Hannah's Blog: Live Purposefully

"What do you have to be depressed about?" "You'll be fine, just take a deep breath." "You'll get over it. Things get better." "You're saying and doing that for attention." "This is a phase." "You'll grow out of it." Do these phrases sound familiar? To someone who lives with a mental disorder, those statements are said all too often. Because it's only recently that our culture has come to accept the presence of mental illness and what that truly means for individuals, there's still so much toxic stigma, harmful stereotypes, and dismissal centered especially around youth who think they may be or truly are living with mental illness. Teenagers already receive a lot of bad rap. They're stigmatized as moody, irresponsible, hormonal, rebellious-and in a lot of ways, they are. However, 1 in 5 teens are diagnosed a mental disorder, and many more live with the disorders unrecognized because the people cl

"That's very good-I love the humor," the writing instructor exclaimed as she leaned forward from her perch on an extra table. The student she was addressing looks pleased and sets down their paper, visibly encouraged by the comment and eagerly listening to the constructive criticism and praise that follows. Although time in the classroom can be restricted, their instructor urges her students to visit her in her office or email her to talk about their written works in further depth. Karelia Stetz-Waters, the English Department chair for the last five years and a writing instructor for the last 10, as well as an accomplished author, is well known around campus to be a kind and effective presence to the students. "What I like about working here...probably how all the faculty has the students' best interests at heart. We may not always agree on what that is," she said with a quick laugh, "But we all want to see them succeed and do what we can to help wi

The Chainsmokers have become some of the most sought after EDM DJ's in the United States, due to their catchy beats that provoke colorful parties, good moods and for some of their music, some angst. Several of their previous songs have done admirably well in the charts; "Closer", featuring Halsey, peaked at #1 on the charts for 12 weeks weeks; songs such as "Don't Let Me Down", "Paris", and "Something Just Like This" also were in the top 10 during their debut time. Prior to their current album, the Chainsmokers released two short EP's, "Collage" in 2016 and "Bouquet" in 2015, along with a respectable number of singles and remixes to keep their momentum going. As expected then, their fans couldn't wait for the duo's first full album "Memories...Do Not Open" to be released on April 7th, 2017. The Chainsmokers did not disappoint-and it's worth noting why, pulling up your favorite media player

A small group of students gathered in a Learning Center conference room, greeting each other and settling down to work on drawing a Pre-Natal Human Development board. The LBCC Students for Life Club makes several such boards that they set on tables in the Courtyard, hoping to start conversations about life here on campus. The boards are meant to offer information on pre-natal development and alternative options to abortion, as well as spark amiable conversations between opposing views on the controversial topic. The club also is available to offer support to pregnant women or single mothers on campus, and ultimately provide information and resources to aid women in difficult positions. The club founder, Steven Bowser, said, "I started this club on a whim in 2012 not knowing what kind of impact it would have or even if anyone would be a part of it." "We've had our highest member count starting Fall 2016," President Elizabeth Lang said, "Give or take 15