As We Head Home

Cameron Diaz & SNL!

Let me be the first to say, Happy Thanksgiving students of Plymouth! Less than 48 hours from now & we'll all be headed out to enjoy good food, great wine, and precious time with our loved ones. Enjoy the time home! For all the females out there headed home for the break, I thought a little comedic relief might help us forget our anticipation as we feverishly count down the minutes until we leave.

Thanksgiving

The leaves have fallen and the distant mountain tops have received their snow caps. The holiday season is quickly approaching. Thanksgiving is just around the corner and we all know what that means; fall semester 2014 is coming to an end. Term project deadlines are creeping up and finals have become any everyday thought. Thankfully, Thanksgiving break gives us time to clear our heads, eat real food, and make memories with loved ones we haven't seen in months. Being able to bounce back after our 5 day break is the key to ending the semester positively.

Before we head off to break there are just a few things to keep in mind...

• Finish assignments before heading home!
• A common habit for us college students may be to procrastinate on our assignments and rush right home but don't do it! Yes, we're all eager to get a few days off but remember when you come back the last thing you're going to want is a stack of papers waiting for you. Less stress when we return will make term projects and studying for finals much easier.
• Eat good food & plenty of it!
• College food sucks, so don't count your calories ladies. It's Thanksgiving! Take advantage of a home cooked meal while you have the chance. An extra slice of pie after dinner will never be looked down upon. 
• Before break is over, check your syllabuses and be ready to get back to work!
• The last thing any of us want is to forget when our term projects are due or when the final exam is. Double check your class syllabuses before heading back to campus. Be prepared for what tasks you have left at hand. Finish out the semester strong and study early for finals. Before you know it, it'll be time for Winter Break!

Giving Back

With the holiday season quickly approaching, the university is starting to do fundraisers and charity events for the local community. Lucky for us students, we have the incredible opportunity of volunteering on campus to help these different events. Volunteering not only is a genuinely nice thing to do, but also looks great on a resume. One of my favorite events PSU takes part in is The Angel Tree. The event is put on to help buy Christmas gifts for children around the area who normally wouldn't receive presents. PSU needs students not only to run the event, but also take Angels off the tree and buy presents for the kids. These kids aren't asking for the PlayStation4 or the Xbox1 though, most of them are looking for clothes/toys even us broke college kids can afford. So! If you're looking to help volunteer here is some information Upcoming Volunteer Opportunities!

November 4, 2014

Voting Day!

Well, students of Plymouth today is November 4th & if you're pay any attention to your surroundings on campus then I'm sure you've seen voting signs everywhere today. Last night there were other Plymouth students walking around my building asking residents if we knew if we were going to vote today or not. Personally, I had no idea there was even an election going on until last night. But after speaking to one of the volunteers last night, I decided to do some research. I found this website http://votesmart.org/voteeasy/ that helps everyday people find out what candidates best fit their views. I found this website to seem the most helpful because instead of telling you what each candidate stands for, you yourself get to answer questions on what you believe in. At the end of answering the questions, the candidate who best aligns with your views will appear. 

Now, I'm not saying you have to vote because quite frankly you don't. But as a college student we should become aware of the politics that may start affecting us. Some candidates are looking to cut funds to public universities, like PSU. Thus creating a lack of funds for the university which then leads to an increase in tuition. And I don't know about you, but I am definitely not looking to increase my debt anymore than I have to. Voting is a right, take advantage of that and take a stand for something you believe in. So go ahead PSU students, go vote! There's a shuttle from the Centre Lodge running until about 7PM tonight to the polls. Take a few minutes out of your day and make your voice count. 

Time Managment

Well 6 weeks grades recently just were released and I was pleasantly surprised. The adjustment from high school work to college work finally caught up to me second semester last year. I wasn't managing my time well and it ended up showing in my grades at the end of last year. Coming into this year I set a goal for myself to improve my time management. I've found a few key things that have kept me on track this year...

• Keep an agenda & actually use it, write everything down
• Allow to relaxation time and destressing
• Being able to say no to social activities when I have school work due

Below are a few of my favorite links about time maganemnt in college that point out other ways to make sure you stay on track with your school work.

http://collegelife.about.com/od/academiclife/a/Skills-For-Time-Management-For-Students.htm 

http://collegelife.about.com/od/academiclife/a/timemanagement.htm

Winter's Coming

Winter is coming and it's creeping up real quick. Growing up in New England my entire life made me assume I would be ready for my first winter up here in Plymouth last year, boy was I wrong. I came to school with Uggs for snow boots and a North Face for a jacket... The classic girl outfit. Well any freshman girls who are like me, get ready for a brutal winter. The amount of snow that never seems to stop will destroy your precious boots and give your toes frostbite. And that North Face you love so much, that we all claim is "SO WARM" will do nothing when the temperate drops below 0 and the wind is making your entire body numb. I got the hang of the winter climate pretty early in the season last year thankfully. It's my turn to give back and warn you freshman girls out there what clothing items are a necessity up here on campus during the winter.

1. Rubber sole, waterproof boots. For this I went with Bean Boots from L.L. Bean. They're cute and keep you warm if you're looking to stay trendy in the blizzard.
2. A waterproof, fleece lined winter coat. I personally like sticking with North Face for brand.
3. A hat, even if you think you look horrible in hats, its worth it. I don't have a brand preference but if you want to support the local town business, Simply Sunflowers on Main Street has a great selection for cute winter accessories. 

Of course a nice set of gloves and scarf are always nice to have in the dorm too. Do your best to have the 3 essentials though. Don't make the same mistake I did, because it gets pretty brutal up here. Get ready for a rough winter everyone, prepare while you can!!

What's Going On In Plymouth

One way I've become more involved in campus this year is by actually reading the e-mails the campus sends us. Today I received one about current news at Plymouth. Staying up to date with currents event around campus is a good way to feel involved throughout the semester.