Weekend Recap 11/2/15

Another beautiful Fall weekend has come and gone! I took Friday off this weekend, so it was quite a beautiful 3 day weekend full of laughter and friendship.

The weekend began with the East vs. West Powderpuff Football Game to raise money for Breast Cancer Awareness! The event raised over $75 for The National Breast Cancer Foundation and was such a hit! We were all worried that the weather wasn't going to pan out for this event, but God worked his magic and we had quite a beautiful Fall evening.

After the game, I drove down to Josh's house and we went bowling. We hadn't gone bowling in so long and it was nice to have an impromptu date! I also got to see a lot of other Mounties and it was nice hearing how some old staff members and friends were doing.



It was bring your girlfriend to work day on Friday... just kidding! But, I did wake up nice and early and drove over to work with Josh. But, instead of going to his office I ventured around the Mount to visit old faculty member's offices! I got to see my Psychology mentor, Dr. Faas and quite a number of old professors who I think I can now call friends! After visiting a few professors, I met up with my friend Cassandra for some breakfast and then we walked around and talked about life. 

After Cassandra went to class, I had lunch with Alex... or really watched her eat lunch and we gabbed about the latest and greatest moments in life! Alex works at the Mount with Josh, so it's really quite spectacular that all of my greatest friends work together. After lunch, I was reunited with my favorite man and we hiked to Indian Lookout! We have made it a tradition to go up there at least once a year and so far we have two beautiful years down in our book! It's crazy to reflect on what we talked about last year and what we talked about this year. Now that I am employed, I have found that my worries are completely different from what they used to be last year. But, one thing has not changed and that is my appreciation for him! Now that we are officially in November I can start bringing out my thankful notes and sending thankful letters to people who mean the world to me! 

Saturday was Halloween (just in case you forgot) and unlike most people, Josh and I decided to forget the costumes and appreciate a quiet evening together. We went to the Ship football game and watched them win over Millersville or "The Ville" as the like to be called? We then went back to my apartment and made apple pizza! We basically used a pie crust, some butter, cheese, and some apples that was baked at 350 degrees for 12 minutes! It was the perfect pre-church snack! We then walked to church and heard a beautiful homily about recognizing the "happiest moments in life" and acknowledging that the happiest moment (being united with God) is yet to come!

When we got back from church, we went for a walk and my adorable boyfriend helped me cross another thing off my 101 in 1001 list... jump in a leaf pile! It was fun being silly and jumping around in a pile of leaves!

We then made our way back to my apartment where we carved a pumpkin, ate a child's favorite dinner, and watched Harry Potter. Josh hasn't seen the Harry Potters, which is completely mind blowing to me... so we began with the first one and hopefully we will make it to the 7th by this time next year.

I love weekends with this guy! Happy November friends and don't forget to appreciate everyone in your life and tell them how thankful you are for the little things that they do!



The Good Old Days

"you are surrounding all my surroundings, 

sounding down the mountain range of my left-side brain,

you are surrounding all my surroundings,

twisting the kaleidoscope behind both of my eyes"

        ~ Holding On To You- twenty one pilots

So, before I begin writing this post I wanted to give you all a brief warning that this post is about a specific group of people. A group of people that made my college experience so memorable. A group of people who I could literally drive around on the back roads of Mount St. Mary's forever and never want the night to end. 

(James, Ben, Zach, and Matt)

On our last night together, my good friend James toasted to us all saying "I wish we knew that we were in the good old days when they were actually happening." And those words could not be truer. After graduating college, I felt so many feelings and one of those was a combination of sadness and regret... regret for not soaking up every minute I spent with these people. Regret for not learning all of the words to 'Migraine' (but, I know James likes my version better). Regret for preferring Bud Light in a bottle, over a can (but, not really -- sorry Bob). But, even with all of those feelings I know that I made the greatest friends and I am so incredibly lucky for every moment I got to spend with all of them. They all taught me so many things and I don't think my college experience would have been the same if they were not apart of it.  

I mean really if they weren't apart of this experience-- I doubt I would have cried my eyes out the day after graduation and moped around the house about how I'm not returning to the Mount. They all brought so much to the friend group and even if one of them wasn't there things would have been so different! How could we have gone without Bobby's knack for attracting creepy old men at Otts who wanted to talk to him about God knows what? How could we have gone without Matt's "party light," which set the mood for every occasion? Would college have been the same if Joel was not there? What if Ben had never discovered that cute little quarry in Frederick with the turtles?

Ben, Alex V., Bobby

 Any way that I reflect on college... I always come back to the same conclusion: these guys made the experience. All of our late nights in Steele's room or playing Mario Smash (not sure if that is the right terminology) in Annex. And how could we forget all of the College Nights at Otts?! We were always the group on the dance floor and if the DJ gave in to our request to play Usher's "Yeah," then the night was deemed a success!

Ben, Bob, and Joel 

Every time we all got together we ended up playing the best games (DRAGON) or having the best conversations. I think one of my favorite memories was when we were all in Kevin's room and talked about what we would miss the most and what we would change about our college experiences... it's funny because in that moment we all said we would miss each other the most and now that we all have graduated that has truly resonated. We even have a giant group text that someone texts at least once a day. It's nice checking in with everyone. I think my post-graduate resolution is to check in or call everyone at least once month. I also need to collect everyone's addresses!

Matt, I wish I met you sooner!

Joel, Ryan, Ben, Kevin, and Me

When I think back to some of my favorite moments... Is it weird to say that some/ if not most of them were spent in a car with these guys? There were so many moments where we were just driving around and I wished those moments would last forever. There are three car trips that are particularly memorable:

First, {Junior Year}: James, Ben, Estela, Afton and I were driving to Lincoln Diner during Winter RA training and we were listening to the song "Screen" by 21 Pilots and Ben would be singing "i'm standing in front of you" in this voice and we were all laughing and singing along.

Second, one afternoon, we were in Joel's truck and were driving around the mountains. I think it was Ben, Bobby,  James and I with him. Anyways, there this huge rainstorm approaching and I had to run into the building to use the restroom and Ben needed to get something from his car and we were completely drenched. But, before the storm hit we were in this peaceful beautiful place. The windows were down and everyone was smiling ear to ear. I would give anything to go back to that day.

Third, on our way back from Ben's graduation party: Caroline (greatest DJ ever), James, Jess, Matt and I were in the car with the windows down. I think this might have been the last true night drive I spent with these guys. We had "Car Radio" by 21 Pilots playing and everything got real. This is our life. These are my people. And very soon we will be graduating and parting ways.

Matt, Me, Ben, & Kevin

Another huge aspect of all of our friendships was Residence Life! Although Bobby and Joel were not RAs/DAs they lived with James and were basically a part of the Res Life family. If someone would have told me that by becoming an RA, I would have made the greatest friends I ever would have had I probably would tell everyone to become an RA or friends with RAs. We are honest and caring. Although we do have the "RA Tattoo" and we are not found at the raging parties, we always had the greatest time. Looking back I remember this party we had... which may seem bizarre for college students to do, anyways we had a halloween party WITHOUT alcohol and we had a BLAST. Looking back on it now, I kind of giggle to myself how silly we were. But, I would much rather have become friends with people over sober conversations rather than drunken forgotten stupors.

I really got close with the Res Life group my Junior Year (2nd Year as an RA). I was on staff with Ben and Afton my sophomore year, but I think I really started to get close with the whole group during Summer training of my junior year. I don't even remember how it happened, it was kind of "semi-automatic." I learned so much about these guys over the past two years. Like Ben would do anything for you and loves cars (cough Mercedes) & starbucks. Matt, is a phenomenal cook and loves guacamole. Bobby, is pretty much great at everything hands on. He is an expert watchmaker and would do anything for the burrito bar. Afton, works hard at everything she does! One day she will be this great homemaker and maybe even our kids will play together. Kevin, will most likely be President or a Senator one day and whenever we were all hanging out you can bet he would call Liz at least once (perfect fiance award)! Joel, has the best laugh and is a great dancer... he pairs really well with Hannah, who was new to the RA staff this year. Hannah, is a wonderful dancer and makes me laugh so much! Cristephanie, who always tripped me up with the name change and could always be found on the dance floor at Otts was great to go out with! Jess, was a great contribution to this group. We had Sports Psych together and she taught me so much and was always a pleasure to hang around. Zach, is/was probably the most athletic guy in our friend group (Division I athlete and all). I can't tell you how many conversations and or topics that Zach and I saw eye to eye on! And last, but certainly not least-- James, he would give you the clothes off his back... and he will probably be this famous author one day (equivalent to Stephen King) and will change the way people view life. He has taught me so much about life and myself and I don't know what I would do without him (literally I couldn't have gotten done all of those appreciation committee stuff without him)! He values loyalty and handwork and is one of the greatest people I have ever met. 

Ben, Me, James, Bobby, Jess, Joel, Kevin, & Zach

As I said previously, on the last night we all got together we toasted to each other. We each gave a toast on what we have learned or what impacted us. I toasted to having the greatest friends-- who are as caring as they are giving/smart. They value loyalty and who remain true to themselves. People expressed how they don't want to leave... and how they didn't want to say goodbye to everything we had here. Matt said that he wish he had met us sooner... and to that all I have to say is that I couldn't agree more! And finally James said that he "wish we knew that we were in the good old days when they were actually happening.." And with that tears rolled down all of our faces, and I knew that even though this was goodbye... it would not be permanent. Because with friendships like these you don't just say goodbye after you shared so many 5:00PM dinners together or late night chats. So, even if I don't see them every day for a delicious Patriot meal, or I don't go to Starbucks with Ben regularly, or drive in James' Jetta... even if someone stole my car radio and now I just sit in silence... I know this: I made some of the greatest friends and as we all grow up and move different places, none of us will be able to forget the "good old days" we shared and hopefully the even better reunions to come.

While I've Been Gone

While I've been gone... I went to senior formal (with arguably the greatest date ever), graduated from the Mount, moped around the house (post-graduation blues), went to Philadelphia (with that greatest date ever), got my final grades (4.0 what's up), and did a lot of unpacking, organizing, and repacking. It has been a really busy week and a half. I can't even wrap my mind around the fact that last week at this time I was just getting to formal and was on the dance floor! Like seriously, I have squeezed in so many great moments and life changing events in this last week that I can barely even keep up (let alone blog about it all)! Anyways, here is my best shot at updating you all:

 Formal... was a blast! After we closed down the Residence Halls, I went off to my room to get ready for Senior Formal. I was so nervous that my hair wasn't going to turn out right (it was such a humid day), but luckily with some leave-in conditioner and a lot of bobby pins, I was all set. I had an absolutely blast at formal. A bunch of my friends and I went to Sakura (a Japanese Steak House) before the dance and then we all met up in one of their hotel rooms before the dance. Josh and I decided that we weren't going to stay at the hotel, so after formal we left and went to my parent's house.

Graduation... wow! I'm a college grad. Those words still don't even feel real. But, I am very grateful for everyone who has helped me get to the place I'm at. When I went to walk across the stage, all I could focus on was (1) not tripping, (2) breathing, (3) smiling, (4) and shaking everyone's hands. My only regret was not looking and waving to my professors when they stood up for me. After the ceremony, my dad asked me why I didn't look over and I was like "I was just trying to get back to my seat successfully and that was all I was focusing on." You work so hard to graduate and then you're actually graduating and suddenly the hardest thing you have to do is to walk across the stage and say goodbye to everyone who has helped you, loved you, and made you who you are.

Grieving... the week leading up to graduation everyone was really sad about graduating and saying their goodbyes. I kept hearing "this is our last" (fill in the blank). I remained very strong throughout the whole week. Probably because I had finals and so much to prepare for before moving out. So, when I packed up my room on Monday (a week ago) and drove home... all of the emotions hit me at once. I just moped around the house the entire day. And of course, when Josh got there the real tears started coming and sure enough I woke up the next morning with a headache and swollen eyes. 

But, what boosted my spirits was Josh and my trip to Philadelphia! We only went to Philly for a few days, but it was so incredibly nice. I love going on adventures with this guy and I'm proud to say we almost mastered the streets of Philadelphia. We really knew our way around the city on the last day. While in Philly, we saw a Phillies vs. Pirates Game, the Liberty Bell, a lot of nice parks, the famous LOVE statue, etc! We went to the zoo and had some delicious food (hahaha of course cheesesteaks)!

When we came back sadness set in! I was just so sad that graduation was over and our trip had passed! But, on Sunday (yesterday) we had my graduation party and a few college friends drove down to see me and so many of my family members came out! I was seriously in heaven with all of my friends, family, and Josh! Even Josh's brother, Jonathan came down, which was a really special treat. He is such a nice guy and I love when we all get to hang out.

As the night and the post- graduation week came to a close, we all sat around and sang "Remember When" by Alan Jackson. It was kind of a somber and bittersweet moment, but if I have learned anything over the last week it is that I hope I "remember when" we did so many fun things or I laughed until I cried.

At my party, a lot of my cousins asked me if I had any advice or if anything really stuck out from college and the transition process. In the moment, I struggled with coming up with something really good to say. But, now all I can say is enjoy every moment you have. Whether it is staying up late to study or write a paper or going out "back roading" with friends. They may be brief moments of your life, but when you put them all together they are some of the best memories you will ever have. When you're old and gray, you're going to look around and meet up with old friends and you can definitely bet you'll say, "remember when."

Let's Start Moving

I can't believe it's that time of year already... MOVE OUT TIME! It feels even more strange knowing that this is the last time I will be moving out while at college. Although, it feels bittersweet I've got to be realistic with myself and start planning. I'm the type of student who needs two cars to move into school and three to move out. I really don't know why, but I just start collecting things throughout the year. When I look around and start to move out, I have realized that I have accumulated so much stuff over the year... yikes. But, since I have been doing this for awhile I am almost a "professional" and have learned the do's and don'ts of moving out of a Residence Hall. 

Here is some advice for all of those who are moving out of their Residence Hall within the next few weeks:

(1) Move stuff out in trips... I begin moving out weeks ahead of time. Just taking little things home and then moving bigger things home. It really helps in the long run!

(2) Donate items... This is my favorite thing to do at the end of every semester. If I brought clothes to school with me and didn't wear them at all, I donate them! It is a pretty good policy and one that not only helps me simplify my life, but can also help others. 

(3) Pack with organization. I always pack some bins that are specifically and only residence hall stuff (i.e. decorations or my desk lamp) and then the other stuff is things I need while I'm living at home. This helps save you time later and keep you organized. 

(4) Trash/Recycle things. Test out old pens and make sure they still have ink in them. And recycle any papers you don't need. I like to save some school papers for records, but other than that I'm a huge recycler. So, get on the trash and recycle bandwagon. 

These are just a few helpful tips that will change the way you view packing. I find it to be very helpful and you won't be stressed out the last week of classes/finals or when you officially move out. 

2014's Year in Review

It is hard to believe that 2014 has come and gone! This has been an incredible year for me... I turned 21, I traveled the world, I fell in love,  and I did some pretty amazing things. When I look back at 2013's Year in Review, that was one of the best years I can remember... but, this year certainly topped it! As I was scanning through old photos that I took throughout the year, I had such a hard time choosing which ones to use... so, below is my 2014 ( & photo dump ) year in review!

My youngest sister, Brooke got accepted into Auburn University and graduated from High School. Now my baby sis is a 12 hour car drive away, but we still are close and we FaceTime often!

 I completed two of my senior capstone projects and got asked to present one of them at a conference in NYC in 2015! So, excited to see my research take off and hopefully open up some doors in the world of Higher Education. 

 Some of our greatest friends left the Mount to pursue their medical careers, but Alex and I are still close, even though we both are so busy and she is practically saving the world one math computation at a time. She is truly a wonderful friend and inspires me endlessly. 

 I also met a guy, formally known to you all as J... but, now I openly call him Josh on the blog! We started dating in February and I couldn't have found a more loving, kind person, who knows almost everything about the history of football, and always fixes my comma errors (and let's be serious that is a lot of work) 

 My High School friends and I went to the beach like we usually do... except this time we were all 21 so, we went out to bars and we always made it to the beach the next morning!

I went on one of the best trips of my life. Salzburg captivated me in ways I never thought it would. I traveled to Iceland, Vienna, and Bolzano, Italy... But, although all of those places are beautiful, Salzburg is the only one I would definitely go back and visit. 

 While abroad, I drank German beer (Stiegl Grapefruit Radler), I ate a lot of german food (schnitzel), my sweet tooth only got bigger (gelato, gelato, gelato), my memory card on my camera got smaller (3,450 pictures later), I learned how to speak German ("I'm sorry", "excuse me", and "bathroom?"), I became the tourist I swore I never would become (Sound of Music central), and I had the greatest summer to date. I also had a really cute pen pal, who wrote me the nicest emails and gave me something to look forward to while I ate breakfast every morning (Thanks Josh!)

 And because an Austrian study abroad trip was not enough... The day after I got home I flew out to Seattle, Washington with my family for an Alaskan cruise. I held puppy sled dogs, went zip lining, saw a few Alaskan cities. We ate delicious food (beef carpaccio) and dined on the best creme brûlée I have ever had!

 On the crabbing trip in Ketchikan, I helped pull up one of the cages (the only working out I did all summer) and we discovered that there is another type of crab that is equivalent to the Maryland Blue Crab and that is the Alaskan Dungeness Crab! 

And before I got home and finally was reunited with Josh and friends, I made a quick pit stop in Texas, where I worked for Duke TIP again at Rice University. It was a short few weeks, but I loved every second of it like I did the year before. 

 And after two months away, I decided I would stay home for awhile. I promised Josh that for the remainder of 2014 I wouldn't even go near an airplane, haha! Anyways, Josh and I had a busy and exciting Fall semester. We went hot air ballooning and went to baseball games. We ate Chinese food and celebrated Halloween!

 We also went camping with two great friends for a weekend. It rained every night but, we still made the best of it. I taught Josh how to play rummy and now we have a new card game to play. And being out doorsy didn't stop with the camping trip... Josh and I ran a 5k together, went on an endless amount of walks, and hiked up to Indian Lookout. I guess it pays to live on a mountain!

 In 2014, I found someone who loves holiday traditions just as much as I do... I also found someone who can rock a sweater from the 80s! I found someone who I can be silly with. Someone who will take as many photos as needed to get the perfect one. Someone who will try any weird food or wipe the drool off of my chin during my weekly Sunday Football nap time. I found someone who I can pray with every night whether we are together or apart. Josh is smart, funny, and is incredibly hard working and I am beyond thankful for him and everything he does.

So, 2014 was a pretty incredible year. I accomplished all of my New Years Resolutions which, I'll be blogging about tomorrow. 2015 holds a lot of unknowns. I have no idea where I'm going to be as far as jobs or graduate school. Although all of the unknowns are a little nerve wracking, I know that I have the greatest support system and that whatever happens I will strive to live positively and make 2015 a pretty spectacular year.

Fall Break is Finally Here

I'm writing to you from the residence life workroom and I am so excited to announce that Fall Break is officially here! I'll be officially off RA related duties by 8pm tonight and I'll be spending the weekend with Josh's mom and sister before, I officially head home! Anyways, my univeristy is so kind and gives us a week off! So, I decided to write a little post about what I plan on doing over break.

*Disclaimer: I intend to be a very busy bee*

I printed off a weekly schedule template so I can stay on top of everything and I'm really excited to be productive and have a lot of fun over break.

Some of the things I want to do:

Read Gone Girl and (or) Beautiful Day by Elin Hilderband

Bake yummy fall treats... like pumpkin rolls and apple crisp!

Finish my Grad School Applications

Blogger Related Fun

Homework & Studying

Start training for the 5k's I'm running in November

Plan and Buy Some RA/DA Programs

Clean out my closet and donate things

So, I think I made a good list of things I want to get accomplished and I'll have to keep myself accountable by crossing things off my to do list. I want to get done a lot of school work and finish my grad school applications. I want to do things that will help my personal growth and will bring me happiness like baking, RA programming, and reading. I'm hoping I'll see Josh at least once and I'm definitely gonna spend a lot of time with my main girl, grandma! I'm also hoping to do a little upgrade to the blog over break and play around with HTML coding to get Radiating Sunshine looking even more clean and presentable. 

And if you haven't already done so, just a quick reminder that the giveaway that I'm doing is live until the end of October so, if you like Target, Starbucks, and Breast Cancer Awareness check it out, here. 

Have a wonderful weekend and I'll see you all next week!

Currently...

worried about... the future. As a Senior in College everyone is asking me the question, "what are you doing next?" and not knowing is the worst feeling. I'm slowly trying to figure it out. I'm applying to Grad Schools and Teach for America... but, I'm really praying to God and relying on Him to help me make these big decisions. It is way too much for me to decide alone and with His help and the support of my family, friends, and Josh I will be able to make the decision that is best for my future!

happy about... my senior year! Although I've been plagued with worry over the future I feel like I have still been able to do well in my classes and have fun. Every weekend I've gotten to do something exciting and I just am so happy with how life is turning out.

thinking about... going camping next weekend! I kind of wish it was this weekend but, I'm glad we're going next weekend so I can prepare, plan, and pack {my three favorite 'p' verbs}! But, seriously I'm so excited to go camping, make s'mores, and go hiking next weekend with Josh and friends.

learning about... so much! Lately, I've been studying for the GRE so I'm relearning High School math... but, as far as classes go I'm learning about ethics, operant conditioning, sign language, and how stress can effect the body.

looking forward to... Fall Break (t-minus 2 weeks) I can't wait to go home for a week and a) finish my grad school applications b) see family {especially Brooke} c) bake yummy things d) catch up on projects and any extra work! Fall Break can't come soon enough.

loving... I have been loving all the time Josh and I have been able to spend together. Of course this is the first weekend of the semester where we won't see each other so, I'm sad knowing that none of my weekend plans involve seeing him but, lately we've been able to do so much and have just spent so much quality time together.

listening to... Christian music x10! I've been seriously jamming out to my Christian playlist. Whether it is in the morning while I am getting ready or when I'm driving. My current go to song is: Fix My Eyes by for KING & COUNTRY... its a goodie.

hating... Senioritis; a few weeks back Josh diagnosed me with it and I'm battling hard to either conquer it or mask the side effects. I just can't help that all I want is one school night when I don't have homework to do, don't have any meetings, and I can just lay around in sweatpants and do whatever I want.

obsessing over... the fact that Grey's Anatomy has started back up! Last year I told myself 'after Cristina leaves I'm gonna stop watching the show'. Well turns out that I'm a liar because I'm so excited to watch this season. But, if it is too dramatic or something I'll stop {I promise}. Oh and I may get a chance to meet my favorite author Elin Hilderbrand tonight at one of her book signings! How cool is that! Not sure if I can go or not but, still knowing she will be in the same state as me is so exciting!

True Life: College

I was scanning twitter last night, catching up on past tweets when I came across this gem that defines college pretty well in my opinion. 

something on tumblr?

As an RA, we get educated on burn out… which, is basically when you sign up for so many things, try to do it all, realize you can't do it all, and then give up. I'm lucky to have a professional staff who work hard to make sure that if we are starting to feel overwhelmed they get us help so that we don't get to the point where we "end up crying in bed and decide to do nothing." As RAs, we actively make sure that we don't burn out, plus we are also watching to make sure our co-workers, friends, and residents are also not experiencing the phenomenon. 

However, when I came across this picture, I instantly realized that it holds some truth. The decagon featured definitely describes how I feel on a regular basis. Now, of course I don't lay in my bed and cry when I realize that I can't balance all of my responsibilities… but, that's why time management is so crucial. I'm the type of person who thrives on a busy life. My perfect day would be a day that I spent working, helping others, possibly going for a run, and going to different meetings. I like when I have long to do lists and I like to check off items on those to do lists. 

At some points I do get overwhelmed. I realize that I can't maintain good grades, work, volunteer, do homework, talk to my family, read/maintain this blog, connect with friends, eat healthy, exercise, and sleep 8 hours all at the same time. Sure, I can balance it all pretty well when my workload is down or I don't have a lot of RA related activities during the week, but on a week when I've got a lot on my plate I usually cut out a few hours of sleep, add more caffeine into my diet, and stop exercising. Three things that are so harmful to my health. 

But, what can you do? The decagon CONSTANTLY needs to be balanced and you better balance it or burn out will take hold of you. 

But, how do you balance the decagon? 

- Well, for starters I like to write things down. If I don't write my to do list down… chances are some things will get lost in the hustle and bustle. 

- I also like to plan ahead. If I know next week is going to be insanely busy then I'm gonna do my laundry this week, instead of waiting. If I know I'm gonna have two huge reading assignments the upcoming week, then I'm gonna schedule out enough time for me to actually read them… instead of waiting until the night before. 

- Don't over schedule yourself… I honestly can't tell you guys how many times I'll be writing out my agenda for the upcoming week and I realize that I have two meetings at 10am on Wednesday. I then have to go through the hurried process of switching around my schedule to make up for my double booking myself. Not only does this cause unnecessary stress, but it also makes me jump through hoops just to make sure I don't make anyone unhappy when I need to reschedule. 

- And finally, say no sometimes. I'm a firm believer that when you commit to something you should give it your all and well when the decagon is in full force, it can be nearly impossible to give everything 150%. So, be selective and choose which items/activities are the most important and prioritize that way. 

So, yes the decagon will still run your life and yes, it will be awful at times. 

But, don't let burn out become a phenomenon in your life. 

3 Tips for College Students: How Have a Healthy College Experience

Hello fellow readers of Radiating Sunshine! My name is Rhea and I blog over at RheaEtcetera.com, a lifestyle blog on fashion, food, trips & travels, and etc (hence the name) :). I am so excited when Alex invited me to guest post in her blog and share a piece of me with her fellow readers!

It's so fun getting to know Alex through her posts and her blog makes me miss college! I majored in English - spent my first two years in community college then transferred to a university to complete my Bachelor's.  When I transferred, that was my first time living in the dorms as well. It's been seven years for me since college graduation... and while I do not have any more all nighters writing a paper or reading for class, let me tell you that post college, it's a whole different level of stress (getting a job, bills, and probably the most biggie - student loans!) but the similar theme between college and post graduation is that really, you earn with what level of effort you put into it - you reap what you sow.

Prior to college, the advice I got from friends and family were essentially the same theme: study hard, do well, get that degree, get a job, move on to adulthood. Because I went into college thinking hard that I have to focus on my studies and nothing else, I feel that missed out on a lot. I wish someone gave me these advice as well.

Here are my top 3 tips to college students for a healthy and balanced college life, based on my experience:

Okay...random first advice right? Let me tell you about my first day of my junior college year when I first lived in the dorms at the large university that I went to. My attire: college shirt, shorts, sneakers (and I am not talking about a cutesy outfit... size a little too big and looked like I hadn't thought through what I am wearing) and for a back pack... I had a black laptop back pack that carried my 17 inch laptop plus my anthologies. Yup, I have no idea what was I thinking purchasing a 17 inch laptop - clearly not easily carried, not to mention that since I majored in English, all my books were pretty much 8 inch anthologies per class.

I ended up not using my laptop in class - that was not my study habit and I prefer writing notes in a notebook anyway. Plus, I looked like an overnight camper instead of a college student.

Long and short of it: Seriously, what you just need in class is a pen, notebook, your books, and an eager mind to learn.

It was my first time living on my own away from my family too that I didn't really know how to make my own food (kudos to Alex for her recipe posts and making her own food! :) ). My diet consisted of pizza, burgers, fries, and anything fried. Whatever was easy to purchase with my tight schedule of literally a 10 page paper due every week, plus I was working 3 days a week at our local newspaper to pay my bills.

I think a lot of college students go in to it thinking they have no way around weight gain in college. I definitely had my reasons why I hadn't prioritized my health, but if I could go back, I would have learned about proper diet. After college, when I prioritized healthy eating, I learned that it was not really the amount of papers I had to write for school that was truly causing me to feel so tired and exhausted. All the bad oil from my diet was the culprit. It took me a few years post college to lose all the excess weight and feel healthy. In my current career, I have days when I have to work 10-11 hour days consecutively (can be compared to a typical college day - at least from my life in college), but because I've been eating healthier, I do not feel as tired.

Long and short of it: eat a balanced diet. Veggies, fruits, and a healthy balanced of protein and good carbs are your best friends especially when stressed. Also, exercising is a wonderful stress reliever!

Admittedly, even after college - sometimes I have to keep reminding myself this. Like I mentioned, post college is a whole different level of stress, especially depending on the career you fall into. Now working in marketing, I have seasons in the year when I have so much deadlines that overtime hours are inevitable. Sometimes I do not take breaks just to get work done. Other days I remember that I need to step back and take a breather.

When I was in college, I never had that realization that it's important to take a break. I kept up a part time job with a full load of 16 to 18 units a semester. I had a paper due every week. I was friends with my roommate but it was so rare hanging out with her because of the amount of school work I had to do. Because I was too focused on getting great grades and completing my degree, I missed out on joining clubs at school. Missed out on discovering the town my college was in because I was locked up in my dorm room or the library. Missed out on making other new friends.

Long and short of it: live a balanced life. Life isn't just about responsibilities alone - looking back now, I could have spent time studying in the beach, in the local park. Study groups and group discussions while walking around the park or even hiking. There are ways to bring the fun into work!

College is such an AMAZING time to discover yourself, your potential, new friends, and new interests. It definitely is the time to prepare for adulthood, but as what you will learn in adulthood/career life - the most important thing is living a healthy and balanced life. Do well, strive hard, squeeze in some fun and relaxation, and enjoy every minute of it all! :)

If you'd like to check out the interests I've discovered post college, please come visit me over at RheaEtcetera.com. Thank you fellow readers for your time, and thank you Alex for this opportunity! :)

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Alright, friends I don't know about you but I pretty much loved everything that Rhea said! Thanks for guest posting and I hope you all have a fabulous weekend. I'm blogging over at Rhea's blog today so make sure you go check out her cute page!