Yes, I was freezing in Florida over the holidays. I know, boo hoo. We drove down so we could bring our dog, Peggy Olsen. She is the only dog allowed in my parent’s house so you know she is super special. We adopted her from a local rescue six years ago and she has become a real member of our family.

Be gone, sand!

It turns out, you can learn a lot from a dog. Here are a few canine words of wisdom:
Learn to take it easy. Most dogs have this down pat—eat, poop, sleep, socialize, repeat. Could we humans be a bit more mellow at school (and more like Peggy)? Yes. Is it always easy? No. Learn to shake off the bad stuff that happens. Get a ‘less than stellar’ grade on an exam or paper? Do what Peggy is doing and lick that nastiness (in this photo, beach sand) off your toes and move on to the next thing. (And Peggy really hates sand in her toes…)

Here, Peggy is telling me to stop taking selfies and get her some dinner.

Talk it out. Can’t shake if off? Go ahead and talk to a friend, a professor, or make an appointment with the USG Counseling Center. Everybody hits bumps in the road now and then and verbalizing your concerns can be quite therapeutic. And perhaps the thing you think is a major issue may be something that can be solved very easily.

Find your tribe. One of the most important things in school is to find people who get you, have similar study habits and most importantly, have a similar sense of humor. Peggy is an expert at this. She is great at sniffing out the friendly dogs and steering clear of the cranky pooches.

Appreciate the journey. I suppose it is difficult to be as carefree as a dog. But at least try to take time to smell the roses and take stock in the fact that we have an awesome campus at USG. Pretty soon, our time here will be over and we’ll be saying “It went by so fast!” Practice expressing gratitude for friends, professors and experiences that you are sharing at USG.

In closing, this is Peggy. Peggy likes to run in slow motion on the beach. She appreciates the sand and the surf and her family and friends. Peggy doesn’t get upset about the little things. She makes mistakes sometimes but learns from them and moves on. She knows that each day is a gift. Be like Peggy.