By Sophia Harris
Associate Editor
It's a hard part of the semester, and I get it.
Midterms back-to-back, sometimes multiple in each class, loads of homework and reading - it is easy to get lost in the work and forget why we are all here.
As college students, we all came to Framingham State with big dreams and goals, but as I am sitting here almost halfway done with my junior year, I feel a little lost. I feel like I strayed away from my dreams and passions and the reason why I came here in the first place.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the friends I’ve made here, and all of my professors have been an absolute blessing. But somewhere during the all-nighters and multiple office hours appointments, I lost the reason I came here in the first place.
This point of reflection on my career here at Framingham State has pushed me to seek out ways I can bring back the passion and drive back into my life.
And what I have done and continue to choose to do is something I think we all can do as a community.
I have chosen to seek out love in every aspect of my life. Every day.
Hear me out, I know how it sounds - believe me.
What I mean by “choosing to seek out love” is to share small moments with strangers that create a very human interaction. They strive to bridge the gap between two people, breaking the cycle of doing the same thing every day and thinking the same thoughts.
These small interactions can shift your perspective of who you are as a person and push you to stop dragging your feet by brightening your mood.
This can manifest in many different ways - love doesn't just have to come from relationships.
This practice can be as small as holding the door open for a stranger to as big as inviting your whole family over for a big Sunday night dinner. I’m not sure why these small acts of kindness have helped me improve my outlook on school and personal relationships, but they really have.
I think a factor is the act of “choosing” - it may take some practice, but then it will turn habitual.
Choosing to stay back in order to hold the door for a mother and daughter walking into a movie theater, or choosing to have a short conversation with someone in the Dunkin’ Donuts line, maybe giving them a compliment on their shoes has helped me bring positivity into my life.
It shifted my thinking to look at how I can spread kindness and positivity.
This change in my thinking has helped me break out of doing the same thing, thinking the same thoughts, and being in the rut I was in before I adopted this thinking.
Recently, after thinking this way for a couple of months, I got the biggest compliment I could receive. “Sophia you find love in everything.” This meant a lot to me because I have always been a very pragmatic black-and-white thinker.
This only proved that the change in my thinking has impacted not only my outlook on life but how people observe and see me as well.
I wanted to share this with the Framingham State community because I know things are hard right now, believe me, I do, but if you can try to find the love in something every day, I promise you will feel fulfilled.
You can find love in all corners of your life, you just have to look for it.