Music for Studying/Doing Homework

Hey Guys! Long time no talk!
This is going to be a bit of a short post today...sorry about that.So if you're in college, then finals are either happening right now or they are about to happen. And if you're in high school, I'm guessing that you have a lot of AP Tests coming soon and finals sometime next month. I was never a procrastinator in high school but sadly, college has changed that. But today, while last minute doing a cs project due at midnight, I was listening to Lana Del Rey and finished the entire project in about 2-2.5 hours. Now, I'm fast, but I wasn't expecting to be that fast. And yes, I know I'm late on the Lana boat but I just started listening to her like two or three weeks ago and the music really helps me to focus (which is extremely hard for me by the way, I either have 100% focus or 0% focus. There is no in-between). So I'm sharing this playlist with you to hopefully help you with your focus.

Here you go:  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLUYFDT7vPkqBZQsTGBpGCjIoePETnOxi

Happy Studying!

Lauren Anderson

P.S. I uploaded a tour of my dorm room completely full of my stuff on my youtube channel. If you have time, you should go check it out!

P.P.S. I'm going to be moving out of my dorm in the next few days so if you guys want, I'll upload a video of my empty dorm so you guys can see what an empty freshman dorm looks like!

Ten Lies They Told You About College

Hi all, 

So this is something I think needs to be made since a lot of high-schoolers are now getting their acceptance letters or turning in their last few college applications. So, I now present:

Ten Lies They Told You About College!

1. It's a lot harder than high school.

You hear this one from your teachers all the time..."Be happy I'm letting you have a retake...You won't get this in college" or "Teachers aren't as forgiving in college" And it makes you feel like if you were to get shot, you'd still be expected to attend class. In reality, a lot of the teachers realize that you're just coming from high school and that its a different experience. They may not allow retakes, but they do drop the lowest grade or let you substitute a new grade for one of the older ones. Some even allow open note tests. However, this could be true for a slacker student. But, if you took at least one AP class in high school, you should be good. Truthfully, my AP Economics class senior year was harder than any of the classes I've taken in college so far.

2. Professors don't allow redos.

I kind of addressed this with the previous point. A lot of them allow revisions and drop low grades. Some teachers have curves. Most likely, if you have a good English professor, they will allow revisions. I don't think I've had a single teacher that doesn't drop grades or have curves!

3. Dorm rooms are tiny.

Okay, dorm rooms aren't huge, but it's all about how you use the space. If you loft your bed (it doesn't have to be all the way up at the ceiling. I'm short and I couldn't live like that.) then you have a crap ton of storage space under your bed! Honestly, my dorm is bigger than my room at home and I am in a freshman dorm so it's not like I have the extra space like in upperclassmen dorms. I can make a separate post on dorm room organization if you want! Let me know in the comments!

4. Homework takes longer to do.

Well, not really. Some classes give you one big assignment per week. If you work on it little by little during the week, it will be done and you'll feel like you hardly lifted a finger. It's all about time management. And other classes will give you some long readings but if you just do it as soon as you get it, then you're left with a bunch of free time!

5. You drift away from high school friends.

Now for me, this one is most definitely not true. When my friends and I come back home, its like we never left but it honestly depends on how much you're willing to stay in contact with that person and how strong you're friendship was before you went away. Just make sure you leave on good terms or else you may drift.

6. The freshman 15.

DUN DUN DUNNNN! Now as long as you eat a normal amount and don't gorge on junk food, this is not true. And if you feel like you're in danger of gaining the weight, most college campuses have at least one gym and most of them are free to full time students. Just think about going 2-3 times a week if you feel your midsection start to expand. Also, many colleges offer club and intramural sports which will definitely keep the pounds off!

7. All sororities and frats are evil/will haze you.

Okay, the few bad ones give all the other ones a bad name. Now, I am not in a sorority nor do I want to join one at this time but I do know people who are in them and they are having the time of their lives and love it! There are sororities/frats based on your major or your academics. It just depends on what you want to be a part of. If you think you want to be in one, I encourage you to go to your college's web page and try to research what sorority/frat you would like to rush; it starts very soon in the fall semester for some schools!

8. You need to know exactly what you want to do when you enroll.

No. No no no no. That is the reason you do your general studies your first two years of college before you get all the way into your major. If you're undecided, don't worry. Take a few classes from different departments that may interest you! You never want to force yourself to do something you don't want to do because think about it; what you choose to do is what you'll be doing for the next 30-40 or more years unless you decide to go back to college or get another job that doesn't require a different degree.

9. Everyone finishes college in four years.

Well, no. It can be more than four or it can be less. It really depends on your major and the number of credits you take. I encourage you to take at least 30 credits a year to meet the minimum graduation requirement of 120 credits. If you do more, maybe you graduate a semester or year early. If you do less, you may be in for some summer courses or an extra one or two semesters.

10. Jobs care about where you went to college.

Not really. Or at least, they shouldn't. As long as your school is accredited (that means that your degree is worth something if it is...or else you're a bit out of luck) then it shouldn't matter. Most of them will just care that you went to college and got your degree and had a gpa above a 3.0 (I came up with the 3.0 and some jobs may require more or less). 

 So there you go! I'm thinking about turning this into a youtube video. If you have any questions for me feel free to talk to me on twitter or to follow my college and organization boards on pinterest!

See you later and good luck!