Dear Students,

I’m so glad you decided to take my new class this past Fall. At the beginning of our term I was so excited about this new course to teach young women how to design lives and make decisions that are more likely to lead to health and well-being that I blogged about it in September in Martha Stewart’s Wholeliving.com magazine.

I was not disappointed – despite having very high expectations.

Thank you for making this Fall term so stimulating and enjoyable.  You participated in the important questions of “WHY” we should care about our well-being and health and “HOW” to make our self-care a priority, and HOW to actively prevent things that have the potential stand between us and daily well-being.

This course asked you to think intellectually about the research on the gender-specific barriers to the five aspects of well-being (as defined by Gallup: Social, Community, Physical, Career, and Financial). But it also pushed you to dig deep into your own psyche and become aware of what matters most to you and what  beliefs you hold that need to be changed so you may move forward toward achieving global well-being and true fulfillment.

Thank you for your frank feedback about how I could improve my teaching and this course. While I can’t do much about my messy handwriting at the age of 45, I defiantly can include more  discussion the next time around!

May you create your life mindfully, and discover your Purpose, and own the choices necessary to to live it.

I asked you to rename the class based on your experience  over the term, but didn’t give you much time to think. I thought you’d be interested in seeing some of the cool names that everyone came up with (anonymously):

• Living with Purpose: Doing your best, and feeling connected
• Attaining Well-being Despite Societal and Personal Barriers
• Me, Myself, and I: the five elements of personal well-being
• Lifetime Well-being: how to take control over your total well-being
• How to Live a Happy Life through Well-being, Goals and Motivation
• Learning Outside of the Ivory Tower: health and well-being across the lifespan
• Well-being: how women seek health and well-being through the years and the obstacles they overcome
• Women’s Health and Well-being: past, present and future
• Health and Well-being: a new approach to learning to thrive
• Well-being: The bio-psycho-social of the five aspects of well-being

Reading these names showed me how well all of you got the core concepts and competencies. Thanks for being so invested in this material and your own process.

Above all else, effort to remember to honor yourSELF and who you are when the world tries to persuade you otherwise.  Forging a unique path may not be easy, but if you stay true to who you are and learn from your mistakes, it will unfold in front of you.

Please stay in touch as you live your lives….

Warmly,

Michelle