Alright, so it's mid November. That means it about time to pick your classes for Spring semester. Also, congrats on almost finishing your first semester at college!
Okay, to start its important you actually like the classes you have chosen. I fully realize you can't love every class you'll will be required to take, but make sure to include at least 2 classes you are genuinely interested in. My ideal schedule for the Spring is to take German 102, German Film, Bio:'shrooms/ Lab, and finally English Comp 111. I'm actually excited to take everything except for English. I know the German teachers are nice and I'm interested in the language and also the Film class. And as for Bio, I liked it a lot in High School, so it should be interesting as well.
English sucks end of story. I have always hated English and I always will. But hey, when it comes down to it. Its just one class and I'll push through it.
Plus, its required so no choice there.
Anyway, the point is pick classes you will enjoy. You are more likely to do well in them. You most likely won't enjoy every class, but having a couple classes you look forward too will make school much more bearable.
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Don't Overspend!-Save your money
In college, you'd be surprised at how much you spend. I don't just mean on tuition and books, but everyday expenses. It doesn't seem like much, but little purchases can add up big time. Let's take a look.
I interviewed my friend Mitch who lives in my dorm, he was very kind to open up about his spending habits. Mitch absolutely loves milkshakes from the Barista. He has a meal plan, but milkshakes are not covered. He gets one milkshake a day. Sunday-Thursday he pays $4.85. That's about $24.25 a week on Milkshakes! Adding up to $97.00 a month! To be fair, he takes advantage of the free milkshakes on Fridays and Saturdays, but still he could save almost $100. Mitch works at the library and says he makes about $300 a month. Milkshakes take up 1/3 of his monthly budget.
Okay, so lets take a minute and stop hating on Mitch's milkshake problem and talk about my spending. Trust me when I say I'm not any better. My problem is clothes. I went through and looked up my income for October. I recieve 2 paychecks, equaling $187.00, also my mom has sent me $50.00, and from extended family another $100.00. My total was $337.00. Sounds pretty good right?
Yeah, I spent like $300.00 last month. It might sound ridiculous, but when I looked through my bank charges I realized I spent:
$75.00 on gas
$50.00 at Target on stuff for my room, clothes and snacks
$150.00 at Abercrombie for clothes
$25.00 on a fish and supplies for my room
Looking back the only thing I truly needed was gas. Some of the stuff at Target I needed, but a lot of it was just frivolous spending.
I know I didn't need the fish, but hes so cute! His name is Kyoto :)
Back to money management. It's important to spend only on things you absolutely need, its okay to spend a little for fun, but don't get out of control like Mitch and I did. Hold some of it back in savings. Also, maybe use PNC bank. That's what I use and I have the VirtualWallet. The reason its cool is it lets you see your spending and helps you set limits to what you spend on. For example I set the clothing budget to $50.00. If I go into a store like American Eagle and attempt to buy $100.00 worth of clothing, it will only let me purchase $50.00. I think that will be something to get used to, but it will be well worth it.
The bottom line is, you are an adult now, the sooner you learn money management the better. You don't want to learn the hard way!
I interviewed my friend Mitch who lives in my dorm, he was very kind to open up about his spending habits. Mitch absolutely loves milkshakes from the Barista. He has a meal plan, but milkshakes are not covered. He gets one milkshake a day. Sunday-Thursday he pays $4.85. That's about $24.25 a week on Milkshakes! Adding up to $97.00 a month! To be fair, he takes advantage of the free milkshakes on Fridays and Saturdays, but still he could save almost $100. Mitch works at the library and says he makes about $300 a month. Milkshakes take up 1/3 of his monthly budget.
Okay, so lets take a minute and stop hating on Mitch's milkshake problem and talk about my spending. Trust me when I say I'm not any better. My problem is clothes. I went through and looked up my income for October. I recieve 2 paychecks, equaling $187.00, also my mom has sent me $50.00, and from extended family another $100.00. My total was $337.00. Sounds pretty good right?
Yeah, I spent like $300.00 last month. It might sound ridiculous, but when I looked through my bank charges I realized I spent:
$75.00 on gas
$50.00 at Target on stuff for my room, clothes and snacks
$150.00 at Abercrombie for clothes
$25.00 on a fish and supplies for my room
Looking back the only thing I truly needed was gas. Some of the stuff at Target I needed, but a lot of it was just frivolous spending.
I know I didn't need the fish, but hes so cute! His name is Kyoto :)
Back to money management. It's important to spend only on things you absolutely need, its okay to spend a little for fun, but don't get out of control like Mitch and I did. Hold some of it back in savings. Also, maybe use PNC bank. That's what I use and I have the VirtualWallet. The reason its cool is it lets you see your spending and helps you set limits to what you spend on. For example I set the clothing budget to $50.00. If I go into a store like American Eagle and attempt to buy $100.00 worth of clothing, it will only let me purchase $50.00. I think that will be something to get used to, but it will be well worth it.
The bottom line is, you are an adult now, the sooner you learn money management the better. You don't want to learn the hard way!
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Stay Healthy-You Can't Afford to Be Sick!
So lately it seems like everybody is sick. I recently had the flu, a couple of my friends have had strep throat, and even some of my teachers have cancelled class due to their own illnesses.
Missing class in college is definitely not the same as missing a day of school in high school. You'd be surprised at how much of a negative affect it has on you. In high school if you miss a day, most teachers would come to you to make up your work. However, in college you must go to the professor to find out what you missed. Even worse, some professors do not care and really don't help you get caught up. Luckily, this has not happened to me personally.
So how can you avoid this? The answer is prevention. If you eat healthy, your body will most likely have a strong immune system and you can keep from getting sick. Also, try to get at least 7-8 hrs of sleep every night. This is also good for your immunity.
Clearly nobody can always make healthy choices, but if you try I'm sure you will notice you'll get sick a lot less and when you do it won't take very long for your body to recover.
Missing class in college is definitely not the same as missing a day of school in high school. You'd be surprised at how much of a negative affect it has on you. In high school if you miss a day, most teachers would come to you to make up your work. However, in college you must go to the professor to find out what you missed. Even worse, some professors do not care and really don't help you get caught up. Luckily, this has not happened to me personally.
So how can you avoid this? The answer is prevention. If you eat healthy, your body will most likely have a strong immune system and you can keep from getting sick. Also, try to get at least 7-8 hrs of sleep every night. This is also good for your immunity.
Clearly nobody can always make healthy choices, but if you try I'm sure you will notice you'll get sick a lot less and when you do it won't take very long for your body to recover.
Monday, October 8, 2012
Laundry Time
Okay so this week I'm giving more practical advice. It will actually save you quite a lot of money too, so keep reading!
To start, I have (or now its had) this awesome sweater from Abercrombie & Fitch. It was so soft, so grey, and was nice and warm. And very, very cute. It was a sweater I wore on a day where I was feeling pretty good. You know, like you're having a good hair day, it's possibly Friday and you're going to go out; that kind of day.
Well, last Thursday started off like any other day. I was doing laundry and one of the clothes I was washing was that grey sweater. I threw it in normal cycle wash with some towels and it came out looking kind of, I don't know....funny. But I didn't think to much of it and threw it in the dryer.
Yeah, it came out tiny enough that a seven year old girl couldn't wear it. Bye grey sweater.
Too bad I hadn't read the label. It said machine wash on delicate and let it air dry. Trust me, if you are ever unsure read the tag or call your mom/dad, whoever is your laundry mentor in life. So the moral of "The Grey Sweater" fable is don't ignore laundry tags and actually listen when someone tries to teach you about laundry.
Here are some some Laundry tips:
Have a great week!
To start, I have (or now its had) this awesome sweater from Abercrombie & Fitch. It was so soft, so grey, and was nice and warm. And very, very cute. It was a sweater I wore on a day where I was feeling pretty good. You know, like you're having a good hair day, it's possibly Friday and you're going to go out; that kind of day.
Well, last Thursday started off like any other day. I was doing laundry and one of the clothes I was washing was that grey sweater. I threw it in normal cycle wash with some towels and it came out looking kind of, I don't know....funny. But I didn't think to much of it and threw it in the dryer.
Yeah, it came out tiny enough that a seven year old girl couldn't wear it. Bye grey sweater.
Too bad I hadn't read the label. It said machine wash on delicate and let it air dry. Trust me, if you are ever unsure read the tag or call your mom/dad, whoever is your laundry mentor in life. So the moral of "The Grey Sweater" fable is don't ignore laundry tags and actually listen when someone tries to teach you about laundry.
Here are some some Laundry tips:
- Do not wash towels with anything that is prone to lint or shrinking, and is considered a delicate. Wash towels with socks, underware, and cotton t-shirts or sweatpants.
- Make sure you do not some how mix a colored sock in with your whites. This will turn your whites a light shade of whatever color the sock is.
- Do not overuse detergent, this can cause colors to change. Also, for future reference over use of detergent can ruin a washing machine.
- Things that are 100% cotton WILL shrink, so use a lower heat setting on the dryer or let it airdry.
- Anything that is thin or flimsy will need to be washed as a delicate.
Have a great week!
Monday, October 1, 2012
What NOT to do...
Okay, so it's freshman year of college, everyone is full of advice...Make sure you go to your classes, pick a major you love, and my mothers all time favorite, "If you go to frat parties, you'll get roofied." She says this as she is puffing on a cigeratte. Thanks, mom. So reassuring, love you too.
Everyone is full of what to do, but during this first whole month that I've been here I've been realizing there is a lot of stuff I wish people would have told me not to do. Everyone is so busy telling me what to do, yet there has been so many things I wish people would have told me not to do.
I think the most important thing you shouldn't do is expect your new college friends to be like your friends at home. I like everyone here a lot. However, for this past month all I have been able to think is, "Oh I like (insert new friends name here), but she'll never be Megan." Megan is my best friend from home, she goes to Carlow University. She is so much fun to hang out with, so naturally it's hard to let some of that go for awhile and make new friends. I think I need to step back and let all of the people I've started to make friends with here become my friend in there own way.
When you try this you'll be surprised to find out it actually works. Just give it time. Honestly, I have been trying it for a week now and I'm actually connecting with everyone a lot better. You wouldn't want to be friends with someone who isn't being who they truly are anyway, so why expect them to act like someone different. You won't love every person you meet here, but you will find that some of these people have the potential to be life long friends.
Everyone is full of what to do, but during this first whole month that I've been here I've been realizing there is a lot of stuff I wish people would have told me not to do. Everyone is so busy telling me what to do, yet there has been so many things I wish people would have told me not to do.
I think the most important thing you shouldn't do is expect your new college friends to be like your friends at home. I like everyone here a lot. However, for this past month all I have been able to think is, "Oh I like (insert new friends name here), but she'll never be Megan." Megan is my best friend from home, she goes to Carlow University. She is so much fun to hang out with, so naturally it's hard to let some of that go for awhile and make new friends. I think I need to step back and let all of the people I've started to make friends with here become my friend in there own way.
When you try this you'll be surprised to find out it actually works. Just give it time. Honestly, I have been trying it for a week now and I'm actually connecting with everyone a lot better. You wouldn't want to be friends with someone who isn't being who they truly are anyway, so why expect them to act like someone different. You won't love every person you meet here, but you will find that some of these people have the potential to be life long friends.
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