“Keep your fears to yourself, but share your courage with others.” ~Robert Louis Stevenson

Blast off, BJC!  Can you feel the energy?

A few short weeks ago, many of us experienced our first THON.  And if our experiences were at all similar, THON may be the most emotional, awe-inspiring event you in which you have ever participated.

From the second the doors opened to the final few minutes, the Bryce Jordan Center was full of energy, optimism, and hope.  It was incredibly moving to see so many people standing and dancing together in support of the same wonderful cause.  Confession: I teared up a little during every single line dance.

I have followed THON for the past couple years, just watching the last few minutes on the Livestream to see the total, and my high school had its first-ever Mini-THON my senior year.  As soon as I chose Penn State, I knew that I had to get involved, but I had no idea how incredible it would be to actually experience the weekend.  The countless hours that go into fundraising, preparing, and interacting with the families before the event are certainly powerful to witness, but the feeling in the Bryce Jordan Center on THON weekend as a culmination of everyone's hard work, is impossible to describe.

The Four Diamonds--Courage, Wisdom, Honesty, and Strength embody all that THON stands for, and all the qualities that can overcome the terrible disease that cancer is.  In interacting with some of the THON kids, it struck me how much more courage, wisdom, honesty, and strength they had than people three times their age.  Despite the stress and awful circumstances that they must be enduring in their fight against cancer, they are the strongest little warriors I have ever seen.

Robert Louis Stevenson said, "Keep your fears to yourself, but share your courage with others."  In hearing the families speak, none of them ever got caught up on fear, but conveyed messages of hope, recovery, and positivity.  This quote is a perfect representation of why THON, the largest student-run philanthropy, is so successful and strong.  There are so many reasons for these families to be fearful, but their optimism makes us admire their strength, which drives us to take action, which helps families feel more secure, which gives the families hope, which gives the kids courage.  When the kids and families share their courage, there are no boundaries.

This year, THON raised $9,770,332.32 For the Kids.  According to the official THON website, more than $127 million dollars have been raised since pairing with the Four Diamonds.  With over 15,000 student volunteers and more than 400 student organizations who actively fundraise for THON, more than 3,300 families are able to be assisted directly by the Four Diamonds.  Many families never have to see a single bill.

THON weekend made me so proud to be a Penn-Stater.  The sense of community and determination here is unparalleled.  Hopefully, all our efforts this year will have a major impact in helping all the families and the kids to keep fighting so that in the future, we can dance in celebration of a cure.

(One mission, show your diamonds//Every cub a Nittany Lion)

Dwight Schrute's Perfect Valentine's Day

February 14th...the day when we are all inundated with pink hearts, sappy Instagram posts, and endless chocolate.  For many people, it can be an exhausting, annoying, disappointing holiday (the chocolate's not bad, though).

Photo Courtesy of Brent Moore

I miss the elementary school days when Valentine's Day simply meant classroom parties, candy, and collecting Nemo, sports, and dinosaur-themed Valentines from the entire class.

 'Timmy gave me the brontosaurus card, do you think he likes me?!' or 'Ew, Steve's cards all have hearts on them, he's got cooties!!' were common threads of conversation throughout my second grade class--threads that I would love to have back.  These conversations all show the bliss and excitement of childhood that comes with any holiday (especially a holiday that lets kids miss a day of class).

But, as time goes on, something changes.  As we age, we tend to react in one of three distinct ways to Valentine's Day:

1. We await the day with great anticipation and enthusiasm.
2. We feel lonely.
3. We are completely indifferent.

Dwight Schrute, of "The Office" (my all-time favorite TV show), has his own way of coping with Valentine's Day: "My perfect Valentine's Day?  I'm at home, three cell phones in front of me, fielding desperate calls from people who want one of the fifty restaurant reservations I made over 6 months ago."  I suppose Dwight's reaction would fall under the "indifferent category" (cold indifference, yes, but indifference all the same).



The point is, Valentine's Day in this day and age is very flashy and heavily commercialized.  It seems as though this day is more about eating at the fanciest restaurants and buying the most expensive bouquet than actually showing the people closest to you how much you love them.  A friend told me, "Valentine's Day was created by Hallmark to make a killing off of cards and chocolate."  While this is completely untrue (February 14th is the feast day of St. Valentine), it is quite easy to see the logic behind their viewpoint.

Back in elementary school, I would always save my favorite Valentines for my best friends and make sure that they got the best color of Fun Dip attached (probably the most touching gesture that anyone can make).  In these very small, trivial ways, I could communicate to my friends how much I cared for them.

Photo Courtesy of Han N

Can't we translate some of this mindset to our own lives?  It is certainly important to express how much you care for your loved ones every day of the year, but on Valentine's Day, try to do something little that lets them know that they are extra special.  Whether that means remembering to send your Mom a card, or taking your best friend out to breakfast, any small gesture counts.

So, if your Valentine's Day fell short this year, try to make the most of next Valentine's Day; and even if you don't have a "Valentine," remember to be grateful for the people who love and care for you unconditionally every single day of the year.

“Life moves pretty fast. You don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” ~Ferris Bueller

Many people take life for granted.

So often, we wake up feeling drowsy and think, "I don't want to get out of bed, today is going to be rough."  And, as we're going about our day, we complain, "Today is the worst day, everything that could go wrong is going wrong."  When we come home, we say, "Thank goodness that's over."

I caught myself in this kind of mood today.  Sometimes, we may act and think negatively and not even notice it.  And I know that, whenever I am in a bad mood, I often just want to feel sorry for myself and mope because it is easy (and occasionally oddly satisfying).

However, I think that bad moods, negativity, and moping do not solve anything, and they certainly do not allow us to live our lives to the fullest.

Iconic movie character Ferris Bueller says it best: "Life moves pretty fast.  You don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."



There are so many things that we miss when we're set on brooding.  Lousy moods bring our eyes down and hunch our shoulders.  For instance, today was a beautiful day on campus with lightly falling snow gently coating the trees and sidewalks, but I didn't even notice until I snapped out of my sulking.

Photo Courtesy of Penn State

Life does move fast, and many times, we just want it to move faster.  Whether we just want this week to be over so we can be done with our exams, or if we can't wait for spring so that the days are lighter and longer, or even if we are wishing for the whole semester to be over because we are stressed, we should try as best as we can to live in the moment and appreciate life for what it is right now.

Of course we are stressed, tired, and occasionally unmotivated--that is just the nature of being a college student.  It is our choice, though, whether or not we want to act stressed, tired and unmotivated, or if we want to live more positively and always look for the good things in our worst days.

When you have an exam, sit in the coziest lounge with your favorite hot beverage and enjoy being comfortable and at ease.  When you need to write a paper, take five minutes to call a friend you haven't spoken to in a while just to catch up.  When you're late for class, make sure to keep your head up so you can still take in the beautiful scenery as you rush down the sidewalk.

Don't be so caught up in the hustle and bustle of life that you don't stop to see what's going on every now and again.  The truth is, we don't know how much time we have left on this planet.  It could be a day, or it could be a million, but the only thing that's certain is the present, so make sure to live in it.

“Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards.” ~Vernon Sanders Law

Think about the hardest test you ever took--the test with the most red slashes, dashes, and corrections; the test that gave you an awful, sinking feeling in your stomach; the test that made you feel like you might need to drop out or at least move to Canada.

For me, this test was in eleventh grade, in AP Calculus with Mr. Burkhardt (seeing the combination of these two names on a schedule at the beginning of the year meant certain peril).  Mr. Burkhardt was an extremely intelligent man who loved calculus and who loved teaching.  Yet, he was easily the most difficult teacher in the entire school because of his extremely high standards.

His tests were hard.

And I fought those tests with all my might.  I used to go to Mr. Burkhardt at all hours of the day for help, I worked meticulously on the homework, and I watched an immeasurable number of Khan Academy videos.  Yet, a majority of the time, the lessons always came after the test.

The test that sticks out to me had to do with taking the volume of the cross-sections of 3D objects (some application of integrals that has not crossed my mind in a good two and a half years), and I was absolutely terrified to get my grade back

As soon as the paper landed on my desk, I had a terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach.  I took one glance at all the red marks and my less-than-stellar score, and quickly stuffed the exam in my backpack, out of sight.  At that moment, I swore off math completely, gave up, and wallowed in disappointment.

The next day, I took the test to Mr. Burkhardt for one last look-over, and he helped me to understand every last problem better than I could have ever expected.  Although I was frustrated at myself for not solving the problems correctly in the first place, I gained a greater understanding of the concepts on the test by seeing those humbling red slashes and seeking out help.

In the words of Vernon Sanders Law, "Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards."

Like Mr. Burkhardt, life gives the lesson after the exam.  In life, we must constantly learn by trial and error.

Sometimes, we have days when we get everything wrong.  Our recollection of these days is riddled with red slashes--we say something hurtful to someone we care about, we forget appointments or responsibilities, or we get a mediocre grade on a test.  Our memories from our entire lives have countless red slashes as well.  The overarching, large, memorable mistakes we've made are the ones that we can learn from the most.  When we make a huge mistake and are angry, embarrassed, or ashamed, our negative memories of the event drive us to improve and avoid making the same mistake again.

That is the wonderful thing about mistakes, missteps, and mishaps: we hardly ever make the same mistake twice.  Even though we may feel irked that life doesn't just give us all the answers right away, it is much better to learn from experience and to take the test by simply living our lives, accepting the red marks, and seeking improvement when things don't go our way.

“There is no such thing as a quantum leap. There is only dogged persistence—and in the end you make it look like a quantum leap.” ~James Dyson

New Year's Day is one of my favorite days of the whole year.  I love to wake up, after a satisfying night spent celebrating with friends and loved ones, with a sense of purpose and a feeling of renewal.  Fresh starts are wonderful, and with the new year comes the promise of new beginnings, greater successes, and endless possibilities.  This time of year, we all write our goals and aspirations meticulously on a sheet of paper and adorn it with the title: New Year's Resolutions.

Photo courtesy of gigi_nyc

New Year's Resolutions--a phrase that has a quasi-magical connotation.  With just one sheet of paper, we can erase all our flaws, fix broken relationships, and accomplish nearly impossible tasks.  This brand of list is incredibly satisfying to write, but terribly difficult to execute.  My list looked something like this:

1. Go the gym every day
2. Practice and piano two hours a day each
3. Have thirty minutes of relaxation time every day
4. Go to bed before midnight on weekdays
5. Never say no to a new opportunity

Of course, some of these are downright unrealistic.  If any normal person took every single opportunity offered to them, there would be no time to eat or sleep (which is even a struggle most days for the average college student).  Also, if I were to accomplish goals 1, 2, and 3, goal 4 would become impossible.  

Most times the goals set under the falling, sparkling confetti at midnight on New Year's Eve are too lofty, too broad, and too idealistic.  

But, don't throw out your resolutions as soon as they fall through (usually about the third day of the new year, for me).  Look at the list you made on this New Year's Eve and pick one resolution that you were particularly excited about or motivated to accomplish, no matter how lofty the goal appears to be.  Then, write out mini checkpoints to help you toward attaining your large goal.  For, in the words of James Dyson, "There is no such thing as a quantum leap.  There is only dogged persistence--and in the end you make it look like a quantum leap." 

The major flaw with many goals, and New Year's Resolutions in particular, is the expectation of quick or immediate results and frustration when we can't clearly see some sort of concrete progress.  This is why so many people struggle with losing weight, getting their dream job, or paying off debt.  Our individual flaws sometimes seem so large to us that we don't know where to start to mend them.  And, when we finally get going on a plan, a method, or a set schedule for achieving a large goal, we become aggravated when our hard work does not yield an immediate payoff.  

These quantum leaps that we want so badly in our lives are only achievable through relentless tenacity and the courage to commit a huge sum of our time and effort to making them a reality.  Everyone else will perceive your achievement as a quantum leap, but you will perceive it with pride as the result of your own blood, sweat, and tears.

So, this week, I encourage you to look back at your list of resolutions and re-start the year, using dogged persistence to get exactly what you want out of 2016.  Happy New Year!

"We cannot hold a torch to light another’s path without brightening our own." ~Ben Sweetland

The other day, I was mindlessly scrolling through Instagram, stalking my high school friends' new best friends to make sure I was not being replaced, when I came upon a selfie.  Usually, I refuse to "like" or even look too closely at selfies (I usually associate them with narcissism, even though that's usually not the case).  However, the caption on this specific picture caught my eye.

"Be the reason someone smiles today."

Yes, the caption had absolutely nothing to do with the selfie the girl posted and yes, maybe she was fishing for "likes," but this statement truly speaks volumes.

Imagine if everyone made it their goal to make someone else smile every day.  I tried it this week as a social experiment (also because I desperately needed a pick-me-up to get me through this last week before Thanksgiving), and it was an incredible way to live!  It's not like I'm a terrible person normally, but I don't usually wake up every single day thinking, "Okay, today, my goal is to make someone else's day."

This week, I did, and I don't ever want to stop.

I realized that, in order to make others happy, I had to be happy first.  I had been feeling down, but as soon as I made a commitment to make other people happy, I felt instantly better.

Do you know anyone who is always pessimistic or always has something to complain about?  We all do.  And we all feel exhausted and negative when we spend time around them.  Emotions are contagious.  So, when we're around a person who has a good, positive attitude, their energy spreads and we suddenly feel rejuvenated.

Ben Sweetland said, "We cannot hold a torch to light another's path without brightening our own."

Courtesy of Rachel Melton

If we want to make positive contributions to the world or if we want to simply make another person smile, we have to brighten our own torch.  We need to think and live positively in order to have a hope of changing anything.

This is easier said than done.  It is difficult to be positive and wake up each day in a good mood because life often gets in the way.  Everyone always has rough days, but these days are so much easier to get through with a positive mindset.

Back home, my family has a sign hanging right at the bottom of the stairs that says, "Today is going to be a great day."  It is impossible to miss when you walk out of the door in the morning.  I'll admit it--the sign used to annoy me on sometimes.  Some days, I convinced myself that I wanted to be angry or sad or upset, and I stubbornly thought that no sign could change how I felt.  Occasionally, I wanted to let myself have a bad day.

Now, however, I realize the importance of that sign and appreciate it so much more.  It is so true that if you wake up and think, "Today is going to be a great day," then the chances of you having a great day are infinitely better.  Minds are incredible things and simple thoughts have a tremendous impact on the way that we live each day.

Last week, I placed a new addition in my dorm: a sign hanging on my door, bearing the words that I used to (occasionally) despise,  "Today is going to be a great day."

I'm hoping that this sign will help me to brighten my torch so that I can continue on my mission to make at least one person smile every day--and I highly recommend that you do the same.

**Disclaimer:  This sign is 100% foolproof.  Side effects may include laughter, contagious smiling, and a lift in mood.**

"Aerodynamically, the bumblebee shouldn't be able to fly, but the bumblebee doesn't know it so it goes on flying anyway." ~Mary Kay Ash

According to my extensive research, bumblebee flight does not in fact violate the laws of physics, but this was news to me (I have about as much scientific knowledge as a third grader).  Nevertheless, bumblebees have tiny wings and comparatively huge bodies and manage to fly long distances with apparent ease, and I find that to be truly amazing.

Let's disregard science for a moment and pretend that aerodynamically, bumblebees are technically incapable of flight.  This allows us to take Mary Kay Ash's quote for what it is--a fantastic metaphor that can apply to many situations in our lives.

We'll call this the Bumblebee Mentality: "Aerodynamically, the bumblebee shouldn't be able to fly, but the bumblebee doesn't know it so it goes on flying anyway."

The bumblebee is not conscious of its less-than-ideal anatomy for flying.  It just goes on and does what it needs to do to survive and thrive, without worrying that it is not capable of accomplishing its goals (of pollinating flowers and possibly terrorizing small children).

Life is a little bit more complex for us because we know exactly what we shouldn't be able to do.  Humans technically shouldn't be able to live on Mars or cure cancer or end violence and terrorism in the world.  However, there are so many amazing people with the Bumblebee Mentality who are working towards achieving these incredible feats.  They are capable of eliminating thoughts like "this is inconceivable," and "this can never be done."  They pretend to be unaware that some things are nearly impossible and go on to defy the odds, (hopefully) eventually achieving these amazing feats anyway.  

Photo courtesy of Tom Blackwell

Many of us are not working towards curing cancer, per se.  Yet, there are small victories in our own lives that could be won if we embrace the Bumblebee Mentality.  So many times, we shy away from daunting tasks because we don't think we are capable.  The only way to find out whether or not we're capable of something is to try.  After all, the bumblebee doesn't know that it shouldn't technically be able to fly, but it goes on flying each day.

Every NewYear's Eve, I, along with everyone else in the world, make New Year's Resolutions that I never keep.  We have the best intentions of eating healthy, doing one good deed every day, working ahead on homework, and keeping our rooms spotless (these are usually my goals), but something always gets in the way.  I usually pride myself on my self-discipline but for some reason, written goals always end badly for me.  I think this is because writing them down reminds me that I struggle with them and reminds me of my lack of confidence in these areas of my life.

If we just do and don't dream, we will be well on our way to executing the Bumblebee Mentality and will be able to accomplish so much that we never thought possible.  

Theoretically, the college student shouldn't be able to eat, sleep, do homework, socialize, and join service and recreational organizations, but the college student doesn't know so it goes on trying anyway. (A semi-original quote by Yours Truly).