“It went from loud to quiet, and then I felt control.”

Letter from the founder and president, Caitlin DeGraff:

There is no way to know what tomorrow brings, so all we can do is live in the now. That is at least what people used to tell me as I struggled to live presently in any moment. My mind escaped the task at hand and went to whatever was next, leaving no time for me to enjoy the sweet things in life.

After my freshmen year in high school this toxic habit caught up to me and I became broken. Like many teenagers I had no idea who I was, but in a more honest sense my mind and body were not connected. I was burdened by unresolved trauma, a bad attitude, and controlled by an overthinking and stress ridden mind at fifteen years old. My unpleasant behavior became noticeable and my mom encouraged me to learn how to meditate.

At first I thought it was a hoax. With reluctance, I agreed to meet with a meditation specialist, and unbeknownst to myself, in the summer of 2018 my outlook on how to live changed forever. In the beginning, I participated in two intensive workshops on Primordial Sound Meditation with a meditation coach from the Chopra Center. To complete the sessions, I had this idea that if I was to learn how to meditate, I would need it to become something tangible. I asked the meditation specialist to give me as much information, history, and scientific data about Primordial mediation as possible. After reviewing ancient Ayurvedic stories and medical studies of the beneficial effects of meditation, I realized I acted stubborn to something that was a real all along, and it is a remedy for everyone. I became determined to include meditation into my daily life and from that point, my mind went from being loud and distractive to quiet, and then I felt control.

Ever since that summer, I meditate twice a day for twenty minutes. Once I began reaping the benefits of meditation (decreased stress, clarity in thought, calmness) I realized that I was not the only high school student who dealt with anxiety, nor was I the only person who had experienced trauma. From this conclusion, The Mindful Student was born. I decided to start a club at my school which is centered on mindfulness and specifically focuses on meditation. Within the first year there were forty members in the club and students were seeing results from meditating as a group and by themselves. For the next two years, a community has formed of individuals who have experienced different things, yet all see the value in having meditation as an outlet.

This journey has showed me that the only way to truly live is to be consciously present, and through The Mindful Student I hope to enable others to do the same.

Namaste.