RA Appreciation Day 2016

Yesterday was RA Appreciation Day! Appreciation Days are very important to me. I think we should show appreciation for others and their hard work/dedication every day. However, people get busy and sometimes we forget to say thank you. In my happiness research, I have learned that gratification is definitely one of the keys to success. Shawn Achor in his book 'The Happiness Advantage' claims that by incorporating gratitude moments into your daily routine you will essentially become more grateful and be happier. By starting your morning or ending your day by saying three things you are grateful for, you will be more reflective on the happy moments in your life. So, yesterday I spent my day showing my RAs how grateful I am for them.

RA Appreciation wasn't really that big of a deal at my undergrad. Nothing against my undergrad, but usually the day left me feeling less appreciated then when I woke up! I loved receiving baked goods from my various supervisors, but there was never really a lot of resident appreciation! Of course my residents appreciated me in their own ways, but for someone who lives and dies by words of affirmation (number one love language) I never really felt replenished and rejuvenated by  RA Appreciation Day. 

It was really important that my RAs NEVER felt those feelings! So, for their RA Appreciation Day I got several members of the building involved. To start, my Hall Council (RHA) did an incredible job! They decorated their doors, made door hangers with their names on them, and got them cupcakes. It was nice to have a student group work so hard on appreciating others!

 Now, it was my turn to show appreciation!I bought them cute little milk bottles and filled them with their favorite candy and then used my boss' Cricut to put their names and our building on the bottles. They can eat their favorite candy and enjoy a cute little keepsake. I also filled their bags with $5 sheetz gift cards, candy, pens, and capri suns. My favorite part of the appreciation gift however was the card. I had all of their residents sign a card for them and write little notes.

Check out that calligraphy!

 I'm really proud by the fact that I got a lot of their residents to sign their cards and hung up their posters by their doors without being sighted by any of them. Even with a snow day in between there I still managed to actually SURPRISE them!

I love this RA group of mine! My first year as an RD has been full of adventures and teachable moments. I will always cherish my first group of supervision experience and I hope I can continue to grow as an SA Professional.

Give Thanks

So, now that November is underway I am going to work hard to appreciate this thankful month and try my best not to skip to December the giving month! So, I've decided to make a list of people who I am truly grateful for and do something nice for them during the month of November. My goal is to surprise them with a phone call, letter, or little treat to remind them that I truly appreciate them in my life.

 So, every day for the next month I have chosen 30 people to focus on! I thought it would be hard to choose 30 people to focus on... like do I even know 30 people? But, I realized that the hardest part was choosing only 30 people. So, as my calendar started to fill up with names... I started lumping people in to categories... like "RAs" or "Buddies."To help hold me accountable, I printed off two calendars (one for my office and one for my apartment). I also wrote notes on how I could appreciate these people the most. (I.E. some people may like a phone call or others might like a letter).

I try to be grateful for everyone, every day but sometimes life happens and I forget to call home as often as I should! Hopefully, this November I can bring joy to everyone in small ways!

Gratitude

Sorry, blog friends! I have kind of taken a technology hiatus while I was home for break so unfortunately that also meant a break from all of you wonderful readers… anyways, I'm back!

So its officially December and that means that the "month" of discussing what we are thankful for has come and gone…But, should being thankful ever end? NOOO!! Sometimes I feel like we recognize November as being the month to give thanks, but the other 11 months of the year aren't recognized as months where you can and should also express your gratitude.  I mean seriously so many people write/post about what they are thankful for in November, and then once December rolls around it can vanish just as quickly as it came. Now, I am not accusing any of you of not being thankful for the many good things that are in your life. But, we can be thankful and we should be thankful ALL THE TIME! 

So, I challenge you all to look at December and every other month of the year as a month to express your gratitude for the things in your life. Recognize that God is good and tell others how much they mean to you. Since I'm kind of a Well Cast junkie I thought I share with you all a short clip of the Gratitude Experiment. Being thankful can do more than just improve relationships and your life :)

If the link above doesn't work:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5lZBjWDR_c

Comment below on your thoughts and let me know if you are going to do the gratitude experiment. I keep my little thankful sheet in my binder and am constantly adding things to it. I love you all and am endlessly thankful for you stopping by Radiating Sunshine.

#047 Create a Thankful Tree: Hall Program

This pie was seriously delicious! I love to support
the local bakeries and stores around the Mount!

It can't get much better than a homemade apple pie from
handpicked apples :)

 I have always wanted to make a thankful tree! I came across the idea 3 years ago via Pinterest and it has always been on my to do list.

But, as everyone knows other things pop up and for an RA different program ideas may catch your eye and my thankful tree was put on the back burner. 

However, earlier this semester when I planned all of my hall programs for the semester I made sure to include a Thankful Program in honor of Thanksgiving and fulfilling the Residence Life's Faith/ Unity theme for November. 

So last night my residents and I gathered in my hallway, sat down and had some delicious apple pie, and talked about what we are thankful for. 
The program costed me $11 [for the pie] and I just used bulletin board paper for the tree and the leaves. 

I would say that this program was very successful. I learned so much more about my residents and it was so sweet that some of them wrote on their leaves that they were thankful for me (insert: awhhh). 

Some of the other things that they were thankful for include: good grades, The Mount, upcoming break, health, Jesus, family, education, life, love, freedom, our veterans, a roof over our heads, dogs, etc. 

It was so nice seeing what my girls were thankful for and I now have a wonderful thankful tree decorating my hall way! So, glad I can check off #047 on my 101 in 1001 list!

What are you thankful for? I'm thankful for all of you :)

Thankful Thursdays

So, I just finished a theology exam, which did not go as well as I was hoping it would. You would think that after hours and hours of studying I wouldn't just blank on some of the questions, but you would be surprised. If you want to argue about the evidence of epistemological and metaphysical claims on miracles, find someone else because I'm not the girl for the job. 

Anyways, so after getting very little sleep, probably getting a B- on the theology exam (my version of F), and forgetting my rain coat; this rainy Thursday is not looking too promising. I am genuinely a glass is half full type of person, but as I walked to the library where I will be spending the rest of my afternoon I was feeling so pessimistic. Now, usually I don't check my blog feed when I know I have a lot to work on. But, I really needed to decompress from that exam with some blog-therapy! And I am so happy I did. I stumbled upon this lovely lady's post! Kelsey is always very inspirational, but today her Thankful Thursday was just what I needed to get myself in check and realize that all of my above complaints shouldn't ruin this day. 

So, I'm thankful for Thursdays. Even though Thursdays are my worst days by far, when it comes to my schedule and workload...

But, what else am I thankful for? 

• I'm thankful for this cup of coffee.
• I'm thankful for the opportunity to go to school and study epistemology and metaphysical claims on miracles… there are so many people who don't even get an opportunity to finish grade school and here I am working on a bachelor's degree at a wonderful university. 
• I'm thankful for my mentorship later today, which is the only real redeeming quality of my Thursdays apart from my staff meeting. 
• I'm thankful for my sister; who doesn't know how beautiful of a person she is inside and out. Can't wait to see you in three weeks! 
• I'm thankful for knowing that the sun will come out tomorrow 
• I'm thankful for all the people in my life who are constantly challenging me to be a better person

I'm so thankful for having so much in my life to be thankful for… and for being able to recognize and appreciate what I do have in life, even on this rainy Thursday. It is probably one of the best ways to change a crabby mood and keep your thoughts in check. So, thanks Kelsey for inspiring me and potentially changing my attitude towards today. 

What are you thankful for?

help them see Him

Wednesdays mean on-the-go... My schedule today includes:

10am- class
11am- class
12pm- lunch date
1pm- pick up supplies/ change for the gym
2pm- class
3:30pm- work until 5pm
5:20pm- Zumba *waka waka*
6:20pm- Dinner
7:00pm- Shower & Get cake supplies
7:30pm- Bake a cake in my friends apartment
8:30pm- Meet up with another friend to decorate the cake
9pm- Study sesh for my Psych exam and do various reading assignments
11pm- In bed
12am- Lights out.

Once, I leave my room at 9:30am I don't come back usually until 9:30-10pm. I already have a cold so the combination of busyness + no rest time = exhaustion overload! Unfortunately, when I am constantly thinking about what I have to do next... I rarely take the time to think about Him.


So, while at work I decide to take a 10 minute Pinterest/ tea break and as I'm scrolling through the homepage I come across this inspirational pin! I read it over a couple of times and realized just how true is it? Just by reading this quote my whole attitude towards today has changed.

I hope you continue to show others Him today. 

30 Days of Being Thankful

I saw this thing on Facebook where each day you put up a post or status about what you're thankful for that day! I love this idea because I think its so important to express what you're thankful for and I have such a blessed life and so much to be thankful for.

So... Instead of posting everyday I figured I would put it all into one post and update it every now and then. 

day one: My family, without them my life would not be the same and I am forever grateful.

day two: My boyfriend, he is the best person I know and he makes me a better person.

day three: My faith. I'm so glad I know Jesus and he is in my life.

day four: Breakfast. Had breakfast at a diner with my parents this morning and it is such 

a simple pleasure that you can eat at any time during the day.

day five: My education. Although today was particularly challenging with my work load I am 

so thankful for all the opportunities I have received.

day six: democracy. I'm glad I live in a country where I have the freedom to vote.

day seven: my friends, who are always there for me and I have so many memories with.

day eight: My health. I am so blessed that I have access to a healthy lifestyle and medicines.

day nine: my job, both RA and back at home! I'm blessed to be on great teams and do something I enjoy!

day ten: I'm thankful for this beautiful world I live in.

day eleven: I'm thankful for all of those who have sacrificed their safety and life to defend my country.

day twelve: I'm thankful for today. This week is going to be one of the busiest weeks of my semester and I'm thankful for all the blessings I have received today.

day thirteen: I'm thankful for technology! Its crazy to think how advanced this world has become and how easy it is to right a twelve page paper without even having to open a book.

day fourteen: I'm thankful for everyone who came out and supported Dodge Ball for Cameroon! We raised a good amount of money and everyone had a great time!

day fifteen: I'm thankful for my new connection with God through Philosophy! I am currently reading Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy and it has opened my eyes to so many things!

day sixteen: I'm thankful for music and how inspirational it can be.

day seventeen: I'm thankful for my extended family. I love them all so dearly and they made a huge difference in my childhood.

day eighteen: I'm thankful for spending the day with my parents just watching football and studying for an exam. It was so nice just to spend some quality time with them.

day nineteen: For my sister, although we don't get along most of the time, she is still my rock.

day twenty: I'm thankful I got a great grade on my Philosophy Exam! I know that sounds super dorky but I am so excited!!!

day twenty-one: I'm thankful for my safe travels up to Maine and my boyfriend's wonderful family. Today has been an excellent day and I seriously couldn't have asked for a better day with wonderful people.

day twenty-two: Happy Thanksgiving! As you can see I'm thankful for sooo much!

day twenty-three: I'm thankful for this wonderful time in Maine. This break has provided some much needed relaxation.

day twenty-four: I'm so thankful for all of the fun opportunities I have been able to participate in. Today I helped celebrate a woman's 100th birthday and it was such a beautiful day!

day twenty-five: I'm thankful for safe travels. I flew home from Maine and got back to school with no issues.

day twenty-six: I'm thankful for the fact that my society was able to put together a bunch of bags of Hurricane Sandy Relief. I'm glad I can give back in this way.

day twenty-seven: I'm thankful for being surrounded by such great mentors!

day twenty-eight: I'm thankful for being able to talk to my dad today! He is on a business trip and it was so nice getting to FaceTime him!

day twenty-nine: I'm thankful for my Catholic education. I'm so blessed to go to a University where we can talk openly about Jesus and God and not break any rules.

day thirty: I'm thankful for all the blessings in my life. I feel like I have already said this but I am truly blessed for everything and everyone in my life.

- Alex