Currently // 007

Thinking - I am so damn lucky to be living this life of mine

Enjoying - All of the house plants I bought this week 

Wearing - My green sweater that is made from sustainable materials therefore it is like 10x’s cuter than it already is 

Needing - The weather to get warmer

Wanting -  It to be time to plant my garden

Listening - The rain outside and Eric playing with the dogs

Drinking - Dirt water a.k.a La Croix 

Reading - V for Vendetta, A Winkle in Time, Cartwheel

Trying - Pull myself out of the dark hole of anxiety that I have been living in the past few weeks

Baby Steps Towards Adulthood I've Taken This Week

• I cooked dinner. I mean like actual food. Not ramen, it didn't come out of a box or the freezer, and I didn't cook it in the microwave either. 

• I had my first job interview. 

• I got a Sam's Club membership. Which in my mind is the true measure of adulthood. 

• I started keeping my receipts. That's an adult thing, right?

• Fixing my tire, without my parents help. Well with just one phone call and there were many others who helped along the way, but I'm still counting it. 

Things I Learned My Freshmen Year of College

With school starting back up soon I thought I would share a few things I learned during my freshman year of college. College is not always what I imagined it to be be and it certianly comes with it's own set of troubles, but it is a wonderful experience.

I learned...

• Good food is something to be thankful for. When you are used to eating ramen, easy mac, ramen, frozen fruit, ramen, and um ramen, yummy food is like a gift from god. It is worth driving home just for dinner or going out and spending ten dollars on one meal.

• Vulnerability is not a bad thing.

• To call my mom almost every day. But not for her, for me. Because I miss my parents more than I thought I would. I have learned to answer when my parents call, because when they are not calling to remind me to pay rent or making sure that I ate at least two of out three meals that day, they miss me too.

• Dishes are the worst.

• Thank your washing machine every day, because let me tell you four dollars for washing one load of clothes is not fun. And they smell funky too. On a more positive note the laundry mat is a great place to write papers and to keep up with what shows are playing on Nick Jr. And I quote, "stop purple horse, I need to ask you a question."

• Life is expensive.

• It is okay to feel lonely at times. When are in a place where you do not know many people and every one around you seems to be having the time of their lives all the time, sometimes you feel like you are all alone. In reality though feeling alone is not always a bad thing, and you are certainly not the only one feeling that way. I have learned a lot about who I am by hanging out with myself these.

• If it is 95 degrees out and you would like air conditioning, remember to pay your bills...

• A little friendship can go a long way. I got lucky with having the best roommate and all. When I am having a bad day and drop the kol-aid container all of the floor. It is so comforting to know that I am loved to enough when walk away from the mess crying, my roommate will clean it up, and then come to check on me.

• Never to use all the air conditioning units and the microwave at the same time. Ever. Or I will be spending the night in front of an open window on the floor in the dark.

• Cleaning is NOT fun. Toilets are gross, refrigerators are nasty, and showers are frightful.

• Making friends is not always easy. I am keeping an open mind on who I want to be my friends. I am getting involved with organizations in and outside my school. I am picky friend personally, I only want to surround myself with people who are encouraging. I am in the process of expecting that it is okay to be a picky friend.

• Time management is important. Your mom is not going to make you do your homework or to class. You have to put in the effort to stay on top of all the things that you need to get done.

Everything You Need For Your First College Apartment + Print Out

Although I never lived in a dorm and I have no idea how to pack to live in a small room with another person for 10 months I do have some experience in living in a college apartment. When I began packing to move into my apartment I was overwhelmed with how much I needed for the tiny little apartment I was about to call home. After I moved in I was overwhelmed with how much stuff I forgot to pack or didn't know that I needed.  I tried to start buying things for my apartment at the beginning of summer because I wanted to give myself time to organize. I also did not want to buy everything at once, which would have lead to a huge amount of money, so I took it slow over the whole summer. Another way I helped reduce the cost of what I needed was to take as much from my room at home as possible. One thing that I did to help make sure I did not forget to many things was search Pinterest for as many different checklist for your first apartment, then I compared them crossing out things that were on multiply lists! This really helped me stay on track but like I said I still forgot so much. When I was making this list to share I did the same thing as well going through my own apartment looking for things to add. No one is perfect so I made sure to leave some space to add things for yourself and really personalize your packing list. Another thing I wish I would have know when packing and decorating my apartment is I was going to gather more things throughout the year so it does not have to look perfect on the day I move it. As far as decor I tried to DIY as much as I could for my apartment. If you are living with a roommate make sure to get with them so you can see what they have or are planning on getting so you don't end up with a bunch of doubles and not have other things. I hope that my little list of things to bring and advice was at least somewhat helpful. I left plenty of space to add your own things at the end of the list, because 1. it is easier to personalize that way and 2. I am not perfect so I am sure I forgot things. 

                    

The Love Story of Meeting My Best Friend

I like to call this a love story because it's sort of weird and kind of magical how everything happened. To fully understand Gelica and I's friendship we have to start four and a half years ago on our first day of high school. We sat next to each other in English. She was intimidated by me because I had so many piercings (I only had three), I was intimidated by her because she seemed so confident. We sat near each other in class and talked about our love for art and New York. For the next four years we said hi to each other in passing but that is about it. Now fast forward to our senior prom, some how or another we ended up in the same prom group and in a certain state of mind after prom we agreed to get an apartment together since we were going to the same school. The following Monday in art class we confirmed we were actually going to get an apartment together, which is still crazy. We stilled didn't become friends, we would text about details while trying to find an apartment, and tried to get all of our most annoying habits out in the open before we moved in together. Then came August and we actually lived together, we were barely friends and hardly knew what to talk to each other about. On the first day of classes we had a little orientation meeting thing, we sat by each other but didn't really speak to each other. If that were to take place now, someone would have to beg us to shut up. After moving in we bonded over boys, tears, spilt Kool-Aid, tattoos, and having to grow up very quickly in our new apartment. Now this lady is my best friend I cant imagine a better roommate or friend. I love her for her do whatever you want attitude, for giving me encouragement even when I need a reality check, and doing the dishes even when it is my turn. She reminds me to be grateful on my worst days and always cleans up my spilt drinks when I am running late. She is the co author of all my texts and my shoulder to lead on. She understands me for me and doesn't expect me to be anyone else.

 

How to Pick the Right College

As a college freshman, I am no expert on college. Is anyone really? But I did mange to pick the perfect college for me. I love my college! I fit here. I knew from the first time I stepped on campus that UNCG was the place for me.

I am sure if you are getting ready to head off to college everyone you know is asking you where are you going to college? They are probably asking you want you want study too, but that is a post for another day. If they aren't asking you where you are going or what you are going to study, they are certainly giving you advice on how to pick the right college for you. Many times I felt so overwhelmed by all of the advice coming at me and whether or not it was accurate. Like I said before I am not expert, but somehow I did manage to pick the right school for me, so if I can pass any advice to those still trying to figure it out I want to help as much as I can.

1) The first piece of advice I have is probably the most important. Choose your school for you. You may have pressures to follow in your parents foot steps to a certain school or all your friends are going to one school. You will be the happiest if you put what you want in a college first. You have the best chance of success if you feel like you belong at the school. If you don't pick the school you go to for yourself then you will probably feel lost and overwhelmed. Even if you think others will be disappointed if you don't the school they want, they are going to be proud of you no matter what and you will do the best if you choose for you.

2) Trusts your gut. This sounds so simple, but is so essential for picking the right college. I remember so many people telling me you just know what feels whats right. I thought all these people were crazy, but as it turns out they are right. You just feel it. You know when you know.

3) Tour as many schools as you can. This kind of goes with the advice above. Go to all of the schools you are thinking about going to and then some you aren't. You never know if you are going to like a school until you walk around the campus. You may hate a school you thought would be your first choice and love a school that wasn't even on your radar. Ask yourself do I see myself here? Will your personality match the vibe of the school? Try your best to get a feel of the school.

4) Do research into the schools you are looking at. Look for anything you might not know about the school, like whether you have to live in a certain dorm your first year or if there is a program that you may want to be apart of. Make sure you like the area around the school. Look at the average professor rating on ratemyprofessor.com. Try to know what you are getting yourself, won't know ever I promise, but try to prepare yourself.

5) Don't worry if your path to higher education doesn't match those around you or society's exceptions. This was a big thing for me because I did not follow the average path. It is easy to compare my path to others and feel like I am missing out, but I am not missing out my life is just different. Unlike most freshmen in college I do not live in a dorm. I go home once a week to have dinner with my mom. I own a dog and am never away from my apartment for more then five hours. This is okay. I am happy and I am still working towards my degree. The main thing to take away from all this is don't worry if things don't look like they do in the movies, as long you are happy.

Inspiration for the Next Three Years

Three years from now I will about to graduation from college. Hopefully. So I thought it would be fun to put together a little collage of photos representing what I would like the next three years encompass.  I hope that I experience happiness, hard work, good food, many books, love, great friends, lots of coffee, and some unforgettable adventures. Normally I would just make a list of all my goals but I wanted to switch things up a bit so here we go.

Going into college I had of exceptions of what it would be like, most of those have been shattered now. This is not a bad thing. College is not easy and it is certainly not like the movies, but I do know this one of the best times of my life and I want to take advantage of every second. Ready or not. 

Some Photos of Life That I Would Like to Remember

These are a few that have happened (relatively) recently that I would like to remember

For a week, A WHOLE WEEK, the wifi at my apartment has been gone. A place where two nineteen year old girls who are both college students and love Netflix live has not had internet for a week. Needless to say this week has been a struggle. But, there has been some upsides to not having internet, there are I promise. We have been playing Wii, listening to music, having real conversations, sitting on our roof, drinking tons of coffee, leaving the apartment to study, and hanging out in our Christmas pj's. By no means do I want to keep living without wifi, because I do not please bring back my Netflix and social media and my ability to do homework while laying in bed, but the world did not end without it. In fact it has been a nice break from constantly being on my phone or watching one too many episodes of NCIS (or maybe seven too many). Without the internet our apartment has been super clean this week.

I went to Disney there will be a post about this, I promise. Hopefully by next Christmas.

Maci has really picked up on her dental hygiene 

First week back at school grocery shopping. The second week was about 1/8 of this.

New coat, warm shoes, and a cute dog.

First real snow and my sweet girls.

My roommate painted the mural for me in our living room which is the coolest.

Maci's Take on Finals

Hi guys it’s Maci,

My mom is super busy with finals week so she thought it would be a good idea for me to blog today. 

I am not really sure what my mom wants me to blog about, I am just going to tell you whats been happening about our apartment this week. 

Mom left me totally stranded last week for three whole days. She said it was for Thanksgiving or something like that. Mom told me it comes every year, but I don’t remember it last year. I guess if we are giving thanks I am thankful for a few things, like tennis balls, and bones, and treats, and bananas, and sissy, and squeakers, and Mac, and oh yeah mom and dad, I like them too. I wasn’t too bad I guess, you know not being with mom all the time. I am glad she is back though.

This week mom says she is going to super busy with school and I have to be patient. I don’t like it when mom says I have to be patient, it means my walks are shorter and I don't get to play tennis ball all week long. Mom is spending all of her time studying for test, like I had in training, and writing papers. I am sad mom isn’t able to play with me this week, but I am still having fun with Maccabee, his mom is studying for tests too. This means a lot of things like the dishes aren’t done and my room is super messy, mom just can’t keep her stuff put away. My grandma says she has always been like that. 

Kisses,

Maci

Another Day In My Life

I have finally gotten around to doing another day in my life since moving into college. I wanted to do this so I could compare my life before college and during college. It is also really fun just to see what my days are looking like. So far college has been a blast, everyday is super exciting and fun. 

Each morning I get to wake up to this sweet girl (typically begging to go potty).

Like most college students I live on coffee. I drink like two cups of coffee plus tea everyday...oops.

Breakfast time for Maemae. She eats in her cage now because Mac tries to eat her food.

Like normal I check my planner to see whats going on and plan out how I am going to get everything done.

I love my boots, but I am getting really sick of this rain.

I ... myself to go to my second class by buying apple cider from my favorite coffee house on my way to class.

On my way home from class.

I tend to do my studying and homework in my bed so that I don't bother my roommate.

Yup, mac and cheese plus ramen plus frozen fruits, yeah thats what eat.

Friends is constantly on in the apartment, which is like the best thing ever. 

Mac and Maci playing while outside on a potty break.

We talk everyday, maybe like 10 times a day. It's okay, really.

No matter how often we pick up these toys, give the pups like ten minutes and they are everywhere again.

On this particular night I helped my roommate set up for a super cute Portland themed date.

xoxo,

        MK

Some Things that Happened While I was on a Blogging Break

As you may have noticed I have been on a blogging break the past few weeks. With school started and what not, I needed a break. I needed to all of my priorities start before I got behind in school. So this is just a little recap of whats been happening the past month. Hopefully I will be able to get back to regularly blogging very soon!

My amazing roommate got this sweetie pie, Macabee. We are all very in love with him!

I realized after not blogging for a few weeks, just how much I love it

Real college has set in and this is what I eat...it's fine really

While exploring a local art museum I ran into this beauty, by Tom Burckhardt. There is so much detail in this exhibit it is actually a little ridiculous.

School has taken over my life. Also I decided that if Trump becomes president I am moving out of the country.

This sweet girl turned 10, I still can not believe it! 

I got my first tattoo!! You can read the meaning behind it on my Instagram

xoxo,

        MK