During Ally Week, To Write Love on Her Arms founder Jamie Tworkowski spoke in the Montgomery Auditorium in Lafun. Though there was a small audience, Tworkowski treated the crowd as friends and spoke, not as a speaker, but as a part of the conversation.
To Write Love on Her Arms is a nonprofit “dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury, and suicide.” I decided to attend the event on a whim, familiar with the organization from my summers at Warped Tour in high school. Tworkowski mentioned many important topics in the realm of mental health and discussed different talks he has given and people he has met over the past decade his nonprofit has been active. However, one phrase stuck out to me most that night: stick around for the surprises.
As college students, it is no secret that we do not have the best mental health. We drink too much caffeine, we sleep too little, and we stress too much. There are unpleasant statistics that go with that: More than 11 percent of college students have been diagnosed or treated for anxiety in the past year and more than 10 percent reported being diagnosed or treated for depression (Chadron State College). We overthink the small things and we fixate on events that haven’t happened yet.
But Tworkowski brings up the excellent point that sometimes, life is about the surprises. I find that the best experiences are those planned spontaneously. Sometimes it’s about finding a group of friends to take a day trip, as close as South Bend or as far as Chicago. Other times, the best experiences are those that you wouldn’t normally choose to do. Sometimes it’s about saying yes to attending an event on campus that you wouldn’t normally attend (like me, sitting in on an Ally Week-sponsored lecture).
At a highly competitive academic school like Notre Dame, or any other Top 25 college, it can feel difficult to step away from work without anxiety over grades or meeting expectations. Freshman Moreau classes learned about feeling overwhelmed with responsibilities at the beginning of the semester. But life is not about controlling every variable. Life is about taking advantage of opportunities offered, because you don’t know if there will be a next time.
My favorite surprise last semester was attending the Pancake Break in CoMo during finals week. I’m not a big fan of breakfast foods or walking to CoMo in the cold, but a friend invited me and I had wanted to put off studying. I’m still so happy that I decided to go. The people who sat at our table were engaging and inviting, my friend and I grew closer, and I was able to feel more in the Christmas spirit at the school I still couldn’t picture as home.
So as finals week approaches, remind yourself of the surprises you may stumble upon on campus. Take note of the little things that make life a little more interesting, whether it’s the blue skies, Zahm blasting music on warm afternoons, or the trees finally blooming. It’s the small things that bring the most hope.
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