bruin-babe

[bruin-babe]

WAITING Your Turn to Get On the Ride

Hello loves I am terribly sorry for not writing a post for some time. I'm sure you all understand the time constraints of senior year. When it comes to balancing scholarship applications, college supplements, AP classes, college courses, online classes, and extracurriculars, it's hard to maintain my youtube and blog at the same time.

Anyways enough babbling, let's get started with today's topic: WAITING!!

I feel like the past few months bring me back to my childhood. When my favorite ride at Disneyland, Dumbo, took hours waiting for. Each step closer, made the anticipation increase. I would gaze at the happy children already on the ride. I wanted to be them.

The same scenario exists today just with a new ride, college. Each form filled out, exam taken, transcript acquired, is another step closer. Instead of waiting for hours, I have to wait for months. While I envy those who already graduated and are on the "ride" already.

To make matters worse while I wait for admission decisions, I have adults constantly asking, "Where are you going?" "What is your life plan?" I try to hide by going on social media sites and then I see 60% of my feed filled with, "YAY! GOT ACCEPTED TO MY TOP CHOICE!" Don't get me wrong I am happy for them it just sucks having to wait till late March/early April to know what my fate is. I want to know already! Although this has been killing me, I have developed a survival guide to make the time more bearable.

Distraction is KEY! Senior year is the best time to go out with friends. Most of you are either 18, or drive. Or you are so tired of working, you learn how to be carefree when you go out. Don't get me wrong school comes first, but make sure you give some time to yourself as well. My friends and I like to plan monthly adventures where we go to a city and make a whole day out of it. I recommend it if you can, it gives you a light to the end of the dark tunnel.

Use it as motivation to tie lose ends! There have been many times I want to just scream "YOLO!" and give up on everything. Then I realize that if I want my past 12 years to mean something, to go to college, I need to buckle down and finish my A-Gs and earn a diploma. There are only 5 months left! If you can make it for 11 1/2 years, you can do it for a few more months. Give your all into your work and go out with a bang! 

Find a person you can mentor! There is nothing better than having a younger classmate that looks up to you. It pushes you to work harder and helps another. Right now many juniors are about to start taking the SAT and ACT. Guide them, share with them your mistakes and prep books. It allows them to have some assistance, and gives you time to stop focusing on college for a moment.

Breathe! You have done all you can do at this point. Stop worrying and take a deep breathe. Watch Netflix, do your nails, go on a long run, whatever relaxes you. You have worked hard to get to this point, save your energy and stop trying to control the uncontrollable.

Enjoy this time period! There is hope during this time! None of us know if we have been rejected yet or accepted. It allows us to still fantasize about the future. Although we all want this time to hurry by, don't let it keep you from enjoying this time. Live for the now and dream for the future.

I hope my tips for helpful and if you every want to vent or discuss anything feel free to message me. Love you all and talk to you soon <3

xoxo, the bubbly introvert <3

[bruin-babe]

I love your blog! I also did RYLA, but in Massachusetts :) I also identify with a lot of your goals and religious/family values. Trying to figure it all out and set priorities - it's hard to balance it all! Anyway just letting you know that I like reading your posts (:

you are tooooooo sweet <3 I’m sorry I did not see this sooner, but it really means the world to me that you support my blog. It’s always awesome meeting people with similar interests. Thank you for your message <3

[bruin-babe]

Diary Post: New Years Eve

Happy New Years everyone! I know your dash is probably swamped with new years post, but I wanted to share with you all my experiences this year and what I'm looking forward to for the new year! Hope you all enjoyed 2013! Here is to another good year!

❤️13 Highlights of 2013❤️

Touring/Exploring UCLA and its surroundings. Really put me in perspective for possibly attending my dream school.

Attending my local gyms dance classes, really taught me how to loosen up and have fun while working out.

Surprise Birthday Party by Church Family truly blessed by the best.

Finishing applying to colleges, nice to know I have a future and that all my hard work will be worth it.

Attending SoCal Congress in March.

Steubenville 2014

Becoming Youth Council Chairperson!

Attending the RYLA Camp Awards!

Junior Prom Night!

Giving blood for the first time!

Going to the Del Mar Fair!

SCRC 2013

First Annual Church Carnival

❤️14 Things I'm looking forward to in 2014❤️

Graduation

Starting College

Finding out where I will attend

Celebrating my baby sister's first birthday

Turning 18!

Speaking at my first retreat!

Senior Prom

Grad Night

Living on my own

Getting my license

Steubenville 2014

Transforming my body by college

Black Friday Shopping

Spending a summer without High School stresses!

❤️Goals for 2014❤️ - Spiritual Goals Read daily readings everyday Journal/Read the Bible every week - Physical Goals Be conscience of what I eat Work out 3x a week Stay fit during college

- Family Goals Take Sofia to mass

Count my blessings more often 

- Academic Goals Work for a 4.0 in college Work for straight As last semester Don’t procrastinate Finish lose ends - Hobby Goals Blog once a week Post a video once a month. Start vlogging again

[bruin-babe]

How I Prevented Senioritis! (In 5 Easy Steps)

"Nah I don't feel like it"

"YOLO"

"Senior Year"

"Oops I tried"

Every year we hear similar phrases that all have one meaning, "I'm entitled to be lazy at all times". I understand we all procrastinate at times, but I do not think anyone has the right to have grades handed to them. As a senior I have witnessed classmates giving up and just not wanting to try anymore. I don't get it to be honest. Sure, I want to be in college already, but I have to graduate first and I can't do that by slacking! This semester I wanted to ensure I did not acquire the disease known as "senioritis". Hopefully these tips help you all have better study patterns and help any fellow seniors struggling.

1. Set Goals to Motivate Yourself

During my junior year I acquired my first few Bs and it really frustrated me. I used this anger as motivation to get straight As for my senior year. This pushed me to study more, turn in my best work, and earn higher marks. By the end of the semester it worked, I earned straight As for my first semester ^.^

2. Set Priorities

School! Extracurriculars! College Apps! Family Bonding! Social Life! It's a lot thrown at a you at once and time will certainly be an issue. To prevent issues you need to set your priorities. Do you value exercise? Do you value reflection time? Reading? Whatever your pleasure is plan your day accordingly, I have a top 5 in this order: Faith, Family, School, Friends and Clubs. With this I make sure to put the things at the top of my list happen. This puts me in a positive mode, which leads to a productive day.

3. Environment is Key!

I am blessed to have friends that support my mindset. They value a college education as much as me and it's great having them to lean on. When you have friends that push you to work hard, to stop being lazy, it helps you work through that 10 page essay, or that polar area worksheet. 

4. Think of the Benefits

Sometimes I don't want to do an outline, or write a paper, so I go on tumblr or Facebook and waste time. Then I think about a year from now. I will hopefully be in my dream school and in order for that to happen I need to do well in high school. With the thought of being in college it helps motivate me to continue working hard.

5. Build for the Future

It's said that it takes 3 months to build a habit. So lets say you slack of senior year, won't you have that "don't care" mentality when you reach college? It's best not to have this in your system, or you could risk failing out of the school you worked hard to get to. Take this time to create better study habits, outlining techniques, and anything else you need for college.

So that's how I successful went through the first semester. I am very goal orientated, so for me these motivation techniques worked :) Hope this was helpful. Until next time!

xoxo,

thebubblyintrovert

[bruin-babe]

After Application Talk

Dear Senior,

Congratulations you did it! All of your hard work is finally playing off. I know you are probably worried. What  if the school hates me? What if I'm rejected? Why don't you love me dream school? Trust me I get it its crazy especially waiting for 4 months to get acceptance/rejection letters; the anticipation is nerve racking. But guess what? You did all you can do from this point and you will get into the school you are supposed to go to not always what you want. I know it sucks to accept, but its true. College is what you make it! No matter if its community or ivy if you are optimistic and make the best out of it college will be awesome. I'm so proud of all of you and if you ever need help, to vent, or encouragement I am here always. Congratulations again! In making the first step in your future.

-xoxo, thebubblyintrovert

[bruin-babe]

Diary: Thoughts During College Season

If you were to ask me a year ago what I wanted to major in, what schools I wanted to apply to, and anything else college related I would have shrugged my shoulders and responded with a big, "I don't know". Fast forward to now, currently a senior, I have finally narrowed it down my major choice and school decisions.

Location of Schools:

I grew up in a small town in California and it made me want to get as far away from SoCal as I could. Freshman year my goal was to go to a New York School, it did not matter which one just New York in general, even a community college. Now I have realized I do want to still apply to select New York schools, but I also want to stay in California and experience other regions of the state.

List of Colleges I want to apply to:

In order from reach-->target

Columbia

Cornell

Stanford

NYU

UCB

UCLA

UCI

UCSD

UCSB

UCD

UCR

Top Three Choices:

UCLA

NYU

Columbia

As you can tell I love UC schools. I have visited a few campuses and I just love the California atmosphere each possesses. However I do love a few ivies which is why I still will be applying to colleges using the CommonApp. 

Major Decision:

For UCSD, UCI, UCB, and UCLA I will applying as a cognitive science major and for the rest as a psychology major.

Why?

I honestly still have a variety of career choices to consider so I want a major that is broad. With both majors I have the options to become a researcher or public relations operator (my two main career objectives).

So I hope you enjoyed this diary entry and I apologize for the lack of posts, I have been swamped with applications and course load. I promise to get back on schedule as soon as possible. Till next time!

-xoxo, thebubblyintrovert

[bruin-babe]

How to Survive Summer Homework

Its summer! Woo! Time for the beach, fun, friends and the most dreaded, summer homework. Even though we all hate it, in reality it does help us stay on track and not completely lose our knowledge over the break. However the challenge still exist of how to simply find the motivation to sit down and do it. Now that I am an upcoming Senior the struggle is even harder, but I have finally trained myself to give in and get work finished. I have compiled a list of steps of how to do it and hopefully it helps all ages overcome summer mode thinking. 

1. Stop complaining! Start Accepting!

I know its hard, but seriously stop making excuses, stop whining and think positive. Would you want to start off the school year with an automatic F? Hopefully you answered no and to prevent this you have to do the summer homework!. The first step to most problems is acceptance so just accept the summer homework and then proactivity can begin.

2. Eliminate temptations.

I know its redundant, but a majority of us work better when there are few distractions. The common tip is to turn off the wifi, but for me a lot of my work is online. When I'm feeling lazy I like to log out of my websites and it makes me not want to go on because of the needed effort to type my log in info. I also found for mac's an app called Self Control http://selfcontrolapp.com/ and for google chrome the extension Concentrate (I personally have not tested it, but my friend loves it). The two apps block any websites you find distracting for a certain amount of time. This makes it easier for you to go online and not have the temptation to check you Facebook every five seconds. Now that your computer is taken care off turn off your phone and if you must listen to music use an ipod with no wifi or just listen to pandora that way you do not constantly going on your itunes, getting distracted. Turn off the TV! I mean it! Your brain can not multitask it makes you have to work twice as hard.

3. Start the year off with good habits!

I know as a senior, I am trying to prevent senioritis from consuming my being! This encourages me to not want to get into the habit of procrastination and carry it with me to college. I want to finish off strong and I made the goal for myself to start early and to do my best on everything. By not procrastinating on summer homework it will encourage and help you not procrastinate on fall and spring semester homework. 

4. Schedule your time to work in small increments. 

Reading a 500 page book sounds scary, but if you schedule out a reading time daily you could narrow it down to 16 pages a day. Less scary right? Even if you are only a week before school begins spacing out work no matter what eases your stress level and allows you to be able to breathe during the summer.

5. Just Do It!

Enough planning, enough thinking, Just START! I know we all wait for something to motivate us to work, but the fact of the matter is most of us cannot be. For me motivation comes mid-way of working by seeing the progress I have made since the beginning it pushes me to move forward. If you do not work that way just continue working then, you will be excited when everything is complete.

6. Take Breaks.

My brain goes into "WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO ME!" mode when I work for long periods of time. I like to work hard non-stop for 30 minutes and then I take a short break for 5 minutes. The break gives me something to look forward to when I reach my goal. While committing to working I avoid temptation and am able to get my brain to cooperate more than I would if I had to work for 2 hours with no break.

7. Relax, work hard and enjoy your summer :)

I know some teachers think we should study all summer long, but I believe in balance. I believe you should spend your summer in thirds: one-third for studies, one-third for fun, and one-third for self improvement. Relax! BREATHE! You still have time to get everything done. I hope this helped and remember enjoy your summer :)

[bruin-babe]

Luck is opportunity meets preparation.

- Michelle Phan

[bruin-babe]

For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone.

- Audrey Hepburn

[bruin-babe]

what schools are you thinking about?

Right now I'm leaning towards different UCs and a few New York schools, my overall top two choices at the moment are UCLA and NYU while my dream/don't think I'll get in school is Columbia.

[bruin-babe]

are you from cali?

yes :)