This past Sunday, I was feeling a little down. I was super overwhelmed by the work I had for the week, but could not find the motivation to do anything. I called my mom in distress to which she told me to get a coffee and go for a drive. She told me I needed a brain break and seeing something new would raise my spirits.

So I got in my car and went to Starbucks, grabbing a venti iced coffee and hit the road. I turned on the road behind the hospital and queued up my summer playlist. The air was a toasty 60 degrees, so I decided to roll my windows down as I drove through the surrounding farmland. I had no sense of direction as I turned down whatever street or road appealed to me. I took in my surroundings and got lost in the music; I began to feel bliss. Once I found myself back to good spirits, I turned my car around and drove back to campus.

When I got back, I was able to complete my work and other Sunday duties that I could not find the energy for earlier in the day. I had realized that my Sunday morning sadness was a result of feeling trapped and alone in my small dorm room. I needed to get out and feel the sun on my skin in order to feel like myself again. I think that I am definitely a victim of seasonal depression, as many of us are, and because of that I am often sad for no reason. Luckily, this past week has been beautiful and I have found opportunities to escape my cold, brick-walled dorm to go explore the beautiful outdoors. I really enjoyed my weekend ride and because of my positive experience, I plan to do this every Sunday afternoon for the rest of the semester in attempt to clear my head and find peace in the great outdoors.

This past weekend, I was lucky enough to go home. I am from Chicago, so going home isn’t as easy as it is for most Bucknell students, as our demographic is made up of students from New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. 

At home, I found myself sitting on the subway. At first the cart was empty, however, as I got closer to the loop, the car began to fill up. At each stop a new group of people piled in. I was almost taken back by the diversity in people’s style. I had not realized that I had been away from the city for so long that I had forgotten what “expressing yourself” looked like. At school, I feel that I must conform to what the typical Bucknell student should look like: simple makeup, skinny, lowkey outfits, etc. Naturally, I do not have crazy style, but I also don’t feel confident to express myself with elaborate makeup or accent pieces if I wanted to. I feel that can be attributed to the Bucknell bubble and the desire to conform to fit in.

I feel like this is something we must change at Bucknell, especially being at a liberal arts college. College is a time to experiment and discover who you really are, so I would like to create an environment that stimulates it. I think the only real way to do this is to change the culture of Bucknell, but that is a very hard thing to overcome. At this point, the best I can do is try to gain the confidence to express myself and encourage my friends to do the same.

In attempt to become inspired this week, I went for a walk outside. This was something I used to do all the time back home, but stopped for some reason when I got to Bucknell. I took my attempt a step further and left my headphones at home, opening my eyes, ears, and attention to my surroundings. I decided to take a walk through the residential area surrounding campus. I felt back at home as I passed homes and windows filled with happy families and barking dogs. 

I began to realize how different my life is at Bucknell compared to home. Living in a dorm with a hundred other people is no comparison to living in a house with your loved ones. While college doesn’t offer the convenience of living in a house, I realized I can make little changes to my lifestyle to help myself feel more at home, at school. As I looked through the windows, I noticed how much I missed home cooked meals. One way I plan to feel more at home is cooking a meal at least once a week in my kitchen. I also noticed I missed my dog. While I can’t bring him to campus, I know there are therapy dogs that come to campus roughly once every other week, so I think getting to see a dog will make me a little less homesick.

I feel that it is so easy to get caught up in the Bucknell bubble and feel disconnected from home. I hope that by implementing these little changes, I can improve my happiness and comfort here at school. I hope to share my inspiration with my friends and teammates so that I can help others feel at home in the chaos that is college.

This past weekend, I decided that I was in a rut. I was sick of the same old thing every weekend: practice, party, homework. So I did as any bored teenage girl does and went to Target. 

I am from the city so Lewisburg can get a little boring. I am fortunate enough to have a car on campus so I decided to make the 15 minute track down to Selinsgrove for a taste of civilization. It wasn’t Chicago or New York, but I got off campus. I was wandering down the aisles of target when I ran into a display that made me feel “zen”. There were plants and candles and healthy snacks. In that very moment I decided college was no excuse for me to change the person I am back home: a girl who uses all natural products, eats healthy, and is overall a positive person.

I was inspired. I realized that these past few weeks I had been uncomfortable as I transitioned back into school. I missed the accommodations and diet I had back home which made me sad and cranky. I pledged to change my lifestyle a little bit every week to get back to who I was: starting with my positive outlook on life. I will practice my positive attitude by getting more involved in class. It is so easy to be lazy and not do the readings or participate. That will no longer be me. Bucknell culture makes it so easy to become distracted and thus not give 100% in class. I hope my participation encourages my classmates and alters the culture a bit. I will use my Target inspiration to grow this semester and overall improve my Bucknell experience.