A Springtime Challenge From The Editor

Spring Quarter is back, and isn’t it glorious? I am feeling uncharacteristically optimistic about this quarter, and I hope you all are as excited as I am! There are a great number of reasons to fall in love with this quarter, but here are mine:
 
First of all, we already have great weather. Look outside your window- is there sun? The answer is more than likely yes, which already gives spring a leg up on winter. I’m in a dress, and even though it is a bit chilly in the shade or if the wind picks up, I am not altogether miserable.
 
That not-unhappiness brings me to what I have deemed to be my theme for this quarter, self-loving. It sounds super cheesy, I realize, but what better time to focus on health and happiness than in the spring? Self-loving goes beyond going to the gym and eating a salad, though. It’s about the way we treat ourselves. As women, especially overachieving Northwestern women, we expect a lot from ourselves. In school we expect perfect grades, in relationships we expect to be the model friend, girlfriend, partner, etc, in extracurriculars we expect to be fully devoted and actively involved, and finally many of us strive for physical perfection. That’s a heavy load on any collegiette’s™ plate. My promise of self-loving is about being nice to myself about all of those expectations as I aim for them.
 
Certainly I can’t change the way I’m wired. While I may not let go of these goals (and I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing), I have to be cognizant of what I am sacrificing to pursue them. I love being a student, I love being a friend, I love my fun jobs and I want to be healthy and active. As I seek out these passions, though, I find that sometimes I place so much pressure on myself that I give up on protecting my happiness and my sanity. I give myself fully to the many things I do and people I love, but I can’t forget to enjoy them, be proud of them or to praise myself for accomplishing goals.
 
In this quest, I am beginning to learn to mend the way I speak to myself. It started on Sunday, when I wrote messages on the mirrors in my apartment. Some were silly, like “hi pretty girl!”, but others reminded me to be in control of my own life. My favorite quote comes from Eleanor Roosevelt, by way of the Princess Diaries, obviously. She said, “nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent”- and my addition… not even you.
 
So, beautiful, smart, funny, engaged, compassionate women of Northwestern, take a moment today to think about what you say to yourself when you look in the mirror. If you find that you’re nitpicking your appearance, pushing yourself to do more or better when you’re already doing your best, or not allowing yourself to just be happy and have fun this quarter, give yourself a break. Go out, see your friends, hand in a paper with confidence, be fully engaged in what you love, and say something nice to yourself when you do it.