Spring Break

I have some social skills

Most college students look forward to Spring Break. There are parties, lots of beach time, and no homework. If I were a normal college student I would probably laying on the beach right now basking in the sun. BUT I am not a normal college student, rather than relaxing all spring break I'll spending most of my time indoors and at work.

Random Spring Break
progress shot

One of the major pluses about going to school in Santa Barbara (or living there in general) is that the beach is so close that there's always time to take a quick dip in between work shifts and all that fun adult stuff. I have yet to brave the cold waters for a swim but am looking forward to it when I get time off. 

Another thing I was stoked on this spring break is that my old high school has the same week off as I do so I've gotten to see some of them and catch up. A bunch of my friends that I graduated with and ones that are still in high school came to my house and we had a good old fashion hang out. Movies and pizza and lots of jokes and catching up happened, it was a great time. 

Letting Otto take the spotlight

I feel very empty not going to class or stressing about homework and I just hope I don't get too comfortable and used to being lazy by the time next Monday comes. I hope everyone is having a wonderful break and having lots of fun and being safe. You can read my latest blog post here and until next time!

XOXO

Ashley

The New Workout Plan

How pretty is this??

My senior year of high school I had a really cool teacher named Ms. Unruh. I was in her yearbook class, her musical theatre class, her music appreciation class, and oh yes her choir class. She was funny and sassy and a great teacher who taught me a lot. In my music appreciation class we had to play songs on the piano and learn about the history of music and about all of the instruments and stuff like that. Our final project was to play three songs on the piano, I played one song and I played it really really badly. But at the end of the song Ms. Unruh looked at me and said you did a really good job and she clapped. I wasn't deaf, I heard myself play and I know that I played horribly but she still lied. There aren't always going to be people like Ms. Unruh out there to tell me I'm doing a good job even when I'm playing in A Minor when I should be playing in C Major.

My waist trainer

Losing weight is a lot like playing that song. I'm winging it mostly, I miss a few notes along the way but overall I'm finishing the song and I have a lot of people clapping to keep me moving forward. Exercise is probably the thing that has kept me most sane during midterms, finals, tough projects and college overall. I've lost a little over 20 pounds since starting college and although I look similar to what I did in high school, I feel different. 

My friend Lily and I are on a strict diet together because we are both trying to lose weight and be healthy together. Having someone else to do this with helps so much because theres always a little person on my shoulder reminding me to stay below my calorie count and motivating me to not cheat. My diet has made me a lot grumpier but since starting it Lily and I have both lost four pounds with the help of exercise. If we cheat then we have to pay $5 and do 100 extra squats and no 

one wants to ever do extra squats.

Awaiting help

I try to go running at least twice a week, depending on my work schedule because I don't like running after 9 I run on this trail close to my house, it has a great view so sometimes I stop and just look at the ocean. After about a 30 minute run I come home and put on my waist trainer. The waist trainer has helped a lot with shaping my body as I've lost weight. I put it on while I use my spinning bike for another 30 minutes then I do some basic weights, squats, and pushups. At the end of everyday my workouts usually end with me collapsing to the floor and screaming for my mom to help me up.

Otto liked me better when I was more snuggly but he's learning to love me again. I'm passing my classes and doing really well health wise (I'm finally not sick). I am very excited to be on spring break and I promise to have exciting posts about my adventures over the next week. You can read my last post here and until next time!

XOXO

Ashley

Study Break

DMC

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a huge flake and most of the time I will stay home and chill with my cats. With my first midterm, extra credit project, and my history of algebra essay all due these last two weeks I've been even more secluded from the world. So Thursday I dropped all my books and decided to go out with the girls and then Friday I kidnapped my cousin Kaitlyn so I could make my girls night a girls weekend.

So my friends Stefani, Heather and Janin decided to all go out to Chili's for dinner. We were laughy and giggly all night because we all needed the stress relief and a break from work. We ordered a bunch of appetizers and went to town. We couldn't finish it all but we all ate till it hurt. Since then I've gone back on my diet and a night like that won't happen for at least another month. 

Before beating him basketball

I had so much fun with those girls I didn't want the fun to end just yet. So Friday after work I went down to Santa Clarita and brought my cousin home with me. Even though I still had to work we found some time to hang out together. She came up to Santa Barbara after I got off of work and we hit the town. We went shopping and got our nails done. 

I think the best part of my entire weekend was taking Kaitlyn home. Not because I was happy to get rid of her, but because I got to spend time with my family for a few hours. Those few hours are very precious because I only get to see my family about once a month. We ate, we cuddled, I even beat my cousin in a game of basketball (with the help of Kaitlyn), and I even had time for a nap. Family time always makes me feel so relaxed and at peace, I wish it was never ending.

My black blob Smokey

My weekend probably isn't super thrilling and as exciting as it could be. But it was pretty great for me, it was also nice to put the books down for a couple of days. Since then I have been non stop studying and catching up on what I missed. You can read my last blog here and until next time!

XOXO 

Ashley

Uncertainty

Ice Cream Break

I think most would agree that there are some things that are more scary than spiders or rats. These are things we can't see or hear but mostly feel. One of the things I'm most afraid of is being uncertain. It scares me that I will never know what tomorrow will bring me or where I'm going to be in five years. My room may disagree but I like to keep my life organized and kept in routine. 

In my spinning class last semester my teacher would greet us everyday with a new quote. Each quote was similar because they each served the purpose to motivate us. To help us keep going, to help us improve, and to help us find a little piece of ourselves we hadn't quite discovered yet. 

Big surprise everyone I still don't know what I'm doing and I'm uncertain as to when I'll figure that out. The only thing I'm certain about is that I have to keep moving forward; no matter how hard school gets, or how tired I am from work. A little quote that has seriously just helped push me along is "quit pretending to hold them and start opening doors". Basically stop watching everyone around you succeed and follow their dreams while you stand there trying to figure it out. Open your doors and make things happen for yourself. Conquer this f'ing world. 

I'm kind of obsessed with myself

My best advice for uncertainty is fake it till you make it. Pretend you have your life together and things will start falling into place. Organize yourself and make a plan. I keep everything written down somewhere so I can look back and be like hey what did I do January 3? January 3rd I kissed a guy I really really like and that wasn't part of my plan but I did it and it made me overall happier.

I know I say this a lot but I am unsure of myself and to be honest I can't tell you which way my life is headed, the one thing I am sure about is that I will be successful is whatever I do because I could never let myself fail. Most of us have only been adults for a short time and we haven't seen enough of the world to make huge decisions that will ultimately change our entire lives. If anyone is lost and confused don't fret I'm right here with you. 

A really bad of picture of me and Otto
from last week

Life Update: I'm sick again somehow, but I managed to take care of myself and keep myself alive another week. That's pretty much the only exciting thing that has happened to me since I last blogged. You can see pictures of my super exciting life here and read my last blog post here. Until next time!!

XOXO 

Ashley

P.S. I've been so bad at cat pictures lately, I hardly see them and when I do I look very unkept. 

54 and Failing

Me, my test and my new lipstick

Unless you're Danny D then you've probably failed a class before. I'm not going end the with an F, I just have one for right now. I'm usually good at math but this test stressed me out so much and I tried studying multiple times. I even did the review twice and once with a tutor. Cramer's Rule and some other random law definitely threw me off. It doesn't feel good knowing my grade is so low since it's only determined by two midterms, two projects, and the final. Making it up and bringing my grade to an A will be almost impossible and slightly challenging but I think I have it in me. As Jay-Z would say "Difficult takes a day, impossible takes a week".

Since I have both failed and aced classes before I think I have enough experience to give some quick tips on passing classes in college.

1. STUDY GROUPS-In my math class last semester we would have giant study sessions and collaborate our minds, I wouldn't have gotten any of my homework or study guides completed without my classmates. It's a great way to make new friends and get shit done at the same time. They  definitely helped me less scared of college math and what to expect in more difficult classes.

Newest member of the family

2. UTILIZE TUTORS-Getting into Gateway classes is definitely a plus if you're extra but you need help in your classes. Gateway tutors are older students hired to sit in on the classes and help you when you're having trouble and they pretty much assist the teachers so you can learn and understand the work you're given. There are also many labs around campus where you can tutors for almost every subject. To name a few that I have used, we have the math located in the IDC building, a language lab in the Humanities building, and the LRC that's located in the same building as the Library.

3. STUDY GUIDES-If your teacher doesn't provide a study guide for you then make one yourself. Look back on your notes and find key points from throughout the semester and find examples from the book to practice with. My math teacher always gives a harder study guide because if we can get the hang of simple problems then we won't have as much trouble on the test.

4. CHILL-This is probably the most important tip. The night before study your little butt off (at an appropriate pace; no cramming) and do a quick review in the morning. After that just chill, don't think about upcoming test, presentation, or whatever too much. Relax your brain and don't stress over Newton's First Law or how many symbols John Steinbeck uses in his books.

As always Otto loves me

Everyone is different but these have all worked pretty well for me. An update on my life is that I'm still awkward, I'm still not 5'2" and I've recently become obsessed with purple lipstick. If you want to read my last blog post you can find it here and until next time!

XOXO

Ashley