Life Hacks: How to Be A Grown Up

As we go through university, we learn a lot about ourselves, our parents, and our friends. One of the things I’ve always been looking for is a How-To guide on how to be a grown up. Like, the little things that your mom knows to do when you spill red wine on your carpet, or when you need to take Advil vs. Tylenol. Most of us look on Google for answers, but then there’s the bigger, anxiety-ridden, what-am-I-going-to-do-with-my-life questions that don’t exactly have an easy click-through solution.

I’m with you on this.

Since we’re both students, I figured I’d do some research into the matter, and present you with my findings. This is only the beginning. By the end of the next 4 months (I would say 4 weeks, but hey, I’m an undergrad = not too much spare time for blogging) I hope to leave you – students of the world – with some Life Hacks, some tips and tricks, and some overall ANXIETY-REDUCING ideas for how to cope with life in general.

That’s the plan. In the meantime, here ‘s a few I Wish I’d Thought of That tips from my personal life over the past 4 years to start you off:

Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for next week’s Life Hacks: How to Be A Grown Up. Leave a comment below if you’d like to join the discussion, I’m open for it if you are.

— Sarah Witiuk
P.S. You can follow me on twitter @SarahWitiuk and pinterest.

Quote of the Day

Gratitude is an important quality to practice in your everyday life. Take a moment now to reflect on what you are thankful for in your life.

Quote of the Day

No matter how big or soft or warm your bed is, you still have to get out of it. – Grace Slick

Quote of the Day

The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one. – Mark Twain

Quote of the Day

The beginning is the most important part of the work. – Plato

Quote of the Day

Begin somewhere; you cannot build a reputation on what you intend to do. – Liz Smith

Quote of the Day

Knowing what you want is the first step to getting it. – Louise Hart

12 Creative Ways to find a Summer Job

Now that school is winding down, a lot of students are looking for summer jobs. You want to find the best job possible – one in your field of interest, that pays well, and gives you a ton of relevant experience…. but how?

Quote of the Day

Don’t delay being happy until the future. What can you do to be happy today? Right now?

Happiness in the palm of your hand. Credit: Pinterest

Quote of the Day

“I believe I was put on earth to cause a ruckus.” ~ Lady GaGa

Lady Gaga, Credit: Google Images

Advice for Students

Try to keep your focus inward and don’t compare yourself to others. You are exactly where you should be.

Source: Pinterest

Honest Advice from Successful Students

Think Positively

“But I’m only an Undergrad…”

University: the best years of your life – packed with parties, late nights at the library, cramming for tests, and getting your first A on a paper. What more could you ask for?

Among all the partying and cramming, it might be tough to think that at the end of these 3 or 4 years, you’re actually going to be entering the “real world” – and I’m not talking about the outrageous MTV reality show.

If you’re going into your final year this fall, you’ll probably start to feel the heat – career fairs left, right and centre, all your friends applying to Med School or Grad School, and your aunts and uncles constantly asking you what your “life plan” is. Your heart is racing, you’re feeling dizzy, a voice deep down inside keeps chanting:

What do I really want to do after I graduate?

If the answer to that question is making you draw a blank, then we’ve got news for you. This long-kept secret has been passed down from generation to generation of competitive overachievers, and now we’re telling you. Imagine a way you can not only find out what you want to do, but also talk to company recruiters or researchers, meet new people, win prize money, and also have fun doing it….

The answer: Student events.

Student events – competitions, conferences, or seminars – are an incredible resource to get ahead during your undergrad and also ease your anxiety about the future. By participating in a local, national, or global event, you get the chance to network with savvy intellectuals, and even ask people how they got to be where they are now.

When you participate in an event, you’re opening doors to lots of different opportunities – from internships, to finding a mentor, to winning some prizes or even cold hard cash (thank you PSYC 101 term paper!)

The best part? There are literally thousands of events out there waiting for you to try out.

So the question is…. are you looking for them?

*Did you know? A new trend showing up in today’s job market is to add an Events section to your resume, right next to your Education and Work Experience. Events show your future employer that you are ambitious, motivated, and involved – all traits of a great employee.

Today I will…

Quote of the Day

Advice from a college grad on how to spend your university years:

“I wish I knew I was supposed to be taking risks and getting lost–not trying to settle down and find a job.”

 

Quote of the Day

“Eat. Sleep. Exercise. Try as much as possible to be wholly alive with all your might, and when you laugh, laugh like hell.”

For more inspirational quotes, follow @SarahWitiuk on twitter.

Quote of the Day

“You can either choose to own the day or let the day own you.”

A great reminder from our Campus Ambassador Rizalul in Indonesia!

Campus Connection

Communication is one of the most important skills to learn for human beings, no matter how it is conducted. Today’s students are the masters of communication both formally and informally. One of the most important venues for formal communication is at a conference, especially international conferences for undergraduate students. There are many benefits, both globally and individually, of attending a conference. Not only do you further your education, but you also learn how to talk to people from diverse backgrounds.

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Four reasons finishing fourth year sucks

Post by Kieran Slobodin, Vice-President (University Affairs) at Queen’s University, Kingston.

Reblogged from: http://myams.org/news/ams-blog/four-reasons-finishing-fourth-year-sucks.aspx

April has always been a month of renewal.  The bright rays of the April sun are the first glimmer of hope after the doldrums of a dreary winter and turn our minds to rejuvenation.  April is when our parks fill up and our porches become occupied full time.  Yes, April is like a Star Wars sequel: A New Hope.

Unless you’re in fourth year, in which case it blows.

4. We’re still ‘technically’ students

On the last day of classes my house threw a party.  Thursday, April 5, last day of classes.  Last day of undergrad.  Perhaps the last day of classes for all time (screw you, Grad School!).  All that week facebook statuses were popping up with ‘last class!’ or ‘last seminar’ or ‘last Alfie’s night of my undergrad!’ Everyone was ecstatic and some people invested more time creating Facebook groups than they actually spent in class those final four days.  Like freed prisoners we celebrated that night.

The Reality?

Like four exams.  And two final papers.  And a film project.  Literally no one was done anything and the extended weekend of Easter only helped perpetuate that lie.  Like a dark hangover cloud fourth year students are starting to realize that they still have to buckle down one last time and study hard.  Unless you were blessed with a shortened semester you are still resigned to one last study blitz.  Perhaps you only wish to pass the course and only need 8% on that 40% weight final to get your pass.  But most likely you’re going to be faced with the same dilemma you were your other seven exam periods: you didn’t go to class and you have no idea what the course is about.

When the hell did I sign for Ayn Rand and Postmodern Epistomology: A Comparative Review?! Photo credit: QuickMeme.

3. Bucket Lists

Bucket lists as a concept were first perpetuated by Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson as a way to cheat death.  Or make the most out of life. One of those.  A bucket list as portrayed in the movie is essentially just a macabre wish list.  However, ever since the Bucket List, arguably Morgan Freeman’s worst movie after Evan Almighty, there has not been a more tired cliché for graduating students.

Groosfrabas. Photo credit: Blogspot.

Bucket lists symbolize a last push by panicking students to capture every memory they can of university.  The thought is that with a year of dedicated effort you can achieve in your final year what you failed to do in your first three.

The Reality?

There’s a reason you never did any of your bucket list in the first 75% of your undergraduate career.  Whether it’s because your list is too challenging or too much work, you quickly realize that trying to capture stave off your inevitable nostalgia is sadder than Madonna trying to stay relevant.

The problem is when you try and cram in three years of missed opportunity you forget what makes the stuff you DID do fun.  The point of the university experiences that typically wind up on bucket lists is the story behind the accomplishment.  When you reduce those stories down to a checklist they tend to lose all meaning.

Continue reading this story here…

Quote of the Day

Begin somewhere; you cannot build a reputation on what you intend to do.

Liz Smith

Quote of the Day

Great is the man who has not lost his childlike heart.

— Mencius

Quote of the Day

Always forgive your enemies — nothing annoys them so much.

— Oscar Wilde

Quote of the Day

Change is often rejuvenating, invigorating, fun… and necessary

– Lynn Povich

Quote of the Day

There are two days about which nobody should ever worry, and these are yesterday and tomorrow.

– Robert J. Burdette