Winter break seems long, but I promise, it will zip by. In my four years here at Columbia, especially living through Covid, I’ve learned how crucial being present is. It’s not long before you’re living to see another new year, or a new year of school before you realize how much time has slipped away. I’m a firm believer that if we remain present, we are able to look at the passage of time with a positive lens and not think about what could have been. I am genuinely able to look back and recognize moments that I could’ve been more present, because I long to live in those moments again. In contrast, I can think of other times where I get happy to think of the memory and am content with it remaining in the past.
As you move through the last two stressful weeks of school, I encourage you to take it day by day, task by task. It’s easy to look at the tasks of the whole two weeks at once and get insanely overwhelmed. When we do this, we don’t realize how much of our time and energy is spent simply sitting in stress or anxiety. After this time has passed, we struggle to recollect what it was that was even accomplished in those two weeks, whether we completed tasks that we needed to or not. When we’re in high states of stress, our bodies tend to go into autopilot as a defense mechanism. Taking it task by task can help stop us from going into autopilot because we’re less overwhelmed when we only focus on one thing at a time. When we only focus on one thing at a time, you are able to put in your best efforts. I think that this helps us to remain present.
I also encourage you to remain present during the break. When you’re with a person, give them your whole, undivided attention. When you are alone, give yourself your whole, undivided attention. This is being present. It’s fully embracing each moment in our day, so that we can look back on our lives with a positive lens and are content with how each day has been lived. There is peace that comes along with this and a seamless ability to walk into the future without reservations or regrets.
This is your last personal message from CiCi. It’s been a great semester, I will miss these little notes. If I can say anything that sums up my messages, it’s that you stay true to you, live in the present moment, and always reconnect with yourself.
Yours Truly,
CiCi