Get Creative!

There’s no recommended age on creativity!

Almost a month ago I was helping out at this year’s PASS event, and while talking to some fellow students about blog topics one really caught my attention—creativity through arts and crafts. As an avid pinterest-er (yea I admit it), I have recently renewed my love of all things crafty. With all the hustle and bustle required from my master’s program, I’d nearly forgotten the simple joy and satisfaction that comes from creating something. This was actually quite a shame, because as soon as I rediscovered this, I realized that I find some catharsis in creating something myself. The simple act of watching the pieces of something come together – of smoothing paint over an uncolored surface of my masquerade mask or cutting out bunches of felt flower petals – puts me in the zone.

Arts and creativity are a personal joy- the activities that make me happy are not always the same activities that are going to bring satisfaction to anyone else. Instead, we each can explore to find ways that help you to express yourself. I have friends who paint, sew, scrapbook, sketch, scribble, and knit for their creative release. You don’t have to limit yourself to the visual arts. You could try some auditory  stimulation by picking up an instrument or singing. What about writing? Grab a journal, jot down your thoughts, and perhaps scribble a poem. Or maybe your interest is culinary creativity? Try grabbing some pots and pans and whip up something tasty!

There are tons of websites and venues out there to get you inspired on your creative journey. Here are  just a few

The “Yes-Damn” Effect

It’s a New Year!  A new semester!  The crisp white pages of your 2012 planner lay open to a world of possibilities.  Your Google calendar is filled with vast swaths of free time.  Are you free next Wednesday to volunteer for your sorority’s social?  Of course!  Wanna help your friend distribute flyers for a project next month?  Sure!  Some people are going to a hockey game in Raleigh this weekend—you in?  YES!

Thanksgiving Break To Do List: Eat, sleep, end relationship….

The Thanksgiving Break Break Up is also called a Turkey Drop (1, 2, 3).  Turkey Drops happen around Thanksgiving when students return home and find that they are no longer interested in their high school sweetheart, or when people in a budding romance realize that it will never reach full bloom by the end of the year.

Breaking up can be stressful. So here is some advice about what to do if you are part of a Turkey Drop.

1. If you are ending the relationship, consider the other person’s feelings.   You do not have to remain best friends, but try to part on good terms to reduce the stress.
2. Consider that if geographical distance has been a problem in the relationship, the other person may feel the same way you do.
3. Finals will be around the corner when you return to campus, and you may experience a variety of emotions as a result of the break-up.  Contact Counseling and Wellness to gain perspective and learn coping mechanisms to prevent break-up related emotions from interfering with finals.
4. Consider any follow-up steps you need to take to end the relationship.  Do you want to erase the former significant other from all aspects of Facebook?  Do they have things at your place that need to be returned or vice versa?  Considering these factors and taking action may help you move forward.
5. Make time for friends and doing things that you enjoy.  This will relieve some stress and provide a pleasant distraction.

Additional information about dealing with break-ups can be found here.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Do you have ideas about how to move on from a Turkey Drop?  If so, tweet at us, post on our Facebook wall, or comment below!

Healthy Heels Weekend

It’s that time again… weekend time! Looking for something fun to do? Well, here are some of our top picks! If you know of something cool happening this weekend, comment & share!  To promote future weekend events, send us a tip.

Top Picks:

Visualizing Human Rights
See it in a new light.
Saturday, November 5th 9-4

The Parchman Hour,
Songs and stories of the 61 Freedom Riders
Showings Friday, Saturday and Sunday

We’ll also be checking out…
** Music in the Galleries, Ackland Art Museum* 7th Annual Open Studio Tour, maps available at he Carrboro Arts Center*

Makin’ Me-Time

Continuing with the spirit of welcome back, I’m going to share a little slice of honest pie….

I’m a student, and sometimes this “back to school thing” gets my heart beating a little more rapidly than usual as I imagine the one hundred million different responsibilities awaiting me (a slight exaggeration), and I’d like to imagine I’m not alone. Right now we’re all going through what I like to call our syllabus days. My typical reaction to this: “Oh my gosh, you want me to write/read/do WHAT?!?… Uh, no way.” Usually, it takes me a day or two, but I soon accept my fate. And by “my fate” I mean my life being  school, school and more school. This semester, however, I am determined that my fate will be different. I am going to be the master of my schedule, and I will continue to do some of the things that I love.

Now, I’m not really sure exactly how this is going to shape up, so I resorted to trusty Google to see what time management and stress management experts had to say (funny how frequently those things go together, huh?).  So here we go… makin’ me-time:

Before even going any further, take a second and think about what your me-time might be. What makes you happy? Helps you to decompress? Keeps you in a happy, healthy and balanced frame of mind? I know for me its reading, cooking and exercising…. All things which fell off my radar quickly last year and resulted in a much less happy, less healthy and overall un-balanced Sarah. No bueno.

So without further ado, here is what my favorite three tips from what the experts had to say:

Make it routine & schedule it in. As Laura  said, this is super important. Your classes are scheduled in, why should your other “life” priorities not. Find a time in your schedule, say Saturday mornings and designate it as your reading/running/watching cartoons/ laughing/ smiling/ fun… YOU TIME!

Find your “time sucks.” Where in the day are you “losing” useful time? Time that you could use to do those things that make you happy, but instead you’re doing “eh” or “so-so” things.  For example, I personally find myself on Facebook—frequently. Do I really need to be on Facebook? No. Does Facebooking really make me that happy? Eh, honestly, not really. If I used that time to do get some exercise/make some tasty food/ read a book would I enjoy it more. Probably.

Find support. Sometimes it can be hard to stick to a schedule, especially if you feel that aspects of your academic life are pushing you farther away from those things. In these cases it can be useful to elicit the help of friends and peers. Let them know what your goals and plans are, and ask them to help you stay accountable. Personally, this has manifested as me and my roommate committing to a gym class together. With the two of us both pushing for the same personal-happiness goal together, we can support each other on our “off days.”

I’d love to hear other tips on how you all make “me- time,” as clearly this is going to be a new endeavor for me.

How To Have a Stress-Free School Year

I know what you’re thinking:  “I don’t need advice on a stress-free school year.  I have all my notebooks, matching pens and pencil case, post its and baby stapler with little baby staples all ready for my first week of class.  It’s all smooth sailing from here.”  But I would be willing to bet that I will see you the night before your first exam in 3 weeks in the library frantically scribbling important topics on your post it notes with empty coffee cups and baby staples strewn about.  In fact, I guarantee it.

So, please read this stress-free blog.  If nothing else, you’ll know where to come back and post a comment to prove me wrong.

Why I love “Ya’ll”

I am not southern. I was born far to close the Mason-Dixon to ever be considered southern, however, as a northern transplant to Chapel Hill, I’ve found myself adopting some southern tendencies (and I don’t just mean my obsession with Carolina BBQ and sweet tea). The longer I’ve been here the more I hear “ya’ll” edging into my day-to-day vocabulary… to my family, “Are ya’ll ready yet?” To my friends “Do ya’ll want to go to the store now or later?” At work, “Have ya’ll seen the stapler?”

At first it sounded a bit strange coming out of my mouth, but now I like it, especially as I think about why ya’ll really is a better way to address a group than the alternative, “you guys”. But “ya’ll,” which is the combination of the words you+all, is gender neutral. Think about it, saying “you guys” implies you’re talking to a bunch of men, it’s not really accurate if you’re addressing a mixed gender group, but ya’ll it’s all inclusive!

Just look at the multitude of uses of ya’ll found via the wiki site (that’s right ya’ll has a wiki!)

1. A replacement for the plural of you.
• Example: “Y’all can use the internet at the same time!”
2. An associative plural, including individuals associated but not present with the singular addressee.
• Example: “Y’all can come over at around 10:30,” Stephanie says.
• Stephanie explains to John that John and John’s friends, who are not present at the time, can come over at around 10:30. Stephanie is speaking to John, but treats John as a representative for others.
3. An institutional plural addressed to one person representing a group.
• Example: “Y’all sell the best candies, Mrs. Johnson.”
• Y’all is received by Mrs. Johnson who is the representative of a small candy business.
4. A form used in direct address in certain contexts (e.g., partings, greetings, invitations, and vocatives)
• Example: “Hey, y’all!”
• A greeting that addresses a multitude of people without referencing a singular identity comprising that multitude

Oh and who could forget, the classic… “Ya’ll come back now, ya hear!?”

Healthy Tips for your Summer Shindig!

One of the best parts of summer is having the extra time to socialize with people and enjoy some fun in the sun.  Those cookouts, pool parties, and beach excursions don’t always lend themselves to the healthiest choices, neither for you nor the environment.  Here are a few tips to keep your summer shindigs fun AND healthy!

 

Hydrate or Die

Summer is here and it’s already a hot one.  Most people know that drinking water is important, but it is especially crucial in the hot summer months when it is far easier to get dehydrated.  So here’s a list of tips (in no particular order) to keep you refreshed and hydrated every day:

1.   Eat your water.  Fruits and veggies naturally contain a lot of water, so eating these nutrient rich foods not only keeps you hydrated, but keeps  you healthier overall.
2. Make water taste better.  Sometimes it’s easy to get sick of plain old water.  Adding fresh fruit or veggies, like cucumber, to change the flavor of water can be a great way to turn up the taste.. Plus, it will make you feel like you’re at a spa!

Money Doesn’t Grow on Trees

Loans? Stocks? Bonds? Interest? Whenever I start to read my bank statement/ apply for a loan/ pretty much do anything that would make me financially responsible I just hear: blah, blah, blah blah blah! Jibberish!!

I can’t imagine that I’m alone in that feeling, so here is my adventure in attempting to organize my finances.

So my first step- the internet. A quick search on “saving money” revealed the following… Have a garage sale. Rent a room in my house. Cut up your credit cards. In conclusion, I give the advice I found on the internet a solid “Pthhhhh.” Not really getting me anywhere.

I then had the brilliant idea of checking out youtube! There must be a tutorial out there, right? Okay, so maybe not so brilliant, all I found were videos about fast money and a live version of Pink Floyd’s ‘Money.’  Luckily (as I may or may not have been about to watch some Pink Floyd) my coworker came in, and suggested that I check out UNC’s CashCourse.

Halleluiah! Exactly what I was looking for! CashCourse is designed by UNC, so it’s easy to understand and accurate (unlike my previous google and youtube searches). Oh and it’s tailored to us (ie. Students) with sections on loans, saving for spring break, studying abroad,  jobs, taxes and more.  There are even some great worksheets and tools that you can use to help get your finances in order, meet a savings goal or determine your spending allowance. You can even use their online budget wizard to track your spending, income and savings!

So forget all that faulty advice on the internet and check out http://www.cashcourse.org/unc/.