Our last gray matters meeting on October 18th focused on the idea of gathering together to be creative and make happy, angry, or scary faces on small pumpkins. We had complete freedom to display our own thoughts and feelings on our personal pumpkin. During this, we also listened to a small lecture by the leaders on how our emotions affect us.

Our emotions change drastically depending on the level of stress occurring in our individual lives. Everyone most likely has different experiences that they go through, which makes us unique in who we are and the way we portray our emotions. Our emotions can also highly affect or control your thinking, behavior, and actions. For example, if you’re feeling angry about an experience you had, it could cause you to lash out on others or even yourself. Meanwhile, experiencing excitement or happy emotions can lead to others around you being positively affected.

Having such strong emotions of our own also allows us to be able to emphasize with others when they open and share their feelings and thoughts. Having knowledge on your own emotions helps you to make them feel welcome and understood no matter if the emotion they were feeling was upsetting or exciting.

The Gray Matters Collective is extremely appreciative and overwhelmed with the excitement of the attendance from the last meeting. We see the interest and highly encourage anyone that isn’t in the group to join and just have an amazing time. Gray Matters meetings are a great way to start your morning as we usually have breakfast available and it gives you time to relax before the busy school day.