What I'm Geeking Out About This Week - 12/04/15

Greetings!

Here's what is going on in my world this week:

• Thanksgiving Break

I enjoyed the holiday break last week by taking some time away from the blog (why there was no new post last Friday) and having a wonderful dinner with my mom and my partner. I also was able to just sleep in and take care of my life by getting all my dishes and laundry done. It's funny how such simple things can make a positive impact on our lives by helping us not feel so overwhelmed. I also always feel better with an empty sink and my favorite clothes ready to wear, but that's just me.

• Jessica Jones, A Retrospective

I finished watching all of season one of this spectacular Netflix show with my partner this past week. I was excited for it before watching and it lived up (or even exceeded) my expectations. On several different levels, I so glad this show exists. It explores themes of trauma, heroism, recovery, and so much more. It had a compelling story and great characters that I'm excited to continue to explore, like Luke Cage especially. I highly recommend it to anyone to check out. The fact that this exists in the Marvel Cinematic Universe but also just as a stellar comic book property. It continues the long positive trajectory of all the recent adaptations and I feel like it is an engaging and entertainment property for any viewer, comic book lover or not.

• Arrow/Flash Crossover

It has been a big week or so for comic book movie/TV geekery. In addition to my previous geek out, there was the first big Captain America: Civil War trailer, the newest Batman VS Superman trailer, and we had this awesome DC TV crossover event this week too! My heart has been happy with all this good stuff coming out. The trailers both look great and the two episodes of Arrow and Flash this week were a lot of fun. We got introductions to Hawkgirl, Hawkman, and Vandal Savage in this event. There was a lot of legwork for both shows to do on top of the plethora that has been done already to set up the upcoming Legends of Tomorrow. Nevertheless, this was an entertaining team up with all the comic book fun we've come to expect from these two shows, especially Flash (which is more of my favorite).

Thanks for stopping by!

Ways to Engage Your Students in Giving Thanks

*This post was originally featured on The Student Affairs Hub.

As we approach the season of giving, I thought it would be relevant and important to talk about the value of gratitude for ourselves and our students. We often take for granted that the people we care about and owe our success to, know how much we appreciate them. So many things go unspoken and feelings remain unknown because we assume people can read our minds and know how we feel.

Obviously, people can't know what we don't tell them. Students especially, owe a lot of people for getting them to where they are today. It can be a transformative educational experience to help convey the importance of gratitude as well as give opportunities to our students to put this value into action.

Here are some ideas to help implement this concept:

Organize a Scholarship "Gratitude Gala"

I've seen several campuses put on events like this, (I've even partaken myself as a student way back when). Essentially, you just set up an opportunity to have students hand write notes to the specific people who helped fund their scholarships to be able to go to your institution.

You can make it into a fun party atmosphere with refreshments and it's just a simple but powerful gesture for students to know that their scholarship came from another human being and they can share their gratitude with them, (it also will probably help retain the support from your generous donors to get these sort of notes).

You can even take this one step further and have the donors come and meet the students personally to engage on a deeper level. Investing in a program like this is valuable to everyone involved and is a quick way to spread a lot of positive energy to your community.

Send a Long Overdue Thank You Note

I took a Positive Psychology course during my graduate program, (with the super awesome Dr. Colleen Georges), and one of the assignments was to write a message to someone who you want to thank for having a big influence on your life that you've never told. It could be from years ago but it was just important to do it, and tell them about the impact that they've had on you.

A TEDx talk from Drew Dudley really captures this point well. His short but poignant speech in that video is an old favorite of mine that I share with students often.

Reflect on Accomplishments

Something that I did this year was think back on all of the things that I have done in my life. It was a really powerful exercise that really allowed me to feel like even if I was gone tomorrow, I have made a positive impact on the places I've been and the people I've had the pleasure of knowing. It also inspired me to want to think of more things I want to do before I turn 30 in a couple of years.

Looking back though, it really conveyed to me how grateful I should be for the life that I have been privileged to have. I'm typically pretty humble about anything that I do, so I had to allow myself to be a little proud of what I've done. Even so, my life hasn't always been easy, but I am thankful for everything that has happened, (or hasn't happened), to me to get my life to the point it is at now. I wouldn't have had this powerful epiphany unless I put intentional thought and energy into it. It's really valuable to encourage your students to think this way, especially if they're not feeling terribly confident in themselves or what they've accomplished. Acknowledging and being grateful for things that come to you in your life creates a foundation of positive energy for you and your students when you put thought and effort into it.

A quick email, a short hand written note, or a quiet reflection can positively influence your mind, wellness, and point of view. With the holiday season approaching, do yourself and your students the favor of giving the gift of thanks. You and everyone around you will benefit from it.

Thanks for stopping by!