.  Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard, Thomas Edison had 1,000 unsuccessful attempts before creating the first light bulb, and Oprah Winfrey was fired when she was once a television reporter.  What I am trying to demonstrate is, everyone has flops in life but it is up to you to turn that flop into something useful.  I try to make every negative experience into something I can learn from.  Learning is a process that we go through our entire lives and along the way, we may ask for help.  Asking for help should not be a negative reflection of someone’s intelligence or ability.  It should demonstrate their strength and courage for seeking the opportunity to learn and better themselves. Teaching, learning, and helping others, is a part of life, and appreciating those times in life where we can learn something new or teach something to someone makes life a bit more exciting.  I will leave you all with a quote that may be a tad bit cliché but fitting for my thoughts. “Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for the rest of his life.” Chinese Proverb

Getting Caught in the Rain: a Personal Story

Getting caught in the rain: a personal story

By Jade Braden

I recalled an instance in my life that involved a very drenched girl with a beaming face to boot. When I was in 6^th grade, I was waiting for my mom to pick me up after school. She was running late but she asked me to wait outside of the library, across from my middle school. As I was waiting, I remember seeing the clouds continue to grow darker and the wind pick up. As a couple more minutes passed, it suddenly began pouring. At first, I took the initial reaction of trying to take cover to avoid getting wet. Seeing that I was already soaked during the first two minutes, I decided to stop trying to hide under a half-covered tree, place my book bag on the ground and spread my arms wide with my head tilted up. I closed my eyes and felt the raindrops fall on my face and run off my chin. As I listened to the rain fall on the concrete and into quickly forming puddles on the ground, I felt my face slowly draw a smile. I couldn’t help but laugh as I felt an unexplainable joy well up inside which encouraged me to spin around a couple of times. This seemingly infinite time abruptly ended with the sound of a horn and a mother’s cry, asking for her daughter to get out of the rain.

Although this moment was somewhat brief, this theme of getting caught in the rain consistently comes up, while I’m going out for a run or heading out of work. What I learned was more than simply accepting a ruined hairstyle and clammy feet. I learned to experience and maintain the joy that a child felt when she recognized the pure nature of rain. The soothing sounds of rainfall combined with cool raindrops on ones’ skin are a reinvigorating experience but the weather is often widely dismissed as bad weather. I figured out that the moment one decides that they are not afraid of the effects on ones’ appearance I was more ready to jump into the moment and enjoy life as it comes at me. So, consider this an opportunity: when a storm is brewing and there is nothing to lose, give it a try. Close your eyes and look up to the sky as the rain comes down on you and feel invigorated.