Student Blog

Awards, Concerts, and Music!

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 20:12:06 -0400

The stress has absolutely begun to pile on as we have only two more weeks of classes. Seriously, where has the time gone? The past two weeks have been pretty exciting.

Last Friday, I had the Sigma Alpha Sigma (President’s Honor Society) induction ceremony, where I was presented with the Outstanding Sophomore Award, as well as the Newman Civic Fellow Award (which I was nominated for by Father Levesque, NU’s president).

The Newman Civic Fellow Award, in short, (as stated on their website) “honors inspiring college student leaders who have demonstrated an investment in finding solutions for challenges facing communities throughout the country. Through service, research and advocacy, Newman Civic Fellows are making the most of their college experiences to better understand themselves, the root causes of social issues and effective mechanisms for creating lasting change.” This was such an amazing honor to receive, and to be nominated for a national award by Father Levesque was honestly just incredible. I really can’t say thank you enough; it means more to me than I think anyone can understand.

Also, I performed at Open Mic Nite put on by the Campus Programming Board again this semester! It was a lot of fun. My friend, Mike, and I did a mashup of the songs Viva La Vida by Coldplay and Bad Romance by Lady Gaga. It was definitely a fun mashup to play and sing along to.

The Sunday after the Sigma Alpha Sigma ceremony was our RidgeFest concert put on by NU’s student government. This year, we had Andrew Ripp, Parachute and Andy Grammer come! I am in love with Parachute so I went mostly for them, but it turned out that the first act, Andrew Ripp, was incredibly talented and awesome to listen to, so that was an added bonus! During Parachute’s set, the lead singer, Will Anderson, came out into the crowd and I got to touch him! Haven’t washed my hand since, probably never will… I love them so much and they were just amazing, as expected.

After the show, we got to meet Parachute AND Andrew Ripp. They were all so sweet, humble and personable. As a side note, both Will Anderson and Andrew Ripp have the most beautiful eyes, so that, too, just added to the greatness of the night.

It’s been a pretty eventful few weeks, and now it’s time to really get to work and finish the semester strong. It’s also crazy that I will be leaving for Argentina in just two months and five days… I’m freaking out a little!

Have a beautiful week!

Spring Break in the Big Apple!

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 22:59:42 -0400

Spring break has come and gone, but I did get to go to New York City! I went with a group of about 13 students and a few professors to present our psychology research. We went to the Eastern Psychological Association Conference at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square! That’s where we stayed, too, so we were literally right in the middle of everything! It was seriously amazing.

We got there on Friday after a rough flight (we had to circle the airport for like 20 minutes, which was not good for our motion-sickness-prone travelers—aka me). Once we got there, we settled into our rooms; ours was on the 32nd floor overlooking the hustle and bustle of Times Square.

That night, we all went as a big group to eat at Bubba Gump's! It’s a restaurant based on Forrest Gump and they really went all out to give us the Forrest Gump experience. I got jambalaya, which was so spicy I spent my meal "crying" and downing five cups of water, but at least my sinuses got a good cleansing! It’s pretty cool in there. If you need the server, you just flip over these license plates on the table to the one that says, “Run, Forrest, run!” in red.

The next day was the first day of our research conference. It was a giant room with rows set up where everyone was assigned a little space to put up their poster, and people could walk around and read about everyone’s research. I got a lot of traffic at my poster and had to explain a billion times, “I did research on the relationship between music genres and depression and self-injury. I found that there is a positive correlation between indie and punk music with depression and self-injury, as well as a positive correlation between folk and musical theatre with depression. Country music was negatively correlated to depression. Also, total time spent listening to music per day was positively correlated with depression, regardless of the genre.” It was on repeat for the whole hour or so during my session.

That evening, a group of us went to Carlo's Bakery (the bakery of Cake Boss, Buddy Valastro)! It was AMAZING. I got this mini chocolate mousse cake with strawberries in it and on top. It was delicious. They have all the cakes that they make in mini form so you can try whichever you want without having to buy a whole cake. It was pretty much a dream come true.

We ate dinner at this awesome restaurant called Ellen’s Stardust. It’s where aspiring Broadway singers work until they get their big break on Broadway. During dinner, they all sing musical theatre so it’s pretty much one giant show in a restaurant. I LOVE musical theatre so naturally I adored it.

The next day, we went to a Sabres vs. Rangers hockey game in Madison Square Garden! It was so much fun. We had perfect seats and could see everything. Surprisingly, the Rangers’ fans were the most boring fans ever. They were pretty much silent for the first two periods, which was quite a change from Buffalo fans. Unfortunately, the Sabres lost, but it was a really good game once it actually got going (which took a good period and a half).

We left on Monday but, before we could leave, I, of course, couldn't leave NYC without getting myself a Jamba Juice smoothie! Banana Berry, perfection!

I wish we could have stayed for longer, but, all in all, NYC was such an awesome experience, and so much fun. It was a well needed vacation after the crazy semester I've been having.

Now we're just about on the homestretch of the year and I really can't believe I'm almost done with my sophomore year of college. It seems unreal. In less than three months, I will be on a plane to Argentina for five months. Who would have thought that it would come so fast?

Concerts, Road Trips, and TWLOHA

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 22:16:21 -0500

Get ready for an excitement-packed blog post, filled with excessive exclamation points, the word “amazing,” and an unnecessary amount of all CAPS (and maybe a combination of the three)!

This past Saturday, a few members of To Write Love on Her Arms and I all traveled to Detroit, Mich., for "Heavy and Light" (an event full of music, poetry and conversation put on by the national To Write Love on Her Arms Inc. that has been on tour throughout the U.S. for the past month). It was absolutely INCREDIBLE! First of all, the musical performances that were there included Noah and Abby Gunderson, Now, Now, Aaron Gillespie (who was the drummer of Underoath and now the lead singer of The Almost), Bryce Avery from The Rocket Summer, and last, but most definitely not least, JON FOREMAN, OF SWITCHFOOT, also with his side band, Fiction Family!

Each of them played their own 20-30-minute sets and sometimes they collaborated with the other artists on certain songs. The music was just amazing. They are all SO extremely talented. A lot of them were playing multiple instruments simultaneously, and Bryce Avery from The Rocket Summer used a looper, which is something that you basically make a sound into or play a tune into and it will keep that sound playing throughout the song without you having to continue making it. It was really awesome to see him do.

Us with Aaron Gillespie

All of the music there was so passion-filled, it was all so honest and so meaningful. I've never had an experience quite like that, where the whole time it was filled with a strong sense of hope, passion and purpose. It felt more like the artists were friends, rather than famous people. They each spoke of personal struggles, and their connection to the issues that TWLOHA deals with: depression, addiction, anxiety, self-injury, suicide, etc. I was really impressed to see these people have the courage to share some of the hard bits of their stories, to show the attendees that these are things we should be talking about and that depression, or thoughts of suicide, don’t stop when you’re famous, or you get a degree, or start an organization. These are issues that affect countless numbers of people throughout the world, and we are genuinely not alone in them, nor should we feel like we are.

In addition to the music, there was a spoken word poet, Anis Mojgani, who is AMAZING! I've been a big fan of his for a while now, so getting to see him perform live was a huge treat. His most famous poem, and one of the ones he did at the show is called “Shake the Dust.” To me, it’s about never settling. Never settling into hardship, letting it become the norm. It’s about moving on, creating communities around you of people that care, working through the pain, and not letting life turn you bitter. Keep pushing when life gets you down, and reach out when you need a hand. It’s worth the fight.

Us with Anis

No doubt, the most exciting and wonderful part of the night was right after Now, Now played. (Keep in mind, we were in the very first row the whole night, right up against the barrier!) I was looking away from the stage for a second when I heard my friends Molly and Rochelle say, “Oh my God, Crystal!” as they were jumping on me. I turned my head, and right there standing on the stage was DENNY KOLSCH (a.k.a. my biggest hero in the world, who I may be a tad bit in love with, and who I didn't know was going to be there!). I literally let out the worst fan-girl shriek and just like collapsed onto the ground out of excitement! (I really don’t even know how I got onto the ground, just one minute I was standing and the next I wasn't.)

OK, so I am IN LOVE with Denny, it’s pretty much public knowledge at this point, and I’m approximately 100 percent sure he knows it. Once I stood up, I literally just kept screaming even though the rest of the room was silent, and we made eye contact SO MANY TIMES. Also, he like actually knows who I am, so maybe it was more out of recognition that he was looking at me so many times, but we can only hope it was out of undying love and admiration (don’t judge!). Anyways, Denny told his story of addiction and redemption, and just further proved the point that you are never, ever alone, or helpless. The worst of situations can be solved, and the deepest of pain worked through.

Here is a picture of me and Denny after the show! Ah!

Finally, Jamie Tworkowski (who founded TWLOHA) spoke about how the organization began, and how it has grown to be what it is. He talked a lot about hope. He reminded us that we are all living a story, our story is important, and that help is real.

The night had its fair share of laughs and light moments, but it also was a night that makes you feel very alive. The best way I can put it is that it was fulfilling. It makes you feel whole.

Afterward, we got to talk to all the people who performed and spoke. I got to talk to Denny for like 10 minutes! He remembered who I was and what school I go to and everything! It was amazing. I’ve literally been replaying that conversation and the moment I saw him on stage over and over again. So much love for Denny!

We also got to talk to Anis, the poet, and the best way we could describe him was "cool." He was just like a cool person. Very chill, very sweet, very down to earth. All in all, it was just an absolutely wonderful night. I wish I could relive it over and over again. I’m so glad I got to spend it with some of my best friends, my cousin and some members of our TWLOHA UChapter.

Besides that amazing trip, we had our TWLOHA benefit concert with Steven McMorran from the band Satellite! He was also AMAZING! We had so much fun with him. Molly and I drove to the hotel he was staying at to pick him up and, right off the bat, he was so comfortable and so sociable. We chatted about so many random things and joked all the way back to campus.

It literally just felt like we were hanging out with a friend all night. When he played his set, it was insane how much passion and emotion he put into all of his songs. They’re so filled with raw emotion that it’s kind of overwhelming. His voice is incredible on top of it all. It was so beautiful, and - even though I've used the word a lot it’s the only one that works - passionate. It’s so amazing to be able to be around people who really understand struggle and overcoming that struggle. It feels so comfortable to be able to connect to people on that level, and when you know someone has been through some amount of darkness, it creates this unsaid sense of comfort and acceptance and that’s what the people both directly affiliated with TWLOHA or people who support the organization all share.

After Steven played, Rochelle (VP of TWLOHA) and I got up and spoke about the organization and what it means to us and what we want to convey about life, hope and community. Rochelle, Molly and I drove with him back to the airport and when we had to say goodbye, it was really kind of sad. We really didn't want the night to end, but, unfortunately, all good things must come to an end.

All in all, it was an amazing night. We had so much fun, laughed a lot and got to spread our passion a bit to the broader NU community. Oh, and my mommy came out too, so that was cool :)

Needless to say, it was quite the jam-packed TWLOHA week, and both nights will go down as some of my favorite memories of my college experience so far.

Thanks for sharing my excitement!

Sprinkles of Fun

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 13:27:23 -0500

Hello there!

This is going to be a pretty short post because the last two weeks have been jam-packed full of stress, homework and obligations.

Some exciting things that have gone on are that I handed in my application for study abroad, went to Boston Pizza in Canada for my friend’s birthday (and ate way too much food), did a lot of crafting, played a lot of guitar, and had a lot of movie nights at my apartment! Those were all MUCH needed timeouts from the chaos that has been going on.

Our To Write Love on Her Arms UChapter and NU Alliance have both been going amazingly this semester! TWLOHA has had some amazing discussions and we’ve definitely stepped up our game from last semester.

NU Alliance has been great as well! Last night, we had a crafting night, so we all just sat around and made bracelets and ribbons all night, and laughed an insane amount.

A few upcoming exciting things:

HEAVY AND LIGHT, a national TWLOHA event is in Detroit this Saturday, and we (TWLOHA) are going! The next blog post will be full of pictures and possibly a video!

And…

Next Wednesday, Feb. 13, our TWLOHA UChapter is holding a benefit concert featuring the band Satellite! It’s at 7 p.m. in the Multi-purpose Room in the Gallagher Center. Tickets are $5! Be sure to come out, it will absolutely be worth your while!

So sorry for this short and slightly (possibly) boring post, but the next will be awesome...guaranteed!

Study Abroad, NYC and Trips!

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 15:09:01 -0500

Hello there again!

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and some time off!

For me, I definitely had a good and exciting break. In only four weeks, I became an adult! Okay, maybe a complete transformation did not take place, but I definitely climbed a few steps on the ladder to adulthood - because I moved into my first apartment!

And I built stuff!

Like a table, and four chairs, and two beds, and a vanity, and a coffee table, and end tables! And let me tell you, that’s a big deal because I have a severe deficiency in the motor skills department, but I didn't chop any fingers off! It was quite the productive break, where many life skills were sharpened. I feel a tad bit accomplished!

The other exciting thing about break was TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA, which is my favorite event of the year. We've been going for something like eight or nine years, it's our family tradition. It was absolutely amazing! The picture is of me, my mom and my brother!

Since the semester started, it has been INSANE. It’s an extremely busy semester, and I’m drowning a bit in work, but it’s alright, it will pay off in the end!

On the bright side, I AM GOING TO NEW YORK CITY in about a month! I did a research project last semester on the connection between music genres and depression and self-injury in our Clinical Psych Lab. We submitted our projects (I think there were about eight or so) to the Eastern Psychological Association Conference, and we were all accepted!

The conference is in New York City this year so we all get to go and present our research at the EPA Conference! I AM SO EXCITED! While there, we get to go to a Sabres game and to a Broadway show (which I am obsessed with!). I’m obsessed with musicals and I've never had the chance to see one on Broadway so I seriously cannot wait! Not only is it an amazing academic opportunity to be able to present my own personal research at an EPA conference as a sophomore, but it’s going to be an awesome and much-needed getaway as well. It’s going to be amazing.

Before that even happens, our To Write Love on Her Arms UChapter is going to Detroit, Mich., for a huge national To Write Love on Her Arms event called Heavy and Light! The event’s purpose is to celebrate the heavy and light in our lives, to inspire people to break the silence that accompanies mental illness, to reach out for help, and to realize that they are not alone. There are a ton of musical guests, such as Jon Foreman, for example, and spoken word poets, as well as the founder of TWLOHA, Jamie Tworkowski. At this point, there are about 15 of us going. It’s only two weeks away, so we’re EXTREMELY excited. Pictures to follow (:

Last big trip to talk about is: I’m studying abroad IN ARGENTINA THIS SUMMER! It has been my dream since I was seven years old to go to Argentina and it’s finally coming true. When I was seven, we had an exchange student from Argentina who was amazing and became like a brother to me. Throughout the years we have always kept in contact and ever since he was here I've been infatuated with Argentina. I’m going for two months and staying with a host family. The best part about this all is that I’m going to Buenos Aires, which is where he lives, so I will get to see him again! He’s never been back to visit so it will be the first time in 12 years, and he even has a baby now - so I’m an aunt! Can’t wait to see them!

So despite the stressful school work that’s been going on, I have amazing things to look forward to and I know it’s going to be an amazing semester! Stay tuned (:

Holiday Inspiration

Fri, 30 Nov 2012 14:19:35 -0500

So here we are on the home stretch of the semester! Last week was Thanksgiving break, which was awesome - and MUCH needed! I got a lot of cuddle time in with my kitty so that, of course, made everything INSTANTLY wonderful. However, break did have to end and the crazy grind of the last few weeks had to begin!

It hasn't all been bad though! I feel pretty inspired and motivated after the events of this week to be honest.

Being president of NU Alliance, I have felt a lot of pressure to be a perfect leader, and to make sure everything goes as planned, and to make sure we are constantly doing events and such. This semester, it has been really hard to get things together for Alliance because of lots of changes in leadership, and because of a completely new group of members from last year, so I was getting quite discouraged because of our lack of, in my eyes, productivity.

However, I had dinner with one of our wonderful advisors on Tuesday and realized that we don’t have to be doing these giant events to be productive. Small social events, like drinking hot chocolate and decorating cookies can be just as influential to the group, and will help build unity and create a sense of belonging among all the members, more than a giant campus-wide event would. We also came up with an idea that we all agreed on and seemed more or less equally excited and motivated about, which should be happening around the beginning of next semester, so stay tuned!

It was really encouraging to see how a group seems to just need to find its niche and its purpose, and once that’s identified, things can really escalate quickly from there and the group can really prosper. I think we’re pretty close to finding that and I have a feeling next semester is going to be awesome for NU Alliance.

Our To Write Love on Her Arms meeting on Wednesday was AWESOME as well. We had a counselor from Counseling Services come in to do a workshop/discussion on positive self-image. I think it was one of our best meetings so far. She had us do a couple of cool activities, including one where we had a wooden board and we wrote on it what we would like to break through to bring us closer to more positive self-image.

Once we wrote that on the board, we each went up one by one, she held the board, and we literally hit it and broke it in half to symbolize the first step in breaking through our barriers. I think it was a really positive meeting for everyone, at least I know it was for me! The thing about that meeting that was most exciting to me, was that afterwards people didn't flood out like they were getting out of a class. Most of them stayed behind for a while talking to each other and it showed me that we are definitely creating a community within the group, which makes me a very proud mama bear, and lets me know that we’re actually achieving the things we set out to! (Since TWLOHA is basically my baby, it really meant a lot to see that!)

Then Thursday, I got sick, which wasn’t all that exciting, but having to stay in my room and sleep all day always makes me inspired and ready to get up and do something and not waste my life sulking and sleeping away my days! So, I may be sick, but I’m ready to make stuff happen! (:

For example, TWLOHA IS HOLDING A BENEFIT CONCERT NEXT SEMESTER WITH THE BAND, SATELLITE! CHECK THEM OUT here! AND GET EXCITED TO HEAR THEIR MUSICAL BRILLIANCE AT THE START OF NEXT SEMESTER! (: Literally, this song is one of the best songs I’ve ever heard. The emotion and passion in it is just amazing. You should definitely take a second to check them out, check out their other songs on www.wearesatellite.com and come see them live next semester!

And if you’re in a dreary mood because of this dreary and cold weather, let this hunk cheer you up! His name is Vito, and he's really dumb, but we love hiim anyways! :)

On that note, have a wonderful next two weeks, and try to relax a bit during this always stressful holiday season :)

Open Mic Nite Excitement!

Sun, 11 Nov 2012 21:44:04 -0500

So the highlight of the past two weeks definitely had to be Open Mic Nite last Thursday! My friend Mike and I (pictured to the left before hand) performed Look After You by The Fray. I played guitar and he sang, and it was awesome!

We've been practicing together since basically the beginning of the semester (even though we kept changing our song idea) but I was still extremely nervous going up there in front of 300-plus NU students and playing guitar (which I've only been playing for six months and taught myself…) It turned out really well though, even though at first my guitar wouldn't plug into the amp so we had to put a microphone thing in front of my guitar instead, which made me less nervous because then I got to sit in front of everyone for a bit and get comfortable. I am so proud of us for getting up there in front of everyone, and although we didn't win this semester, there’s always next!

Here is the video of Open Mic Nite - check us out at 3:53!

Other than that, it’s been a really busy two weeks with tons and tons of work. I finally finished my whole research on the relationship between music genre preferences and depression and self-injury, and submitted it to the Eastern Psychological Association and will find out if it gets accepted to the EPA Conference in December sometime! NYC HERE I COME (hopefully!)

This week should be a good time. We (TWLOHA) are planning on holding a dinner for veterans sometime soon in honor of Veterans Day and Veterans Mental Health Awareness Day, although that is probably going to end up happening after Thanksgiving break. And Friday is International Survivors of Suicide Day so we (TWLOHA.. again) are going to be tabling in front of Gally, handing out pins and asking people to place leaves in honor of those who have survived suicide on a little tree, and then play a myth/fact about suicide game! So if you’re in Gally on Friday, check us out!

That’s all for these two weeks! Adios!

Nature, Corn Mazes, Movies, and Pumpkins!

Sun, 28 Oct 2012 23:17:25 -0400

So we meet again on this lovely October day!

Fall is so perfect. The leaves which begun to fall so that they scatter around the ground but still leave the trees looking full. There’s nothing better. Weather like this turns my whole mood around, and I seriously wish it stayed like this and we could just skip the whole winter thing. But I guess the seasons aren't really up to me, are they?

Welp, since fall is obviously my favorite season, I've spent the last two weeks soaking up all the fall goodness I possibly can! When I left you all last time, I was heading to Glens Falls, N.Y., to visit my cousin, Ryan! My uncle, aunt and I left at 7:30 in the morning on Saturday (so I had to get up at 5:20!) and drove 4.5 hours to see Ryan. That day we went out to eat in Saratoga Springs and then went out to Lake George and drove up Prospect Mountain, stopping at four different overlook points, including the summit, which Ryan and I actually hiked up to from the last overlook. It was so beautiful and we took TONS of pictures!

The next day we went to eat at a cute little bakery in Saratoga Springs, and then went to this GIANT park, like seriously giant.

After that, it was unfortunately the end of our stay and we had to head back to good ole WNY.

Last weekend, a bunch of us from TWLOHA went to see The Perks of Being a Wallflower at the movies at the Galleria Mall! It was so amazing, and half of us were bawling our eyes out by the end… and I was sadly included in the criers (I do have to admit!). Afterward, we went to Jack Astors, where we literally laughed NON-STOP, so hard we were crying the entire time. They also told the waiter it was my birthday so I got “Happy Birthday” sung to me while I had to stand like I was singing “I’m a little teapot.” Embarrassing to say the VERY least. But still, so much fun and totally worth the embarrassment!

The next day we went to a corn maze with Psych Club, which would have been a WONDERFUL fall activity, but it had been raining almost all morning. We thought that it should be dried up by 5 p.m. so decided to go anyway. Well, we were very, very, wrong. It was impossible to even move one foot in front of the other, because each time we would step our foot down it would go flying. I fell... a lot of times and, for some reason, we went in through the medium level maze and came out the difficult maze exit. No idea how that happened! Oh and a minute into the maze, it started raining again. So we were freezing, soaking wet and covered in mud by the time we were done with the maze! It was a little rough, but we still had a lot of fun anyways and, of course, had to take a picture (Check out what our feet are in—that’s what the whole maze was!). Afterward, we went to Tim Hortons to try and warm up, but I think the only thing we were successful at doing was coating Timmy Hos with a nice thick layer of mud.

Wednesday was the day for pumpkin painting! I spent my lunch hour in the Gallagher Center painting pumpkins that were put out by the Campus Programming Board, and then at night TWLOHA painted some more pumpkins! I was pretty excited, it was some great stress relief!

I hope you enjoyed reading about my last two weeks of fall fun! Stay tuned for more excitement! (:

Mental Health Awareness Week Extravanganza

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 18:34:47 -0400

Happy Mental Health Awareness Week!

I hope you all had a jolly week and had a chance to learn something about mental health, and if not, let this be your chance!

I promised that this post was going to be better than the last, and it will be! I’ve had quite a busy week!

Last Friday started our Columbus Day long weekend so I went home for the first time since we started. I got to see my best friend, my cat and my whole family, so it was awesome. We had spaghetti Saturday at my grandma's and grandpa's, and all my aunts and uncles were there, as well as most of my cousins (the ones that are in the area and aren't on their own adventures in Hawaii, Detroit or Lake George.). I love getting together with my family, people who genuinely care about what’s going on in my life and people who know me well enough that I can be myself in front of and not worry about it at all. My grandparents are the cutest people in the world, too, so seeing them was precious!

In anticipation of Mental Health Awareness Week, Molly and I made lime green mental health awareness ribbons to sell at our To Write Love on Her Arms table this week in Gallagher. We slaved over that hot glue gun for hours, and I think they came out pretty spiffy if I may say so! Since we had Monday off, Tuesday started off the week. In the morning, a few members of To Write Love helped Active Minds (a mental health awareness club on campus) chalked mental health awareness facts and encouraging messages all around campus (as you can see in the picture—that I look like a 12-year-old in!). The best part about that morning was one girl who walked by us and said, “I like you guys, you guys are writing really nice things and I appreciate it!” If we can make one person’s day a little brighter, we have done our job.

After chalking the campus, we did an event called Get It Off Your Chest. This event is somewhat similar to PostSecret, but the gist is that we had tons of paint swatches and we invited people to write a secret on the paint swatches and submit it into this big box. It was completely anonymous and we ended up collecting 81 secrets!

Some of the secrets were funny such as, “I still count on my fingers” (which I totally do too, so whoever wrote that, I feel ya!), and some were much heavier. It was a really eye-opening experience for me, reading the secrets when the day was done. Seeing what people really hold inside really reminds me that what we are doing with To Write Love on Her Arms really matters, and that it is something where we can really make a difference in people’s lives and spread hope. We are going to display the anonymous secrets in Gallagher. Hopefully, people will be able to read some of them and realize that they are not alone and that other people feel the same way or have had the same experiences. I know that reading some of the secrets from people that also could have been my own made me remember that I am definitely not alone in any way. I think this was such a good event for us to do this week and I hope that it will give someone strength to reach out and realize that that is 100 percent okay. (Here is a picture from us sitting at our table!)

We had our normal meeting on Wednesday (for TWLOHA), and our topic of discussion this week was anxiety/stress. So, of course, we made stress balls! Which went horribly wrong! By the end of the meeting I was completely COVERED in flour, as were all my books and binders. Molly even had flour on her face, poor thing! Who knew making stress balls would be so stressful?! I was seriously out of breath by the time I finished making half of the members’ stress balls (they were so difficult that I just ended up making a lot of people's… haha..). But it was fun, so I guess that’s all that matters!

On Thursday, I spoke briefly about To Write Love on Her Arms at a Mental Health Awareness Talk put on by Active Minds. There were presenters from Counseling Services as well as a talk by Dr. Tim Osberg (a clinical psychologist and psychology professor here, also my advisor and our club advisor!). After that, my friend, Michaella, came up here to visit and then her, her friend, Molly, and I all went to Spot Coffee in Buffalo to meet my best friend from home, Jon, and one of his friends there for the evening! It was so much fun and awesome to get away for a little while and not think about studying! Haha--but really!

Finishing off this WONDERFUL week of Mental Health Awareness, we (TWLOHA) did a Black Flag Event. On Friday morning at 8 a.m., about eight of us took 500 flags and stuck them in the ground in a big grassy area outside of the Gallagher Center. The 500 flags are a visual representation of the 1,100 college students who die by suicide each year.

Inside Gallagher, we had a table where members of TWLOHA sat and handed out To Write Love on Her Arms postcards, resource cards and Counseling Center information sheets. We also continued our Get It Off Your Chest event and collected quite a few more secrets. We encouraged people if they are struggling to really reach out and ask for help, because that is the strongest thing someone can do. Knowing that you cannot handle something alone and not trying to insist that you are strong enough to do it alone, it really shows something courageous about a person’s character. It’s all about being honest and really taking care of yourself. The very last thing we want is for anyone here to think that they are alone and that help is not possible, it really is possible and the resources are available. It’s so great to have such an awesome team of people with TWLOHA, people that I can count on to sit at our tables, or help set up/tear down our events. It’s such an awesome thing.

Well, I hope you enjoyed reading all about our week of Mental Health Awareness! I am now off to Glens Falls for the weekend to visit my cousin! Cannot wait! (:

Anticipation of Excitement

Thu, 27 Sep 2012 18:26:59 -0400

Hello, lucky people who have stumbled onto this post,

Since my last post, life has been insane here on the ridge. I had four...FOUR tests this week (and yes, sympathy is welcomed with open arms). I had Spanish, philosophy, psychology of aging, and sociology tests, and thank God they are finally over. But it has not been absent of good fun necessarily. (Well the tests have, but my last two weeks haven’t!)

To Write Love on Her Arms and the NU Alliance are both going so well this semester, we have had consistently good numbers of people show up at the meetings for each and people seem to be really into each of the groups. It’s such a great feeling to know that I’m not flying solo in my endeavors to make a difference. And To Write Love on Her Arms is having its first event next Wednesday!!

Along with NU Poetry Club, we are having a poetry open mic night, with To Write Love on Her Arms as the theme of the poetry. It’s at 7 p.m. in Gallagher and should be pretty awesome! I cannot wait!

Also, tonight is the Homeless Sleep Out where all the clubs sleep in cardboard boxes overnight, build castles out of boxes and have a wonderful time, so I’m pretty excited for that. I’ll probably be freezing but it’s totally worth it! Annnnd, Sunday is Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk in Buffalo, which TWLOHA is attending as a team with DXE, a fraternity here!

On top of those awesome festivities, we are tye-dying with NU Alliance, and I seriously LOVE tye-dying. It is going to kick off our month of events and awareness. So keep an eye out for my updates on what those are in my next post!

I am also excited about this semester because I’m starting clinical psychology research! My research this semester is on relationships between depression, self-injury and music! And then, when my research is all done, we (everyone in the clinical psychology lab) get to present our research in NEW YORK CITY at the Easter Psychological Association convention in March! I am SO EXCITED.

Sorry to say that there hasn't been much time for excitement these past two weeks, but the next two should definitely make up for it! So get ready for a thrilling post in T-minus two weeks!

Crystal