Collages of College

You knew I'd use that pun at one point. I don't know why you're even surprised. Here is my last four years in pictures, and to think that even these don't totally capture the experience and the people I met! I can't believe the difference between the girl blowing kisses into the webcam in the first collage and the girl (or should I be cheesy and say "young woman" or "young lady"?) in the sparkly silver dress in the last collage. Washington College was a true experience all around, and I'm not sure this whole alumnae status is going hit me until I don't return in August.

Freshman Year

Highlights: Became instant friends with my Peer Mentor group, became best friends with my roommates, studied Mandarin for a bit (before my tutor got deported), went out on the weekends, got to visit DC, did a mini-triathlon, bonded with a taxidermy beaver named Peter, had my first kiss (sad, I know), made friends with people around the world and right in my backyard

Summer in Seoul, South Korea

Highlights: Met friends who I still have today, ate food I still dream about now, studied at one of the best universities in South Korea, embraced this whole Asian thing, came this close to seeing my beloved Oppa in person (fangirling, man), got to go to a music show (Inkigayo), got to see G-Dragon in person, chopped off my hair for an SNSD Jessica circa 2009 "Gee" days cut (not recommended), survived one of the rainiest moonsoon seasons Seoul has had yet, finally, FINALLY tried a French macron, fell absolutely in love

Sophomore Year

Highlights: Learned the meaning of "overworking," became a part of the Peer Mentor crew, white Halloween, joined ZTA, got my biggity big big and joined the City Fam, saw Chicago live on Broadway in NYC, went to California for a week to visit aforementioned Seoul friends, visited San Francisco

Study Abroad in Madrid, Spain

Traveled to a billion different places in Spain and around Europe, made friends I still talk to today, used and abused my Instagram account, ate wayyyy too much McDonald's (it was right by the metro station I used to go everywhere and had free Wi-Fi!), got a hang of that Spanish thing, danced the night away at discotecas, schooled peeps on "Gangnam Style," met up with WAC friends in England, just basically fell in love with travel even more

Junior Year

Highlights: Finished up my last year of swimming, got my leeetttleeee, became best friends with my big and little, had a ride of a time living in an apartment with my roommates, got to spend a last semester with some of my favorite seenyas, met my 3G in person finally, studied black history on the Eastern Shore

Senior Year

Highlights: My two cousins got married, danced with my mom and grandmom (or more we "boogied"), went out to the bars of Chestertown, spent countless nights in Freddy, had my last Peer Mentor activities, went to an outdoor camp with the PMs on my 21st, got a guy to serenade me and my birthday twin, learned about "The Jungle Man," got my G-little, became even closer with my sisters, had my last Relay 4 Life, chopped my hair off again, ran the Susan G Komen Race 4 the Cure, GRADUATED

I can't wait to see what life has in store for me, but I can't believe my four years ended already. Going to miss you, C-town.

Graduation!

This past Saturday I graduated from my little college on the Eastern Shore! It hasn't quite hit me yet, I don't think. Now that I have my documents in hand, I'm busy getting everything together so I can be placed in my job (more on that when I'm actually placed and the contract is signed ;)).

Congratulations, Class of 2014!!

Happy May Day!

Today marks the beginning of May! Even if this is the month allergies kick my butt the most, it's still one of my favorites! And my school kind of has an awesome tradition going on to celebrate this day. ;)

23. Run a Whole 5K

So last weekend after spending Friday into Saturday at Relay 4 Life, I woke-up late morning Saturday to drive with my sorority sisters down to Ocean City, MD to participate in Susan G Komen's Race 4 the Cure Sunday morning! And, I managed to run a whole 5K (or 3.1 miles)! It was the first time I ran the whole thing, and even my mom didn't believe me when I called to tell her. Below are some pictures from the morning. It was such a blast, and I'm so proud breast cancer awareness is ZTA's philanthropy.

Signing the pink truck!

Doing warm-ups with the local Cross Fit coach. Can you see me squatting?

My chapter won the most participants for a collegiate team!

Fam o jam :) My big was off getting a fancy Chemistry award!

After we finished!

My friend from studying in Spain came and ran with us!

It was so worth the 6 am wake-up call! I'd like to look into running more 5Ks in the future.

Relay 4 Life: Crowns against Cancer

This past Friday night was my last Relay 4 Life for the foreseeable future! I only went once in high school, but I made sure to attend every year when I got to college, and I'm a little sad it's already over. For three years I was apart of the swim team's relay team, so it was fun to finally be on the Zeta one! We called our team "Crowns against Cancer," and had nail painting for donations. We also handed out Breast Cancer Awareness products as that's our philanthropy (more on that in an upcoming post). Every year, Relay 4 Life at my school does different activities to keep the night fun: melting a T-shirt in ice, a burrito eating contest, and even a fun dance rave. My ZTA family participated in the T-shirt contest together (by chance as it goes...) and got a little competitive...

I also participated in a Chipotle burrito eating contest...

Cute, huh?

And of course got to spend another night with some of my best friends. I'm getting so ridiculously sentimental and nostalgic as my days nearing graduation draw nearer!

Also, shout out to the girls who lasted the whole night! Had such a fun night with all of them even if we were catatonic by six a.m. And to my crazy hair the whole night...

The message of Relay 4 Life is so important, and I'm glad I could be apart of it for my four years here! If you don't know much about it, learn. It's a wonderful cause that helps fund a lot of research against cancer. It's motto is "Official sponsor of birthdays." I mean, really?! How could you not rally for a cause like that?

By the Way...

This is my school :)

World Suicide Prevention Day

My college suffered a loss last night from apparent suicide, and we're all grieving right now whether we knew the fellow student or not. Today also happens to be Suicide Prevention Day. I'm not going to fill this post with sentimentality, but just know that you are never as alone as you think and your death would affect more people than you know. #shoremenstrong

Where I've Been...

Hello! I know I've been absent from blogging lately, and that's because I'm trying to be a real person! I have the best classes this semester (three English!), plus a fun job (even if it is 35 minutes away!), and some pretty great friends to hang out with. I've been a little bit busy, but things are starting to stabilize, and I've begun my usual lock-ins in the library with the intention of getting work done ahead of time (no end of year stress!). Some new things about the apparently new me:

1. I like iced coffee. That Dunkin Donuts Coolatta? AMAZING.
2. I go to bars...
3. I go out on Thursday nights here...
4. I enjoy running shorts in bright, obnoxious colors
5. I bought a pair of $50 flip flops.y
6. I also wear wedges/heels every time I work

Don't worry, though. Some things are pretty much the same:

1. Half the time I may be early or late...
2. Tea time three hundred times a day is still a must.
3. I get sleep easily and want movie nights
4. I get distracted my social media
5. I bought a pair of $1 sunglasses
6. I walk barefoot or in sandals almost every other hour of the day.

Back to the Grind

Guys it's been a little crazy lately... I went home for a small period of time, in which I slept/attended miscellaneous family functions/finally attended to various personal needs (i.e. hair cut, dentist appointment, glasses, etc). I then returned for some seriously exhausting, but fun Peer Mentor training and then the freshmen orientation (I'm like the girl who handed out rape whistles in Pitch Perfect minus the annoying-ness.) Not to mention turning-21-shenanigans!

Now it's back to the school-work-extracurricular grind. The first week is over, and this is what my days consist of (besides driving 1/2 hour away to go to work): lugging my tote around and filling it with the above. I have a newfound love for iced coffee (caramel), and I am unapologetic. I still drink tea like an Englishman, though apparently my Lipton and Tetley preferences are in poor taste.

Hope everyone is having fun getting back into the groove of things!

Birthday Celebrations

A little update: I had a wonderful birthday celebration with the best people ever! Spending the day running around like a little kid at Echo Hill (climbing walls, hitting people with noodles, you know) then getting people to do things like sing or rap or dance for me by saying, "It's my birthday wish"... My fantastic little got me a wonderful present in a cookie cake and some goodies :), so shout out to her and my sisters and Peer Mentors who were here to celebrate with me!

Throwback!

So I just finished up the project I've been working on for the past month (see the working blog here), and now I'm in Ocean City for a little weekend vacation and a small reunion with one of my good friends from Spain (who's from Pennsylvania). We've been reminiscing on our time abroad and our friends and travels, and I''m feeling a bit nostalgic! I also snagged some pictures she forgot to put up from one of our last nights in Madrid and our last time in El Tigre. So here's a little throwback to December:

My Dutch friend, Stefan. And proof of my maturity.

Beth, the friend I'm visiting, is the one to the left of me.

His face!

Throw up what you know :)

Where I've Been...

Guys! I've been a busy bee since I last posted. Do you like the updates to the blog? I've been trying to clean it up and give it a fresh feel while setting up what I want to do with it. I'm starting to lean towards deleting my Facebook eventually, and I want this space to be a way for me to keep up with the friends who I don't necessarily talk to everyday. That probably sounds somewhat narcissistic--after all, who expects their FB friends to suddenly take an interest in her life so much that they follow a blog about it, but, you know, there might be, like, one person out there...

Anyhow, after I turned in my last paper, it was time to sit back and anxiously pick at my cuticles in preparation for my grade... Just kidding. I've come to a point in college that I cannot fret over things like grades. As long as I'm doing well (which for me is maintaining somewhere in the A range), I should sweat the small things (like a B in my American Government class, which I took purely for distribution). Fretting leads to stress, and stress is something I need to actively try to cut out of my life. It takes too much energy, reeks havoc on my health, and gives me pimples, I swear.

Really, though, I've been busy!

SATURDAY
Roommates move out, apartment feels empty.

SUNDAY:
Taylor Swift Concert! Not to mention seeing Ed Sheeran sing live, which is a treat in and of itself.

TBH I loved the Fearless tour more, but it was one of my first concerts, so of course I'm biased! I will say I'm loving T. Swift's new look (it's a look I've been patiently waiting for her to realize since 2008!), though I'm missing the curls!

MONDAY-WEDNESDAY:
Peer Mentor Training

The Peer Mentor Program at my college is based on helping Freshmen adjust to college life. We have training in the spring and a more extensive training in the fall. My favorite parts? The dance parties in the after hours and the fact that we get the Freshman book for free (more on that later!). Have you heard of the "Jungle Skank"? Learn it, love it, and I'll see you in August.

WEDNESDAY-SATURDAY:
OCMD!

I went with my little to her beach house in Ocean City, Maryland! Surprisingly this is my first time going to the MD version--my family usually goes to Jersey if anything. Fran showed me around the boardwalk and we hung out the beach. Be wary of those Scopes people unless you really want your picture taken. Both of us were exhausted by the end of each day because we were still getting over this semester!

SUNDAY:
Graduation

Yesterday was Graduation Weekend! Guys, as of today, I am officially a senior. I'm seriously not okay with it in the least bit, but we're going to take baby steps. I haven't cried yet, but I think it's because it hasn't really hit me that all of these people I've seen everyday in college aren't going to be here next year, and that I'm not the oldest class. It's surreal to say the least.

More news in the works! I'm spending the next few days stabilizing and reenergizing because I have a research project coming up! I'll be headed back to C-Town on Thursday already!

Chestertown

Officially done with this awful, awful semester!

One of my best friends from home, Kate, came to visit me Friday afternoon, and I got to show her around my college's adorable town. It's seriously gorgeous this time of year, especially right at the water front.

I loved walking around downtown, and we even ate at my favorite place, Play It Again, Sam, or as we call it, Sam's for shorthand. And no, it's not my favorite just because it has my name!

Now it's just time to enjoy the little bit of time I have to relax and then figure out what I'm doing tonight. Did I mention I'm going to a Taylor Swift concert tonight? 

Tips to Survive Finals Week

Okay, so I know some lucky college students are already done and over with it, some seniors even graduated, but finals week is young here at my college. Everyone goes a little insane: wearing the same yoga pants a few days in a row is acceptable, the library is the hottest place on campus, and there may or  may not be an emotional breakdown or two. I personally have four papers due by the end of the week and a cumulative ecology exam on Wednesday. Not to mention I have a few more internship applications to complete... I'm ready to burn all my books, curl up in my bed, and call it a day.

But, obviously, life must go on, and even though my dreams of becoming a bohemian writer (or I guess they're calling it hipster these days) is still there, I must complete college with good grades. As an Asian (even an adopted one), A's are acceptable, B's are Bad, and anything below that is just failing. So, even though I will never have as hellish a finals week as science majors, here are my tips to surviving this awful, awful week:

1. Work out! If you already have a regular schedule, stick to it no matter what. If you don't, START. It doesn't have to be long--thirty minutes on the elliptical and a 15 minute shower and back to studying.  Just make sure you're breaking a sweat. It seriously helps with concentration and relieving stress--I promise that's not just a thing to say.

2. EAT Healthily-- Try and make sure your DH meals are filled with veggie goodness. I'm not kidding when I say healthy people have more energy.

3. Don't forget to indulge a little though. Come on, if there's one week that calls for a little extra serving of ice cream or one more cookie, this week is it. Don't go overboard, but don't feel bad about a little extra sugar.

4. GET SLEEP. For the love of all that is holy, cramming in two semesters worth of notes in a night isn't going to be effective in the least bit.

5. Make To-Do Lists. At the beginning of each day, make a to-do list of what you must do. Today, for example, I wrote on my whiteboard:

• Finish at least half of my Spanish paper
• Write out Guide for Ecology Exam
• Finish Intern Applications
• Start on Business paper
• Work on bibliography for Spanish paper

6. Keep organized: Even taking time to clean up all your folders and throw out anything unnecessary works. I also like to try and clean my room (though right now it's a mess). A cluttered room=a cluttered mind.

7. Get rid of your social media sites! I made my big change the password to my Facebook so I wouldn't go on it until after this week is over. As much as I want to look at pictures from formal and whatnot, I must resist the urge. I should probably do the same for others...

8. Dress comfortably. But try to not look like a total slob. I always feel a little more energetic when I at least look somewhat nice--even if it's for a day in the library. Everyone has comfortable clothes that aren't jeans. Maybe if you're in yoga pants, wear cute top or something to balance it. Just make sure you're not trying to focus too much on your outfit--use that brain for more important things this week!

That's all I have got for now. Anyone else have any interesting tips? Good luck to all, and may the odds be ever in your favor!

Día de Fútbol at WC

Hello all!

So this past weekend was actually quite an eventful one (and, obviously, I'm not reporting this until right now in the middle of the week!). I did a whole bunch of stuff, but mainly I wanted to introduce something I've been sort of a part of since my freshman year. Día de Fútbol is an annual event at my college, and we held it this past weekend. It basically brings in the Hispanic community around Chestertown for a day of literacy, soccer, and food. This year I played photographer and used my little's camera all day!

Here are some of my favorite shots: