Prepping For a New Semester

Everyone knows there is a new semester about to start (being high school or college), it's time to start gearing up for the fall semester. I know some of y’all are probably counting down the days until your next break, but here are some tips to get help you with preparing for a new semester.

PREPARING FOR A NEW SEMESTER – 5 TIPS

1. Start getting organized -- I understand classes have not yet started, when they do stay organized. Print out your syllabus for each class. purchase your class books, buy school supplies, and write down all your assignments in your planner. 
2. Get back on schedule -- As classes are beginning, you don't want to be dragging your first week. I realize even for myself it is very difficult getting back on track after break but it's nice being able to do so.
3. Create a schedule for yourself -- If you're like me, not only are you involved in clubs or honors but you hold down a job. Make sure you write down  everything important (class, exam,  meeting, etc.) that way you know when you're going to have a busier day in advance.
4. Start working ahead or on reading --If you already have a posted syllabus work or read ahead for the semester, jump right in and be ahead of your game. I always felt better prepared for class if I read/worked on the material beforehand even if it's not feasible.
5. Mentally prepare yourself for the semester ahead -- The first week back to school is always exciting and overwhelming so get your head in the A-game and make sure you have the right mindset to start off the semester.

Hope that your semester starts off strong! Have a great Thursday, y’all.

How do you go about preparing for a new semester? Let me know down in the comments.

How to Prep for College When Still in High School

I'm 4 years out of High School, with graduation upon us, it's hard not to be nostalgic! My high school experience was okay between Art Club, Key Club, and doing about average in classes, but I missed out on a lot of opportunities that could have been really helpful in college.

How to Prep for College When Still in High School

For some background, I took some computer classes, honors (suppose they could be AP), and math classes to help move me along faster in my major, I wasn't completely unprepared. I also couldn't decide my major until mid-second semester, it helped I started at a community college. Pretty much, everyone's high school experience was totally different, but through my experiences these are all thugs I did or believe would help current high school students preparing for college.

Diversify your skills

Being in high school is the perfect time to try something new, you're not in a specific field and you have opportunities to take electives free. Even if You know what you want to do, major in your freshman year, diversifying your skills and experiences gives you more to add to your resume and maybe you find something your passionate about.

Like me, I knew I wanted to become a CEO of a big company my freshmen year, but there's many different areas I didn't even consider. Media, local, music, pretty much any industry you can think of. In high school I took music theory, art, web design, piano, and business alongside my required classes, and I still talk about my experiences in those classes and sports today during a lot of my interviews.

That leads me to my next tip…

JOIN A TEAM OR CLUB AND ACTUALLY INVEST YOURSELF IN IT

Don't just show up to practices, take the time outside of school to get better at whatever you're doing. Like me, what I'd practice outside of school were things I fell head over heels for, gained lessons/friends for life, and talked about in college essays or interviews.

Sports may not even everyone's thing, I enjoyed watching but being in a wheelchair I was unable to participate. When I was still able to walk fairly well, I played softball, karate, dance class; I played in outside leagues/classes but never felt like I loved playing. Competitive sports weren't my thing, but I didn't play sports in high school for health reasons.

Art club was about showing your artistic personality. When you spends hours and hours with people showing their personality and helping each other you make lifelong friends. I would recommend School clubs like this one to any student wanting to show their art and leadership skills.

As for the college connection, all my college essays were written about my experience with Art club and Key club. All those questions as in, "how did you handle times when you felt angry or upset?" are east to give details about when you have easy memories to access. Leadership questions were a piece of cake when you show it through your work or in a group.

LOOK FOR HIGH-SCHOOL LEVEL INTERNSHIPS

I never did this mostly because I didn't know they existed when I was in high school, really take advantage of these offers and go for it! Most of these internships require no experience, making them perfect opportunities to try something you maybe interested in at a professional level.

I'm not a good source to be versed in internships outside of writing and communications, do some googling and you'd find great resources. If you're going into a major like Communications or Journalism, I would definitely recommend checking out these programs:

• 2018 High School Internships
• Journalism Intern Jobs
• Communication Internships

START A PORTFOLIO

Not a lot of majors can do this, but if your work makes a finished product, save it! Add it to a folder (even if it's a online folder) or put it on a website then you'll be able to share it.

TAKE CLASSES AT YOUR COMMUNITY COLLEGE

It requires time and money, but I seriously recommend taking classes at the local community college while in high school.you don't have to repeat what classes you take which is really helpful when you're taking as many credits as possible to graduate in 4 years.

To be honest, the 4-year college versions of the classes weren’t very hard and offered a great buffer between my communications classes, but the real benefit of taking community college classes is that they’re shorter (6 weeks vs a semester), cheaper, and they free up time in your schedule for more interesting classes.

TALK TO PEOPLE AT YOUR PROSPECTIVE COLLEGES

If you know the college you want to go too, great! If not, learn as much as possible about the school's you're applying to before you accept. You don't learn much from the college website, and the best way to gain advice is asking the students who attend.

I would google the college bloggers who attend the college you're interested in, they would most likely have posts written to help you! I get emails every week from prospective AU students asking about how I like Tuscaloosa, what the workload is like, and whether I like my major, and I’m happy to help them out. Bloggers are super friendly and almost always willing to lend a helping hand!

START A BLOG

I’m a little biased here, although when I say starting a blog was one of the best decisions of my life. This blog has helped me pay my rent, meet incredible friends, and connect with companies I never imagined working with. It’s also the project I talk about in about every interview, and several recruiters have specifically told me they think that this experience diversifies me as a candidate! I’ve found several posts on starting a blog, so if that sounds like something you’re interested in, check these out:

• Why You Should Start A Blog In College (or high school!)
• How To Start A Blog
• How To Start Making Money Blogging

If you have any questions about my high school or college experience, feel free to ask in the comments or send me an email!

7 Twitter Accounts Every College Student Should be Following

Being a soon-to-be college student, I don't need to tell you that Twitter is just for fun or friends anymore. These days, we use it for everything- sharing things with friends, networking, news, and yes, to look at funny animal pictures and keep up with our favorite celebrities.

7 Twitter Accounts Every College Student Should be Following

Why should being a college student be any different?

Easy - it shouldn't .

Where you're just starting to look at schools or already in a school, adding these accounts to your feed for tips you won't seem to find anywhere else.

@cnnbrk

Twitter bio: Breaking news from CNN Digital. Now 55M strong. Check @cnn for all things CNN, breaking and more.

CNN Breaking New brings the fastest news on Twitter. It breaks quicker here than any other CNN sources, which is great when writing a paper.

@HuffPostCollege

I'd recommend following this account to any student. This account keeps followers up to date with the latest college news stories, nationwide. They also tweet about handling different situations students find themselves in. This is a must-follow for all students!

@"Your School"

As a student, you should always be following your school. Following your schools Twitter account keeps you up to date and informed about things such as: school closings, events, and deadlines to add or drop classes.

@motivation

I don't know about you, but I find College life is just as stressful as it is fun. Motivation tweets different quotes from successful people. Follow this account, and you might read a quote someday that just might motivate you to get out of bed and make an early morning Monday class.

@TweetMyJobs

If you're an upperclassmen getting ready to enter the world, you could benefit from following Tweet My Jobs. This account tweets job openings in different fields, in areas all over the United States. Get a step ahead of your competition by being the first to hear about job openings that you're qualified for.

@CNN

As a communications major, I've been taught to understand the importance of being media-literate. If you want to be successful in life, you have to know what's going on in the world. I follow CNN because it brings me news from all around the world. Who says you have to watch the news or read the paper to keep yourself informed? You're going to read tweets off of your TL all day anyway, so you might as well read some news too.

5 of My Favorite College Bloggers Everyone Should be Following!

Blogging today is really popular. It seems like everyone either wants a blog or has one and it can be about anything. There are blogs out there for fitness, beauty, fashion, food, travel, cooking, kittens, video games, etc. Name a topic. There’s a blog about it.

Some blogs are about nothing in particular, and are just meant to be fun reads and updates on a person’s life. No matter what your favorite blog topics are, you should check out this list on five of my favorite college blogs out there run by college students. Are you inspired yet?

5 of My Favorite College Bloggers Everyone Should be Following!

Life As A Dare

This blog is ran by Rebecca Lindenbach. She discusses my different topics like college, relationships, faith, and more! The 21 year old psychology grad helps or college student through her experiences as a graduate student and newlywed. As her blog is titled "Life As A Dare" she challenges her followers to, "Challenge yourself, find your purpose, and pursue it with all your heart."

The Swirl Blog

Ran by best friends Gabby and Hannah, "The Swirl Blog" discusses everything from college, lifestyle, travel, etc. Gabby is a junior studying biology, while enjoying "brunch, Birks, and no iced white mochas." Hannah is also a junior who is studying chemical engineering. Her motto is, "You're never fully dressed without a monogram." They may not be at the same college, they constantly collaborate to bring their readers new and interesting posts other college students totally relate too.

Chase the Write Dream

Ran by Tori Canonage, "Chase the Write Dream" talks about millennial life, college & career, healthy eating, and so much more! Tori is a millennial with a bachelor's degree in human services and a masters degree in psychology. She's passionate about helping college students and twenty-somethings find their place in the world.

Dani Dearest

Ran by Dani, a 20 year old college junior, and offers college advice; including fitness, study, and organization tips. "Dani Dearest" began as a small blog, and grown to become an empowering community with many followers. In her "about" section, Dani expresses that she uses her blog to share her thoughts on college, and cope with her anxiety. Dani's posts on college will definitely be helpful to other students.

Sara Laughed

Ran by Sara, a writer, an aspiring programmer, and she lives in the Netherlands. She offers posts in college, being an adult , world , etc. She studied religion at Wellesley College, spent her junior year at Oxford and recently got her degree December of 2016. She uses her blog to share her thoughts on college, and the little in betweens in life. Her posts in all areas of life are very helpful to others.

Things I Learned as a College Freshman

Being a college freshman is quite difficult. It’s a new environment, new students, and you have to make new friends. Going into college freshman year is scary. Anyone who tells you anything otherwise is either lying to you. It is fine to admit that you’re a little bit terrified of new situations. Visiting somewhere where you know nobody is bad in itself, but when you’re being dropped off there and told “see you in three months!” you suddenly realize just how alone you are.

10 things I learned my freshman year:

I just finished my freshman year and I learned so much. There is so much that I didn’t know going into college because nobody told me. I had unrealistic expectations and unnecessary worries. I compiled this list of things that I wish somebody would have told me before I entered my freshman year of college.

• Freshman fifteen

I never done this, I can’t say how great or how much everyone should do this. Although, just because no one says rude things or nags you doesn’t mean you should make good, healthy choices every day. You’re sitting at a desk all day, in front of a laptop, and then sitting in class listening to lectures when you finally get to venture out from behind your desk.

Staying healthy in college is even more important than it was in high school for most of us.

You don’t need to do much–but even if you start small by eating healthy lunches and breakfasts instead of just having pancakes and heavy pastas. When you’re doing a bunch of readings you don’t really need to take notes on, why not try to do some of them while walking on an incline on the treadmill? This year you have a chance to decide who you will become, so please take steps to make sure that you become a healthy person. Maybe not a crazy health nut, but at least stay in shape. Treat yourself right and opt for grilled chicken over pizza every now and then!

• Start a study group.

I learned so much from my friends, we incorporated professional help a few times. Discussing and experiencing studying with friends can not only make studying so much easier but it’s fun too. Discussing and explaining what you’re learning helps commit it to memory far more effectively than mindlessly reading from a textbook. But be careful to study with friends who will be focused on studying, you can have a social hour after your exam.

• You have a chance to start over.

This is really not emphasized enough. I went to a medium-sized university in Alabama after being a small-town country girl for my entire life. University allowed me to completely switch how people saw me–instead of being that small-town girl, I got to be Nichole, a college woman who’s funny, hard working, and a go-getter.

You don’t need to hold on to what you were in high school. This is your chance to become the person that you’ve always dreamed of being–because no one knows who you are! That anonymity is honestly the best gift you can be given, because it allows you to have choice. So embrace it.

• Go to class.

There have been studies that prove going to class is linked with higher grades, not shocking but you’d be surprised how many students make a habit of skipping class. It’s just an hour or two out of your day, one that you or your parents are paying about 50 dollars a class for you to attend, lets not let that money go to waste!

• Call your family.

I know you’re super busy and sometimes it slips your mind, but I can promise you that your parents and grandparents would love to hear from you every now and then.

• Explore!

You are lucky enough to be exposed to a whole new city, state, or in some people’s cases – country! There is so much to see on campus and in the surrounding towns, it’d be a shame to miss out. If your school has one, I’d highly recommend trekking out to the arboretum, University of Illinois has a gorgeous one!

• Create a resume.

If you haven’t needed one yet, I can assure you that you’ll need one soon. When you’re a freshman you can still put all of those high school achievements and leadership positions on there, so take advantage of those while you still can!

• Your syllabus is there for a reason.

Read it, reference it, worship it. At the beginning of every semester your professors will hand you a packet that tells you step by step how to pass their class, yet so many students ignore it. As soon as I got all of my syllabi second semester I copied all of my upcoming due dates into my planner and simplified my life so much.

• Make friends with everyone you can.

BSWs, the cooks in the dining halls, your dorm’s security officers, and the list goes on. Not only is it just a nice thing to do, but they are from your campustown, they can tell you about all of the best places on and around campus and many of them have some pretty great stories to tell.

• Meet your professors.

Professors are people too, and most people are pretty nice. But they are far more likely to go above and beyond for someone that they already know – so don’t wait until you’re in trouble to meet them. If the end of the semester approaches and you’re not doing so hot, chances are they’ll be more willing to help you out if they recognize that you’ve come to office hours and you participate in class.

That’s all that I have for you today! Did I miss anything? Let me know what your best tips are for college students! Thanks for reading!

8 [More] Things to let Go of after High School

Hey there! Getting through high school is the easy part. But what about after graduation? Most students are actually excited about get out into the world. The problem is they still act like they did all throughout high school. So, I decided to write a sequel post, with 8 more thing to let go of in order to have a better college experience.

high school drama

When you’re in high school, and know most everyone in school, it’s a lot easier to get involved or start drama. Everyone has gossip about something or someone. It’s important to let this go once you graduate. Remember, when making new friends no one likes someone all about drama. Gossiping about others only leads to trouble. Its always most important to never start drama with a roommate or others in your dorm. I’m high school it never mattered because you never lived with people you caused drama about. In college however, you don’t want to cuz drama with your roommate because that could ruin your housing situation.

This is very important if people from your  hometown go to the same college. That means you’re more than likely to know things about them they wouldn’t like others to know. Leave them be to recreate themselves and hopefully they will leave you be also. Don’t start or cause drama in college at all, it’s just mean and very basic. I don’t mean to always be nice, but don’t get involved in any kind of unnecessary drama in school.

Fear of being alone

College is all about trying new things, while figuring out who you are as a person. Don’t be afraid to do your own thing or self-conscious about it. I struggle with this still, you might throughout college. I hate going anywhere by myself (even in class the first day), you just have to push yourself. You have to try new things with friends or even to make friends. Be willing to go out of your comfort zone. Try going to karaoke, or rock climbing. Maybe you’ll find something to love! After high school, you can try many things you never thought you’d get too. Don’t let fear keep you from making new memories. Also never put yourself in danger. Know when fear holds you back or when it keeps you safe.

Conventional meal times

These don’t exist in college. In high school, you usually had lunch between 11 and noon for an hour or so. That’s not how college works you don’t get a long lunch or maybe your schedule does not allow for lunch. Gone are the days of three square meals. Welcome the days of “it’s 9 p.m… have you eaten dinner?” “Um… I ate a bag of chips like two hours ago?” Most of my professors allow students to eat in class unless your class is in the computer lab.

Toxic people

Don’t be friends with someone just because it is convenient. This applies to any one, anywhere, at any time (home, significant others, new college buddies, etc.). Don’t ever feel like you have to hold on to anyone because you’re afraid of being lonely. if people in your circle are causing drama, don’t stay with them! One of the best things I did in college on Facebook was unfriend toxic people and drama starters. Letting go of college friends can be harder, because of living within close proximity. Don’t feel like you have to ban anyone, but don’t be friends with people who make you unhappy.

High school clothing

Everyone needs to let this go. Every piece of clothing you have received from your high school, (clubs, events, etc.) need to be removed from your closet. You buy about 10+ t-shirts within the first month or so, meaning you don’t need to bring the ones from. high school. Getting up in the morning at college, it’s a struggle to even put a bra on, let alone a reasonable/normal/dare-I-say-flattering outfit. This also applies to outfits that are weather appropriate; I can’t count how many days there was snow on the ground and I was in shorts. This becomes a fact of life.

Another thing I highly recommend not wearing sweats or pajama pants to class. College is a place where you are preparing to go into the professional workforce, and your professors are those who will write you recommendations in the future. Make a good impression, and always wear decent clothes. This will positively benefit your future.

Bad habits

In high school, is the easiest time to be able to handle your money. For those who drive you were paying for your own gas. Most students have a full-time summer job, and your savings went towards college. Then, everything changed. your paying for books, school supplies, and food, as well as gas, and the remaining amount of tuition. You have way more financial responsibility than before. You’ll soon figure out you will need a job to keep up with expenses. When you move off campus, you’ll need money to pay electric, internet, rent, insurance, etc.

Why do I tell you all this? You need to realize you need to handle your money good. For those still in high school, save as much as possible before getting into college. You will most likely think you have a lot of money, but it will be gone very fast. Be careful with your spending, utilize your dining plan, and you don’t need Starbucks every day.

It can be easy to spend without thinking when you’re in high school, but that has to change when you’re in college. It’s time to start thinking about savings, and budgeting, and bills. Let go of your frivolous attitudes towards money if you want to be a well adjusted adult in college!

College is not job training!

Most high school students definitely believe this and don’t think to let go of this thought. They only think college basically trains them for a ob. They dislike taking anything unrelated to their future position. This is really sad, especially for those who attend a Journalism/Communications school.College is so much more than job training – they are supposed to shape you, teach you how to think for yourself, and make you into the person who you want to be for the rest of your life. The classes unrelated to my major are required for any type of a degree and they are they ones in which I learned the most about myself. Viewing college as job training mean you will never truly be experiencing college to the fullest degree. College is your chance to truly explore who you want to be – not only teach you how to do your chosen area.

Being judgmental

When you’re in high school, it is easy to be set in your ways and judgments. Your friends and family probably agree with you a lot, so your never really challenged. Going to college does that. Even going to a small private school, you are (hopefully), exposed to people with different beliefs than you, and lives other type of lies. Let go of your judgments, and accept people who are different, and that’s okay. Being judgmental of those who do/don’t have sex, drink, worship something different, etc. will only make you seem mean or rude.

You don’t have to change yourself, although be open to accepting others as they are, without judgement. I don’t mean you can’t stand up for yourself or what you believe in, but you shouldn’t force your beliefs or opinions on others. College is about acceptance, so let go of your judgments.

CONCLUSION

I hope that this list of eight more things to let go of after high school can help you! It’s so important to have the right mindset in college, and way too easy to hold on to negative emotions! It’s important to realize that even as a senior in college, I have yet to let all of these things go. I am still learning, and growing. I’m still working to become the best me I can be. Again, you can find the first 8 things here. What is something you wish you had let go of after high school? Let me know in the comments below!

12 Must-Have Apps for Every College Student

School is starting up again soon, and I’m already excited for it! I know it’s strange, but I absolutely love school. I love going to class, writing exams, researching, everything. A lot of that, though, is because I’ve found ways to make studying and student life easier and less stressful than they normally are.

A bit part of making life go smoothly is utilizing the tools available. I personally don’t like bringing my laptop to school unless it’s exam season, although I was getting into the online courses my very first year so I'm starting to feel better about bring my laptop. Since then, I’ve completely customized it to be my own super-school-tablet filled with amazing college apps, and I use it every day to take notes, write assignments, and make sure that I’m staying healthy! All things that are important in student life!

So here are the college apps that I personally love, and what have worked to keep me organized and good to go!

12 Must-Have Apps for Every College Student:

Istudiez Pro- This is my planner, it keeps track of my courses, homework, quizzes, exams, teachers, and etc. Are you having trouble remembering the deadlines of your projects or when your next test or quiz is? Sticking to deadlines is a problem that most college students face and seemingly can’t comply with. This app will allow you to input all your important activities in its calendar so that you will not miss another important deadline again.

Clear- How many to-do lists do you have in college? One for essays, another one for exams, the third one for parties… So, why not synchronize them all in order to get access from anywhere? Choose Clear for this goal, an application which syncs all your to-do lists with other devices and makes it easier for you to open them wherever you can find Internet access.

Chegg- We all know that a new semester means new textbooks. But don’t jump the gun and start purchasing all your books from the school bookstore – unless of course you want to throw tons of money down the drain. Instead, download the Chegg app which lets you search and rent any available textbooks…for much cheaper than actually buying the book! Plus, when you’re done with the book, you can put it back up on Chegg and rent it out to another lucky student.

Evernote- This app goes well with Clear and iStudiez Pro. In this app you can make a checklist, add reminders, take snapshots of notes written on classroom boards, or create a notebook directly on your phone. This app also has a market store that sells great school supplies!

Pandora- I love this app a lot, I'm always listening to music no matter what I'm doing. I love being able to listen to music close or related to a certain artist. If I studying for an exam or a final my go-to is classical music ( either like bach, mozart, etc). 

Groupon- Since college is expensive, and doing fun things usually requires spending some money, this app is a great way to save money. It offers hundreds of coupons. If you want to do an activity with friends, but can’t quite decide what to do, you can check this app and see if there are any great deals at places that sound fun. I had a friend who used a Groupon to get fondue with friends. I can’t have fondue, but it’s still awesome, and there are even better deals!

MyFitnessPal- Dining Hall food is fattening. There is a reason the freshmen 15 exists. There is also the fact that more people start drinking more or start eating more than usual because there are entire sections of the dining hall dedicated to cake, donuts, etc. There is also an increase in soda and coffee consumption because of the need for caffeine. All of these things may taste awesome, but are also pretty unhealthy. When I entered college, I desperately wanted to avoid the 15. I had two plans, first, I planned to lose 15 pants prior to starting college so that if I gained 15 pounds I would be my normal size. Or, second, I would simply watch what I ate, and work out more frequently. The second plan was the route I took. This app will help you monitor calories, workouts and the calories burned, and ensure that you’re body is remaining healthy.

Nike Training Club- Working out relieves all the stress that college puts you under. With the combined chaos of classes, homework, clubs, activities, etc; it can often be hard to find time to make it to the gym (unless you are an organized person who follows her schedule to the dot…). Nike Training Club offers equipment-less exercises and timed circuits that you can do right in your dorm room, no gym required. Sorry to break it to you, but now you’ve got NO excuses to not get your butt into gear.

Cram- Note cards are many people’s preferred way to study, but they’re also hard to keep track of. Cram is just the solution; allowing you to create your own custom flashcard decks or even searching for pre-created decks on your topic of study.

Easybib- Have you found yourself swamped with countless essays to write this semester? While there’s not an app to write the papers for you (at least not yet), there is one to automatically generate citations. EasyBib takes a picture of the ISBN/Barcode of the book and inputs the citation in MLA, APA or Chicago to your phone. You can then email the citations to yourself! No more losing easy points on papers because of citations.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary- It definitely doesn’t hurt to have a dictionary conveniently tucked away in your back pocket (or purse…or backpack – wherever you keep your phone). When you’re reviewing a lecture or reading a text book and you stumble across a word you don’t understand, just take out your phone and look it up. This is great for improving your vocabulary.

In Moment- This is a productivity app to help you stay focused in class and on school work. It helps you reduce your time in and on Social Media by 45% during your first week using this app. You are able to set limits and block Social Media, it rewires your digital habits by setting daily limits for Social Media usage, and blocks access when you're over the limit. You also get charts with time spent in all most popular Social Media.

These apps are my go-to ones, and they have made my college experience that much smoother! I hope they help you, too!

WHICH APPS WOULD YOU ADD? LET ME KNOW IN THE COMMENTS AND I MAY ADD THEM!