Proud to Be Able to Write My Future

Writing has always been a passion of mine, from making up terrible fables as a young kid, to growing up through schooling and always enjoying language arts classes, and now as an English major/journalism minor, I'm finally realizing that I get to write my own future. Words are such a powerful thing, and if you're ever bored or lonely I 100% recommend a pinterest search session of positive quotes and you'll be amazed at what you find. This is besides the point, what I'm really here to tell you is that writing, which is such a creative activity, has brought me so much joy this past year.

I have had the pleasure of starting my own personal blog, which I will continue to better and improve, and the pleasure of writing on here for all you Srat ladies out there who care a little too much for glitter or crafting like myself. Unfortunately, this will be my last post on SGT for some time and I say that because I hope to one day rejoin the SGT team once I go out and explore the world for a while. I will be embarking on a new creative internship in my favorite city in the entire world, NYC this summer and will continue to explore my abilities as a blogger on my own personal blog. I have also recently finished out my junior year of college which has been one of the best years of my college career. I have been able to express myself so much this year and I couldn't be more thankful, especially to all of you who read my posts and continue to support writing as a creative art form (because let me tell you it's exciting and rewarding however extremely stressful to stay on your toes). 

(My year at a glance)

My sorority has brought me so much joy, and being able to write about it (and reading my other fellow SGT ladies'  posts) only makes me cherish those memories in college and in my organization that much more. I have been able to write about experiences that keep them fresh and new in my mind, allowing me to reminisce on all the great times I've had this year. To name a few: becoming a big sister, getting rosebuds in my sorority, working as a position holder within my organization, participating in my second greek week, dancing and choreographing homecoming and so much more. This year has brought me so much joy and I could not be more thankful for all the experiences I have been able to have from being a college student. 

If you're not a writer, there's always ways for you to get those creative juices flowing (and no I don't mean just writing random stories or blogging) but organizing and inventing your life. You can write your own life and have the ability to hold onto those writings and look back on all your experiences and accomplishments. Here's my advice:

- Start a quote book
~I started a quote book my freshman year of college and have enjoyed reading through it whenever I have some down time, it's an extremely and positive way to keep yourself in an uplifting mindset, and it's a place for you to keep all of your favorite quotes in one spot.

- Make a Bucket List
~Every summer I create a bucket list with my best friend and we try to fill up the piece of paper with as many fun (and sometimes ridiculous) things we can think of and then look back on our summer to see how much we have accomplished. It's a great way to keep track of everything you've accomplished over the course of your summer and a great memento as years pass to look back on. 

- Journal
~I know this may seem a bit tedious for those of you who don't enjoy writing, but believe me when I say it's one of the best ways to keep track of your thoughts. It's great to look back and reflect on how far you've come.

Hopefully you take these suggestions into your own life and begin writing your own. For now this is a see you later. I have enjoyed writing for all you fabulous ladies and thank you to my SGT team for the support! Have an amazing summer and go out there and explore! 

xoxo - Ali 

Midterms week

Midterms week!

Alright everyone it’s time for midterms, this is the big warm up for finals. I know it’s scary but we all got to do them while we are in college. I’ve come up with some tips to help ease the craziness of midterm crunch time.  Here are my lucky number 7 tips on midterms week, and may the odds be in your favor! (Pic credit to my Pinterest).

1.       The main thing to remember is DON’T STRESS! I know everyone says that and it’s hard to do but it’s really needed. Don’t cram for your midterms, I know there are some people who work good under pressure but this is not the time to try new things. Stick to what you know and what gets you calm.

2.       Now energy drinks are awesome don’t get me wrong and iced coffee is my weakness. However what has really been helping me with paper writing and pretests, is green tea. It really helps me relax and focus on what I’m working on.

3.      Another thing that helps me is my playlist's. Walking to class to my own soundtrack gets me pumped to go to class and work my butt off during midterms week. Here is my personal playlist. (fyi these songs can also double as a workout playlist)

·         Work Bitch-Britney Spears

·         Break Free-Ariana Grande

·         Fancy-Iggy Azalea

·         Worth it-Fifth Harmony

·         Live it up-Jennifer Lopez

4.      Wear comfy clothes when taking your midterms, let yoga/ sweatpants be your best friend. Midterm and final season is yoga/sweatpants season. Don’t be embarrassed to come to class being comfortable. And if that’s not your thing you can dress up as another option, even give yourself a mani-pedi.  The most important thing is being comfortable and feeling good about yourself.

5.      Don’t use midterms as an excuse to eat junk food. I know it’s hard not to eat the Cheetos and Candy bars when you’re up late studying but sugar is not going to keep you up. The sugar high only helps for a little but then it makes you get slow and lose focus. Do little things to your diet to keep you focused on your midterms. An Example would be adding real fruit to your water such as lemon, or eating oranges (cuties are my favorite). Little changes like that go a long way.

6.      Get a lot of sleep. It’s hard not to sleep but it’s needed especially if you’re taking midterms (exams).  8 hours of sleep is a must, don’t take 4 hour naps and consider that sleep. You need sleep in order to be focused.

7.      Take a walk to get some fresh air. It’s ok to take a bit of a break from the books to see the outside world from the library. Taking a walk helps clear your mind and get you focused.

When The Going Gets Tough

Something that has been a struggle for me lately is balancing my sorority with my classes. No I'm not failing, my grades aren't suffering terribly, however they're definitely not as high as they have been previous semesters. There is something so unsatisfying about getting B's on literally every, single assignment. It makes me feel for a lack of a better word, mediocre. However, what I know is that there's clearly no one to blame but myself.

I love my sorority so much, and it is the hardest thing to focus on classes when there's so many fun and exciting things going on within my chapter. I have been crafting non-stop; for my two perfect littles, worrying about what I need to get done for events coming up, and trying to focus my attention on running my own blog and writing for you guys on here. 

I always tell people that the name of my major should be changed to the "art of bullshitting" because I would say I definitely would receive a masters in that. What I need to regain is my self-discipline, I need to force myself to go to the gym more, I need to focus more time on school, and be mindful about the time I need to allot to my sorority. But it's not easy, and it is hands-down one of the most difficult things I've ever tried to juggle in my life. 

I need to try to put more effort into my school work because I don't want to settle for B's, I want the feeling of getting an A and knowing I earned it. I currently have a group project coming up for one of my classes and I'm so incredibly nervous for it because I haven't even read the book yet. [English major probs]. On top of that the past week has been so difficult for me with my Math class I'm taking which is supposed to be "so" easy but is definitely not easy for someone like me who is not so great at Math. 

I guess what I'm getting at in this post is that these next few weeks will be interesting to see how everything plays out. I'm learning stuff along the way, and I'm perfectly okay with that I just don't want to see any aspect of my life suffer because of any of the rest of them. With the end of our new member class's process coming up, some projects to accomplish, I'm interested to see how everything pans out. 

Ultimate Lazy Day Playlist

Lazy Day/ Relaxing Ultimate Playlist

I wanted to put together a playlist that is relaxing and complete stress-free. Sometimes you just want to listen to really calming music [and I’ve been having a lot of those days recently] it’s great while lounging around in your sweats or while you’re even doing homework! I hope you enjoy all the songs on this playlist!

1.     New Soul – Yael Naim

2.     Yellow- Coldplay

3.     You and I – Ingrid Michaelson

4.     Merry Happy- Kate Nash

5.     I Choose You- Sara Bareilles

6.     1234 – Feist

7.     Sweater Weather [Acoustic] – Savannah Outen

8.     Sea of Love – Cat Power

9.     Only Love – Ben Howard

10. I Won’t Give Up- Jason Mraz

11. Sky Full of Stars – The Man on Guitar

12. Anyone Else But You – The Moldy Peaches

13. So Far Away- Carole King

14. You’ve Got a Friend – Carole King

15. Give Me Love- Ed Sheeran

16. Tenerife Sea- Ed Sheeran

17. Classic [Acoustic] – Corey Gray

18. XO – John Mayer

19. Crazy In Love – Daniele Andrade

20. Higher Love – James Vincent McMorrow
21. Rather Be - Jasmine Thompson

Make the Most of Taking a New Member Class in Your Org!

Taking a brand new new member class into your sorority is an extremely exciting time. Not only are you helping your chapter grow but there's the opportunity to take little(s) and get to know them on the same level that you know actual sisters. It seems extremely overwhelming. Getting that new member schedule and realizing that you need to make it to most of those events can scare you and rattle your schedule and organization a bit but make the most of them and below I'm going to tell you how!

• Study Hours: Yes, it's an extra thing on your schedule that makes it that much more hectic, however use it to your advantage! It's a great time to force yourself to get work done in absolute silence and you have no distractions. [I am currently writing this post during library hours so I'm being productive :P] Don't look at it as a burden but as a tool to help not only the new members but yourself!
• New Member Events: New member events every night may seem like a super amount of time commitment on top of what you already have on your plate i.e. homework, other clubs, favorite shows..etc. However, those events are going to be where you make a ton of your memories. They also serve as a great refresher course for yourself to brush up on your information and re-remind you of certain things about your chapter that you may have forgotten. For instance, refreshing you on information about standards policies, or on who the founders were of your organization!
• Rituals: Rituals are something amazing and sacred to your particular sorority and sharing that with new members should be an honor and exciting since they're not done very often. Make sure to take it all in, and enjoy them because one day once college is over you won't necessarily be doing them anymore. 

Of course, every new member process is different depending on sorority and chapter, however make the most of the events that your particular chapter has planned! They won't just be beneficial for your new members but yourself too! 

Turning 21, A Self-Reflection of the Past

My 21^st birthday is quickly approaching and it’s extremely weird to say the least. Where has the time gone? Seriously?! Just yesterday I remember elementary school, cheerleading in middle school, and the difficulty of high school. College has by far been the greatest years of my life, I’m finally coming into my own, have found amazing friendships, and have grown my relationships within my family in an amazing way. The older you get, clearly you get more mature [well let’s at least hope so for some of us] but I know I’ve definitely changed even in the time between high school and college. College has definitely made me a better person, and I have my sorority to thank for a lot of it.

            I want to take the opportunity to name everything that I’m grateful for since I have a newfound love for self reflection and what better time to do it than approaching my 21^st?

            I’m first and foremost thankful for my family, my brothers, my parents, and my dogs. I’m so blessed to have such a close-knit family where we can laugh about anything and everything. I’m lucky to live where I live, have what I have, and most of all have caring family members that I can rely on for everything. My relationships with family have gotten nothing but stronger, and for those of you out there having rough patches with parents or siblings, time is your friend. As you mature and grow so does everyone else, and college definitely helps you appreciate family and the moments you spend together so much more.

            I’m thankful and appreciative of my friendships. Those before and after college, I’ve had amazing memories and experiences with them. From travelling to Europe, to Disney, and just stupid silly road trips we’ve gone on has made me so happy. I’m happy that I’ve stayed friends with those who meant the most to me before college, and I’m appreciative of the friendships I’ve rekindled or come in contact with again even if they’re not exactly the same as they were before, I’m still grateful for the friendship.

            I cannot be more grateful for my sorority sisters, and the love and craziness that they bring into my life. My big is my best friend, I have amazing rosebuds, and the best friends I could ever ask for. I know that whenever there’s someone I need I call or text them first and they’re always there to help me or to simply just hang out and eat Chinese. I’m also grateful for the opportunities it’s provided me with, to take on positions such as PR Chair, and to get more involved in community service than I ever have before.

            I’m grateful for my roommate. We’ve never been close before this year, but it’s safe to say that she’s one of my best friends and an amazing sorority sister. Our friendship is one that I appreciate because we can be our truest selves, we act like complete idiots and have the greatest heart to hearts I could ever ask for. She’s always there for me and a great person to annoy haha. We’ve grown so close and I couldn’t be more grateful.

            I’m grateful for the opportunities that have arisen for me, like starting a blog that has quickly become successful, becoming a writer on Sorority Girl Thoughts, and putting myself out there in the performing world. I’m so grateful to have finally found where I want my life to go as far as career path, and am proud of myself for rolling with the punches. All my life I thought I would go into one specific career but I’m proud of myself for realizing that maybe what I want to do is something else and becoming okay with it. I’m excited to realize that I want to go in a journalism, magazine, writing route and I’m proud of myself for figuring it out. I’ve performed recently for the first time in a while too, in a cabaret which would have never been an opportunity without my sorority so I am so excited to have pushed myself to perform and sing again.

            Lastly, even though there are so many things I am grateful for and could go on and on, I’m thankful for school. Although the work and classes are a hassle, it has brought me closer to my career, to new friendships, and an organization that I could never see my life without. College has brought me so much happiness and I’m happy I was able to adjust and enjoy it.

            As 21 approaches I’m scared but excited. Life has so much more to offer but I’m extremely grateful to have had the experiences I’ve had since they’ve shaped me into my [quickly approaching] 21 year old self. It’s ok to look forward, and I know so many people can’t wait to turn 21 but I’m okay with enjoying life as it comes and not worrying about the next best thing.

            Goodbye 20 year old me it’s been great, and I welcome 21 year old me with an open mind and heart.

A Letter to My Pre-College Self: Things I Wish I Knew Then That I Know Now

Dear Young, Scared, and Afraid of Change,

         I want to start off by saying how much fun you are going to have in college. It really is true what they say about college being the best years of your life and finding your forever friends. I know right now joining a sorority also seems like a bit much considering you’ll have to get used to the campus first, but trust me it’s extremely worth it (you’ll thank me later). You’ll regret it if you wait any later to join since it will be the most fun, and exciting part of college since you’ll make so many amazing friendships through it. You’ll also get so much more involved on campus and you’ll feel great while doing philanthropic work. 

        Don’t be afraid of living in a dorm, and roommates. You’ll be just fine and everything will work out. Every one you meet that you live with will teach you something different, whether it be how to get along with others no matter how different you may be, or how to laugh at yourself and create amazing memories with the person who will always be waiting for you on the other side of that dorm room door. You will also have amazing venting sessions with them so don’t fret, it’ll all work out.

        As far as boys go, don’t be too concerned about finding one, the right one will come along I promise. Maybe it won’t be in college, but at some point it will happen for you and don’t try to force it. Also, you will have many fraternity boy crushes but be warned, they’re not all they’re cracked up to be. Just go out and have fun and don’t worry about that at all, it will come in due time.

        For friendships, time will be your friend, and show you who is truly there for you and who isn’t but they will all teach you something extremely important even if it doesn’t seem obvious at the time. Those who do become your greatest friends though will be those who will be forever friends undoubtedly.

       Don’t be afraid of change little one, I know change is a scary thing for you and gives you extreme anxiety but college is a good one trust me. I know you have life planned out, but it will change and it will be scary at times but don’t let it get to you, sometimes there are bigger things out there for you other than what you initially thought, especially when it comes to your career path. I know it may seem scary that you can change your mind, but in the middle of that time you’ll figure out what you truly want to do in life.

       You won’t be going home as often as you will be during freshman year, and you’ll have so much fun at school you’ll forget all about being homesick. When you finally start spending so much of your time at school it will make going home to spend time with family that much more amazing and cherished. But most importantly, don’t worry about your friendships with those in high school changing, even though you will be going down different paths, they will always continue to intertwine and cross at various points throughout the year and in life; those who you know were great friends for you then will always stay great friends for you even throughout college.

      Lastly, don’t lose who you are, always stay true to yourself and don’t let anyone intimidate or frighten you out of what you want to achieve or be. You are destined for greatness and your future looks extremely bright, keep having a positive, go-getter, and open-minded attitude and life will endure for you some pretty amazing things.

  Aim High! (Don’t worry you’ll learn what this means eventually! ☺)

    Sincerely,

   Your future self.