The Top Five Things Freshman Year of College has Taught Me

As Friday, the last day of blogging, approached this week, I was becoming increasingly worried about what I would post about. It was only during a conversation with my friends tonight that I figured out what I would write this week. As one of my friends took down her photos from the wall of her dorm room, we all discussed how quickly this school year flew by. That's when I realized that college was the biggest "new thing" that I tried this year, and that is probably the case for all of you reading this.

So, that is what I am going to be discussing right now. College. The thing that we all looked forward to for so long, struggled to reach during applications, and finally arrived to on the weekend of August 18th, 2016. This post is going to be a little different, because this time I am doing it in list form. Here it is: the top 10 things I learned this year in college.

Courtesy of Clip Art Panda

1. Independence is the best gift college gives you
   I was terrified of all of the responsibility that would come with being a college student. How would I be able to handle everything without the help of my parents and friends who I had grown up with my whole life? The first two weeks was definitely a learning curve, but now I can proudly say that I can take care of myself successfully without freaking out and calling my mom every chance that I get. If you still haven't gotten a complete grasp on how to be independent, don't worry. All it takes is time.
2. Putting yourself out there is KEY
   Taking a few seconds of courage for my sometimes awkward self to go up to a table in the HUB and ask about the THON special interest organization that they were advertising saved my college experience. My best friend is from Axis, that THON org I saw in the HUB, and so are about fifteen of my other closest friends on campus. If I never put myself out there and asked when Axis's meeting was, I don't know how I would have found friends and experiences.
3. School spirit is a never ending good time
   Penn State could quite possibly have more school spirit than any other high school or university in the world. If you did not attend any football games or tailgates this year, either go to the Blue and White game or get season tickets for next year. It is always fun to celebrate how much you love your school with people who share that same love.
   
   

   

   Courtesy of Fansided

4. Powering through the tough times isn't always easy, but it is always necessary
   Some exams, papers, and projects that we have to do for classes are the worst. I am sure we have all had a few times when we want to do anything other than homework. Or maybe it's a fight with your friend, and all you want to do is complain to your mom about it, except you're four hours away. This year I learned that if you don't take time to get over those things and cope, you'll never move past it and it will start affecting everything you do.
5. Spend your money wisely
   DO NOT SPEND ALL OF YOUR MONEY ON ACAI BOWLS AND BRUNCH AT THE WAFFLE SHOP! Can you hear that quiet sobbing in the background? Yeah, that's my bank account crying about my ridiculous purchases from first semester. Spend it on experiences instead of items that will disappear in minutes or seconds.

I know that those of you reading this can understand all of the struggles and benefits that college provides to you. Going to college can be scary at first, but hopefully, like me, you have ended up loving it. Let me know in the comments how you ended up choosing to attend Penn State and what you think you have learned here outside of classes! WE ARE!

Spring Cleaning

The beautiful weather this past Wednesday had me living what I like to call my "best life". I woke up early for our beloved 8 A.M. class to print out my paper and thoroughly enjoyed the somewhat sunny morning weather, knowing that the temperature was only going to rise throughout the day. If you left your room at any point on Wednesday, I'm sure that you know what I am talking about- the good mood that comes along with good weather seems to be universal.

After my 8 A.M., I headed back to East and got a quick breakfast, and then went right back to my room, as I do every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I walked into my room in a state of happiness because of the weather, only to be greeted by my absolute disaster of my side of my dorm. I stood there, in the darkness of my room, looking at the clothes that covered my desk and floor, the loose notes littering my desk, and my blanket bunched up on the corner of the bed. Then and there, I decided that it was time for some serious spring cleaning.

Credit

I went to my math class at 11:15 and arrived back to my mess around 12:30. I put all of my stuff down and got straight to work. This was not a simple cleaning situation. It wasn't just picking up some garbage and putting some clothes into the hamper. For the next hour and a half, I walked around my room putting away clothes, organizing my drawers, fixing up my closet, and Lysol-wiping every surface on my side of the room. It was liberating. 

Every time I have walked into my room since I cleaned it up, I have felt significantly less overwhelmed. Having tons of space to walk around feels much more incredible than you would think, and having space on my desk to do homework makes my life a whole lot easier. 

Part of my newly clean room!

I know that someone reading this has had some flashbacks to their messy room, whether it is at home or at college. After cleaning my dorm room, I had visions in my mind of the mess that I left at home in Connecticut. If you have a messy bedroom either on or off campus, I strongly recommend, as soon as you are back in that room, giving it a deep clean. If you're already a cleanly, organized person, go grab some Lysol wipes and wipe the inevitable dust around your room or organize your closet a bit. 

Spring cleaning cleared my mind like you would not believe. As someone who has always had a messy room, I did not expect to actually enjoy the process of cleaning a room and the end result of having nothing in my way when I'm walking around. If your mind if a little frazzled sometimes, it might be time to simply reorganize and collect yourself by cleaning your room. 

Cleaning your room is such a simple, easy task that can change your daily life for the better. Please confirm to me know in the comments that I am not the only person on the Penn State campus (or beyond!) who can't seem to handle keeping my room clean!

Veggie Tales: My Attempt at Vegetarianism

To the (possible) joy of animal lovers and vegetarians everywhere, I went vegetarian this week, and possibly for a good while after that! I have been trying to better my life in many ways, and one of them is eating well. While I do eat pretty well, I have always toyed with the option of going vegetarian or vegan. After talking to a girl on my floor about her being vegan on a college campus, I decided that would be a little bit too big of a task to take on (also, almond milk chai lattes are, unfortunately, gross). Let me take you on a little description of my veggie tales of the week.

For full disclosure, I accidentally ate one bite of chicken during dinner on Monday night. I don't regret it, though, because the chicken bayou pasta is the best food option at the buffet and I was not about to miss out on it. Now that I have revealed that, I believe we can move on.

Courtesy of We Are IU

I am the kind of person who wishes they were vegan but will probably never actually do it, and I hope I'm not alone in that. I recently decided that as an animal lover and self-proclaimed person-who-wants-to-be-healthier, I should finally make the move into vegetarianism. This week was my trial period, and I plan to continue on with it because I have actually become a big fan of not eating meat.

Nothing about going vegetarian seemed like a significant change from my normal life and eating habits. I was surprised by that because when I'm at school, I find myself eating some sort of meat for dinner every day. That was actually one of the reasons that I wanted to change up my eating habits- it seemed like I was eating way more meat than usual and I felt bad about it. I wasn't necessarily more tired or lethargic because of my meat eating habits, but I did feel sorry for all of the chickens and cows I was supporting the deaths of.

Courtesy of TIME

Lucky for me, the buffets on campus offer at least one vegetarian option at every meal, so I just picked that one each time. I also usually had the soup, which they also often have a vegetarian option of, so that I could have more protein since many of them have beans. I do question how annoying it will be when I'm not at school to make sure that I'm both not eating meat and still getting enough nutrients. I'm not too worried about it, though.

Overall, I did feel a bit more energetic this week, and I felt better about myself morally because I wasn't eating meat. If you're a big animal lover like me and you still eat meat, it might be time to change your ways. If not for the animals, maybe for the environment: every year, at least 51% of global greenhouse gas emissions are a result of animal agriculture. Or, maybe even for your own personal health: there are serious concerns out there, with actual research backing it, of the effects of meat on giving people cancer.

If you think that vegetarianism (or even veganism if you're stronger than I am) is for you, even if it's just for a week or so, check out this helpful Huffington Post article that offers thirty reasons and thirty ways to go vegetarian!

G.N.O. (Girls Night Out) by Miley Cyrus

Tonight was the first time in a long time that I left campus. Granted, I stayed within the border lines of State College (an Uber ride out of State College sounds pricey), but I did find myself a good ten minutes away from campus. For this GNO, I went out to dinner at The Field and to watch Beauty and the Beast at UEC Theatre. Here is how it all went down.

A few days ago, my friends and I were all talking about how much we would all love to go to Buffalo Wild Wings. The conversation then transitioned into acknowledging how none of us every find ourselves far off campus- everything we do is either on campus or downtown. So, in that moment, the four of us decided to venture away from our dorms and downtown for a little girls night out on Thursday. And that we did! 

The Field was delicious, and I don't even believe that's because all I have had to eat for quite some time is dining hall food. We all shared table fries (parmesan and truffle), which they actually dumped onto the table for us. Although that was slightly strange, I could definitely dig the rustic vibes they were giving off. I had a hamburger, which came with chips and a pickle, and it was incredible. At the end of dinner, we all agreed that there was no chance that any of us could consume anymore food, so we passed on the milkshakes even though they sounded delicious. The live music was a little bit load, but I won't hold that against the restaurant. All in all, it was a great time and I would really recommend heading over there if you haven't yet.

 

After dinner, we Uber-ed our way over to the movie theater to see Beauty and the Beast. If you haven't seen it yet, go immediately. I don't want to spoil it, but Emma Watson portrayed the role of Belle wonderfully and the story never fails to warm my heart. I will say, though, that the theater itself is super relaxed about everything. You could easily walk in, not pay for a ticket, and go into a theater with no questions asked. By the time our movie was over, around 11:30 at night, there was not one employee around and everything was still unlocked and open to take. It was a little weird.

Photo courtesy of Disney

 

Now that you have heard about my night and what we did, I need to explain to you why this matters at all. There was something freeing about driving away from campus- passing Beaver Stadium and seeing it in the rear view mirror- but knowing that you would be back soon. I hate leaving school for breaks because I love being here so much, but sometimes I feel trapped in the middle of nowhere, Pennsylvania. As much as I enjoy my time here constantly, it can feel somewhat overwhelming when I have not left campus for two months straight. 

Going off campus, as simple as it may seem, felt like a quick breather from all things college. Although it can be a little expensive with all the Uber rides and movie snacks, it was all worth it. After getting back to my friends' dorm in North, we all agreed that we needed that. Sometimes all you need is to get away from schoolwork, overwhelming parties, and college student responsibilities to take a breather and have a worry-free night with your best friends. 

Let me know if you have had a GNO (girls or guys night out, either way) while you have been at Penn State and how you liked it! 

Thinking of the Stress Free Days

For the past five years of my life, I have pretty much been in a constant stressed out state. I'm sure many of you can relate to being stressed out everyday- with college and jobs and all of the in-between, life can get hectic and it is pretty easy to lose sight of the days that you were not stressed. My mom, being the classic worrying mother, always gives me advice on how to deal with my stress, like working out and getting enough sleep and making lists. I do all of those (except sometimes maybe I don't get enough sleep- don't tell my mom though), and I still felt as though I never had enough time in the day to get everything I need done, done. So my friend from home gave me some advice that had helped her- for ten minutes every day, just lie down in bed in comfortable clothes and imagine a memory from one of the favorite moments or times in your life. This may seem silly, but since I know college students tend to be among the most stressed people, I wanted to share with you why you should try doing this too.

Bridgehampton, NY

For me, the summer is always a time when I feel incredible because I know no stress. Work seems simpler, the weather is nicer, beaches are at my disposal, and I always seem to have free time. This past summer, I spent a week in the Hamptons with two of my best friends, beach hopping, going to restaurants, and trying to spot celebrities at every corner. When my friend told me to think about my favorite moments, this was the first one to come to my mind. 

So this past Monday, I tried it out for the first time. I got back to my dorm room after the gym, showered, and before I rushed out to dinner with some friends, I told them I would be a few minutes late and I tossed myself onto my bed. I closed my eyes, and instead of falling asleep and taking a nap, I just dove deep into my memories from this past summer. I remembered little things- like stopping at farm stands to get doughnut peaches and watching Dirty Dancing on the projector late at night. These were memories I didn't even know I had, and yet when I forced myself to think about it for ten minutes, they all popped up as if they were at the forefront of my mind all along.

Courtesy of Libby VanderPloeg

Now, you may be thinking "Katie, this seems silly. How would this help with my stress?". Good question, reader! I don't know if there is any science behind it, but this week I have felt a lot less stressed. Even with exams, applications, and other responsibilities packing my schedule, it all seemed tolerable after I opened my eyes after those few minutes thinking about my best times. It also helped when I had moments during the day that I felt overwhelmed because I would think back to those ten minutes from the day before and it helped me to think that I will end up in that state of relaxation again. When I'm in a bad mood, I think about good times and it immediately puts me in a better mood.

It blows my mind how much ten minutes of my day have changed my stress level, and I really think it could help some of you too. It is such a rad way to feel better if your life isn't at its best right now. I love Penn State, just like hopefully you do too, but it can certainly get stressful here. Thinking about summer brings me back to center and helps me feel like I have control over my life. 

Those Cute GoPro Videos, Except I Don't Own A GoPro

It is truly hard to believe that two weeks have passed since the THON 2017 weekend began. As evidenced from my last post, I am extremely involved in THON all year long and it's something I hold near and dear to my heart. The whole weekend was incredible, and really solidified for me why I spend all this time and money working towards a goal of raising as much money as possible for the Four Diamonds Fund.

In the past two weeks, I took on a task that reignited all of the incredible feelings from THON weekend. I made a video of my special interest organization in the stands at the Bryce Jordan Center, and my God, was it fun. It made me rethink all my life plans- I made one low quality video on iMovie and tossed "Brand New" by Ben Rector over it and all of a sudden I think I'm the next Martin Scorsese. I took all the videos on my phone and it doesn't even go up to 1080 HD, but I like the video nonetheless. I felt as though I was able to capture the incredible feelings of THON, the relationship my organization has with our Four Diamonds family, and the connection we all share as friends in a two minute, four second long video. Take a look!:

My home friend Ali (who I've mentioned too many times, probably) is the one who introduced me to making these kinds of videos in the first place. She made one from her family vacation to St. John in 2015 and it was so cute that it inspired me to want to do the same. I won a GoPro at my high school's post-grad party and subsequently lost it in the ocean in Southampton, New York about a month later. It was potentially one of the greatest material losses of my life and I miss that GoPro, but the waves wanted it more than I did, I guess. Rest easy, GoPro. Here's Ali's St. John video, though:

Regardless of my GoPro loss, I took advantage of a huge event that I was attending and made a cute video for my organization. They loved it. I mean, seriously. I was blushing when I read these messages:

I have to recommend making a video on iMovie or some other similar video editor. It's simple, you don't have to have any skills to do it, and we learned the basics of iMovie in the library that one time for this class anyway! It's a unique creative outlet, something a little bit different than the average drawing, painting, or writing. This WikiHow article gives you eleven quick steps to understand iMovie if the lessons from that class don't come to mind. It doesn't take long and it's lots of fun! If you're not a particularly creative person but you still need a creative outlet for your flashes of creativity, this is for you. If you have any sort of Apple product, you can make a video on iMovie (the app is free so you can make videos on your phone too). If you've ever made a video like this, put it in the comments or show it to me and I can almost guarantee that I will love it. Here's to creativity and fun times at THON! 

Why We THON

With THON weekend officially beginning tonight, I felt as though it only made sense for me to write about why I THON and why Penn State THONs. In terms of my passion blog topic of trying new things and saying "yes" to new opportunities, I must say that getting involved in THON has been the greatest decision that I have made at Penn State thus far. Before I got to campus, I had only heard about it a few times and really didn't have much information about it. This is my advice when it comes to getting involved in things you don't know much about: if it seems right, fun, or educational, do it. If you're afraid or nervous, do it, but do it with a friend by your side. I joined my special interest organization with a friend and that made all the difference.

Photo courtesy of the THON Facebook page.

Here is why I THON, even though I don't have a family member or close friend who has or has had pediatric cancer:

In my freshman year of high school, in the cold of December's winter, just eleven days before Christmas day, there were rumors flying around my school. There were hundreds of high school students looking up the news, refreshing Twitter every few minutes, looking for answers. Something had happened in Newtown, just two towns over from where I was, and we were all so confused. There I was, a freshman in high school, thus far mostly untouched by any tragedies, trying to wrap my head around why my school was on lockdown, why people were talking about Sandy Hook all day, why my principal had gone on the loud speaker and told us to all stop looking up unconfirmed news. Kids had died, someone had shot up Sandy Hook Elementary School, only twenty minutes away from me. The Sandy Hook shooting showed to me the power and confusion around these tragedies and how they can affect everyone.

Photo courtesy of sandyhookpromise.org

When I got to Penn State, I saw my chance to try to make a difference in a currently incurable tragedy by getting involved in THON. That's how I view pediatric cancer, and cancer in general: a tragic part of some family's lives, no matter how hard it is fought and whether or not the fight is one, it is a tragic part of their life. There was no way I could turn a blind eye to little kids getting hurt and passing away, and so I decided to THON with the memory of everyone who was killed in Sandy Hook on December 14th, 2012. I THON to fight this incurable tragedy, so that kids can have another day to smile and experience the joys of life. 

In order to do this, I joined Axis, a smaller special interest organization. Like I said earlier in this post, this was truly the best decision I have made here so far. I have found a new passion in raising money for this cause, made incredible friends, and just had an amazing time all in all. If you are reading this and you aren't involved in THON, or you are involved but not to any particular extent, I personally suggest throwing yourself into it. Get involved- there are only positives to it: helping others, making friends, making memories, and experiencing more. You are given an incredible opportunity here at Penn State to get involved in something bigger than yourself- take advantage of it.

So now I turn the question to you- why do you THON and how did you get involved? To everyone going to the BJC this weekend, good luck, have fun, and see you bright and early Monday morning!

Do You Have What It Takes To Be The Next Gordon Ramsay? Hint: The Answer Is YES!

I consider myself to be a regular Gordan Ramsay. Actually, that is definitely a lie. I aspire to be a regular Gordon Ramsay. The foul-mouthed, T.V. chef-extraordinaire is the host of one of my all time favorite shows, Kitchen Nightmares. Being at college has held me back from this aspiration- I can't exactly create a five star meal in my dorm room's microwave. I used to be seriously afraid of cooking and baking because I assumed that I would burn myself or mess up the food completely and ultimately waste all of the food I used to make it. However, as time went on my love for cooking and baking grew exponentially, and now I can confidently say that I love to do both! College has made me take a break from it, but recently going to my friends apartment to bake cookies for a THON fundraiser reminded me of this love that I need to talk about.

The man himself, Gordon Ramsay. Courtesy of his Twitter.

Every night when I go to North to get dinner with my friends, the thought crosses my mind that I simply cannot wait until I can eat a home cooked meal, made by yours truly. Being at home with a stove, oven, and more ingredients is truly something I took for granted. There are so many options back in my kitchen at home that I don't have here. That being said, it is still entirely possible to make some food in the microwave. If Ramen noodles and T.V. dinners aren't quite your thing, you can still make some food items that are a little bit more involved than that! This BuzzFeed article lays out a pretty solid list of 31 different items you can make just with a trip to the store and a microwave. Cook up a storm in your dorm!

Cooking and baking is also super helpful when it comes to stress. If you're intrigued by this idea, this article discusses it more in depth than I am going to right now. Essentially, though, you become quite focused on what you are doing right in that moment. Cooking is oftentimes not something that you can walk away from for half an hour and come back to. It is hard to get distracted by the stressful parts of your life while you are dead set on getting some good food on the table in time for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

This doesn't have to be you! Courtesy of Harvard Health.

Maybe the thought of cooking stresses you out, so you can't bring yourself to believe the previous paragraph. I have something else to tell you. Cooking is not difficult! Watch some YouTube videos, read the recipes before diving into the cooking itself, and everything will turn out fine. Pay close attention (the kind of attention that will distract you from life's stress) to the recipe that you can easily get from a cookbook or online and I swear to you, you will be one step closer to being Gordon Ramsay. There is absolutely no need to start creating your own concoctions right from the start of your cooking endeavors, there are a lot of easier ways to get started.

While cooking and baking might not initially seem like something that could "change your life", if you look a little deeper I promise that they are more than just making food and eating it. If you put the time and effort in, you too could start to love creating full meals or desserts out of what was just a few measly ingredients an hour earlier. Cooking and baking has proven to be a great stress reliever for me, personally, and for many other people I know who enjoy it as well. This might be a stretch, but maybe you could find a newfound love in cooking and become a chef or something similar. You could be the next Gordon Ramsay! (Seriously, he is a great example of how you can become successful and wealthy by doing what you love.)

The White Building, 5:30 PM, Every Thursday

You can find me at The White Building every Thursday night from 5:30 to 6:15, power remixing my heart out. If you haven't taken one of the power remix classes through your gym membership, you need to immediately. That specific time and place is when the infamous "Zumba Ryan" is teaching the class, and he is definitely my favorite instructor.

I only got my gym membership at the beginning of this semester, and I guess that I could just write this post about going to the gym in general, but I don't think that it counts as trying something new because I used to go to the gym a lot. I am also assuming that many of you have already been a gym-goer or at least worked out. If you haven't, I recommend it- and power remix is seriously the way to go if you want an easy and fun workout.

Ryan Lamb leading a group of power remixers. Courtesy of the Daily Collegian.

Let me play out what power remix is, in my eyes. You wait in a long line (extra long if it's with Zumba Ryan, but I'll talk about that more later), and then right around 5:30, they start letting people in. You toss your stuff in the back and, for me personally, post up in the back of the room so nobody can see your unfortunate excuse for dance and rhythm. You do a "warm up" which is honestly sometimes harder than the actual workout itself, and all of a sudden you're dancing and squatting your heart out. My friends and I are always laughing at each other whenever we lose track of the moves that we're supposed to be doing. In the end, power remix is a good time. 

Power remix is much like Zumba, but with more current music as well as some added squats and high knees. The difficulty level depends on what instructor you have. Zumba Ryan, who is this energetic blonde guy who plays the best music of them all, offers a pretty easy and low-intensity workout with his power remix class. I don't remember the names of the other instructors I have had, but I know that some of them are much more of a workout than others. Regardless of difficulty level, I always have fun.

Next time you want to work out or just do something to be a bit more active, I strongly suggest heading over to a power remix class. Whether you do it after you work out or as your only workout of that day, you really cannot go wrong. I'm a big believer in dancing it out, no matter how talented you are at dancing. I know that, at least for some people, going to a class can be kind of intimidating, especially if you know that you aren't the best dancer. I promise that it is one hundred percent worth it even if you don't enjoy working out! If you've been avoiding taking one of those classes, now is the time to do it. Maybe it can even make you power remix and Zumba obsessed like me and my friends!

Anthropology: Not The (Really Cute) Store

This semester, my passion blog is going to be all about trying new things and why you should too. I am a big believer that change is the best way to grow, and in a way, this blog is forcing me to grow as a person. Hopefully this blog can inspire you to take some chances for new opportunities or activities and therefore make changes and grow! To start this semester's blog, I am going to tell you about a new class that I decided to take this spring- and the process it took me to get there and why it matters at all that I'm taking it.

As a bit of background information, I have no idea what I want to do with my life. Maybe (hopefully) you can relate to that so that I know I'm not alone in my struggle to find a major or a profession that I am interested in. Last semester I was enrolled in classes that I knew essentially nothing about and found myself bored with a few of those classes. As a freshman, I figured this was normal since I am taking all general education classes, but I decided towards the middle of first semester that I needed to take gen ed classes that I would enjoy, rather than fall asleep in. This decision led me to sign up for GLIS (Global and International Studies) 102 as an exploratory course. BIG mistake.

It wasn't that I had anything against GLIS 102 or the professor. In fact, everything about the class seemed as though it should be perfect for me. Unfortunately, the class ended up being strange and confusing and I knew quickly that I needed to switch out of it. I dropped GLIS and, on a whim, decided to take ANTH 45 because my roommate told me it was an easy gen ed class. I had pretty much given up on my plan to try to discover a new major, but I have proven myself wrong.

I love going to ANTH 45, and it's not just because I have a good professor. I love sitting in class and hearing about other cultures and how our culture varies from it. Hearing about the norms of different places which I would think of as disgusting or extremely unusual keeps me engaged and actually wanting to read the textbook. Every day that I go to class I am ready to learn more and think about if anthropology is something I could major in.

All in all, I really recommend taking classes that you think you would thoroughly enjoy instead of looking for the easiest gen ed classes and loading up your schedule with them. If you're like me and you can't put a finger on a passion that you want to create your life around, then take chances on signing up for classes you don't know a lot about. You always have the option of dropping it and adding a new class. Nobody is stopping you from learning more about yourself but you! So get out there and look for classes you could fall in love with (even if you love your major and know your goals in life)!