Dearest sophomores,

                I hope this past month has treated you all well. I know sickness has been going around which really can kill the mojo. Not only that, but these floods have completely turned our beautiful state upside down. It completely breaks my heart and having seen it firsthand is simply shocking. I drove home the Saturday after the heavy rains hit and I ended up driving right into the storm. I was convinced that the apocalypse had begun. It was terrifying to drive through and the same storm struck me en route back to the Fort the following day. All I can say is my best to all Coloradoans, but especially those who were directly affected. I know in some way we all were, and I kind of get nervous seeing rain clouds for fear of another flood. I hope our beautiful state recovers quickly physically but more so emotionally.

                On a lighter note, we are over a month into school! How do you feel about that? I feel surprised that it has gone by so fast. People have said that college is gone within a blink of an eye and boy they weren’t kidding! I think as of right now, I have almost eased into my sophomore year. It took me a lot longer than anticipated, and is it just me or are the classes a LOT harder than last year?! With the rise in difficulty of academics there comes a greater expectation of oneself. Well, for me it does at least. I expected to be on top of my game, working out three times a week, having a great social life and being able to still do crafts or something on Sundays. Yeah… no. Although, I did do crafts this past Sunday and made a lovely headband as you can see.

                I went to this really awesome event the other day in the plaza of the rec center for Hispanic Heritage Month. There was a singer/guitar player entertaining while an artist danced and painted. It was very unique. I never know if I should simply feel honored to be able to see such talent or horrible about myself for lacking such talent. Either way, it was wonderful to see. I got to mingle with diverse folks and soak up some sweet Spanish music.

                As part of my Group Communication class, I must volunteer somewhere with a group of people and observe the dynamics that occur. Therefore, I went to Zach Elementary school to volunteer at their field day with a couple of my classmates! It was the longest three hours of my life. I completely forgot the fact that kids are always energized. In the blazing heat of the afternoon, I instructed them to run a seriously far distance for elementary school children. I kid you not (pun intended), it was probably a good quarter of a mile. Without complaining, they would book it all the way down and back before I would even say “go”! So good for them. They were a pleasant, three-hour reminder that I was not in shape and did not have constant energy. I will say that it was really wonderful to be around kids again, though. I forgot how sweet it was to just be around folks whose biggest worry was not being cut in line for the hamster ball race. It felt really good to be there and really helped clear my head up of worries. In the end, the longest three hours of my life were ones of much appreciation, reflection, and exhaustion.

My point being, take some time to do something out of your routine. I’m not a counselor, a doctor, or a guru, but I know that doing activities out of my routine help keep me level-headed. Spreading myself too thin is my specialty, but so is keeping my sanity. This year I know that will be huge. As a parting note, I hope October brings you beautiful fall leaves that uplift your hearts and grades. Also, I’m a big sucker for memes so I shall continually post ones that make me smile or chuckle.

Love always,

         Your sympathetic, stressed sophomore  --- Chand