what I've learned in college

With my second year of college one week away from being over, I've been reflecting. I only have one semester left here, and this morning I was thinking of all of the things that I've learned in college. I've taken classes of all sorts, ranging from calculus 2, honors chemistry, and psychology to art and Spanish. With that being said, here are some of the things I've learned in college.

I can't speak Spanish. I've taken Spanish all four years in high school, and then in three upper division college classes. This semester I completed my minor. Guess what I know how to say? Hola. Me llamo Brianna. And that's basically the most of it. This semester my professor was a cute little Chilean woman that spoke really fast. There was one day all year that I understood what was going on. Why did I understand what she was talking about that day? Because it was food. We read a poem about food and you bet I understood that shit.

I can't spell. You would think that my spelling capabilities would've gotten better in college. And that my vocabulary has improved. But really if it weren't for spell check I don't know what I would do. Thanks, Apple, for helping me get through college by not making me have to learn to spell. Also, I called my roommate "unresponsible" and just so you know, that isn't a word.

Iguanas don't change colors. Or at least thats what they say. I'm not convinced. But yes, during these two years that I've been in college, this is one of the most valuable things I've learned- if that tells you anything.

"An OBEr is someone that experiences an OBE." Before I explain, here's the picture that accompanied this sentence in my textbook:

If that isn't a quality textbook drawing, I don't know what is. But basically this was in my psychology text for my consciousness class. We were learning about OBE's, or Out of Body Experiences. It's actually pretty interesting stuff. But our textbook had the statement "an OBEr is someone who experiences an OBE" Oh. Now I get it! Thank you, $30,000 quality education.

Coffee is absolutely necessary. I've become addicted. Mostly to Starbucks. Last year I got a $100 gift card to bring to college with me. Guess how long it lasted? Two months. #Yolo

Partying gets old fast. First semester was all about going out and having fun. But at my school, unless you're 21 (which I'm not) its all about the frat parties. Which is fun at first, but honestly I don't get how girls can do it every weekend all four years. One semester was enough for me. I'd much rather stay home and watch Mean Girls (happy 10th anniversary Mean Girls).

Driving on campus is not fun.  People walking around campus are idiots and don't watch where they're going. This + tons of foot and bike traffic = sorry, but I'm going to hit you.

Your friends will change. The friends you had in high school will leave, the friends you thought would always be there aren't, but you also meet some of the best friends you'll ever have.

There are some crazy people out there. AKA Brother Dean.

ALWAYS AVOID EYE CONTACT. When you're walking around campus and there are people trying to stop you to preach about religion or hand you a flyer- avoid eye contact at all costs. Never stop and talk to them because you'll be stuck in a 30+ minute conversation.

Straight A's were definitely a high school thing. I got straight A's in high school. In college I've gotten everything from an A to a D, and I'm totally okay with it. No one expects you to have a 4.0 here.

Well, obviously I've learned tons of valuable things in college, huh? What did you learn in college?

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!

keeping busy.

People always ask me how I do it. How do I handle being away from my handsome man for months at a time. So many of you go through this as well, and I'm sure you know we all have our little tips, tricks, and methods of staying sane when our loved ones are away. I already did a post here on some tips for keeping a long-distance relationship strong. But this is different. That post was more about what to do as a couple. This is how to cope when you're alone.

Sometime, the loneliness and the longing to be with my handsome man is overwhelming. It's hard when there's nothing you can do. There have been so many times I wish I could just drop out of school and go live with him. But needless to say, that's not an option. I hate that we can't be together, but at the same time, I'm so proud of him for everything he does. He's so good about doing everything he can to make it easier on me. But sometimes, when I'm just sitting around, it's so hard to not just think about how much I miss him- and it hurts. Isn't he sweet?! I love him. So anyway, I try to stay busy.  Right when I came home from Germany (read about my trip here), I knew that it would be really hard. I went from spending every day for two months with him to not seeing him at all. So like the day after I came home, I went to Michael's (my favorite store on earth) and bought scrapbook materials. I LOVE scrapbooking, and so I thought it would be a fun way to display my trip!  I just used pictures and items that I collected throughout the trip and made it super cute :) I also put some of these in there. Before I was in Germany, I ordered these "I love you because..." notes from Paper Doll Printing. Aren't they the cutest?! So every day while I was in Germany, I wrote him a note- a reason I loved him- and stuck it somewhere in his house so he would find one every day :) They made him so happy, and he asked me to put a few in the scrapbook! He's so cute. So I've done about six pages in that scrapbook, and he wants to help me with the rest so we'll finish it when he comes home! (Hopefully soon- we still don't know) You can see the other scrapbook I'm making here. I also just started watching Army Wives. I'm addicted! I think I cried like 6 times in the first three episodes. Its a little dramatic and overwhelming, but I definitely think everyone should watch it :)

I can already tell this is going to be one of those shows that I lay in bed and watch all 7 seasons in like a week. Oh well :)

I also love to craft. You can check out the painted and distressed mason jars I love making, as well as LDR coffee mugs here.

School also helps keep me busy. I'm taking 18 credits this semester and it's a lot of work.

 

And it's only the first week. You can read about how my first week went here!

 A little wine never hurt, either. I LOVE this Barefoot Moscato. MMM:)

I also really love to cook. This is a green chile omelet with rosemary potatoes! It was so yummy :)

Cooking, crafting, school, working out, or whatever it is- I just try to stay busy. These past few weeks have been the hardest, especially because I don't know when he's coming home. It'll be in the next couple weeks for sure, so it might seem crazy that I'm so upset, but it doesn't feel real. Not having a set, for-sure date makes it seem like it's not going to happen.

But, I'm trying my best to keep my head up and stay strong- for both of us. I know it kills him that he can't make it easier on me, and sometimes I wish I could be stronger.

I know so many of you are going through the same thing, so does anyone have any suggestions? What do you do to keep your mind off of missing your loved ones?

[Linked Here]

first week of school!

My first week of school is finally over! Thank goodness. I only have class on Tuesday and Thursday, which is seriously so nice!

 This is what I saw while I was sitting in my Spanish class early Tuesday morning. Can you tell I really love pink?!

When I got into class at about 7:45 am Tuesday morning, I was the first one there. Kids started coming in (the class started at 8) and we were all just chit-chatting until the professor showed up. The guy sitting next to me was a little older which isn't too uncommon in a big university. He was asking if this was Spanish 330 (yes) and if we thought the class would be difficult (hopefully not). Anyway, so were all sitting here talking about the class and how much we hate speaking Spanish, and the guy next to me stands up and says, "Hola clase! Soy su profesor. Bienvenido al español 330.." Hi class, I'm your professor welcome to Spanish 330.  Cool. He tricked us and I ended up telling my professor how much I hate speaking Spanish. Solid way to start off the semester! Haha. He ended up being pretty cool though and the class seems easy. Which is good :)

I live in an apartment about a mile and a half from campus. They have a shuttle that goes to and from campus and the university because parking at school is crazy expensive. So Monday I had to go on campus to turn in some paperwork and I was waiting for the shuttle after. 2:00...no shuttle. 2:30...still no shuttle. 3:00 where the hell is the shuttle?! I met up with my roommates and we called the apartment to find out that it had broken down. Awesome. Thanks for the heads up. Luckily, my uncle was in town so he gave us a ride home! There's no way we could've walked in the 120 degree weather!

I got home and I was so exhausted so I had a yummy iced coffee in a mason jar :) Mmm!

Tuesday, the Kindness Club had a table on the mall (our big grassy area) and I had to sit outside for like two hours. It was SO hot. And I got a sweet farmer's tan. On one arm. Cool.

Can you tell its been a good week?!

Tuesday afternoon the shuttle didn't come AGAIN. It was about an hour late. Double awesome.

On top of allll of that, my handsome man still hasn't gotten his orders. Hopefully he'll get them Tuesday and he'll be home in a couple of weeks. It's so frustrating because they've been saying "Oh you'll get them Wednesday" and on Wednesday..."Oh tomorrow for sure" Now it's Friday and no orders. It's so hard to stay positive and realize he's coming home so soon when there's no date and no certainty. 

Sorry that this is such a negative post, it's been a crazy hellish week. On the bright side, Pretty Little Liars was SO INTENSE. That was the highlight of my week for sure.

Isn't he cute?! I make him watch so many girly shows with me...poor guy! He's such a trooper

Anyway, I'm just trying to take things day by day and each night I go to bed thankful for what I have and thankful that I'm one day closer to being in my handsome man's arms. 

I hope everyone's week went well! Enjoy the weekend :)