I Will Survive

Post number 6!!!

This topic isssss.......

How To......

...Survive Your First Week of College

Okay, I'm just going to be honest.  This first week, I don't think there was a point at all where I had a firm grasp on knowing what the heck I was doing.  Yeah, there were times that I was that freshman with the campus map. (But it's a map on my iPhone, so it was a bit more discreet than a huge piece of paper.)

Needless to say, I am absolutely no expert at this college stuff yet.

But I am going to tell you just a few things that I found handy to have or do (or not to have or do) that made this week a little more optimistic.

- Eat. There is a lot of walking and you're going to need energy for that.  If you stay up late watching New Girl and decide to sleep in and skip breakfast before your morning class, you will regret it. Not that I know from experience or anything.... 

- Have snacks for in between classes.

- Take the dang stairs.  Not the elevator.  Why?  You need to work off all the food. No one wants the Freshman 15.  Gross.

- Listen to music or remember to do something that is calming.  It's a stressful week and you'll need something to keep the nerves down.

- If you decide to put a white board outside your dorm door for people to leave messages to you, remember that there is a high chance that not all those messages are going to be sweet and nice.  Especially if you live on a coed floor.  Just saying..

- Talk to people. It's nice to hear from other freshman that you aren't the only one freaking out about something or not having a clue as to what's up.  And talk to upperclassmen too, if you can, because they've already been through what you're going through and can offer some pretty good advice.. (usually).

- Leave for class about 30 minutes (or a different time depending on where your dorm is) before class is supposed to start.  Sometimes the class buildings can be super confusing to navigate and you don't wanna be late for class.

- Sit on the front row in your class. Yes, you will probably look like an overachiever, but I've found that it is so much easier to pay attention and stay awake if you sit in the front.  You can also hear the professor better and I think it shows the them that you actually care about the class. 

- Be sure to see things and be able to give them your own opinion, especially in you live on campus.  What I mean by this: there are going to be certain groups (*cough* frats) that many different people have VERY different opinions about.  And some people will say one thing, while another will say the opposite.  Get opinions from several people, not just one person, and pay attention to what's going on around you and how certain people are acting.  You don't wanna end up at a party that you find out is not somewhere you really wanna be.  I do NOT know this from any personal experience, but from listening to people and hearing VERY different things about different groups, I could see how it would be easy for this to happen.

- Do your homework, and have your books on the first day of class because YOU WILL HAVE HOMEWORK ASSIGNED. Sad, I know.

I'm done. This week has been insane, but I've loved it :)

Go see how Victoria survived her 1st week of college!

A Whole New World

Day #2 of the blog challenge!! Victoria and I decided to blog every other day (so Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) because it takes a lot of motivation to blog everyday and requires certain blondes to not fall asleep while they should be blogging. Yeah, I know. But I was so tired!

Visit Victoria's blog to see her entry on the prompt.

Today's topic is......... *drum role*...........

Do Something New and Blog About It

Yesterday I did something new! And exciting! I rode with some friends and went to a city outside of Atlanta where one of my friends volunteered and did some mission work over the summer.  

I was informed that this city is one of the most dangerous cities in Georgia.  But it filled with what seemed to be some of the most interesting and amazing people living lives that I'm sure would be filled with fascinating stories.  This city is the home of numerous refugees, making it filled with many cultures and many different languages. 

This experience was completely new for me.  I had never been to this city.  I also had never been around so many people from so many different countries and cultures at once before!  Being in this city was almost like being in a different country, and it was amazing!

While my friends and I were there we rode around while my friend who stayed there this past summer was our tour guide. We drove through many different apartment complexes, some 100% refugee occupied and others only partly occupied with refugee people. We then ate at this restaurant that had food from this country that I don't remember the name of and I tried some chicken something. Note: even if you order non-spicy, it's still spicy. But super good :)

After that we went to a farmers market filled with foods from all around the world, and the workers there were from many different countries.  I had been there before, but it was still fun and exciting.

From the farmers market we went to what was the best part of the day: one of the apartment complexes that my friend worked in this past summer.  We visited one of the families she taught English to, and we all got to meet the children that she knew.  They were so precious! I honestly wished I could have stayed there for much longer.

From this new experience I learned that there is a whole mission field right here in Georgia.  I mean, I already knew this, but I had never experienced it to this extreme.  I got to see a whole different world in my own state! And I got to meet some amazing and adorable and spectacular people.

Soooo I really encourage you to do something new. Explore your home town.  Meet knew people.  Seriously, there is a whole new world just around the corner! (Or down the interstate.  However you wanna look at it.) 

Of course if you aren't up to something massively drastic, try a new cooking recipe, go work at your local soup kitchen, clean your room, random dance...

Anyway, my point is, do something that you wouldn't normally do. (But don't do anything stupid or dangerous. Use your brains people :P) It's nice to get out of your regular routine every once in a while and see and experience something new... :)