Two Months In: Budgeting, Romance, and Squirrels

Squirrels are so cute. Am I right?

Hello! I hope y'all are having a good day! I've been having a crazy hectic week (and next week is not much better) so please understand why this post is so late! It's another round of midterms and I've been occupied with a 10 page paper on philosophers. I'm not having a blast.

College has been a really great learning experience so far! I'm sort of getting the hang of becoming an individual. I have once again reached a point where I'm sleeping at like 2 in the morning... it's definitely a rough patch. College is not always like this! I have a few tips from the regrets of my college life (but never Smith. I am in love with Smith).

Budgeting

Let me just tell you how much I hate budgeting. It is literally the worst thing ever. I work tutoring kids and I make a decent  amount but no one would ever know because I spend that money so fast. October was just a terrible month where I spent more than humanly possible (okay not that much but I cried inside when I saw the little number on my mobile banking app). I went to 3 concerts, spent Fall Break in Boston, went on a shopping trip to Boston where I bought winter clothes/boots and some really nice sweaters. November will hopefully be a better month....Here are some tips to avoid bankruptcy, tips that I'm really bad at following.

1. Get a mobile banking/accounting app

This thing will literally save your butt and make you aware and sad at the same time.

2. Ask yourself if you absolutely NEED it

The answer is almost always yes, but you know it doesn't hurt to ask yourself and really think hard about it.

3. Do not repress yourself too hard core

I've learned that if I don't buy anything, I get really upset and start going on a buying rampage... don't let yourself get to that point.

4. Set a practical budget

"I will not buy anything "is not a practical budget. I have decided I can buy two big purchases (a nice sweater, some makeup, a pair of kick ass platform boots that I fell in love with, art supplies), eat out twice, and buy 3 small things ($10 or less) in one month. It's much easier for me to see money as tangible objects instead of setting a monetary limit.

Romance

I go to a women's college. This is not to say I don't have any romance in my life. Although I don't go on cute dates in Northampton where everything seriously looks like a scene of some insanely hipster movie (hopefully this will change), it's not THAT hard to meet guys if you really want to. On Halloween weekend, my house had it's only annual house party that is open to everyone on Smith campus and the other four colleges next to Smith. Guys come and I'll just leave my personal life at that. I don't really know how to meet any decent guys though. Guys you meet at parties are well... guys you meet at parties. I'm really not looking to have a one night stand with some frat guy too drunk to function/remember anything. There is this one person in my house who is from England and her boyfriend is from Norway and he FLEW ALL THE WAY TO SMITH just to see her. I want that kind of long term commitment where you really are in love with someone. I've just recently learned that while making out with a random guy is fun in the moment (here is my personal life again haha), it leaves you with such an empty feeling afterwards. I don't expect to repeat the same genuine feelings that I had in my first relationship just because it was both of our first times having a real relationship. This kind of love is more genuine and innocent as you get to know someone while exploring your own boundaries and individual motivations. Guys in college parties don't really care about who you are as a person, not so much as your name, as long as you're entertaining enough. So basically, I'm so single I don't even know how to describe it.

Squirrels

The squirrels make everything better. I cannot get over them. I just want to keep all of them and be their friend and ahhhh. Also random tangent. Today my house had a fire evacuation ( I was not present for this) because some person left a hot pocket in the microwave so long that it caught on fire... don't be that person. 

Icm+: The Woes of Packing

Beautiful outing with beautiful friends.

Hi everyone! I'm back in sunny California where the weather is actually gross and foggy in the morning. I've been saying my goodbyes and surprisingly, it hasn't been that sad. Maybe it's due to technology or the yearning for freedom, but I haven't cried and leaving doesn't seem so permanent. Leaving for college doesn't seem so real yet... it helps that a lot of my friends are on the East Coast and that a thing called Facebook exists. The reason I'm not sad is because I don't think I'll be severed from the people I actually care about. Of course I won't talk to old friends every day (that's ridiculous, we are busy people) but I can chat once in a while and drop by in December and the friendship lives on.

Somehow with the invention of social media, there is that expectation to talk everyday but that's really impossible. I'm kind of excited to keep in touch but also have that opportunity to meet new people.

And here is the 1cm+ of the day: packing. I usually like packing but packing has consumed and taken over my life and made it absolutely miserable. I own a lot more clothing than I expected and well.. I had a glorious image of packing in my head before the actual process started. I was going to create a time lapse video or a series of very cool, edited photos. BUT YOU KNOW WHAT, packing sucks, a lot. So I think this would be best done with a few tips, a few memorable quotes from my mother, and a photo montage showing you my pain. I'm not done yet but the finally packed up luggage will be shared on my instagram for this blog. 

TIPS

Early in the game. 

1. Do not take garbage. 

Hahaha, I don't mean this in the sense of actual garbage but just clothes that you've only ever worn once. No you will not wear it more when you go off to a place far, far away. Do not bring too many sentimental notebooks or heavy photo frames. You are not going in the wilderness (unless you are..), you are fully capable of buying new essentials once you get there. College packing is also the perfect time to empty out your wardrobe of things you never liked. Do not bring books... books are heavy and it's not like you're going to be cooped up in your dorm room reading your favorite YA books.. (jokes, I don't read YA..)

2. Be creative!
My dad ordered those vacuum seal space saving bags late so I had to make my own! This is just one example of my t-shirts being stuffed into my own space saving bags. 

So if you order a lot of clothes off the internet, they all come in nice little plastic packaging. All this packaging has one single hole on the side. I just taped it down after stuffing with masking tape. Once it's sealed tightly, I sat on it lol. All the air left and I had my own vacuum sealed bag! 

The space bags are supposed to come tomorrow so I'm saving those for outerwear and other things that can't just be stuffed easily. 

Here are some more examples! 

 

The skirt collection

Pants were kind of difficult to stuff but it is definitely possible. 

the sweaters! 

Little remnants of summer! 

I haven't decided on which bags I want to bring yet... 

The left showcases some dresses! And the right photo is of the outerwear I plan on taking!! 

I did not take a picture of my shoes but here we go as listed:

+Rainboots

+Sparkly blue boots

+Brown fuzzy boots

+Flat black sandals

+Tall black sandals (heeled)

+Leather oxfords

+Sperry's 

+Running shoes (YES!)

+Shower shoes 

I am ditching the Uggs everyone. 

So that's that! Here are some memorable quotes from my mother everyone.

"You look like you're moving out of the house."

"I am, mom."

"Your room looks like a moving center."

"Erm, it kind of is, mom."

"Why in the world do you need so many shoes?"

"Shoes run the world."

Ignore my feet... the top four photos are variations on the same dress. I used a lot of the same clothes but I feel like the mood and tone of each outfit is very different! That's what I love about fashion. Subtle, minor changes like a bag/shoes/coat are essential. Clothing is so versatile and fun to play around with! 

The suitcase count is at 4. 

Okay so now for a real treat! I know my fashion blog never took off and maybe it's still something that could happen in the future but for now.. here are some variations of outfits that I made. I know the photos are quite . . . basic haha. No fancy backgrounds, you can barely see my face in a lot of them.. but here are some representations of average clothing I wear! 

1cm+: A Girl's Quest to Understand College

Last year I bought a book in Korea called 1cm+. It was a really cutely animated self help book aimed at finding the extra 1cm in our lives in order to bring happiness and hope. The things it suggested weren't complicated such as go climb a mountain or spend three years wandering a new city. They were simple suggestions like put your smartphone down more, differences in male and female thinking, how to find a good love haha. It's a very Murakami-esque idea to find the beauty in the small things instead of expecting huge miracles to always fill your happiness meter. 

That's kind of how I view college. College isn't a time to develop completely new skills. I'm not looking to learn something earth-shattering by attending Smith but rather that extra 1cm+ in my life in order to appreciate what is around me and develop more ability to be empathetic, rational, and patient. The little tweaks in attitude and mindset help set a path of prosperity, happiness, and fulfillment. 

Already I feel a lens on life just by being more aware of food stability, feminism, and the problems with government involvement in certain industries. 

This journey is sort of like a fill in the number coloring book. So much of it has already been colored by 17 years of being alive. I'm attending a liberal arts college in order to see the blank spots and fill them up with a new perspective, idea, and story. 

Look out for future 1cm+ tags to see little snippets of what I'm learning in college in order to have that extra the ability to see two sides of an argument and make bad situations into good memories.

Read on for the quintessential horror: the college roommate. 

Ollie, College, and Empty Sockets

say hi to my love, Ollie! 

Hi everyone :) It's been a terribly long time since I've posted. I'm going to start posting some things about the college process and how that's been going for me. I am applying early decision to a fabulous college that I love and I'm almost done with the supplements. The Common App is not my friend but it is one of my most visited websites. You can blame the Common App for the lack of my online presence. School has been hectic like normal and I haven't found any time to blog or even the motivation to think of interesting topics. I know I skipped a Yoga Tuesday this week but expect one next week! I had my first public speaking tournament of the year as well as the Homecoming dance. It's definitely a celebratory moment in the last year of high school. Due dates are everywhere and the post its on my wall are just growing in number and size. S and I have had some serious arguments but we're making things work.

As I write this, it feels like my eyeballs are going to fall out, most literally. If you haven't yet, check out my tumblr! The url is pinkstoryofme.tumblr.com! I reblog pretty photos and accidentally put all my blog posts on there.... follow me at pinkstoryofme.tumblr.com. It's really convenient!

My dad found me a typewriter and I named it Ollie! I'm so excited to buy some ribbon and start using her :) I am slowly becoming super hipster. . . I love artsy, crafty things and I'm so obsessed with Whole Foods. I love wearing pretty yet edgy and really interpretive outfits with lots of patterns haha. Oxfords are the best. read more for some college advice :)