If you won't learn from your own mistakes. . .

. . . at least learn from someone else's.

Namely, MINE.

Okay, freshmen, listen up: no, you don't want to cram your first two years full of gen-ed classes because you don't want to be slammed with whatever classes are required for your major. 

You'll go crazy.

But don't slack on your gen-eds . . . Like I did.

Namely, I was really good in taking my foreign languages while they were still fresh from high school.

I waited about four years to take my math.

I waited about five years to take my sciences.

Ten out of ten would not recommend!

So if you're one of those stubborn people who doesn't learn from your own mistakes, at least learn from mine.

(Oh yes, and I also have to take speech; ironically after I've given the bulk of my class presentations.)

Writing Well is Hard

I'm in a senior seminar this semester. We're all working on either fiction projects or poetry projects.

For those of you who have read my poetry, you've probably gathered that 1) I'm pretty good at free verse, and 2) anything not in free verse is not my cup of tea. 

Now fiction . . . fiction is my cup of tea.

You could say that I've had a bit of experience writing fiction.

I self-published a pretty short book about two years ago, and most of the people who left reviews liked it.

This semester I'm aiming for a full-length novel.

Oh my giddy aunt, y'all.

You have no idea how hard this is.

Keep in mind, this isn't necessarily for enjoyment, though I'm sure I will enjoy it for the most part.

This is for a grade.

And credits.

Mostly the credits.

But get this: there's a prospectus.

We've gotta outline it.

We've got to cover everything from beginning to end, no plot holes.

And we're likely going to get critiqued.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining -- I love critiques of my stories. Love them. It makes for a better, more coherent, more detailed story.

But gosh . . . it's hard.

But hard is good.

Senioritis

This is a Public Service Announcement.

Many college students suffer from senioritis.

This debilitating illness has many symptoms, but the most common are fidgeting in class, daydreaming while having purposed to finish homework, boredom, and itchy, watery eyes that mimic the symptoms of spring fever. 

Senioritis doesn't only affect those in their fourth year of college: it can affect those as fresh and new as those in their first year.

But this doesn't have to be your reality.

To counteract the symptoms, pop in a classic Disney movie. 

Take them bowling.

Feed them.

Offer any and all distractions.

They'll know instinctively when it is time to return to the grind.

Senioritis is real.

Don't let it be you. 

Ugh . . . Morning Classes . . .

I'm sure I've ranted about morning classes before.

And there may be a day when I don't rant about morning classes.

But, in all seriousness, scheduling classes is a bloomin' nightmare.

You've gotta make sure nothing overlaps in time slots.

You've gotta make sure you actually need it.

You've gotta make sure you've got time to do the whole "lunch" thing, which -though seriously underrated - is vital to not passing out in class. From hunger.

And - for USCB students anyhow - you've gotta make sure you're not giving yourself 10 minutes to make a 30 minute trip, as we have two campuses. 

But then there's the 8 AM classes.

Also known as "the room you sit in whilst you wake up mentally".

Unless it's Crossfit aerobics, which will kick your studious tush.

I've taken 8 AM classes before, but only two days a week, so you have the next day to sleep in and recover.

This semester, I've got my first two Monday, Wednesday, and Friday classes.

And all five days . . . I have 8 AM classes.

Why?

Because I'm an idiot, that's why.

And you know what the worst of it is?

Waking up three minutes before my alarm goes off.

A Crazy, Well-Dressed Hitchhiker and Morning Classes

For my technical writing class we have to split into groups and study traffic circles. I'm not really sure why traffic circles, but that's what he said.

He wanted drive through videos, pictures of the signs and pictures of the markings on the road.

After class Wednesday, my group and I went to get the signs, but we didn't have time to get out and get pictures.

I said I'd get them Thursday. I ran out of time, so I decided to get up early on Friday and get them before class.

Yeah. Right.

Anyone who knows me knows that I can stay up literally all night if I want or need to.

But I am not a morning person.

Regrettably, once I'm up, I'm up, so you wake me at 3 AM . . . you had better have something really cool for me to do, or I'll hate dislike you intensely for the rest of the day.

Anyhoo, I set my alarm for 6:15 AM.

It went off, and I reset it for 6:45.

It went off again, and I reset it for 7.

Then I got up.

Slowly.

I didn't have time to get the pictures before class, so I went to get them after.

Being the ditz I am, I sort of got lost looking for it.

But then I found it.

Yay!

So I got out and ended up standing in the middle of the (EMPTY) road snapping pictures with my iPad.

Needless to say, I got some pretty weird looks from the drivers, who must've wondered why some random girl was running around a traffic circle.

"She looks too clueless to be a contractor. . ."

And it was so cold.

So cold.

I couldn't feel my face!

Also, I've decided that I am never again taking 8 AM classes across the board. 

Not unless I have to.

Because then I will have grey hair by the time I graduate.

(No students or drivers were harmed during the events of this post. Everyone was just very cold.)

Dorm Bedding and Decor – Beautify Your Dorm Room

Thanks to Evita for writing this well-timed post! Have a great semester, everyone!

~

Are you planning to change your dorm room looks for this New Year? Here are the simple ways to transfer your old, cold and drab dormitory into the latest dorm room. To make your dorm room accessible and comfortable, use fundamentals such as wastebaskets, towels, bedding, personal grooming products, clothes, poster putty, wrapping paper, colourful bed spread, posters, organizational bins and standing lamps. You can start decorating items like curtains, bed, lighting, and plants. 

Rearrange the old furniture to make the best layout to bring a difference.  When you start rearranging furniture you will get new ideas which make whole lot of difference. When you start purchasing new furniture for dorm room, opt for multifunctional items. You can use your credit card to purchase any furnishing item. Make sure you are getting credit card along with payment protection insurance. If you are ill or out of job, you can apply for PPI claims. For example futon can be used as a bed in the night times; you can use it as a sofa in the morning times.  

Cubed bookcase can be used to store kitchen essentials apart from books, even it can be used as a room divider. Multifunctional furniture can save lot of space in your dormitory.  Select the dorm room beds that have the capacity of lofting to accommodate more space below the bunk for lounging, studying and storage.  You can bring life to dorm room by applying attractive colours.  Select the colour which coordinates with your interest. You can bring warmness to cold floors with custom rugs, select the rug that fits the space perfectly.  Add liveliness to walls by trendy and stylish artwork which has inspiring creativity and vibrancy.  

You can select different types of colourful and gorgeous one-of-a-kind art works from market with an affordable price.  Hide dorm floors with decorative carpet squares, rugs and bound carpets to bring the warmth and eye-catching focal point. Choose roughly textured fabrics for headboards and beddings. 

Even you can hang inspiration board where you can post things that can make you happy and inspire you such as a quote, a recipe, a magazine cut-out or a picture of family. Inspiration board gives boost to your life to move forward with positive attitude. Decorate dorm room walls with attractive decals. Decals are easy to remove from the walls, whenever you want to add new styles to your dorm room.  Decals add instant charm to already decorated walls with their liveliness.  Use multipurpose furnishings like poufs which are easy to move around.  You can use poufs as ottoman furniture and as coffee tables. Paste attractive decals, pictures, messages to tedious dorm room walls. Use giant wall posters to cover bland walls.

Imagine the giant wall covering the entire plane beige dorm walls. To make space in the dorm room use cubed book space as a divider. If you want additional closet space, you can use clothes rack if armoire is not enough to store your belongings. You can store unwanted items underneath the bed, if you can make space there.  Make use of long storage containers to hold clothes, linens, shoes and other items.  

About the Guest Author: 

My name is Evita.  I am a tech writer from UK.  I am into Finance. Catch me @financeport.

Finals Week - Day 2 through le Fin . . .

So, I suppose that since I didn't post daily updates it can be safely assumed that I studied my butt off and did fantastically, right . . . ?

Oh . . . not?

Oh. Okay.

But I did study hard . . . and I did pretty well.

Acorn Minefield

Note to self: always bring in your shoes from the car.

Why?

Because when you're running to your car to get to your 9:25 class at 8:43, the acorn minefield will get you.

I promise.

Don't try it.

Bring in your shoes.

Though I suppose to an extent it won't matter, because those squirrels will drop acorn torpedoes on your head, trying to murder you.

Always So Much Else

Oi . . .

There's always so much else to do when you have two papers due tomorrow . . .

Things like house work, work, reading for other classes . . .

And here I am blogging, because, hey - that needs to be done, too. 

So here are some appropriate gifs:

And finally . . . 

Already scared of next semester . . .

I just want to sit down and cry -- I don't know what to do about school. 

I thought I could handle 6 classes in one day and maybe I can . . . But 5 classes in a row? 3 English classes, 2 of which are 400-level? A sociology class, a history class, and a business? 

What the heck was I thinking, signing up for that? Oh . . . I probably wasn't thinking at all.

Come to think of it, I bet I know why this is.

I bet God's teaching me to not procrastinate.

He's teaching me to be diligent.

He's teaching me to take assignments seriously, although I already do. More seriously, I guess.

I just pray I can learn the lessons in time.

Path to the Final

You walk into class on the first day like this:

"Whoa, all these people are in my class?"

As the semester goes on, those people dwindle . . . 

And at the final you're like:

"WHERE DID ALL OF YOU COME FROM?!"

And then you're like . . .