When I think of fall, I think of the vibrant color of the leaves, crisp morning air, bonfires, and pumpkin-spiced lattes. Fall is the season that brings out all the cozy "feels." Universally, we are all pulling out our layers and preparing for the colder months after the warm season. Many people have staples each season that connect them to the elements and each other. As I look forward to the fall weather, there are certain staples I like to include that bring me closer to the season of gratitude and including "hygge" into my surroundings. Hygge is a Finnish term for making your surroundings cozy and peaceful. In the summertime, I am often outdoors and do not spend as much time inside, but as the cooler weather becomes more consistent, I migrate inside and, with that, want to make my living and work spaces more personalized and inviting. This includes pulling out the blankets, adding warm colors to spaces, opening up candles, and dusting off some feel-good recipes. This process can look different for others as it really depends on personal preference and what others need to cultivate or update their spaces. As someone from the Midwest who gets all four seasons, we look forward to those home-cooked meals that bring us together. My college roommate always put together a Russian tea mix at the start of fall and would sip it in the evenings doing homework. Alternatively, my sister and I will often pull out our hot chocolate or pumpkin-spiced latte mixes for an evening treat. While we live in an area that is off the beaten path and as far north in Michigan as you can essentially go, we don't have as many "big city" luxuries, such as Starbucks around the corner or TjMaxx across the street. So, when we do find ourselves in a town with a little more to offer, you know where one of our must-stops is. With such a simple pleasure of a drink to bring joy and spark happy memories, it is something special. It brings my sister and I together for a shared interest that we can, in turn, share with the rest of our family and friends. Just a drink can bring together a community in a time of change. I am so glad to be able to share this tradition with others - friends and strangers and be grateful for the simple pleasures in life that can alter a mood or an afternoon. Traditions can bring us together in the most beautiful ways - by enjoying things together and making memories that will last a lifetime.

@hbershin

I'm going to sound unoriginal by saying this, but my favorite tech invention of the last 10 years is smartphones. It does get better though if you continue on reading you'll see that my statement is not as unoriginal as it sounds. While smartphones are great, they have paved the way for a lot of really unique, fun, and helpful applications for users. If you want to play Angry Birds and also see what's blowing up on Twitter all with a few taps, it is now possible. You can also chat with a licensed psychologist just by downloading an app. This has opened up the world of therapy to be more accessible and helping to lessen astigmatism. Instead of scheduling out 60-90 minutes in your day, you can text your therapist and no one will know. Part of the stigma is being a person who needs help and when you feel like you have to lie about where you were on Tuesday at 4:00 pm, it can be mentally taxing. With a society that's still slowly understanding that it's okay to seek help and in fact more powerful to do so, those who are seeking therapy feel like outcasts or feel like they have to hide it. Having the ability to have a more private conversation with an array of therapists (your pick), gives people the opportunity to help themselves without their family or coworkers potentially judging them. It also gives people who have a lack of mental health resources the ability to still seek help. My previous roommate loved the app BetterHelp, because she was able to get help in a community with only three psychologists who were already severely overworked. Up until this past spring, I had no idea what I wanted to do after graduation. I'm not ready to continue onto grad school, but I would still like to use my degree and gain experience within the fields of psychology. After learning about apps like BetterHelp and other online resources, I have grown quite interested in doing more in this realm. I may not be able to practice psychology with an undergraduate degree, but I can work with a company that is cutting edge and taking mental health resources to the next level. Being an individual with anxiety and depression, I understand how hard it is to talk to someone face to face. I also understand having little to no resources available coming from a small town far away from larger metropolitan areas. Being able to use the technological device that is essentially glued to my hip to now have access to resources that can be life-changing is amazing. While I personally don't use any of the apps or websites out there currently, I have seen it help someone who was struggling during a pandemic and had nowhere to go. I want to be able to continue to better these resources and provide more to those who want to use this option. Eventually, I may continue on with my schooling to become a licensed psychologist, but in the meantime I want to help behind the scenes with the success of these new saving graces.

If you would have asked me this question a few years ago, I would not have an answer for you. However, after traveling back home to Seattle for a visit I stumbled across the work of Dale Chihuly. Breathtaking, was the first word that came to my mind when I went to his exhibit near the Space Needle. Known as an advocate, making art accessible to all is just one reason to follow his works, but to just look at the detail, size, and creation of his works speaks volumes.