Month: October 2016

Puppy Love

The phrase “man’s best friend” brings up dozens of fond memories, from my first dog, a Dalmatian named Kayla, to my current pup, a little Maltese-Poodle, Loki. Although Loki is not an emotional support animal, whose services to their owners are immense and incredible, he has served as a wonderful companion and brings me immeasurable joy. It turns out, science has proven that friendly, familiar dogs can reduce stress by lowering blood pressure, slowing heart rates, regularizing breathing patterns, and relaxing muscles. Interaction with a furry friend can have measurable changes to blood chemistry, actively combatting the creation of stress related hormones (AND these beneficial effects work faster than medication). Further, the bond created between a dog and its owner(s) can serve as social support, decreasing the risk for depression and anxiety as well as physical illnesses. The affection provided by a pet can also alleviate loneliness – which I can speak to personally, as my husband is often away due to his military service – and increase life satisfaction.

CMC brings dogs and puppies to campus during finals – but with the scientifically proven benefits of interacting friendly four legged pals, the administration might want to consider implementing additional programs. Since many of the finals week dogs are brought by local families, and many professors have dogs, creating a program where people bring their dogs to campus for a walk, a game of fetch, or a play in the fountains would only require organization. The benefit to students could be substantial, and many dogs would welcome the chance for extra play time!

#walkmewednesday #throwtheballthursday #fountainfetchfriday

Coping with Homesickness

I took a plane from Chennai, India armed with two carry-on suitcases and a VISA that confirmed my attendance to Claremont McKenna College. I landed in a country where the culture was foreign, interactions were different, and accents were alien.

I was fortunate to have my parents to ease my transition but that safety net was lost on day two of orientation, when they headed back to India. Orientation week was a blur of new faces, activities, and discussions where I had little time to breathe. But, as soon as it ended, I was lost.

In other words, I was homesick.

“Homesickness is not merely missing a house; rather, it encapsulates a wide variety of emotions, feelings, and warmth that one associates with a place,” says clinical psychologist Josh Kaplow [and make his name a link to the article]

I agree. I missed the humidity, sounds of traffic, my native language, my extended family, and the warmth of people that I grew up with. As an incoming international freshman, this was heightened. I experienced anxiety, difficulty with communication, and even a loss in appetite – all common symptoms of homesickness.

As a sophomore,  I no longer experience homesickness. I do miss my parents; however, I am lucky to have found my own niche at CMC . For those who continue to struggle with homesickness, here are a few helpful tips that helped me get through it:

  1. It is important to call your parents but not too often. It’s always good to touch base with them but you need to establish your independence, too
  2. Don’ot be afraid of seeking help.Talk to a counselor or a friend if you are unable to cope or are experiencing any kind of physical or psychological difficulties
  3. Try to get involved on campus. This will allow you to immerse yourself into the campus culture while also getting to meet new people
  4. Put yourself out there, talk to people, and always try to maintain a positive attitude.

There is no easy fix to homesickness. A tendency to miss home is natural feeling. But, by being patient, positive, and being willing to seek help, you might find yourself slowly adapting to a new environment.

It’s hard to completely replace a home, but it’s not impossible to find your space in a new city, country, college, or continent.

 

#DearTeenageMe

There’s a hashtag trending right now: #DearTeenageMe … here’s the advice I’d give myself.

Dear Teenage Me,

You can do it. Your hard work pays off. Everything turns out okay. I’d like you to know that things will never get easier – in fact, they will get harder, and more complicated, and will at times seem overwhelming. But life will also get more wonderful, satisfying, and interesting. Things will not go as planned, not even close. They will be better. Trust your instincts, and make choices that reflect who you are and what you want (NOT what you think other people think is the best choice for you).

Be prepared. You will make friends, only to grow apart from them. You will gain some weight, but that will not make you less beautiful, less important, or less worthy of respect and love. You will struggle with classes, and you will struggle with sports. Please remember that you are more than a dress size, more than a test score, and more than your athletic successes or failures. You are more than the sum of your parts, and there are people who will be there along the way to cheer you on, support you, and love you unconditionally. Cherish those relationships. Show that kind of love and support to everyone you can, because you will learn that even small acts of kindness can make a difference.

Be open to ideas that challenge your view on the world. You will meet people and take classes that will challenge how you think. Embrace these opportunities to grow. Learn about different people, countries, ideas, and cultures. Actively combat your own biases, and continue questioning the world around you. You will find that the world is a complex, messy, terrifying, beautiful, difficult place. You will realize that others have not had the same opportunities as you have. Be sensitive to difference. Acknowledge obstacles others face and do not disregard the experiences of others. Never forget that you are not better, or worse, than anyone. Try to show others this as well.

Above all, do not hold onto bitterness. Learn to forgive others, and yourself, for hurtful words and regrettable actions. There are few things in life that cannot be fixed with a sincere apology and a change in behavior. This is especially true regarding your thoughts and behaviors towards yourself. Fill your mind and heart with love, humility, ambition, and acceptance. Expel doubt, self-hate, disapproval, and comparisons to others.

Remember that there is always room for improvement, but that does not mean who you are today is not good enough.

Pat Crowley: Introducing Insect Protein into Western Cuisine

This week, CMC alumnus Pat Crowley paid us a visit at the Athenaeum. Pat ’02 is the founder and CEO of Chapul, Inc., a company that is transforming the natural foods industry with its cricket energy bars. Concerned with topics of food and water sustainability, Pat aims to introduce edible insects into the western diet. Unbeknownst to us, most of the food products we consume require extremely high levels of water consumption, aggravating the issue of water conservation and sustainability. Insects, on the other hand, barely require any water, increase the diversity of food supply, and grow in a wide range of climates, making it an efficient and healthy source of nutrients, especially protein.

What Pat points out as the main inhibitor of the propagation of alternative forms of nutrients, such as insects, is the cultural barrier. Some Western cultures are not ready for this revolution and lack acceptance. However, Pat believes this to be temporary. As soon as the cultural perception surrounding this matter shifts, a new food supply chain will be engineered.

Although still aiming for cultural-wide acceptance, Chapul’s mission has already captivated the natural foods industry, which understands the importance of sharing and maximizing resources. A collaborative effort is required in order to shift our perspective on consumption. Happily, companies like Chapul are gradually gaining market share and traction in the right direction towards the proliferation of conscientious consumption. Please join me in congratulating Pat’s efforts in building a more sustainable future and revolutionizing the food industry.

For more information, please visit http://www.chapul.com.

Non-Combat Veterans

Professor Taw at CMC teaches an amazing class called “War.” In the class, we read between one and four books a week that looked at war through the lenses of theory, memoirs, fiction, and historical analyses. Soldiers in the BIG wars – WW1 and WW2, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan – these were the people we looked at. Individuals who went to war, to fight, to the messy, harrowing, haunting hell that is combat. But one thing we never formally talked about were non-combat veterans. We talked about the shift in America to an all-volunteer force, which altered demographics and reduced general American emotional and physical involvement in the military (less than 1% of the U.S. population is active duty). We talked about the need to reorganize and attempts to repurpose our armed forces. But we didn’t spend much time on non-combat veterans.

We talked about the fact that the glorification of war may be held in striking contrast with the dirty reality that war actually is. We talked about the terror, the psychological trauma, and survivor’s guilt. We talked about those who didn’t make it home, and the refusal of many who did make it home to accept the title of hero. But we only briefly discussed what it means to be a non-combat veteran.

This idea is near and dear to my heart. My husband is an active duty sailor in the U.S. Navy. He was forward deployed for 13 months, sailing around Asia and the Middle East on a submarine supplier. He has never seen combat in his four years of service, but his commitment to the military means he could be reassigned into a conflict zone at any moment. In an age where the American public is increasingly distant from the military, many members of the armed forces are blindly thanked for their service by people with little understanding of what they’re doing. Many military personnel are cherished and held up by loved ones as heroes.

I understand that. I think it’s incredible that, for whatever  personal reason, these individuals sign up to serve their country in whatever capacity the military sees fit. But I also think labeling these men and women “heroes” out of hand places enormous pressure on them and even pushes them to want to go to war. Many soldiers, sailors, marines, etc., will never see combat. They will do maintenance, gather intelligence, and file paperwork. They will do incredibly important jobs that support our military’s ability to maintain its status as the strongest in the world. But by glorifying the soldier who has returned from war after defeating the enemy – very WW2 – we as a society might be encouraging our young men and women to want to deploy, to want to engage combatants, to want to go to war. It instills within our troops a message: if you do not serve in a combat capacity, you were missing out, you are not as much of a soldier, and you are less worthy of support and praise.

In an era where the military’s purpose and priorities are being reassessed, I think researchers need to focus on the perspectives of our service members – how they feel about their roles, the purpose of the military, and what it means to be perceived as a hero. Because while one of the prerequisites for joining the military is mentally preparing for the order to go to war, I’m not sure it should be a personal aspiration.