#plus occasional t costs & eating on campus

[girlssrituals]

mmm need to learn to draw porn. and maybe i can even make like borderline minimum wage on really nice people commissioning me and i wont have to work my annoying part time job anymore nor will i have to go back into customer service

[blog-essay-07]

7 Things You Need to Do Before Going to College

Going to college this fall?  If the answer is yes, there are some things you need to do before getting on campus.  The list I’ve put together for you doesn’t include the typical checklist items you’ll find on a campus website. These are the things that most students don’t think to do or know to do.

Let’s get started:

1. Check your campus email.

This tip is as boring as it is important. I can’t begin to tell you how many students get into trouble because they do not check their email.  This is the place schools will send students notices, bills, and requests for additional information.  Checking your email can be the difference between going to college and missing a deadline and not going to college. Yes, it happens. And because of FERPA, your parents might not have access.  It’s all on you.

2. Plug into college using social media.

Most schools are on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and even Snapchat.  Start with the school’s main feeds, search for your campus departments, find the school newspaper, and follow athletics, the office of student life, residence life, campus safety, clubs, orgs, and the health center. Follow specific people’s accounts too; the campus president, orientation leaders, and campus leaders are often on social media and welcome students to follow and communicate with them. Ask upperclassmen who and what to follow.

3. Go to all welcome events (even the terrible rotten awful horrible ones).

There are going to be a lot of pre-orientation, orientation, and welcome events the first few weeks. Some of these events will be surprisingly good.  Some might be painfully awful. Go to all of these events, even the rotten ones. Why?  You’ll get free food, free t-shirts, and you’ll meet new people. The best events will give you great info. The worst events will give you something to talk about with other new students.  All the events will help you get a sense of the people and places on campus.  Plus, you’ll get some swag.  As one student told me, “Don’t go to school with a lot of t-shirts. You’ll get a ton the first week.”

4. Have an honest conversation with your parents.

Talk to your parents about your expectations and ask about theirs. How often do you plan on calling, texting, and communicating?  Is it better to communicate via the phone, text, Snapchat, or Facebook? What are your academic expectations?  When do you plan on coming home if you’re living on campus?  How will you manage paying bills and dealing with money? Too many times, problems come up because you and your parents have different expectations.  Sharing what you want and understanding their expectations before school starts will help you reduce the possibility of unexpected parental conflicts.

5. Put together a budget & track your spending.

You will be surprised how quickly hidden college costs will eat away at the money you’ve earned over the summer.  It just takes an occasional latte, late night pizza, or night out with friends and an, “I’m Treating!” to eat away at your savings. When you have a budget and track your spending, there are no surprises.  You’ll need a budget for the first month and a budget for the second month. The first month will be a lot of one-time expenses. The second month will be more typical recurring expenses. You can use a free tracking app like MINT to help you budget and log your spending.  And if you’re looking for scholarships, find the students who’ve gotten them and figure out how you can get them too.

6. Ask yourself, “Am I a terrible roommate?”

Other than prison, college is one of the few times in life you’ll be expected to live with a total stranger.  Instead of worrying about your nightmare roommate, worry about yourself.

Follow the following three rules:

Rule #1:

Roommates who want to get along will find a way to get along.  Do YOU want to get along?

Rule #2:

Roommates aren’t required to be friends (friendship is a bonus). Do you give your roommate permission to be just a roommate?

Rule #3:

Follow the uncomfortable rule.  The uncomfortable rule means you and your roommate agree to share what makes you uncomfortable within 24/48 hours of the problem.  You do it face-to-face; not a text, not on Instagram, not on Snapchat.  If you can’t share it, find someone to help you share it.  Do you agree to follow the uncomfortable rule?

Follow these three rules and you’ll avoid being the roommate from hell, and hopefully, living with one.

[haleighn0922-blog]

So recently I decided to start working out. I have gone to the gym sporadically since my freshman year in college and I did sports through out high school but I recently decided to try to go routinely. Plus it gives me a good excuse to but cute workout clothes! So this was my outfit for my workout yesterday. I started a program with one of my sorority sisters called Kayla Itsines BBG (Bikini Body Guide). Its supposed to cost about $50 on her website but I worked a little magic on google and found the PDF of it for FREE!! (lol) I mean if you got the money by all means buy it form here because I am sure she has worked very hard on her program but ya girl is broke at the moment and I am trying to look in a swimsuit or you know just in general. It is a 12 week program and if we stick to it, we will have 9 whole weeks in before spring break so hopefully I will be bikini ready. ;)

I did learn, however, that I am insanely out of shape and had to waddle through campus today like a duck because my legs and butt were so sore . So that is at the very least proof that this excursive routine will work! My sister (sorority sister, I am an only child fun fact) and I have also decided to get up on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s at 7 a.m. and run around her neighborhood (it happens to be exactly a mile). We will see how that works out because I am not really a morning person and generally need coffee to function that early.  I am also trying to drink more water and I stopped drinking soda almost two years ago. I will occasionally have a sprite here and there but not everyday! I have always been really skinny so my weight has never really been an issue but I still don’t like the I look as far as wanting to look more toned. I’ll keep y’all updated on how all that is going and I really hope that it will motivate y’all if your looking to start a work out routine.

I know I got a lot of my motivation to start living healthier in general from Khloe Kardashian’s book “Strong Looks Better Naked.” ( I have a slight obsession with Khloe Kardashian, just add that to my list) I didn’t start following her diet to a “T” just because I don’t live the life of the rich and famous and have enough time or money to throw into eating like that all the time. However, it did make me pay more attention to what I put in my body. Overall, it wad definitely a great read and I would highly suggest it!

In other news I have signed up for the intramural soccer team for my sorority and were are usually really good at sports so that should be fun this semester. As far as classes go, I am doing really well in the class I was slightly worried about. So overall I am really motivated right now to do well in everything. Hopefully I can keep that up this semester. Generally, for me, if one thing falls apart everything does but hopefully I can keep that from happening. I am planning on being way more involved with AOII because it could be such a wonderful experience and I feel like I am not getting the full effect of it sometimes, which is probably my own fault. I tend to get a little anxiety about trying new things so that’s why I was so proud about signing up for the soccer team. When I signed up last night I didn’t immediately feel like I wanted to vomit (haha) so I feel like thats progress. I hope everyone is having a good week so far and my next post is gone give you guys a glimpse into my high school life, which trust mean is going to be a good read! (lol)

Y’all should comment how y’all eat healthier, go to snacks, good work out idea and all that jazz because I would love to here it! :) <3

Gym Motivation So recently I decided to start working out. I have gone to the gym sporadically since my freshman year in college and I did sports through out high school but I recently decided to try to go routinely.