College can be a strange time in your life – it feels like you’re still a kid, but you’re also expected to take on adult responsibilities, while at the same time not treated like a full-fledged adult. Tricky, right?
It’s overwhelming to choose a major that will possibly affect your entire life, so it’s probably in your best interest to focus on yourself. Be selfish and do exactly what makes you happy; take solo travel trips, eat what you want, do yoga – spend your time how you want to. Whatever you feel is going to help you figure out your life and what you want is what’s best. It won’t be the same for every person, so don’t focus on what everyone else is doing.
Take classes that interest you in college, even if people say it won’t help you in the future. It’s also completely fine to take classes outside of your major if you’ve already decided on one. Maybe they won’t be applicable to your future career, but you’ll be learning something new about a topic that interests you, and that’s still helpful to your life. It’s just as important to foster our curiosity and spark creativity outside of what you’re used to. Some of my favorite classes have been outside of my majors and minors in college.
The truth is, none of us know completely what we’re doing. Even the most seemingly put together people can have no idea what they’re going to do in the future. That’s okay. Focus on what you’re doing now, and keep your options open for the future. Life is more fun when you aren’t following a concrete plan of what you want to do, and oftentimes those plans don’t pan out exactly how you would like them to.
Do what you want in college, and focus on what makes you happy. Be selfish and say no to people if you don’t want to do something, or say yes even if it terrifies you. Be adventurous, or don’t – it’s all up to you, and you don’t have to justify yourself to anyone.
Happy 2018! I cannot believe 2017 is over – I think it’s the fastest year that’s gone by for me. It’s crazy that this is the year that I’m graduating from college.
Along with a new year came getting organized for it, which included cleaning my room (a work in progress) and setting up my bullet journal. I’ll have a video and post up about that setup soon, but first I wanted to have a reflection/review post of using the bullet journal system fro six months. First off, it’s crazy to think I’ve been using it for six months!
As I mentioned in my last post, I’ve been heavily relying on my bullet journal to stay organized and it’s definitely been a life saver for school. Finals week for fall quarter of 2017 was probably the most organized one I’ve had because I had my bullet journal to stay on track with studying and due dates.
I’ve decided to break up the review into different categories so it’s easier to understand what it’s all about, and see all my thoughts about it!
Functionality
This is definitely the most important part – to me – of a bullet journal, or any planner for that matter. Before I started bullet journaling I was using regular planners that I bought from Target or Nordstrom to stay organized, and they worked just fine. I wanted the ability to personalize it more, though, and be creative while staying organized.
I have found the bullet journal system to be very efficient. The “guidelines” are just that: advice on how to stay organized instead of strict rules that make you adhere to the system fully. You can change up the symbols, not use all of them, or stick to the pre-made ones. I more or less stuck to the set symbols of the bullet journal system (read more about those here) and I found them to fit into my planner pretty seamlessly, and they were easy to get used to.
As for the monthly and weekly spreads, you have a lot of freedom to be as detailed as you want. If you want extensive layouts for the week, or different trackers and various pages for the month, you can definitely do that, but if you want to stay more simple that’s perfectly fine. I found myself switching between detailed and simple a lot depending on how much time I had to make the spread, and how much space I thought I would need for busier or calmer weeks. During school I have more detailed spreads, but over the summer when it was just work I could do some more simple spreads. Over winter break I didn’t bother to have weekly spreads because I was pretty much just working out, sleeping, or watching Harry Potter.
I love the freedom the BuJo’s give you for organizing your life, and it makes them very functional. The fact that it also serves as a journal, cost/health/habit tracker, random idea journal, and whatever else you want it to be, really makes it special and convenient.
Personalization
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| One of my favorite monthly themes and cover page! |
There’s a lot of structure to pre-made planners, but with bullet journals you can organize your weeks however you want, and like I said earlier, use it for things like journal entries or lists. I’ve done this with packing lists before and it’s nice to have it cataloged for future use, and it’s also nice to have a quick written reflection on months.
Quality
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| This was all watercolor, and the pages held up really well! |
The pages are also thick enough that I haven’t had any pens bleed through, only a couple of my water-based lettering pens when I go over a spot too many times with the color. They also work nicely with watercolor, which I use occasionally for monthly cover pages. The dots on the pages are pretty standard, and I don’t know if there’s much variation between journals that different companies make.
There’s also nice folders in the back to put loose paper in the journal, and a couple bookmarks attached so you can keep your place, or mark an important page.
Overall, I’m really satisfied with how this journal has lasted for the last six months!
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| Another watercolor heavy page that held up just fine! |
Cost
When I started this school year, I had high ambitions of surviving my busy schedule. I’ve been working two part time jobs, averaging about 35 hours per week, plus a full class schedule of 15 hours, and have been trying to keep up with all my homework. I thought this schedule would be fine, and I have survived it, but I didn’t thrive as much as I could’ve.
Mad props to all the hustlers out there, because that shit is exhausting.
I haven’t gotten nearly enough sleep this quarter, I haven’t been able to workout everyday like I have for the last two years, and I’m lucky if I remember to eat lunch. Having this crazy busy schedule has taught me a lot of discipline, and although I tried to make time to stay creative and have an outlet, it was hard to justify sitting around reading for pleasure when I had probably one hundred pages of reading due for a class the next day.
That guilt pushed me to try and finish all that I could and sacrifice a lot of sleep to do so. Sure, I left papers to finish right before the deadline, but in total I feel pretty proud that I kept on top of my school work even better than quarters where I had a lot more free time. My bullet journal saved me, as well as leaving sticky notes e v e r y w h e r e to make sure I didn’t forget anything.
Along with my busy quarter came more stress than I’ve dealt with probably ever. I had crap with my family, dealt with the craziest situation of someone copying my apartment key, and much, much more. I didn’t give myself a chance to sit down and think through all of that stress and just feel because if I did, I’m afraid I never would’ve gotten up.
I struggled through this quarter, and I’m not ashamed to say it, because I came out in the end. I just turned in my final paper for the quarter, and have finished all my tests, but I still have a couple days of work left. The light at the end of the tunnel is brighter, though.
I don’t want this to sound like I’m complaining about how hard my life is because there are people out there with much, much harder lives. The point of this post is to reflect on this time in my life, and to somehow start to work through the emotion that I’ve put in a neat little box in the back of my head. My mental health has struggled this quarter, and I feel like a slightly faded version of who I was six months ago, but that’s okay.
We all struggle at some point in our lives, and I don’t want to hide from that. I know I should go and talk to someone about my mental health, and I’m hoping that’s something I have the courage to do next quarter.
I’ve retreated into myself to get through autumn quarter, but I’m also grateful for the people in my life who have stuck with me through this time. My boyfriend was my lifeline and the person who talked me through various panic attacks and times of just absolute blinding stress.
I let myself fall behind on my blog and my YouTube channel, something I absolutely hated doing, because it’s such a huge source of creativity and happiness in my life. With that I took more of a break from social media, which in retrospect has probably been good for me.
I’m not sure how exactly I got through this quarter, but the truth is my blood is probably 75% coffee right now, and I think the desire to just cuddle with my dogs over winter break is one of the main things keeping me going at this point.
Next quarter I’m cutting down on my commitments and will hopefully have more time to do the things I love, like post on my blog and make videos.
For now, here’s a photo of my little Christmas tree 🙂
Mental health is a hot topic among college students – mainly because so many struggle with keeping up with it. College is a super exciting time, but it’s easy to get overwhelmed when it starts to get busy. In order to avoid all of that, here are…
….five tips to get the year started right and stay on top of your mental health!
1. Make sure you have a planner or organizational system that works for you
2. Get enough sleep!
3. Have a relaxing outlet
4. Spend time with people who make you happy
5. Get outside
Succeeding in college isn’t only about getting good grades, studying for tests, and doing homework; it’s also important to make sure you’re staying creative and living holistically. It’s easy to get stuck in the rut of studying for classes and getting stressed out, and not having a creative outlet to destress. Personally, I think it’s really important to remain creative throughout college to give yourself a break from all of the busyness, but when you make it a priority it gets easier.
Here are 5 tips on how to be creative in college:
1. Prioritize your time so you have plenty of it to be creative
2. Have a couple of art supplies with you at all times
3. Give an artistic flare to your notes
4. Make art with friends
5. Keep an eye out on Groupon for art classes
I honestly feel like college has been the fastest part of my life; it truly feels like I was just getting ready for my freshman year. Time really does fly by when you’re busy and having fun! There’s been so much that I’ve learned throughout my time in college, and it’s crazy that I only have one year left. I really want to make it a great year, since it’s probably going to be my last year in school for a little while (WHAT?!). I’ve been thinking about going to law school for the last year or so, but I want to take at least year off in order to work and save up. It’ll also be nice to take a break!
To make sure I have a good year, though, I’ve set some goals for myself so I can stay on track and (hopefully) remain motivated for the year. I want to finish college on a strong note and, of course, get good grades to get into law school! Here they are:
I’m going to be very busy this year because I’ll have two part time jobs, a full schedule of classes, and my blog and YouTube channel to keep up on. Keeping on top of my school work is going to be key for my success, and to help with that, I plan on utilizing my bullet journal a lot. I’ll be sharing my school spreads with you guys so you can see how I stay organized and motivated with it! I’m a little worried about how busy I’ll be, and I hope I’ll be able to balance all of it. Last year was crazy enough with one part time job, and this year I have my senior project, so we’ll see how it goes!
This is obvious, because of course everyone wants to get good grades, but I want it to be one of my main focuses for this year. Like I said, I want to end college on a strong note, so my grades are a huge part of that. My senior project will take place during winter quarter, and I want to make sure I get a good grade in the class that it takes place in, because it’ll be something that I can put on my resume!
Because I’m not busy enough (ha ha), I want to get even more involved in the clubs I’m in. I joined a pre-law professional frat last year, so I really want meet people in there and take on some leadership roles! I also really want to have a leadership role in my senior project (it’s a group project), so I can put that on my resume! I had never really had a leadership role until last year, when I was on the leadership team for a volunteer club, and I actually really liked having the responsibility! I’m also just super excited for the project, so I want to be as involved as possible.
I quickly learned in college how important self-care is that. I’m an anxious person, and when I don’t get enough sleep, ignore my body when it’s telling myself to slow down, and not give myself a mental break every now and then, it doesn’t bode well. I end up getting a lot of panic attacks, and feeling super overwhelmed, so I want to focus on not doing that this year, especially since I’ll be so busy. It’ll be easy to fall into the trap of not taking care of myself, so I’m going to make it a priority early on. A huge part of that is getting enough sleep, working out, and eating right, so those are all things I’ll be focusing on!
I’ve really been trying to do that this summer, and my passion for both of them have been renewed. It wasn’t that I was getting bored with them or anything, I just got so busy and both definitely got put on the back burner. I want to continue to make them a priority, too, because I want them to be a big part of my future. I love being creative and my blog and YouTube channel are both huge outlets for that. They allow me to de-stress from school and work, so I want to make sure I give my time to focus on them!
Alright, well those are five goals I have for my senior year of college! I have more, but these are the five greatest things I want to focus on this year. I’m really hoping I’ll be able to, and I’ll keep you updated on how I’m doing, and how I’m achieving my goals!
I remember one of the scariest parts before leaving for college freshman year was making sure I had everything I needed. I made multiple lists, pinned a ton, and still ended up forgetting things. My mom is the ultimate packer, though, and got the things I forgot (thanks mom!) luckily. My dad, of course, gave me such a hard time about having a lot of stuff, but hey I was prepared for anything. The feeling of forgetting something doesn’t ever go away from me, but once I made a master list of all that I would need for my dorm, I felt a lot better.
Since I found the list so helpful, I decided to make a digital copy for you guys, so you can use it yourselves! I found packing lists on Pinterest to be really useful, but I wanted to make one with all the things I know that I ended up using after Freshman year. Now a senior, I feel like I have the packing thing down pretty well and know what I’ll end up needing!
Below is both a photo and PDF version of the list I made – print it out and use it how you’d like!
I didn’t want to stop there, though, and wanted to give you some tips on moving in, since a lot of people will be doing that soon and are feeling the stress that moving brings! College honestly just feels like a constant state of moving, and I actually just moved myself into my friend’s apartment for the summer, and I’ll be moving into my new apartment in September. Yay moving!!! (I’ve come to hate it so much). Since I’ve been moving so much these past couple of years – in and out of dorms, and my family moved about a year and a half ago – I want to share what really helps me.
1. This may sound obvious, but make sure you stay well hydrated and fed.
Moving is already terrible enough – add in thirst and hunger and you have a recipe for disaster. I will be the first to admit that I get hangry, so for the sake of my family I try and have snacks available so no one (me) starts getting unnecessarily angry. It’s also the worst when you’re super thirsty and having to do a bunch of manual labor (moving is hard!), so make sure you have plenty of water. If anyone is helping you move, it’s also nice to make sure they have food and water!
2. Wear comfortable clothes and shoes.
While moving, you are going to get hot and sweaty. There’s really no getting around that, unfortunately. To help with this, make sure you wear clothes that will let your skin breath, and won’t be super uncomfortable when you’re having to bend down a lot and pick up boxes and move random things. I also can’t stress how important it is to wear comfy shoes! I made the mistake of wearing a newer pair of sandals that I thought were really comfortable but ended up being a little bit too big, so once my feet started getting a little sweaty (hey, it happens), I got a blister on my heal from the friction. By the end of the day, my feet were absolutely killing me, and all I wanted to do was soak them in hot water.
3. Enlist help
Beg, plead, and bribe your friends and family to help you move. It’s hard work, and you’ll be glad you have the help. Like I said earlier, offer to buy them pizza, coffee, or their favorite food to get them to help you. My parents and boyfriend are the sweetest and graciously helped me move, and I know a lot of my friends ask their family to help, too.
4. Start packing well before the move.
I try and not procrastinate on things, but since I hate packing and moving so much I always wait too long to do so. I packed up my apartment a couple of days before I moved, and ended up staying up till, like, three in the morning and moved the next day. Don’t do this! Learn from my mistakes! Start packing a week or two in advance, depending on how much stuff you want to bring to your dorm. Try and make it as easy as possible on yourself, even if you hate packing like I do. I’ve definitely learned my lesson, and since I know I’ll be moving again soon, I haven’t unpacked a ton of my boxes because I know I’ll just have to pack up all of the stuff again.
5. To help with packing, go through your stuff and get rid of anything you don’t use.
I still need to do this, because as I was packing I realized I have a lot of junk that I really don’t need. I especially need to go through my closet, but being at college is weird because you have some stuff at home, and some stuff at your closet at school, and it’s all kind of a jumbled mess. To lessen the load, though, it really helps to go through your stuff and get rid of unnecessary items that you know you won’t be using at your dorm. You can donate the stuff to places like Goodwill, and someone down the road will use it!
6. Label what’s in your boxes, with a lot of detail.
I like to label my boxes with as much detail as possible, and list a lot of what’s in the box. Oftentimes I’ll label bigger items that are in there so I’ll hopefully remember what all I ended up putting in the box. This really helps for the unpacking process so you know where to put which boxes, and so you don’t end up losing anything. Also, it’s really helpful to know if you won’t need to open a box as soon as you get to your dorm, so you can save some time unpacking and spend it getting to know people on your floor, instead.
7. If you can, use a cart or dolly of some sort to move boxes.
Again, this is fairly obvious, but sometimes you have to reserve a moving cart or dolly in advance, so it’s important to keep in mind! Having one of these is really useful and makes the unloading part of moving go a lot smoother and quicker. Alternatively, if you or someone you know has a dolly, definitely ask if you can use it because it makes it easier to move boxes around quickly, and they’re of course a lot lighter to move.
8. Keep your clothes on the hanger and just bag them up.
This is super nice because you can quickly hang them back up in your dorm closet, and you don’t have to waste time folding and unfolding clothes. I did this my freshman year, and I’ve been doing it ever since!
9. Coordinate with your roommate(s) about move-in dates.
If you aren’t already assigned a move-in date and time, make sure you talk to your future roommate and ask them when they’ll be moving in. This is just nice so you know if you should go earlier or later to avoid two people trying to move in at once, each with a ton of boxes. My roommate was assigned an earlier move-in time, so it was really nice to not have to worry about running into someone else moving boxes at the same time.
10. Keep any decorations you’ll want to use soon handy.
I didn’t do this my freshman year, and I really wish I had at least kept my photos handy. I ended up feeling really homesick the first couple of days so it would’ve been really nice to have photos of my friends and family handy. If you know what sort of decorations you want to put in your dorm, make sure to keep them on the top of a box, or somewhere that’s really easy to get to so you can start making the place feel like home! It’s important to do this soon, especially if you’re a person who gets homesick really easily.
Alright, those are my tips on moving into your college dorm, and a packing list! I hope this post was helpful, and that it eases your nerves just a little bit. I remember how I felt freshman year, and it really helped to know I was prepared to move in. It’s crazy that it’s already August, and that people are going to start moving into their dorms soon!
Also, check out the video I did of this below!
Summer has officially hit here in Seattle, and it keeps getting warmer and warmer. I’m so happy that it’s been a really sunny summer so far, and honestly this 70 degree weather has been pretty nice. I can go outside and comfortably eat my lunch without getting too cold or hot, and the weekends have been perfect for hiking, going to the beach, or doing anything outside!
My junior year of college has come to a close, and it’s been a crazy year. This was definitely the most difficult year so far – my classes were tough, my schedule was busy, and trying to stay afloat was a struggle. I made it out, though, and I’ve learned a lot. Since it’s over, I wanted to do another “Dear __________ year” because I did that for freshman year and sophomore year.
You’ve probably noticed that I haven’t been posting very often, but I’ve been so busy with studying for finals – go figure. This quarter was one of the busiest I’ve had at the University of Washington, and because of that my blog and channel have suffered slightly. I’m going to have a busy summer as well but I’m trying to get a hold on my schedule early so I can keep up to date. I have a couple of weeks before I start to get super busy, so I’m going to be getting ahead of the game!
As you’re ending the term for your school, I’m sure the scariest part is all of the finals you have to take. It can be so daunting to study for multiple tests, and you’ll probably end up feeling like a zombie. I’ve done a post on how to survive finals, but I really wanted to do an updated one in the “How to Succeed in College” series, especially since I’ve been studying like crazy these last couple of weeks. So, here are my tips!
1. Write down when each and every one of your finals are.
This may seem super basic and obvious, but it’s a great place to start and keep coming back to. If you need reminders, write them on sticky notes and post them around your desk, or wherever you’ll see them a lot. This really does help – it’s so easy to get unorganized and lost while studying for finals, because you’re just focused on reviewing content.
2. Actually make study guides.
I remember doing this in high school was always so annoying, but it can be so useful in college. When you’re writing down all of the topics from your classes, you can get a feel for which ones you need to study more on, and which ones you know really well. It’s also great to have a reference that you can go over when you’re doing simple things like eating breakfast, or even walking to class (if you take a photo of it on your phone, which I highly recommend!).
3. Prioritize your time.
This can be with what you study for certain classes, as well as which finals you study the most for, and when you actually study for them. If you get a head start on studying for your finals that you have first, you’ll have more time to study for finals that come later in the week. It’s super difficult when you have multiple finals in a day, or one after the other, so it’s important to schedule time to study for each different class. I definitely struggled with this Freshman year, so it’s something that just takes a lot of practice and a lot of tests! Also, it really helps to have a planner to organize your time!
4. Block social media websites, and delete the apps if you get distracted easily.
I know a lot of people who actually block websites that they go to often, as well as delete apps on their phones so they don’t get distracted. This is a really great solution if you get side-tracked easily while studying, or you find yourself constantly checking your phone and computer. I personally don’t do this, but it does work well for a lot of people.
5. Change up where you study.
If you are getting tired of the scenery you’re studying in, try simply changing it up by going somewhere else. Getting bored of a certain location that you’re studying in can happen, so try studying in your room, other living spaces, different libraries, cafes, or other buildings around campus. If I’m feeling super burnt out for studying, it really does help me to go somewhere else. This really helps to keep your mind stimulated, and focus on studying!
6. Make sure you’re getting enough sleep.
“Sleep” and “finals” don’t often go together, but it’s important to try and get enough rest during the week. I’ve learned the hard way this quarter just how important sleep is; you end up doing better on tests, and you have more energy to finish up homework. It really does pay off to take the extra time to go to sleep early, or take a nap throughout the day so you can feel refreshed.
7. Make study groups with friends.
Studying with classmates can be really beneficial if you’re struggling in the class, and even when you know the content really well. Chances are you each will have stronger grasps on different parts of the class, so you can teach other in order to fill in those gaps. Also, when you are teaching someone else a concept, you end up really solidifying it in your head, which helps you out in the long run. It can also help to make you feel less alone and therefore less stressed, because you have others to talk to about the test!
8. Stay positive.
This might not seem too important, but it’s really easy to focus on the negatives during finals. If you find yourself really down, try and think of the positives, like being done with finals and relaxing! Spring quarter/term finals can be really tough because you’re thisclose to summer, and finals can feel like they’re absolutely dragging along. Just remember that this is the last step before summer, and that you really are close.
9. Listen to classical music to help you study, or any other study music that helps.
I find that listening to classical music, study music, and even soundtracks to movies (Harry Potter is my favorite choice, of course), really helps me stay focused. If I listen to music with lyrics I find myself just humming along to those, but if it’s instrumental music, I can better focus. This is especially useful if you’re in a busy or loud place, like a cafe, but you still want to sit there and study. It’s been proven that classical music helps, so definitely give it a try if you have trouble focusing! You can literally just search “study music” on YouTube, and they have videos that last for literal hours.
10. Take plenty of breaks.
It can be easy to just drone along and study for hours on end, but it’s really important to take small breaks every now and then. Bring along a book to the library to read, listen to your favorite music, take a nap, waste some time on the internet, talk to your friends – do whatever helps you take your mind off of studying. Don’t feel like you have to be constantly studying, because this can make you burn out really quickly. You’ll lose steam, and the studying you’re doing won’t actually be very productive. Make sure you’re scheduling in breaks!
Alright, there’s 10 tips on how to survive finals in college! Just remember that you’ll survive, and it’s alright if you don’t do well on a test – don’t be too hard on yourself! College really is a learning process, and I promise it gets easier.
NOT ALL PHOTOS ARE MINE.