With the weekend drawing near, I thought I would do a brief reflection of my freshman year as I start a new year at Creighton University. I had my fair share of setbacks last year that allowed me to dig deep into myself and realize that my actions as a freshman will no longer fly as a sophomore in the College of Nursing.

Ignatius says, "Realize that illness and other temporal setbacks often come to us from the hand of God our Lord, and are sent to help us know ourselves better, to free ourselves of the love of created things, and to reflect on the brevity of this life and, thus, to prepare ourselves for the life which is without end."

I know not everyone is exactly religious. But I believe that many people would agree reflection is pretty great if you're feeling like life isn't going exactly your way.

To start off, a really bad freshman mistake I made last year was trying to befriend every single person I met. To start off, not every single person you meet is going to like you or vice versa. It's not about the quantity of people you surround yourself with but the quality of people you surround yourself with. Last year I made some really great friends, but along the way, I feel that I may have made some friends that were really toxic and unfortunately I just had to let go.

Henry Ford says, "My best friend is the one who brings out the best of me." To the class of 2020, some of you will find your friend groups within your first year. At the same time, a lot of you may not and that is perfectly fine. But don't try to force yourself to be friends with good and toxic people. The good people you meet will want nothing but the best for you while the toxic people will want to drag you down and being friends with both sides of spectrum is plainly exhausting and unneeded.

Another change I am making to this year is to do a lot less of complaining and trying to see the good to whatever that may be occurring in my life. Imagine this for a few seconds: You're in a dark room with 2 doors opposing each other, one door is emitting light that lets you see every single detail of the outside world, the other door, is plainly darkness that lets you wander off completely lost.

Last year, I always found something to complain about. Whether it be about waking up for an 8 AM class, how much I need to study for a Physiology exam, or even about how bad the dining hall food would be at times. To bluntly state it, finding only negatives to talk about in the world left me feeling completely lost during my first year and as a nursing student, my job when I graduate would be making sure that a person's worst day in their life does not end up being their last day of their life.

To simply put it, the world doesn't turn if you focus on the day-to-day negatives.

The negatives normally don't change just like the dining hall food here. But there is always something good happening and it's not the same thing every single time. Whether it be cute dogs in the Skutt Center shifting your focus away from finals or simply waking up to a fresh cup of coffee in the morning, focusing on the good in life makes it so that the world turns.

Lastly, always be vibing. Last year, there would be a dancing man on campus. Whether it would be raining, finals week, or both, he was always dancing at some point during the day on the mall. Dancing man, if you see this keep doing you man! Anyways, back to the topic. Positive vibes are greatly contagious. Some people think you have to insanely go out of your way to make a person's day better. In reality, that's not necessarily true. By working on keeping a positive outlook, just giving off positive vibes, that may just be enough to brighten a person's day. Even by a little.

To the Class of 2020,

Your first year of college will be filled with a multitude of experiences. At times, it may feel that it is way too much to take it all in at once. Take it in day by day, hour by hour, second by second. Welcome week may feel like the longest thing in the world. But as soon as that is over, life will begin to take off and start soaring. To some, it may be the best feeling in the world or the scariest thing you ever had to encounter. Fear not, take a deep breath, and just go for it. In the words of St. Ignatius, Ite Inflammate Omnia.

Sincerely and Best Wishes,
Your Friendly Neighborhood Californian