Happy first week of classes. You did it. Take a pause. Breathe. You’ve completed your first week of college, or maybe your last first week. This week came with hurdles, stress, good times, laughs, late buses, long textbook lines, the formation of new relationships, or the reconnection of past ones. 

As we went from classes to activities to residence halls or apartments off-campus, there were ads all over campus, all encouraging different avenues for success: take care of yourself, get involved, be informed, find your niche—all of these things promoting the idea of student well-being. 

Yet, in some experiences, we never stop to correlate the success of those individual avenues with the answers to simple, yet complex and immensely important questions: “What is wellness?” and “What does it look like for me?” 

This year, as your Director of Wellness for the Student Government Association, I am advocating for each individual to answer these questions and create the narrative of what we want wellness to look like on our campus. My goal is that when our time is complete here, those individual successes have become an intersectional and holistic representation of our ability to thrive and function as individuals and community members. 

This year, I ask you all to allow me to be a part of your support, to help you find those successes when the day-to-day seems to be a struggle or when those great days become the best memories. Allow for us to share our journey together, so that we leave this campus improved, with a greater conversation around individual well-being, and with a better campus culture around the state of being well. 

For more information on campus resources or to learn how to get involved in areas related to Wellness, please visit Wellness and Prevention Services at wellness.appstate.edu or the Student Government Association at sga.appstate.edu. 

Victoria Moreno is the Student Government Association’s Director of Wellness. You can reach her at morenovl@appstate.edu