7 Tips for Freshmen going into College

As a student going into my third year of college, I know how hard college can seem and be. It is scary because you are now your own person. Everything is up to you and the professors are not forced to help you pass the class like they would have been if you were in high school. Whether you are on the quarter system or the semester, community or university, it is never easy.

I wanted to throw together some tips for freshmen, whether or not you have started already.

1. Make a friend in each class. Get to know someone in the classes and exchange either emails or numbers. This is so if you happen to miss class for whatever reason, ditching or a legitimate, you can contact them and ask what you missed in class. Also, you can set up study times with this person. Reviewing with someone in the class will help because they may have opinions/views that you would have never thought of before!

2. READ!!!! I cannot stress this enough! Actually read your textbooks!!! I know that sometimes it is just a repeat of what is said in class but actually reading and taking notes on that reading will help make it stick in your brain. It will help you understand the lectures more too. Some professors will only cover some things in lecture and some things are only in the book.

3. Rent, get a kindle, or get used. If you are really picky about having a brand new book, then that is fine. However, if you aren't picky, then look at your schools bookstore for renting, rent through Amazon (which has student prime free for 6 months), or buy them used! Look on Facebook or online to see if there is a place where students sell their old books from your school. This can save you money because a lot of the time your peers are just trying to get rid of them. When looking online, do not just look at Amazon but look at other websites just to get the best deal you can! On another note, kindle versions/online editions tend to run cheaper because you aren't paying for the printing but just the material.

4. Go to class. Believe me, I know it is easy to just ditch because you are accountable for you (especially in a lecture hall where there are literally hundreds of students). RESIST THIS URGE! It helps you even though it is easy to just not go. Professors will throw things in from their lectures into the tests to make sure you were there. Also, some may take attendance and if you miss more than a certain number, you automatically fail the class.

5. Take and review your notes. When reading from your books and in class, make sure to take thorough notes. You may think that you may remember something simple but by the time you are through with your day, you will have forgotten the reading, the homework, etc. if you don't write it down somewhere. When you are writing your notes from a power-point, DO NOT WRITE WORD FOR WORD! The professors generally do not care if you are done with your notes or not. They may give you another second but that's if they are generous. Write down the general idea and main points from the slide then listen to the professor and take notes on what they say. Speed and precision will come with practice.

6. Read the syllabus carefully. Make sure that you note the important days of tests and when things are due and work backwards to know when you have to start studying or starting the paper to get it in in enough time. Put it in your phone/calendar/on the fridge, whatever you see and use the most!

7. Professors aren't there to hurt you. They maybe scary but they really aren't there to hurt you. Talk to them and introduce yourself to them on the first day so they know your face. Go to their office hours if you need help. Believe me, if you go to their office hours they will like you even more which can make the difference between a B+ and an A.


College is a step to adulthood, whether you are living by yourself or at home. It will be scary but if you are going, you can do it. Come into it with a positive attitude and you can accomplish anything. It maybe overwhelming at first but do not give up! The best things in life are worth fighting for.


'Til Next Time!

Just to vent.

The scariest thing in my life happened at the "Happiest Place on Earth".

My family and I are sitting at dinner in Disneyland and this mom started yelling a name. I thought “Ok. she lost her kid. She will find him in a minute.”. She ran through the crowd and her voice then stopped, so I assumed that she found her son. Then she came back and the most pain-filled, horrifying, blood-curdling scream broke through the mull of the crowd and she started hysterically crying while frantically looking for her son.. I stood up and asked her what her son looked like, so I could start helping her look for him. She told me and I started to go down to the crowded area. After a minute, a family found her son. She fell to her knees and started crying and her son was crying too. The family that helped reunite them hugged the crying woman and helped her calm down.. She had two other children with her. After about five minuted of calming down, she put her kids in the stroller and left.

What really shocked me was when she was screaming and crying, the majority of these people didn’t even look at her. They just created a perimeter around her and kept moving… No one but my dad, who went to alert security, and me, who was going to help her look..It was surprising to me that these women, whether they were mothers and/or daughters, and men, whether they were fathers and/or sons, were just so cold. A couple people looked at her but no one stopped. No one stepped out and said “Are you ok?” Or “What can I do?”.. No one… I don’t know.. It hurt me that no one tried to comfort or help this woman who was in so much pain and panic looking for her own child.. My faith in humanity was tainted that day.


'Til Next Time.

Share the Gift

And suddenly there was, with the angel, a multitude of heavenly hosts praising God and saying, "Glory to God in highest, and on Earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!" Luke 2:13-14 ESV

These verses are some of the most well known, besides John 3:16 and Romans 6:23. However, how often does it become more than just a story that is read on Christmas and a moment in history that becomes even more than what it has become. A "multitude" has now become 10-20 extra people on the stage, probably mainly because that is all that can fit on the stage. But there is a video with one of the biggest nativity scenes that has been made. It is such a sight to see.

Many of my favorite Youtuber's, Peter Hollens, The Piano Guys, and many other cameos, and artists, such as David Archuleta, have come together and made a fantastic living version of the Nativity that I hope you will see and love as much as I do.

Here is the link to the video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELjgFKACcdQ&app=desktop

(P.S. They give you a free download of this magnificent song!)

Remember the reason for the season
Merry Christmas to all of you!

'Til Next Time!

Low sugar fruit smoothie

I love fruit smoothie but when I go to places to buy one, even though they taste fantastic, they are so loaded with sugar (and cost WAY to much for a college student)! So I began experimenting to make a healthy, low sugar, delicious smoothie.

Here is my recipe! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

This is great for just eating by itself
too. Just throw on some berries and
a Splenda packet and you are good to
go!

Recipe:

  1/4 cup Greek Yogurt (I use Fage)

  8 oz of unsweetened green tea or milk
  (whichever you prefer)

  1/2 of a banana (optional)

  1/4 cup of fresh raspberries

  1/4 cup of fresh blue berries

These are also good for making lemonade
at home! Just by some lemon juice (plain)
and add some of the Torani, some water, a
packet of sweetener, and enjoy!

                                                      1/2 cup of Dole assorted             frozen fruit (At Sam's Club         for $10)

A little bit of Tornani
 (Mix and match as you please!)

Then all you have to do is blend-up and enjoy!

  I hope you get to enjoy this refreshing smoothie! It is great for a snack, just a refresher after a work out, or even as a breakfast!

  If you are one who has to rush out of the house in the morning, make this the night before and stick it in your freezer or the refrigerator! Then when you wake up, you are ready to go and take on the world! 

Bon Appetit! 

'Til Next Time!

Just a thought

Have you ever thought to yourself "WHY?!" I had one of those moments when I was at the beach with my friends.

So we were just getting out of the ocean and sitting eating out lunches when a shirtless man walked by. Now at the beach, obviously, this will happen quite often, but I am a people watcher so I take in everything! So as he walked by, I looked. He wasn't a body builder but he was not a Humpty-Dumpty either. He had some tattoos so I was looking at them and he turned and there was one on his ribs and in HUGE lettering it said "Face UR Fears". That bothered me all day because he could have just made the print just a little bit smaller and put in the "Y-0".

Then the other day, I was editing some high school students papers (I am a tutor) and I came across this following issue way to many times. They had meant to say "I now know" but they had written "I know know"...

It made me worry about the generation that my children, when I have some, will be growing up in. If a grown man and high school students cannot write, then how many more problems will there be in raising my children???


Just a thought.


Til Next Time!

P.S. If you have any thoughts or comments on this, please share!! I want to know your feedback on this topic!

Happy Labor Day!

Happy Labor Day Weekend!!

What is Labor Day anyways? Is it just an extended holiday so people do not have to be paid? Or is it just the day that symbolizes the line of not being allowed to wear white anymore? Or is it just a stunt made by department stores to make you a "great deal" with "30% off everything in store"?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/Labor_Day_New_York_1882.jpg

According to the U.S Department of labor, "Labor Day, the first Monday of every September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country".

So it is basically a day celebrating the working class!

This picture is an illustration of the first ever Labor Day Parade in New York, in September of 1882. On this day, 10,000 workers took unpaid leave and marched into Wendel's Elm Park for a concert, picnic, and speeches. This whole day had been orchestrated by the Central Labor Union. Then, by 1885, Labor Day was celebrated in many of the industrial centers of the U.S.! Finally, in 1894, this day officially became a national holiday (even though almost half of the country was already celebrating it).

This is day is well deserved, at least according to July of 2014, because about 156 million Americans are in the civilian labor force! Can you even imagine living in 1880, when the typical working American hours were 12-hours, and they worked 7-days a week! Even children 5-6 years old were working in factories.

Thank God we have unions and laws now to protect that 156 million of us Americans who work civil working jobs!

Hope this helped you understand the history to this holiday!

'Til Next Time!

The Weeks Random Tidbit

Have to ever run out of room in your drawers or you have to dig in your shirt drawer to look for that one shirt, which is always on the bottom? Here is a solution to that problem! Instead of stacking them on top of one another, put them vertically.

Step 1: Have your shirt of choice 

Step 2: Fold it then fold it in half again

 Step 3: Then put it away!

This way, you can see all of your shirts so you don't have to dig! Also, you have more room for shirts on top. (P.S. Don't judge my drawer! This is my drawer of t-shirts for home. Everything else I wear that is "fashionable" is in my closet hanging up.)

'Til Next Time!