I was given the opportunity during our recent conference to speak to attendees as I began my term of President of this amazing organization. I wanted to share this message with the entire membership so you can understand the ways in which I think about our work and my leadership role.

I love being a college counseling center director. I can’t imagine a better job for me and I definitely can’t imagine a better job in the mental health field. That doesn’t mean our jobs aren’t really hard - sometimes seeming impossible - but I still really love the work. And I know I’m not alone - I’ve talked to many of you, both at the conference and in other settings, who have said the same thing - talking about how much you love our profession. It’s even been a recent topic on the listserv. I want to encourage us all in the coming year to think and talk more about why we love the work.

If you’ve been able to attend our annual conference at any point the last three years and listened to Marcus’ words for us, you’ve learned that he thinks in TV and Movie metaphors.  While he makes connections through the tv screen, I think in song lyrics.

There’s a song that, for years, has been a touchstone for me - and I’ve found myself listening to it often in the past 18 months as I’ve taken on the new challenge of directorship on my current campus. It’s from the lyricist and half of the duo the Indigo Girls, Emily Saliers. It’s called The Wood Song.

Parts of this song seem so relevant to the moment we’re in. It starts by saying:

The thin horizon of a plan is almost clear
My friends and I have had a tough time
Bruising our brains hard up against change

The song uses the  imagery of an old wooden boat on the water. Emily goes on to write about us all being in the boat  - with only the heart that we have as a tool we can use.

And the very close quarters are hard to get used to - but love weighs the hull down with its weight.

Now I’m no nautical expert, but I do know enough to know that having a low center of gravity in a boat is critical in boat balance. And I agree with Emily - the love that we have for our work, our staff, our students, our campuses and hopefully ourselves, is what sits in the bottom of our boat, helping us maintain balance. I think for all of us - the better our center of gravity, the easier it is to manage the waves and wind that life brings. 

I think that these lyrics really speak to our reality these past several years. However, it’s the chorus that I find myself singing in my head over and over:

The wood is tired, and the wood is old,
And we’ll make it fine, if the weather holds.
But if the weather holds, we’ll have missed the point.
That’s where I need to go.

This is my youngest child. 

As her shirt says - she’s my force of nature. Keyera is my truth teller - she often comes home from school telling us about who she’s felt the need to give some feedback to - her words, not mine. I guess that might be what happens when you have 2 mental health professionals as parents, but as all children do, she regularly makes me stop in amazement at what she’s absorbed, without us having to ever have a direct conversation.

When I stood up at the Conference in Nashville last year to talk about why I was running for this position I now hold - it was her wisdom - “Mama, just tell them what you told us when you told us why you wanted to do it” - that provided such clarity.

So I guess it should have been no surprise that it was her, once again, who gave me that reminder of clarity as I approached writing this message. I got to speak to her a minute the night before I spoke at the conference and she asked what I was doing and when I told her I was working on my remarks , she asked what I was going to say.

When I told her I was going to use the Wood Song to talk about the work - she said…

“Oh - you’re going to talk about getting out of your comfort zone.”

Those words immediately brought me back to the summer of 2020, when she was 7. We were driving home from work one afternoon - she often went to work with me in the summer to hang out with me while I worked.  Out of blue, she started a 30 minute monologue - honestly more like a sermon - on the importance of getting out of your comfort zone. At some point during her lecture - I started recording her words so I’d never forget them.

Here’s what she said - “Mama, you know it isn’t always good to stay in your comfort zone. You’d never make new friends or learn new things. Sometimes you have to be uncomfortable - then you get used to it and it gets easier. That’s how I have friends today.”

She went on to say -  “Remember I used to be scared of heights - but I still walked on that high bridge. You gotta leave your comfort zone sometime. Then you get a new comfort zone.”

Haven’t we all - more than once - said basically this same thing to a student we’re working with - or our staff who are struggling with uncertainty - growth only occurs through struggle and discomfort.

The final verse of The Wood Song always helps me keep perspective:

Sometimes I ask to sneak a closer look.
Skip to the final chapter of the book.
And then maybe steer us clear from some of the pain it took.
To get us where we are this far.
But the question drowns in it's futility,
And even I have got to laugh at me.
No one gets to miss the storm of what will be.
Just holding on for the ride.

Yes - the wood is tired, and the wood is old

And we’ll make it fine - if the weather holds - but if the weather holds, we’ll have missed the point - that’s where we need to go.

I am so excited and hopeful for what’s on the horizon for AUCCCD. We have a vision of where we want to go and the guidance of a strategic plan to help us get there. And I don’t have to skip to the final chapter - because I trust us, I trust all the feedback we’ve all given, and also our willingness & openness to listen and really hear it. There is a point on the horizon - the plan is almost clear.

To keep with the metaphor - we all have to ask ourselves - are we willing to get in the boat, using our love and care to lower our center of gravity, and allowing us to brave the wind, rain, and waves as we propel ourselves forward toward the point - because that’s where we need to go. 

One of the other reasons why we need everyone in the boat is that sometimes when we all have our hearts out, head down, paddling away, we sometimes get a little off course. We need someone to be able to stand up sometimes - which makes everyone uncomfortable by the way - because as you know - or have seen on comedies on TV - when someone stands up it raises the center of gravity on the boat a little and we start to feel like we’re going to capsize. But don’t fear that - because if we’re all in the boat lowering the center - one or two people standing up and saying - right side of the boat stop paddling - we’re a little off course - won’t flip the boat - it will let us course correct. We don’t need groupthink - we’re not a cult - and you know what?

We’re also not a club - at least not anymore. We are an organization - an organization that wants to change the paradigms on our campuses - change the culture - for ourselves, but even more importantly for everyone else on our campuses.

So - are we willing to get out of our comfort zones? To instead work, as Keyera says, toward creating a new comfort zone - one that has us achieving our goals of taking care of each other and our development -  and helping us increase our advocacy and visibility, as individuals, our centers and as an organization. And try not to resent the fact that we’re going to need to be the change agents - I mean - we’re mental health folx so we’re change experts aren't we? We’re the ones that help folks to see the thin horizon of a plan.

Let’s be honest - I’m sure we all- at some point in our directorship, have just kept hoping that the weather would hold - that we’d just get some time to breathe for a minute - and thankfully, most of us have found those moments - though they often don’t last long enough.

However - to meet this moment - we’re going to have to trust each other and get in the boat. So, when the call for volunteers comes - when we show you all the small and big ways that you can help lower our center of gravity through the new strategic plan - that you can help us reach that point on the horizon - will you say yes and get on the boat?

That’s my challenge for you - where are you going to say yes? Because to reach the point on the horizon- will take us all. It will be the richness of our experience, perspectives, and lives that will allow us to live into this future. So when the call comes - figure out where you can get on the boat.

Thank you so much for your time and thank you for all you will do this year, for your campus and for AUCCCD in the coming year. Remember when the seas get rough, and your boat starts to rock and bounce around in the crashing waves, ask someone to join you in the boat to help lower the center of gravity and keep your boat afloat. Thank you for all you do for your campuses, and for AUCCCD.

Lynn Braun
President of AUCCCD