MAHWAH – The importance of self-esteem was the message at The Ramapo College of New Jersey’s Wellness Coalition’s on-campus event on Feb 21.
The event, simply entitled “I Am Enough,”, was set with the goal of not only letting students know that they are enough because they are themselves, but to ask why they think they are enough. This encouragement for student involvement also hopes to provoke student wellness and raise their self-esteem, one of the major goals of RCNJ’s Wellness Coalition.
“The Wellness Coalition is made up of faculty and staff who plan events all year long for students, encouraging them to take care of themselves, to see wellness as an important part of their life,” said Abbe Benowitz, one of the co-chairs of the RCNJ Wellness Coalition.
“We do tend to focus a lot of our events on mental wellness and emotional wellness, but we also talk about physical wellness, sustainability, and financial wellness just so that students understand that’s as much of a part of their lives as academics,” she added. “In fact, it might help them be more successful academically.”
The “I Am Enough” event, set in the famed “fishbowl” in Ramapo College’s main academic complex, featured posters of Ramapo students, faculty and professors hung on the walls and windows of the room. The posters’phrase “I Am Enough,” drew the curiosity of passersby.
Getting Students Involved
Organizers encouraged students to take part in the event in several ways. This included having a Polaroid photo of themselves taken, stapling it to a piece of paper and then to a bulletin board. On the piece of paper, participants could write, “I am enough because…” and then follow up the phrase with the reason why they think they are enough in a similar way to the large posters being displayed.
“We want students to understand that they are enough in themselves, that they can love themselves for who they are, and as you can see in the posters everybody wrote down why they are enough and wanted to share,” said Rachel Marko, a member of the RCNJ Wellness Coalition and registrar associate at Ramapo College. Marko also took Polaroid photos of participants for one of the fishbowl’s bulletin boards as part of the festivities.
Other activities from the “I Am Enough” event included getting a temporary tattoo of the event’s title phrase on their arm in a similar way to those on the event’s posters, and making “I Am Enough” bracelets with beads and a small charm that also says the key phrase of the event that students could keep and wear.
“I think the students who are wearing them [the bracelets] and also students who just see them and see other people wearing them serves as just a visual reminder that you are enough,” said Tara Sager, a member of the RCNJ Wellness Coalition and counselor at the school’s counseling center. Sager helped attendees make bracelets at the event. “It doesn’t matter who you are or what you are, you are enough.”
Through such engagements, the event worked towards its goal of raising student self-esteem by gaining their attention and involvement.
Importance of Wellness and a Remarkable Concept
Student wellness has become a more important factor in college in recent years. According to the American Psychological Association, the amount of students who seek some form of counseling for mental health concerns has increased by 30 percent within the past decade. In addition, the association says that 61 percent of college students who have utilized counseling services have reported having anxiety, stress, depression or other related concerns that have affected their well being and performance in college.
Events like these are essential to show students that their personal well-being matters more than anything else in the grand scheme, including but not undermining their academic performance, and that they have helpful resources for them to reach out to for guidance, students say.
“A lot of times we think may it, but to put it on display, and to be like “this is exactly why I am enough” without any shame and to be confident is another thing,” said Angelica Pasquali, a contemporary arts major at Ramapo College. “I would give them [students] advice to finish the phrase “I am enough” because to think of a singular or most prominent reason why they are enough, it would stick in their head, and whenever they feel like they aren’t enough, they can think “no, I am enough because of this” and I know exactly why I am [they are] enough. It’s actively reassuring themselves.”
Pasquali created the “I Am Enough” event, and partnered with RCNJ Wellness to organize and hold it in the fishbowl. Taking the form of a temporary photo gallery, it was an incredible display completely conceptualized by one creative student for her fellow students and others to boost their self confidence, focus on personal wellness, and to realize that they matter.
“It started off as a photo series, and then it turned into an event, and then it turned into a video project,” added Pasquali,explaining her inspiration and concept behind creating the “I Am Enough” event.
“This was my original idea, and I was inspired by the temporary [I Am Enough] tattoos that the wellness coalition gave out at one of their events. I wore it for a week with one of my friends and it had such an impact, just being a simple little thing,”she said. “I figured I wanted to make a photo series where students and even faculty, and anyone and everyone can come in and get the temporary tattoo as a build-up of self-confidence, and visually explain and proudly say why they are enough.”
Reaching out to RCNJ Wellness
The RCNJ Wellness Coalition does not have an office on campus, but can be reached via email at rcnjwellness@ramapo.edu. Ramapo College students are encouraged to use the service via social media by following @rcnjwellness on Twitter and Instagram, and by using the hashtag #rcnjwellness. More events run by the Wellness Coalition are set to be held in the coming weeks.
Come to the Fishbowl this Thursday, February 21st! #rcnjwellness #ramapocollege pic.twitter.com/MHHPx0GnuV
— rcnjwellness (@rcnjwellness) February 19, 2019
Very thorough piece, covered every and any possible angle I could imagine taking. Seeing the posters that students participating in the event made really sells the impact the Wellness Coalition has on Ramapo’s students.