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Day in and day out, we rely heavily on communication for making connections and reaching goals, but often we encounter struggle, instances of miscommunication, particularly during difficult conversations. Miscommunication happens for many reasons: 

Let me be entirely honest and open in what I’m about to say. Honesty after all, is so little found in conversations about mental health and yet so powerful when it is. I have, like 1 in 4 other young people my age, struggled with my mental health on and off. There have been times when I’ve been sick with hopelessness and misery, consumed with self-loathing and hatred. Likewise, there have times when I’ve been ecstatically happy and grateful. My emotional health is a mental rollercoaster and contains the best and worst memories for me. But it is not all of me.

(Entry #3 in the series) Recently, I had the great pleasure of sitting down with Associate Director for Outreach and Development Programming for CAPS and all-around nice guy Gary Glass. The topic: relationships. Relationships in general, with no particular person in mind. It was the first time I'd discussed the topic at length, ever. My conclusion? We should do this more often. Here's #3!

Peer For You is now welcoming applications for Peer Responders to serve Duke students for next year.

Applications due March 16. Apply now.

We are a student-run resource that provides the space for undergraduate students to reach out for support and referrals in times of struggle. Any Duke student can send an anonymous message to one of our Peer Responders about a struggle or challenge that they are currently facing. The approached Peer Responder will respond to the message within 24 hours.

I heard once that it takes 21 days to kick-start a new habit. Stick to something for 21 short days, every day, and hey, presto, you’ve found yourself a new habit. Want to lose weight? 21 days of eating right. Feel like quitting coffee? 21 days of resisting Von der Heyden. Fit in an episode of New Girls every day? Definitely 21 days of post-class watching (or more). See, the idea is that after 21 days, it becomes easy. Repeat anything enough times and you’re bound to get stronger, both physically and mentally at the appointed task. Well I’m not sure if entirely believe that 21 is the be-all end-all magic number, but having attempted it myself, I’ll admit there’s some truth to the rule.

Dear PNMs,

Well there it is. I’m done. It’s been a semester with many late nights, some tears and some laughs—and now that my work is done, I’m hoping not to let all the things I’ve learned be defined by my GPA. Because really, when I think about all the experiences I’ve had these past few months, it’s wrong to quantify my “performance” so narrowly. There is very little I would actually change about my sophomore year so far. Maybe I would have done better on my statistics project, or been a little more adept at some botched flirtations…but all in all, I feel very lucky.

You think it’s fall right?  Well, check again, because with November comes the season of chaos!!

Round-two of midterms is soon to come,
We’ll be pulling all-nighters to get everything done.
There are papers to write and tests to take.
The pressure is high, and the future’s at stake!
And if pounding our brains in isn’t enough,
There’s a whole lot more to make this month rough.
Picking new classes for the semester ensuing,
While still in the current, storms are brewing.
I can’t take it anymore, all will shout!
This semester won’t end, count me out!
But book-bagging brings some hope for us all,
Take easier classes, don’t repeat the fall.
This we’ll resolve with all our heart,
But we’ll still pick the hard ones just to look smart.
After meetings, advisors, and flunches too,

Duke Student Health will pilot a consolidation of their clinical services by closing the East Campus Clinic for Spring Semester, 2014.

"There is a combination of reasons for our decision to close the East Campus Clinic," said Dr. John Vaughn, director of Student Health at Duke, "but first and foremost is that we feel doing so will better allow us to deliver the standard of medical care that students deserve and the Duke University Health System demands."

The East Campus Health Clinic was established in the 1990s.  According to Jean Hanson, RN, MPH, administrative director for clinical support services and outreach, it was initially staffed by a nurse only and was intended to handle “simple” cases for the freshman campus. 

I woke up last week with a blinding headache, an impending exam and – after checking at the alarm clock – late for class. There was no time for breakfast or to brush my hair. I rummaged frantically around the room with one shoe on. Where was my homework? Finally with a burning coffee in hand, I sprinted like some mad giraffe down the quad. ‘Run!’ shouted a tanned, muscular man lounging on the benches as I whirled past in my sweatpants. Thanks dude.