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“Indian Student Association Spotlight – A President’s Perspective” by Yamini Vyas

Throughout my elementary, middle, and even high school days, my father would always joke: “Yamini for President!” Of course his joke was fully laced with seriousness, but to my immensely shy and introverted self, the idea was seemingly impossible. Fast-forward through years of me working through my public speaking anxiety and sharpening my leadership skills to this year, where I have the privilege of serving as President for UD’s Indian Student Association (ISA). After enrolling in the Honors College, one of the first things I looked into during my freshman year was becoming a member of this organization. And sophomore year, as I aimed to be more involved, I  effectively became ISA’s Treasurer. 

ISA aims to facilitate understanding between students to cultivate meaningful, lasting relationships among community members of all different backgrounds. We promote social and cultural activities originating from all over India, ranging from Punjab to Tamil Nadu. And although it is referred to as the “Indian” Student Association, we house an all-inclusive environment where any student can be a member regardless of their cultural heritage. While this is not an exhaustive list of our events and celebrations, below are some of our most prominent and memorable ones that you won’t want to miss.   

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“Time to Break the Cycle” By Alex Stone

You wake up to the annoyingly persistent buzz-buzz-buzz of your alarm clock. The sun has just begun to creep up over the horizon, starting its day just as you are beginning yours. Your bed is so warm, so cozy. It is almost painful to force yourself up and out of bed. Yet, you know you must because there are essays to write, projects to do, and notes to study. It is another morning, another day, and you find yourself just counting down the hours, the minutes, the seconds until you can crawl back into bed and get some much-needed rest before taking on the next day.

Throughout the semester, we can all find ourselves feeling this way, like we are in a constant cycle of work and worry. As Honors Students, taking many challenging classes, getting involved in exciting research opportunities, and participating in time-consuming extracurriculars can begin to make life feel overwhelming at times. The work may keep piling up, but the desire to accomplish that work keeps finding a way to remain out of reach. And yet, while I have found myself in this position a time or two this semester, I have also found a way to break out of this dangerous cycle, and hopefully you can too.

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TBT: “Nine Little Days” by Audrey Ostroski

It’s Throwback Thursday here at 186 South College! With Thanksgiving Break just around the corner, we wanted to revisit this piece by Audrey Ostroski from 2017 about the anticipation leading up to well-deserved break from course commitments.

Thanksgiving break is almost here!  One might not think that this nine-day break is a big deal, but we look forward to those nine little days all semester.  Throughout syllabus week, while appraising the work to be done this semester and debating whether or not to drop a class, you can hear the people making the occasional joke, “Is it Thanksgiving break yet?”  So, what is it about those nine little days that we all anticipate?

For starters, after 12 weeks of unrelenting class after class, lab after lab, exam after exam, project after project – those nine little days are an oasis in the desert that is the fall semester. Honestly, the semester routine just starts to get old after a while. After the tenth, six-page physics lab report, you start to cringe every time you glance at the Excel icon on your desktop. After the third group project in two weeks, you start to hate the smell of the library study rooms. Even your dorm room might start to feel like it is closing in on you. And sure, there might only be two weeks after we come back from Thanksgiving before finals. Some might say that we should be able to push through without the break. But no, those nine little days are essential and you are not going to be able to convince me otherwise.  

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“Turning Back the Clock on Tech” by Felicia Seybold

Being a college student in the age of Canvas modules, 11:59 pm deadlines, and digital coursework means we must live our lives on the computer. Unfortunately, there is no way around it. A certain amount of our time each day must be spent staring at a screen, even though the overwhelming advice is to lessen our daily screen time. To add to that, the allure of the phone screen is too strong. I always find myself hopping from my laptop to my phone to my iPad to my phone to my laptop to my phone to my… ok you get it. We all tend to do that. It’s so hard to pull ourselves away from super entertaining apps like Tik Tok, Instagram, and YouTube. I also don’t believe these kinds of apps should be vilified either. They provide us with incredible content, connect us with our friends no matter the distance, and give us a wealth of free information. And yet, a healthy balance remains difficult to achieve.

When I find myself in one of these technology binges for too long, the days blur together and I lose touch with the real world around me. The only thing I have found that relieves the cycle is spending time doing something a little more analog than digital. Recently, I have found a new thing to soothe that disconnected feeling I have on the computer all day. I’ve been rediscovering a nostalgic low-tech device from my childhood.

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“Reflecting on New Beginnings” by Shayna Demick

After passing through the official halfway point of the fall semester and start of a new month, it is all too easy to reflect on my recent experiences, in all aspects of college life. 

There are many new beginnings happening in my life right now. I recently moved into my first apartment and adopted my own emotional support cat. Her name is Rugelach; she is two years old and extremely snuggly. I am living with two of my friends on the UD figure skating team and it is wonderful. We have decorated our common space together and have truly made our house into a home. I have been beginning to embrace adulthood, whether that means cooking and shopping for myself, cat parenting, deep cleaning, or paying bills. These new beginnings have been both scary and rewarding. 

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