For Las Vegas

I am tired.

I am so tired of waking up to the kind of news I woke up to this morning. I am tired of watching people do bad things in our world. I am tired of becoming used to this.

This morning on the radio, one of the cast members said something along the lines of, "I hope this is the last straw for you." And I cannot help but agree. I hope you are as fed up with these kinds of tragedies as I am. I hope this is the one to finally break you down and make you take action.

Around me today, people are going about their lives as if nothing has happened. As if 58 people haven't lost their lives and 500+ more aren't wounded in the hospital. How have we become numb to this kind of thing? When did it get to the point that another shooting happens, and all that comes out of it is a couple of days of angry tweeting and Facebook article sharing? It's not right. It's just not right, and I won't accept it.

So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they're busy doing things they think are important. This is because they're chasing the wrong things.

It really bugs me when I ask someone how they are, and they respond, "I'm so busy." It really, really irritates me when people use, "I can't. I'm so busy," as an excuse not to do something. Look around you: everyone is busy. That busy-ness you're feeling? It's called life. And just because someone else's busy doesn't look like your busy doesn't mean they aren't busy.

College is a busy time: we're going to class, doing homework, writing papers, studying for tests, staying involved in student organizations, maintaining our social lives, working, eating, sleeping, surviving. Yes, college is a busy time, but that's part of what makes it so fun. It's such an amazing opportunity to try new things and meet new people and create who we want to be.

There's no such thing as being too busy. First of all, if you want something, you'll make time for it. Second of all, it's all about priorities.

What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!

Christmastime is probably my favorite time of the year. I love everything about the holiday season: time with family, giving gifts, the music, the mood, the food. People are so joyful and kind during the holidays, and while I wish everyone could be this way year-round, it makes me so happy to see others so happy and excited during this time. I also think there's something just so magical about this time of year. As children, we believe in the magic of Santa and winter break and just the whole season. It can be difficult to hold onto that magic as we grow older, but there are ways to recognize that magic and spread it around as we grow up.

While it's fun and exciting to receive presents during the holidays, there's something almost more magical about giving. Taking the time to pick out a gift for someone special that you just know they will love creates so much love and happiness in our hearts. Volunteering to give others a better holiday than they might have had spreads the joy of the season. Spending time with family reminds us of the love we've always known. Traditions show us where we come from and remind us what's important to us during this most wonderful time of the year.

I've put together a list of some of my favorite parts of the holiday season. These are things that help me rediscover the magic I felt as a child during Christmas year after year, even though I'm grown up now. We don't have to lose that magic that we felt as children. Sometimes we just have to be reminded how to find it again.

Maybe it's wiser to surrender before the miraculous scope of human generosity and to just keep saying thank you, forever and sincerely, for as long as we have voices.

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays of the year. Of course it's because of the food. Who can resist a Thanksgiving feast?! But as I've grown older, I've come to appreciate the bigger meaning behind Thanksgiving: giving thanks.

Gratitude is so important for so many reasons. Not only is it important to be grateful; it's also very important to give thanks to those around you who you're thankful for. Make your thanks known!

There are so many amazing things to be thankful for, and there are just as many ways to give thanks for those things and people and experiences you are thankful for. This year I am thankful for...

Paying it forward: a look at random acts of kindness and chain reactions

IOWA CITY, IA – It was the most expensive chai latte I had ever purchased. On Wednesday, April 27, I spent $10 on a drink at Starbucks that normally would have cost me $4.19. As I handed over the bill, I said to the barista working the register, “Just put the rest toward the next order.”

“Oh! So nice! Thank you!” he responded with a smile on his face that hadn’t been there just five seconds earlier.

It was a dreary day in Iowa City. I figured a lot of people would duck into coffee shops for a warm drink for relief from the cold rain outside, so I chose that day to perform a random act of kindness.