LAUREN

10/24/24 at 10:30am

Senior in Program in the Environment

Early Grad Student in School for Environment and Sustainability

What motivates you when you wake up?

That's such a good question. Well, I think the thing that motivates me is that I'm very lucky to really love what I'm doing with my time right now. I love what I'm studying. I love what I do for work. (That's what I'm waiting here for. I run the farm stand. I don't know if you know about it). I just love the people that I've surrounded myself with, so that's what motivates me to get out of bed– because I'm excited for what every day brings. And I feel very lucky to have that as my motivation. And, yeah, I’m just trying to enjoy every day.

It is so great to hear your studies and work help you to enjoy every day. That is so important. I'm curious, do you feel like you have a grasp on the concept of what it is to be an adult yet?

Absolutely not. I still very much feel like a kid. But somehow I've been given adult responsibilities. And it's so weird to feel like you're in this point of your life where you're straddling both. It’s like, I don't know if I'm doing anything right, but I'm just gonna keep going, cause I have no other option. Have you heard of the saying, “no matter what happens, the time will pass anyway?” I've just been thinking about that a lot. I'm just kind of learning to accept that, and I'm doing my best. But I don't—–I don't know what I'm doing. 

I hope you know you're not alone in that. Even if you feel unsure sometimes, do you feel like you have developed an understanding of your system of beliefs and values? 

Yeah, definitely. Especially since being here in college. I haven't felt like I’ve needed to reevaluate anything, I just feel so much stronger about everything I believe in. It’s been very assuring, or—– reassuring. Also, to hear the same things echoed from my professors; I love that.

That reassurance means everything. This might be a difficult ask, but can you articulate a few things that are very important to you?

Yeah, I mean, obviously climate change is so deeply important to me because it's pretty much my livelihood. It's going to be what I study and what I work, against and work to fix. Women's rights are so deeply important to me. Honestly, people's rights in general. People should be able to feel comfortable in the systems that they work and live in. Everyone should have equal opportunities to do whatever they want they choose. It's difficult to put a broad cap over everything so quickly. 

Your care for others is so inspiring. Is there a question you feel like you're still waiting on an answer for?

Oh, God. I don't know… I feel like I want to know myself better. I feel like that's the one, like–—it's so weird because I've lived in my body and have had my own life experience for my whole life. It seems that should be the thing I know best. But I feel like I know so little about myself. The way I deal with things, the way I react to things, I don't know. I feel like that's my biggest question right now is, like, not who am I?, because I know what I believe in and I know what I love. But, I don't know, I just want to look more internally. At least in  the upcoming years. That might mean I need to go to therapy. Which, I think, is a great step for anyone.

I couldn't agree more.

I think it's critical for building a healthy life.