Making a Change

Hello Raptors!

I hope you are all rested and ready to get back on the grind as we get even closer to the end of this semester. This break was much needed and it has helped me get mentally prepared for these last weeks of school. I hope you have all enjoyed your families coming over as well as the delicious food that was served on Thanksgiving Day. Whether you celebrate it or not, I am glad you had some days off to rest or shop – whichever applies!

And as we get closer to the end of the year, I want to encourage you to make a change in your life. It can be something you’ve been wanting to do for a long time or something new that you’d like to accomplish before the year ends. I think that as the stress of finals slowly approaches, we often forget to meet some of our personal goals. To me, this is becoming very important because I feel satisfied as well as content after making positive changes in my life. I have recently become a pescatarian, but my goal is to eventually become a vegan. This is an enormous change in my life because I grew up eating meat, chicken, pork, etc. My reasons vary, but to sum it up I am tired of knowing of how animals all over the world are being killed for human consumption and not doing anything about it. It goes beyond animal cruelty; it is just inhuman. I’m sure not everyone will agree with me, but that’s ok; I respect everyone’s opinions. I share this with you because just like I decided to make this change in my life, I can assure you that you can do the same with anything you set your mind to.

There are so many little changes you can do before we end this year, and I think that sharing some tips can help you reach your goals before you even know it.

1. Set a goal: Think about the change you’d like to make and literally write it down somewhere you can see it.
2. Find the reasons: No goal can ever be met unless the reasons behind that goal are important to you and only you. Make sure the reasons behind this change go back to you and are important to YOU; don’t do it because someone else is doing it.
3. Start small: I can never emphasize this enough! Rome was not built in a day, so you can’t change something in one day. Start making small changes and slowly build up those new habits.
4. Reward yourself: Don’t forget to reward yourselves when those small changes are paying off. Candy, a piece of clothing, going out somewhere can all be some sort of reward.
5. Don’t give up: Even though it’s easier said than done, we can all agree that we would rather know that we have tried than not tried at all, right? There’s nothing wrong with taking a break so if you feel like you need one, go ahead and take it.
6. Enjoy it: There’s nothing better than enjoying the changes you make in your life. After all, don’t we all want to enjoy our everyday lives?

Well, friends, I hope this list helps you get closer to your goal and make the changes in your life more joyful rather than a hassle. Have an awesome last week of November and good luck with your new goals and studying!

~Meredith