Pinsanity!

As those of you that follow me on Pinterest know, I'm a little addicted to pinning. It seems to be a common trait among the bloggers I follow! It's probably a good think that I'm only allowed to use my laptop in one class this semester, because I have such a bad habit of pinning in class. I use Pinterest to organize ideas for camp, blog ideas, school tips, fashion pieces I'd love to have, quotes (lots of quotes!), future dreams, and just other things I like. I pin almost everything!

Here are some of my favorite things I've pinned lately!

Huge list of career ideas for every major!  So great for someone like me that really has no idea what I want to do in life.

Cute throw pillows from Very Jane that are only $10 each!

Oia in Santori, Greece It's so beautiful!

I adore this Lilly Mug! I'm a little obsessed with flamingoes.

Perfect wake-up call for a Les Mis geek :)

Love and hugs,

Blake

"Find a beautiful place and get lost"

Hey Now, Hey Now...

If you just started singing, "This is what dreams are made of," we will get along.

I recently let y'all know that a dream of mine came true. I was asked to be a leadership counselor at the camp I work at. I had a wonderful weekend with the rest of our camping system's leadership team at our "counselor selection" that we helped facilitate. There are so many wonderful applicants and I can't wait to see who is offered a job! At the end of the weekend, we found out what exactly our jobs were, and I was over-joyed to find out that I will be the crafts and "special interest program" coordinator this summer!

Me and the rest of the coordinators!

I'm so beyond excited to start preparing for camp! But this has also made me think of some of my other dreams I'd like to accomplish.

1. Write a book | This has been a dream of mine since I was a small child. Blogging has caused me to rekindle my love for writing, so maybe it isn't such a stretch after all!

2. Travel the world | I have never been out of the country, but I love to experience new things. Experiencing new cultures is definitely on the top of my list.

3. Be a mother | This is a dream I hope to obtain very far in the future. I know without a doubt that I want children of my own and I hope to be at least a fraction of what a wonderful mother my mom has been.

4. Meet my idol, Tina Fey | I've always loved Tina Fey, but after I read her autobiography, Bossypants, she became such an inspiration to me. She is so smart, talented, successful, and still grounded. If you ask me what my wildest dreams are, my answer is to be Tina Fey.

5. Perform on Broadway | This is the most far-fetched of my dreams, but it is something I've wanted to do since I discovered my love for musical theater. For now I'll have to settle with singing karaoke and pretending :)

What are your dreams?

Love and hugs,
Blake

"The future belongs to those that believe in the beauty of their dreams." -Eleanor Roosevelt

My 2013 Goals

I have never made a real New Year's Resolution. I've always known myself well enough to know that I probably wouldn't follow through with them. I entered the year with a vague idea of how I wanted to progress, but rarely with any real direction. This year I realized that there are some areas in my life I want to change for my own sake, so I've compiled a list of goals for this year. Most of these goals involve making a better schedule for myself so I get in the habit of being productive instead of aimlessly browsing the internet of watching too much Netflix!

1. Exercise | Currently my only physical activity involves walking to class. For my own health, I really need to start actually working out. I don't have class until 2:00 on Tuesday and Thursday and my apartment complex has a gym, so there's really no reason why I can't work out at least two days a week before class.

2. Read my Bible every morning | This is something I've seriously slacked on. I really value my faith, but I need to put more effort into furthering my relationship with God. I plan to wake up fifteen minutes earlier every morning to dive into the Word and get my day started right.

3. Get organized | Really this goal is more, "Get my room organized." Has anyone ever seen the Friends episode where super-organized Monica has her messy closet and that's the one area of her life that's unorganized? That's me with my room. It's awful. My first task is to tackle my desk so I can stop studying at the kitchen table.

4. Join a club | In high school, I was an insane overachiever and I overcommitted myself. Hence, I kind of burned myself out. I'm only a member of one club currently and all I really do it go to meetings. My goal is to find one organization that interests me and that I can get really involved in. This goal is partially a response to missing a busy schedule and partially to realizing how empty my resume is.

5. Read for pleasure a little every night | I used to be such an avid reader, but when I went to college I stopped making time to read. Now I've decided that every night I'm going to set aside a little bit of time to read for pleasure. Having a Kindle that I got for Christmas makes this a little easier. All my books are at my fingertips!

6. Go to bed before midnight | I am the worst about sitting on my laptop in bed and saying, "One more blog post/TV show/Facebook stalking, and then I'll go to bed." Before I know it, it's two in the morning. This year I plan to unplug by 11:30 and settle down with a book before I go to sleep!

What are your goals for this new year?

Love and hugs,
Blake
"Rise up and attack the day with enthusiasm."

What I've Learned this Year

2012 has been a phenomenal, life-changing year. I started off the year determined to make my last semester at a school I intended to transfer from a positive experience. I was ready to get out of there, but I left with a few new friends and a couple of good times. I spent the summer doing my dream job- teaching sailing at camp and wouldn't have spent it any other way. I survived my first semester at UGA with a not-too-shabby GPA. But the absolute highlight of my 2012 occurred just a few days ago when I found out the best news...

I will be returning to my camp this summer in a new role as a leadership counselor! This has been my dream since the first time I went to camp in the fifth grade. I'm excited to impact the campers in a new way and help my counselors through the summer. Also, there are a lot of traditions reserved for leadership that I'm really excited to do!

I've learned a lot this year, and some of it I learned the hard way. But I wouldn't change a moment for anything.

I've learned...

• I've definitely grown up a considerable amount in the past year, but I have A LOT left to do. I'm not nearly ready to be a real, live "adult" yet.
• I don't know how everything is going to turn out. I can't know that, but it's ok.
• Maybe my childhood dream of becoming a writer isn't so silly after all.
• The cost of eating out really does add up.
• Sometimes you make a bad decision. Do what you can to recover from it, and move on. Try again if you can.
• There's no point of making a to-do list if you're not going to follow through with it.
• I'm still not sure how one handles being sick as an "adult." I still text my mom with in-depth descriptions of my symptoms and ask what to do. 
• How to study. Seriously. I was NOT academically challenged in high school and my first year of college. This year has been the first time that I've ever had to seriously hit the books.
• Trust God. He has a plan, and sometimes that plan involves your dreams coming true. No matter what, it is what's best.

What have you learned this year?

Love and hugs, and Happy New Year!

Blake

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I ended up where I needed to be." -Douglas Adams

Finals Survival Guide: My Study Tips

My last day of classes is today. Where did the time go? Unfortunately though, that means finals are in full swing. I stayed in the student center studying until 2:30 last night (well, this morning). It's open all night during finals, which I am so thankful for because I am so much more productive outside my apartment. I'm going to live there for the next week because all four of my finals at least have a cumulative portion. All. Four. So naturally, I'm not being productive; I'm writing this blog post to help y'all out since I'm such a nice person! Edit: At the time I finally returned to this post, I'm done with finals and somehow survived them. I managed to survive by neglecting my blog though :)

FIRST, preparing to study.

To-do lists are your friend. A week or two before your finals start, begin making a list of everything you need to do to prepare. Making flashcards, reviewing notes, doing problems, what ever you think you'll need to do, put it on there! I have my list organized by class and date of the final to help me prioritize. Also, sticky notes are your friend here too! Use them to mark places in your book or notes that you know you need to review, such as summary pages or important charts.

Then, figure out what to study.
This might be the hardest part. If provided a study guide, fill it out! Writing down the information will help to cement it in your brain. If not, create one! What has your teacher emphasized on previous tests? Have they mentioned anything in class that might help? What are the main ideas? Put it all on your study guide.

Actually study.
Find yourself a nice, quiet place free of distraction. I prefer to get a table outside Starbucks downtown during the day and a study room in the student center at night. If I absolutely have to study at home, I work at my kitchen table with little distractions. I also always have some study snacks and plenty of water and Diet Coke on hand!
How do you learn best? Do you review your notes by talking them out with someone? Reviewing flashcards? Rewriting and reorganizing the information? You know what's best for you and how you will best retain the information. Exhaust all your resources. Do review questions in the book from required readings. Go over anything your professor has handed out in class. Go over old tests if you have them and your final is cumulative.
Focus! That's probably the hardest part. Download the Self Control app and block any distracting websites for a set amount of time. If you don't absolutely need your computer, then don't use it. If you know that you won't get anything done studying with certain friends (you know who they are), study alone or with other people. They'll understand; you can see them when you're done!

Rock your exam!
Wake up on the morning of your test with a good breakfast. Dress for success- whether you prefer yoga pants or a cute outfit. Breathe. You're prepared. Don't psych yourself out.

Celebrate!
When finals are over, reward your hard work with a night out with friends, a big meal with too many calories, or just relaxing and watching too much Netflix. I might be guilty of doing all three of those when I finished my exams. Oops.

How do you study best?

Love and hugs,
Blake
"She turned her can'ts into cans and her dreams into plans"