I really loved having a discussion with Ryan Lombardi and learning about his perspective of student life at Cornell, and I also really enjoyed listening to what students had to share about their own experiences with or perceptions of the climate and culture of Cornell. Reflecting back on what many students and fellows were saying about the competitive culture and the intensity of Cornell student’s drive, I started to get flashbacks to my arrival at Cornell. Indeed, the intensity of Cornell’s student body—their apparent ability to have their whole life trajectory set in stone, to seamlessly juggle a full course load, and to charge through campus at an almost too impressive speed—was one of the very first things I noticed when I arrived at Cornell. As a transfer to Cornell, that intensity really freaked me out. It was such a sharp contrast to the culture that existed at the institution I had attended before. It seems very dramatic looking back, but while I was excited to be at Cornell, I honestly remember thinking that Cornell would chew me up and spit me out. I brought my work ethnic to a whole new level, and my stress levels followed. What worried me the most is when I would look around, and it would seem that everyone else was totally and easily on top of everything—they were the leader of several student organizations, they had fun on the weekends, and they were unfazed by their workloads. My intense stress, I reasoned, must be a sign of my inferiority. I became sure that I was not smart enough to be at Cornell. As the semester went on, however, I started to realize that so many Cornelians felt the same way I did. They were utterly overwhelmed by the amount of work they had, and they were uncertain about their futures. While the stress and the pressure to perform well obviously did not disappear upon this realization, the more I started to share my stresses with the people around me and offer reassurance to them when they shared their stresses with me, I gradually started to feel a sense of relief that working as hard as I could would be enough. Demonstrating the value of Dr. Lombardi’s emphasis on the importance of engaging with the people around us by asking them how they are or even just smiling, the realization that so many of my fellow Cornell students felt the same way I did came from talking with person sitting next to me in class or the person I often passed in Rose’s halls. Asking someone how their week or semester is going and simply offering an encouraging “Only five more weeks to go!” to let people know that you are counting down the time until the semester is over as well can go a long way. I truly believe that being immersed in a supportive community in which people ask you how you are doing and offer any piece of advice, encouragement, or admittance that they feel the same way can really help to mitigate the incessant impact of external pressures.