I really wanted to share with all my fabulous experience at the Bulls game. Last Saturday, they played against Golden State. I bought these tickets for my boyfriend and I. The pictures show how close we were, row 6! Yes, the tickets were expensive, but so worth it! However, you can find cheaper tickets and be up higher. I’ve done this, but it’s still so much fun. There were so many people from Loyola University Chicago! I saw many friends. This is definitely the place to be, whether you’re a Bulls fan or not. The environment is amazing. I didn’t get to snap a picture of the one and only Scottie Pippen who was there, too! Now that finals are almost over…relax and have some fun! It is right off the Western stop. Enjoy!
My last final was on Thursday and I was relieved and happy to have finished testing before most of my friends. Nonetheless, I had come back to school the next day to wish my friends good luck on their tests and for the whole day, I was relaxing in a comfy chair enjoying myself watching Netflix. That very weekend for the first time since August, I was able to sleep freely without any worries. I am proud of myself to have accomplished so much in my first semester of college, and I personally think I deserve to relax, be happy, and finally breathe during my break.
During my break, I do not plan to travel or do anything extraordinary. I will be at home, just like every year, taking care of my brother and house while my sister goes to school and mom goes to work. We might have a Christmas family party and I will forward to that very much as I will be able to see my other family members I have not seen in quite a while. I have a lot of young cousins in the family, so I am certain that we might take them to see the zoo lights or Navy Pier, or the Christmas market they have downtown at Daley Plaza (all of these options would be the first time these youngsters).
With all that being said, I wish each and every one of you an amazing winter season filled with your beloved family and friends.
Hi again! This is my very last post before winter break starts up! I have one more final to go and then I can just relax and binge watch Netflix and TV for a few weeks! Cooking shows are my weakness, and I love The Taste and Masterchef Junior. Speaking of food, I wanted to tell you guys about an amazing website that delivers food from all different places. It is called Grubhub and it has seriously been a lifesaver throughout my college career.
Grubhub is exactly what it is in its name. It is a hub of grub. By just going to www.grubhub.com, you are instantly teleported into a world where food options are endless. When you are on Grubhub’s home page, you just type in your address, whether you want delivery or pick-up, and what kind of food you are looking for. Let’s say I was feeling Thai (to be honest I am always feeling Thai because that Crab Rangoon is the BEST food in the world). I would type in my apartment address, say I wanted delivery, and choose Thai as my cuisine selection. Grubhub would then offer a list of restaurants that fall under the Thai category. It would say how far away each restaurant is and it also says the minimum price you would need to reach to get delivery. Some places have no minimum, so if you are just wanting a piece of chocolate cake (I have done this before, don’t judge), you can order delivery. Other places have a 10, or 15 dollar minimum delivery price. You can also search for just certain types of food by itself, like searching for a burrito or burger. For each restaurant, Grubhub lists their whole menu and includes the most popular dishes that are starred and reviews.
Checkout for Grubhub is super easy. Just fill it out as a guest, or you can create a free account which will remember your information. Also, if you create an account, Grubhub will send you emails for a bunch of freebies and discounts. They also create a “Rummy Tummy” game where after each order you place, they offer you three face-down cards with one containing a freebie underneath. Sometimes, you can get a free dessert or drink! Pretty cool! Grubhub will deliver to college dorms as well as an added bonus, so if you are up for a late night study sesh and are craving some pepperoni pizza, Grubhub has you covered.
This year, four of my best friends and I were lucky enough to live in Georgetown, an upperclassman residence hall. Scoring the last apartment in Georgetown turned out to be a pretty sweet deal. With three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, and a living room, the five of us couldn’t have been happier. Now, when you throw five girls into a living space they tend to hit certain highs and lows–we were no exception. Here’s what I learned this semester:
1. Every night is girl’s night. No matter what we were up to–cooking dinner, movie night, studying–I was always got to spend time with my best friends. Which meant there was always a chance for a Taylor Swift jam session to ensue.
2. Washing the dishes is everyone’s least favorite chore. Turns out when five people share a kitchen, dishes pile up pretty quickly. And the five of us all really despised washing the dishes. After a few roomie meetings and some sticky note reminders we’ve been able to keep the dishes under control…for the most part
3. My closet expanded x4. I don’t have a sister so I never had the chance to share clothes with anyone growing up. This year I was blessed with four more closets–all belonging to girls who were willing to share.
4. Someone’s always waiting with a hug if you need it. There are certain days when you really just need a hug. Because I lived with four girls that love me, I could always count on a hug to brighten my day.
5. Confrontation is uncomfortable. Like I said, we had our lows and in that I found out that every single one of us hates confrontation, no matter how we went about it. But I think it’s fair to say that we each learned it was completely necessary to keep a peaceful home.
6. I couldn’t love our dysfunctional family more. These four girls seriously mean the world to me. I am so grateful that I got to live with them this semester. When I go abroad next semester I’ll miss laughing all night, eating pints of Ben & Jerry’s, singing at the top of our lungs, crying when we missed our moms or when class was too hard, calling Georgetown home, and living with these four incredible women.
According to the New York Times article Relax! You’ll Be More Productive, “the best way to get more done may be to spend more time doing less.” That is why, this winter, I plan to have a relaxing, yet hopefully productive, break from classes.
During the semester, so much to do in so little time often leads to sleep deprivation, an all-too-common condition among college students. The NYT article cited Stanford researcher Cheri D. Mah, who found that when she had men basketball players sleep ten hours a night, their performance improved dramatically: “free-throw and three-point shooting each increased by an average of 9 percent.” Well, I am by nature a person who needs my ‘beauty’ sleep, so over the next few weeks, I will unabashedly catching up on the dozens of hours of sleep I lost during the semester, replicating Dr. Mah’s 10-hour per night “sleep therapy” technique in order to become a more efficient person.
Additionally, I have been making attempts to land a seasonal job at the mall and will probably need to hit the pavement since I missed the normal interview season, which is usually before Black Friday. Many of my friends have said they will be working again over the break as well. We all can use some extra spending money. Committing to a job will also keep us from staying in bed all day and watching the same Gossip Girl episodes for the tenth time, which I wouldn’t mind, but that probably isn’t the best way to spend my time.
On those occasions when I happen to be feeling extra-motivated, I may get a head start on next semester’s readings. One of my friends, who is a biology major,told me thatthey will use the same textbook for the entire year, thus reading ahead will lighten her workload next semester. Likewise, it would certainly be a smart strategic move for me to jump the gun on my Honors books,a painless way to avoid becoming overwhelmed once classes begin again in January.
Hey guys. I know for some of you it’s still finals week, and I’m sorry for what I’m about to do next.
FINALS IS OVER I AM SO HAPPY WHOOOOOOOO! I CAN GO HOME AND SEE MY FAMILY AND SLEEP UNTIL NOON WITHOUT ANY CONSEQUENCE OR FEAR OF MISSING CLASSES!
Rant over.
Going into finals week, I didn’t know what to expect. 9:00 on Monday morning, for the first time ever, I was nervous for a test. Granted it was for my worst subject and I felt like I didn’t study adequately enough, but even then. I was so nervous that I almost forgot a pencil. (Freshman mistake, am I right?)
However, I am here to tell you that it’s not that bad. Going through my finals week was not the horror that I was expecting it to be. The tests weren’t as hard as I thought they were and the one good thing about finals week is that it is nearly excusable for any behavior. Wanna wear something that makes it look like a bad 80’s sitcom threw up on you? Go ahead! We don’t judge here. Dance party at 1:30 am by yourself to Pocket Full of Sunshine? Sure! Chinese food three days in a row? YEAH!
The tests are how you would expect them to be: difficult, sometimes cumulative, and not the most fun thing in the world. You’re given two hours to complete them and you are expected to finish them in the allotted amount of time. I never had to stay for the entire two hours, however, I was in and out in about 45 minutes. As long as you study you are fine.
Another thing to keep in mind is that professors do not have to and are under no obligation to post your grades until the day that they are due. Some of them post on a paper-to-paper basis, posting as they calculate the student’s final grade, and others finish all of their grading and then enter all of the grades. Not having your final grades right away is irritating, but as soon as you get them you can calculate your GPA.
If your GPA is a 3.5 or higher, you make the Dean’s list. Here’s how to calculate your GPA: http://www.luc.edu/advising/gpa_calculator.html
Have a good rest of finals week, and a great winter break!
Hello again! Christmas break is almost here! Just two more finals for me and then a whole month where I can just shut my brain down and do absolutely nothing. Since it is finals week, I did not have time to try any new places since I am basically in lock-down mode right now, so instead, I wanted to talk about Rambler Bucks and what they are, where they can be used, ect.
Rambler Bucks is a form of Loyola currency that is accepted at many on-campus sites and some off-campus businesses. How it works is that you log into your LOCUS account and add money (money can be added by check, cash, or credit card) onto your Loyola ID card. This ID card basically becomes a Loyola debit card and you can use the money on your ID to buy food and other goods both on and off campus at the places that accept your ID. It is super convenient for those who do not want to always carry around their wallet with all their money and credit cards and personal information with them. Since you most likely always have your ID on you (you need it for the dining halls, the gym, the IC and library, and to get back in your dorms) it is a quick and easy way to pay for goods and services.
The places that are off-campus that accept Rambler Bucks are: Café Descartes (a great place to grab coffee on the Lakeshore Campus), Epic Burger (yummy burgers with their EPIC sauce at the Water Tower Campus), Felice’s Italian Pizza (fresh pizza made by students for students on the Lakeshore Campus), Five Guys (GREAT Fries and burgers on the Lakeshore Campus), Metropolis Coffee (fancy coffees and teas on the Lakeshore Campus), Papa John’s (the pizza we all know and love on the Lakeshore Campus), Pete’s Pizza (serves delicious gelato, pizza slices, and great sandwiches on the Lakeshore Campus), Potbelly’s (NEW and incredible shakes on the Lakeshore Campus), Subway (on Sheridan and Granville on the Lakeshore Campus), and The Coffee Shop (yummy coffee on the Lakeshore Campus). All on-campus services accept Rambler Bucks.
One of the scariest and worst parts about being in college away from home is getting sick and having to take care of yourself. Luckily, the Loyola Wellness Center is a wonderful source that Loyola students have for when they do become sick throughout the year.
The Wellness Center is located on the third floor of the Grenada Center on Sheridan Road. A student can make an appointment online or by calling the Dial-A-Nurse number available online as well. If you call the Dial-A-Nurse service, a nurse from the center will ask you of your symptoms and will give you options for appointments if you would like one. The nurses are all extremely nice and helpful, and talking to them can help one feel better about being sick away from home!
Upon arriving at the Wellness Center, one will have to complete two steps prior to being called for their scheduled appointment. Step one is just outside the doors of the center, and is a check-in kiosk where a student can put in their personal information and ID number to confirm their arrival to their appointment. The second step is a health questionnaire that is to be filled out on laptops located in the waiting area of the center. The questions on the questionnaire are there to allow the nurses to know a bit more about your health history and reasons for visiting. After these two steps have been completed, the nurse will shortly call you in for your appointment.
I made my first visit to the Wellness Center last week for an appointment and checkup for a cold. I was a bit nervous at first, but once in the room I realized that the nurses are really nice and always have your best interest in mind. They really want you to be feeling better in no time, and will be caring and kind as they try to help.
So, if you are ever nervous about what to do if you get sick in college, don’t be! The Wellness Center functions as a real nurses office, and are there to help you feel better!
As we are all trying to survive finals, I have to share my two favorite study spots. Actually, I have several favorite study spots, but these two are my favorite! I’ll keep my posts short and sweet, so you have enough time to study for the last finals 🙂
If I have to catch up on my readings, then I love to go to the third floor and sit on a comfy couch. BEWARE: you may fall asleep! They are so comfortable. Of course, the view is extraordinary!
However, if I need a computer, without all the people around like in the IC, and I need to focus, I go into Dumbach’s room on the second floor. (The first floor is the basement). This room has a computer, and I believe staff hold meetings in here. It is never occupied, and I like to close the doors and study here, as well.
The first semester has almost come to a close and with that, I have learned how to adjust to commuting well (Note: this is the first time I am using public transportation to get to school). There have been some interesting moments I have encountered along the way via the CTA. You meet people of ALL kinds-those that are loud, funny, rude, kind, and strange and sometimes there are occurrences that happen. Everyday, going to and from school, is a mystery; you do not know what exactly to expect not can you be prepared for it. For me, I actually enjoy the uncertainty because it makes life more interesting/on-the-edge, as my current life is a bit “bland” in my opinion. Yes, sometimes things may be dangerous and there definitely are people to take caution in, especially anywhere public, but I know how to defend myself as I am a black belt in martial arts and have enough common sense to make the right actions and decisions.
As winter quickly approaches, I am quite pleased to not have to deal with the snow and blizzards while commuting as it is uncomfortable and difficult to get from place to place. Commuting is casual; weather is not an issue at the moment yet. (When there is snow, I surely will blog about that!). Besides weather, I have learned that timing is everything. The train WILL NOT wait for you, therefore you must catch up with it. Sometimes in the morning, when I see the train lights and the crossing bar go down on the street, I often sprint (getting my morning jog) to the train stop and well as running up and down the stairs of Belmont to transfer to the red line.
In a way, commuter life is not that difficult to deal with. Sometimes it can be fun and enjoyable!
