Tag: senior year

Categories
Fabulous living

Fall Semester Recap 2019-last one!!!

And we finished the raceā€¦.

What a semester it has been. It has been a few months of many lasts but some firsts too. Last weekend working, last Founderā€™s day, last Halloween, last staff meeting, last time ever going to class and being a student. Itā€™s a weird feeling knowing that I will never be a student again. Yet, itā€™s also exciting that I will be starting a new journey after college. 

 My semester has consisted of hours studying and writing papers, working long hours, making new friends and taking adventures to get brunch or shopping, applying for jobs and interviewing, maintaining traditions with friends and through school, going through all the lasts and saying goodbye to college. I knew this semester would go by fast but I never thought that I would blink and it would be over. Whenever someone asked me how this semester has been going, I have said the same thing, ā€œitā€™s been busyā€. That has been the honest truth, some weeks I had a full planner and pulling 16 hour days, other weekends were spent doing homework and work since my weeks were so busy. Although, this was my most challenging and busiest semester, I donā€™t regret a thing. I have loved everything that I have been involved in.  Iā€™m truly going to miss my time in college. My college series will conclude next week with a thank you to the place that has impacted me the most.

Now, letā€™s recap what this semester has been likeā€¦

In August, I moved back to school one last time. I went through a few weeks of training for work before classes began.

Last time at training before the year started

 My classes schedule kept me very busy and it was by far my most challenging classes, but I learned a lot.

First day of senior year!

I spent Labor Day weekend by seeing the Jonas Brothers in concert which was so fun and a great way to start the year. 

Seeing the Jonas Brothers was incredible

September was filled with working most weekends and all the homework. It kept me busy and I was very productive. I spent weekends getting brunch or trying new places with friends. 

October brought homecoming, fall break home, and Halloween.

Homecoming with Danielle

It was so much fun to see friends old and new and celebrate fall. I finished my last weekend working which was a huge accomplishment.Ā 

I kicked off fall break with a fall fest
Halloween with Danielle

November brought the end of the semester, Founderā€™s Day, Light Up Night, and Thanksgiving break, which was much needed. 

Last Founder’s Day
Light Up Night with Danielle

Following Thanksgiving brought the last week of classes.

Last time being in my room

This last week was filled with last nights of working, presenting portfolios, my last staff meeting, and my last time ever being in class.Ā 

My sweet staff planned the best surprise for my last meeting

Now, I am just finishing finals week. I canā€™t believe how fast my time in college has gone. I have started saying many goodbyes, knowing that I may never see some people who made a huge impact on me ever again. College is a weird thing because for four or (three and a half) years you spend all your time with people who become family to you whether they are friends, professors, advisors, or mentors and then you have to leave and start all over and move on. Iā€™m so lucky to have found a place that makes saying goodbye so hard. On Saturday, I will graduate and although, I am very excited, I will miss this place more than I can describe. The biggest things that I have taken away from this semester is: itā€™s never too late to make new friends, because they may become your closest ones, never give up, always push yourself even more and it will pay off, and God has a plan, once you surrender yourself to him thatā€™s when things start to happen. 

Iā€™ll see you on Thursdayā€¦xoxo

Categories
Fabulous living

My College Career in Four Journals

Hey everyone! Happy Tuesday. I hope you all had a great and restful weekend. With only a few weekends left in college, I am trying to soak up all the time I have left being with my friends, I have been taking advantage of going out to brunch with my buddies, having good conversations with friends, and always being down to do something. 

That brings me to my new series of blog posts. I started this blog when I was in my freshmen year of college and a lot has happened since I started it. The next several weeks, my posts will be dedicated to reflecting on my time in college, my favorite memories, what I learned, a final semester recap, and a thank you to a place that I have truly grown in so many ways. 

Four years of memories, moments, and happiness

Todayā€™s post is something that I have talked about through the years, but I am ready to really talk about it more. Letā€™s talk about journaling! I can successfully say that I have journaled through my entire college career. Yes, every single day of college, is documented and written about. I can tell you what I was doing on November 29, 2016, or April 16, 2017, or January 25, 2018, and even on August 26, 2019. I can tell you how I was feeling, what I was struggling with, what sparked joy that day because I wrote it all down. Looking back, this was one of the best decisions I made while I was in college. Writing about my feelings, what I was going through, what things caused me stressed and what things made me happy was such a good way to unwind and reflect. It also put things in perspective for me. I never had a full day where I complained, I always found something positive or good about the day, whether it was getting a good grade on an exam or catching up with an old friend. Journaling every day made me realize how good life is, and all the things I have to be grateful for. Every year, I had a different theme for my journaling.

Freshmen year, my mom gifted me this journal when I moved into my first day of college. I journaled about every single thing that happened, what I ate for breakfast, how my classes went, what I did for fun and when I went to bed. I was so detailed with my journaling. It was a great way to unwind at the end of the day and reflect of everything I got done. This method really worked during a year of adjusting to a new place and new people. It was a form of comfort to me. 

Sophomore year-my year of YES

Sophomore year came and it was all about yes saying to everything. I started a new job, met new friends, tried new things and stepped out of my comfort zone. I had read Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes and I made my sophomore year my year of yes. I started every day with my Years of Yes journal. The journal was set up with a topic each month to say yes to things. There was a goals section where you can map out where you want to see yourself by the end of the month. Each day is split up into three sections where you can write about the things you said yes to. Inspirational quotes by Rhimes are spread throughout the book to give you motivation if you need it. I spent 5 minutes a day on this and it was such a positive way to start the day. I loved seeing all the things I tried and said yes to through the year. 

Junior Year JOY

Junior year brought JOY. I decided to journal about all the joy in my life. I found myself getting negative about the small things in life, whether it was a long day or friendship troubles. I decided to find joy in every day. I would write down three good things or three things that brought me joy. After doing this for a full year I got to change my mindset and see all the good things in my life. It also made the small annoying things in life seem nonexistent. Iā€™m so glad I found the good in every day. 

Finding Grace in my Senior Year

For senior year, I wanted to try something new. I have always been very involved and balancing a lot of things in life, which I do very well at. For senior year, I decided to give myself the gift of grace. I was inspired by Emily Leyā€™s Grace Not Perfection and, journaled every day from prompts in the book, A Standard of Grace as well sharing the highlights of my day. It really made me focus on what was important in life. 

Four years later

Although, my college career is winding down, I will continue to journal, it has been a great stress reliever, and a beautiful way to reflect on my time in college and see the beauty and good in every day. Journaling has brought me so much joy and happiness and I am so glad I have four journals full of thoughts, memories, and happiness from my time in college. 

Categories
Fabulous living

Jonas Brothers Concert

Hi everyone!!

Happy Tuesday! I told myself going into my last semester of college that I am going to do as much as I can and last week was no exception. I finished with classes on Tuesday and headed to Pittsburgh for a concert. Even though I bought tickets months ago, the date crept up on me with classes getting back in session, so this was a fun way to spend a Tuesday night.

Post classes, pre concert

My two friends and I headed to see the Jonas Brothers when they were in town, I never saw them when I was a preteen and never thought I would see them in my 20ā€™s, but boy was I glad that I did.

We are Here!

 I travelled up to Pittsburgh on Tuesday afternoon with my one friend and we met our other friend there. We grabbed dinner before heading into the city for the show. We got there plenty early to secure our seats and buy our merch before it began. Jordan McGraw opened along with BeBe Rexah, I enjoyed both of their performances but was more than ready to have the show begin. 

Jordan McGraw

The fan favorite trio came on stage around 9:00 and played for two hours straight. They interacted with the audience from time to time and had two costume changes but other than that it was just them performing. 

Opening

They played tons of songs from their new album, Happiness Begins as well as old throwbacks from their early days as a group and their Disney days. Some songs I hadnā€™t heard in 10 years but I still remembered all the words. It was crazy to hear them sing throwback songs from the Disney movie, Camp Rock, and then perform a song from 2019.Ā  Some of my favorites were Hesitate, Burnin Up, SOS, Love Bug, Only Human, and Year 3000.

Our view of their second stage

The fans were loud, cheering and singing along the whole time. They went back and forth from the main stage, to the two cat walks and then walking through the crowd to a smaller stage (we were so close to the smaller stage and it was so cool to see them interact with their fans). It definitely wasnā€™t a normal Tuesday night, but an incredible one for sure. It was so cool to relive my teenage years in my 20ā€™s and with some of my good friends.

Another outfit change

Thank you Joe, Nick, and Kevin for a phenomenal night! Now the next question remainsā€¦what will be next concert be?!

Thank you for an incredible Tuesday night
Categories
Fabulous living

Senior Year…ALL IN!

Hi everyone! Happy Tuesdayā€¦itā€™s my LAST, first week of school. These past few weeks have been so busy since I have been back to school, between training, learning, seeing friends, moving into my last college dorm and starting classes, it has been a whirlwind of activities.Ā Ā Am soaking it all up because I know these will be my lastsā€¦last move in weekend, last training, last first day of school. This past Sunday, I took some time to reflect on starting my last semester of collegeā€¦hereā€™s my thoughts on itā€¦

Senior year…here we GO!

“Itā€™s Sunday, tomorrow is my last first day of schoolā€¦EVER. Itā€™s weird to think that after tomorrow, I will never have another first day of school. I remember my first day of Kindergarten, high school and college. All big days, and tomorrow is no less a big day.
Ā 
I have always loved school and going to school. I loved laying out my clothes the night before, buying fresh supplies for the new year, taking the picture outside of our home, and coming home to a special treat from my mom while we shared about our first day. There is just something about the first day that brings me so much JOY and excitement!
Ā 
I only have one more semester of college. Itā€™s weird to think that by Christmas I will be done with school and being saying goodbye to a place that has been a HUGE part of my life story, a place where I grew, gained confidence, made lifelong friends, and created incredible memories. Thankfully, I still have a few months before I say goodbye and start a new chapter in my life.Ā 


So, what does these next few months hold? Lots of classes, homework, reading, studying, working, applying for jobs, spending time with friends, crossing off college bucket lists, doing all the senior things, and celebrating milestones.Ā 
Ā 
This past week, I was at Mass and the priest shared about going all in and immersing yourself in your life and that really resonated with me. These next few months, I am going ALL IN, doing as much as I can, working my hardest, getting involved with my favorite organizations, meeting new friends, stepping out of my comfort zone, and living up my last time as a college student. I have no idea what comes after college, yes, I will be getting a job and working, but itā€™s exciting to not know where I could end up or what I will be doing. When my friends come back to classes after Christmas, I will be working.
Ā 
Many people have told me that your years in college will be the best time of your life, and I have to agree, I love the person I have become thanks to the people I met and the opportunities I have done while in college. I have met so many people who have shaped me into the person I am today, and this school will always hold a special place in my heart. I canā€™t wait to see what these next few months bringsā€¦senior yearā€¦Iā€™m ALL IN!”
Ā 

Categories
Fabulous living

Spring Semester Recap

Hello friends and family!! 

Happy Tuesday! 

Well, thatā€™s a wrap on my junior year of college! This year flew by, I canā€™t believe that the next time I will be back at school, I will be a senior. It seems like just yesterday I was walking on campus for the first time, now in August, I will be moving in for the last time. College is an interesting concept, itā€™s amazing in a few years how much we grow, change, learn, and live. I can honestly say that I am a completely different person now than when I moved in 3 years ago. I canā€™t wait to celebrate and enjoy my last semester of college in the fall. 

My mood though Junior year…well most of the time.. haha!

Todayā€™s post is my favorite types of posts. Another semester has gone by, which means itā€™s time for another recap. To see what I was up to last semester, you can read about it here. I love to do these recaps to show you what I have been up to, as well as reflect on how much I have accomplished both in an out of the semester. This semester was a busy one, but filled with so many fun memories. The best way to describe this semester is the fact, I typically go to the gym on Saturdayā€™s and Sundayā€™s, I always had things going on during the weekends that it wasnā€™t until the last weekend of the semester in May that I made it both days, I honestly wouldnā€™t have it any other way.

As I was preparing for this post, I realized how many things I did, that I didnā€™t take pictures of. Although, I wish I had pictures to document the fun times and moments, it is nice just to be present in the moment and enjoy who I am with, without capturing it all for social media. So, letā€™s recap this semesterā€¦

First day of the spring semester…cold and quiet

January started out with freezing weather, a few cancelled classes (which was unheard of for our school) and lots of working weekends. The cancelled classes did result in some spontaneous adventures with my friends, whether it was brunch, going thrift shopping, or heading to the mall. Iā€™ve learned this semester that some of my favorite moments were the ones that were unplanned and spontaneous, whether it was grabbing dinner with my friends, seeing a school musical, or shopping whether it was at the mall or the comic book store. 

Heading into February, classes and work were on my mind, I spent a lot of time working on my Capstone biography video, which you can watch here.

Hard at work on my Senior Capstone

I also was able to have weekly lunch dates with my sweet friend Sharon, who graduated in December and weekly dinner dates with my friend Bailey, who spent this semester student teaching. It was so special to be able to see my friends even with their busy schedules.

SO thankful for this friendship
I love getting lunch with my sweet friend Sharon

I was able to sneak home for a quick visit before I left for Rome. 

No shame in admitting this is my only photo that weekend at home…what can I say…I’m a dog lover

Moving into March, I spent the first several days in Rome. If you missed my recaps on the eternal city, you can read part one here and part two here.

Take me back to simpler days…

I came back to school after an incredible trip and got back into the swing of classes, work, and friends. I had one of my most memorable weekends of the semester with my friends at our Semi-formal dance, which you can read about here. The weekend included dinner, hanging out with friends, dancing, grilled cheese at midnight, sleepovers, hitting the gym and brunch.

One of the BEST weekends of the semester

I jetted home for another visit with my family which was much needed after returning from abroad. 

Are we really surprised that my only picture from being at home is with my dogs?

April brought lots of the end of the semester activities. In between school work, I was able to head to a bowling outing with my friends, get dinner, go on some fro-yo dates, spend a day volunteering, and get Inducted into a Communication Honor Society.

A day spent volunteering with my best friend Danielle
  • Lambda Pi Eta
  • A more up close picture of the outfit
  • A quick picture with my parents who came out to support me!

I also got the opportunity to tour our Library at school which is under construction and interview our schoolā€™s president about the renovations. You can watch the interview here.

Interviewing the President of my school in the new Library

Our school also hosts a spring family weekend which as so fun, I got to see and hang out with some of my closest friends, watch a few bands perform and got pied in the face for charityā€¦definitely a messy moment of the semester.

With some of my close friends Sharon and Bailey
Spring family weekend
It took a long time to get the whipped cream out
Like I mean three showers later…it was finally all out

April ended with Easter ended at home.

Surprise…not a picture of me and my dogs at home, but with my brothers for Easter

I finished out the last few weeks of April and May with end of the year dinners, from Honor Societies, to Department dinners, and senior celebrations as well as finals, Iā€™m so lucky I was able to participate in these senior festivities since so many of my close friends are seniors. Next year will be different without them.

One last DQ and catch up session with this girl!
Laughing our way into Senior year…
Celebrating senior year with my friend Olivia!
Thankful for her friendship this year, my girl Bailey, always there through thick and thin.
It wouldn’t be the end of the school year without a trip to one of our favorite places, the SP…a hidden gem near our school

The year ended with working the last few days after finals and attending graduation. I was so happy I could watch all my friends graduate, although it was sad to see them move on I know they are going to do amazing things.

Gonna miss these girls next year!
Working graduation with my sweet friend Danielle, we are up next!

Whewā€¦and thatā€™s a wrap. Junior year was by far one of the best years and I think a lot of that has to do with a mindset. I called junior year my year of joy and I wanted to find joy in every day. Even on the days that were rough, emotionally and mentally draining, or I wanted to go home, I still looked for the joy in every day.

Although, itā€™s so good to be home and not think about school for a bit, Iā€™m going to miss my friends and being at the same place with everyone. I do have some pretty exciting plans for this summer and next semester, so stay tuned!

To everyone who made this year and semester the best one yetā€¦THANK YOU! Have a beautiful day friends! Sending love to everyone near and farā€¦xoxo!

Categories
Fabulous living

Choosing to Look on the Positive Side of Life

Hello! Hello!

Happy Tuesday! Itā€™s crazy to think we are halfway through February, this month is flying by! With Valentineā€™s Day this week, I wanted to focus on a more light-hearted post for today ( no pun intended). For all my single girls out there, check out my post from last year about Galentineā€™s Day and fun things to do with your girlfriends! You can read all about it here.

Today, I wanted to share about the importance of looking on the positive side of things and turning a bad situation into a good one. One thing that I try to do is see the good things in every day, we all have tough days, whether itā€™s a long day of classes and meetings, or if you are having relationships issues or family troubles, I firmly believe there is always one good thing that can come out of a bad day. 

I started to really make an effort to find one good thing about every day during my senior year of high school. I got a Mason Jar and a stack of post it notes and at the end of every day I wrote the date and one good thing that happened each day. At the end of the year I had a whole jar of good memories and good things that happened every day of senior year.Ā Ā I was so happy I had all those memories to look back on.

My Jar through my senior year of high school
All my good moments dumped out
So many good things happened during my senior year of high school, Iā€™m so glad I kept track of them

My freshmen year of college, my mom gave me a journal to write all about my experiences about my freshmen year of college. I loved having an account of everything that happened and I made sure I wrote down the best part of my day. 

Last year (2018) started out rough but I didnā€™t want a few challenging weeks to determine my outlook of the entire year, I was already journaling in Shonda Rhimesā€™ Years of Yes journal but I wanted to add something new, so every day I took a post it note and wrote one positive thing that happened. To read about my Year of Yes, you can find it here.

The Journal of my Sophomore Year-Year of YES

I called my junior year, my year of Joy. My sweet friend Danielle, gave me this journal for my birthday and I write in it every day. I write down three good things that bring me joy every day.

Junior Year of JOY

I have found journaling every day for the past few years very therapeutic. I also found it helpful to be intentional about seeing the good things that happened every day, whether it was having a good conversation with a friend, going on a spontaneous brunch and shopping day, celebrating a holiday, or getting in some quality family time or self care. By writing down one or more good things that happened every day, it really puts things in perspective about how good life can be and how we should always look towards the positive things in life. When you have class from 12:30-8:30 straight and nothing is going your way (yes, this has happened to me) I always know there are definitely good things that happened through the long day. I hope this post encourages you to look on the positive side of things when life has you down. There are so many good things around us if we are willing to see them.

I hope this week brings you nothing but good vibes, wonderful moments and love (whether its from a significant other, best friend, or parent). Spread some love this week!

XOXO

Categories
Fabulous living

New Year’s Resolutions

Happy New Year!! 

Christmas morning spent well, the tree all lit, a warm cup of hot chocolate and time spent with family

It is good to be back. I have been posting a few looks to wear when you are out and about but today it is back to normal with blogging. I hope you all had a restful and relaxing breaks, whether you are still on break from school or you only got a few days off, I hope they were restful and filled with loved ones, good food, presents, and joy. It was so nice to spend some quality time with family, although I did work a bit over break it has been so refreshing not having to worry about school work and just be present in the moment. Itā€™s crazy how fast my time home went by. I am headed back to school on Thursday, time to gear up for another semester. These past few weeks have been restful and rejuvenating and its time to get back to the school work. 

Today, Iā€™m sharing my New Yearā€™s Resolutions with you.Ā These were my goals last year.Ā For the most part I accomplished them well. I was busy during the day at school so that snacked way less than normal. I also tried to eat much better at school. I’m going to try to do the same when I head back to school. I got a lot of reading done over the summer and over Christmas break. My Christmas book review will be up next week so stay tuned for that! I was more flexible and spontaneous towards the end of the year especially when it came to going out with friends but I am still very much into my schedules and being on top of things.

Heading into 2019 with the right mindset

Iā€™m calling this year-2019- ā€œMy senior yearā€. Since I will be graduating next December, I thought it would be appropriate to call 2019, my senior year of college, with only two semester left of college, I hope to make lots of memories, try new things, and live up my senior year. I also decided to pick a word that I want to center around this year.

After a lot of thought, I decided to choose the wordā€¦ “Patienceā€. I want to try and be more patient this year with others, myself, and life in general. I have often felt being rushed with everything I do and getting stressed and overwhelmed by it. I want to strive to be more patient this year, everything will get done, it always does, sometimes we just need a little more patience in our lives. I will keep you updated this year with how it goes.Ā 

My mindset for the new year….patience and positivity

Now, moving onto my resolutions. I have set three for myself, all pratical and easy to incorporate into my life each day. 

Be more positive– I have often found myself complaining about the trival things in life whether it be about too much homework, being busy or having too much on my plate. This upcoming year I want to focus less on the negative and more on the positive, and if there is stuff bothering not talk about it all the time rather just find a solution.

Donā€™t sweat the small stuff-This goes along with the first one, I want to try to not stress over the little things in life, rather focus on the big picture. I am going to not let the little things get to me since they donā€™t matter in the grand scheme in life, I really want to work on bettering myself this year and not get overwhelmed with the small day to day things.Ā 

Be more social– This is going to be a more challenging one this year. One of the great things about college is making friends with people older and younger than you, however, it can also be really rough when all your friends graduate early/study abroad/ start work. This year will be an adjustment with so many of my friends leaving, I never thought I would have to make new friends as a junior in college, this year I am determined to step out of my comfort zone and still be social and see friends and do things on nights and the weekends. Iā€™ll keep you posted on how this goes.Ā 

Thatā€™s an update about whatā€™s going on with me these past few weeks and whatā€™s to come with this upcoming semester. As I embark on my senior year, I want to thank you all for beingĀ a part of this journey with me. See you back on Thursday!