Hey there! My name is Hannah Shelton, but my friends call me Hanner. I am a member of Alpha Class 2018, and I am a second-year journalism major who aspires to attend law school. I am also a Florida Cicerone and serve on its Diversity and Inclusion committee. Both inside and outside of Alpha Delta Pi, I am incredibly passionate about mental health and wellness. From building healthy habits to learning to love ourselves as much as we love others, this passion does not cease regardless of circumstances. Given that we currently find ourselves in extraordinary conditions due to the COVID-19 outbreak, we ought to actively seek ways to grow within this season of life and take advantage of the positive things social distancing can bring.
While this blog post is intended to inspire us, I want to first acknowledge the reality of the situation and the varying emotions, changes and struggles it brings about. We are all affected in a unique way. Acknowledging our personal mental health and wellness with patience and understanding is the first step to growing within this time. No emotion is insignificant; whatever we are feeling is worthy of being felt. I encourage us to have confidence in knowing that we have each other, we have our health and we have each other to encourage our health.
Alpha Delta Pi has gifted us remarkable friendships, memories and values. In not having a house this year, we also experienced the true meaning and strength of community. Our “home” is not defined by nor confined to a space. Community is a feeling, not a place. It is a feeling that we should revisit and invite into our hearts, especially during this time in isolation. We may be physically apart right now, but I want to share ways to build and maintain a sense of community with ourselves and others.
This period gifts us an abundance of time. While the lack of structure that comes with it may seem daunting, an easy way to ground ourselves is to create a personal plan to make it meaningful! Write out goals, intentions, meal ideas, self-check-ins, hobbies to pursue, books to read, TikToks to make. Make it realistic and tangible, so that we can celebrate ourselves and our accomplishments. Build routines: sleep schedules, workout routines, skin-care routines, any activity that brings joy and structure. Prioritize your well-being - make it you, make it fun! During this time, indulge in current passions and explore new ones. Now, we have the opportunity to break from the cyclical nature of college life and do things that bring us personal fulfillment.
Not only is this is a season to invest into yourself, but it is a time to pour into others. May we continue to maintain our current relationships and be inspired to form new ones. In a time where we are unable to be with each other, it is more important than ever to intentionally pursue our relationships and foster a sense of closeness in spite of a lack of proximity. This means call friends, facetime family members, send a kind text message, go on a virtual coffee date, ask for help. Let us invest into others the way we want them to invest into us, even from a distance.
These circumstances and conditions present us an opportunity to chase after and achieve a sense of personal fulfillment. Above all, I want this post to encourage us to seek out ways to improve ourselves, our relationships and our overall quality of life. Now more than ever, We Live For Each Other.
Be safe, be smart, be kind.
- Hanner
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