Accidents Happen

I'm going to keep this post as simple and sweet as I can. My goal this year was obviously to keep things on a positive note. Well the good news is that that is still possible. By keeping my head held high, I am making it possible. Happiness is decided and controlled within yourself and your own thoughts, it is not controlled by the events surrounding you. The last thing I wanted to blog about was another event in which has caused drama in my life. However, I think that this post can be a good lesson towards college students who are ever in a dangerous situation or to those who are living on their own for the first time with a kitchen.

Monday afternoon as I was getting ready for work, I was thinking about how I have a meeting with the counselor on Tuesday morning, but that I didn't have anything to necessarily talk about because things were going pretty well. I'm ready for work in a great mood, say goodbye to my roommates, and go to work acting all happy with customers telling them that my day is great as well. Little did I know, a fire formed in our kitchen while I was at work. No missed calls or texts from my roommates, I grab some employee food and sit down on my phone and scroll through social media. I stumble upon Facebook to see that there was a fire at my apartment and I called my roommate right away and headed over there. By the time I got home the fire department, police, and apartment manager had already left. The accident was my fault. I never knew what a broiler was and I had never seen one in my life. I guess someone left a sheet pan in there from another set of roommates before us, so I thought that the broiler was a storage area for the oven. There is not much storage in our apartment, especially the kitchen, so I put a couple more sheet pans, including a cutting board in there. NEVER DO THAT!!!

I took off a full day of school on Tuesday to work on cleaning the apartment because the kitchen was covered in dust from this happening. I sort of felt like a hard-core Cinderella. The good news is that nobody was hurt, the oven is being replaced, and all of our important belongings were safe in our rooms. Talking with the counselor and the apartment manager, they both informed me that accidents like this happen all the time and that they themselves have done something like this before. EVERYTHING IS OKAY! I feel horrible for the accidental situation I put my roommates in and am just so thankful of the helped we received.

Negative situations will surround you, this world is full of them. However, it is possible to separate your right to happiness from them. Everyone deserves happiness. This world can be so positive and so beautiful if you let it be. Example A: This is the view of the sunrise from my bedroom window the same day the fire happened.  I'm usually not up that early to see it but I got up early to take my roommate to the doctors. The beautiful thing about that was I was able to help someone and for once it wasn't me having to go there for myself . #thatwassolastyear

Organizational Tips

THE KEY TO SUCCESS IN YOUR CLASSES IS BEING ORGANIZED!!!

Following these steps will help you to organize your classes and paperwork for each one, making it easier to locate things (therefore you won't stress out as much)!

Start by separating all your paperwork into different folders,binders, or sections. I like to separate them by each class and add a section for homework so I know what to focus on or what's due for the next class date!
Next separate each class's category section/folder/binder into a few other sections including: notes, old quizzes/tests, old homework, and any other paperwork you think you might need.



Flashcards help me memorize things easiest for studying!

Organizing flashcards can be the easiest organizational tip I can give you. Not organizing flashcards can also be a nightmare. The best thing you can do to organize your flashcards is separate them into chapters. I like to write the chapter number in one of the top corners so, that way if I mix them up, I can easily notice and put it back with the right chapter deck. 
Another tip with flashcards is to use the ones that are blank on both sides. If you get the ones that are blank on one side and have lines on the other it may become distracting. It can also prohibit you from writing as much words or writing them where you want to.
When studying your flashcards make two separate piles. Set down Pile 1 and keep Pile 2 in your hand. Keep going through pile two until you memorize them all. Now, before you go back and study the entire deck again, make sure to take a break! Sometimes taking a break can be a good thing. Give yourself time to possibly forget some of the definitions so you know for sure if you have truly memorized them into your long-term memorization, instead of the short-term.
Pile 1= The Known Pile: the definitions you already have memorized
Pile 2= The UnKnown Pile: the definitions you are confused about or have a hard time memorizing

Color-Code Your Notes!!! 

Again, being organized is the prevention of stress. Color-coating your notes can make it so much easier to find what you are looking for in your notes without having to read the entire paper. No one wants to do more reading than they have to! 
You can color coat things by definitions, titles, formulas, examples, questions & solutions, and even highlight or underline things to make the words you choose stand out more! 

On another "note", the reason I have become so organized this year is because my general ed classes are really difficult. Getting organized can make it that much easier to go back, study, and earn a higher grade. To be honest it's almost 1 in the morning as I'm writing this because I've been studying so much and I got inspired to "procrastinate" and write a blog about studying and being organized. I've got my LAB class this morning, then I have to go home to study and do more homework, and burnout my energy and the rest of my day at work. Tomorrow I've got a project, an essay, and a midterm due. This shall not be the death of me, but it'll sure make make my eyes dry. Oh, the college life!

Let's Get Started

Hi everyone, I'm back!!!! I was hoping I'd be able to blog again for you all this year because last year I loved sharing my experiences with you! Those of you who read my blogs last year know that as much as I tried to progress my life in a positive direction, it was very difficult since I was sick all the time last year. BUT now the tonsils are out and I'm smiling with four less teeth (which is a good thing), I'm not in pain anymore, nor have I been sick since I last blogged! If you'd like to take a look at one or sixty-one of my posts from last year click here! Because I know you want to read all sixty-one of them ;)


This year I hope to share some amazing experiences with you, here are my two main goals for this year:
1. Focus on me. Happiness is a choice and is well deserved. Develop a positive, strong mindset and stay in good health!
2. Figure out what my major is going to be before I sign up for Spring Semester Classes! Spring Classes I should start getting in-state tuition :)

This year is going to mainly consist of figuring out where I am headed in my life, and to start heading there. By the end of this semester I should be pretty close to finishing up my general ed classes. That's all I've really been taking lately because I didn't want to change my mind on a major (and end up wasting thousands of dollars as an out of state student). Currently I'm taking: Math 117, English 111, and the Physical Universe LAB class. These are the most difficult general ed classes I will have to take, but I will finish them and I will pass them!

To every student attending SBCC,
You see those signs everywhere that say we're the "#1 Community College in the Nation" ? Well it's true. Take in the view everyday and learn as much as you can from your compassionate teachers. Before you know it, you'll be transferring on out of here!!!