Wellness Wednesdays with Diana: Your Weekly Dose of Happiness, Nutrition, and Fitness Tips
The Best of You
Some people can bring out the worst in even the best and most patient of human beings. But thankfully, we also know people who bring out the absolute best versions of ourselves. With these people, whether they’re your family members, friends or significant others, you become the you that you wish you always could be, year-round.
In many of my classes, I’ve had to write what I am and how I’ve become who I am. But that doesn’t satisfy me because it forces me to analyze a highly flawed version of myself. So I’m proposing an alternative way to journal—instead of writing about what actually happens everyday, I write about what I wish I could do better or differently moving forward.
One way is to start by writing down what a perfect day would be like for you. What would you be doing if you could be doing anything right now? More importantly, who are you spending time with when you are the best version of yourself?
The first idea that came to mind was philanthropy. It was a huge part of my life before college, and I unfortunately got too caught up in everything else there is to do in college that I completely lost touch with intentionally doing charitable work throughout the past four years. Every once in a while, I would sign up for a service trip, and these trips are always very special because they take me back to what I believe was the least selfish version of Diana, a Diana who isn’t too busy catching up on homework and job applications. A Diana that can see the bigger picture. The most recent example I can think of took place when I mentored a Philadelphia high school student for an hour on her college admissions essay.
I realized that it wasn’t an academically based class, or an extracurricular that led me to what I think was my best day this semester. If it weren’t for my writing professor who recommended I sign up, I wouldn’t have come across this opportunity. And this in turn reminded me of how lucky I am to have a place like the Kelly Writers House or how lucky I am to have people who push me to use my writing to do good.
So this column has a two-fold purpose. It’s a big thank you to the people who bring out the best in me, and it’s also me urging you to surround yourself with influences that make you a better person. How you define that is entirely up to you. It could be the most athletic, most ambitious, most philanthropic, or happiest version of yourself that you are most pleased with. Find that version of yourself and grab the people who help you reach it.
And then hold on to them for a very long time.
Diana Gonimah is a senior at the University of Pennsylvania from Cairo, Egypt. She is a writer, Features Editor, and Recruiting Chair at the UPenn chapter of Her Campus. She’s passionate about psychology, journalism, creative writing, and helping people in any capacity. Check our website every Wednesday for Diana’s column!