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.

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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Do not overuse detergent, this can cause colors to change. Also, for future reference over use of detergent can ruin a washing machine.
4. Things that are 100% cotton WILL shrink, so use a lower heat setting on the dryer or let it airdry.
5. Anything that is thin or flimsy will need to be washed as a delicate.

Those are a few tips courtesy of my mom, so thanks mom!
Have a great week!

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.