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SBU | Wellness > Mental Health

Miss Mantra

Madeline Thornton Student Contributor, St. Bonaventure University
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at SBU chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

Quotes and mantras are things that I live by. I love to find new ones, putting them on my mirror and learning ones to live my life by. I mostly find them on Pinterest and TikTok, and they end up taking up most of my phone storage. Shout out Claire for coming up with Miss Mantra because I love making mantras to live by. 

Monday mantra: this Monday mantra for Oct. 21, 2024, was “do what you want because people are going to judge you anyways, so you might as well be happy if they do.” It is simple things that I do like to do that let me sit and think for a minute of little things that should be done unconsciously that sometimes and others may benefit from hearing occasionally. 

“Love yourself and make yourself a priority” 

Looking at this everyday has helped tremendously, especially with the bad days where I am not feeling the best about myself, psychologically, mentally or emotionally. Throughout my life, I have had a rough time setting boundaries and not letting others break them. So, having a little reminder is the best time to remind myself of this. I love this quote because when I read it, I have to take a minute to sit in silence and breathe, which also helps me rest.

“Focus on the step in front of you, not the whole staircase” 

This is one of my favorite quotes. It reminds me to take a deep breath and not worry about everything that I have to get done, but one task that I have to finish. My therapist often tells me, pick three to five things that I want to get done right now, do them and then take a break. If I want to do more, I can but if I only have the ability to do three that’s enough. Many times, I feel so overwhelmed that I end up not doing any of it because the simply thought of it stresses me out too much. So, take a step back and only look at one step, assignment, task – whatever it is and not focus on anything else till it is done. You can do this!

“Don’t worry about what you can’t control” and “What is meant to happen will happen”

Now this quote I have to repeat a lot more than I would like to admit. I am the type of person that would say “but if I could just make them” or “if they would do it this way”. I am a control freak, and I struggle giving up control and leaving it God, the universe or whoever is listening to me. I fully believe that whatever is meant to happen will but giving up the control to do that is the hard part. I have noticed that I have become less controlling after the end of high school because I realized after my ex broke up with me, the people who want to stay will and the people who will go will go. I can’t control them and make them stay because what they do isn’t in my control and what will happen, will. They only left my life to make room for more people who want to be my friend. I have realized that it will all end up okay as long as I relinquish control and let the world work. 

“Let them”

Now this quote goes well with “don’t worry about what you can’t control” and “what is meant to happen will happen” because the meaning behind it is to just let them do what they want to do. If they want to walk out of your life, let them, and if they want to disrespect you, let them and find someone who will treat you better because there are people out there that will treat you the way you are begging the other person to treat you. So let them do what they want and move on. 

“Growth is not linear” 

We often feel that if we are not going up and having a great day all the time, but sometimes you will have a bad day, not do the best on a test or something bad. But at the end of the day, when you do have something bad, you can always go up from there. When you hit rock bottom, the only way is up. You can make it because you have made it through one hundred percent of all your bad days so far. So, you can make it through the rest of them.

Lastly, as Miss Mantra, I want to leave you with this: you are enough, you are loved, you are beautiful, you are worthy, but most of all, you are perfect just the way you are. 

Madeline Thornton

SBU '28

Madeline Thornton is the Big and Little Coordinater for the St. Bonaventure Her Campus Chapter. She writes pieces that focus on girlhood, campus life, reading and a multitude of other interests. These pieces will range from fun and lighthearted, to some more thought provoking and heart tugging. She hopes to grow the sisterhood bonds with the Big and Little Program as well as her creativity within her writing.

Madeline is currently a sophomore Psychology major with a minor in Business Administration minor. Madeline not only spends a lot of time dedicated to Her Campus, but also around campus with being a Student Ambassador, working in St. Bonaventure’s Financial Aid office, a Resident Assistant, and being a part of multiple other clubs: Empower, Book Club, Psychology Club, Women in Business and ENACTUS.

Away from her academics, Madeline spends her time reading, working out, and hanging out with her friends and family. She has two cats, Clara and Caliope. She loves anything that could be put into a romance genre, from books, movies and more! Lastly, she loves to grab a sweet treat, her favorite ice cream is Grasshopper Pie, it tastes better than the name, she promises! She works at an ice cream shop over the summer, so she will never say no to a sweet treat!