Vote for the Best of UCSB 2010

It’s that time of year again! On Feb. 16th, the Daily Nexus will have its annual “BEST OF” issue.

We need YOU to VOTE for what you think is the BEST of the BEST in the following categories. Click below and fill out the poll and see if YOUR picks win, and enter your U-Mail address at the end of the poll for a chance to win prizes! And hurry — polls close Feb. 3rd! Thank you!

Click here to fill out the survey.

“Life goes on within you and without you.”

Exactly one month has passed since my return to the States from Ghana and I still feel like my head is reeling from reverse culture shock or, as I like to call it, “culture whiplash.”

When you leave your family, your friends, your University, your job — your home — for nearly 5 months, obviously things are going to change. But, for some reason, I feel like my time in Ghana was nothing more than a dream… as if I closed my eyes and dreamed of this blurry faraway land while the world around me was frozen suspended in the night.

Though my time in West Africa seems so far away from my life in California, it was most certainly no figment of my imagination and, while some aspects of my life seem to have only been put on pause until my return, so much has changed. I keep reminding myself that I knew before that, as The Beatles once sang, “Life goes on within you and without you,” it is a nearly impossible concept to truly internalize.
Not only has life gone on without me, but I have found that it is a wasted effort to try to explain my experience to, well, basically anyone who hasn’t been to Ghana themselves. Besides, how can I even begin to sum up my trip by responding to, “So, how was Africa?” (more…)

Find Your Strength(s)

When you Google “tips on keeping your resolutions,” there are 26,000,000 hits.  Despite all the advice out there, most of us break our New Year’s resolutions.  In fact, when you Google “Why do we break our resolutions,” you get 26,800,000 hits!

I don’t have any magic resolution-keeping advice.  But I do have a suggestion… Find out what you’re already good at – your strengths.

Christopher Peterson and Martin E. P. Seligman defined 24 possible strengths in their book “Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Clarification.”  They fall under 6 categories:

• Wisdom and Knowledge – Cognitive strengths that entail the collection and use of knowledge
• Courage – Emotional strengths that involve the exercise of will to accomplish goals in the face of opposition, external or internal
• Humanity – Interpersonal strengths that involve tending and befriending others
• Justice – Civic strengths that underlie healthy community life
• Temperance – Strengths that protect against excess
• Transcendence – Strengths that forge connections to the larger universe and provide meaning (more…)

Happy New Year To All

Well, I hope you all had a Merry Christmas. I’ve been back in the States for little over a week now, and boy is it good to be home.

Ireland can be a great place, and a shitty place.  More than anything it is different: different from what anyone from America, but especially sunny SoCal, is used to.

The sight of the full moon in the clear winter sky can be breathtaking, but even when enjoying that beauty I’m tortured by cold.  I was in New Jersey this last weekend to take the LSAT, and it snowed while I was there, but even that wasn’t as cold as the Dublin night in December.  The wind, the far northern latitude, the long nights, and proximity to the ocean all combine to create a feeling of chilling sensation that is umatched by anything I have ever felt.  It’s like the wind is cutting through my flesh and bones, down to my very marrow, when I’m wearing anything less than a heavy woolen peacoat, sweater, cap, scarf, gloves, and thermal underwear. (more…)

UCSB Helps You Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions

Welcome to a new year, Gauchos!  May your year be full of meaning, self-discovery, growth, helping others, productivity and hope.

USA.gov lists this year’s popular New Year’s resolutions.  If any match yours, there are UCSB resources that may help you achieve them.

Lose Weight

Student Health has two registered dietitians who can help you come up with a healthy, personalized plan to manage your weight.  Confidential appointments: 805-893-3371.

Manage Debt

Save Money

I’m not aware of any official student debt management workshops on campus.  If you know of any please post them in the comments below. Until then, have a laugh with Steve Martin in this SNL skit. (more…)