CAMPUS
Advice for O PHOTOS BY
Kamryn Rowe
F
or Esquire’s 85th anniversary issue, it gathered celebrities like Joe Biden, Clint Eastwood and Margaret Atwood and told their stories of advice called “Sane advice for crazy times.” It’s an interesting year. Everything is chaotic and yet people are still making progress and advancements. There’s peace and there’s disruption. The world has not ended — but no one can tell if we’re getting closer to that day. It’s an odd time. To help, we gathered some well-known people around campus to help share some lessons.
MADISON NEWINGHAM ON INVOLVEMENT President of the College Democrats Get involved on campus, whether it be a club related to your degree or merely your interests. It is helpful to befriend professors and student leaders for advice in your field or references in your career search. That said, do not stick with something you do not enjoy. I wasted too much time with organizations that were inefficient and made me unhappy and unfulfilled. I started to selectively narrow down where and with whom I spent my time to ensure it was beneficial to my interests and happiness. I tried being involved
in too many things and later tried being involved in nothing, and in both instances, I felt anxious and depressed because I felt as though I was not experiencing the things I was doing. Find a few things you love with people you love, but do not overwhelm yourself. I was not particularly shy at any point; however, I know what it is like to feel intimidated and the desire to back out of challenges. I eventually decided the only way for me to overcome these barriers was to simply force myself to commit to events and public speaking. Rather than worrying too much and giving myself too much time to prepare, which only stressed me out further, I prepared just enough to “wing it” insofar as I was able to speak naturally and knowledgably. I hate to call this procrastination, but you have to decide when something is good enough so that you can move on to something else going on in your day, even if that is just “you-time.” If you are a busy-body, you need to slow down and find even an hour of the day for yourself. If you are not involved on campus, you should find one thing in which you can meet more people and have fun while networking. Doing so now will help alleviate the stress of the inevitable networking you will have to do in your career.
RACHEL WALKER ON THINKING FOR YOURSELF President of the College Republicans Don’t let people dictate how you think. The ability to think for yourself and fight for your own convictions is a powerful thing. In today’s society, individuals are often cast to have certain beliefs if they have a certain appearance. This is a dangerous trap we often find ourselves in. For example, people never expect me to have conservative values and then when they do find this out, I feel the need to justify my opinions. Attending a left-leaning university has not always made it popular for me to go against the trend and express my beliefs. I find this even more empowering. I only hope others who face this issue can have the same strength to think for themselves, no matter what their beliefs
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may be. I have found strength in my differences, and it has made me a stronger person. In these odd times, I have learned to never assume anything about anyone because you never know what a person has been through. As a female, I encourage other women to find their own convictions and stick with them. There is no better feeling than being your own leader and not waiting for someone else to show the way. Find something to be passionate about and use this passion to inspire others. Have a civil discussion with someone who has different opinions than you, and you might have more things in common than you think.
CREDITS: Photo taken by Sami Scozzaro
WORDS BY
Ray Padilla
