About Moody Musings

Guess what time of the year it is? That’s probably not necessary because we’re feeling it, more than ever. It’s that time right after spring break that forces you to either question everything you did this semester or hold on to it. It’s the hump, and if we can make it over the hump, we can see the light of summer and breathe again. For some, this time of the year is an effortless breeze...

Every month, I try to set goals. It helps me reflect and recognize growth within myself, even if it’s just from a four-week span. For the month of March, I decided that I wanted to focus on mindfulness. I told myself that in March, I want to focus on appreciating the moments and the people who are present in those moments. I also want to cherish the situation I am currently in because it may ...

I traveled to Cambridge, Massachusetts for a conference at Harvard Kennedy School sponsored by their Institute of Politics. The theme of the conference was “Facilitating Civil Discourse.” I thought the theme was very fitting for me because I had just traveled from a campus that was buzzing about the selection of our annual Founders’ Day speaker, Jay Sekulow. My next observation was that...

We have made it to a brand new year and a brand new semester. Regardless of how consistent people are with claiming the new year to be their year or the year that completely transforms them, their proclamation could, in fact, be true. This could be the year for you too. Whether this is the year that you graduate and start the career you’ve been dreaming of, the year you study abroad or even th...

I’ve run into a lot of issues lately that have directly been a result of my lack of self-awareness. The outcomes could have easily been reversed if I had just known myself a little better and predicted how I would have reacted or felt.   A lot of the times, we do know ourselves, but we let this knowledge get distorted by outside influences during situations when it’s most important. Don’t ignor...

I’ve talked to a number of people who have spent their week concerned about how they were going to successfully juggle everything they were signed up for. They were stressed, overwhelmed and completely capable of completing the tasks. They just didn’t have enough time in the day to do so. Mercer students possess a hidden talent to balance a full schedule successfully, but around this time o...

I reached out to Mercer students to see what they’d be interested to see in the column, and one of the first responses I received was about constructive criticism. Students wanted me to provide some advice on how someone our age can reach a level of maturity that allows them to take constructive criticism and give it in return. This topic was hard for me, mostly because I have yet to pick up...

Just about everyone I know has a dream job, a dream internship or a dream opportunity. Most people have no clue how they’ll even come close to making their dreams a reality. I wrote a column last semester that was strictly about the importance of a mentor, but sometimes you don’t have the time or ability to form that kind of relationship with someone. Sometimes, you have to recognize who can help yo...

One of the reasons I decided to tell stories, particularly those of others, is because I found that I was inspired by their journeys. I became a believer in examples and figured that if someone else can strive and do, then what’s stopping you and me? In this column, I am starting a new series, “What Inspires You”, hoping that you’ll find inspiration in the stories of people you see every ...

As college students, we sometimes find ourselves in situations where we can’t find inspiration. We can become stuck in a place that leaves us feeling idle, affecting our entire agenda. We need inspiration to step out of comfort zones, to try something we’ve always considered, or to really start and create something we’ve always been passionate about. In my Ethics, Leadership and Service course ...

It’s over now. It seems as if the entire country has been split in half. We can never agree on much, but rarely has an election polarized public opinion to such extremes. These are touchy subjects for most of us, and you don’t have to agree with every person just to avoid conflict. My friends and I sit around for hours going back and forth about foreign policies, social injustices, regulations ...

I was sitting in the UC when I overheard a group of students experiencing what seemed to be mild panic attacks about their upcoming schedules. There was a girl who kept expressing how afraid she was to take her next chemistry exam, her friend looked distraught as she listed every assignment she didn’t think she’d have time to finish, and their other friend just couldn’t stop saying how tired she was. ...

It’s 2 a.m., your head’s buried in a book. You’ve had nothing but junk food to eat, and you have no idea how you’re going to get up and make it through your class in the morning. You’ve reached the point where being tired or feeling lethargic is just a part of who you are, and your weeks are constantly consisting of short spurs of happiness and long days of feeling stressed and overwhelme...