another college rant

Happy Friday my loves! Today's post is mostly a vent, so sorry that its not the best way to end the week! So, you might've seen on Instagram that I was swamped with homework this week. I posted this picture on Monday. If you notice, I mention in the caption that I only have one semester left of college. On Monday, I registered for my last semester of college, and I will be graduating three semesters early. I was pretty excited about it, and so I shared the news on Facebook, Insta, and Twitter. I got the normal "How exciting!" and "Congrats!" comments and replies that I expected, but I also got some comments/emails/replies that bugged me a little.

I mentioned here that I think college is hard. I think some people think that its so easy and they don't take into consideration that for some students college isn't all fun and games. I have a lot going on. I have six classes, a job, my design site, and this blog to manage on top of working out, paying for bills, grocery shopping, gassing up my ride, and all of that fun adult stuff. So anyway, when I posted about graduating this year, I got a lot of replies saying that I shouldn't rush things. "College is the best time of your life." All of that jazz.

Here's what I have to say. Obviously if someone is excited to graduate, they don't want to hear about how they should stay in college forever. People assume that once I graduate I will just be thrown into the "real world" without a plan and I'll regret getting out of school. Which is absolutely not the case. I have a plan, and I know that I will be happier once I graduate. I'm planning to move to Montana where I'll live with Handsome (I won't have to worry about finding a place to live or paying rent).  I'm going to get my Master's degree online (I'm furthering my education). I'm going to get a job or a paid internship, which I've already started looking into (I'll be making money). But most importantly, I'll be with the one person that makes my life complete.

When people hear I'm graduating and respond with those "stay in college forever" comments, it makes me feel like they think I'm making a bad choice. It's not like I'm quitting school and "messing up" my chances for a successful future (not that I think you have to go to school to be successful). I want people to be proud of me. I'm getting a 4 year degree in 2.5 years. I don't see how its a bad thing, yet some people make it seem that way.

If you're in a long distance relationship, I'm sure you understand. If you're not, imagine spending almost every day without that one person that you do everything with. It sucks, and it makes everything a million times less enjoyable. DJ is my everything. He makes everything more enjoyable. Being away from him is so hard. Yes, he is the main reason I am excited to graduate early. I'm excited to get out of school and go be with him. I'm excited to start our life together. I know that even if my job sucks or I have tons of bills to pay (or whatever other "adult" things people think I'll regret), I'll have him at the end of every day, and nothing is better than that.

I'm not in a sorority, and Greek Life is HUGE at my school. Class, homework, work, and blogging take up most of my time. When I'm not doing any of that, I'm usually relaxing or adventuring with my roommates. But honestly, it's not that great. I mean yeah, I enjoy being in college and I'm having fun, but I do not think that next year I'll look back and think "those were the best years of my life." When I look back on the last year, the times that I think "yeah, that was an amazing time" were when I was not in school. The best part of my year was being with Handsome. In Germany, Montana, California, wherever. But the point is, I know that I will enjoy myself more once I graduate. I won't have to stress about six classes worth of assignments. I wont be sad about not seeing the man I love for two whole months. I wont constantly have to check my countdown to see how long until I can see him again. I wont have to rely on text messages and Skype to make me happy.

What I'm getting at is the fact that college is different for everyone. Some people have the time of their lives, and its just not meant for others. I enjoy it. But its also not where I want to be. So next time you're telling someone that they should be enjoying themselves, think about how they might feel if they're not. It's hard having people telling you how you should feel. "These should be the best years ever." Well, they're not. I can't wait to graduate and I'm fully aware that I will have to deal with "real world" stresses and responsibilities, but to me, it's completely worth it.

Woof, sorry for the rant again. But hey, if I can't vent here, where can I? I'd love to hear your opinions on this, or even just your plans for the weekend! Happy Friday :)

college students deserve more credit

I've been in college for two years now, and I have a love/hate relationship with it. When I was still in high school, I always thought college would be this glorious time where I didn't really have any responsibility and I could to whatever I want. Which is true, to an extent. But people always say to stay in college as long as you can, its the best years of your life, you'll miss it when you're living in "the real world." And this bugs me…a lot. I don't think college kids get as much credit as they deserve.

College is absolutely fun. Parties, sporting events, time out with friends- I love it all. But honestly, I don't see how its any easier than "living in the real world." Sure, some people have jobs Monday through Friday from 9 to 5, and its stressful and a lot of work. But I have school every day, including weekends, and when I get home from class I have more schoolwork to do. There's hardly a day when I'm not stressed about an upcoming assignment or exam. Most people that have careers get to leave their work at work, and can enjoy themselves when they're off. But college students….we're always doing work. On top of all of the school work, I, like many other college students, have a job as well. So on top of lectures, assignments, and exams, I also hold a job. It can be crazy and stressful, and I often feel like I don't have any time to just relax.

I think that there's a huge misconception out there that college kids don't have bills. Whenever people throw out that "stay in college forever…you don't have to worry about adult problems" crap, I don't think they consider the fact that college students have bills, too. I pay rent for my apartment, electricity, groceries, gas for my car, and school related expenses too. Not to mentions school itself is ridiculously expensive. Plus, there are some students that have even more responsibilities than that. I would say that that's pretty relatable to the "adult problems" that people think we don't have to deal with. There's also the stress of figuring out what you're going to do once you graduate. It can be pretty scary and stressful when you're not sure where you'll be living or what you'll be doing within the next year or so.

What I'm basically trying to say is that college students do not get the credit they deserve. I understand that once you graduate you have more responsibilities. You have to completely support yourself, balance a job, bills, and possibly a family. All I'm trying to get across is that as students, we have responsibilities too. We know what its like to have to pay bills. We know what its like to be stressed and overwhelmed from work. It's not all sunshine and rainbows over in collegeville. We understand "real world" problems, and I think that most of us do a pretty damn good job considering were only in our early 20's (or younger).

What're your opinions? Do you agree? Or do you think that there's a huge difference between college life and "the real world?"

save money and save lives

College is stressful. It's a lot of work and its so expensive. I never understood why I have to pay 9,000 dollars in tuition and then I have to pay an extra 600 dollars for textbooks. It's literally paper with words on it. Why are you so expensive?!

There are some ways to save money as a college student though. One of the best ways to do so is renting textbooks. I rent all of my books. You can save anywhere from 40 to 90 percent on books by renting! Plus, it's not like you need the books once your class is over, so it's totally a better deal. Campus Book Rentals is a great website that allows you to rent books and has so many benefits. You can highlight in the books, shipping is free, and the renting periods are so flexible.

Personally, I like this much better than renting/buying from my school's bookstore. Last semester, I rented from my school and ended up paying both the renting price and the full book price because there were marks in the book when I returned it. I was so mad and vowed that I would never rent a textbook again, until I came across Campus Book Rentals. Here's a little bit about how it works


My favorite part about this company is that they give back to the community. With each book that is rented, Campus Book Rentals donates some of the profit to Operation Smile. If you're not familiar with this charity, they raise money to provide necessary surgery for children born with facial deformities such as a cleft lip. Operation Smile saves lives, and I think it's incredible that this company helps support their mission. Its amazing, right?

Another great thing about Campus Book Rentals is their Rent Back program. This program allows us students to rent our textbooks to others. I love this. When you try to sell your books back to the school, you get basically nothing back. I paid 600 dollars for books freshman year, and they were willing to buy them back for FIFTY DOLLARS. Are you kidding me?! That's why I love the Rent Back program. Renting your books out will get you 2-4 times more money than you would selling your books regularly. Here's how it works:

Cool, right? It definitely helps when you're a broke college kid trying to get some money!

All in all, I love what Campus Book Rentals is doing for not only students, but also the community. It is a great, innovative company that is changing the way students think about purchasing textbooks. I definitely recommend checking out their site and renting through them because trust me, it makes life a whole lot easier! You can save money for yourself, and help save the life of a child in need.

Where do you get your text books? Do you have any other money saving tips?

the six people you meet on every college campus

I go to a very big, public university. Sometimes when I'm walking through campus, I'm baffled at some of the weird shit I see. The other day I saw a guy on a skateboard with no shirt and the words "future baby daddy" painted on his chest. Which inspired this post.

note: this is just for fun. these are stereotypes, and I don't mean to offend.

the fratstar
We all know this one. Man tanks, Sperry's, sunglasses, and a tan. They're loud, obnoxious, competitive, and usually, they're major douchers. After talking to them for about five minutes, you know which frat they're in and why its better than all the others. They can be found drunk in class a majority of the time.

sorority sister
They're all about the sisterhood. Monograms, Starbucks, and full class during the day, but at night they're all about the tight dresses and tequila. You can find them throwing up their gang signs or doing the sorority squat everywhere they go. They love their house, they love their little, and they love flaunting it.

athlete
College athletes generally think they're better than you. Maybe they are better than you, but they're definitely not modest. They don't care about grades, as long as they're eligible. They think they deserve special treatment in their classes, because c'mon- they're college athletes! They stick with their team and they love a good celebration after a victory. Or a loss. They just love to party. Go cats!

foreigner
Well, I live in Arizona. So we have cacti everywhere. You can tell when someone's not from around these parts when you see them taking pictures in front of a cactus with their friends. Or when they freak out when they see people by the pool in November. Or when they say, "Oh, you're from Arizona? You must be used to the heat." No. You never get used to 130 degrees, sorry.

nerd
They can usually be found in the library for hours on end. Sure, everyone's in the library during finals week, but a true nerd spends at least three hours a day in the big house of books. They attend every office hour the professor holds, raise their hand to volunteer every class period, and they get mad if they catch you on Facebook during lecture. When the professor says, "discuss with your neighbor," they actually discuss, and they take it way too seriously. They usually got all A's in high school and expect no less now that they're in college. Be friends with these people. You'll pass every class.

activist
They love to push their views on you. They hand out flyers, stop you on your way to class to share their views, and they shout their ideas to the world. They can promote anything- equal rights, religion, saving the environment, but no matter what, it's annoying. We have a problem with this one on our campus. His name is Brother Dean. He loves to tell the girls walking by that they're sluts and that we're all going to hell. You can read the article and see the video of him telling girls they "deserve rape" here. It's sickening.

Well, there you have it! The six people you'll meet on every college campus. Happy Wednesday!