“FALL”ING DOWN DIFFERENT PATHS BY EMILY OLSON

7:45AM. Alarm goes off. Snooze once. It’s 7:55. Hop out of bed and the daily morning routine is in motion. Walk out the door, catch up on social media and emails while walking to Farmer Palace of Business. Next day, same thing. Oh what about the day after? No difference?

I challenge you to spend a week with your phone in your book bag, headphones out, walking alone around this beautiful campus and taking in the fresh air and things going on around you without distraction. I challenge you to spend an extra hour EVERY DAY that it’s nice out to go for a run, do homework outside, eat lunch outside, or just relax outside. Taking advantage of this can help us to clear our minds, get some Vitamin D, and improve our happiness.

The American Meteorological Society did a study on this and specifically said that your happiness is maximized at 57 degrees Fahrenheit. This is the time of the year we should all be thriving and exploding with happiness, but many of us don’t put aside the extra time to get outside. And when we are outside, so many of us have our heads down or are too distracted by the person we are walking and conversing with that we don’t reflect on our lives or get our creative juices flowing. We live on one of the most beautiful campuses in the country and forget to put down our phones and look around.