Life

EDITORS ANECDOTE | Oops, I Exposed My Feelings

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So recently I found myself in a tragic, embarrassing situation that may as well be straight from a viral college tweet. I mean, take the infamous “I am worried” email sent to a professor and multiply the awkwardness by twenty to get something near the level of cringe of my situation. Let me explain: Picture a neurotic student at the onset of mid-semester depression with enough angst and loathing to fill every non-ergonomic slidey chair of MVR G71. This was me. It was quiz day in Biochem, which is otherwise known as that day every week when we study 80 slides worth of stupidly specific knowledge only to be tested on five of those things in a timed, true/false format.

Culture

INOCCIDUOUS THOUGHTS | 35 Things I’ve Noticed About Food on West Campus

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Before people get mad, let me just say that I’m extremely grateful to have access to Cornell’s diverse dining options. Some of my friends back home only have one dining hall, so we are lucky to have six on West Campus, alone. Also, I have worked with Cornell Dining before, and the passion, labor, and patience put into running a dining hall is absolutely incredible, so we should all be appreciative of what we have! That said, I just wanted an outlet to express my opinion on Cornell’s food (specifically West Campus in this article). This is not to offend Cornell Dining in any way!

Life

INOCCIDUOUS THOUGHTS | I Taught Doctors About Health

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This past weekend was quite the ride. I visited SUNY Upstate Medical University for a PATCH (a pre-health organization I’m part of) field trip, taught for a program called Splash!, and ran the Syracuse Half-Marathon. And, of course, I spent that weekend avoiding eye contact with an upcoming organic chemistry prelim glaring at me from a few feet away. It was a test of endurance, physical and mental, which has admittedly left me exhausted, but I’m quite proud of myself for accomplishing so much during such a fast-paced weekend. Of all these small endeavors, there’s one in particular that made a big impact on my confidence and feelings of competence: teaching.

Life

INOCCIDUOUS THOUGHTS | I Feel Bad…

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There’s a time and a place for guilt. Most times it’s within reason—after doing something immoral, unethical, or unkind, it’s a necessary part of self-regulation that, without intention, keeps our emotions in check and subsequently provides a feedback mechanism for changing or continuing a behavior. Psychology Today assembled a short list of five types of guilt and how to cope with them. Interestingly, they preface with Freud’s psychodynamic theory of guilt and anxiety due to the repression of unconscious desires. With Freud in mind, the five types of guilt were listed as being: guilt for something you did, such as hurting someone physically or emotionally; guilt for something you didn’t do, but want to, such as having the desire to cheat on your partner; guilt for something you think you did, but didn’t, such as causing someone else’s misfortune by wishing it; guilt that you didn’t do enough to help others, including “compassion fatigue” which puts your own mental vitality at risk; and lastly, guilt that you’re doing better than someone else. These feelings of guilt are fairly common, but they’re rudimentary.

Life

INOCCIDUOUS THOUGHTS | Why Can’t I Celebrate Others’ Happiness?

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You know the feeling: Your friend just got an A in the class you got a B in, your roommate got an amazing paid internship over the summer, your best friend just got into a relationship. You want so badly to be completely happy for them because they deserve the best, but you just can’t. So why does your smile feel ingenuine, and why do the words, “I’m so happy for you!” sound sarcastic coming out of your mouth? Jealousy is a distressing human tendency, and no matter how hard we try to shove it down, it’ll always buzz in the back of our minds. It’s easy to dismiss the great accomplishments of less familiar people because we know less of their story, and the distance makes any jealous spike fade rather quickly.