If you’re feeling constantly restless, dissatisfied, and envious of others, change your look. Changes to career, relationships, geography, and finance may have huge, terrifying repercussions, mainly because those changes involve other people. But changing your look is singular, self-contained, all about you. It may elicit some curious comments from friends and coworkers and family members, but mostly it’s a change that is entirely within your control. YOU are the only person who decides how you dress, what you wear, how you wear it, when, and why. That’s a lot of power, and it can be used to shape your feelings about yourself as a participant in the world’s events.

Read the rest of the post by clicking this link.

But here’s the thing: “hermiting” doesn’t help. Believe me, I should know. (Seriously guys, more than TEN MOVIES in one weekend.) While we all react to stress differently, it’s important to also be aware of environmental factors that can affect our moods. And I don’t mean a pesky roommate, I mean literal environmental factors. I’m one of many women that has SAD–Seasonal Affective Disorder. During winter months, my vitamin D level drops, my fatigue increases, my focus decreases, and I become a lethargic lump. Once spring hits again, I’m skipping down the sidewalk in skirts and sandals, eager to  take on the day.

This is a really extreme (and slightly exaggerated) example, but SAD can dramatically affect your moods. Even if you’ve had sunny days like we have (KNOCK ON WOOD), the amount of sunlight that we receive is still significantly diminished. Your body doesn’t soak up those delicious and invisible vitamins that trigger your brain to produce neurotransmitters that will keep you alive awake alert and enthusiastic during the day, but also help you sleep at night. You don’t even need to have SAD to be affected by this; individuals with SAD are just much more susceptible to fluctuations in circadian rhythm (that thing that helps you sleep when you wanna sleep and stay awake when you wanna stay awake).

As the winter progresses, it’s important to stay aware of your energy levels or your mood changes. Women are much more susceptible to SAD, and especially in New York (Land of Very Tall Sun-Blocking Buildings), it can be difficult to get the sunlight you need. Even though you don’t feel like it, go for a walk in the park. You can keep the sweats on, but get out of your room for a while. Did you know that a walk from the Barnard gates to 110th st and back is 0.8 miles? Even just that amount of fresh air can be really refreshing to the mind and body. Take a 10 minute break from the library to walk around a little bit–your mind and body will thank you.

If you have more questions about Seasonal Affective Disorder, check out this article that my mom, a licensed professional counselor with thirty years of experience, wrote on SAD back in December. I know, shameless plug, but really it’s a great article, and nepotism never hurt anyone (ask the Kennedys!). If this is something you’re interested in learning more about, come in to the Well Woman Office, Primary Care Health Services, or Furman Counseling Center. Although there’s no “cure” for SAD, there are things to do to help alleviate your symptoms.

I’m going to leave you with a music video that’s been stuck in my head all day and perfectly describes the feeling after a bad day. We may not all have someone to rub our feet or fix us up our favorite treat (I am accepting applications for masseuses and cooks, everyone welcome to apply), it is important to take care of ourselves…especially when we don’t feel like it!

I must admit, I’ve become a bit of a foodie since winter break. I taught myself how to cook (and since it’s “pics or it didn’t happen” on the internet, click here for the images to prove it) and have ever since been looking for ways to incorporate that cooking knowledge into the everyday hustle and bustle of college life.

So, you can imagine the excitement that I had when I read about this book, An Everlasting Meal, on the New York Times Wellness blog. Taking the fear out of cooking? Talking home cook philosophy instead of chef-based? No crazy recipes or ingredients that I would have to go all the way out to Queens for? Sign me up!

The book just came in for me today and I started reading it right away, ignoring all my other studies. From the first few pages, I am smitten. Tamar Adler talks about food in a ritualistic and practical way – her first chapter mimics the “how to boil water” crowd and tries to make good use of that water too (for instance, after cooking veggies, you can boil your pasta in that water, siphon a little bit of it out once the pasta’s done, add cheese and oil to make a light sauce!). And from the first page on, she dispenses some good de-stressing wisdom, not just applicable to cooking, but to life as a whole.

All I can say is that so far this book is like Bird by Bird for cooks. Applicable in so many ways to so many aspects of life, although it appears from the outside to be on a specific mission. Snag a copy if you can or check it out from the library in your (copious) free time – it’s worth the study break.

Take your finals, take some time off, then go on and see if you can separate the the eustress (good pressure) from the crushing and return stronger next spring.

Also, as it says in the post itself, I will be doing a series on stress and the academy in the coming months. Leave a comment if you have any questions/problems that you think I should address.

This is where Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO) comes in.  They run many programs throughout the slum, including the Kibera School for Girls.  The school takes the neediest young girls with a desire to learn and instead of paying school fees, parents spend time volunteering at the school, ensuring that they are involved in their daughters’ education.

Check out this amazing video featuring Kennedy Odede, the founder of SHOFCO, and these amazing girls.   You can also go to the Kibera School for Girl’s website to learn more and see how you can help this amazing community organization find the best ways to create future female leaders in Kenya.

Remember, it’s just a test in one class on one day of your life! I really struggle to keep everything in perspective at this time, but I’ve found that taking a break to do something I enjoy (reading something NOT for class, dancing, etc) helps me snap out of any panic, which then helps me study or sleep better. Take a look at the above tips and good luck!

Check it out! : http://www.ted.com/talks/johanna_blakley_social_media_and_the_end_of_gender.html

If you’re on campus, please stop by Low to check us out all week–we’re making a public art project to raise awareness (and funds) to end AIDS.

Next, some bad news: cuts from donor nations have forced the Global Fund to cancel its most recent round of grants. 

The effects have terrible consequences for the vital programs that depend on the Global Fund: 

The group Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) called the cancelation of grants “an unprecedented event which will have a direct impact on tens of thousands of people living with HIV.

According to MSF, more than 70 percent of antiretroviral drugs in the developing world are funded by the Global Fund. In Africa, the fund finances about 85 percent of TB programs. 

“The impact of the cancelation halts progress in fighting the epidemic in countries facing the brunt of the epidemic,” MSF said.

The group added: “The dramatic resource shortfall comes at a time when the latest HIV science shows that HIV treatment itself not only saves lives, but is also a critical form of preventing the spread of the virus, and governments are making overtures that there could be an end to the AIDS epidemic.”

So, what can you do? For starters, you can sign the petition at http://treataidsendaids.org/ to demand that President Obama scale up funding for HIV treatment now. Treatment was demonstrated to be prevention, so investing in wide-scale treatment now, despite the economic crisis, will save millions of lives and avert millions of new infections. On top of that, it will actually save us money in the long run by slowing the transmission of HIV, requiring increasingly fewer people to be treated until the pandemic can finally be ended by about 2041–30 in, 30 out!. 

Also, please call the White House Comment Line at (202) 456-1111 and let President Obama know that you are hoping for his strong commitment to increase HIV treatment funding and be the president who ends AIDS. I’d definitely suggest mentioning the cancellation of Global Fund grants, as well as the target of 6 million people on treatment by 2013. Here’s a script for some inspiration:

Hello, my name is _____. I’m calling

to urge President Obama to increase HIV treatment funding to put 6 million people on treatment by 2013. President Obama has flat-lined funding in previous budget requests. If he instead increases his funding request for 2012 to reach the goal of 6 million people on treatment by 2013, we could end AIDS by 2041. Will President Obama commit to increase HIV treatment funding and become the president to end AIDS? Thank you.

Expect more updates this week! 

I hope everybody had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday filled with fun, food, friends, and family! I just got back to Barnard, and of course did not feel like working on my many essays right away, so I went to Hulu to catch up on some TV. However, I got distracted by the fact that Charlie Brown Thanksgiving was online. I hadn’t watched it in years, but I felt like it was the perfect thing to watch after stuffing my face with food for a solid four days. In case any of you want to continue the holiday spirit with your suitemates/hallmates/roomates or whoever with a great holiday movie, I suggest it. (I think it should still be on Hulu for a while longer.)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sincerely,

Mary Margaret