Bring Some Life to your Dorm!

Dorm rooms are small and kinda gross. There’s no getting around that. They are far from nice and are worse than rooms people have at home. When I first moved into my dorm, I instantly hated it because it was so plain and looked like a jail cell. I knew I needed to decorate and make it feel more like home! I went on Pinterest and found some great ideas to decorate. People are into different things but I am a typical teenage girl. I put up a tapestry, just like every other girl in college. I had a “picture wall” which was my favorite. I had about 60 pictures that I wanted to hang up so I found a really cool design to make! I cut some pictures and wrote “Live Laugh Love” and put the remaining pictures around it.

I also hated that when I had people over they could just see my clothes in my closet so I hung up another tapestry like a curtain covering my closet. I wasn’t satisfied with my room yet, so I hung up some paintings on my walls near my desk and bought some cute desk decorations! I also bought a nice furry rug to put near my bed! I was starting to feel much more comfortable living there.

Living in a plain dorm cell may make you upset and miss home, just like it did for me. People are into all different things so decorate your dorm according to your likes! It will make you wanna be in there more. I also enjoy going to my friend’s rooms and seeing how they have their rooms decorated! It makes me happy. People have such creative ideas, it gives me inspiration for decorating in the future.

Some quick decorating tips are

• lights
• pictures
• rugs
• wall decals
• posters
• curtains
• nick-knacks

https://www.buzzfeed.com/gabbynoone/26-cheap-and-easy-ways-to-have-the-best-dorm-room-ever?utm_term=.hr64Yb276#.daL63O5yw

The above link has more tips on cheap and easy ways to decorate your dorm!

What I Wish I Had Done Differently

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Looking back at this year, there are multiple things I would have done differently. First off, I wouldn’t have roomed with someone I had known since kindergarten. I wish I had known we wouldn’t have gotten along instead of trying it out and now not having any communication at all. Rooming with a friend ruined a special friendship. It may work for some people but just take the time to think it out and set rules and boundaries for you two.

I would not have packed so many unnecessary things from home. Just like every freshman, I brought way more of everything than I need. I have stuff in my room that has not been touched since I moved in last August. Everyone always warns you not to over pack, but everyone does anyways. I didn’t realize there are stores around me, and I could go home and get something if I really needed it.

Another thing I wish I had done differently is going out more. I didn’t really put much effort into going out of my comfort zone and meeting new people. I am shy so I always would just hang out in my room by myself. Freshman year is the time when you make most of your friends and you start to find you “family.” I have a few close friends here, but nothing compared to some people. I wish I had gone out more and was more social and open with people.

The last thing I would have done differently would be to have gone to sporting events. This whole year I only went to one baseball game..I didn’t go to anything else. I either didn’t have time for it or I did not have any friends to go with. If I had made more friends then I would have had people to go with. Sporting events are such a fun environment. In high school, I never missed a game; no matter what sport it was.

Here is a link that talks more about things people wish they had done differently their freshman year! https://www.theodysseyonline.com/things-would-have-done-differently-freshman-year

Staying Fit

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Everyone has heard of the famous “freshman fifteen!” No one wants to gain it, but it is hard not to! One of my biggest concerns for this year was gaining weight. At home I have always been good about working out and eating healthy, but I knew that would change at college. First semester was rough and I gained some weight because I was eating dining hall food, laying around eating snacks and watching Netflix, and not going to the gym at all.

At the end of first semester, right before winter break, I knew I had to make some changes. I made a workout schedule and came up with a list of healthy meals that would be easy to make/east in a dorm. I came back from break with tons of fruit, cases of water (absolutely no soda), yogurt, and a few other healthy things. I changed my whole diet. It is so easy to go to the dining hall and eat all of the unhealthy food because it looks so good, so I go to D hall maybe twice a week now. I’m not saying you have to stop going to D hall, but you have to be willing to go for the healthy stuff.

I started going to the gym a few times a week and this really made a difference. Burning off some extra calories will help you in the long run, I promise. If you don’t like going to the gym, there are plenty of classes that are offered and will give you a great workout! I go to Zumba twice a week and it is so much fun, it doesn’t even feel like a workout! I also started taking the stairs instead of the elevator. I live on the fifth floor so it is so easy to just hop on the elevator and save myself some energy. Even a small change like taking the stairs, will help you.

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It is not complicated to stay fit in college, but you have to be ready for a challenge some days! Overall, my most important tips for staying fit are:

• know that it is possible
• watch your alcohol intake
• find the time
• have fun with it

I am always open to helping people out! I wish everyone could have the right mindset about it and think about how good the change would be for themselves! Here is a link to a article going into more detail about staying in fit http://gofitu.com/stay-fit-in-college/

Time For A Change

This year, has had a lot of ups and downs, and I definitely learned a lot from it. I thought I was going to love living away from home, but I hate it. I do not adjust to change well, even though I wish I did. I have to work on it. After a lot of thinking and debating, I have decided to transfer to Southern New Hampshire University for the fall. I have already put my deposit in, and I am now working with someone to set up my schedule. I am so excited for this to happen!

SNHU is only 15 minutes from my house, so I will be living at home again. Being able to live at home again, will give me the opportunity to work and go to school! I am excited to break out of my shell and meet new people. I truly believe I will “fit in” better at SNHU, than here. I am even taking a summer class, so I will get to know my way around campus and meet a few people before the fall!

My brother is graduating from SNHU next month, and he loved it there! He had such a great experience at SNHU. He tells me everyday how much I am going to like it there. My brother and I, are going to drive to SNHU soon, and he is going to show me around and show me where to park and all of that fun stuff! My parents are pretty excited about having me back at home, as much as they deny it! LOL!

I have less than a month of classes left here, and I am trying my hardest to keep it together and do the best I can in my classes! I just keep telling myself that in exactly one month I will already be moved back home and working at my favorite place! Some people love the college experience, and some people hate it. I am really glad I tried it out for a year though. I know if I did not, I would have always regretted it and wondered what it would be like! To anyone who if iffy about living at college, give it a shot! You have nothing to lose! 🙂

Here is a link that talks about dorm life vs. commuting! Enjoy!

http://studenomics.com/current-students/college-dorm-room-vs-living-at-home/

What I’ve Learned So Far

Being a freshman in college is very intimidating for people, myself being one of them. You’re moving out of a home you have been living in your whole life, and this may be the first time you are on your own. At the beginning I was SO excited about moving out of my house and being on my own. I have always been an independent person so I imagined I would be fine. Well, I was very wrong..

I thought that being on my own would make me a happier person, and would make me socialize and meet new people. This year has made me realize how much I hate change and don’t adapt to it well. Meeting new people is hard for me because I am so shy but I thought my friends from home would come visit, or at least stay in touch with me. After I moved into school, no one bothered to send me a text to see how I was doing. Everyone was busy with their life, and adjusting to college. So, I thought I would keep my high school friends while in college, but I have learned that things happen and people get caught up with their new beginnings and forget about you.

As said before, you need to get out of your comfort zone in college. You will not make any friends if you stay locked up in your room all day. I only have a few friends here on campus, and I wish I had gone out of my comfort zone more first semester and made plenty of friends. Some people are okay with only having 1 or 2 friends, but sometimes I get bored and wish I had new people to hangout with. You need to get out there and go to events to make friends! It will be worth it in the long run.

Last but not least, my first year of college has taught me that when people say “I’m a broke college student,” they were not lying..Living at school has taken me away from my job at home so I have no means of making money here. You will be broke while at school, so I suggest you try and find a job if you can! I am always good with calling home to check in, but my parents do get sick of me asking them to transfer money into my account! LOL!

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Key things to remember:

• get out of your room
• make friends
• save up money
• don’t be afraid to admit college is harder than you thought it would be
• call home once in awhile

Here is a link to an article I have found that I really enjoyed read and could relate to 100%

https://www.testive.com/10-things-i-learned-my-freshman-year-of-college/

Staying Motivated

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I don’t know about you, but every now and then I need that extra little bit of motivation to keep going. Some days, I have no problem waking up and going to class, but other days I am practically forcing myself to get out of bed. It’s taken me a long time to find ways to keep me motivated but here are some of mine!

• look up motivational quotes
• write down your goals and have them somewhere you can always see them
• talk to your friends if you ever need a little push
• reward yourself

In the ideas I shared above, the first one is my favorite. All day long I am scrolling through Pinterest looking up quotes about anything and everything. Being bombarded with school work is such a horrible feeling. Staying motivated is what will help you achieve your goals everyday! Whether it may be a new job, a sport, fitness, schoolwork, etc. you will not get anywhere with a negative attitude, and always feeling sluggish. You need to be healthy and positive.

Writing down your goals will help you because you will always be able to look at them, and this won’t allow you to forget about them or push them to the side. Every time you have a new goal write it down before you forget! Every goal is important no matter what it is!

When I am feeling sluggish or unmotivated, I text my best friend from home and let her know whats going on. She always helps me to get going. Lately, she has been telling me we have less than 2 months left, and I can do it. I am also transferring schools, so she tells me once I finish this semester I will be gone from this school and bettering myself!

Last but not least, reward yourself. We all deserve rewards every now and then. I always reward myself while studying. Sometimes, I will study for 15 minutes, and then give myself a snack break or go on my phone for a few minutes! Different things work for different people! Here is a link with more tips on staying motivated! Enjoy 🙂 http://www.vistacollege.edu/blog/online-learning/how-to-motivate-yourself-to-do-well-in-school

 

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Utilize Your Campus!

College Campus’ have so many wonderful things to offer! You are paying all of this money to attend the school, so you might as well make use of all the services around you in your free time! The main buildings I utilize on campus are, the dining hall, the Hub, and the library. My favorite is definitely the Hub. Inside the hub, there are many computers, printers, and tables and chairs to sit at! There is also the bookstore where you can pick up school clothing, books, or any other supplies you may need, Union Grille is in the Hub, Daily Paws, the basketball court, and the gym. I use almost all of the services in the hub. I go to the gym most days, and when I do not go to the gym, I go to Zumba.

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The Hub has some great things and I recommend everyone should use it! I am actually sitting in the Hub right now typing this blog post! Some days, I go to the library. I do not go there as often as I come to the Hub, because the library is much farther from me; total opposite side of campus as my dorm. The library is nice if you are looking for a room to work on a group project, or just a silent place to study and get some work done.

The Dining Hall is where I eat most of my meals, but it is definitely not my favorite place to be honest. We have a nice dining hall, but I am just not a fan of the food. Some people love it, so I can not speak for everyone. I am very Italian, so at home my mom cooks every single night. Usually pasta or something along that line, but when she makes pasta she actually hand makes the spaghetti with a machine and we jar our own tomatoes every August so we never eat sauce from a can. Some people tell me I am spoiled with food at home, but I usually deny it!!

Utilizing what you have on campus is also a great way to get out and make some friends too. You can only benefit from it. Knowing your campus is also very helpful because you will be spending the next few years of your life there, if that is what you choose. I hope everyone get the chance to get out of their comfort zone, and see what their campus has to offer!

Picking Classes

 

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Picking classes was very stressful for me. As I mentioned in my last post, I chose my classes at orientation. My orientation date was one of the last ones so at that point there were not a lot of open seats left in the classes I wanted. I sat in front of the computer scrolling through every gen-ed and got more irritating each class because they were all full. Finally, a professor came over and helped me and the girl that was sitting next to me. She printed out a list with all of the classes that had seats that were open and we got to look through them all and find the ones we liked the best.

About an hour later, I finally had a full schedule; 5 classes. I was enrolled in, Intro to Childhood Studies, Human Development, a seminar, Citizen Politics, and Cultural Anthropology. I was very excited to take these classes! I am an Elementary Education major. I am not sure if I had mentioned that before, but I feel like that is necessary to say.

To be a full-time student you are required to take 5 classes. I was taking 4 regular classes, and 1 online one. I was not sure if I was going to like taking an online class but it ended up being great! It was nice to stay in comfy clothes and just do the work on my laptop, rather than having to walk across campus to class. I ended up liking it so much that this current semester, I am taking 2 online classes! Having online and regular classes is a good balance for me and I really like it. If anyone is iffy about taking an online class I suggest you give it a shot because you may end up loving it! The only downside is, making sure you set out the time to do it, and actually getting it done.

Being able to pick your own classes and set up your own schedule is one of the best parts about college. If you are a morning person, you can select early morning classes, or if you are like me, then you can select classes that are later in the day. This semester I set up my schedule so I do not have any classes on Fridays! It’s awesome! Just make sure you fulfill all of your requirements so you do not fall behind! Here is a link with some more tips on picking your college classes! https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/find-colleges/academic-life/8-tips-for-choosing-college-classes

Freshman Orientation

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I knew there was such thing as “Freshman Orientation,” but I always thought they were just during the day. Plymouth is the only school that had the students stay overnight for it. I got the emails, and papers in the mail for it during the summer and this only made me more nervous for it. I did not like the whole idea of having to stay overnight in a dorm with a random person, not knowing a single person.

The date of orientation came quick, and I packed my overnight bag and made my parents drive me. I was with them most of the day, thankfully. I got assigned my room for the night and found my way there to put my things down. There was already a girl in there that had just gotten there seconds before me. She was really nice. Although, she did give me a dirty look when my parents walked in the room with me. My parents stepped out and gave us some time to get to know each other. She was really cool and we actually had a lot of things in common!

We had a whole agenda filled with things we all had to do so we got right to the first activity! The day flew by and I was actually very relieved. One of the main things we did, was meet with everyone in our majors and pick our classes. This was stressful but it was nice having the help of all my future professors! They did a very good job at making sure we were all selecting the right courses and knew all of our options. The next morning my parents arrived to pick me up and they could not wait to hear all of my stories! Me and the girl I stayed with for the night, exchanged numbers and stayed in touch all summer and are still friends now.

Although freshman orientation is very scary, it is so helpful for new students. You have the ability to meet tons of new people, explore the campus, and get a feel for what college is going to be like. Even though I was so nervous I am glad I stuck it out and went. I definitely had a lot of fun and it is really an advantage! Everyone at orientation is in the same boat as you, so you have the opportunity to get out of your comfort zone and we all need to do that sometimes!

Here is a link that talks more about what to expect at orientation! https://www.teenlife.com/blogs/what-expect-college-orientation

Roommate Experience

Senior year, a good friend of mine who I had known since kindergarten, texted me and told me Plymouth was her top school and she had just gotten accepted. I was psyched because I had just gotten accepted too and Plymouth was also my top school! Immediately, we brought up the roommate situation and agreed we would be living together. If it wasn’t for her, I would have roomed random. Over the summer, I brought her over my house and she met my family and my siblings, as well as all of my brothers friends who were over for a fire pit. Things were going really well until she started lying about silly things, and at the same time, my brothers best friend also started lying about similar things. At this point we were all a little curious as to what was going on with them. The two of them started hanging out behind all of our backs and denying they ever did and it was just a weird situation. But as time went on, they eventually started dating.

The first month or so went very well living with her. Keep in mind, her boyfriend was like a brother to me. I had known him for many years and I was as close with him as I was with my brother. My ex roommate and her boyfriend were in our room all the time and it did not bother me much until he started sleeping over every single night. He also attends Plymouth State. So when he started sleeping over every night I got irritated and wanted privacy so I said something to her about it and it caused a huge fight. From there, it just went downhill. We roomed together first semester and over break I tried to fix things with her but she wanted no part of it so 2 weeks into second semester, she unexpectedly called me while I was home for the weekend and told me she moved out. I was ecstatic to be completely honest. Her moving out was the best thing he could have done for the both of us. I may have lost a friend of many, many years, and a brother, but I am finally happy again.

When deciding on a roommate, there are many things to keep in mind. I wish I had actually taken into consideration things that would annoy me, or that I wouldn’t be able to deal with instead of just jumping right to the gun and living with her. I guess I did it because I felt more comfortable going into school with someone I knew from home, but I guess that is not always the case. Here is an article that talks more about what you need to think about when deciding on a roommate! enjoy! https://www.collegeraptor.com/blog/tips-and-tools/ultimate-guide-choosing-college-roommate/

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