gpd225’s Site

 

On February 16th, 2020, I flew to Senegal, Africa, and my time there was life changing. 

 

My high school had a club called “Students for Senegal” that I was a part of for three years. We did bake sales, fundraisers, all contributing to making a learning center for the children of Senegal to have access to an education. My junior year of high school, we got to see the learning center open.

 

I will never forget the warm welcome the children gave us. They would hug us and express their gratitude towards us. They looked at the learning center in awe like it was the best thing they have ever seen. It reminded me of how lucky I am to always have educational opportunities in my life. 

 

These students also taught me to appreciate the little things in life. I brought a soccer ball, old shoes, and some old clothes and gave them to the students. The excitement in their eyes was nothing I had ever seen before. Though I did not speak the same language as them, I could tell how thankful they were.

 

I handed one of the girls my age my phone for google translate. She wrote, “I am so thankful for you guys. One day I will go to America.” 

 

Every night I slept in a comfortable bed; they were sleeping on a crowded dirt floor. Every time I bought new shoes; they were wearing broken ones that did not fit them anymore. This trip made me realize my privilege has a responsibility to help others and use my resources.

 

If you ever have the opportunity to help others; do it. Helping others puts things into perspective and embrace a new mindset. Since this trip, I have kept a gratitude journal and written down all the things I am grateful for. It makes you realize that the things you consider small, others would consider large.

Eating disorders can affect individuals of all age groups and backgrounds. But it’s during college when young people, especially women, are more exposed to the possibility of an eating disorder. 

 

There are a lot more responsibilities and insecurities that a college student deals with. It is the first time many people are moving away from home and there will be nobody to keep an eye on your behavior. Although it’s a touchy subject people tend to avoid, it needs to be talked about. People are afraid to talk about eating disorders because it is so sensitive. It makes it seem like these behaviors are normalized and that nothing should be done. The most important thing to do is to open up those conversations and check in on your friends.

 

According to a 2006 survey conducted by the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA), nearly 20% of college students indicated that they have or previously had an eating disorder. People need to look out for others struggling and seek professionals. This is a real issue that people struggle with every day and it gets brushed over as an issue for only privileged white girls. This issue affects everyone, and all kinds of people should feel support.

I do think that eating disorders are an issue at Lehigh and I have heard a lot of conversations about going to the gym just to lose weight or restricting themselves to food. I think this issue will continue to be prevalent if there is not more awareness spread.

Tips on how do help other people:
If you notice your friend barely ate anything, offer them some more food or tell them they shouldn’t leave on such an empty stomach. You should also encourage people that are putting themselves down that they don’t need to change themselves and look good the way they are. You should listen to them non-judgmentally and encourage them to talk to a family member or seek professional help. It’s hard to help someone with eating problems, but the first thing to do is to talk about it.

How to stay productive in college

 

The transition from high school to college is a big challenge for many people. Making time for a social life while attending all your classes and studying can be very hard to balance.

 

Through this adaptation, I have learned many ways to stay productive in college while having room for doing activities and hanging out with friends. One of the most beneficial things I started to do was making a list of everything I had to do and starting with the most important task. I used to have a lot of trouble with my time management figuring out where to start. In high school, everything felt a lot more spread out and I didn’t have to plan out my work as much. Now, I find it very helpful to not procrastinate and get the hardest thing out of the way.

 

Another thing that is really important is to find the right environment. In the beginning of my first semester, I thought I would be able to do work in my dorm. I later found out that I am much more productive in a study room at the library or sitting outside somewhere on a nice day. It is hard to focus with a roommate and staying in a dorm does not motivate someone to do work.I also make sure I bring a snack and water wherever I go so I am able to stay there for a long period of time. It’s also helpful to switch up where you are studying so you don’t get bored of that location.

 

Though all of these things are important for staying on task, I think the most important thing is to allow yourself to have breaks and not overwork yourself. If you are not eating a good breakfast or getting enough sleep your brain will not function properly and the work won’t even be good. If you feel something is off, it is most important to listen to your body and take care of it. It is important to make sure that you are not neglecting you friends and family and making room for things that you enjoy.

 

Having a dog is a lot of responsibility, but it comes with a cuddly companion and tool to alleviate stress and anxiety. Though many people love their dog, they are unaware of how it helps them have a better life. My dog, Blondie, provides me unconditional love and just the act of petting her makes me happier. Not only does my dog make me feel better, but having the responsibility of taking care of her can provide structure. Along with mental health benefits, there are also a lot of physical benefits. Since my family got my dog around two years ago, I have felt a lot more in shape and active. There are increased opportunities to exercise and forces me to go outside even when I don’t really want to. It also has more social opportunities like meeting other dog owners around the neighborhood. Dogs are not the only type of pet to provide emotional and physical support, all pets can make a family or individual happier. Ever since my family has gotten our dog around a year ago, she has provided so much happiness and uplifted me on my most stressful days. Whether I’m taking her on a walk or petting her I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. She gives me something to focus on, which distracts me from my personal stressors. The daily walking helps me organize my thoughts and when I am away from home I miss doing that. My dog gets excited over almost anything and appreciates the smaller things in life. The small tangible things my dog appreciates are a walk on a summer evening, a good meal, a swim, rest on the kitchen floor. The fact that we wake up every morning well and healthy is a good enough reason to be happy, and my dog reminds me of that. I encourage everyone I know to get a dog because of all the positive contributions I have gotten from one.

 

Today social media is taking the world by storm; people all around the world, no matter what age group, use it. As a society we need to focus on ourselves rather than spending endless amounts of time on our phones. The growth of social media in the past decade is directly linked to anxiety and depression. I don’t think that mental health and social media are talked about enough and it is a prominent problem for our generation. I have personally been affected by spending too much time on social media and I know that many other people have too. People isolate themselves by spending so much time on social media and obsess over what other people are doing. Social media causes people to compare themselves to others which leads to less life satisfaction. People only post the positive aspects of their life which causes unrealistic views of others lives. The portrayal of others’ lifestyles and how they look on instagram is different than in real life. If everyone put their phones down and stopped looking at what others were doing we would all have higher self esteem. Another reason social media has negative effects on mental health is because it causes sleep deprivation. Sleep is essential to our bodies and not having enough sleep will affect your mental health. I used to spend hours on end scrolling through my phone when I should have been resting. Even when I put my phone down my brain would be so stimulated from the hours I spent on it that I would have trouble falling asleep. Some of the ways I have learned to take a break from social media is turning off my notifications and setting time limits. Since then, I have been more productive and get a lot more sleep. It is essential to take social media breaks for emotional well being and focusing on yourself. Mental health issues cannot be neglected and are essential to your quality of life.

 

Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” was a very enticing novel and painted a picture of what society was like for Bram Stoker’s generation. The novel focuses on themes such as confinement, romantic love, seduction, and good vs evil. I was able to gain a better understanding of the Victorian Era and the expectations of society. There were very strict social standards and expectations, especially for women. Men were considered to be strong and powerful while women were expected to be submissive. The “ideal Victorian women” was elegant and modest. The two female characters in the novel, Mina Harker and Lucy Westenra, seemed to represent how a woman should act during this time. However, the sisters represent exactly what a Victorian woman should not be, sexually aggressive. They were the three vampire women who live in the castle who are considered the “weird sisters” by Jonathan Harker. While Mina and Lucy represent purity, the sisters don’t because they seduced Jonathan and present themselves as voluptuous. The three sisters laugh when the Count uses his authority and yells at them, “with a laugh of ribald coquetry”(38). The ideal Victorian women would have acted submissive in this situation and never go against a man with authority. As the novel progresses, we see Lucy’s ideal Victorian character disappear because Dracula turns her into a sexual vampire. Lucy becomes viewed as dangerous and loses all of her purity. After reading the novel, there is a clear difference in the gender roles in comparison to today. Stoker did a great job at representing Victorian society and showing us how much society has progressed.