Peace has a somewhat fluid definition. While peace can mean tranquility, concord and kindness for most people, choosing and actively maintaining peace in your daily life can fluctuate from person to person. After all, finding peace within yourself—whether you’re looking to find harmony in your new-found-singledom or your physical appearance—can mean something entirely different than making peace with your friends and family. But, how do college-age women define peace? And, what does choosing it look like for them?
Seeing as Peace Tea launched its Choose Peace campaign to drive awareness for kindness in conjunction with the organization’s Random Acts of Kindness, to better understand what peace means to college-age women, we asked them for an interpretation.
What does choosing peace look like to you?
“I think that ‘choosing peace’ means focusing on being your own definition of happy and healthy, and making choices each day that help you continue to work towards the goals you have set for yourself.” – Audrey Lent, California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo
“I have always appreciated this definition of peace and it has helped me in many situations. I would also add that respect of the other person’s ways of peace, or the larger situation, helps to make peace for me. I think the process of making peace, for me, is: identifying what I’m struggling with, naming it, hearing another person’s side (if possible, as it isn’t always), internalizing the info, then doing what I can to come to terms with it, and letting go.” – Allie Carville, Graduate
“I find peace boring. People try to chase happiness, but I don’t think a perfect life exists. At the end of the day, you’re chasing the right to choose your own problems. I might be alone with this opinion, but I had a relatively peaceful life while working a stable job in finance. I had a good job in finance, an apartment, and very little problems… other than boredom. Eventually, this is what lead me to quit my job and travel the world. Despite the chaos of my new life (moving around, cultural differences, sometimes drama), I’ve never felt more at peace with who I am and my place in the world.” – Tessa Clare Endencia, Graduate
“How can we live in a world of peace and happiness? If we all could get away from the idea of drama and jealousy and choose kindness and humility, this would be a sure path to peace. A path that has women uplifting one another, a path of marriages that last, a path where children can grow up in a household with both of their parents. It starts with the women…What does our life look like choosing a path of peace? It does not mean becoming mother Teresa. It means showing kindness and peace in our everyday life. Choosing kindness daily towards our loved ones, and strangers you see on the street. Making peace a daily habit will make life easier and calmer. Sooner or later you won’t have to focus on this lifestyle and it will become your new routine.” – Emily, Graduate
If you want to learn how you can get involved in the Peace Tea{m}’s mission to choose peace and bolster kindness, visit Peace Tea’s website to learn how you can choose peace and spread a little more love too.