Ariana Ravitz
On the whiteboard in Ariana Ravitz’s dorm room, there is always the same sentence: “Remember your why.”
The movement science undergraduate came up with this mantra in her second semester of her freshman year at U-M. She’d been diagnosed with Sjogren’s syndrome, an autoimmune disorder that can cause chronic pain, on the very first day of school, and it had been challenging to navigate the past few months of college while processing a new medical diagnosis.
But that day, she thought instead of her grandfather, who had recently died. For a long time, he had been inactive and struggling with his health, so it was hard for him to find the motivation to do the exercises he needed to do to, ultimately, feel better. He told Ravitz she was the only one able to encourage him.
“He would tell me that I had a way of getting people to do things,” Ravitz says. “Once he passed away, I realized that that’s why l need to keep going, even though it’s hard. I’ve always wanted to help people, and Grandpa told me that I could do it. I don’t ever want to forget that. It keeps me moving.”
So Ravitz wrote the phrase “Remember your why” on a sticky note and attached it to her wall. (It later migrated to her whiteboard.) The reminder has driven her to push through the difficult moments ever since, like when sitting for long periods in class makes her uncomfortable or she loses her concentration trying to do her homework because everything hurts. It’s been worth coming up with solutions for these problems to reach her goal of becoming an occupational therapist — and helping others figure out how to live a better life.
“I just want people to not have the same struggles that I have,” she says. “If I can help them make their lives better in any small way, that’s what I want to do.”
Ravitz found U-M when she was looking for programs in kinesiology/pre-occupational therapy. On the School of Kinesiology website, she saw a catalog of classes about child development and videos of students directly working with kids. She hadn’t visited the university by the time she needed to make a decision (she’s from Maryland), but the choice seemed like a “no-brainer.”
Now that she’s here, she still feels the same way.
“What I really appreciate is how there’s such small things that the school does that feel so big,” Ravitz says. “Like having coffee or hot cocoa or tea on Wednesdays. Or trick or treating around the school on Halloween. Or when professors take the time to learn your name or spend time in office hours with you.”
Ravitz has joined Kinesiology Student Government to help create and support the school’s offerings that she finds so meaningful. She’s found other ways to get involved, too. This is the third semester that Ravitz has served as a teaching assistant for the intro KINSTUDY100 class, and she’s helping faculty members Melissa Gross and Jennifer Gear create part two of a mini-course around art and anatomy that she previously took (see main image).
Plus, she’s part of various Jewish life organizations, and the U-M Running Club (M-Run). M-Run in particular has felt supportive because it lets members be as active or inactive as they want to be, which has been helpful when managing her Sjogren’s.
Another resource has been U-M’s testing centers. Ravitz has found that her best working position is often lying down, and she’s able to do that given the centers’ accommodations. And she’s learned that when sitting causes her pain, it’s better for her to go for a walk or switch to a task that can be done more easily in a different position.
“I try to give myself a little grace if things aren’t working out exactly how I want them to be or exactly how they’re working out for my friends,” Ravitz says. “It’s just me, it’s just you, we’re different, and we’re both going to be fine.”
“In those cases, I try to recenter myself and remember what I’m doing,” she says, “and why I’m doing it.”
I try to give myself a little grace if things aren’t working out exactly how I want them to be or exactly how they’re working out for my friends. It’s just me, it’s just you, we’re different, and we’re both going to be fine.