Being that this is the last semester I may ever be in school (although probably not), it is about time that I started doing it right. My first challenge for change is to become a better student. I am taking a lofty 13 credits this spring, and I intend to make As in every single one of those classes. Not only that, but I am also going to take classes I am interested in, and actually gain knowledge from the material.
My resolutions for this include:
1. Develop a study schedule.
I have several breaks during the school day that are long enough to accomplish something major. I am going to set out a schedule of work for each week and stick to it, with rewards if I do and punishments if I don't. This is the last chance I have to do this right, and if it's not then it will help me out later in my school career.
2. Go to class.
This one seems obvious, but I am terrible at attending class. Online classes normally work better for me, because I have a short attention span and get antsy sitting for too long. But, this semester I am going to attend class unless there's an extreme reason I can't. Every. Single. One.
3. Make good use of the time you have.
This means doing school work instead of napping, not instead of being social. I will not allow school to disturb my friendships or any other activities, so when I have a moment when school work is the only thing to do, then that's when I will do it.
I know that this one will be the toughest, but the happiness that will come from getting good grades and doing well in school will be the most valuable happiness I can achieve from my four years in college. Instead of just sliding by as I have been, I will apply myself and learn to balance the things I don't like with the things I do. This will be challenge #1.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Monday, December 27, 2010
new name, new year, new life
Today I decided to change the name of my blog. It has something to do with changing my outlook on life. It occurred to me that at this time next year, I will be somewhere completely different...a master's student, a working girl; in orlando, tampa, athens, san diego? Who knows? But I have one more semester of no rules. One more semester of Monday Fundays. One more semester of believing that it is appropriate to enter a bar at 11 am and leave it at 2 am.
In the self-reflecting phase that accompanies the end of any year, I began doing some minor alterations to the lifestyle I had developed in hopes of turning it toward the lifestyle I intended. Buying a new planner and perfecting it. Organizing graduate school applications. Setting realistic goals. And thinking about New Year's resolutions. Fortunately, a lovely book fell into my lap called The Happiness Project. It only took a short two pages for me to realize that this was exactly what I needed right now. For those who may be unfamiliar, The Happiness Project is a book about a woman who took a year to tweak her life in certain ways to become happier. So I decided to take her advice, and work on making myself happier in the next semester, hopefully creating a lasting attitude that can follow future Emily to her new destination.
The title came from another source of my happiness. A couple months ago, one of my sorority sisters invited me over to her house and showed us her "woozies" or wine coozies. On black Friday, I picked one out for my mom to give to me for Christmas that said "why limit happy to an hour?" Not being patient, I returned to the store 3 weeks later to find that they were not only out of this particular woozie, but they were out of all the woozies that had fun quotes on them. So I forgot about it until today, when my mom found it in her car and apologized for forgetting about it. How serendipitous for my woozie to remind me that there are 24 hours to be happy every day? And while wine does make me happy, the blog title is about reminding myself not only that we have created an hour in which to relax and be happy, but that I can be happy for more than just that hour.
So my own happiness project, or semester of happiness, or whatever it is I want to call it, begins January 3 (I will be in New Orleans until the 2nd, but normally I am a stickler for timeliness). I have made a list of resolutions and more importantly, goals to help me through the semester of building a better Emily. Unfortunately, it will be a work in progress, and I will probably be constantly changing and refining. But Gretchen Rubin started planning hers in April, I decided this 5 days ago.
The idea is to start on all the habits I'd like to have as an adult, while I still have the irresponsibility of college. Then in 10 years, perhaps I will value exercise in my life, because of the habits I'm creating now. So here's to 2011...the year of change.
For further reading on happiness:
The Happiness Project
Seven Daily Reasons
Eat Pray Love
The Year of Living Biblically
In the self-reflecting phase that accompanies the end of any year, I began doing some minor alterations to the lifestyle I had developed in hopes of turning it toward the lifestyle I intended. Buying a new planner and perfecting it. Organizing graduate school applications. Setting realistic goals. And thinking about New Year's resolutions. Fortunately, a lovely book fell into my lap called The Happiness Project. It only took a short two pages for me to realize that this was exactly what I needed right now. For those who may be unfamiliar, The Happiness Project is a book about a woman who took a year to tweak her life in certain ways to become happier. So I decided to take her advice, and work on making myself happier in the next semester, hopefully creating a lasting attitude that can follow future Emily to her new destination.
The title came from another source of my happiness. A couple months ago, one of my sorority sisters invited me over to her house and showed us her "woozies" or wine coozies. On black Friday, I picked one out for my mom to give to me for Christmas that said "why limit happy to an hour?" Not being patient, I returned to the store 3 weeks later to find that they were not only out of this particular woozie, but they were out of all the woozies that had fun quotes on them. So I forgot about it until today, when my mom found it in her car and apologized for forgetting about it. How serendipitous for my woozie to remind me that there are 24 hours to be happy every day? And while wine does make me happy, the blog title is about reminding myself not only that we have created an hour in which to relax and be happy, but that I can be happy for more than just that hour.
So my own happiness project, or semester of happiness, or whatever it is I want to call it, begins January 3 (I will be in New Orleans until the 2nd, but normally I am a stickler for timeliness). I have made a list of resolutions and more importantly, goals to help me through the semester of building a better Emily. Unfortunately, it will be a work in progress, and I will probably be constantly changing and refining. But Gretchen Rubin started planning hers in April, I decided this 5 days ago.
The idea is to start on all the habits I'd like to have as an adult, while I still have the irresponsibility of college. Then in 10 years, perhaps I will value exercise in my life, because of the habits I'm creating now. So here's to 2011...the year of change.
For further reading on happiness:
The Happiness Project
Seven Daily Reasons
Eat Pray Love
The Year of Living Biblically
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Day 30-a picture
Day 30...the epic conclusion to this month of challenging blogging, and the theme is a PICTURE?!?! I have posted several pictures throughout this month (ok, really it was 2 months) of blog challenges, and now I am asked to end it all with a picture? Well a picture of what? And of whom? And how am I supposed to narrow it down to one picture?!?!?Well fortunately, it happens to be Christmas Day, so I'll share with you the joy of the PHrathouse.
Have a very Merry Christmas, enjoy the greatest day of the year (ok second to my birthday), and enjoy the great traditions that this holiday has created.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Day 29-3 Wishes
Isn't the number one rule of wishes that you're supposed to wish for more wishes?
1. I wish that I would end up with no regrets in life. Having experienced, traveled, done, helped in every way that I could, and there was nothing that was ever out of my reach.
2. I wish for a library in my future living quarters. A huge one beauty and the beast style so that I can always enjoy books.
3. I wish for a world that has a future...
AND 100 MORE WISHES!
P.S. this is my 100th post
1. I wish that I would end up with no regrets in life. Having experienced, traveled, done, helped in every way that I could, and there was nothing that was ever out of my reach.
2. I wish for a library in my future living quarters. A huge one beauty and the beast style so that I can always enjoy books.
3. I wish for a world that has a future...
AND 100 MORE WISHES!
P.S. this is my 100th post
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Day 28-Something that stresses you out
Well this is an easy one...everything. But more recently, I'd say my future stresses me out. Collecting the necessary parts of grad school applications, writing personal statements, deciding on the right program and the right next step in life...all of these things cause me copious amounts of stress.
The end of college is an interesting time in life. Turning 18 and going directly to college was the obvious answer; I was simply supposed to choose where. Graduating from college is entirely different. For the first time there is no obvious next step. And unfortunately whatever I choose will be highly specialized and specific, and I may have to face the fact that I chose the wrong thing. Getting a B.S. in Psychology is essentially BS; I have no desire to enter into any field of psychology. But in college, that was ok. In grad school there are no extra courses, and wasting money is twice as bad as wasting money in undergrad. Getting a job is essentially the same--minus that waste of money, which I guess is a perk. But you face the adult world, something no one is ready to do yet.
Of course, all this stress doesn't even begin to incorporate those other big life steps--marriage, family, settling down. Those things get no place in my current stress. They are definitely something future Emily is better equipped to deal with.
The end of college is an interesting time in life. Turning 18 and going directly to college was the obvious answer; I was simply supposed to choose where. Graduating from college is entirely different. For the first time there is no obvious next step. And unfortunately whatever I choose will be highly specialized and specific, and I may have to face the fact that I chose the wrong thing. Getting a B.S. in Psychology is essentially BS; I have no desire to enter into any field of psychology. But in college, that was ok. In grad school there are no extra courses, and wasting money is twice as bad as wasting money in undergrad. Getting a job is essentially the same--minus that waste of money, which I guess is a perk. But you face the adult world, something no one is ready to do yet.
Of course, all this stress doesn't even begin to incorporate those other big life steps--marriage, family, settling down. Those things get no place in my current stress. They are definitely something future Emily is better equipped to deal with.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Day 27-Pets
I feel like a person who has had millions of pets. Fish, cats, dogs, the bugs I picked up off the ground when I was little...it just never seems to end. Recently I discovered the fostering program at the Alachua County Humane society. That landed me with this pet:
Callie. My love.
Callie was in a litter of 4, none of whom lived. I fostered her in early 2008 and we instantly fell in love. Freshman year, Callie would sleep on my shoulder every night, and had a little bed on the other side of my bed. She has a chronic cold, and you can hear her coming all the time. She has a tiny white tip on the end of her tail that I think is adorable. She acts like a dog, and loves to clean my face. She still sleeps with me, although now that she is not a kitten she has to sleep around my head instead of on me.
Callie. My love.
Callie was in a litter of 4, none of whom lived. I fostered her in early 2008 and we instantly fell in love. Freshman year, Callie would sleep on my shoulder every night, and had a little bed on the other side of my bed. She has a chronic cold, and you can hear her coming all the time. She has a tiny white tip on the end of her tail that I think is adorable. She acts like a dog, and loves to clean my face. She still sleeps with me, although now that she is not a kitten she has to sleep around my head instead of on me.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Day 26-Picture of your family
My mother's side. Me and my sister singing the blessings at her bat mitzvah while my mom and Bill watch.
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