With a new year, comes brand new news. As of right now I've decided to take a break from this blog, actually shut this blog down and create a new one. Not for the new year, but maybe for around it. I'll be back! Just under a new blog name, new blog and hopefully more, new ideas! 

Music of the Moment: The Postal Service

Today: Something not Christmas themed. I hope you all had an amazing holiday! 

Merry Christmas!

Today is Christmas! We always spend the mornings opening presents at my dads, drinking coffee, and watching cartoons. Then around 10-11 we head down to New Orleans to go and open Christmas presents with my dads side of the family and then eat a large lunch! I'm so excited. Do you have any Christmas traditions? 

Merry Christmas Eve!

Today, it's tradition to go to my moms house and open presents and then eat a big meal and watch A Christmas Carol. I can't wait! I hope you have a wonderful Christmas Eve as well!

A Balancing Act

For me, college is a balancing act (sometimes even quite literally). I have two jobs (one that is on campus during the school days) and one that I work mainly weekends on (and sometimes I go in when they need me), I'm in a sorority (with meetings once a week, not including other activities going on), I always take anywhere from 17-19 hours, and I'm planning on joining (and being very active) in two clubs next semester (History and Anthropology club), and I have two majors and two minor, so sometimes things can be a bit crazy. People look at me like I'm crazy when I tell them I'm crazy busy. But honestly, I love it. I've made so many friends and it's kind of crazy but so much fun. 

I would be at a loss if it wasn't for my iCal and my iPhone syncing up my schedule, along with writing all my assignments to do down in a full page planner (everyday), and my Self Control App. These few things help me stay on time, organized and focused toward a main goal. 

Another thing that really helps me is that I have a regular routine. Once the semester begins, I have a set schedule each day and I know (usually two weeks into the semester) exactly what I'm doing or where I need to be. By doing this, I'm not as stressed when it comes to what to do during the day. 

Being OCD when it comes to grades. I came to college for a reason. I want to graduate and get a really good job with whatever I end up doing with my life. Having two majors and two minors leaves little room for error in my classes, so I am always on top of my grades. I make appointments with teachers when I need to and I'm even on first name basis with my academic counselors. 

True or False?

When it comes to college, there are a few things that people told me that I wish I would have known they weren't true. Such as: 

A lot of roommates spend a lot of time with each other. This is so false in my sense of the terms. I knew my roommate going into college, and while it wasn't a pleasant experience, it wasn't awful (until the last few months anyways). I've even seen seen some friends who room together in the dorms, and while they spend a lot of time in the room together, outside of that not much time was spent together (it was more of a "okay she's there, let's hang out" thing). 

College is super hard. While yes, some classes are more difficult than others. College in general is not hard, it's just a different style of teaching and learning you've been used to for the past 16 or so years of your life. Just remember to plan ahead and always, always keep a calendar of when things are due! You'll be fine. Take a deep breath and just jump in! 

Meeting new friends will be instant and easy. I'm out going, really out going (I'm in a sorority for heavens sake). But this doesn't mean that meeting people was necessarily easy for me to do. I met a ton of people during Rush Week, Move In Week and Freshman Week my first semester here that I began to talk to for a while and then things just fizzled out. It's all about taking time to make a good friendship with someone!

You  have just as much responsibility as you did in high school. So False. It's not that you don't have as much, but it's that you have so much more. Everything is your choice now, and you don't have Momma and Daddy right behind you telling you what to do. You have to make all of the right decisions (and some of the wrong ones) to figure out how to be on your own and still do well in school. 

Remember, College is so much fun and you'll love it (or you'll hate it) but it's something that you have to figure out for yourself. It's not something  you can just shrug off and forget about. College is a time of growth and new-found freedom. Take it all in and just run! You'll be glad that you did.

Wallet Wednesday

I don't know about you, but it feels like I've been in the search to find the right wallet for a while now. It's so important to find the perfect wallet because you use it so many times a day! Personally, I prefer a neutral colored wallet that will zip closed. 

Some things that I always consider when looking for a new wallet are: 

The Size: I prefer a logn wallet, that won't crumple my money. I carry it in most of my bags, except for small purses. God only knows what kind of things I plan on shoving in there at last minute, so it's important for it to be a little bit bigger.

The Currency: I don't like my dollar bills folded and I want a separate compartment for coins and a separate compartment for receipts. 

Card Storage: I like a decent amount of card storage,even though I don't carry around many cards. This is because if I do acquire more cards, I don't want to have to stuff each slot with more than one card and cause them to stretch out.

I haven't yet found the perfect wallet, but until I do, I'll keep looking.

College Clothes!

When it gets cold outside, I have about three outfits that I normally go to, other than when I'm just being completely lazy and wearing tights with yoga pants, and an over-sized t-shirt. 

Layers: Begin by a tank top or short sleeved shirt and go from there, then maybe add a sweater, with a cardiagan and a jacket with leggings under jeans with socks and boots. Trust me, you'll be thankful when you can take off layers for the scalding hot temperatures inside classrooms but can layer stuff back on to go through the arctic tundra like weather outside.

Always wear a scarf/hat. I'm naturally cold, so beginning in October when the weather even hints at dropping below 80 I'm in a scarf of some sort. There are so many different types/materials that scarves come in so you can always try different looks before finding a signature one!

Keep your summer clothes out during winter season. Now you may be looking at the screen and thinking, WHAT?! But really, wear a summer cut dress with a pair of thick leggings underneath and pair with a pair of thick high socks and you'll be good to go! Don't forget a nice jacket and cardigan as well!

Boots, boots, boots! I love boots, so when the weather begins to change, I'm all about breaking out the boots. During this time, it's really important to buy a nice, comfortable pair of boots and scotch-guard them if they are not leather so they don't get messed up easily! 

Music of the Moment: All I want for Christmas is You

Julep!

So, there's a website called Julep, which allows you to take a style quiz and then tells you what kind of inner beauty you have. I took it and it came out as American Beauty. I've contemplated doing this before, but I'm not sure if it's really in my best interest right now to be spending $20.00 a month, every month on new beauty products that I may or may not like. I'm going to think about it a little more and then decide! 

Broke? Me Too.

As I'm sure we're all aware of, college is expensive. Now, I don't know about you but I spend a pretty decent amount of money on books and other school supplies, much before even thinking about the other bills and such I have to pay. I have two jobs that most definitely help out with all my expenses, but they're not "real world jobs", so they don't pay for everything. Especially during the winter season, with Christmas drawing near, I find sometimes it's difficult to get everyone the gifts that you want or go out and do everything that you want. But! I've compiled a short list of things that 9/10 times you can get at least a discount on! 

Free gym membership! Okay, so it's not technically free because it's paid for in your student fee's but you can use it whenever you want! Our Rec is awesome, and they always offer so many classes. This year, I did a few pi-yo classes and even a zumba class or two!

Sickly Centers: Okay, so it sounds so much better than Health Center or Infirmary. We have doctors and nurses there and it's always the closest thing to go to when I'm sick or have cuts (I like to call them battle wounds) from walking around on campus during game day. 

Cafeteria Food: Now, I hate cafeteria food, but sometimes it's just too close to pass up on. Plus, it's there for you (and sometimes you need a little junk food). 

Movie Tickets: Most movie theaters, or at least all the one's that I have been too, offer a student discount. It isn't much, but sometimes all you have is $8 in your bank account and you really just want to go see a movie. It's worth it, I promise. 

Major Electronics: Being in college, it's always a good time to buy electronics. Why, you may ask? Because of the ridiculous discounts that most offer. My MacBook Pro was  a lot cheaper, and I got it with a printer and an iPod touch. Plus, the university provides us with the necessary tools for our computers for class, like Microsoft programs, so we don't have to buy them!

Things I'll Go Home For

I'm 19 years old. Living [on my own] with two roommates in an older house right off campus (read: 10 minutes away). Now, I go to college in the town that I grew up in, on the opposite side of town but in the same town none-the-less. Now that I've been in a house by myself (with no parents to care for my every whim and need), I've realized there are things that I most certainly take for granted while living at home.

The heater. I live in an older house, one that is not particularly well insulated and we only turn our heater/air conditioner on every now and then (so we don't run up our electricity bill). We've invested in heating blankets, lots of socks, sweatshirts, and most definitely tights. It'll be a long winter, that's for sure.

Free food/pre-made meals: Now, I've cooked a decent amount of meals at the house, but nothing is as good as coming down the hall to a home cooked meal. I truly miss my mom and dads cooking when I'm stuck at the house/in a massive state of doing homework/studying. It takes a lot more effort than I ever imagined just to make dinner for myself.

Cable. When we moved into the house, we chose only to get internet (mainly because I'm paying for my own bills and cable is expensive). I don't watch T.V. at all really now a days, simply because we don't have cable, but when I go home I love just to see what's on.

Music of the Moment: Ellie Goulding

As I go into this dreadful week, finals week, I will continuously have Ellie Goulding's album Bright Lights/Lights on repeat. Recently, she did a live performance that I found on youtube. I love her rendition of this song.