Burn bright

I stood outside and watched all the lights go out around me.

I kept mine on until the sun returned.


This week's Weekly Distraction

*shrugs shoulders* ...Why not?

Last week was all about spontaneity.

Monday I decided to go to the lab to finish my homework (which I never do), and I ended up being really productive and finished most of my presentation material before the night ended.

Tuesday I picked up a shift for Maranda at the last minute to close at the cafe. It was a long shift but I enjoyed it.

On Wednesday I had unplanned lunch with Philip. After my group meetings, since the weather was nice, I took a little walk around campus. It was lovely: everything is in bloom.

Thursday night after Help Room, I decided on a whim to go with Kaitlyn and Philip to Chipotle, after which we went to Sweeney to study (I use this term loosely since I did three o-chem problems and then we proceeded to watch very strange YouTube videos).

Then on Friday I saw a bunch of Chem Es playing frisbee/soccer and I joined them. We decided to do wheelbarrow races and three-legged races (I lost both because I collapsed in laughter halfway through).

So it was a good week. Unexpectedly.


This week's Weekly Distraction

Avoiding misery does not lead to happiness.

This seems obvious, but I'm a bit slow.
Yes, avoiding misery often means you will end up being not-miserable. But how often do you strive instead for happiness?
Perhaps this is just my logic, but in the past I thought that avoiding situations where I knew I'd be let down would ultimately make me happy. So that's how I'd been living my life up until recently. Well, lesson learned.

The results of being open minded will always surprise you.


This week's Weekly Distraction

Challenge

Each day this past week, I made note of the worst part of my day.
This sounds cynical, but wait.

I did this with the intention of proving to myself that the worst part of each day isn't so bad. I assume if you keep a log like this constantly, you will run into a few days where the worst part is actually pretty terrible. But upon analysis, you'll realize that most days go by with hardly any turmoil.

This is actually quite refreshing to discover.
Try it sometime. Even better, try it at a time when you're feeling pretty low. Despite the apparent cynical undertone, I think that even at a time in your life when you are particularly stressed or anxious, you'll discover that living day-by-day isn't so hard.


This week's Weekly Distraction

General Advice for College Students (aka 5 important lessons I learned this week)

College isn't easy.
Life isn't easy.
But neither are as hard as you think.

1. Do not overload your schedule. Learn your limits and respect them. A classmate named Anna was considering taking 19 credits next semester in an attempt to keep her graduation within four years. I could not emphasize enough how poor of a decision this is, and how if I could make sure no one has to learn this lesson the hard way, I would. Here is my small and meager attempt at making this possible, because trust me... you don't want to learn this lesson based on experience.

2. Proofread, proofread, proofread! Again, this point is hard to over-emphasize. Especially in the context of constructing a professional document, whether it be your résumé, an e-mail to your professor, or a document intended for a potential employer... DO NOT FORGET TO PROOFREAD! Do it a million times, and then another ten. Read slowly; read it out loud; double check your information. You don't want to look like a fool to your superiors, or even to your peers.

3. Take things in stride. Being open to new experiences is great, but you also need to be open to the fact that any situation could come at you, and sometimes you just need to flow with it. Maybe it's not going your way, but that doesn't mean it's going the wrong way. Your ever-so-thought-out-and-concrete-plans are not truly a measure of your success. So you failed an exam? Relax, things will get better. So you don't know where you're going with your life? Breathe, things tend to work out. Unexpected does not mean you're unprepared.

4. Never take anything too seriously. Especially yourself. Look, circumstances will arise and you will freak out. It happens. My first advice is to let yourself freak out, because you need this. The second step is to let it go. I know it feels like every decision you make is a huge weight which is slowly (or quickly) affecting and building your future. Nothing is that set in stone. Stop worrying so much. Learn to laugh at a situation, and learn to laugh at yourself.

5. Being happy is the most important aspect of your life. So be happy! In some cases, you'll need to make changes in order to be happy. In other cases, you'll need to change your perspective in order to be happy. Whatever it takes, do it. You can't keep wallowing in self-pity, because there comes a point when the only person who feels sorry for you is you. And feeling sorry for yourself is pathetic. It had to be said, so there.


This week's Weekly Distraction (because Maroon 5 sounds like summer, and this song is Miami)