10 UVM THINGS I have done this semester

(and you should too)

1. Go cliff jumping at Red Rocks - one of the most awesome things I have ever done!

2. Swim in the UVM fountain at midnight

3. Ride the drunk bus

4. Hike up a mountain

5. Take the ferry across Lake Champlain to Port Kent, NY

6. Eat ALL the free samples at Cabot Cheese

7. Jump in a pile of leaves in fall

8. Go to as many hockey games as possible

9. Eat a maple cremee, maple butter, maple candy, maple chocolate...

10. Get kicked out of Rasputin's

11. (extra credit - I have not yet completed this, and am not sure I have the balls to do so) Participate in the naked bike ride

Thanks for an awesome semester everybody!!! I am incredibly sad to be leaving UVM in 2 weeks! :(

Getting out of your comfort zone!

Here is a little nearly-the-end-of-the-year inspiration to get you thinking about getting adventurous (part of my presentation, and my attempt at advertising Australia):

There are so many countries in the world and places to explore and I’ve discovered in my time here that a lot of college students are under the impression that travelling is out of reach for them. And it may be right now.

But the world has never been more at your disposal.

Last night I was texting two of my best girl-friends – one in Australia and one in England, who I met whilst traveling, and we were having a three-way conversation at the same time. Technology is amazing; it has never been easier to experience the world outside your home, and you should take advantage of it.

And whilst travel is expensive, it doesn't mean you can’t have a goal.

I have been fortunate enough to travel to 16 countries in my life across Europe, Asia, America and Australia, and yet I have seen just 10% of the world.

Saint Augustine said “The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.”

The executive vice president for the US Travel Association said the reason people in this country don’t go abroad is because “Americans are comfortable in their own environment.”

So here’s my challenge for you: get out of your environment. Read as much of your world book as you can.

Get out of your comfort zone, try something new, and learn more through experiences than you ever could from school or the internet. Go somewhere you've never been before; even if it’s just a roadtrip to that place you always want to go but never have time.

At the end of your life you'll regret the places you didn't go to. Get out there!

YOLO

I just thought I should put this up here in case any of us are questioning our actions this weekend..

Why YOLO is a Legitimate Motto

How many of us have heard drunk biddies and bros on a Saturday night pulling the YOLO card?

How many of us have been the drunk biddie or bro who’s pulled the YOLO card?

As annoying as it is, YOLO is an essential part of our adolescence. It is necessary and a healthy part of growing up. Assuming everyone in this room is under the age of 25 (besides the man teaching this class) your prefrontal cortex is not yet fully developed. This is the part of the brain that, after the age of about 25, keeps us from making stupid decisions. It lets us think of the consequences of our actions, and logically weighs the outcomes with how much satisfaction we’ll get out of it.

A huge misconception that people have when they hear someone scream YOLO is that that person is referring to going hard on a school night ~ But YOLO is about doing things you usually wouldn’t do because give me one good reason why you shouldn’t? If your decisions aren’t negatively affecting your life or others then why the hell not? You might regret it a little bit in the morning but that’s fine. That’s how we grow.

How many times have you stayed up all night to finish an assignment you’ve known about since syllabus week? Or how many times have you eaten an entire pint of Ben & Jerry’s and regretted it immediately after? Have you ever thought to yourself, hmm, maybe it wasn’t the best idea to text my ex last Friday night… And how many times have you thought with your head in the toilet that okay, well maybe those last four shots were not my best idea.

We are always making bad decisions.

But it’s okay! I’m here to tell you that it’s okay! It’s okay to make mistakes, because that is how we learn and grow.

So what is the line between healthy risk taking and things you do that are life changing you ask? I am not telling you to share needles with strangers, do it without protection, or get extremely intoxicated and drive 90 down the interstate. But small risks here and there really are good for you. They are a healthy part of our maturation.

YOLO for you might mean skydiving, traveling the world, or just pushing your mother to her last nerve, but it could also just be you texting your crush to see what they’re up to this weekend. Or putting down the books to go to McDonald’s at 1 am even though you know you have to wake up for your 8 am class the next day.

Sleep is for the weak, and as youth we should be strong! We need to spend more time doing what we want to do instead of only focusing on what we should do.