Bye for now

Well as you all know the semester is coming to a close as we finish up finals week! I hope everyone had a great semester, I know I did. This semester will definitely be one for the books. I can't believe I am already finishing my first semester of college... One down only seven more to go. Wow thats a little scary. It definitely seems like a long time but looking back to August, I never thought that time would fly by as fast as it did. We are almost out in the real world...Now thats an even scarier thought.

I am so happy I got to share my thought with all of you throughout my first semester of college! I will be signing off until Spring semester resumes in January. I hope you all have a wonderful break, you all deserve it!

Until next year,
Your fellow blogger,
Hannah Bellich :)

Studying

I don't know about you guys, but I have been studying all day for almost the past week.

What I've learned: College finals are no joke.

Going into finals I really didn't think it was going to be that big of a deal. Looking back at finals in high school... now that was a joke. I thought I would be okay just studying each subject for a couple of hours. Man I was wrong. I ended up dedicating about four entire days to math (120) and two to english. And when I say days, I mean the entire day... about 14 hours or so. I am just so thankful that I started studying earlier rather than later because that would have been a recipe for disaster.

TIP #1: Finals is not the time to procrastinate!

Now for a mistake I made... I started studying for math first because I anticipated that it would take me a lot longer than my other classes and I had a lot more information that I needed to cover. Well... I got a little carried away with math and ended up 'forgetting' about my other subjects. Saturday night I remembered I still had a bunch of english questions and notes I had to finish preparing for my final, which was today. So I ended up having to do most of my english in about two days and didn't feel as prepared as I could have.

TIP #2: Study your materials in the order that you have your finals!

I also decided that it would be a good idea to go out with my friends on friday night.. mistake number 2.I should have stayed in and studied on Friday because by Saturday I was already in 'weekend mode' and wanted nothing to do with my textbooks or highlighters.

After all we are here to go to school, so finals should be taken seriously! As long as you don't save your studying until the night before you will be fine! <--- future note to self.

I hope everyone survived finals week... and for all of you ladies out there that still have finals tomorrow..........Here's a little motivation!

Starbucks Update:

As you know from my previous blog, I recently got offered a job at Starbucks as a barista! Well I am currently on my third day of barista training.. and man oh man is it hard work. Going into training I knew I was going to have a lot to remember, but I never thought about each and every detail that goes into making the perfect latte, cappuccino, frappuccino, ect. Although I've had to learn a lot of information in the past three days, I am having a ton of fun! I am so thankful to have landed the job that I did. My manager, co-workers and my barista trainer are all very welcoming and helpful! I am so excited to get to work with great people and create new friendships.

The reason I am telling you about my awesome job is because I think it is important to plant yourself in your new town. If you are coming to Santa Barbara City College from out of city, out of state or even out of country, I think it is important (once you are settled) to get to know your town and become and active citizen in the community. You will meet people in class, in sports and in clubs, but by getting a job you will expand your friend group so much. It is so nice to know people from different crowds and backgrounds and also different age groups. My parents live 2,000 miles away so I definitely did feel lonely when I first got here, and like I had no one to turn to if i needed help with something. But now that I have met people through school, cheer and work, I have really begun to feel a sense of comfort here in Santa Barbara. I have someone I can turn to with any situation that may cross my path. I am very lucky. So not only has this job helped me get involved in the community, it has also helped me expand my peer group in an extremely positive way. I highly recommend it. If you obtain a job in something you would be interested in doing, you will meet people that share the same values as you, and maybe even the same passions and what better way to make everlasting friendships!

STRESS

Stress.

I'm sure all of you college students know exactly what I'm talking about. Maybe stresses come along with college. Not only do you have tons of homework to worry about, but many of us also have the added stress of being away from home for the first time.

Today in my personal development class, we talked about the stresses that college kids encounter and also ways to deal with these stressors.

Some of the stressors we came up with:

External-

• School/Homework/Finals
• Money/Budgeting
• Determining Class Schedules
• Balancing Work and School
• Worrying About the Future
• Worrying About Where to Transfer
• Roommate/Housing Issues

Internal-

• Perfectionism
• Negative Self-Talk
• Trying to Impress Others

These are just a select few stressors that many college students inquire. If you have any stress about any of these things, know you are not alone!

Now a few ways you can deal with these stresses:

• Yoga
• Exercising
• Hanging out with friends
• Reading a book
• Painting (This is my ultimate de-stressor!)
• Taking a bath
• Meditation
• Going to the beach
• Enjoying nature-go on a hike
• LAUGHING!
• Breathing-Take a deep breath!
• Take a break
• Remove yourself from the stressful situation for a while
• Ultimately doing something you are passionate about will help relieve stress

I hope this helps relieve some of your stress, especially with upcoming finals!

Job Hunting

As some of you may know, I went to Bakersfield a couple weekend ago to visit my best friend. While I was there I realized that i desperately need a job. My best friend works at a salon and lets just say I was shocked by how much her paycheck was! This inspired me to open my laptop and do a little job searching when I got home. 

I have always thought it would be awesome to work at Starbucks.. and no not just because I'm a "typical white girl" haha (although I'm not going to lie, I do love those pumpkin spice and peppermint mocha lattes. Starbucks just seems to be a great work environment and they also offer so many employee benefits. So I logged on to Starbucks.com and made a profile. Before I knew it I found myself applying to all of the local Starbucks. Now at the end of the application, they notify you that even though you have applied to several Starbucks locations, it doesn't mean they are currently looking for employees. After I read that, I was a bit discouraged because I had just spent over an hour answering several questions and filling out information. I closed my laptop and decided I would continue my job search tomorrow.

The next morning, I was walking out of class when I checked my phone and noticed a missed call and voicemail. I had about five minutes before my next class so I decided to listen to it, and guess who it was?! The manager of one of the Starbucks I applied too! I was ecstatic! After class I called the manager back and we set up an interview for a couple days later.

As you can imagine I was very excited that I got a call back but I was also beginning to get very nervous about the interview! Over the next couple of days I did some research on Starbucks mission statement and the background of the company. I also practiced interview questions with my family and friends. (My personal development teacher would be very proud!) Before I knew it, it was Thursday afternoon and I was on my way to the interview!

When I got there the line was out the door, so the manager asked if I would wait just a couple of minutes until the line died down. I agree and sat anxiously waiting for her. When she finally took a seat across from me I felt relieved, at this point I just wanted the interview to be over, as I sat there debating my interview answers for about fifteen minutes. After the first question though, I felt much more relaxed! The manager was a very personable and laid back person, so naturally I felt relaxed as well. At the end of the interview so told me she was very impressed with my interview skills and actually offered me the job right on the spot! I was beyond happy! 

My advice to you: If you have a job interview, do your research! She was very impressed and surprised that I knew so much about the Starbucks Corporation. I would also advice you to practice you interview and make sure you feel comfortable with your answers! That really helped me to relax once one interview had begun!

Best of luck in your job searches and interview processes! And come visit your new Starbucks Barista! :)

Registering for classes

Registering for classes ranks up there with one of the more stressful parts of college. This past week the anticipation has been killing me. For those of you who aren't familiar with how college class registration goes-you are assigned a specific date and time to register. Registration is done in blocks so your friends could get to register two weeks before you do... Which is why I have been stressing out. There are only so many classes available for each offered course.. and of course I was assigned one of the last registration dates. English and math classes are by far the hardest courses to get into. I have been checking back on the website to monitor the classes and very time I check back more and more classes are full.

...So I had to come up with a game plan for tomorrow. My registration time is 1:00 pm tomorrow.. which is also worst case scenario because many people have registration at 8:00 am tomorrow. OH well. Anyways I am planning on logging on around 12:50 and monitoring the classes. Tonight I made three possible schedules that would work for me.. Which is going to be very helpful. I wrote down the CRN number to each course I hope to enroll in so that I can just type in the number right when I get to the website. The reason I am telling you all of this is to give you ideas for when it comes time for your registration! Always register as soon as you can. Putting it off could land you quite a few years at a city college because you wouldn't be getting all of the nessecary courses done in the most efficient time manor.

Best of luck to everyone in the process of registering...

May the odds be ever in your favor.

What you need to know about social media in college

Social Media is one of the most 'famous' way of communication and connection these days .

With the exaggerated use of social networking, complications and consequences are bound to occur. Yes, social media is supposed to be a fun and interesting way connect with friends–however, it can be tempting adopt bad habits through social media and may ultimately result in many consequences.

College students: remember, it is not out of the ordinary for future employers to ask for or look up your social media accounts!

Here are a few tips that I came across while researching social media sites for my personal development class project:

 1. Photos: 

Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are all great ways to connect with friends and family. However, these networking sites are also prone to inappropriate images. These inappropriate pictures are things future employers definitely do not want to see on your profile-these are the things that could contribute to you getting the job vs. being looked over for your lack of professionalism.

2. Would your mom be okay with your posts?
Social Media is very informal, but that shouldn't give anyone the impression that it is okay to display inappropriate things online. My motto for this would be-not to post anything that you wouldn’t want your mom to see. You may laugh, but this could be a real lifesaver down the road.  If you wouldn’t want to show your mom your posts, why would you risk a potential employer possibly seeing something that could put your future employment at risk?

3. Spellcheck
Proofread your work. Avoid your grammatical errors. If you want to be taken seriously, edit your work seriously. Spell check is not always reliable: Just because it isn’t detecting any spelling errors doesn’t mean there aren’t any grammatical errors. Be wary of misusing words like “there” and “their,” and “your” and “you’re.” If future employers do look at your profile on a social media site and see many grammatical errors, it may cause them to overlook you.

4. Be nice
Do not attack people on social media or write extremely negative posts, especially about your boss and your company-even thug you may not think your employer checks social media, they most likely do. People have been fired because of posts they had on social media.

5. Be awesome at LinkedIn
Make a LinkedIn profile and actually use it. LinkedIn can connect you with people in the field you may want to work in someday. LinkedIn can help you connect with others in the profession you may want to pursue someday. Most importantly, employers love to see that you have an online presence and a professional one at that. 

6. Watch your language
Refrain from inappropriate language on your social media sites. Employers will question whether you can communicate in a professional manner. Employers and companies want to be represented properly; don’t give them a reason to overlook you.

7. It's all about your bio
Social media networks like Twitter and Instagram display a little bio when someone clicks on your profile. Choose what you say in your bio wisely- it gives you another opportunity to display your personality. 

8. Internet is forever
Once something is out on the Internet, it is there forever. Yes, you may press 'delete' when you realize you post something you shouldn’t have, but it doesn’t change the fact that it is out there. You are unaware of how many people saw your questionable post before you removed it–and we all know about that handy-dandy operation that is on many smart phones, screen shot. It only takes one second for someone to screen shot anything they have seen on their smart phone. 

JUST REMEMBER: ALWAYS THINK BEFORE YOU POST!

Traditions

Lately I have been missing my family a lot. Not only am I excited to go home for both Thanksgiving and winter break, but I am also excited to carry out the many traditions that I have over the holidays with my family.

On thanksgiving, my family and I all wake up in the morning, flip on the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and begin cooking. We all participate in the cooking events. My dad is usually in charge of the turkey and stuffing because, in all reality my mom, sister and I want nothing to do with all of that raw meat. My mom usually helps with the veggies  and crescent rolls, my sister likes making the potatoes and I love making the dessert, pumpkin pie! Yum! My personal favorite thing to eat on Thanksgiving is the cranberry sauce-yes I know that is very strange.. haha. After dinner we usually head to the movie theater to watch a christmas movie to begin the christmas spirit. This year, since my family lives in Minnesota and is closer to my extended family, we are going to have a few more people than just my immediate family-I am excited for the minor change in tradition!

Our Christmas traditions start a bit sooner than December 25th. Usually within the first couple of weeks of December we begin decorating the house with all of the classic christmas decor such as wreaths and lights. Although I won't be in town for the decorating this year, I know I will come home to a beautifully Christmas-y house. About a week before Christmas we head to the tree farm to pick out a Christmas tree for the living room. For the past six years we did this in about 40 degree California weather and we still complained about it being cold. Im not so sure how this part of our tradition is going to go this year, being that it's most likely going to be below zero and snowing in Minnesota.. but what great memories! We have the tree tied on top of the car and we head home. (After my dad tries to pull in the garage with the tree on top of the car still, as he usually does, forgetting its up there-creating some more memories and laughter) :) We put the tree on the stand and spend the rest of the night decorating it and drinking hot cocoa. Christmas Eve: On Christmas Eve we always attend a Christmas church service and then go to dinner. After dinner we get to open one present-usually christmas pajamas-and off to bed we go. The next morning we circle up around the tree and distribute presents-at this point my sister and I usually get in a fight because she is terrified of opening up gifts in front of people so she tries to hide.... but once we coax her into opening the gifts everything is fine! After presents and pictures my dad usually makes a pancake or crepe breakfast and we spend the rest of the day hanging out with the family and enjoying all of our gifts!

Traditions bring you closer together. The actual traditions aren't the real important things, but it's why you make these certain things a tradition that matter. Traditions are a trigger, a reason to get together. They get you in the right mind set and help you focus on the good things, the things that truly matter. You reminisce on traditions, they bring back memories and times of laughter. Without traditions life would not be as fulfilled.

Home

This weekend I went back to Bakersfield (where I moved here from) to visit my best friend, Parris. Before this weekend, I hadn't been back to Bakersfield since I moved to Santa Barbara three months ago. It was so great seeing my best friend again! Reunited and it feels so good! We kind of lost touch over the summer because we were both very busy and were each going through some things of our own, but of course we still remained friends. When I went back this weekend it was just like old times! We ate out at my favorite Bakersfield restaurants, got our nails done, went shopping, went in her jacuzzi, went on a bike ride and of course, we had to do some partying... haha.We shared so many laughs and reminisced on so many memories and it has really brought to my attentions that Parris will be a life long best friend. No matter where our paths take us, I know that we will always have a special place in our hearts for each other.

This weekend also brought another thing to my attention. When I was driving into Bakersfield, it felt like I was going home. I basically grew up in Bakersfield for the majority of my teenage years. However, as I've said in previous blogs, my parents and sister no longer live in bakersfield. They now live in Minnesota because of a job transfer. Moving on, today as I was driving back into Santa Barbara I caught myself saying, "It will be nice to go home and relax tonight before class tomorrow". Now I am sitting here thinking to myself, and I have come to the conclusion that I am one of the luckiest girls in the world. Why? Because I have three amazing places to call home, each with amazing people. How many people get to say the have a home at the beach, a home with the best family in the world, and another home with their very best friend and her awesome family? Not many. I am very blessed, and very thankful for the great life I have!

"Home is where your heart is"

Thank you again Winders family for having me this weekend!

~Until next time

Why I would recommend SBCC

As the semester comes to a close, I thought I'd share a few things that makes Santa Barbara City College better than any other city college around, in personal opinion.

As most of you may know, SBCC was rated #1 city college in the U.S. last year. My experience here at SBCC has only confirmed that statement. For starters, i believe SBCC has the best view compared to any college out there. I mean what other college has their football stadium almost directly on the beach? Not to mention the miraculous view that you get while watching a football game. If you have a break in between classes the beach is always kindly inviting you to go soak up some sun or study in the sand.

Another thing that I absolutely love about SBCC is the professors. They are all (at least from my experience so far) so dedicated and willing to help. I have had to miss a few days this semester for various reasons, but all of my professors have been very helpful and accommodating with make up work, ect. All of my professors, thus far, have also been very willing to set up one-on-one appointments to help me set up a study guide for a test, or help me if I am struggling in a subject. In high school, I can honestly say that I did not receive the proper help that I needed to succeed, but here at SBCC I can say the complete opposite. Every professor here, seems to want to be here and is very encouraging to each and every student!

The last thing I want to add is that even though SBCC is a city college/community college, it has far exceeded my expectations. I never feel like I am at a little community college. SBCC offers so much more than I have ever seen offered at any other city college. Maybe going to a university isn't right for you at the moment, but you also don't want to be stuck in your town going to a community college, SBCC is definitely the happy medium. SBCC offers a few choices of dorm style living, and the campus is far from the typical city college campus!

I highly recommend this college, it has helped me grow in so many ways and I have only been here for one semester! I can't wait to see what else is to come here at Santa Barbara City College!

24 things I wish I knew in high school

Earlier today I was looking back at my high school experience. I thought of all the great times I had through out those four years, but I also thought of all the things that I let bug me that have no significance to my life today.

24 Things I Wish I Realized in High School:

1. That zit on your cheek-it seriously does not matter
2. Skipping class one time will not ruin your life, nor your GPA
3. The boy your trying so hard to impress will mean nothing to you in a year
4. Bring coffee to school
5. Bring a snack too, who cares if people can hear you eating in class
6. Being popular isn't something that will ever define who you are
7. Appreciate your teachers and accept the help they offer you
8. Doing or not doing drugs doesn't make you cooler than anyone else
9. Same goes for drinking
10. Participate in school events
11. Wear sweatpants everyday
12. Or...wear a dress everyday
13. Wear what ever makes you feel comfortable
14. Talk to the kid sitting alone; it may not change your life, but it may drastically change theirs
15. Utilize the library
16. Don't wait 20 minutes to text someone back just to seem cool
17. Tell your friend how much you love them
18. Cherish your FREE textbooks
19. That fight you had with your mom really isn't that big of a deal
20. Don't let your desire for a romantic relationship hold you back from creating strong friendships
21. Help the confused freshman; remember how much you would have appreciated that help.
22. Its okay to cry
23. Its okay to have a bad day 
24. Remember that life does go on

I think its important to go back and realize that all these minor complications we faced throughout are high school years really do seem silly now. Acknowledging these things can really help us make the best of our college years by moving on from them and not returning to these "mini crisis-end of the world" habits! To make the most out of college we can't sweat the small irrelevant things. We should only focus on what we desire to accomplish in these four years, because from what I'm told, these four years go by even quicker than high school did. So keep that in mind :) 

Dating Violence

Recently in my English class, we were asked to write a research paper-the prompt: Choose a topic that interests you and.. well.. research it and begin your paper. My initial thought was oh great, this is going to be difficult, considering there isn't really any guidelines as to what the professor is looking for. However, I ended up googling research paper topics and "Domestic Violence" really stood out to me. I needed to narrow the topic down a bit, so I decided to be more specific and retitle my paper, "Teenage Dating Violence". I thought this would be a great topic to research because I believe that dating violence is a growing concern, especially with all of the new technology and social networking. In addition, teenage dating violence is sometimes over looked, which can prove to have a very dangerous outcome.

Throughout researching Teenage dating violence, I learned many things I had not know about domestic violence. One of the scariest things I found out, was that many dating violence situations start out like any "normal" relationship. Dating violence has a common pattern between the perpetrator and the victim. There are three stages to dating violence-the tension phase, the violence phase and the honeymoon phase. During the tension phase, the victim might realize that the potential perpetrator is showing signs of being overly possessive, or lashing out frequently in anger. The violence phase can consist of physical, emotional, or sexual abuse. Ending the cycle is the honeymoon phase where the perpetrator will apologize excessively and in turn the victim will give in and forgive him or her. This is dating violence is labeled as a cycle, because it can occur many times before someone realizes that the relationship may be unhealthy.

The reason I decided to share this is because many people, especially us college kids, don't know how to recognize if a relationship is unhealthy. Most dating violence begins with name calling and continuos put downs, followed by extreme possessiveness, ultimately ending in physical violence of some sort. Being able to distinguish what is healthy behavior versus unhealthy behavior in regards to your significant other is critical in preventing dating violence.

If you are experiencing an type of dating violence, you can call the dating violence helpline at
1-800-799-7233 

Acknowledging Achievements

When I decided to become a lifeguard, the first step to achieving this was to begin water safety and rescue training. I had not realized that this training was going to be as vigorous as it was. During the class, about nine other high schoolers and myself, spent four days straight in training. We were expected to be there from nine in the morning until five that night. Half of the day was spent in the pool, practicing rescues and treading water for ridiculous amounts of time, while the other half of the day was spent inside learning CPR and first aid. During these couple of days, I realized that being a lifeguard was an extremely big responsibility. Not only are you in charge of watching hundreds of kids horsing around in the water, but you also always have to be ready to perform the most severe of rescues at any given time. At the end of the training, we had to be evaluated on our water rescue skills as well as our CPR skills and our knowledge of administering oxygen. At the end of the evaluation, I remember being very nervous, but when they called my name, I walked into the conference room with all the confidence that I could portray at the time. When they told me that I had passed with flying colors, I had the greatest sense of accomplishment and thought to myself "If I could accomplish this without even being a swimmer, I can do almost anything I put my mind to!"

Now you're probably wondering why I told you a story about now of my most successful achievements. Well as I am learning in my Personal Development class, it is so important to acknowledge points in your life when you feel a sense of accomplishment-where you can feel great about something you achieved. For me, one of these moments includes completing the lifeguard training and also getting the job. Acknowledging your achievements can really boost your confidence and that is something I think is really important in society today.

If you plan on going to Santa Barbara City College, I highly recommend taking PD 110, even if you think you know what major you want to go into. I have learned so much about myself through the many personal assessments we have taken, and I have also discovered some possible majors and occupations that I am very interested in!

What a Weekend

This weekend my mom came to Santa Barbara to visit me all the way from Minnesota! Before this weekend, I hadn't seen her for about six weeks. I know many of you college students out there haven't seen your parents since school started and I really feel for you because me and my family are very close and being away from them for six weeks was hard.

Anyways, I had such a great time with my mom. We sure did squeeze a lot in. On friday when she got here, I picked her up from the airport and then we drove to Isla Vista so that I could show her that it really wasn't as crazy as she had imagined... (of course, we did drive through when It was day time... for a reason, haha). On our way back to Santa Barbara, we stopped to picked up some pumpkins to carve later in the weekend and do a little grocery shopping at Trader Joes. I highly recommend shopping for groceries at Trader Joes to all college students that have to cook for themselves. They offer a great variety of frozen single meals including enchiladas, lasagna, mac n cheese, pizza, raviolis, waffles.. basically anything you can think of. They also offer ready to eat, refrigerated chicken, which is a simple healthy add on to any salad or pasta dish.. not to mention it is delicious. Moving on, after we did some grocery shopping we stopped and ate at crush cakes. If you live in Santa Barbara, or IV for that matter and you haven't tried crush cakes, you are definitely missing out. There is two crush cakes locations in Santa Barbara and one in Isla Vista. They have the best sandwiches, salads and of course cupcakes.. and they also have a few mexican dishes and breakfast items. I would recommend the Grilled cheese, it is to die for.

On Saturday, my mom got to come watch me cheer at the City College football game. It was so nice to be able to look up in the stands and see her cheering me on (Even though thats my job. Haha). It felt just like the good old times cheering for high school games-only 100 times better because we were in Santa Barbara and you look past the stadium and see the beautiful view of the ocean.

Today we went shopping on state and then went to go see the movie Ouija. It was a classic scary movie with the "not so good" acting, but I still had fun! After the movie I had to go drop her off at the airport :( It was hard to say good-bye to her, especially because she was only here for about two days, but the distance makes our time together that much more special. Only four more weeks until I go Home for Thanksgiving, yay!

If you haven't already started college, my advice to you would be to spend as much time as you can with your family. They are the people that will stick by your side no matter what may cross your path. They will always be the people you can count on. And if you are in college right now, my advice would be to cherish every moment you have with your family and let them know how much they are appreciated when they do come to visit or vice versa.

Remember: Family is forever and most friends soon become whatever ;)

Time Management

Lately, time management has been something that I have been lacking...
I think it might have something to do with the semester being half over and the fact that midterms are in full effect-meaning I have more studying to do than ever. My problem here is that I have so much homework and studying lying ahead of me, that the thought of starting the never ending process is grueling.

This past weekend I had full intentions of starting my homework and thought I would begin studying, that was until life got in the way and watching tv and hanging out with friends sounded much better than being secluded in books all day. So as you can predict, I got absolutely nothing done this weekend making for an extremely stressful week.

I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS.

I understand that everyone is going to go through this procrastination at some point so I've began to think of ways that I could have prevented this impossible, pile-up of a work load, while still being able to enjoy myself this weekend.

The first thing that came to mind was: "Why didn't you just wake up an hour or two earlier and get some homework done, so that you could enjoy the day out with friends while not letting your homework pile up?" Well I know the answer, because sleeping in on the weekends without setting an alarm is much more pleasurable. However, this is college and I am ultimately here to study, so some compromises have to be made if I want to enjoy time with friends and achieve good grades. So this coming weekend, yes I will be setting my alarm and getting that studying done before I have time to regret it.

Another thing I thought about was the fact that I spent more enough time watching pointless television when I could have been going over lecture notes or spending some time jotting down a few math problems. I remember saying I just don't have time for all this homework as I'm sitting on my bed flipping through channels. (Classic college student move, I know.) Needless to say, this weekend my TV will be off until I get a significant amount of homework done.

Priorities, priorities, priorities.

This weekend I learned that I really need to keep my priorities in mind and with that, I will have time to do both my school work and have time left over to hang out with friends. I'm glad I had a weekend where I put off all of my homework, because now I know I will never do that again!

Santa Barbara vs. Isla Vista

For all of you future Vaqueros: You probably have been faced with, or will face the decision of whether to live in Santa Barbara or Isla Vista. Now in my opinion, there are many things to take into consideration.

Are you the kind of person who likes to go home at night after a long day at school and relax, or would you rather go out and socialize to re-charge? If you would rather have quiet, relaxing week nights, I would definitely suggest living in Santa Barbara. Most nights, aside from the weekends are pretty chill and relaxed. However, if you love the social scene and re-charge your day by hanging out with crowds and meeting new people, I would say Isla Vista would be a better match for you. There is always something going on up there.

Are you good at managing your time? The reason I ask this is because Isla Vista is about 15-20 minutes from City College. If you are the type of person that roles out of bed 10 minutes before class, it is probably in your best interest to live in Santa Barbara. I know if I had an 8:00 a.m. class and lived in IV, I would never have the motivation to actually go to that class. So choose wisely because you are ultimately here to attend class.

And another thing that you need to realize: Even if you don't come to Santa Barbara a partier, that will most likely change once you get here. Santa Barbara and Isla Vista are filled with people who love to have a good
time. Coming into this school year, the last thing I though about was partying or "going out," but once you head over to IV or even attend a party on the mesa in Santa Barbara your views will quickly change. No, its not about going out and drinking. It's about socializing and meeting all kinds of new people. You DO NOT have to drink to have a good time. Just remember that.


Goodluck on your housing adventures. Whatever you decide will be an awesome choice :)

Isla Vista

Santa Barbara

Eating Healthy on a Budget

Moving away from home for the first time can be extremely difficult. We have so many things going on, that eating healthy is probably the last thing that is on our college-kid minds. Not to mention, there is an unlimited amount of unhealthy options available in college. Ordering pizza every night or grabbing a snack from the vending machine on the way to class may be quick and easy, but it could also lead to the infamous "freshman 15" and can also break the bank. However with a little planning, eating healthy during college can be affordable and convenient. 

On the go or in between classes? Instead of heading to the vending machine for a snack, pack some healthy snack options in your backpack. Pack a few different items to choose from, that way you have some options to choose from. If you live in housing that provides a meal plan, grab an extra piece of fruit at breakfast to carry with you through out the day. If your dining hall allows this, it is an easy, affordable way to keep fresh fruit on hand. Other budget friendly snack items might include granola bars, yogurt, nuts or string cheese.

In your dorm/in your apartment...

Although Ramen noodles and boxes of macaroni and cheese are easy to prepare and are considered affordable staples in a college students diet, they shouldn't be your main meals. Sure, it's okay to eat these common dorm foods every once in a while, but they don't provide you with enough nutrition to be your lunch and dinner every day. It is a good idea to keep a variety or more nutritious foods on hand in your dorm. A few good options include: carrots, fresh fruit, oatmeal, sandwich bread, deli meat, peanut butter, pre-cooked grilled chicken breast, brown rice, canned tuna and milk just to name a few. Eating healthier can also help prevent illness; something that is so easily transmitted in a scene such as college dorms.

All nighter? Pulling an all-nighter is exhausting but by properly fueling your body, you may be able to keep your energy levels up for a night full of studying. It might be tempting to go grab the entire carton of ice cream or order an entire pizza for yourself but you would benefit much more from a snack that will provide your with substantial energy, such as popcorn, trail mix or even a bowl of cereal. This will also save you money in addition to providing you will essential nutrients to help you stay focused.

Now I did just write an entire blog about how to eat "healthy" in college but this is just to add some healthy aspects into your diet. The overall healthiest diet, is one of balance. There will be some nights when you want to order Chinese food or pizza, or eat one too many cookies. There is no shame in that. Your body needs variety and after all we are college kids!

Oh Lorde

This weekend I went to see Lorde in concert! For those who aren't familiar, Lorde is the one who sings the previously overplayed song "Royals". I went with my friend Chynna, and we decided to rock the whole "Lorde" look, wearing all black and the like. Our seats were terrible, but we still had a blast.

While at the concert I realized something very important. Now let me remind you Lorde is a very, very unique individual and is sometimes though of a weird or strange. However, I recognized that she is so happy and confident with who she is, because she is her own type of strange and weird. She is herself and doesn't strive to be like someone she's not and because of that she has become successful in reaching her goals and achieving her dreams. 

I think this is a great thing for everyone to realize, especially college students! 

Being yourself:

Forget all you may think you know about yourself. Forget what holds you back. Die in each moment so that you can live in the next. If you must say your opinion, do so and move on. Don't remain in that moment. Define things, but don't let things define you. Don't try to please anyone by trying to be someone else-not your friend, not your enemy, not your teacher, no one. To be anything but yourself is to restrain life itself.

And remember everyone is their own type of weird; thats what makes the world such a great place!

Familiar Faces

This weekend I got to see some familiar faces! My tutor/family friend and her daughter, from my hometown (Bakersfield) came out to see me cheer at the City College football game! It is always nice to see familiar faces in college, especially people who mean so much to you.

To be honest, leaving Bakersfield wasn't all that hard for me. I had lived in many different places growing up. I got to experience the midwest being born in Illinois and moving to Michigan I got to experience the east coast when my dad had a job transfer to Virginia, and I ended up moving back to the midwest before my dad got transferred to Bakersfield, California. Because of all of the moves I had been through during my childhood I got to experience many different ways of life, I guess you could say. Although I had some great times in Bakersfield, I also went through some hard times and met a lot of people that weren't the best influences, making it easy for me to move on. However, there were a few people that I met in Bakersfield that really left footprints on my heart, and it has been hard to be a couple of hours away from them.

I was so excited to be reunited with a couple of those people this weekend! Before the game we went to breakfast at Savoy Cafe & Deli. It was delicious, I really recommend their yogurt and granola, along with their chocolate chip muffins! It was so great to get to see them, and I am so thankful to have people who will sit through an entire football game in 98 degree weather just to watch me cheer! Yes, I am pretty sure it got even hotter than 98 degrees on Saturday. After the game, we went to backyard bowls and talked and visited some more.

It was a great feeling to catch up with friends that I hadn't seen in a while. I am so grateful to have such amazing people in my life!

Thank you Beth and Emma for coming out to visit for the day! I had a ton of fun and can't wait to see you guys again!

College Life Balance

There are a million little things we are learning about being a college student right now. Names, faces, where we're going on campus along with little tips to survive the year, all of which stem from our experiences and mistakes. Along with these little lessons we are learning, we are also encountering much larger lessons within this first year.

I believe the biggest lesson that most of us are working through right now, and the lesson that will have the greatest influence on our future is the learning of balance in addition to responsibility. Within the first few weeks of college, many new responsibilities were sprung upon each and every one of us. Many of us now live in dorms or apartments and are away from our families for the first time. It takes time to learn, understand and handle all of these new responsibilities. We are considered adults in college and because of this we have to take care of ourselves. We are responsible for making sure we stay healthy and are getting adequate amounts of food and rest. We are responsible for cleaning up our rooms, doing dishes and doing laundry. --Doing laundry was definitely a tough one for me.. haha. I had waited until my laundry basket was filled to the rim and then sat at the laundry mat for about three hours, washing, drying and folding. That was one to the responsibilities I had to recognize and in turn I learned to never let my laundry pile up.-- Along with household responsibilities, we are also responsible for going to class and getting all of our school work done onetime. We no longer have parents around to nag us to do all of those things, so our greatest responsibility of all is making sure we can balance school and still allowing ourselves time to maintain a social life and enjoy college.

It is easy for us college students to become wrapped up in the social side of college, with all of the parties that go on almost every night, especially if you live in Isla Vista. But in order to become responsible adults we must, at times, put away our social life for a couple of hours to ensure that were are making the responsible choice of getting our school work done. Now that doesn't mean we should lock ourselves up in the library on the weekends, it just means we should take care of our responsibilities before it is party time. 

It takes time to understand and master the balance of all these responsibilities that are being taken on all at once, but balance, I believe, is the key to a successful first year in college.

"Oh really? Cheer isn't a sport?"

I can't tell you how many times I have heard the statement: "Cheer is NOT a sport."

For starters, cheerleaders don't just throw a ball around hoping to hit it over a net, or make it into a goal, end zone, or hoop. We throw people in the air, making sure they land back into their stunt group safely. So now that I've mentioned throwing people in the air- in how many sports do players use every single muscle in their body to rotate their entire body upside down multiple time in a row? Not to mention, cheerleading holds the title for most concussions, even above football. If those reasons alone don't give you a good enough explanation as to why cheer is definitely a sport, I don't know what will.

I feel like sometimes us cheerleaders are overlooked, especially us school cheerleaders. Being a cheerleader, you are mistakenly put into an unfair stereotype. Most people stereotype the schools spirit leaders as dumb, snotty brats. However, I have met some of the most intelligent and  impactful young women through cheerleading.

Cheerleaders put in a lot of unrecognized work. Here at SBCC, we practice seven hours a week, preparing cheers to help get the crowd involved and keep the players pumped up. And unlike football, basketball, tennis, soccer, volleyball and almost any other sport, we cheer all year round. Our "Season" is all year long. We don't get that break during "off-season" like most sports do. We are constantly coming up with new ways to awe the crowd and support our schools sports, while at the same time are perfecting a routine to take to competition.

Cheerleading isn't just about showing up to a game and "looking pretty." Cheerleading is about the relationships that you make with your coaches and team, it's about learning to grow as a team, and about pushing your body to all physical limits; knowing that you can overcome anything with a strong support group and a positive attitude.

We are cheerleaders, and despite the criticism and lack of recognition, WE LOVE WHAT WE DO!

"Athletes lift weights, Cheerleaders lift Athletes."

Our Generation and Selfies...

There are very few people in Generation Y that don't know what a "selfie" is. Just in case you are one of those individuals-a selfie, according to webster dictionary, is a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smart phone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website.

Yes, for those who are unaware, "selfie" IS an actual word that can be found in the dictionary.That is how big of a fad these selfie pictures have become. 

The great thing about selfies is that they can be exactly what the definition entails: all about you. There aren't any pressures, burdens or stresses involved in taking a selfie. You can take as few or as many as you'd like. There's no minimum, maximum, due date, etc. Selfies create a very quick boost in confidence, in basically any situation. Headed to school? Selfie. Did your makeup perfectly? Selfie. Doing homework? Selfie. Went to the gym? Selfie. 

Selfies are a simple, fast, and a faint way of promoting positive self talk. They give you a chance to feel good about yourself. Ultimately, selfies don’t have to be about the number of likes likes or comments you receive on your picture. Sure, everyone enjoys a bit of admiration and appreciation, but these pictures are also about your relationship with yourself. You don’t have to apologize or feel guilty for being able to recognize and admire what you like about yourself. 

So I really so encourage every one of you to go out, get ready, and take a selfie. Self confidence will make any good day a great day!!

A Daily Dose of "Me Time"

Something that has really helped me to stay focused and happy so far this school year has been yoga. Just one hour of focusing on nothing but your mind and body really helps you to clear your head and allows you to lead the rest of your day with a positive outlook. Along with yoga,comes meditation. Now I don't mean sitting in a completely quite room with your legs crossed and your arms folded. You can meditate in many ways. 

Meditation: to think deeply or focus one's mind for a period of time; a method of relaxation.

Here's some tips on how to begin your relaxation.

1. Take a seat.  Learning to sit still can be a challenge, especially when there is so much going on-school, homework, social life, work- I know life can be stressful, but that is a fantastic reason to begin to meditate. Remember there are many different ways to sit, you don't have to sit criss-cross-applesauce to consider yourself in relaxation. Find a comfortable seat, in a chair, on a block, in bed, sitting on a blanket or a pillow. Make sure that you are sitting in a place that you would consider inspiring. My favorite place to go is the beach in the mornings before anyone is out and about. It is very peaceful and encouraging to be surrounded by the beauty of nature.

2.  Calm your thoughts.  The mind is always going, so this step is most often the hardest. Don’t allow yourself to run off with thoughts that enter your mind. Being aware of your thoughts while being able to let them go, will help you calm your mind and begin to relax. Once you realize that you are not your mind, that is when the mind begins to calm and your thoughts subside.

3.  Make and take time to meditate.  Even though you probably think you have more important things to do, such as partying or going to the gym, take twenty minutes out of your day to just have some time for yourself. Meditation is great for learning to be in touch with yourself and recognizing your needs. Get up twenty minutes earlier to meditate, and I promise you that sooner than later, you will experience a more productive, positive day.

4. Just do it! It takes 21 days to form a habit. That means that after doing mediating for 21 days, it will become part of your regular routine.  Just keep doing it and your well on your way to a happier, more positive life!

Now I know not everyone can sit in silence and try to focus on their thoughts and feelings, and that's okay. You don't have to mediate to take some time to yourself. It is important, especially in college, to give yourself time to relax. College is a very busy time-from class to homework to parties and in some cases to work-there is little time to just take a "chill day". 

I challenge you this week to take just twenty minutes out of your day and do something for yourself. Go to the beach and watch the sunrise, go on a run, go read your favorite book in the library-do something you enjoy. Making your mind happy will improve your entire day, week or even lifetime!

The Perfect Day Exercise

Something about college that has really taken me by surprise is the fact that I am actually learning things that I can use and things that will help me outside of class.

In personal development we are focusing on finding out our personalities, goals and values. In our workbook, one of the exercises consisted of describing our perfect work day in about 200 words.

My Perfect day of Work:

I would wake-up early, around seven, to have breakfast and begin getting ready for work. I would most likely have some toast with some yogurt-something simple, easy and fast. I would head out the door at around eight-thirty to arrive at work around nine. I would hope that I live close to work. Hopefully arriving a little bit early to the press room, I would visit with a few co-workers before heading over to my desk where I would begin writing my first column of the week for the local newspaper. If I were to finish my column I would submit it to the editor and most likely start brainstorming ideas for my next column. I like to be efficient and use all of the provided work time to get ahead when possible. I would like to have a more of a laid back job-something that wouldn’t emit high amounts of stress, but something with deadlines so I have something to work towards; a goal.

Now you're probably wondering why I have brought this topic up.. Well through this exercise I learned that this assignment wasn't about making up a story or writing a short essay; it was about setting goals for yourself. 

--Visualizing is key to success!-- 

If you set goals for yourself you will have a better chance of succeeding because you can visualize the outcome and have something to work towards!

I highly recommend this type of assignment for every college student. You don't have to sit down and write a page about your life goals, you could simply jot down a few ideals for your future life-or even better, you could keep a journal and update it every month or so with your newly developed goals. It is very important to have goals for your future-these goals will help you stay on track to achieve anything you want with in your lifetime!