Top must haves for College

As you all know, I am in College. This is my first year being in college, this summer I watched multiple youtube videos about girls saying what to bring and not to bring to college. This is my what to bring/not to bring to College.
1. Pillows.
But not to many, let's remember that you will have a twin size bed, mine currently is twin size not twin XL. The first week I was in college I had brought 2 pillow pets, 3 pillows, a body pillow, a chair pillow and a throw pillow. You see those cute pictures the girls have with the multiple pillows? Yeah not very comfy when your pillows take up all the room so you are half dangling off. I tried to wait a month to keep the pillows but once it hit a month I went home and took a bunch of pillows back. Bring at least a body pillow, and two pillows if you want to bring a chair pillow I would advice it because I like sitting on it while doing homework. If you don't like many pillows like my friend 1-2 will suffice, it all depends on your preference.
2. Blankets.
Same applies here with the pillows. Now I have my comforter, but I am a very hot natured person so I have just been sleeping with my very soft and comfortable throw blanket, but if I get really cold I use two. Usually by the end of the night they are thrown off, but none the less I use two sometimes. I brought all my blankets from my room with me to College, and like I said I only use two. The rest are on the shelf not being used and just using space. If you are a hot natured person like me just bring two throw blankets, and your comforter you will be good!
3. Clothes. 
I went to orientation at the beginning of summer so when I went to visit I rarely paid attention to every detail, instead I paid attention to the fact I was touring the college I would be going to in less than 3 months. That meant I thought my closet space was much smaller so the whole summer I was stressing about how I could make me have much more space for clothing and things like that. Pay attention to your closet space and if you have drawers, because my room was suppose to come with drawers but it never did which stressed me out a lot move in day. Also bring clothes that are necessary but don't bring them all because it still is small compared to the closet in your room!
A. Robe/Towels
This is super helpful! Trust me, I literally use my robe every time. I get out of the shower throw my robe on and go back to my dorm. I thought this summer 2 towels would not be enough. Seriously it's enough! I went to the store and got 5 towels, I don't even use all of them in the same month. I usually just grab the first one which is one of the towel wraps, making a total of 6 towels. Literally save room for other things and just bring 2 towels.
B. Dresses
Now for us girls it would be a duh moment to bring dresses, but for some people it isn't. My two friends didn't bring dresses because "I'm not dressing up". It is for much more than that, if you are thinking about going Greek, and rushing you will have to dress up every night. Or I know one of my friends has a business class and she has to wear business clothes; slacks, skirt, dresses every meeting. Bring nice clothes so when that does happen you will be prepared.
C. Pants
I don't know where you will be going to college at but look at the weather, where I am at the weather is never the same within the week. For example, last night it was lightning and thundering but today it was perfectly fine. This is a routine where I am, so just bring pants or sweat pants because the weather will be cold sometimes. Also if you were up until 2am like I was this morning typing your english paper, studying for your math test and doing a take home quiz for history and just all in all have a break down. Waking up 10 minutes before class and savoring every minute of sleep, is always good and grabbing sweats and a big shirt is also a plus.
D. Shirts
Bring shirts!!! They don't even have to be nice. I literally never had to worry about this problem last year because of color guard, I always got new shirts. I read somewhere not to bring high school shirts to college. What did that mean? The month before coming here I had to pack up my shirts and put them in a bag, of course I wasn't going to throw them away they are still a part of me. Anyways bring shirts though, it's okay if you sneak 2-3 high school shirts to College, no one will judge you. Along with normal shirts, bring cute dressy shirts. Some days you will go to sleep early and wake up feeling great and want to show the world that and what better way than dressing cute? Also if you ever just want to go somewhere with your friends, the next town over for dinner, the movies, the zoo, anything, you will be prepared for pictures.
4. Drawers.
So like I said my room was suppose to come with drawers, but never did. Well buying drawers is always helpful. My dorm is not one of the ones where the bed can be moved up or down, but if you do have one of those you can always put the drawers under your bed to where you have them right there so easy for when you wake up and can grab things. My roommate and I both have two and they are super helpful since we don't have actual drawers.
5. Electronics
I am not saying bring every electronic item you have. You won't have room. I had planned on bringing my tv this year but I have no room to put it so it is sadly at my house which means every sunday I will be missing Once Upon A Time. Just bring your necessities; laptop, phone, tablet. I usually just use my phone or laptop for things for school, or the library. I brought my camera and my tablet but I hardly use either because I never have time, I am always so busy.
6. Kitchen Ware
Before you buy anything in this category talk with your roommate and look in your dorm. Our room comes with a refrigerator and a microwave. Also my roommate brought a Kurieg so we were set there. A really great thing I advice you to get is plastic forks, spoons, and knives as well as cups and plates. Literally when you are on your busy schedule and just come to your room to eat soup for 15 minutes then rush back to class it will be helpful to just be able to throw everything away rather than leaving it there soaking up germs and waiting for it to be clean.
7. Food!!
Can I just say WAIT TO BUY FOOD UNTIL YOU GET THERE. Move in day it was just my mom and I because my brother had band. My mom and I got up at 5 in the morning so we could be here by 7am We were very tired and carried everything in just one trip. If we didn't bring the food until I was settled in that would have helped so much. Please, do not buy food until you are settled in, it will make everything so helpful. Also when you have to actually adult for the first time by yourself, do not grab food. Do not grab those animal crackers with icing or the chips that will just call your name at night and hold true to the Freshman 15 myth. Don't do it. Instead think rationally. Will you be able to eat this and will it actually fill you up and last you longer than the junk/snack food that you are eyeing. The first time I adulted and went to get my own food I just grabbed snacks because I eat on campus. Boy was I wrong, sometimes I don't want the school food I want the food I bought, because otherwise it would go to waste, but what I bought is snacks and I want an actual meal. Also if you happen to have a kitchen in your dorm use that to your advantage! Try to learn how to cook so you can be able to be independent.
8. Shower
Along with the towels and the robe an important necessity for the shower is a shower caddy and please don't forget SHOWER SHOES. That is very important. I see so many girls who just go to the bathroom without shoes, and I understand that there are people who clean them weekly, or daily or two times a week or whatever, but would you take your shoes off to go to the public bathroom? No. Please don't do it here, that is just gross to me to not where shoes where other girls have repeatedly stepped in and their shoes have been everywhere then stepped on the floor, just please don't do it.

You are more than welcomed to bring whatever you like to make yourself feel at home because you will be here for quite some time, but just remember that there will be a bunch of people going in and out of the dorms grabbing things so just keep in mind the necessities and things you can go without. Decoration is key but do that after you get moved in, trust me it will be so much better.

"It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are."

Dear partying roommate,

I am beyond glad that you, just like many others, are enjoying yourself at college. College is something new and exciting and it's where we learn to create ourselves, I understand. But at the same time this is where we grow up, and find ourselves and our future soul mates.

You don't want to be labeled as something right off the back freshman year, do you? I didn't think so. You may think you're "cool" for going out and partying every weekend, but trust me you are not. You are not cool for stumbling in at 5am and waking up at 7pm. In fact you are annoying. I just want you to know that you have a roommate and you have other people to think about besides yourself. Please be courteous to others, and to me. I have class just like you but unlike you I don't go to class and go back to sleep, I try really hard to get good grades and don't blow college off.

You will one day grow up and realize life isn't a game or party. You will make life decisions and become an adult. Don't waste your life by partying or don't ruin it by just one careless act. 

College is more than partying and being young stupid teens. It's where we will become adults and our own person. It's where we could meet our future spouse. It's where we will meet our best friends and find our future bridesmaids. It's where we learn that family is importt, especially if you live away from home. It's where it decides your future.

You don't want your future to be a "I should have tried harder in college" life.

Wake up! Realize that going to parties all the time gets old especially since you are underage! Realize you have a roommate and you have people who are here to get an education. College isn't just for partying. I know some people who never party, which is actually all my friends, and I like it that way. In fact I have never gone to a party till the first week of college and Halloween and I can strongly say that is not my scene and I will not be going back anytime soon. My ideal of partying is Netflix. 

I understand some people think getting beyond wasted and waking up at 7pm is fine, but I personally disagree. Especially if you have a roommate, it really bothers me when I have to study in the hall because my roommate is hung over. If you like to party and you're 18 and you already have a problem with alchol fix youself, change your ways and focus on your goals. Then when you're 21 and able to drink have small parties with you and your friends to where no harm no foul.

Please stop strolling in late and waking up late. Please understand and remember why you came to college, it certainly wasn't fm to party and get wasted enough to not remember what you did the night before.

Sincerely,

A girl who cares about her education.

"I don't want to party my life away. If you aren't living for something, you are wasting your life away." Elizabeth Kaiser. 

A Couple Things Every Girl Should Know

There are things that every girl should know in their lives. As humans everyone gets so insecure with themselves that nothing will help that. Girls as well as men should hear everyday how amazing or wonderful they are. Somethings getting heard that they are beautiful is not always helpful, but it does bring our self-esteem up a little bit.
Here are a few things that should help every girl feel good about herself.
1. You are Beautiful
Please never forget this, because no matter what you are truly beautiful.
2. You are Unique
There is no one like one, nor will there ever be anyone like you. You are yourself and wonderfully made and specifically made to be just yourself, embrace it.
3. Be Confident
No one can tear you down unless you let them. If you ignore the haters they won't get to you, as girls we are so insecure but once we embrace our flaws nothing will tear us down just build us up.
4. You are Wonderfully Made
God made you with his own hands out of his own image and he thinks of you as something beautiful so start believing in that as well. You are wonderfully made by something awesome.
5. You are Perfect
Yeah you may have flaws but besides that you are perfect, and someone out there agrees with me. Just accept your flaws and agree that you are perfect.
6. You are Loved
I know this is something a lot of people have trouble hearing, but it is true. You are loved, you are loved by your parents, your family, your teachers, your co-workers, your friends, you are loved. If by the end of the day you still don't think you are loved look to the sky and towards the Heavens and think of this amazing person, God, and know he truly loves you.
7. You are more than Your Flaws
Everyone has flaws, and imperfections that they don't like about themselves. Everything that you hate someone else may love, and all those "flaws" make you who you are. Don't forget that, just embrace it and love your flaws because once you embrace it, it will become your strength.
8. Accept your Mistakes
Mistakes make us human, you are above the mistakes. Mistakes happen they are in the past you can't change it but just accept it and move on. I focus on the mistakes but you shouldn't just realize what happened, understand it and go on.
9. Breathe
This is not necessarily for just girls but for everyone. Breathe, we get so wrapped up we forget to slow down, calm down, enjoy the view and breathe. Just do it. Who cares who's watching breathe.
10. Don't wear make up.
It's okay if you love make up no one is judging you, in fact I congratulate you! I can hardly wake up an hour before class every day to wear make up so congrats, but sometimes it's okay to take it off and show your natural beautiful face. Don't feel judged remember number 1? You're beautiful.
11. Dance!
Please don't be afraid to dance, like ever. I have a problem with this one because I am so insecure that I don't want to dance I don't want people to watch me. But who cares? If you are with your friends or people you trust or even by yourself, don't be ashamed to put music on, or not, and do a dance. In the end it will make you feel good and that's all that matters.
12. You are more than beautiful.
I know many times we want to be called beautiful, because it is much more meaningful than pretty. Don't just stop there, don't let someone compliment you just your face. Let someone call you passionate, or exhilarating, something besides just beautiful. Let them, have them, compliment you on more than just your beauty.
13. It's okay to not be "talented"
Just like dancing it's okay not to be great at. If you love to write, or dance, or sing, or be creative then do it! Who cares if someone can do it better than you, that's them. They are enjoying something they love so you should also! Talent is overrated singing off key or dancing crazy in public is much more awesome.
14. It's okay to be crazy!
Be wild, be crazy. You're only your age once, so live it up. Don't rush to be an adult and have responsibilities just wait and soak up as much craziness as you can. Be loud, outgoing and just have fun. Dye your hair if you want, to purple or to blonde, or to blue. It's okay being crazy because you can be!
15. Dressing like a slob is okay!
If you feel like wearing sweats and a hoodie or big shirt, do it! Do it! You don't always have to wear cute clothes, it's alright to feel comfortable every now and then.
This is your life and nobody can tell you what to do unless you let them. Do what you want and live how you want. Be spontaneous, be cool, be fun, be adventurous, be crazy, be weird, be you!
"Don't change so people will like you. Be yourself and the right people will love the real you."

I went Greek and now I'm a sorority girl

I have been a lot busy lately, the reason being the title. I rushed!! For fellow sisters out there, hello! I am a freshman in college, so the week I moved into the dorm and the start of school was rush week. Can I tell you how crazy it was? Because it was! I was nervous because we walked so much and did so much that I was nervous and kept asking myself "what did you get yourself into?" But anyway let's start from the beginning.
So let's start with how shy I am. VERY. I was at orientation and my mom forced me to stop at every organization and talk and put my name down. I of course did not want to do that, but once we got to the "Go Greek" table part of me was excited. I kind of always wanted to be a sorority girl but sometimes on movies you see this "image" of a sorority girl and I am defiantly not that image. My mom was talking to some girls while I just looked at the pictures and saw how much fun the girls looked like they were having, so I put my name down and looked horrified when I gave it to them.
"Not so bad, huh?" My mother asked.
I smiled and we kept walking. Luckily for me that was the end of orientation which meant we would be driving home and I had all summer to debate over joining or not, or so I thought.
A month later I got an email saying I need to verify my information and if I did want to rush I need to put my name down. Well not everyone gets in. NOT EVERYONE GETS IN. When I rushed there was over 200 girls rushing with me and I didn't know anyone there. Only about half or less would make it. I decided maybe I should rush this is a great way start college and maybe make a few friends along the way.
So here goes the whole moving into the dorm and having to talk to the rho gammas about rush week. Well the first night I signed in and took a seat, remember the 200+ girls? Yeah all different girls from so many different places, with so many different accents, and all wanting a specific sorority. The President of all the sororities went up there to talk and repeated and stressed "You may not get the sorority you want, some of us didn't but we are still here and you can always rush again." How frightening, 1) I might not even get picked at all or 2) I may not like the sorority I get picked. After that she explained everything that was going to happen that week. Dress up, dress up, dress up. Talk about yourself and don't leave anything out, you are trying to make an impression but at the same time stay true to yourself.
So the first night we went to visit all 4 of the sororities, now my campus is not as big as others, but for a freshman and it is your first week and YOUR IN HEELS, it is pretty big, especially since we did walk all over campus. We went to see the girls in each sorority as well as see their units (Since ours do not have their own houses). The next night was the sororities that asked you to come back. I had gotten invited back to two, which made me really happy. Why? Remember how shy I am? Well I made a great impression being myself that two sororities liked me. That made me feel very happy and once it was all done I ran to my dorm to call my mom and told her.
The third night was the last night and that was the night only 1-2 will chose you and it was the most serious night because these girls could possibly be your sisters. The only problem was if you were invited back it does not automatically mean you get in that sorority. I got invited back to one last sorority. I went there and bonded with some of the girls there and felt at peace, but they were the new sorority so there was not that many girls compared to the other. I went back to my dorm and that night I just kept repeating their chants over and over so part of me felt like that was what was suppose to happen in my life.
The next morning if you got a call that means you did not get a bid and I heard that some people got calls. I on the other hand did not know that was a thing and thought even if you didn't get a bid you just go there and they tell you at the door, the call was a smarter idea. Like I said I didn't know about the call, so when I got to the meeting area some girls were discussing how some of their best friends got the calls and I asked what calls. I rushed towards my phone and scrolled through the calls and did not find an unknown number so I was relieved. I got a bid.
My line was up next. It was my turn. I get a bid. I called my mom right before, "Mom should I do this or not?"
"Yes, of course!" She said.
I smiled took the envelope and opened it. I got in a sorority.
Me! The weird, quiet, shy, awkward girl got a bid. After that we had to guess which sororities the rho gammas were in. Once that was all done we ran to our new home, our new family, with our new sisters.
Rushing was stressful, having to dress up all week and figuring out how to schedule class and homework around walking around viewing sororities, but in the end it was all worth it. I am a new and proud member of Alpha Sigma Alpha and I would not trade my experience or my sisters in for the world. They have all become a part of me and if I did not join I would be a bum laying on my bed watching netflix on day.
If any of you reading this debates on rushing, DO IT! You will meet friends whether you get in or not but most importantly if you do get in then you will become sisters for life and that's the best thing, and so much more, I have so far gotten out of my sorority. 
"Give a girl the right pair of shoes, and she can conquer the world. Give a girl a bid, and she will not have to do it alone."

What's Important in LIfe

Think about what's important in life is a big question that when you ask a group of people not one of those people's answers will be the exact same. Importance is something that has to having meaning and some things are more important than other things to people. For me it is happiness. To someone else it may be love or money or knowledge.
To me though I think happiness is a broad term that could fit within all those ideas; love, money, knowledge... Another thing that is Important is faith and belief. Not just in God which is a good thing to do because as someone who grew up in a religious home God is something that is important in life but also faith/belief in oneself.
Now a days teens, or everyone, have a hard time being successful. Not only that but believing in themselves. We grew up in a different time period than our parents. We grew up with technology that lets us have to ways to get answers to the homework but also a struggle to pay attention in class because of the wide range of social media the internet now has. Our parents don't understand the struggles we face now because we are teenagers and are so dramatic right? We broke up with our first crush and that's the end we will never find someone again. We made a F the test we thought we did amazing on that's it I am not going to College.
Because teens are so dramatic and just assume the worse rather than thinking thinks out from all different directions and thinking rationally we just give up on ourselves and stop caring. That is why we go for mediocrity because we just doubt ourselves and don't put faith in ourselves. That needs to change.
The important things in life to me is having faith in myself. It should always be like that and it should not change. I am not saying be a confident person who is rude because it is okay to be confident, especially in this world, but not rude. To becoming faithful and essentially happy with yourself you have to surround yourself with people that build you up. The people who are your "friends" or people who you hang out with are what you essentially are going to be. If you surround yourself with slackers who don't want to do anything then that is what you will start to do. If you surround yourself with people who challenge themselves and push you to do your best then you will become better than what you ever imagined.
Last year I was surrounded by people who were smarted than me, which is not unusual, and when it came time to check our GPA they always got 4.0's and higher. I always got a 3.5-3.8 and was always ashamed to have that grade because I felt like a dumb person. This year I have a 4.0 which I am extremely proud of. Since I surrounded myself with people who were smarter than me it pushed me to become smarter and push myself to becoming better than what I was.
"Work Hard, Dream Big."
"No one is in charge of your happiness but you."

When did Skinny become fashionable?

Dear, Girls, or perhaps even guys,
I saw this post on tumblr that had a billboard that asked the question: "When did skinny become fashionable?"
It made me think. When did the idea that if you are skinny you are in fashion? I am not degrading people who are skinny, I know that skinny is an awesome feeling because you worked hard to get there or you just have metabolism so nothing it wrong with being skinny. But to me, there is a problem with being too skinny, the people who are not comfortable with their own body so they refuse to eat and so they eat and throw it up or they don't eat at all and they are as skinny as their bones because that's all that is consuming them now, not much skin there anymore. That is what I'm talking about, when did that become fashionable? When did we, as a society, say "Girls if you look like that, then you are beautiful and guys will like you." When did that happen?
I currently am a freshman in College and have you ever heard the saying "College 15?" Yeah I have. And to be honest, I am terrified. I am scared that I will eat to much that I will not recognize my body, so I hardly eat. It's hard because I stock up on food every month and just see the delicious food staring at me but instead of eating I will do other things- some good, some bad; for example, I will watch netflix (that has consumed my life), or I will do homework, or I will take a walk around campus. Sometimes though I do cave in, but I now understand that's good. Not necessarily as many times a day as I want, but it is okay to eat that second cookies sometimes or eat the ice cream. It is okay.
Fashion is not skinny but rather what you make of it. Earlier this month my friend and I went to the mall to go get a dress for a meeting. My friend is a couple sizes smaller than me so when we tried clothes on it was hard for me to be happy with what I was wearing because like most girls, "It didn't fit my curves", or "I look fat", or the popular one for me, "My boobs look to big in it". When we went to the meeting later on that day, I wore that dress. The other girls at the meeting looked at me and said "That dress is so cute on you", and other compliments as well. They didn't notice that my curves didn't look good in the dress, or the fact that my boobs looked huge in it compared to other dresses, they saw me and a dress. They saw a girl who is trying to fit societies idea of fashion and to them I looked pretty and I felt it because I was dressed up like I was suppose to be and I was curved and all.
To whoever is reading this; skinny, curvy or not- you are beautiful. You are the way God wanted you to be, if you want to be skinner then there are gyms everywhere but if you like what you see (which you should and it's hard but just try) then embrace everything about yourself. If you are shopping and you find yourself looking at a shirt, dress, or pants or any other item that looks appealing to you get it! Who cares if it's not a size S or M you find it awesome and that's what the makers want you to think because they thought it was awesome too. I have trouble with that, I see outfits and think "No it would be better on a girl smaller." You are the girl, or guy, smaller. You can fit in it just as much as I can and the difference between the smaller people and you… is confidence. Be proud of your weight and that you are embracing it with an awesome fashion sense and you don't care who is watching. One of my favorite quotes it "Every day is a fashion show, and the world is your runway." I for one will start to embrace my body, slowly of course, and I will try to become confident because fashion is my way of speaking sometimes and I want people to know I am confident and I have a good sense of style in whatever I am wearing.
"People will stare. Make it worth their while." -Harry Winston
"Style is a way to say who you are without having to speak."- Rachel Zoe

Dear High School Seniors

Dear High School Seniors,
Step back. Take a minute. Breath. Enjoy this. Enjoy these last'; last first day, last first game, last homecoming, last game, last homecoming dance, last prom... Just breathe and enjoy your view.
Once you get to College things will change. You aren't the same person you were when you stepped foot in high school let alone the same person you will be when you step out. Enjoy every moment you have. Because in a few months you will walk the stage, and it will be of the best moments of your lives, believe me, but it will be quick and everything you rushed through seemed pointless. So don't rush, slow down and absorb everything. Moments with your siblings, your parents, your family, your friends, everything. After a couple months you will soon be forced to pack memories up and take them to a strange place where you don't know people and are forced to make new memories and new friends. You won't have that same group of friends because it feels like they are half way across the world, and your only way of communication to your family is phone calls and Facebook because you will be so busy.
Dear high school senior, enjoy everything. When you are thinking of staying home and studying or going to watch that movie with your best friends; chose the ladder of the two. You will still have that grade, but you won't have that time to be with friends or family.
College is here. College is waiting for you and it's exciting and fun, but wait. Take your time and be a kid as long as you can because you only have now, and once you get to graduation and see the people you have known for so long in caps and gowns and realize you will soon leave them, you will wonder where the time has gone, so please take your time and enjoy your last's because once you get into College you'll be happy you enjoyed the little moments with people who mattered.
"Today is your day. You're off to great places. You're off and away!" Dr. Seuss