After watching Suokko’s inspirational speech, I have realized all the signs that the universe gives to me, but I overlook. Growing up in today’s society, the difference between fact and fiction is emphasized. Ideas such as the “universe” are made to be fictional and the idea of only believing what you see is known. But as I think back to important decisions in my life, I realize that the universe has always been there, showing me the signs. As an example, in high school I had always felt a strong connection to the University of Miami but didn’t know if it was the right place for me. Moving so far away from home was a scary thought and I wasn’t sure if I could handle it. However, because of the social media dominated world we live in, I was scrolling through my instagram one day and noticed all the advertisements and posts about the University of Miami. I thought nothing of it, but everyday more and more posts flooded my feed with Miami propaganda. When the time to apply to colleges rolled around I applied early decision to Miami and have never regretted it since. Was it the universe telling me to apply? I don’t know but after watch Suokko’s TedTalk, I’m starting to believe it was a sign.

As a pretty self- aware person, I know myself as a girl who does not like to try new things. I watch the same movies ten times over, I eat pretty much the same thing every other day and I tend to stick to my close group of friends. As I try to expand my beginner’s mind I will try to use this technique to expand the variation in my life. By using the beginner’s mind I must approach each new task in my life with an open mind. This will allow me to have more opportunities in my life and enhance my life experiences. It may be as small as starting to watch a new movie or going to a restaurant I wouldn’t have tried in the past, but a beginner’s mind will open up my life for the better.

My name is Sofia Serres and I am a freshman here at the University of Miami. My current major is criminology and I have ambitions of going to law school. Although law is my main area of study, I also take health and wellness courses known as kinesiology. Personal well-being is a topic that I have always been passionate about and I am my friends’ go to “is this healthy?” girl!

A hobby of mine that I have been practicing for some time now is painting. I often believe that I have nothing left to learn, but after reading “Approaching Life with a Beginner’s Mind” I understand the falsity of that statement. I often paint objects or landscapes that are similar to one another because that is where my mind automatically goes, which can be stressful for me because I don’t enjoy repetition. “…instead of worrying about what might happen, you can open yourself up to being curious about what will happen, let go of your preconceived ideas about the outcome and instead embrace not knowing…” This statement makes me realize that sometimes the unknown can be useful and it is an important part of the beginners mind. The next time I get in-front of a canvas I will be sure to explore new colors and stokes.

I would say that when coming to college I used the beginner’s mind. I had taken similar classes in high school, but I knew that college would be different. I cleared my mind of all the ideas I had of school in order to pick up new techniques to succeed in my new environment. I would say the effort I put into my work has definitely changed for the better.

Happy Reading!

Love your body on the inside and out