Life Lessons: Learning the hard way

See, as a kid I was always being told

Oh, you just have to learn the hard way, don't you? Hard headed chile!

And I think it's time I remember that. I really learn the hard way best.

Read more for learning the hard way.

3 Ways: Balancing Time Through Scheduling

It is very important to figure out how to balance you time as you gain aspects to your life. During school, I have to balance my academic work, my dorm job, my social life, my personal time and my ability to keep a reasonable outlook on the future. This past summer, I was balancing an internship, tutoring, family time, and my own personal time while I tried to figure out where I want to go after graduating from MIT.

I will share a few tips for balancing your time.

Advice for Dorm Politics

College dorms are a bit like little countries. Each dorm has its own stereotype and its internal politics, not always related. Different floors in the same dorm have different cultures; some groups may be in tensions with one another. Dorms may have celebrities: the people the gossip is about or the people everyone knows. Maybe even the people everyone dislikes.

All of these tensions and quirks come to a head in dorm politics. When you get involved in dorm politics, you're stepping forward for responsibility and discussion.


Read more for advice on entering dorm politics.

Recharge and Refocus

I took a few days off of blogging to recharge. Life seems to get more and more daunting as I move forward. But there are also a few amazing changes that I want to share.

The first is that I think I'm going to move out of my dorm. While the people on my floor are lovely, I find the dorm culture to be a bit toxic and too transitory for my taste. This is something that I've been looking forward to as an abstract thought for a while, but it's much closer to becoming a reality than ever before.

The second is that I'm trying to make a monetary commitment to myself. I have enough things lying around, not all of them being used, that I don't need to buy anymore. I want to make sure that I'm financially stable as I move out and that I start saving money the way I really should be.

Finally, I want to do the things that I set out to do over the summer. I want to draw twice a week. I want to read all the books I've purchased. I want to go back to writing letter. I've been dealing with difficulty and stress. In general, I really just lost sight of what I'm doing and who I am because I was too caught up in the stress of the moment and the difficulty of the moment. I want to get back in touch with the ideal me that I was working to be, rather than the miasmic discouraged me.

Positive Change> Average: TED talk

Shawn Achor: The Happy Secret to Better Work

Please check out this exciting and hilarious talk. Achor has a great sense of humor and that makes his material so exciting to listen to.

"Amy amy wait. Don't cry. No human lands on all fours like that. Amy, I think that means you're a unicorn!"

Loving your dorm room

Make your room the way you want it to be. I often struggle to get everything together, cleaning painting and decorating and organizing. It sounds like so much to do! But here's a little motivation for us to love our rooms the way we want to.

Read more to get a pep talk for making your room the way you want.

College Dorm Advice Part 3: How to Make and Maintain Your Bed

You have your closet set up and you have all your furniture.

If you checked out part one, you have your supplies for your bed. If not, run out and get them. Here's your list; I'll be waiting. Chat with your roommate to pick out some colors, then find a nice Target and have fun shopping. Make sure to get a design that you like!

The Basic List

• Foam Mattress Pad
• Pillows
• Pillow Covers
• Fitted Twin Extra Long Sheets
• Bed Risers
• Bed Comforter

Check out my Etsy page!

Read more for more details and extra advice on what to buy from this list along with how to maintain your bed.

College Men's Common Criticisms of Feminism

It seems like if you get a group of college kids together, late at night when there's just enough trust to let conversations start flowing, it's inevitable that a guy will steer the conversation toward a critique of feminism.

Why do guys feel so much of a need to harp on feminism?
And if guys want to criticize feminism, why do they only want to criticize it when they feel that the criticism isn't going to leave a safe space?

Read more for the common criticisms and my run down on why this happens.

Moving Forward From Failure: Get Started!

I find failure to be the most difficult thing to overcome. Maybe it's the fact that failure had such a high cost in my youth. Maybe it's just that failure represents the effort put into the attempt not being quite enough.

via: Left handed toons People don't actually laugh at our failures

But here's what I do to get over my fear of failure and get started on a project.

10 Things You'll Love About Being Home on Break

Let's get back to the positive side after the post of 10 Things you'll miss about college on break!

Lesson: It's good to vent and verbalize the things that bother you, but refocus on the things that you enjoy. Figure out how to add more of the 10 things you love and remove the 10 things you don't.

Read more for the list of 10 things you'll love about being home!

10 Things About College You'll Miss on Break

There are a lot of great things about college - the level of independence that you get to experience - things that you lose when you go home for break. Sitting here in Virginia, I'm thinking about the things I miss about Boston and the MIT campus.

Read more for my list of 10 things about college you'll miss on break.

How to Deal with "Friendly" Criticism

"I really don't think that suits you. Try this one instead!" she remarks, unsolicited, as you put on your favorite dress.

"Don't you worry about your figure? I just want to see you healthy, but you've put on so much weight recently," she mentions, munching on a handful of almonds.

"My hair is such a mess. You must understand- your hair is so frizzy!" She corrects her bangs deftly and sweeps her eyes over your hair.

Do you have a friend that's been sharing a few too many "helpful" comments?
Here's a few tips to deal with the criticism that friends may hand out without much thought.

Rousseau: Life to the Fullest

Understanding the education is preparation for life, we can now figure out how to embrace that life. Sometimes it can be very difficult to create an approach to life that allows you to embrace the moment. Hearing peers anxiously talk about grad school in their freshman years or professors drone on about the impenetrability of academia can make it seem like life takes place in stretches of decades rather than days. But your life is made of days!

Fortunately, there are great minds who have already written about the focus on the day to day life, and the benefits to embracing daily joy. Let's look at a quote from Rousseau, on of the great thinkers from the 18th century. His writings on education will help us to better understand what an effect positivity can have on us, as we approach our life and our education. 

Read more for wisdom on embracing your day!

How to Politely Skip Class

There are always going to be days where you don't want to go class. Sometimes it's that you're tired; other times the weather is bad. There are ways to keep skipping class from being a major hindrance. The most difficult thing is making sure that the professor doesn't mind. Most classes have clear policy on attendance. Of course in attendance based classes skipping will have an effect on your grade. Even if attendance isn't part of the grade, showing up to class is important. Carefully judge whether skipping class is worth it. To be fair, I skip a class about once a month. Usually, I take the time to catch up on sleep or studying.

In the cases that you decide skipping class is worth it, here's a good guide to politely skipping class.

Positivity: Education to the Fullest from Rousseau

Walking through the Infinite, I'm always amazed by the project posters and the chatter of discovery that surrounds MIT. I love the feeling of excited and frenzied exploration that permeates the people, the very buildings.

But there's something that makes me a little anxious: the concept of a technology education  Some of my peers see their time here as a way to gather up data points to store and recite for accolades. Others see technology as unequivocally good, unquestioning of the pursuit of knowledge and a fancy career. And there's always the disparaging of HASS, class that focus on the humanities. I can't count how many times have I been told that "readings for HASS classes are optional" or that "there's aren't any jobs in that; it's useless."

Something has changed about the way we approach education. We seem to see education as a decoration for our resume rather than a way to see the world.

(image via stephenhicks)

Read more for Rousseaus' vision of education as a way to impact individuals.

Classroom Etiquette

One of the most important things for college is the new code of etiquette for college lectures. It's very different from high school but still important for making sure that your professor has a good opinion of you.

Here's my guide to lectures and college classes, how you should behave in lecture. The advice will go through cellphones, bathroom breaks, sleeping and more.

Fresh Plants and Flowers

I love spring time. I love the way the weather warms up and then takes the time for little spring showers to cool down. We should all take the time to slow down. Going on long walks helps me to breath in that fresh air that gives so much life to everything. Keeping live plants at my desk really warms up my study space, but I sometimes want flowers along with my leafy green. I want to bring into my room more of the spring that is around me.

I've been getting cut flowers to keep in my room. Read more to see the flowers that I've been getting and hear about my experience.

Mini Update: Packing

Heya,

I've been packing to productive procrastinate on my last final and paper. I turned in two papers earlier this week. Just not feeling this last paper happening.

It's funny how everyone has taken a very "it's almost over; i don't even care" attitude for these last two weeks. Spring semester, man; it's been tough on all of us here in Boston. I should have a post on that after the 24th!

Sorry but, no full updates until after the 24th.

<3

End of Term

It's absolutely amazing to think that it's the end of the semester. Next year I will be a junior! There are so many exciting things to talk about: an exciting summer job, studying for exams, packing for a return to Virginia.

Due to finals there won't be any more posts until after May 24th, when I return to Virginia. After that, I will return to schedule.

Read more for my thoughts on the end of term and summer plans.

Positivity: Spring walks

Moving into May, the weather is finally cooperating with me. I've retired my winter jacket for the year, and brought out some bright spring clothes. More than just revamping my wardrobe, I've been revamping my everyday routines.

For positivity, I've been focusing on walking around in the fresh spring weather.

Read more to welcome spring with me.