This semester didn’t start at all the way I expected. Between the campus tension, the quicksand pace of classes and new roles, and the general feeling that everything is a little off, it’s been… a lot. And that’s before even factoring in the rest of the world. It’s hard not to feel like everything is burning. I’ve caught myself cycling between exhaustion and frustration, trying to keep up with it all. And I doubt I’m the only one feeling that way.
I used to cope the classic way: doomscrolling, venting, maybe stress-baking a batch (or two) of cookies that didn’t fix anything. But the more I tried to ignore the chaos, the louder it got. At some point, I realized that sitting in my helplessness wasn’t going to help anyone, least of all me.
So what do I do? When the world feels like it’s burning, I’ve learned the best thing to do is show up somewhere that isn’t on fire. Somewhere real, human and hopeful. For me, that’s meant leaning into service through UNCW’s Seahawks That Serve…