18 Rules I've learned about "the college years."

Midway through my junior year of college and I've come to realize there are rules that I have learned to live by when dealing with multiple layers of the college atmospheres. There are many situation one comes across while attempting to make it through the four (or more) years that separate high school and the "real world" and they range from awkward social settings to the almighty paper that is worth 50% of your grade that is due in two days, oh, and you haven't started yet. So here it goes...

1. These years are all about you. Be selfish and take any opportunity that appeals to you.

2. If you can, get away from home when you choose your college. Get the hell out of your hometown and go see what else is out there. Plus, this way your parents won't pop in without notice.

3. When making your class schedule try to work in one free day during the week. It will give you a break and allow for you to breath.

4. Use rate my professor. Make sure you're getting the best deal for what you're paying. It's like shopping for a car. What you purchase will be with you for the next several years. Better the education you receive the better you will be in the "real world."

5. If you're a female, take advice from Jenna Marbles.

6. If you're a male, take advice from your dad and then consult the advice with your mom.

7. You will hit rock bottom at least 4 times. We all hit hard spots in college and will mentally break down. I do not care who you are or how strong you claim to be, it happens to everyone.

8. This is where friends come in.. The friends you make in college, the real friends you make, will be with you for the rest of your life. I can't explain the feeling but when you create a life long friend you'll know. Keep them close.

9. Stop comparing yourself to others. Leave that mindset in high school. Build yourself on what YOU find appealing. Because at the end of the day you are the only one that matters. 

10. Become tech savvy. It will put you ahead of everyone else in your field and keep you connected socially. The "real world" people look for this to assist with their business. The more you know the more likely you will be chosen.

11. Work out and be physically active. It will make you feel so much better on those tough Mondays. It does not have to be at the gym. Dance in your room. Run around your apartment/dorm building. Do parkour parkour! Anything, just do something.

12. Sleep. Naps are great and can actually help you retain information and enhance your memory. There are going to be late nights and nights with no sleep, but that's good. It means you're living.

13. Whatever services your University or College offers, use them to their full advantage. Resume workshops, computer and printing labs, free lectures, museum trips/exhibits; use them all. You're paying for them whether you realize it or not so get your money's worth.

14. Travel! If you can partake in a study abroad program I highly recommend that you do. If you cannot do so, take trips during breaks from school. The more you travel, the more experience. 

15. Bite your tongue. Save yourself the drama of others and just sit back and observe. Drama should be kept between the people it immediately effects because there is no point in ruining the whole friendship circle because only two of the people have a disagreement. But do learn from it.

16. That boy/girl down the hall or the one you hooked up with at the party is not going to matter unless you let him matter. Do not dwell if the relationship between you two does not turn into what you expected. And if you have sex with them, be aware that sex to them may not have the same meaning as it does to you.

17. Take risks with your style Change your hair, revamp your entire closet or get a new piercing. For me I shaved part of my head. I've gotten so many compliments and kudos for doing so. It allowed for me to express myself and take risks. This is the time do so and fully figure out who you are as a person, both inside and out.

18. Finally, a good think about life, nothing lasts forever. A bad thing about life, nothing lasts forever. So take what come at you and wholly live in the moment because, in the words of Ernest Hemingway, "Try to be alive. You will be dead soon enough."

Turner Falls - Davis, Oklahoma.

Turner falls in Davis, Okla. 

Forty degrees and sunny in mid January equals a perfect hiking and outdoorsy day.

All photos are taken with a Canon Rebel XS by me.

I'm Back.

Alright, so after a few month break of blogging, I want to get back into it. I'm done with Facebook and just need another place to go to get things out.

So, once again, here is my life as a college girl.


xx

Updates coming soon to the page.

Not myself anymore.

I don't know what's going on with my life anymore but I am not myself anymore. I don't know how to explain it but nothing is what it use to be. I need to talk to someone but I don't know who. I normally do not talk to anyone because I don't want them have to deal with my issues because I'm sure they are dealing with some of their own issues. It's all this big complicated circle that I do not, have any clue, as to how I can go about fixing things. At college I don't want to open up to anyone, because I'll get attached and start creating strong bonds and I don't want that because it's already going to be hard when I leave for Oklahoma, I don't want it to be any more difficult or emotional than what it is already. I personally am not sure if I want to go to OU. I feel as though I have to because my father wants me to go so badly, and so does my brother.. And my dad is already going through a rough time; I don't want to hurt his heart anymore. He's my best friend, and I don't enjoy seeing my friends hurting. I'm thee kind of person that will go out of their way just to make someone else happy, even if it isn't my fault that they aren't happy.

 

On top of all of this, things from my past keep popping up from my past that I really do not want to deal with. They're painful memories that I wanted to leave in my past for a reason.. I don't want them back. As cliche as this sounds, I feel so lost.

Snowfall Photoshoot.

     I am now back on my college campus (thank goodness) and one of the first things we did was have a 'photo shoot' in the recently fallen snow. It was a light snow fall, around 3 inches or so.
     If you have read my previous post about snow, you should know that I am OBSESSED with snow! I love it, where as a lot of people do not care for it at all. Oh well, it's their loss.
     Anyways, here are a few shots from our snowy adventure.

 

 

Buh-Bye Campus | Hello Home.

     I'm using the last ounce of battery that my laptop currently resides in order to make this post. Reason being is that I have already packed away the charger and have no clue as to where it may be.
     But finals went well; nothing to complain about. I'm ready to have a nice break, but then again there is a part of me that wants to keep going and start next semester already. I need this break though. Throughout the last couple weeks a lot has come up and a lot of unanswered questions have been floating around. I think this month long of a break will do me some good, and help clear this chaotic mess of thoughts.
     My mother should be here in an hours time, and then we will have to wait until I the check out office is open (which they say will be open at noon but probably won't be). From there we will load up the car and begin the route back home to PA and then unload everything. Meaning, today will most likely be a long, tiring, but good day. So with that, Buh-bye campus and hello home.

Finals.

The reason I have not posted anything is the fact that my first college finals are coming up and I plan to ace them all. I have dedicated my time to my studies, eating, and select socializing. I will start blogging again once time has past. Thank you for your patients.
- KG

Decorating the Dorm

Since it is that time of year I decided to decorate my dorm. Now grant it, I am limited on space but I feel that I made due with what I had. Hung some lights as well as my stocking above my bed. I even found a small light up tree that is sitting atop my desk. I also found some small ornaments to had on it. I recently purchased a red scarf and I only got to wear it once because it is now wrapped around the bottom of the tree for a realistic Christmas tree feel. Lastly I found some cute snowflakes and put them across the top of my desk to give it some winter wonderland teasing (because that last time it snowed was October, and I have yet to see another flake.)
     I also decorated the boys dorms. They chose colored lights and some garland. The lights are still up but unfortunately the garland was to have and fell in the midst of them sleeping. Needless to say it was quite upsetting when they awoken. Okay, maybe they didn't say those exact words, but I know that's how they felt deep deep down.
    As much decorating as I did nothing can actually compare to decorating a real home. But I guess for this year and the next three years I will have to make due with the substitution of decorating a dorm.

Portfolio Post.

Alright so there is a new addition to the blog. If you look on the right side, under pages, you will noticed that there is a new page named Portfolio. This is where my college portfolio will be uploaded. At the moment I have a majority of my fall semester items up. Comments are appreciated as well as constructive criticism.  

This isn't high school anymore.

     This is college, not high school. The fact that people are still belittling others to make them feel superior is a straight shame. You do not need to be going around picking out the flaws of every human being, say how much better you are of them, and you should not be judging people before you meet them. This, college, is where we begin our lives for the real world. 

     In the real world the way someones nose is structured is not going to matter. In the real world it will not matter if a woman has some peach fuzz on her face or upper lip. In the real world it is not going to matter if you partied and was with the in-crowd at college. 

     What is going to matter is a persons' personality, grades, profession skills, workmanship, social interaction skills, etc. So, these people that are trying to make themselves feel better by putting others down need to be careful. Because one day, that girl you made fun of for the most random of reasons, she may end up being the one to hire you, and let's just say she may have forgave you but she never forgot.

scale of 1-10 : 2.5?

NYC | Spur of the moment.

     I honestly do not know where to begin but how about I start from yesterday evening at dinner. I was in the dinning hall and several friends were around. I was not having a great day because of other things that came up earlier in the day. Next thing I know they asked, do you want to go to New York City, right now? I was taken back at first and thought they were joking. They were not, and before I knew it I was on a train to Time Square.
     While we were getting ready to get on the train we were checking departure schedules to see what train time we needed to get back home. The next train coming back on to campus was not until 7:15... the next morning. We all were baffled and did not know what to say, so we just laughed, continuously. There was no turning back now, we were off to the big apple.
     On arrival we had no plan except to head to Times Square, and that's how most of the night went, unplanned and on a whim. We made it to the heart of the city and then decided to go see the tree. Grant it, it was not lit but it was nice just seeing it. Then we needed some grub.
     We hit up Applebee's in TS and apparently it is the worlds largest Applebee's. Our waitress, Sarah, was freaking amazing; she's our girl. The best part of the dinner was when my friend Will and myself decided to make it someones birthday. The lucky contestant was Nick. He had no idea it was coming. The waiting staff came and was singing and clapping the whole third floor was watching. He was in shock and face turned a cherry red. It was great. Will and I died laughing.
     After dinning out we hit up the movies,. I'm not entirely sure what we watched, I fell asleep after the previews and they woke me up as they were walking out. It was a nice nap though.
     Then after the movies we were just walking around seeing all NYC had to offer. There was a balloon artist that made Philicia and myself an object. He was quite the flirt and tried to get me to kiss him. I passed on the offer and told him maybe when I'm older. Jokingly of course.
     The rest of the evening we chilled at random places until it came time to head to the train station and then back home. I'm sure there are other events that happened that I could talk about but I feel that I have shared enough. Either way, the adventure got my mind off things and an experience I will never forget.

     P.S. Thank you guys for taking me. If I do end up going to Oklahoma, there is no way in hell that I will ever forget you.

Glorious Laundry Days.

front shattered out.

     I swear, every time I do my laundry there is a tour going on and they bring the tourist to the residence hall that I live in. It is the same person that is giving the tour too. It may be a strange coincidence but it is still creepy none the less. All the parents and prospective students just look at you like you're on display. I feel like a fish at the pet store, floating around from washer to dryer with the people staring through the glass. Then they wave and chuckle as if I cannot comprehend them. Oh, when you're done with your laundry and try to get out the door, forget it. There's no use trying.
     Now another little dilemma is that only eight out of twelve washer work. They post signs on them say "Machine out of order -do not use," but what do people do? they use them and then end up breaking even more. All this meaning, instead of it not working for, let's say, three days it will not be out of use for about two weeks. In the meantime the other machines will hardly get any break from their jobs causing them to become out of order. By the time it's all said and done, there may be two machines working. Gotta love laundry days.