Live Life to Your Fullest – Alexandra Gerdel, Chief Content Editor

From the Chief Content Editor

When we’re in school, it’s easy to get bogged down in the everyday routine of tests and studying for class. Graduation and the real world can seem so far, and any dreams we have outside of being students exist in the future as a “someday” ideal that we can’t have right now due to our circumstances of still being in school. I’ve learned something pretty cool during my time at LIFE: your circumstances don’t matter. We don’t have to wait until we graduate to be the person we’ve always dreamed of being.

Last August, I created a vision for myself that was far bigger than just graduating from school and opening my practice. I saw myself as an international leader in chiropractic, working to transform the profession in its second century. I never envisioned taking on this role I saw for myself until after I had graduated and maybe even been in practice for ten years. I was blinded by the hoops still left to jump through in school and still being tied to government funded living expense checks.

About three months ago, something in my thinking shifted. I’ve suddenly found myself in the role I only dared to dream of back in August. The reason? I got bold, started speaking and writing my ideas beyond the realm of just our LIFE campus. The result, I realized while I was at New Beginnings earlier this month, was that other leaders in our profession actually knew who I was. It was while I was at New Beginnings I realized I have actually made an impression on those out to save chiropractic and save the world, and become the leader I dreamed of becoming.

My goal here is not to brag or make myself look cool, it’s to leave you all with this message and hopefully with the inspiration to really take on your life and be who you are. So many of us live life without fully expressing ourselves because we get bogged down in everything surrounding us and allow that to define us. You are not your finances, your divorced parents, your final exam schedule etc. Who you are is who you choose to be in the face of all the obstacles and life imperfections we each face on a daily basis.

If you have not done so, take a moment to consider your life and your actions. Who are you? How do you act and behave? In each moment, who do you choose to be? Who would you like to be? The theory of the power of positive thinking runs rampant within the chiropractic profession and on this campus. While I fully believe in maintaining positive thoughts and attitudes in order to get what you want, I also believe it requires action. I became a leader because I stopped acting like a scared student, swallowed by the pressure of school and exams and with nothing to offer the world. I started taking actions consistent with a leader. I met people. I shared my ideas and writing with people. I was bold and courageous.

So I ask you, who do you want to be? What’s holding you back? Don’t wait for tomorrow to get here. The future is right now. You are capable of being whoever you wish to be in this moment. Dream big. Reach for the stars. The only thing in your way is you deciding who you want to be.

The Art Of Communication – Alexandra Gerdel, Chief Content Editor

Communication is one of those fundamental keys necessary for success in any aspect of life. Whether it’s a relationship with a significant other, a family member, a business partner, a patient or your best friend, communication is the glue that either makes or breaks the success of that relationship. Recently, I’ve been looking a lot at how I communicate, and I decided to share some of my thoughts in this issue of Vital Source.

My inquiry into how I communicate began after the release of the last issue of Vital Source. After the release of my War on Funnel Cakes article, I realized that despite my intention to not attack anyone for liking funnel cakes, the title of my article alone could have created a hostile emotion in anyone who loves funnel cakes. And although I did clarify I didn’t have any issue with someone liking funnel cakes—my issue was with the integrity of a school committed to health and wellness selling funnel cakes—I failed to make that point early enough in my article to encourage those who disagreed with me to keep reading. As a result, I was booed one day walking into class, and several of my friends commented they didn’t want to eat around me at lunch because they were worried I was judging them for what they were eating.

One of my friends raised a valid point – you can’t suddenly take away something like funnel cakes from an annual event without upsetting a lot of people. I certainly  agree that changing someone’s perspective on their health and inspiring them to take control of their overall wellness is a difficult and delicate task. While I stick to my argument that this institution should not be serving funnel cakes or allowing fast food and unhealthy vending machines on this campus as a matter of integrity, I do agree that the change needs to be made in a way that inspires those in our community to take control of their health.

These events made me really think about what my intentions are when I’m speaking with someone, writing, or sharing a point of view. For those of us in the chiropractic program, we tend to have a different way of thinking than the general public has, when it comes to getting adjusted, what to eat, how to exercise and the definition of health and wellness. In communicating our ideas, I’ve realized that it can be easy to come across in a negative way to someone, especially when my passion and excitement lead the charge and effectively prevent me from really listening to the person with whom I am communicating. Whether I mean to or not, I’ve realized that I can easily appear to others as judgmental and as making them wrong for not knowing what I know and/or not being on my level when it comes to the meaning of health and wellness.

I don’t think any of us wish to educate and motivate our friends, family and patients to take control of their health by means of brute force, making them feel guilty or scaring them into submission to change their ways. This approach, along with our passion and our drive to change the world, can certainly come across as overwhelming if we don’t communicate effectively. I’ve realized my intention is always to inspire those around me, but I haven’t always communicated in a way that produces that effect in others. I have become very aware of how to choose my language and what I say in order for inspiration to be the end result. My focus is no longer just to get a point across, it’s to truly relate to the person or audience with whom I’m speaking. The difference has been huge, and inspiring.

I invite you to look at your own life. How do you communicate with people? What are your goals when you talk with someone? What kind of impression do you want to leave? When you’ve decided what your goals are for the person with whom you’re speaking, join me in starting to communicate with them in mind instead of yourself and your own agenda. Send feedback to Vital Source at submissions.vs@gmail.com and let us know how things change for you!

From the Chief Content Editor – Alexandra Gerdel, Chief Content Editor

The Untimely demise of my anti-television life

I believe everyone has at one point in their life gotten so lost in the fantasy world of a movie, book or TV series that their own lives become boring and empty by comparison. They spend all of their time lost in deep thought and daydreams, counting the hours, minutes, seconds before they can watch more and daydream more about the world about which they fantasize constantly. It has been a very long time since something has literally transported me from my own reality to the fantasyland of another world, thereby rendering showering, eating and socializing completely unnecessary and, to be honest, somewhat of a nuisance. Fortunately, being in the Doctor of Chiropractic program has kept me too busy to find a great book or TV show to lose myself in. That was, until this past break.

On my return flight from Vermont to Atlanta, my two and a half year stint of not having a TV show addiction was sadly ended by the evil conniving of the Delta Airlines in flight entertainment planner.  Although I fought the urge and really tried not to look at the mini TV screen positioned perfectly for my viewing pleasure, it only took about two minutes before I found myself not only watching, but completely enamored with a random episode from somewhere in the middle of the first season of Glee.

As soon as my plane touched down in Atlanta, I rushed home ecstatic to watch as many episodes of Glee as I could find, only to have my hopes crushed by Hulu and their 90 second preview teasers to encourage a subscription to Hulu Plus.  Defeated, I went to bed devising a plan to somehow watch all the Glee I could handle (for free) before another quarter started. Thanks to Netflix and a whole lot of snow and ice, this plan came to fruition, and before I knew it I was even more addicted to Glee than I could have ever imagined. Yes, I am almost embarrassed to admit that as a 26 year old soon to be doctor of chiropractic, I stayed up till the wee hours of the morning night after night, watching episode upon episode of 20-something actors pretending to be singing and dancing teenage misfits. Misfits trying to find themselves in the scary, unfriendly world of high school while sticking to the social code that separates jocks and music geeks.

It’s really difficult to say what has me so hooked on Glee. It could be the ridiculous storylines of each and every episode. The writing somehow manages to satirize the black hole of high school stereotypes while simultaneously making the viewer care about the characters. Or it could be Sue Sylvester’s (Jane Lynch) endless one-liners about Will Schuster’s (Matthew Morrison) hair. For example: “I don’t trust a man with curly hair. I can’t help but picturing birds laying sulfurous eggs in there, and I find it disgusting.” But I think the part of Glee that really stole my reality for approximately one full week and all Tuesday evenings until Season Two is complete, is that it reminds me of how much I am a real life Gleek.

If you look around our campus, you could say that everyone here is a Gleek. I don’t mean in the sense that we all secretly want to burst into song and bust a move, but more in the sense that Life University is different from other universities. For those in the chiropractic program we stand in the face of adversity. Our friends and family don’t necessarily understand why we’re becoming chiropractors, the world might not consider us “real” doctors. Despite the battles that have already been won, we still have to fight like hell to earn the respect of those outside our chiropractic bubble. Glee represents the same concept, a group of people being true to who they are and what they believe, no matter what others think, say or do. Understanding this, and why we are here doing what we do, is key to our future and success as individuals and as a profession.

I am a Gleek and I am proud of it. Embrace the Gleek in you, and if you feel like it, join me on Tuesdays at 8 PM for an hour-long escape to fantasyland!

A Grateful Gimp Gives Thanks – Alexandra Gerdel, Chief Content Editor

from the chief content editor

This issue of Vital Source will be hitting the stands after Thanksgiving. However, the spirit of the Holidays endures through the New Year. I feel it is therefore not too late for me to take a little time to say thanks.

Earlier this quarter, I spent four long days hobbling around campus on crutches, followed by limping around campus even slower than I hobbled for another several days. As those unfortunate enough to have experienced Life University’s campus on crutches know, this is no easy feat. Suddenly getting from the CCE building to the CC-HOP becomes a more daunting task than running a marathon. Getting up “cardiac hill” is akin to climbing Mount Everest without oxygen. Crossing campus to get to Assembly is like pushing a stalled pickup truck uphill indefinitely.

While my daily triceps workout repeatedly pointed out how much I take things like being able to drive, push a shopping cart or kill a cockroach for granted, what I noticed even more were the offers of help and assistance I received from people both on campus and off. I have never had more doors held open for me, more friends and strangers offer to carry me up stairs or give me piggy back rides, more professors go out of their way to make sure I was comfortable, more people offer to get me an electric shopping cart in Harry’s, or more people ask me how I was.

While I don’t know the names of many of those who offered me smiles and assistance, I wanted to take a moment to say “thank you” for brightening my days of “gimpy-ness.” During the time I spent as a gimp, the essence of our school motto, “To Give, To Do, To Love, To Serve” showed itself more clearly to me than I’d ever seen before in my two and half years here Our campus is composed of a unique set of individuals who, despite our diverse backgrounds, have formed a tight knit family. I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you to my Life family, and to remind you all to take a moment to love and appreciate each other as we head into our final weeks of the quarter, and our final weeks of 2010.

For those of you who went out of your way for me, and who do the same for others around you everyday, know your kindness did not and does not go unnoticed. I only hope to give the same kind of love and service to others in need in the future.

Forget Bringing Sexy Back – Alex Gerdel, Chief Content Editor

I’m bringing integrity back, and it is sexy!

We’re all familiar with the word integrity. It is after all one of the Eight Core Proficiencies our school stands for. However, despite this fact I would argue that very few of us truly understand the concept of integrity, much less practice it in our everyday lives. I know I didn’t, until I learned not only how easy it is to lose our integrity, but also the freedom that comes in restoring integrity.

During fifth week last quarter I discovered that a lecture for one of my classes had never made it onto my schedule. It was four weeks into the quarter, and I’d skipped a two-hour lecture in a four-hour class every single week without noticing. Once I’d recovered from my initial shock that I could have possibly done something that stupid, I started searching desperately for a way to not have to drop the class. What I devised was a half-hearted plan to restore my integrity. A plan that quite frankly, completely lacked integrity for me.

I admitted to my professor what had happened, but neglected to mention I had also already missed one lab and needed to miss class again later in the quarter for a seminar—a seminar that, ironically, held integrity at its foundation. My professor agreed to let me take the midterm and go from there.

A few days later, I aced the midterm and breathed a huge sigh of relief – relief that remained only as long as that breath lasted. For the next week I didn’t sleep well, I felt a weight being carried on my shoulders and I couldn’t focus on anything. Even if you’re a little unclear on what the definition of integrity means, we can all relate to feeling a complete lack of power and freedom that comes when something you have done or are a part of is bothering you. What I’ve since discovered is that it bothers us because somewhere our integrity is out.

I went to my seminar and got the integrity knocked back into me. That Monday I came back to school and promptly dropped the class. With an A average, I forfeited the full $1,049 in tuition and walked away feeling relieved, happy and free for the first time since I realized my blunder. Most of my friends thought I was crazy. I could have easily created some elaborate story, continued to be dishonest and done whatever it took to stay in the class. In the end however, I would have spent the whole quarter feeling guilty and powerless because of what I had done.

What I discovered through this experience was that somewhere in the process of my screw up I lost sight of what my true values are and felt out of sorts and incomplete because my actions didn’t correlate with what I stand for. If you look up the definition of “integrity” you’ll find it means “to be whole and complete, to have consistency in your values and actions.” Honesty is something I value, and my original actions had a complete lack of honesty.

My purpose in sharing my story isn’t to gloat, or attempt to come across like an amazing saint who found her integrity and can do no wrong. I’m only human. The only thing I’ve discovered is the ability to admit where and when I’m out of integrity with myself, and the courage to do what I need to do to restore it. What constitutes integrity is entirely unique to each of us. Something that is out of integrity for me may be completely in integrity for someone else, because each of us has our own set of values.

Do you lack feeling whole and complete? What happened that left you feeling powerless? My challenge for each of you is to examine your life for where you feel incomplete, and to have the courage to do what you need to do to restore your integrity. Many of us at this school have a dream of making a difference in the world. The power to change the world begins with the power to change yourself. Are you ready to find that power?