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Hope Falls Eternal
Welcome to a new year! Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur are just around the corner and the academic year has just commenced. With so many new beginnings, it is truly a time to be hopeful. Some of you are entering a new university, while some of you are entering the last year at your university – both have reasons to be optimistic. Here’s to new friends, good grades and great experiences! Rosh Hashanah begins Sept. 26 and Yom Kippur on Oct. 5, both at sundown. Ideally, these two holidays bring us to think. Think about who we are, where we’re going, how we plan to get there and what we hope to accomplish in the coming year. The fact that these two holidays coincide with the beginning of the academic year is just one more reason for college students to think about all of that. In college, we are challenged on a daily basis to confirm and, when necessary, modify the type of person we believe ourselves to be. Each day we face different people whose values may be different from our own. As we grow and learn, who we are adapts into a (hopefully) more mature, better-adjusted person. Isn’t that what the High Holidays are all about? We challenge ourselves with who we believe ourselves to be and strive to make the necessary changes to improve. We seek to be more kind, gracious and accepting of those with whom we may not agree. We ask forgiveness for sins towards God and our fellow human beings. Each year we promise both God and ourselves that we will make changes in our lives, in order to become closer to the image of God. So let’s do it! A new year! A new beginning! Shrug off all that has been unpleasant in your life and strive to be a happier, more fulfilled person with more love and kindness in your heart! Why not? The theme of this issue is HOPE! SO GO DO IT! Why are you sitting here reading this, when you could be helping a new student get acquainted with their new campus?! Community service is a simple way of expressing the kindness in your heart. Lots of little things can add up to mean a lot to a many different people. You CAN make a difference!
If you’re unhappy where you are, change your outlook! It’s all about what you make of it! (Trust me on that one) Not so fond of your professor? Then don’t pay attention to Dr. Yuck, just learn the material on your own, and learn it for your own reasons. It’s amazing how much harder it is for a person to pop your "bubble" when you’re not trying to impress others and just live for your own reasons. Let me explain. As long as you’re trying to impress the professor, his criticism has the potential to cut you down. But as soon as you just learn to your highest ability, and perform to your own standards, then you’ll be pleased with the job you do, because you know that you have done all that you can. Suddenly the snappy professor is taken out of the equation. The same thing goes for friends. If they’re being catty or snobby, just do what makes you happy and don’t worry about them. (Although, if they’re being catty towards you, chances are they are not good friends in the first place, so you may just think about nixing them). Once you have chosen to make yourself happy in a situation that is less than optimal, you’ll have an untouchable "you can’t burst my bubble" aura and all of a sudden the negativity starts to fade away. The stronger that aura is, the less intensely the negative aspects of your situation will affect you. It’s a New Year, spiritually, academically, and socially. Take control and give yourself a nudge to make all those changes you’ve said you would eventually make. Time is ticking, so let’s go go go! It’s all about being optimistic -- optimistic about what you can accomplish and who you can become. You can do anything if you put your mind to it. So why not put your heart, mind, soul and body into making yourself a better person and making this world a better place! You’re still here??? GO DO SOMETHING CHEERFUL!!!! [Posted 9/25/03]
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By Brielle Goodman