A 10 Minute Meditation A Day Keeps the Stress Away

By: Anna Murphy

College can be a very stressful time for people. Whether it is stress from trying to make new friends, school work, or planning for a career, this time in our lives can come with lots of stressful baggage. With balance and mediation, though, college can be a wonderful time. 

Many scientific facts about meditation prove its benefits for mental health. People who consistently meditate show more signs of compassion, less stress, and sharpened attention. There is even research that says meditation can increase your memory. With our lives being so busy and our minds constantly connecting with technology, it is essential to take a small daily break. That is why I suggest a daily ten-minute meditation session. 

For me, my perfect meditation happens before I go to bed in a quiet room. During this meditation, I focus on my breathing and clearing my mind of the stresses and problems during the day. Meditation can be different for everyone. It doesn't have to be done at night in a quiet room; it can be done on a walk or in the sunshine. It all depends on what works best for your mind and body. Here are some steps that I follow. 

Steps for successful meditation: 

1. Focus on your breathing. Focusing on your breathing will help keep the invading thoughts away. I like to focus on the thought of my lungs expanding and contracting. Another area to focus on is the breath entering and exiting your nose. 

2. Find a quiet place. It is essential to be able to meditate in a quiet area. Outside noises tend to be very distracting and can interrupt your thoughts. It isn't easy to find a quiet place in a college dorm, so I put my headphones on when meditating. 

3. Listen to a guided meditation. Guided meditations make the process much easier. You can find many free videos or podcasts online in which someone will guide you through meditation. Whether trying to clear your mind of anxiety or from stress with school work, you can find many guided videos involving these concerns. 

4. Stay consistent. If you find a time every day where you can complete a ten-minute meditation, it will only get easier each time. Eventually, you might even want to switch off of guided meditation and do your own. 

The process of meditation can be much easier said than done. I, too, am still trying to get myself on a schedule with mediating because I tend to only do it during the week or when I am extra stressed. I can say, though, that I have noticed the very immediate benefits of meditation. I find that I sleep better when I do it before bed, I have learned more about my mind and body, and most importantly, my anxiety and stress levels are down. 

Sources:

https://shedefined.com.au/wellbeing/i-meditated-for-10-minutes-every-day-and-this-is-what-hap pened/ 

https://mindworks.org/blog/why-is-meditation-important-facts-you-need-to-know/

How To Improve Your Mornings

By: Hannah Berry

Good morning!! I hope you’re already having a lovely morning and an even better Wednesday filled with sunshine and iced coffee. If you aren’t having the best morning, don’t worry there’s still time to turn the day around. I bring to you seven ways to improve your mornings- coming from a midmorning person! (I am not a 6 am morning person, but an 8 am morning person, you feel me?) 

1. Start waking up ten minutes earlier than you need to wake up. These ten minutes give you time to lay in bed, manifest or set your intentions for the day, and maybe read the daily news on Snapchat, or check your horoscope. (Where are my other Virgos at!!)

2. Set your alarm to one of your favorite pump-up songs. I love waking up to Kesha. It makes me feel hyped and ready to go even if I know my day isn’t always going to start off wicked exciting.

3. Have a morning “treat” you look forward to having. Mine of course is iced coffee. However, if you aren’t a coffee person maybe you look forward to kombucha, tea, lemon water, or a chocolate chip muffin. Your motivator doesn’t have to be food either, you could also amp yourself up with time to watch an episode of your favorite show or read or chapter of your book. Whatever gets you out of bed! 

4. Plan your outfit. When I like my outfit my day is at least 75% better. Especially when I plan my outfit the night before and I am excited to wear what I picked out all day. Dressing up makes me feel more put together which correlates to more productivity and a better day all around.

5. Say your affirmations. I know it sounds stupid and this notion is everywhere right now. But affirmations are so real! If you say three nice statements to yourself in the mirror every morning you will start to feel more positive about yourself. I am confident. I am loved. I am enough. 

6. Set your intentions. This is different from saying your affirmations even though they sound very similar. If you have time, write down your goals for the day. Whether they are small goals like getting out of bed by 10 or larger goals like hitting 115 on my bench press, write them down!! You are 42% more likely to achieve your goals if you write them down! (This is a statistic from Forbes).  

7. Let some sunlight in. If possible open up your blinds and let the sunlight into your room or living space. Sunlight is a perfect provider of vitamin D and an instant source of happiness! 

Mornings can be tough. Some are definitely way better or way easier to wake up than others. There’s a vast difference between waking up at 5 am for a flight to Florida and waking up at 5 am to play in a tournament. Taking every small step you can to improve your mood early in the day will lead to better days (que NEIKED, Mae Muller, and Polo G). Manifesting a fabulous Wednesday for you all!!

Stepping Into Women's History Month: The Powerful Women of UMass

By: Caroline Tierney

Considering UMass Amherst’s strong academics, you can only imagine the brilliant alumni that have graduated from our university. As March is just a day away, here are some of UMass Amherst’s most notable female alumni, to start off Women’s History Month on the right foot. These women have helped lay a foundation of empowerment and equality for students across the board.

1. Karen Kaplan ’82 - CEO and President of Hill Holliday, one of the world’s largest marketing and communications agencies based in Boston, MA. After starting out as a receptionist hoping to save enough money for law school, Kaplan dipped her toes into nearly every role at Hill Holliday, making her the ideal candidate for the CEO position. Over half of her executive team are women!

   https://www.hhcc.com/culture/karen-kaplan

2. Cady Coleman ‘91 with a Ph.D. in polymer science and engineering - selected by NASA in ‘92 to join their team of astronauts. Some of her space flight experience includes being aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia orbiting Earth 256 times in just over 15 days. Additionally, Coleman is a former Air Force Colonel and continues to advocate for women in STEM.

   https://cadycoleman.com/

3. Natalie Cole ‘72 - well-known music artist and actress from the 70s. Some of her hits include “This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)” - yes that amazing, catchy song, “Miss You Like Crazy”, and “Unforgettable”. Unfortunately, she passed away in 2015, but her legacy and impact on the R&B industry remain.

   https://nataliecole.com/

4. Buffy Sainte-Marie ‘70 - Canadian American singer, songwriter, and first indigenous person to win an Oscar for music composing. She is also passionate about digital art and creating awareness around indigenous communities through her music.

   https://buffysainte-marie.com/

5. Joanne Weir ‘75 - cookbook author and host of her own cooking show. 

   https://www.joanneweir.com/

6. Irma McClaurin ‘89, ‘93 obtained multiple degrees from UMass - American poet, anthropologist, and author of several books. She is the first female president of Shaw University. McClaurin has written several pieces of literature about black feminism, African American history, and has advocated for her own culture of Belize. 

   http://mcclaurinsolutions.com/

7. Madeleine Kunin ‘56 - Former Vermont Governor and author. She is currently a lecturer at the University of Vermont, speaking on the topic of feminism and women in politics. 

   https://www.madeleinekunin.org/

8. Briana Scurry ‘95 - U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team Goalkeeper, two-time Olympic gold medalist, World Cup Champion (‘95, ‘99, ‘03). Scurry’s role in women’s soccer is monumental, she is one of the first female African American professional soccer players and has paved the way for increased diversity in the sport. One of her biggest passions is creating awareness around concussions and head injuries; she regularly speaks on this topic.

   https://www.briscurry.com/

9. Danielle Henderson ‘99 - former gold medal-winning Olympic softball player and current UMass Softball Head Coach. Henderson was a three-time collegiate All-American Athlete during her time playing at UMass. She is very well known for her success in the sport and continues her legacy as the current Softball Head Coach here at UMass.

   https://umassathletics.com/news/2021/6/16/danielle-henderson-named-massachusetts-softball-head-coach.aspx

10. Valeria Martin ‘74 - poet and author of 12 novels. Her most recent novel is “I Give It To You”, published in 2020. Martin has taught writing programs at several colleges including UMass, Mt. Holyoke College, and more.

    https://valeriemartinonline.com/biography/

11. Serena Williams - globally known female tennis player. Williams participated in the University Without Walls education program at UMass and changed her major from Business Management to Pre-Med, per her tweet in 2014.

How to Stick to Your New Year’s Resolutions

By: Page Cole

With the start of the new year, January is looked at as a month of new beginnings and opportunities. Most people like to make new years resolutions, but in reality, it can be really hard to stick to them and maintain these goals in your life and future. Here are some tips to help you maintain your goals and resolutions!

1. Start small.

   You might have these huge goals in mind, which is great but can also be really intimidating if you are starting from square one. Instead of creating an unrealistic standard for yourself, start with smaller, more achievable goals that will leave you feeling satisfied and accomplished when they are completed!

2. Write them down.

   As simple as this sounds, it can be really helpful to physically see your resolutions written down. After you write them down, review them a couple of times a week to track your progress and remind yourself of what you really want to achieve. Taping a piece of paper on the wall of your resolutions is also really motivating and helpful.

3. Make goals for your goals.

   Once you have your resolutions down, think of smaller ways that can help you achieve them. This will help you plan out how you will get there and will keep you from going in blind. Having a plan is so important, and will help your resolutions become daily habits.

4. Keep the pressure off!

   Nobody is perfect, and everyone makes mistakes. It is totally normal to not follow through with your resolutions every single day, so make sure you are not too hard on yourself. This is so important because in being nicer to ourselves, we actually tend to achieve more. So keep the pressure off and know that making mistakes and having off days is totally expected. 

Making new years resolutions can be intimidating, but I hope these tips will help you stay motivated and plan out how you want to achieve them. Remember to stay positive and consistency will come. Happy New Year!

New Year, New Me?

By: Ayesha Devani

With 2022 approaching in a few days, we’re entering the season of new year resolutions. While we see some resolutions that are specific to certain goals, we also see some that aim to completely change a person. May it be through Instagram captions, books, magazines or articles, we’ve all heard the phrase, “new year, new me.” When talking about exercising or eating healthy or even picking up a new hobby, we often find ourselves using the phrase, “new me.” I myself have done so without thinking deeply into it. Why would I? It’s usually a concept associated with the idea of positive change. What we don’t recognize is the fact that this concept is deeper than it seems. For many of us, this idea creates unimaginable pressures and standards taking a toll on our mental health. That is what this post will be exploring. 

Let’s begin by decoding the phrase. When we put across the idea of creating a new us, we are implicitly implying the leaving behind of who we were. Not only does this discourage who we grew into, but it also discards our journey and experiences as flawed human beings. Setting resolutions and aiming to reinvent ourselves are two extremely different ideas. As much as the idea of reinventing comes with a positive attitude to embrace better habits, it also comes with the idea of leaving yourself behind. By taking ownership of who we are and what we do, we contribute to our individual character. This is the foundation of who we are. By restarting on a blank page, we lose that sense of character. Despite the fact that it may be flawed, it is who we are. Both social circles and social media discredit this by promoting, “new year, new me.” What we should be doing is promoting humans as flawed individuals allowing people to embrace who they really are without societal pressures to change.

Over the years, I’ve come across countless new year resolutions. However, most of them surround the same ideas. Exercising, eating healthier, finance management and self-care sum up the whole concept of resolutions. I believe that this is the case with millennials because of how fast social media spreads content. Eating healthy and working out have almost become trendy instead of actually serving their purpose. This brings in the idea of external influences. Many of us, myself included, often get influenced by content that social circles believe to be, “idealistic.” Perfect grades, the perfect body, the perfect social circle and many more. Due to this influence, we often set goals on the basis of external influences. This is popular at this time more than any other because this is when setting resolutions becomes trendy and so, we see it everywhere. This is us directly setting ourselves up for failure. “New year, new me,” implies that change can only happen at the start of a year. Not only does this lead to procrastination, but also puts immense pressure on us as individuals. There is so much in the world that makes it difficult to put our needs above the needs of society. As a result, this concept continues to feed into external influences that control us, our goals, and our way of living.

There’re always two sides of a coin. Despite the fact that I’ve been highlighting why we should discard this concept, there is a lot that we should retain. It just remains to be a matter of perspective. Instead of focusing on change, we could focus on what we wish to keep. What we wish to keep in terms of experiences, highs, lows, everything. In today’s era, especially as teenagers, there is so much we are consistently battling with. This makes it more important than ever to recognize our growth. May it be for the better or for the worse, our growth is truly ours and ours only and this highlights our individuality.

Sources:
https://www.theodysseyonline.com/how-your-sleep-position-affects-your-health

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/25/style/new-years-resolutions-millennials-gen-z.html