This Ted Talk came right in the nick of time. Just yesterday I found myself feeling really down and negative because I have a million and a half things to do over the course of the next week (write a paper, take a test, study for another test that’s worth 35% of my grade, plan this alumni networking event, and keep on top of all of my day-to-day reading and homework…). I was slowly spiraling down into a pit of despair, one which I felt I could not dig myself out of. But then I stopped to think: I am healthy, financially stable, fairly intelligent, a student at a fun and excellent university, and I can count a million other blessings. Why am I so miserable, or rather, why am I allowing myself to think I’m so miserable? Things are not that bad. I liked all three of Neil Pasricha’s A’s, but my favorite, and the one I was most lacking yesterday, was awareness. There are so many miracles and beautiful details in the world around us every day, and the majority of them go unnoticed and unappreciated. But I find when I force myself to notice these things, I also find it absolutely inexcusable to be unhappy about things that, in the big picture, don’t matter that much. I think this is something we could really tap into as a council. At the end of last winter semester, finals started on a Saturday. I decided to take a break from studying and a friend and I spent over three hours drawing pictures and writing poems in colorful chalk on the sidewalk/plaza outside the JFSB. We invited everyone who walked past us to leave their mark and we got a huge response! People loved it. It was fun, simple, not at all time-consuming, and it appealed to the three-year old inside each of us. People walked away smiling and they told us they felt less stressed and more prepared to face their finals. It was a wonderful experience, and it made people stop and revel in one of life’s simple pleasures. I'm thinking...we should do something like that. :)
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