College Girl Problems: Textbooks are so expensive!

As another semester draws close, many students are searching for the cheapest prices on textbooks. While tuition and boarding may already be paid, textbooks are another huge expense, especially in some of the more extensive classes.

So, here I am to show you how I have been working on finding the cheapest textbooks so that my parents will have fewer expenses. Because, you know, that's always nice.

Manicure Monday: New Year's Nails

I wasn't really sure what to do with my nails for New Year's. I wanted to have orange, but I only had one orange that wasn't neon, CG Riveting. How am I supposed to make a color like that be New Year's acceptable?

 So, there was my solution. Striping tape + glitter = eh. I did matte on my ring finger, but it didn't come out very well. 

Read after the jump to see how I fixed it-->

Sleepy Saturday: Unbroken

I'm not typically one to read nonfiction books. I usually like to stick to fiction, sci-fi, fantasy, and the like. So, in short, this book was a little out of my usual genres.

My mom came to me after she'd read Unbroken and told me I needed to read it. I'd done a research project on internment camps in America during World War II and presented on the cruelties on American citizens of different nationalities. Unbroken is a story of the other side, about the bombardier on the plane The Green Hornet--Louis Zamperini--and how he is captured by Japanese forces, imprisoned, and later freed.

The Rundown:
Violence: This is a war story, so expect some deaths, injuries, etc. Fellow pilots and flight crew die. While imprisoned, Zamperini is beaten, starved, and tortured. After freedom, he has murderous thoughts over his captors.
Swearing: I don't remember much anything other than damn, hell, and a few other milder words that some people may find offensive. It isn't overwhelming.
Sexual Content: Not a worry, though men in barracks together during flight training post pictures of women on their bathroom walls.

Manicure Monday: Christmas Nails

I know, once again I'm a day late. I meant to do this last night after the Christmas Eve service at church, but that didn't happen, obviously. 

So, here's for the fashionistas and beauty queens. I love to do my nails. Those who know me know my nail polish collection is overflowing, and if they want a color, I probably have it. If you see me without at least clear nail polish on my nails, it's a rare sight, usually when I took off some manicure and didn't have the time to do another one. The bare nails usually disappear within a few hours.

For this Christmas, I used China Glaze Ruby Red Pumps as my base on all nails. I then used CG White on White to stamp snowflakes (not sure what brand stamps I have, not one of the big name ones.) and used striping tape for candy canes on my ring fingers. The picture is after about a week of wear and tear, since I didn't actually get around to a picture until then. :)

Picture and comments after the jump.

Sleepy Saturday a Day Late: Insurgent

So, I kinda thought I put book reviews on Sunday, not Saturday. Oh well, better late than never! 

This particular post is a follow-up of last week's book review on Divergent. This week, I bring you Insurgent. This book was gut-wrenching, dramatic, psychotic, and wonderful. 

The Rundown:

Violence: A lot of bodies and deaths of major/side characters. Life-and-death situations.

Swearing: Similar to Divergent: idiot, Stiff, jerk, etc

Romance: Stronger than Divergent: Tris and Tobias passionately kiss, sometimes in front of others.

College Girl Problems: I Don't Know How to Study

Despite being a straight-A student in high school, I actually had this problem when I first got to college, and occasionally throughout the first full time semester, and when I've asked some other straight-A students, they could relate. I almost never had to study in high school, with a few rare exceptions such as geometry and history. I either got it or I didn't. In college, you learn twice as much information in a semester. In my major, biology, memorization is key. I had to learn how to learn the information and retain it longer than past the quiz. Here's a few tips I've picked up over the last few months.

Tips for the Aspiring Writers

I have been writing stories since I was young. When I was in third grade, I wrote a short story three times as long as it was supposed to be. I wouldn't call myself a world class novelist, though. Over the last few years, this love of writing has been cultured, especially through one specific event.

NaNoWriMo

For the last three Novembers, I have participated in what is called National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo. During this month, participants attempt to write a novel, or 50,000 words, in 30 days. This feat requires about 1,667 words on average every day. (To give you a general idea of the length, the average double-spaced three page essay is around 600-800 words.)

Sleepy Saturday: Divergent

As with most bloggers, I'm trying to come up with a regular schedule for blogging. So, here's to starting out a routine.

In order to make a blog dedicated to college and high school age girls, I thought I'd also look into popular novels, how they rank with appropriateness, and just how good of reads they are. Today, I'm looking at the first installment in an up-and-coming series, Divergent. Warning, some spoilers after the basic rundown.

Five Things I Learned in My First Semester of College

This semester was my first full-time semester in college. It's a little surreal that it's finally over, and that I survived. Over these last couple of days, I've been thinking about what this semester has taught me and how I've grown.

1. Listen to your mother.
My mom is one of the smartest people I know. And, as I knew before, she knows what she's talking about. Instead of listening and taking an easier math class, I took calculus, when I didn't need it for my degree, and it consumed a lot of my time. She's been right about other things, too, like how long it'll take me to study for certain subjects, or when the best time would be to go home, or when I need to finish assignments. In short: Your mother is always right.

2. Expect the unexpected.
Expect your printer to break down the night before your big research paper is due (which happened). Expect your professor to give a pop quiz on that chapter you haven't reviewed yet (also happened). Expect not to have any way to do laundry this weekend. Expect it to be thirty degrees the day you're supposed to run two miles. Expect everything, no matter how impossible it seems. Always be prepared, no matter what, and you'll be better off in the long run. Even if your professor doesn't have a surprise quiz on neurons, you'll be better prepared for the test in a week.

3. Study more than you think you need to.
This goes back to some words of wisdom from my mom: Study three hours for every hour the class meets. That means if you're in a class that meets three times a week for an hour each class period, study nine hours. Now, in my opinion, this works better if you break it up. Study for an hour right after the class, then an hour that night, and another hour the next day. Then repeat after the next class meeting. Repetition is the key to learning. Plus, this'll help for those pop quizzes I mentioned.

4. Sleep.
So many times have I slipped into bed at two in the morning, completely exhausted after studying my butt off for my big biology exam at 8:50. Studies say that the average person needs seven to eight hours of sleep. That doesn't include the seven to fifteen minutes it takes you to actually fall asleep. So make sure you account for your required sleep. You'll perform better, retain more information, and stay healthier. Plus, you'll be doing your roommate a favor if the lights are out by midnight.

5. Be social.
Don't be such a bookworm that you neglect your friends. The people you meet in college may very well be the friends you carry with you until the day you die. Nurture these friendships. Spend an hour talking about nothing in particular. Go to a movie. Get to know that girl halfway down the hall who you never talk to. This is something I really wish I'd done with more than just a couple of people who I knew before I even came to college. Broaden your horizons. Get to know someone from someplace far away (and I'm not talking about from the next town over). You never know what you may learn.

So there you have it. If I could have a do-over, those are the things I'd fix. Best of wishes to those heading to college for the spring semester, or starting in the fall.