Secret Spot

Sometimes when you've got that break in between tasks at school, you want to find that secret spot on campus that you can rely on; a spot that will always be there whenever you need to set your tushy down. You want that spot because first of all it's yours because you "claimed it" and second of all it's a pretty good spot! Well I finally found mine.

No, no, no, I'm not going to tell you where it is. However, I will say it's a pretty "cool" spot because it's one of those rare places on campus where you can find shade. (Although, I will tell you there is a better chance you'd find shade on East Campus). I have a name for my spot. It's called, the Secret Garden. Since I did take a video, you might be able to find it, but I'll take the risk because my SBCC readers are worth it! ;)

As we all know, it's been hot AF here for the Fall. Last year it wasn't as hot as it was this time of year. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the warmth, but you see, us poor Santa Barbara residents don't have this thing called aaaaaaiiiiir conditioning. Yeah, I know, hard to believe with how much we pay for rent right?

Anyways, I encourage you to find your "secret spot", preferrably one with shade. Unless, you for some odd reason prefer to fry your skin as well as your brain at school.

Doing a Good Deed

One night last week I was lying in bed not able to sleep. All of a sudden I heard this girl outside crying. I looked outside and saw she was sitting in the middle of the parking lot and I thought a boy must have done her wrong. Because we all know girls can do crazy things when that happens! Anyway, I was not completely dressed because it was about to be 100 degrees the next day and we don't have AC. So I got dressed, grabbed my keys, and without any doubt of shyness in my mind all I could think about was that I needed to help her. Hearing someone cry never sits with me well.

"Let me read your mind with my head against your kneecap."

I walked down the stairs and she kind of walked away in embarrassment. I asked her if she was alright. She shook her head no and I asked her if she needed a hug. Of course when someone says that to someone upset, they kind of let loose and get more emotional. I asked her what was wrong and she said she lost her kittens. I smirked because I thought it was cute, but sad at the same time! I remembered the times I had lost my dog and I could totally empathize with how she was feeling. So even though it was late at night I tried to help her find them for about an hour. We looked behind the fridge, in the fridge, in laundry baskets, closest, and under beds, you name it we couldn't find them! I exchanged numbers with her in the hopes I'd be able to find her kittens!

"I'm guilty and asleep."

A couple days later, yesterday, I texted her in the morning asking if she had found them. She did, and I was so happy for her! She said, "Yes I did :) Thank you so much for your help, you are so sweet!". The thing was, I didn't do it for the thank you or the compliment, or even to make myself feel better. I helped her out of pure consideration of her happiness. She had told me she found them not in the drawers we already looked in, but behind them. Later that day I went over and visited her kittens. I'd actually never seen on before, I've only seen older cats. I didn't think I liked cats, but to be honest her kittens were just so cute and silly! Out of a simple good deed I made three new friends. Two cats and a neighbor. I do good things often for other people. However, it was nice to get good "karma" back from it for once.

:)

Makin' Mula

It's not easy...
Having a job and going to school all while trying to be an adult and take care of yourself. But hey, at least I work at a sweet spot! I never thought I'd be going to a school right on the beach, never mind working right on it as well. Maybe even next year I'll live in a home on Oceanside for the thrill of it!

Currently I work at Beachside Bar-Cafe. It's a seafood restaurant right before the UCSB entrance. Anywhere you sit in the entire restaurant has a view of the ocean. It's an adorable, beach restaurant with hanging surfboards, island map place-mats, and an oyster-bar. I've been working here since the end of July this summer. It took me basically the entire summer to find a job. Through trial and error and multiple let downs, I got a call from the place I wanted to work most; here.

It's not what it looks like.

For right now I'm a hostess, like I have been since I was seventeen. However, in a couple months I think I will be taking that big leap into becoming a server. I might as well make more money while I'm working! This restaurant is a busy one. Hosting basically pays off what I spend on basic necessities during the month. To be honest I don't necessarily need to be making money right now, and I'm very blessed to be in that position. But seeing a family member of mine go downhill financially overtime has scared me. I'm more precocious compared to someone else in my position because I know what it's like to not be in this position as well.

My school and work schedule goes like this:

Monday: Work in the morning

Tuesday: School ALL DAY

Wednesday: School in the morning, Work at night

Thursday: School ALL DAY

Friday: Work in the morning

And my weekends are free! Unless I pick up an extra shift. I like to save my weekends to travel or go see family. I try to relax to but...those of you that know me know I'm not so professional at that skill. During the week let me tell ya, I'm EXHAUSTED. After my health-related past I'm very proud of myself for making it this far on my own. Going to school, working, doing everything on my own. I read this quote recently that states "Be who you needed when you were younger." I think it's very inspirational. It makes me want to become the best version of myself possible and push towards being successful!
PS: Also I get to wear cute outfits unlike the other restaurant I used to work at where I had to wear a "man's outfit". I definitely feel more confident in a dress rather than a buttoned up shirt and tie! It makes my job of portraying happiness and welcoming vibes a little easier, even when I am stressed.

If you're interested in visiting Beachside, click here. And tell them Angela sent ya ;) Heck, maybe that'll get your girl a raise! Haha...just kiddinggggggg.

Try New Things!

This is the time in your life where things can change dramatically. I say, go with the change! One cannot experience life to the fullest unless different or new things are added into one's life. I encourage you to go to a restaurant you have never been to before instead of the usual. I encourage you to try things you aren't good at so you get better. I encourage you to go places you haven't been before and soak up the view! From experience, it's been worth it.

Here is my experience of trying new things this week:

My friend Joseph and I were strolling around State Street thinking about where we should go to get some food because we were "fungry". Joseph suggested Panda Express. I suggested, "You know, I really want to go somewhere I haven't been before.....and you can never go wrong with Mexican food." So instead of going to all the Mexican food places I've already been before on State Street (Sandbar, Casa Blanca, etc.) Joseph mentioned a place right off of State Street called Los Arroyos. And let me tell you, that was the best Mexican food I've had in Santa Barbara. I wouldn't have known unless I took that oh so daring risk and tried it! 

Yesterday my English class was cancelled (for the first time). Thankful as can be, I started walking around to try and find a spot where I could do my Stats homework that was due later that day (I know, I know, I'm a procrastinator). I found this lovely spot on East Campus overlooking State Street and Shoreline Drive. What a beaut. Before my papers flew around everywhere because it was a windy day; I'd say it was a perfect, new spot.

Last night my roommate and I received some bad news from our town we used to live in back in the Midwest. Once things cooled down, to lighten the mood, Joseph came over with his new hoverboard. My balancing skills are the worst, and I was always too scared to try skateboarding...however, this, this I could try. It was so fun!!! Sure it takes a little practice, but hey, I'd choose riding this over a skateboard any day. Soon enough I bet we'll all start seeing people riding their hoverboards over the bridge on campus instead of their skateboards like they aren't supposed to! :) :) :) 

Escaping & Exploring

Yesterday morning I woke up to a phone call from my friend Rachelle asking if I wanted to go somewhere. Somewhere else, somewhere far, somewhere we haven't been before. I thought it was the perfect "get away" after the past week so I said yes and started to get ready for Pismo Beach. I usually feel like going up north, however, change can be a good thing.

Our first stop was at this little restaurant called Lil Bits. I saw it on Yelp and thought it looked decent and I liked the name. Once we got there it was just the cutest, family owned restaurant with those little touches you look for in a small, family owned business.

As soon as we were walking to the beach we saw swings and it intermediately brought me back to my childhood. When I was little I was on them all the time, but I have never seen them on the beach before! It's like we were swinging into the ocean (I wish)! Once I finally let the little kids have a turn on the swing, I started looking for a shell to take home like I normally do when I go to a new beach. I found a quarter. Next I found a SAND DOLLAR!! Haha, I didn't even care about the quarter worth economic value; finding the sand dollar made me so excited! I hadn't seen one of those since I had moved from California 11 years ago. Later on we were walking around the shops and guess what I stop to get? Candy :)

On our way home we rolled the windows down, and sang our hearts out to throwback songs that we once heard when times were easier. It's always the little things, isn't it?

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!