The Freshman Fifteen

When the saying "freshman fifteen" pops into your head, you might think the weight that college students sometimes put on during their first year due to the lack of money for fruits and vegetables, the fact that Top Ramen and Mac n Cheese is so cheap, or the limited time in the day to get a proper exercise. When I think of the freshman fifteen, I think of fifteen things that I learned, valued, and treasured about my freshman year of college.

1. Good friends are everything.
I was so blessed with the girls I was placed with in my apartments. I truly believe a good college experience comes from having fabulous roommates to call your best friends.

2. Krispy Kreme is always a good idea.
I lived in Orem, Utah so hello one of the only Krispy Kreme stores in the state was just down the street from my apartment. Anytime I would drive by and see that neon sign flashing, I knew it meant hot doughnuts were calling my name. For some reason, they sounded and tasted even better at mightnight.

3. Don't pull too many all nighters.
I am the queen of going to bed early. I always joke that I'm an old lady because I can't stay up past 10:30 anymore. Those mornings just come too quickly. If you think staying up late to get in some extra studying is a good idea, think again. You probably already know everything you need to know. P.S: Do not ever in your right mind sign up for a 7:00 am class.

4. Watching Hannah Montana reruns can help you cope with stress.
For about half of the year, apartment 1151 suffered from a very serious conidition called, "WE DON'T HAVE TV". This was hard for us. We missed award shows, new episodes of the Kardashians, and the Christmas movies they play on ABC family. When we finally got one, you best bet we binge watched. Mostly old Disney Channel reruns.

5.  You can healthily live off of eggs for about three weeks until you get sick of them.
I have never felt so poor than how I did my last few weeks of my freshman year. I got lazy and poor. Poor and lazy. Often times, I asked myself, "How am I going to stay alive if I don't feed myself?" The solution was eggs. It was a cheap and easy solution. Do you know how many ways you can eat eggs? I got creative, but man I never want to eat another omelet for as long as I live. Shoutout to those lucky chickens for feeding me.

6. Hair that isn't your own hair is DISGUSTING!!
That's all I'm gonna say.

7. Call centers everywhere.
Living in a college town, there are so many call centers hiring at all times. They bring in college students like no ones business. Here's the thing, gray hair is a hair trend these days so I have the perfect solution, just work at a call center. They will be sure to make you want to pull your hair out while your soul dies little by little each day, but $$$$$.

8.  Don't skip too many classes.
Being a college student, its tempting to want to miss a class or two here and there. Especially coming from a high school like mine where missing school was equivalent to kicking a dog. However, missing one class in college can automatically  cause your grade to be the dog that's getting kicked. Not to brag or anything, but my first semester I stopped going to my history class in October and made it out with an A by December so miracles do happen and that is probably one of my proudest moments. Sorry dad.

9. Always do it for the Instagram photo.
Those quirky colored walls on the back of Mexican auto body shops, that pefect ice cream cone, or hiking to the top of a 1200 foot mountain are always worth it. This is probably going to be my new motto.

10. It's hard to live within 30 feet of 5 girls and be able to get along with all of them.
I have lucked out with the roommates I was set up with, but we have had our fair share of drama. It's almost impossible to put that many girls together and expect there not to be.

11. Home cooked meals always taste so much better.
If your mom is complaining that you never want to eat her food, just go away to college. You will realized how amazing a home cooked meal is after you eat eggs for three weeks straight.

12.  You will probably forget how to be alone.
When you have roommates, there is usually someone with you 24 hours out of the day. I can't even tell you how lonely I would get when I was home alone. It's like you forget what "me" time is because you are so used to having company and having someone to talk to.

13.  Living room dance parties are a thing.
My downstairs neighbors probably hated us when we broke out that strobe light app and blasted The Jonas Brothers and the High School Musical 2 soundtrack.

14.  Knowing how to strategically make all your clean underwear last so you don't have to do laundry.
This is a skill I should put on my resume.

15. Goodbyes suck.
I don't know how I'm going to handle a summer without the girls I spent my last eight months with.

After just finishing my first year of college, I feel relieved. I feel accomplished that I was able to succeed and have the amazing experience I did. Lastly, I feel grateful. I feel grateful that because of my parents I had the opportunity to move away for college and experience such a great thing and grow and learn and find who i am. Instead of gaining the freshman fifteen from eating Krispy Kreme, rocky road ice cream, and Toaster Strudels, I gained the freshman fifteen from making incredible memories and coming out of it with these fifteen things I will cling to forever. Let's be real, I never worked out so I'm lucky that I had roommates who made me laugh so hard I got a 6 pack.

XO- Sydney Lauren

A Short Letter to a Long Day

Hello my lovelies. I didn't forget about you, all the yous that read my posts that is. I've just been busy.

Busier than ever. I am two weeks away from tucking a whole year of college under my belt. Where did the time go? Holy moly.

I will be lucky if I pass Biology and finish my two 12 page papers that I have lined up for me in the next two weeks without pulling out my hair before it turns gray.

In my English class today, we read a blog post with this same title and all I could think of was "relatable."

So here is to my long day:

That stupid alarm buzzing underneath my pillow, go away. I swear I've only been sleeping for 26 minutes.

What am I supposed to wear when I live in a state with multiple personality disorder? It is 38 degrees when I wake up and 70 degrees by the time I leave class.

How many cups of coffee is it safe to drink everyday?

Did I even eat breakfast?

Crap, its time to leave for class already?

Am I having a heart attack at age 19 or is it just stress?

Why do jobs exist? Why do I have to pay $50 for groceries to feed my one little body for two weeks?

I forgot what its like to have time for myself.

Oh I have to register for next years classes too?

Biology 1010 was created by Satan himself.

This day can not get any longer.

I want my bed.

I still want my bed.

How many more hours of work?

How many finals do I have to study for?

Should I just drop out? Join the circus? Sell my kidneys? My body? Sorry mom and dad.

I have to wake up and do it all again tomorrow?

At least its almost summer.

Those days will be longer.

ugh.

goodnight.

rinse and repeat.

Curse you long days.

And that's how my Monday went.

We're almost there people. Almost there.

At the end of the day, I am thankful for a day.

XO- Sydney Lauren

Side note: How pretty are these pink trees? I love spring.

How To Deal With Discouragement

I am writing this on the Monday of all Mondays. I have had the type of day that makes me realize why many people say "I hate Mondays". My homework is piling up, finals are around the corner, I hate my job and can't find another one, and just as things seem to be going my way, that luck halts. It painfully and awfully just stops. I have yet to find a perfect balance of complete and udder nirvana, where the scales are perfectly synced. Once one thing falls into place, another unravels. On the contrary, I read in a book once that a woman said, if you are happy about everything and everything is going perfectly right, they are preparing to take something away from you. So I guess that's a good sign that I'm not losing anything anytime soon. I am writing this piece mostly for myself because dealing with discouragement and defeat is something I struggle heavily with. Right now for example, I am struggling with the horrible realization that my job is slowing, but surely killing me, one brain cell at a time. I swear working at a call center has taken ten years off of my life just by sitting in a mundane cubicle and staring at the white glow of my computer screen while biting my tongue not to curse at mean people. Discouragement is on the list of the worst feelings to feel. It is the worst to feel like you are giving everything your all, and it still isn't enough. So on days like today, when I'm laying in bed feeling defeated by my Monday and trying not to have a earthshattering emotional and mental break down, I need to remember these things:

1. You are kind, you are smart, and you are important.  ( Thanks Kathryn Stockett)

2. Just because you were turned down at a job you wanted extremely bad, doesn't mean you are a failure.

3. Everything happens for a reason.

4. Everything works out.

5. And everything will fall into place eventually.

6. You are right where you are supposed to be in life.

7. You are making your dreams come true.

8. You are becoming a better person.

9. Just because your boss might tell you how crappy you are doing, it doesn't mean you are crap.

10. Even if the person on the phone tells you to go to hell, no matter how hard it is smile and tell them to have a nice day.

11. STOP COMPARING YOURSELF TO OTHERS

12. You could be the ripest, juiciest peach in the world, but someone is still not going to like peaches.

So yes I may have been turned down a job at Nordstrom which is a galactic bummer. Yes, I may have cried my whole way home from work after dealing with the meanest people on earth and a boss who tells me everything I do wrong. Yes, I may be suffocating with stress and anxiety knowing I have to take a biology final, an astronomy final, and write two 10 page papers in the course of just 3 weeks. Yes, I may be wanting to buy a one way ticket to Aruba with what is left of my lousy checking account ( hashtag college probs), but the moral of the story is its just a bad day, not a bad life. Like the horribly overused cliché, there is always a rainbow after the storm.