(gentle piano music)
- Hey Kris,
do you have a minute?
- Oh hey, Farah.
Of course, for you, always.
How's your second year treating you?
- Much better than my first one,
that's for sure.
I feel like right now I'm in a good place
and I have like, wonderful people to talk to
when things get hard,
like right now.
- Well that's awesome.
What's actually bothering you?
- It's actually this jeopardy thing I'm supposed to lead.
I don't think I'm right for it.
- What do you mean by that?
I do have to keep working on this board
but can we keep talking about it,
while we are here?
- Sure.
I don't think I'm in the right place
to talk about wholeness.
I think after what happened last year,
I'm still trying to
improve.
- So number one,
there are no perfect people,
especially with wholeness.
There's no such thing.
Two,
it's just a game.
Like don't stress out about things that are low stakes
and is not gonna really, you know,
do anything for or against you.
It's just a game.
And three, it is all about the experiences that you have,
that's what wholeness is.
So all of last year,
all of those things that you learned is about discovering
like, who you are and who the whole self is for you.
- Okay, I can see that.
- Someone else is gonna need to hear that story.
- Yeah, you're right.
Thank you Kris.
But before I go,
can I ask why you chose to call it wholeness
instead of wellness?
- So the really cool thing I think about working at Smith
is that I've gotten to pursue this kind of research
that is thinking more about the individual person
and how they live and thrive in community.
And so, you know, in a lot of other places
they focus specifically on like the way that you move,
the kind of exercise that you participate in
or things that you eat, right,
which often makes people feel like,
there's a certain kind of way that they have to eat
in order to be healthy or certain kinds foods
based on what Instagram says or whatever the case may be,
but that's just not what it is, right.
Cause we are all different
and our bodies all need different things,
and so all bodies are good bodies,
all bodies are worthy bodies.
All movement that you do is what you participate in.
And I think what's most important
is that wellness is intersectional,
our wholeness is intersectional, right.
So thinking about that
and thinking about that brown bodies are important
and trans bodies are important
and POC folks have to be included when we're thinking about
wholeness, right.
And I think often times they are left out
of the wellness monologue.
And so that's my speech,
that's my stool, I will get off it now.
- Totally.
I like that a lot.
It's like,
it feels like wholeness is inclusive and empowering
for all kinds of bodies.
Like,
I feel like it
just encompasses you and your skin
and your culture and it's not about how other people
perceive you, you know.
- Exactly.
I'm so glad you like it and that you get it
cause sometimes I think it's like all up in my head,
but it's nice to know that other people get it too.
- Thank you so much.
I'm gonna go and become confident,
well at least pretend to be.
(lighthearted guitar music)
- Hey guys.
So you already know who I am.
Kris Mereigh, obviously, duh.
I'm the director of wellness
and you guys are my new CHOs, right?
(cheering)
- Awesome.
Okay, so today we're gonna be practicing
one of the workshops that we do in the houses,
and it's our wholeness jeopardy game.
Who hoo.
Okay, so many of us have seen jeopardy played before.
We'll be playing it similarly.
If you haven't seen it no worries,
it's a pretty simple game.
So, essentially you have
the different point systems.
The first person to raise their paddle gets the point,
if a person doesn't get the right answer,
someone else can raise their paddle
to get that answer instead.
Any questions about that?
Of course, there aren't.
So,
what you need to think about moving forward is
it's just a game.
It's gonna be a lot of fun
and be willing to like open and have dialogue.
So if there's something you don't agree with,
like that's totally fine.
Just raise your hand and we can talk about it some more
cause we're here to learn and it's gonna be fun.
Okay, let's get started.
- Okay, give me,
friends and connections for 400.
Okay, so friends and connections for 400.
When spending time with friends or alone,
it's vital that you do not do this in order to maintain
your overall wholeness and sense of self.
You must put the what is in front of all your statements.
- What is
not never comparing yourself to others?
- That's correct.
400 points for Farah. (all cheer)
- Self-care for 100.
- Okay, self-care for 100.
The question is,
in order to function well academically and keep stress away,
you need seven to eight hours of this activity.
- Oh I know,
sleep.
- Good job for Axe.
100 points to you.
(CHO's cheer)
- Can I get stress and time management for 200?
- Okay.
You may get stress and time management for 200.
Wholeness requires self-compassion,
always say no to the blank Olympics.
- I got this.
It is Stress Olympics.
- Good job, exactly.
What is Stress Olympics?
So, I guess we have to define what Stress Olympics is.
Does anyone wanna do that for us?
- Yeah, so an example is like,
when you're in class and somebody says,
"I have three exams."
"No, hold on, I have four exams
and I did not sleep last night."
"Well, I did not sleep last night and before that night."
So that's pretty much the Stress Olympics.
- What do I do if somebody is trying to engage me
in the Stress Olympics?
There have been a lot of times
where I feel like someone was trying to one-up me
because they were more stressed.
And I just haven't really known what to do.
- Well Axe, I think we've all been there.
When my friends start talking about how stressed they are,
I just ask them, "Are you all right?"
Because we can't really live and survive in this college
if we're just stressed all the time.
So you have to make sure you're eating,
you have to make sure that you're sleeping,
at least eight hours.
Just be empathetic and don't build on that stress.
- Great answer Farah.
Let's keep it going, let's keep it moving.
Who's up next?
- Self-care for 200.
- Perfect, self-care for 200 for Patricia,
mark it.
In order to promote wholeness,
you should avoid doing this at mealtimes
and instead focus on self-care.
- What is studying or doing homework.
- [Kris] Eh, wrong.
- Actually Farah, you should probably focus on
connecting with other people and self-care.
- [Kris] Exactly, that's right Axe.
- Yes. - Oh dang it.
- Yeah. - I usually use my meals
to maximize on my work and I don't know how to fix that.
- Ways to get involved for 400.
- [Patricia] You're really going big with the points,
aren't you?
- Go big or go home baby.
(chuckles)
- So ways to get involved for 400.
Open hours and health consultation sessions
are held by me,
when?
- Open hours on Tuesdays are held in the mornings
and open hours on Wednesdays are held in the afternoons.
That was easy.
- Spencer Axe that's correct and I'll accept it.
I do usually have open hours Tuesdays in the mornings
and Wednesday afternoons from like 1 to 5 p.m.
But that changes depending on my schedule.
So check the website.
Our website and our Instagram are always up to date
@wellnessatsmith,
don't miss out on the information.
- Awesome.
I choose stress and time management for 300.
- What?
- Stress and time management for 300, right?
Okay.
So in order to balance wholeness
with academic success at Smith,
you have to have this kind of a mindset.
- What is
a growth mindset?
Because you might not have a perfect plan
or know what you're gonna do with your life,
but I think you should be open to changes.
- [Kris] Awesome, perfect, really good.
- That's very philosophical.
- You guys know I'm deep.
Booyah!
All right, how about friends and connections for 200.
I'm ready to win.
- Okay, give me a second I'll put it up on the board,
300 for Patricia, right?
You choose friends and connections for 200.
- [Patricia] Correct.
- Awesome.
Doing this can help you make friends and build community.
- [Farah] I got it. - Yes.
- What is joining student org
or just participating in different activities on campus?
- Very good.
So that's goes 200 to Farah.
Give her a round of applause y'all.
(CHO's cheering and clapping)
Yes.
Okay.
- Self-care for
300.
- Self-care for 300,
on it.
When you're studying for long periods of time,
it's important to do this
so that your brain can have time to rest.
- Wiggle.
- Wiggle?
- Wiggle as in like move your body.
- Okay, I'll take it,
move your body.
Okay Axe, that's really important to wiggle.
I'm not so sure where you were going with that
but that's really important.
When you're studying for long periods of time,
you shouldn't be sitting for like an hour,
two hours straight.
Your brain does not work that way.
It's kind of like a muscle.
So, if you've ever been to the gym, right,
maybe some of you have,
and you're working out, right,
you have to be able to rest those muscles
in order for them to grow.
You don't just work out the whole time,
you take breaks.
So,
every 30
and 45 minutes,
depending on how your rhythm is when you're studying,
you take a good substantive break.
Whether that is going for a walk to the bathroom
or you know, just like moving in the chair
or doing a little meditation.
Breaks are the key to being able to store information longer
and to recall them faster.
That is so, so important.
I can't stress it enough.
Is there any questions about that?
- [Axe] Can we wiggle now?
- Yes, of course we can wiggle now.
(upbeat music)
(Kris humming)
All right.
Moving on.
No one show anyone that, okay.
(Farah giggles)
Next, we're doing what now?
- [Axe] Ways to get involved for 300.
- Ways to get involved for 300 to Axe.
Smith offers this form of Chinese medicine
on Mondays and Fridays from 1 to 5 p.m.
- What is acupuncture?
- Awesome, 300 points to Patricia.
(Patricia cheers)
All right, so the board is getting scanty.
So Patricia you're up,
you get to pick.
- Wait, wait.
- [Kris] Okay, we'll wait.
- Before we move on,
can one of you explain what is acupuncture.
- Yeah, I can.
Acupuncture is when they put teeny tiny needles
into your body to restore the flow of energy.
- That sounds really awesome.
Where has this been all my life?
Like, where can I sign up?
- Question, where you can sign up online,
on the wellness website and also on our Facebook page,
we always keep it rolling.
But it does fill up pretty quickly.
But there's always like slots open
cause people cancel all the time.
So just because like,
if one day you're feeling in a really like bad place
and like you're like, oh I just wanna go get
some stress relief for acupuncture,
go and check out if they have an open slot,
they probably do.
A lot of people don't know that.
- Oh my God you guys, we have to go to class.
We're gonna be late.
- Okay, no worries,
don't freak out.
Just add up the points.
All right, here we go.
Can we get a drum roll, please.
(CHO's do a drum roll)
All right, so to Axe,
we have four, five, six, seven,
800
over here.
(Axe cheers) - [Farah] Boo!
- So Farah, we have 600 (Farah cheers)
Over here.
And Patricia, three, four, five, six, seven,
700.
The winner, Axe.
(all cheer)
Well, a really awesome game y'all.
I hope that you were able to learn something
and that you feel a little bit more confident
on how this activity is gonna go
for when you do it for the folks in the houses.
I have a little bit of prize for you all
because it's not a wellness event without a prize.
So,
- Thank you.
You are a smart cookie,
never forget that. - Thank you.
- And for our winner,
we have the wholeness cap.
(Patricia cheers)
Very good.
Then also
a lovely sparkly bow tie.
(Patricia laughs)
Cheer man, don't be jealous.
(Patricia and Farah cheering and laughing)
Nice, nice.
Great, let me help you out there.
- Whatever.
- All right.
And your very own giant slew,
silky, slinky?
Whatever you call these things.
- [Patricia] We're gonna win next time.
It's yours.
- Next time, it's comeback.
(cheering)
- [Patricia] Good job Axe. - [Farah] Well done.
- Thanks guys.
- So before we all go,
I just wanna remind you that our next session,
will be Monday so like we always have.
But remember to remind people that every Wednesday
is wholeness Wednesday.
That means that there's a break in the week
to do something fun.
So check it out.
This year, we're actually doing it on Wednesdays
and some Fridays to give people who have classes
on Wednesday nights an opportunity to go.
And there's always something new and always something fun.
So don't forget to remind them, okay.
- All right. - Have fun.
Don't be late for class, go, go, go, go.
- [CHOs] Thank you.
- Bye.
(lighthearted music)
- Oh hey, Farah.
What's up?
- Hey Kris.
I'm good.
Just taking a break from studying,
releasing those endorphins.
How are you?
- I'm good too, I'm about to do the same thing.
That's really great.
How is the,
the thing you did the other day?
The jeopardy thing that you were leading.
- You know what,
I actually enjoyed it.
It was really great just talking about my experiences
and also realizing that I have this wonderful community
to talk about wholeness with.
- That's really awesome.
I'm so glad.
I mean that's exactly what I was thinking about
when I had to design the program.
That it would be all about community
and like accessing the resources that you need,
and so I hope you keep doing that,
you keep learning how to, you know,
utilize all the amazing things around you.
And you know come check in with me whenever you need.
I think, I hope other people got that too.
- Thank you Kris.
I appreciate you so much.
- I'll see you around.
- See ya.
- Go get some rest, go get some study.
- I guess.
(lighthearted music)