Hello Everyone,
NEDA week is coming to Fontbonne this week!! What is it? It is National Eating Disorder Awareness. A group of dedicated students set up various events throughout Fontbonne to bring to light the tragedy that an eating disorder can bring to a person’s life, how to help someone with an eating disorder, and more. Posters are everywhere and a Facebook event has been listed. Keep your eyes out!!
So Far the lineup includes:
MONDAY: LIBBY LYONS presents an interactive session on eating disorders from 12-1pm in the Lewis Room.
WEDNESDAY: What do you know about eating disorders? Find out in the DSAC from 11am-1pm and win a HOMEMADE COOKIE!
Something St. Joseph Hall on the 3rd Floor is Operation Beautiful. It is an inspirational post-it note program from a Blog called Operation Beautiful. The Girls floor of St. Joseph Hall helps this blog by posting positive post-it notes!! Hopefully you can see some of the ones I am and will be posting throughout the semester! This blog is especially good for NEDA week and anyone can do it! Just go to www.operationbeautiful.com !!

Hello Everyone,
As you probably already know, November 6th, 2012 was Election Day! For myself, I woke to the beautiful time of 5 AM, drove in the freezing cold, and waited for about an hour and a half to finally cast my vote. Polls did not open until 6 AM, but at my polling place the line was long despite my early arrival. The lined moved fast and I could hear the chatter of others discussing who they were going to vote for. This was my first Presidential Election. I have heard many arguments about the candidates and voting in general. Some tell me to vote one way because of this and others tell me to vote another way because of that. A few even stated that my vote did not count anyway so why even vote! All I know is that voting is one of those rites of passage that I think everyone should be proud to be able to do. It might not seem the most ideal, but it is better than having a dictator or someone else deciding what to write on my ballot. Maybe that is what people should take away from Election Day.

Whether democrat, republican, third party, tea party, doesn’t matter. What matters is the chance to come together as a whole to decide the fate of the country we live in. That might sound a like something from a movie, but isn’t that what we are doing? We are picking one person to be the head of the political system we chose to have in America. The power might not be equivalent to a dictator because of the other parts of our government, but it is there and has many chances to change America for better or for worse. Opposing sides will always exist and there will always be people upset with the outcome when it comes to Election Day. This should not deter you from voting though! If you don’t use it, it can easily be taken away. Now I voted. Did you?

Hello Everyone,
Our prompt this week was to reflect on something that we try to do every day that is challenging in our life. I racked my brain for something that I do and I guess my answer to this prompt is I simply try every day to live a healthy lifestyle. Two things I make sure to do is exercise and eat healthy. Sounds simple, but every day is a new day full of challenges and temptations. I find it way too easy to justify the multiple deserts in one day instead of just one because of the various “exercises” I did that day (and that could just be using the stairs in Ryan or Medaille!). I am not saying it is the worst thing in the world to indulge. I actually find it very satisfying to have moments of no guilt snacking because we are only human and sometimes we want those uber greasy French fries and slice of German chocolate cake! Some things I try to do, as a college student with a limited budget is to try to only buy a few snacks to have in my room like apples, carrots, or peanuts. All are good sources of vitamins and protein. Besides the “good-for-you” snacks, I make it a point to have one “bad-for-you” snack, like Oreos or a couple candy bars because on rough days apples are not going to make you feel better. Chocolate is a good pick me up and having some in your room already keeps you from spending unnecessary dollars at the vending machine! Eating good is great, but not complete without that all engrossing work out that keeps your blood pumping and mind moving to be fueled and focused for academics. I lack motivation to exercise on my own. I always start off strong then peter out as time goes with various excuses (homework, need sleep, I don’t feel like it).

A great thing Fontbonne provides is the wellness classes throughout the year like yoga, Zumba, and boot camp. I have done the yoga class, which was a great time to relieve my stress and anxiety. I, also, do the Zumba class at Fontbonne and student only have to pay $10 for the entire class. That is way cheaper than any monthly gym subscription! What helps me get to the classes is having a buddy. She keeps me motivated to want to come to class every week because I like spending time with my friends and a wellness class is more fun with people you know. So this life style is a never-ending work in progress. A lot of days I fail in little ways, but I do not let them completely stunt my head way. I just keep moving forward. One day at a time. So find something in your life that you wish to change and just keep on trying until something works. It will be worth it in the end!

Hello Everyone,
The weekend has sped by on rockets in my opinion! This semester, altogether, has gone by TOO fast! I would like to remind all students that registration is just around the corner. So keep your eyes out for those spring course catalogs!! I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this is the way of things when the semester is coming to a close. To keep spirits up, though, this coming week is chock-full of awesome! First of all Thursday, October 25th, is the FALL FESTIVAL!! What does this entail? Oh, just some pumpkin carving, cake walking, costume contests, and MORE! This is a great way to have a Halloween night before Halloween. Also, this week is the MASQUERADE BALL!! I hope everyone has gotten a ticket because this is a night you do not want to miss. Have a fancy night out with friends in masks that you can make during the Fall Festival. This week has a myriad of possibilities for the average college student to partake in! Plus, throughout the week we will be celebrating OkSOBERfest, which consists of a movie night on the 21st in DSAC, the Sam Spady Story in DSAC on the 22nd, and Games and free food in the Meadow/AMC on the 23rd. All of these oppurtunities are great to have as the semester rolls along because we need moments of distraction to remind us to have fun while hitting the books. So I hope you all take my advice and try some of these events!!

Hello Everyone,
I have been lagging with consistent, on time, blogs, but this week is full of good things (besides those Monday Blues)! One cause that is great and is a focus this week is “Fat Free Talk.” This means that you and those around should eliminate “fat talk” in conversations. You know the phrases “I am so fat today” or “this shirt shows off my fat too much!” Anything that is a negative comment towards one’s body is BAD!! No one should say such put downs so casually. One thing Fontbonne did in support of “fat free talk” is that the organization, FISH, took weight scales and decorated them. Scales are bad news bears! It is hard to come off a scale and be happy with the result. Decorating the scales is just one way to say “I do NOT need something in my life that just makes me feel bad all of the time.” I recommend knocking some sense into anyone dissing his or her own body. If you do not like your body, then have a change in life style. The important part is that you want the change. Not someone else telling you that you need to change. Complaining through “fat talk” will only discourage any motivation to improve health. “Fat talk” is not good and needs to be stopped. Saying “I am fat” to “you are so fat” never comes with a positive result. So stop it and jump on board to a positive, fat free talk way of life! This cause was emphasized this week, but is something that is ongoing!!!

Hello Everyone,
It is around midterm time! I have taken one and have another one waiting for me this week. These major tests always result in super stress and a very forgetful mind. I think I might have lost something at least 5 times! It could be a pen, my phone, a homework assignment, car keys, anything! Whenever my mind is fragmented into a million tiny thoughts I need an outlet. My stress free, midterm free time is yoga. Yoga, if you don’t already know, is a form of exercising that focuses on stretching, breathing, and recognizing that you, as a human being, need a moment of nothing; nothing being no thoughts at all, only thinking of breathing in and out. We fill up our schedules so much with classes, work, sports, friends, homework, and barely leave time for ourselves. I find yoga extremely relaxing, but everyone has a different outlet.

What do you do? Read? Run? Sing and dance? If you don’t do anything, I IMPLORE you to try it! It doesn’t have to take a long time. Just try something to release the crazy! It will help more than you can imagine!

Hello everyone,

One of the most terrifying things I have discovered about college is only two words and it is MAJOR APPROVAL! This comes in a lovely form that tells the college you are going to what you will be studying to become for the duration of your stay. This means that you have pretty much picked your future career. Once you have decided and filled out the form that states the life you have chosen, it is difficult to switch. It might be easy to say, “Oh, I don’t want to do this anymore!” Changing it on paper is not as easy. 1) The paperwork needed to switch majors is grueling to do especially if you are lazy, and 2) most of the classes you have taken probably pertain to the major you picked first and switching means all that money you spent on previous classes was wasted. Some are lucky and have classes that work for the major that was and the major that will be, but money is money and it cannot be given back because of a lapse in decision making. How are you supposed to know you will like the major you picked, though?! Unfortunately, there is no exact science to know for sure.

I have picked Special Education as my major and Fontbonne University has made me realize what a daunting task I have decided on. Education, in general, involves many steps to complete and a lot of money in between. Education courses only count for education, obviously, so if I didn’t like it in the end, I would be back at square 1. I was nervous and overwhelmed every time I looked at this checklist to become a teacher, though! Eventually, I looked pass the checklist and looked at what I really decided on as my career choice. I picked children. I chose to be an educator and a life-long learner because I wanted to spread the knowledge I have and will have. I did not pick the list of tasks needed to be a teacher, but that won’t stop me from doing what I want to do. I was lucky enough to have taken an Education course that put me in the classroom and seeing all of those kids only solidified my resolve.

So all I am saying is that one way to know if you have the right major is to stand back and look. Is the list of tasks to get to your end goal too much? Can you see pass it to what you will become? If you are having difficulty, try finding hands-on experience and do a test run. Otherwise, your unwillingness to move forward might be an indicator. Again, we can never be sure we are making the right decisions about our future, but we can do our best and see what happens. GOOD LUCK to ALL of you!!! I am simply a voice you can choose to or choose not to listen to.

Hello Everyone,
I just wanted to take a brief moment to share with you the LOVE I have for thunderstorms!!! They are probably the most gorgeous works of nature that anyone could experience on a regular basis. Seeing the lightening crack across the sky sends a thrill through me every time. Hearing the crash of the thunder is a reminder that nature can be louder than mankind. If you haven’t already guessed, I am one of those people you would find on their front porch watching the storm blow through. Some of you might wonder where my self-preservation is, but I find it soothing to listen to the outside world rage war within itself. Thunderstorms are loud, wet, and dangerous. I find these qualities as positive aspects. I do not mean that I enjoy sitting in the middle of a storm getting sopping wet, and I do not think car accidents as a result of a storm are a good thing. I mean more that people just need to pause what they are doing to reflect upon the phenomenon around them because it is a warning that we are too absorbed in our everyday lives. I take the opportunity when a thunderstorm strikes to listen to the world around me. Not the computer or the T.V. or the phone, but the natural sounds of the world. So, take a breath, stop, and listen to the storm!

Hello Everyone,
Well the FLU is about, so watch out! I have, unfortunately, caught the bug and it is one of those colds that stuff up your nose so much you can’t breathe! People usually lay in bed, drink lots of orange juice, and sleep it off. I did no such thing. I had my orange juice, some vitamins, Robitussin, and went on my merry way through classes and various other tasks. I HIGHLY do not recommend this. If you are one of those people out there with your nose running faster than you can walk to get a tissue, get to bed; immediately. Powering through a day ill not only prolongs the illness, but spreads the illness! Sounds logical so do it! I am pretty stubborn when it comes to colds, but I am slowly changing my ways and being more considerate about not spreading germs. And by germs, I mean cold and flu. I do not mean every bacterium we come into contact with on a daily basis.

Just follow basic germ courtesy rules. For instance, when you sneeze or cough cover your mouth with the inside of your elbow. DO NOT use your hands! If you do, simply GermX them or wash them in the bathroom. Runny nose? Keep tissues close at hand or go to the bathroom to clear that cave. No one wants to see the bats escaping. If you feel bad enough, it WILL show on your person. Take your “sick time” to have “you time.” It is a great excuse and will give your body time to rest up for a tougher day. This was my biggest concern this past week, but stay posted for happenings at Fontbonne. We have lots coming your way!!!

Jeanne