2010 was a pretty busy year for me. Of course, I did wayyyyy more than just 10 things, but I handpicked the best (or weirdest/most unusual) to round out my list of 10 Things I Did in 2010. Here they are!
10. I tried a Starbucks Frappuccino for the first time and I loved it. Yeah, I know I'm out fo the loop but I didn't realize you could order one without whipped cream and with skim milk instead of 2% (it's called a Light Frap). I fell in love with the Tall Mocha Light Frap back in September and since then I've come up with my own combos, including the very delicious Caramel Light Frap with 1 pump gingerbread syrup!
9. I survived my first college finals. The first ones are always the hardest, right? I hope that's true, because mine were much easier than I expected. And I ended up with two B's and three A's for my final grades!
8. I bought my own dinner at a restaurant. Sure, it was probably my parents money, but I was 2 1/2 hours away at Qdoba with a friend from my hall. So it still counts.
7. I returned something to a store only 10 minutes after I bought it. A little over a week ago, my sister and I went shopping and on a whim, I bought a pair of khaki pants that were 30% off. When we went to the next store, I found a few things I wanted way more, and since I didn't want to spend tons of money, I returned the pants after I bought the other stuff.
6. My debit card was denied at a store. Actually, the exact same store I returned my pants to, but a few months earlier. Apparently, the store wouldn't charge part of the purchase to my card and the remainder to another one so my mom had to pay for the entire thing!
5. I got my first manicure on my 18th birthday. I've always wanted a mani more than a pedi so my mom surprised me by driving all over town on my birthday and then finally stopping at a day spa where I got my mani. Of course, I got it in hot pink.
4. First time voting. I missed the big presidential election by two years but I still got to vote on important state issues. It made me feel like I was really making my voice heard.
3. I went to Phoenix over spring break. I loved every second of the trip back to my birth place, especially the fact that it was in the 70s and 80s there and snowing back home! The resort we stayed at was amazing, I loved the food and all the sights. The only disappointment was that the airport was much lamer than Denver International.
2. I graduated high school. OMG, was that a milestone or what? I felt like I would never graduate, but the moment came much sooner than I expected. I felt overwhelmed and proud at the same time.
1. I started college. This is probably an even bigger milestone than HS graduation. It's been quite a ride: exciting, annoying, boring, confusing...believe me, I've shed quite a few tears over the last few months but I wouldn't trade the experience for the world. I hope I'll be more prepared for what lies ahead next semester.
There you have it, my "top 10" achievements of this past year. Here's hoping that 2011 is full of even more memories and accomplishments.
Christmas break in college is way different than Christmas break in high school. Sure, both come after a hellish week of finals (trust me, the stress level is wayyyyy higher in college, though in many cases it shouldn't be--my exams this year were actually pretty easy) but college Christmas break lasts for about a month, while the high school version is typically about 2 or so weeks. But there are many more differences that I've already realized only 6 days into break.
- You actually want to do chores. A year ago, I complained about having to load and unload the dishwasher, fold towels and clean my bathroom. Now I'm more than happy to do them, because it means that I'm home, in a place where I actually have my own bathroom (that's about the same size as my side of my dorm, sadly) and real dishes.
- I appreciate family time a lot more. I've always been close with my family, which I'm extremely grateful for. But now that I only see them once or twice a month on weekends, I'm really thankful to have an entire month to spend with them!
- Real food. Sure, the dining hall can be okay, but day after day, not so much. At home, you mostly get something different every single day (or not, if you're a creature of habit). Either way, it's much better than college food.
- You can actually cook if you want to. I absolutely love to cook, and I've missed using the stove and the oven while I've been away. Microwaves are convenient and time-saving but nothing beats cooking actual food. Today I made chocolate-peppermint pancakes for my family and I've made some baked goods, too. It makes me feel good to see my family enjoy the things I've cooked.
- A much bigger closet. I don't know about you, but I've got a lot of clothes. My dorm closet is usually packed to the gills, while my walk-in-closet at home is very spacious, not to mention a good place to get dressed if I want to. I know most people don't necessarily have such a huge closet, but it's probably bigger than the one in your dorm or apartment.
- Being far away from school. The weekends I spend on campus are typically very boring. A lot of people leave on the weekends (myself included, sometimes) and there isn't much to do when you don't have a car. Even if I have no homework, I can't get away from the school atmosphere, because being in college basically means you live at school. At home, I'm over 100 miles away from school, and I haven't thought about it much (except for grades, of course). A boring weekend here is much better than a boring weekend on campus.
What are your favorite things about Christmas break?
I feel very accomplished--I'm 80% done with my finals, with one more tomorrow. But the biggest news is that I'm finally over the hurdle of today: three finals in a row! Everyone I told thought it was crazy (so did I) but I did a lot of studying, a lot of praying and I got through it.
All three tests were timed for 2 hours...more than enough time to finish them. The first one (wildlife ecology, the one I was freaking out about the most) I finished in 45 minutes, the next one (20th century fiction) I finished in 55 minutes and the last one (math) I finished in an hour.
In between tests, you'd find me at the library, feverishly studying up for the next test. Not that I hadn't studied earlier, I just needed a refresher right before the test. I'm hoping it paid off. The tests didn't seem ridiculously hard like I thought they'd be, so that was a nice surprise.
Now I've got one left--and it's at 9 am! Yep, that means I gotta haul my butt out of bed at 7 in the morning...yikes! Luckily, it's just one test, one I'm hoping (and thinking) I'll do well on. It's my media in society final, and since it's a requirement for my major, I really hope I can pull it off. I like the material and the class, so that should be a good sign for my future success. But I'm not gonna expect anything, because my finals today sure did surprise me (in a good way, though).
Once that's over...I'm going home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For a month! There are so many things I want to do, including just spending time with my family and I hope Christmas break will be full of good memories.
Wish me luck on my last exam...and packing!
I'm trying to look at this situation with the "glass-half-full" mindset. Yes, I still have 4 more finals to go until I'm done. Yes, I did take the easiest one today, leaving all the hard ones for Thursday. But I have officially finished one college final. So I'm proud of myself, even though most of my friends on my floor have already taken at least 2 and are leaving on Wednesday or early Thursday. Meanwhile, I'm stuck here til Friday morning, because of one exam that has a common time. There are two large sections of the class, and to make things easier, the professors decided to hold them both at a special time, which happens to be Friday, the day that most people have no exams onand get to be home or are on their way there. Lucky me!
I'm trying to do as much as possible before then so I can leave ASAP. Who wouldn't want to, anyway? I've packed up as much as I can (mostly food, pjs, socks and camis) and I'm just anxious for Thursday to get here. Of course, I'm dreading it because I have 3 finals in a row, but I think I'm (almost) ready for them. Plus, that way, the day should just fly by and then I'll have one last exam bright-and-early Friday and then...I'm home! Of course, that's after a 2 1/2 hour drive, but at least I'll be spending it with my mom and looking forward to everything that Christmas break will bring. I. CAN'T. WAIT!
Tomorrow's a study-my-butt-off day, one last chance to make sure I'm totally prepped for my math, wildlife ecology and 20th century fiction finals. It'll hopefully be a productive day.
I'm more than ready to go home...just gotta get through these last 4 finals!
5 days. Yep, 5 days left before I'm outta here! I can't believe the moment I've been waiting for pretty much all semester is (almost) here. In a way, it's bittersweet, but it's more like "OMG, I can't WAIT!" Can you tell I'm excited?
Of course, all my dreaded finals are ahead of me. Two should be no problem (but I really shouldn't expect that I'll get A's or I probably won't), one could go either way depending on the questions (the format on this one is the same as the midterm, and I got a 92% on that, but the questions on the final could be harder) and two are...well, let's just say I'm not looking forward to them. At all. But hey, in five days, they'll all be over and I'll have a month of break to look forward to! I'm trying to look to the near future and avoid freaking out because I'm not totally prepared yet.
I've got one study guide totally written up. It's taken me several chunks of time since Thursday, but it's totally done. I've got study sessions planned for Monday and Wednesday in the library, which should be a productive time, considering I'm not lugging my laptop with me (I get a little distracted by the internet, namely Facebook and, of course, blogging). I've only got three days where I have finals, one that's jam-packed with three in a row (!) but at least I'll get them out of the way. And that means I have two study days during the week to let off some stress. I'm gonna grab lunch at the student center on those days so I can avoid the dorm (mostly because my roomie will probably be in there all day...vent time: I really hate how she's in there during the day when I want a little privacy and 'me time' but then heads out late at night and doesn't come back til after I'm asleep, messing up my sleep schedule :\) for most of the day. Thursday, I'll be gone from like 12:30 til 8 so that should be good, even though most of that time will be spent taking finals. And Friday, I'm not really counting as a day because I have one final at 9 am (yikes!) but it'll be over by 11, so I can leave soon after, once I'm done with check-out. Which will be another long, boring process. Why can't this week just be over?
Well, I'll update you throughout the week (if I have time, of course) to tell you about how my first college finals week is going. Until then, I'll be studying my tail off!
Most people go to college to "get more knowledge", right? Well, that knowledge isn't just found in the classroom--spend a decent amount of time on campus and you'll learn a lot of things you probably didn't expect to. Here are a few of the suprising life lessons I've come to realize in my first semester as a college student.
- If at all possible, try to schedule your classes later in the day. Of course, if you are a morning person (who is?) then it's fine to take that 8 am lecture on organic chemistry. But most of us, whether we stay up super-late or not, would prefer classes more centered in the afternoon. This semester, I was lucky enough to not have any class before 11. And even though that pushed some of my classes a little past 5 pm, I didn't really mind. Oh, except when it started getting really dark after daylight savings time. But it still wasn't a big deal for me. You'll probably concentrate better later, anyways.
- Make friends with people who have cars (if you don't). This year, I don't have a car on campus. Why? Because at all the orientations I went to before starting here, they said cars aren't needed unless you live off-campus. Not needed, no, but very very convenient. Like, say, you want to grab some Starbucks on your way to class, or hit up Chipotle on the weekend or drive home whenever you want to (if you live in-state like I do). So be nice to the people who have cars and they'll probably be willing to drive you around, especially if you reimburse them for gas. But don't just be nice to get a free ride!
- Earplugs, fans, iPods and sleep masks work wonders. An iPod of some sort is kind of a college essential, but aside from pumping you up before a night out or keep you awake on your early morning walk to class (see #1), it also helps when you want to block out noise if you're trying to sleep. People out in the hall can get kinda loud, not to mention your roomie might not keep the same sleep schedule as you. That's why the other three items also help you fall asleep faster.
- Take a break every once in a while. Especially with finals coming up (my first one's in 4 days...yikes!) you deserve a refresher with all that studying. So grab dinner with a friend some place you've never been (or an old favorite), catch up on missed episodes of your fave TV show and just take some time to chill. Even using this time to sleep will help your stress level stay down.
- Go to every class. Really. It's not that hard, actually. And really, if you don't go to class, what are you going to do? Probably not study. So just make a little effort and go to class--you'll get all the notes first-hand, not to mention the professor's side comments (which are usually pretty important) and you can catch up on the gossip of the day. If you're sure the class will be boring and pointless, bring along some homework, a magazine or your iPod. But most of the time, class is worth it.
- Getting dressed for class is always good. Yeah, I know that I haven't had to wake up before 9 this entire semester, but I've always taken the time to dress nice, put on makeup and do my hair. Showing up every day in sweats and a ponytail may be easy, but it shows everyone you don't care. Oh, and just think of the possible compliments you may get on your amazing sense of style if you take a few minutes to pick out a cute outfit. It'll really help you feel motivated in class.
- Communicate. With your professors if you're falling behind in class. With your RA if you're feeling homesick. With your roommate if any issues come up. For much of the semester, I struggled with voicing my opinions and it ended up not so good. Once the lines of communication were open, everything just felt better. So do it before it's too late.
- Be responsible. Yes, you're on your own, with no one to really tell you what to do. Does that mean you should party every night or never do your laundry or skip class or pig out every day in the dining hall. NO! It means that you have to start acting like the adult you are: taking out the trash when it gets full, doing the laundry occasionally, cleaning up after yourself, going to class and doing the assignments, having fun but not letting it mess up your future career plans.
So there's the list! Of course, there's tons more things I have learned, and will learn in future semesters, but these seemed the most important. If you've been in college (or are in college), what important life lessons have you learned outside the classroom?
I'm homesick. There, I said it. Not that I'm ashamed of it or anything. Yes, my family is only 2 1/2 hours away (on a day with good traffic, which is rare through the Denver area), so it's not like I'm across the country from them, but sometimes it sure seems like it.
The stress around here is building, just like that annoying zit that pops up when you've got a first date with a hot guy that night and no time to make it disappear. It's mostly due to finals, which for me start in exactly a week. Gulp! Oh, and it also has to do with the tension that just seems to be increasing between me and my roommate. It only seems to be me that's annoyed, though, which is just so convenient. Of course, I'm not the one bursting into the room not even ten minutes after she's gone to sleep or the one who spends many waking hours completely plugged into the computer, ignoring the rest of the world. Or the one that refuses to wash my sheets. I know, I've mentioned these problems before but it doesn't look like they're going away any time soon, at least not for 9 or 10 days when I get to (finally!) go home. I don't care how bored I get during the month I have off, I'm not taking it for granted because I know that if I weren't there, I'd be somewhere much, much worse (such as my dorm room).
So hopefully you can understand why I'm homesick. Not to mention, I've always been close to my family (not much teenage rebellion around here) so being this far away for this long (a little over two weeks, but I've made it through three weeks before, so I can do this) makes me miss them. Oh, and with Christmas in a little more than 2 weeks (!), I'm not really feeling too much in the holiday spirit, since I'm not enjoying the season with my family. I'm planning on making up for it in the week I have at home before Christmas, though. So it's been hard, and end-of-the-semester stressage hasn't been helping.
I'm trying not to wallow in it, though. I've been doing some things to get my mind off my anger, stress and little bits of sadness. Like tonight, me and a few of the other girls from my floor went to a hall program, where we made Christmas cards for kids in the hospital and watched The Santa Clause. Oh, and all the glitter was just an added bonus! I'm not sure I'll ever get it all out of my clothes! On Thursday, me and a close friend from just down the hall are planning on going out to eat. We do this a lot on Thursdays and it just really helps to get away from the dorms for an hour or so and enjoy some good food for a change (not that microwaved meals and cereal aren't good, they just aren't doable every day). Yesterday, I stopped by my campus's student center after my first class and picked up lunch: vegetarian bean chili with a side of foccaccia bread. It was really good and a nice change from my usual lunches, which are pretty much whatever I can scrounge up from stuff in my room, since the dining halls have weird hours and long lines. I'm planning on getting dinner tomorrow from the same place--it's convenient that I can get fast casual food only a few minutes away from my classes and it's a nice treat.
So I'm gonna try my best to make it through this week, do something a little special every day and continue to count down the days til I can go home again!
1 week left of classes. 5 days left of my first semester of college. And then finals. How final is that?!
I've gotta tell you, this semester has gone by pretty fast. Of course, I say that now, looking back. I'm pretty sure back in August, I was both dreading and looking forward to school starting. On the one hand, who wants to go back to a schedule, to having to actually do something, after summer? But I was pretty ready to start college, to start a new experience. Boy, it's been an experience. Now I'm eagerly anticipating the end of this semester, so I can go back home (to a new house, no less), spend some much-needed time with my family (I've been missing them so much, especially since Christmas is right around the corner) and just chill. I haven't had tons of time to just relax, take it all in, and forget about all the worries that school brings. It doesn't help that the weekends, when I don't have much to do, have recently been spent on campus, so I can't really escape it. My Christmas break is a month long (a month--that's like twice as long as in high school!) so it really should give me the mind-clearing time I need. Only 11 days left, and I can finally leave!
But before I can do that, I've got to get through this last week of classes and of course, the hated final exams. I can already feel the stress building! Maybe it's because none of my professors have posted their finals study guide (um, get on that!) or maybe it's finally hitting me that it's not Thanksgiving break anymore and if I want to get out of here in one piece, I've gotta haul my way through five final exams, two of which are cumulative. Gulp!
So what's a stressed out girl to do? Well, caffeinate, for starters. Since Thursday, I have not gone a day without a coffee drink, be it a frappuccino from Starbucks (the caramel light frap with 1 pump gingerbread syrup--yep, I invented it and it's delish) or mixing up a cup of instant Starbucks Via in my room. I've gotta tell you, though, a Vanilla Via mixed with half a cup of chocolate peppermint soymilk really helps me push through my day. So am I addicted? Talk to me in a week! No, seriously, though, a lot of college students rely on coffee to help them get through finals and I'm pretty sure I'm gonna be one of them.
Also, I'm trying to celebrate the season as much as I possibly can. I have a mini Christmas tree, a cute holiday tee my mom bought me from Hollister and I created a playlist of great Christmas songs on Pandora (one of my new addictions). Is it the same as coming home after school to see the big tree all lit up in the living room and watching cheesy holiday specials with my family? No, definitely not, but I had to compromise. It's not all bad, really, and it just makes me that much more excited to get home in less than 2 weeks and actually start celebrating.
I'm hoping all these little things help me survive this boring week of classes and the tough week of finals ahead of me. Oh, not to mention, actually studying :)
I'm really looking forward to next school year, because I'll finally be out of this difficult living situation I'm in now (see previous post) and I'll be one year closer to graduating. And my parents said that hopefully they will either get me a car or pay for me to live in a single dorm room. Hmmm, that's a really hard decision!
Upsides to having a car: I can drive home any weekend I want to without having to make my mom drive up and get me (definitely going to take advantage of that); I can go out to eat more often (believe me, the dining hall gets old); I can get to off-campus events more easily/safely (especially in the winter); I can escape the dorms if I want to (which I probably will).
Upsides to having a single room: no annoying or rude roommate to deal with (like I am now); more like a home-away-from-home; won't smell (another roommate issue); can go to bed whenever I want (there are a lot of upsides to not having a roommate).
This is such a difficult decision that I'm glad I have a couple of months to decide. Well, I have at least til February, when next year's housing applications are due. Both options have their upsides (and pretty much no downsides, as far as I can tell) so it's a really tough thing to decide on. If I had a car, and ended up with an annoying roommate, I could go home every weekend or just spend most of my time elsewhere (Starbucks and the mall, maybe?). If I had a single room, the roommate thing would never be an issue but if I still missed my family, I couldn't go home whenever I wanted to. So I'm still not sure. Help!
I've put off writing about the roommate for so long, but I figured it's time to get it out there: I'm not best friends with my roomie. Many college articles in magazines and online will try to convince you that you'll become besties and want to hang out together all the time and what not, but the sad truth is that you probably won't. I sure didn't.
Let's just say that me and my R (short for roommate, of course) have a lot of differences. Among the most major of them are 1) I like to turn in around 11 pm on school nights, so I can get at least 9 hours of sleep; R prefers going to bed at the ripe time of 1. I'm talking a.m. So many nights I don't get to go to sleep until she finally shuts off her computer and crawls into bed. 2) In addition to staying up way too late watching stupid YouTube videos (umm, yeah, and that includes weird awkward under-the-breath laughing that I can still hear!), there are always a few nights a week where instead of returning from dinner, she goes off and does who-knows-what and doesn't return to the room until about 15 minutes after I've tried to go to sleep. So I wake up again, pissed off, and of course, then she has to go and take her 40 minute shower. So I don't get to sleep until at least 1. Thanks. 3) She is in the room a lot. Especially on weekends. Now that Christmas break is in a little less than 2 weeks (!), I'm forced to stay on campus, so I have to deal with her. If I want to spend any time in the room, I feel all awkward if I try to play music or watch TV. Oh, and she doesn't wake up til noon, so I try my best to stay quiet and put on my makeup in the dark (and it's not like I wake up ridiculously early--I usually get up around 9:30 or 10 on weekends). Can you say, unfair?
Basically, I'm getting more and more stressed out as finals loom (who wouldn't?) and this whole roommate issue is just making it worse. And these aren't the only problems I'm experiencing with the R--a weird smell coming from her side of the room, the fact that she won't talk to me unless I address her first (and even then she isn't really responsive or considerate) and more. Really, it's safe to say that my R and I just tolerate each other.
I do wish I had a good relationship with my R. Some of my friends from my hall have much better relationships with theirs, and I'm definitely jealous. I'd just love to have someone close by to confide in (my parents don't count, since they're too far away, but they are truly amazing), to trade fashion advice (since her sense of style is nonexistent, it would kinda be a one-way street) and just have a place I wouldn't mind coming back to. Because your dorm is kind of your home-away-from-home, but right now mine's a slowly crumbling dysfunctional family.
I'm not someone who could never get used to living in a small room, or being with someone I'm not related to for a long, long time--I really could, but in this situation, I can't. If I had a single room, or shared with a good friend, I really think I could stand the whole dorm room experience. Right now, I'm just trying to find the good things in every day, and even if they're small, I try to appreciate them. Because I need all the little things I can get.
Dear School,
Oh, school. You aren't usually my friend, especially not this close to Christmas. I have exactly a week left of you this semester, and I'm not sure I can make it. Not to mention the finals that always seem to arrive when you go away. So maybe I should be more friendly to you. But I can't help wanting it to be break already. Coming back to you after 9 days off is rough. Don't blame me for being annoyed with you; you have to admit you like time off, too. This is supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year, but it's usually more like the most stressful time of the year. I remember being a little elementary-schooler and the last few weeks before Christmas break were always fun--holiday parties, making cute but cheesy crafts that our parents would hang on the Christmas tree, playing outside in the snow during recess. Now the last three weeks revolve around professors jamming the last bits of information they can down our throats and then major stressage over final exams. So, school, I hope you can see where I'm coming from when I say I don't like you very much right now. I almost wish the week after Thanksgiving break would just be finals so we could skip over the two weeks of classes and just get right to the point and then have a break. But nooooooo!
All I'm asking for, really, is that you give us a break. We have another whole semester with you after Christmas, so cut us some slack right now. I don't know one person who wants to go back to school after Thanksgiving--they should just start Christmas break then. I know, I know--finals are important...or so they say. Just give all of us stressed-out college students out there a break and not make our lives too hard between now and Christmas break. We'll thank you for it later, I promise.
Sincerely,
