So~Bee~Love

January is almost over, it seems like only yesterday was the start of the year. It's interesting how fast and simultaneously slow time seems to pass. This Thursday I want to be very candid with my thoughts and talk about something that has been on my mind lately... I am no longer attending college. As of right now I am taking a semester off of school because this last semester was pretty rough. I suffer from anxiety and depression something that I didn't realize I had until I went to college and I was in an environment where I had to deal with it myself. Understanding these mental illnesses and how they affected me while I  was in school was very difficult just because I was trying to be a student but I had these things that didn't allow me to function properly. In any case, I thought it best to take a break from school. That being said, my initial feeling after making my decision was failure. I was overwhelmed with thoughts of how people would perceive me since ...

image from thatfirstyearblog.com Hello Friends!! I have been back home for a while now and over these past few weeks I've been getting asked the same question over and over again: "So, how was college?" My first instinct to this questions is to sit the person down and have an hour long conversation all about my thoughts and emotions on my first year but I usually just settle with "good" as a response. As a first generation student there were A LOT of things that I needed to adjust to in college that I never really thought about before hand. To be truthful it was very overwhelming. My anxiety was bad, my daily schedule was always full and I was completely on my own for the first time in 18 years. Not to mention I was in another state 4 hours away from home. Here are some of the things I dealt with and learned from in my first year at college. Homesickness Throughout my first year I experienced a lot of homesickness. Before college I had nev...

Written on August 19th, 2016 Today marks two days until I move into college and the rest of my life changes..... Although the first line of this post may seem a bit dramatic, college is it's own different world with it's own set of rules and it's own culture. I deem myself very independent although I've never been away from my parents for longer than two weeks. I know how to clean and cook for myself, I understand and know what my responsibilities are. But for some reason I can't shake the nervous feeling I get when I think about college and moving out. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I'm moving out of state for college or the fact that I hardly know anyone. Maybe just the fact that I'll be a significant amount of distance away from everything I know. Although being far from home is exhilarating, it'll be great to have some freedom. But I think all my worries just boil down to change. i don't like change, people in ge...

At this point, it has been five days since I graduated high school, and to be honest it doesn't seem real. It doesn't seem real that a place where I have learned about myself and grown so much as a person, is a place I will never attend.  Over these last 12 years, I have been surrounded by the same people. Over the last 18 years, I have lived in the same house, same neighborhood. It amazes me that this large chapter of my life has now been closed.  It may seem cliche, but these past few years I've been wanting school to end so I can go to college but I never realized what leaving high school meant. Leaving high school means that I have to leave my friends behind. I have to leave my sister behind. I have to leave my parents.  Although college is new and exciting, it's an uncharted, new thing I've never truly experienced before. Sure I've been to cap during the summer, but that's only ever been a few weeks away from my family. I've also ne...

During this lovely holiday break I have still been applying to colleges. On most applications schools will ask short response questions to get a sense of what kind of student you are. One of the schools I applied to asked me a question that took me by surprise. Not because it was challenging or confusing but the level of depth that the answer could hold, was astounding to me (also the fact that they only gave me a maximum of 200 words). "If you were to write the story of your life until now, what would you title it and why?" ​My Secret Life ​would be the title of my life up until now. As a person I feel that I am very bubbly and energetic, friendly and open-minded. I am always eager to learn new things and explore different places but as a person I also tend to hide some things I feel ashamed of or too embarrassed to talk about. I put up a facade for my friends to look at but I never reveal my whole self. Although I have some pretty amazing ...

Hello Readers! It is that time again where I update you on college and how the overall process is going. So far I have submitted 3 applications to universities and colleges. All of the ones i have submitted so far are in-state, I am planning on applying to few more in and out of state just to have a variety of viable options. As I have come to narrow down the list of colleges and universities I want to apply to, all things considered, it is not by any means an easy decision. There are thousands of universities within the United States. An overwhelming thing to think about when you are thinking  about continuing your education beyond high school and trying to find your perfect fit. Now I would like to ask for your help. I have found a scholarship that is willing to award $10,000 scholarship to a high school senior with a well written essay. Unfortunately there is a catch, each applicant must get a significant amount of recommendations to be one of the 500 people who's essays are...

This past month I was involved in an educational mentorship program called Exit Lancaster. This program is located in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and it is based on five pillars; arts, career aspirations, community service, education and wellness. Together these pillars create a "winning life plan". The "plan" helps to provide the necessary tools for students to become successful in life. The program focuses on students in middle school, but as they continue their education the program follows them through high school. As a highschool senior in the program I was given the opportunity to be a mentor to the middle school students and upcoming freshman. I got to spend the month of July with an amazing group of kids and we got to end the summer semester with a trip to New York. Stemming from the southeast of Lancaster County where opportunity and exposure to the world are limited, Exit Lancaster tries to change that and offer something new. The arts pillar f...

   Internal Assessments or IA's as we like to call them, is a term that students in the IB program use. Internal Assessments are essentially a project that must completed by the student in the correct manner (aka in an organized way that is of the IB standards). By the third marking period (second semester), students are expected to complete these IA's for all the corresponding subjects. For me this includes all of my core subjects. This means that I must create and complete a project by myself without help from my teacher.  And in order to get an A it must be conducted by IB standards. For Biology I have not one but two IA's that I have to complete. For this class my IA is conducted almost like a science fair project (an experiment that you would usually conduct in primary school) but my research has to organized and precise. Which is easier said than done. Although we have a month and some days to create, conduct and complete the experiment with seven ot...

This College Journey is going great so far! I've found that it's not cheap and finding a scholarship is harder than you think. you would expect they would tell you these things in school, the one place you learn but they don't you find out for yourself! Hopefully I can shed some light on some gray areas of the college process. To re-establish for any new readers I am in my junior year of high school. College is now starting to become a real thing for me. So as the plan-ahead type of girl that I am I have set out on my college journey! I don't think many people my age plan ahead as much as I do but I can't think of living my life any other way. So knowing that college is a mere year and some months away I started looking online for scholarships, I still have some digging to do but here are some sites that I found that could be useful to you: ~ Fastweb.com ~ Scholarshipexperts.com ~ Scholarship.com ~ Prospect.net Most of these scholarships are geared t...

So a couple months ago I had the privilege of taking the PSAT. This is a wonderful test that the State gives to students in their Junior year to see how they would test on the real thing. The SAT or the Scholastic Assessment Test is a standardized college test used widely for college admissions in the United States. These tests are usually taken at the end of your Junior year or the beginning/end of your Senior year. This test has three parts Reading, Writing and Math, each of these sections can be anywhere from 200 to 800 points for a possible total score of 2400. If you are curious or want more information about this test click here . The PSAT or Preliminary Scholastic Assessment Test is a less intense version of the real deal but nonetheless scored similarly with the same amount of questions. This test took three hours (I missed three periods out of my eight period schedule, I don't have a lunch so I have eight classes) and it had Math and Reading sections. In my op...

Here is another short but sweet Road to College post... So, lately I have found that after being in school for a month I already have gotten a steady routine and a substantial amount of homework. BUT being a college-prep student takes it's toll on you. The homework I receive is any where from 1 1/2 to 2 hours. This is only when I have a few assignments from my classes, if I have homework from all of my classes I can receive 3 to 5 hours of homework. So writing this blog may be challenging at times but its something fun I get to do when I'm not drowning in homework. Now something most people may or may not know about the general population of IB students is that sometimes we don't get all our homework in on time or we simply wait until the last minute to do something. Procrastination is what kills the work ethic of many IB students, at least where I live. Many of us have the mentality of thinking that we will "have time to study for the IB quiz later" or t...

By now we should be in our routine of school and this consists of getting up early in the morning and try to control our crazy hair. I have come up with some easy tips and hair styles that may help you with getting ready and making it a bit easier. Something very simple that works with any hairstyle is a side braid. Now this isn't the actual hairstyle this is a hairstyle that can help you achieve wavy/crimped hair. I usually put my hair in a braid before I got to sleep at night. I recommend making a very tight braid to help your hair create a wavy effect. After waking up I usually take out the braid and my hair is wavy, but I do have naturally curly hair so my hair usually doesn't need any products to help maintain the waviness.  But if you have naturally straight hair before taking out the braid I would use a flat iron over the braid and then take it out. Using the flat iron over will have an added effect on your hair to ensure its waviness. One hairstyle ...

Anyone starting high school may be nervous, and you have the right to be! You are about to enter a whole different environment. High school has different teachers and different students with the added uncertainty of not being familiar with anything. Now my tips may vary depending on your school and where you live. **TIPS** ~So for your freshman year is the most important academic year of your life. This year will determine your GPA for the rest of your high school career. If your wondering what a GPA is, it's your grade-point-average, the higher your GPA the better off you are so don't slack off! ~One thing that really helped me freshman year was to make a locker schedule to switch out supplies and lighten my backpack. ~Try exploring all possible ways of going to class, don't be accustomed to only one way & if you're not sure ask around. ~ Don't get stuck in hallway traffic! In my school its always a good idea to avoid the hallways that are near th...

If you read my last blog post (click here), I pack my own school lunch. The lunches provided by my school have no taste whatsoever & I am a picky eater as well so the two combined don't mix. So to all of my fellow lunch packers I wanted to share some healthier ways to pack lunch because let's face it if we really wanted to we could pack a whole bunch of junk-food in our bags and not care, right? Being healthy is always the goal that someone wants to achieve and here is a way you can approach this goal. An easy yet effective on like this(pictured above) is perfect! The veggie & dip is a great way to fill you up, you can pick and choose your favorite veggies and a dip with amazing flavor! Instead of a soda choose flavored or vitamin water. For a snack don't sacrifice your chips just choose a healthier version like these popped chips.  So on a personal level I'm not really the "healthiest person" and feel like it's too ambitious to tr...

With all these posts on my blog about school supplies & getting motivated , I thought why not share what I have in my backpack. With less than a week until school starts I have gotten all of my school supplies together and organized. Entering my Junior year of high school I will be taking on a lot of college prep classes, a combination of  AP (advanced placement) and IB (international baccalaureate). This requires hours of homework & studying and rigorous classwork and assignments. Also if you are under any assumption that I must be a super genius or something, that is far from the truth. I just take on challenges that I know I can handle and have the right time management skills to do so. Acknowledging that I will have this amount of work I want my backpack to survive the whole school year instead of getting through the first few weeks. So this year (since I'm a working girl now) I decided to invest in a good quality backpack. This year I purchased...

So I have less than a week before I go back to school and thought I would share easy and cute DIY's!!!We all know last minute school shopping doesn't leave many visually appealing supplies so I thought if you are in this situation here is an easy life-hack.  To make cute supplies you will have to: 1. Make sure the surface of the supplies are free of label or tags. 2. Take the wrapping paper and cut a piece that will fit the front and/or back of the supplies. *Tip* For a notebook, punch out holes before hand so it looks clean and not messy. 3. Start covering the surface using the glue stick and putting the wrapping paper on the glued area. *Tip* I like to go from left to right, it helps to smooth the paper as you lay it down to prevent air bubbles. 4. Option 1: Cut off excess paper and tape down the edges.     Option 2: Using liquid glue, fold excess paper and glue to the inside of the surface. And viola! You have new & cute school suppli...

Every year I have the mediocre mindset of the average teenager, get through school, tests and drama. Well this year I really want to focus on my problem areas that I have & work on improving them! ~Time management   I have been working on this since my freshman year of high school. Since I'm in college-prep classes the amount of homework assignments and projects are enormous. This past year I have mastered the art of using an agenda/planner. It has helped me to never over schedule myself. Still sticking to a plan in the planner is my problem. I usually procrastinate and end up stressing myself out (which is not the best). This year I want to stay true to what I plan for myself and have an even consistency with everything that I do. ~ Stressing Out Remember how I said that I have college- prep classes and that I have a procrastination problem? Well.... This is the very root of all my stress & it really shouldn't be I should be on top of everything but with...

It's the first of August and it's officially back-to-school time and most of us are planning what we're going to get for school. I have some tips you might want to check out to make your school shopping a bit easier and things that can help you stay organized throughout the year. Also click any of the pictures below for videos by Macbby11 aka Alisha Marie! One of the top things to buy for school are notebooks, especially the ones with built in pockets and dividers. Notebooks help me keep notes from class together verses loose papers all over the place. Also they keep all my class handouts and homework assignments in place. Another essential thing to buy when going back to school is an Agenda or Planner. Without this I would be lost! Between schoolwork, clubs and church I'm always busy and need to stay on top of things. I usually like to use small post it notes to remind me of an important assignment/event.  Lets say while you were shopping you scored an...