Thinking Outside the Cap

by Taylor Hudson

I’ve been looking forward to decorating my graduation cap since the moment I stepped on this campus. And I’ll admit, over the past few weeks, I have seen some pretty creative caps. I suppose I will start with my own cap. The explanation is quite simple. I wanted to say thank you to the most important things in my life—God and my parents. A lot seniors go with the simple, yet effective, “Thanks Mom and Dad!” But you see, with divorced parents, fitting “Thanks Mom, Dad, and Stepdad!” all on one cap was a bit too much. So I shortened it. I say it gets the point across, don’t you think?

Congratulations Class of 2014, we did it! Kudos to these seniors—you’re natural cap-decorating skills are superb.

Credit: @holly_caitlin

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After JMU

Its students deem JMU the “happiest place on earth” apart from Disney world. I don’t think JMU is the happiest place on earth; it is a college full of happy individuals. It’s not the windy climate of Harrisonburg or the blossoming quad in the springtime that makes the school what it is, it’s the ability of JMU’s students to find a balance between personal life – what makes us passionate and true to ourselves –and academics.

We are, for the most part, well articulated people, stuck in the in-between of childhood and adulthood. We plug ourselves into activities that match our interests and put everything we have into them, and, yes, we still manage to maintain a passing grade-point average without making ourselves miserable in the library.

I speak for a large population of girls when I say, JMU made us develop a backbone. The large proportion of girls at the university coupled with the normal aches and pains of our first “adult” relationships enabled us to discover what we’re made of at a rapid pace.

If I were to pick one descriptive word for myself after JMU, it would be prepared. That may seem like an awkward choice, but the reality is, a person may have a plan, and the next day it could be thrown out the window. If you don’t have rain boots/an umbrella on a rainy day, you may find yourself simply miserable, but if you are prepared for a storm, you will dance in the rain. So, the only thing that makes happy people succeed in life is being prepared—prepared to be flexible, to experience something new, to fall in love, to make a move, to do a job you never pictured yourself doing.

A quote I really like is “when you can’t control the winds, adjust the sails.” Change will happen, and your plans may take a positive spin that you never imagined. JMU was a different experience than I expected: I am graduating with a degree I did not plan on, I explored every career interest of mine under the sun and ended up with the one I started with, and I made fun of a handful of organizations that I didn’t understand completely, only to end up joining them or being friends with people in them.

My future is not concrete; I still make mistakes, and I am learning every day from them. However, I can promise myself that my personal journey at JMU brought me to a better place than I could have imagined – it strengthened my values of faith, love, and family. These are the three things that I want in my life despite where I live or what I do, and I am positive that they will be present should I continue to be able to adjust my sails.

My not so Spring Break-y Spring Break

The week of spring break, my Instagram became  a flurry of Panama City Beach photos rife with red cups, neon bikinis, and spring break hashtags. As I sat, laid, and lounged in my apartment, the whole week of spring break featuring varying poses of relaxed, I quickly grew bored. My sister had come home from Virginia Tech only to leave me for Boston and my girlfriend (a Pre-K teacher) was at work. So I putzed around my apartment for a few days, engaging in way too much TLC, and made it to Friday. I was convinced my break was over and decided to accept my fate.

But then, the prospect of going to my girlfriend’s hometown of Williamsburg arose. I am a diehard Williamsburg fan or CW (short for Colonial Williamsburg) as the townies call it. Something about the sweet little downtown, the people walking around dressed in colonial garb, and the fact that it’s always a few degrees warmer there calls my name; not to mention Sarah’s welcoming family and eccentric Jack Russell named Maci. We left as soon as Sarah got out of school and hit the open road with a bag of mini starbursts and our sun glasses.

We arrived around six and were greeted by a hyperventilating canine and two excited parents. The weekend was not characterized by sun tanning or partying, but it offered up some unexpected pleasantries like finding a steal of a second hand orange couch for our new apartment and strolling along the York River State Park beach under a surprisingly warm sun. The beach was littered with other couples and families toting unwieldy dogs and children, hoping to soak up as much vitamin D as possible before the storm hit. We finished out the weekend with mango margaritas and tex-mex with Sarah’s parents before heading home Sunday. We made it just in time to sit inside and pray for a snow day. The moral of the story? Next time you find yourself without spring break plans (or the money to make plans), consider exploring good old Williamsburg, Virginia instead of trekking all the way to Florida.

Work It Out

Everyone knows the health benefits of exercise from lowering blood pressure and cholesterol to even reducing the risk of some types of cancers.  For most of us JMU-goers, we were heavily involved in extracurriculars in high school. For me in particular, I was involved in sports, including 2-hour practices for swimming or cross country at least 5 days a week. So, it was hard to find a manageable workout plan when I came to college. I succeeded in routines of running and light weight lifting, however, this grew monotonous. So this semester I tried out fitness classes at UREC –a diverse mix of them.

The experience has taught me that “in shape” means an entirely different thing from  one person to  the next. In different cardio classes, I’ve been taught how to twerk, how to box, and how to cycle. Within their own specialties, all of these instructors are wicked in shape. However, if they had to teach a class outside of their element, they would likely find it difficult. Each class challenges me in different ways—cardio endurance, strength, or coordination. Some classes work muscles that I haven’t used in years. It’s been fun to mix up my routine and challenge my body.

Health professionals say that the habits you form in college will stay  with you throughout your adult life. For this reason, I think it’s important to learn what workouts work for you. For me, this means mixing up different types of cardio and strength training. For others, this may mean hitting the treadmill everyday (an occurrence that would likely make me go insane).  My advice to the average student trying to develop a workout routine?

• Don’t develop a routine, find workouts that you enjoy.
• Try all types of UREC group fitness classes– some you’ll hate, some you’ll love.
• If a workout makes you feel good by the end, it’s served its purpose. No need to compare yourself to treadmill or weight-lifting addicts.
• Don’t work out every day. Enjoy your life and avoid compulsivity with physical activity.

Find what exercises make you happy, and work it out! 

Finding Your Place within JMU Student Organizations

            At a school with over 400 clubs and organizations it can be hard to find your niche. Sifting through descriptions of all those clubs can be overwhelming and finding your place in the JMU community isn’t always immediate; plus, how do you actually pick one?! You want a group of people who get you; who will challenge you to be better; and most importantly, who understand you. I didn’t find that at JMU until I joined a club. So in the spirit of helping out my fellow Dukes, I did the research for you. Here is a brief highlight of my top ten favorite organizations (in no particular order) and some information on how to learn more:

1. SafeRides: a huge non-profit on campus, these awesome people volunteer to get students home safely by offering free (non-judgmental) sober rides every Friday and Saturday night.

2. Campus Assault Response (CARE): CARE supplies JMU with a student run 24/7 sexual assault and intimate partner violence helpline as well as gives informational programs across campus; and don’t forget their weekly meetings!

3. Free Flow: because who doesn’t enjoy a good hula hooping session? This club of mellow members offers the chance to hang out with fellow dukes who enjoy “flow sports” (sports in which movement is fluid) such as hula hooping, spinning poi (a rhythmic performance art), and more. Any and all flow sports welcome!

4. Bare Naked Ladies: these lovely ladies seek to spread body positivity, self-confidence, and the healthy body images of women. They believe that every woman is beautiful in her own way and work together to promote this idea through fun activities and meetings.

5. Cooking at Madison: a unique club that offers opportunities for “foodies” to participate in fun and engaging discourse surrounding cooking and sustainability. They also focus on building a relationship with the Harrisonburg community.

6. Reality Educators Advocating Campus Health (REACH): though this club’s name is a mouthful, don’t let it scare you away! This club is all about spreading health awareness through peer education. Members have the opportunity to reach hundreds of students and organizations across campus through peer facilitated discussion on safe sex, healthy relationships, alcohol safety, and more.

7. EARTH Club: the name is pretty self explanatory, but this club’s main focus is the environment. They strive to advocate and educate the JMU community on topics regarding environment and sustainability.

8. Gardy Loo: if you’re a creative person looking for an outlet or consider yourself a strong curator, this club is for you! Gardy Loo is a literary and arts magazine that publishes student work from all majors.

9. Knitwits: who knew all you knitters out there had a special place at JMU? Join a group of fellow crafters, and learn the art of crochet and knitting as well as make new friends.

10. Outdoor Adventure Club: a group of adventurous students who enjoy the beauty of nature through hiking, camping, exploration, and more!

To learn more visit JMU’s Be Involved site or follow Student Activities and Involvement on Twitter: @BeInvolvedJMU.