The things I wish I knew as a freshman

As a recent college grad I have been reminiscing about how 4 years ago my parents dropped a wide eye girl in front of her freshman college dorm and I start to think what do I wish that I know now that I knew then. So here is some things that if I could go back in time I would tell my 17 year old self.

1.  Do not be afraid to ask for help: As a college freshman you think you have everything under control... here is your wake up call... you are not. Talk to your parents, talk to your older cousins, talk to friends, talk to your RA, talk to anyone and get some advice. You do not know everything and the people who are around you can help you out.

2. Meet people outside your room: Your roommates will not necessarily be your best friends like they make it out in the movies, so meet people outside of your four walls, some of my best friends in college I met through my extracurricular activities and even my classes. So don't be afraid to say hi to the person sitting next to you.

3. Remember why you are there: You are at school for your learning and a lot of people forget that. Missing that one party to study, not going out on a Thursday night so you can be well rested for your classes on Friday is not a common though process but remember the reason you  are at your school. The almost $50,000 that is being spent yearly by you is for your education

4. Have fun: You will never experience anything like this. Enjoy it, take the pictures, join the different clubs, become friends with people you would not have normally been friends with. Enjoy it and this one is important if you are miserable it won't do you any good so remember those 4 years are going to fly by and when you are old like me you are going to be thinking the same things.

"Every year, many, many stupid people graduate from college and if they can do it, so can you" John Green

Long Time No See (well I guess write)

Hello again blogger universe,
I am still alive and back (hopefully for the long run). Lots of things happened this summer and the blogging got put on the back burner for a while and for that I am sorry for whoever is reading. But I am back and ready to start my new chapter in life.
Since I last wrote I graduated from college, I got a new job, got into graduate school and those are just the big things so I decided what would be a better time to start to write down my goals that I want to get accomplished before I graduate my graduate program in 3 years (2017... which I feel like is so far away in the future...) So with every blog post I will add to the list:

1. Blog more regularly (at least one blog post a week... or every two weeks if my week is really bad)
2. Be able to run a 5 k (I have been saying this for years)
3. Finish graduate school and find a job (not going to happen any time soon but I have 3 years!)
4. Try out a new recipe every week
5. Go one month without any junk food (this is going to be hard because my favorite food group is ice cream)
I feel like that is a good start as we go on until 2017 I will adjust, add and accomplish my goals, but isn't that growing up

So blogger world here is the start (again...) and until next time

"Stay focused, go after your dreams and keep moving toward your goals" LL Cool J

Finals Week=Hell Week

Finals. That one word creates a sense of fear in any college student twice a year. This one test can make or break your grade and the only thing that you can do about it is study. So why do professors put college student through this miserable time in our lives. Personally, I think it is because they really like to see who makes it at the end. It is like the Hunger Games of college. So what do I think after 8 finals weeks is the most important thing to do when you have to sit down and have to study 12 chapters of health care management?

Snacks:

You need to make sure that you are eating. When your parents remind you to eat before an exam they are actually telling you the right thing. Just coffee alone is not going to keep your body going (although I am not saying that it does not help) but you need some sort of substance in your body to keep you going or else you are going to crash or your stomach is going to make a lot of noise to in a really quiet area.

Find a quiet place to study:

There are going to be people on campus celebrating the fact that is their last week on campus or the library is going to be over run with people who only go during finals week so find a place that you are not going to be distracted. 

A good playlist:

Studying can be boring. So why not spice up your studying with some music. My sophomore year science project in high school was even on studying with music on vs. studying without music and the studying with music had higher testing rates and you can't argue with science.

And remember may the curve be ever in your favor. Happy Finals Week

College and Cooking

As a college student who has to cook for herself I eat a lot of pasta and candy (I know it is not good for me), but i don't have the time or the energy after being in class and work all day so the last thing I want to do is cook. So what does a 21 year old exhausted, tech savvy college student do, they turn to Pinterest. So here are the top three recipes tested and loved by not only me but also my mooches of roommates.

3. Sesame Chicken
Don't try and tell me this isn't just as good as the takeout place down the street because I know it is! Although the recipe takes just a little longer to prepare.
http://www.budgetbytes.com/2013/08/easy-sesame-chicken/

2. Skinny Chicken Fried Rice:
I make it my own by substituting the vegetables but it is so good, so cheap and whenever I make it my roommates and even my neighbors go crazy for it, and on the plus side it is not half bad for you either.
http://www.skinnymom.com/2013/03/01/skinny-chicken-fried-rice/

1. Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
Hey a girl needs to eat breakfast too! I add one cup of chocolate chips to the recipe and it is my go to recipe. My friends and family all request and save me bananas when they buy them and they start going bad. You would be surprised how many batches I have made of the banana bread  in a week (the answer  would be 4). When I am home from break to my mom even has me making banana bread.
http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/banana_bread/

And when all else fails:
"All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt."-Charles M. Schulz

If I Wasn't Broke

I hate being a broke college student. I hate that I have way to expensive taste and my Ramen and Franzia budget cannot afford my caviar and champagne tastes. So to that sales associate that asked me if I wanted that amazing dress that I was eyeing at yesterday... Yes I want the dress, but if they could put it on hold for me until... June of 2018 when I am finally done with school and have some sort of minimal cash flow. My bank account is telling me that I cannot hand a sales associate my credit card or press the purchase button online but it is not telling me that I am not allowed to look.  So if I did have some cash flow and a really large discount on everything I wanted, these are the things I would get:

This jacket is the jacket of my dreams! It is this amazing navy color with this gold button detail! Every time I walk into the store I just sit there and stare at this jacket! I have tried it on so many times that everyone in my family noes the size, color and where it is located in the store. When I have some money this is the first thing I am going to buy!

Downtown Field Jacket

Shep Shirts are my bread and butter! I have two already and want to expand the collection! They are perfect for just throwing on in the morning and not feeling like you didn't dress up, but this Shep shirt! I love navy (if you couldn't guess) but having the pink floral derby-esque pattern on it makes me think this is more of a necessity than a want!

Vineyard Vines Rose Print Shep Shirt

This top! I have never really bought anything from Anthropology but when I first saw this top on my Pinterest feed, I fell in love! I am obsessed with the color and the emphasized peplum is so dam adorable! With the graduation parties that I have coming up this summer this would have been my go to top!

Dahlia Peplum Top

Chapter 1: The Beginning

So here goes nothing, I started a blog.
This has been something that I have been thinking about for a while. So why today of all days to start a blog? Why not! I start today because it is time to start a new chapter of my life. There has been so many things going on in my life that why not share my experiences with people who want to read it.

People are afraid to start new, they get anxious or even do anything to avoid these changes, but people forget, changes are a good thing. Many of us need a fresh start and just start from the beginning, and give yourself a makeover from the inside out, so why are people so afraid, I know I am. But it is time to embrace new beginnings and hit the restart button and embrace and live through the new beginnings.

So right about now if I was sitting reading this I would be thinking, what in the world is this girl going to blog about. I am going to blog about the crazy things that happen to me, the adventures I have in cooking, trying to dress myself (because there are times that this does not go well) and what is going on in my life because this coming year is going to be crazy, but a good kinda crazy. 

So here goes nothing, I am throwing all my fear out the door and I am ready to start this new chapter of my life!

" Don't be afraid of change. You may lose something good, but you may gain something better"-Anonymous