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(04/19/18 1:42am)
I used to distinguish a single junk drawer as the keeper of the miscellaneous debris littering my room. I would shove the things I didn’t have the heart to throw away (old notecards, dried-out pens, forgotten nail polish) deep into the bowels of this drawer with the understanding I would never have to think of them again. Then, somewhere around my fifth consecutive week of non-stop papers and tests, every drawer I owned became a junk drawer.
This realization makes the task of packing for the summer seem daunting. What happened to my perfectly organized closet? And where did all of these mugs come from? It’s amazing how much stuff you can accumulate living 10 months of your life in a space, and what a headache it becomes trying to move it all.
But with a bit of organization, some time-saving hacks and a positive attitude, packing can be a breeze. Or so I imagine they would say on a motivational poster. We can lose the positive attitude part because this is a realistic article. Just try your best. There’s no need to be positive about it.
The key is to start early. Take home a little bit at a time. If you know you’re going home between now and your move out date, then take a load of winter clothes with you. When it comes to bulky items or furniture, it can be beneficial to move them a week or two before you officially move out.
Next, move on to getting rid of the non-essentials. This is the junk drawer cleaning phase. Some are bold enough to blindly toss everything straight into the trash. All the power to you, you’re living that minimalist life.
I, on the other hand, am part of the camp that has been brainwashed by corporate America to have a severe attachment to stuff. I go through, drawer by drawer, spreading everything on the floor and separating it into piles of stuff I want to keep, stuff I want to give away, and stuff I need to trash.
This phase can be overwhelming if left to the last minute. But it becomes much less of a chore if you do a little bit every week leading up to summer vacation. Give yourself small and realistic goals to accomplish. Then by the time finals roll around the hard part will be out of the way and everything will be ready to pack.
Don’t be afraid to throw out what can be replaced. I never want to see my shower shoes again. But try to keep what can be salvaged. I have too many T-shirts that I can donate.
Everyone has their own packing style. I like to label and organize my boxes because I am a control freak. Some people are more, go with the flow, toss everything in a trash bag, no need to fold, types.
I once watched my sister move out of her apartment by throwing everything she owned loosely into her car and calling it a day. It can be done. But unpacking that car was no easy feat. String lights tangle easily with hangers and frying pans. I recommend that method only to those whose mind and body have been ravaged by finals so completely; they can manage nothing better.
The bottom line is, we all want to get out of here as quickly and seamlessly as possible. So why not do all you can now to make your life better later? Then in three months, you can start packing all over again. What a fun cycle.
(03/31/18 3:02pm)
Soaking in the sunshine on a Florida beach with six more days of spring break looming ahead, it is easy to think of life in the abstract. You sip your lukewarm lemonade and resolve to be more organized, more driven, valedictorian of your class, CEO of a brilliant startup. You begin drafting your graduation commencement speech in your head and determine that these next five weeks will be the most important of your life.
You will study hard and ace everything here on out. Spring break will spark the birth of a new you, a better you. Then, the sun shifts, and your mind drifts to the pizza shop you passed on the drive over and the ugliness of your big toe.
Flash forward to your dorm room seven days later and the countless assignments littering your desk. A few days ago you had life figured out, and now everything is an overwhelming mess. Why does your motivation seem to disappear the second you get back to school? And is it even worth it, or is a final five-week push a lost cause?
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It’s not easy getting your semester back on track after spring break, but it is possible. For many, there is no question that it must be done.
The first step is commitment. The second is organization. You need to realize that revamping your academic performance is not something that can be taken lightly, and it requires intense commitment and planning. If you don’t have an agenda, it’s time to buy one because you are going to need it.
“First, I would recommend the student talk to their professor and discuss the best way to move forward,” said Sekinat Mumuney, a staff member at the Academic Resource Center.
Professors have the best insight on how to bring up your class grade because they are the one who wrote the syllabus. Also, demonstrating your determination to help your grade can go a long way.
After meeting with your professor, it is important to map out study or work schedules that make the most effective use of your time. If your final is worth a large portion of your grade, then start studying now. The same goes for research papers. Time is of the essence, and it is vital you make the most of it.
Sleep is also essential to getting your semester back on track. Adopting a healthy lifestyle can positively impact your academic performance. Schedule frequent gym time to relieve stress and release endorphins. Try cutting back on unhealthy treats, like junk food or sugary soda. Set a regular bedtime to stay rested and sharp, subsequently increasing productivity.
So, buckle down and get ready for a depleted social life and budding caffeine addiction. It’s going to suck. It’s going to hurt. But it’s only five weeks of your life. Your future self will thank you.
(03/31/18 2:32pm)
Bearstock—the music event of the season, the highlight of the semester, the Coachella of Middle Georgia—is almost here. So maybe it’s not as glamorous as the California desert, but it’s all we have. So, let’s savor it. And in true music industry fashion, it’s not who you are that matters. It's what you wear.
“Bearstock has a very laid back, community vibe about it so I think it’s important to be comfortable as well as fashionable,” said sophomore Ariel Maduro.
If ever there was a time to whip out your butterfly inspired bodysuit and inflatable flamingo hat, this may not be it. That being said, there are ways to fashion a comfortable look while still turning heads.
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For the ladies out there, keeping it simple is the best approach. Your favorite jean shorts and faded tee will always make you look and feel good and provide a good base to let your accessories do the talking. Dress it up with some flashy sunglasses or bold hat. If you’re feeling extra fancy, a flowy sundress works wonders.
A colorful romper paired with some comfy sneaks is also tried and true. Just be prepared for the inconvenience of bathroom breaks. But looking fierce far outweighs the awkwardness of sitting on a toilet completely naked.
It’s important to also keep in mind that we live in Georgia where the weather is unpredictable, borderline bipolar. Bring along an extra layer, like a lightweight utility jacket, to throw on if you get cold easily. A warm and sunny day could easily shift into freezing rain. Be ready to react to any situation.
Guys have it easy. At least they have a smaller range of choices. Throw on a comfy pair of jeans, a printed tee, sneakers and you’re good to go. For the more fashion-forward gentlemen, some mirrored sunglasses or bright shoes can elevate your look.
“Since the weather in Georgia is so unpredictable, I wouldn't wear my favorite clothes to the park in Tattnall, but After Dark is in Hawkins Arena, so that's a great time to dress up,” said junior Nicholas Price.
Exclusively for students, Bearstock After Dark is the perfect time to take fashion risks. Surprise your friends with a daring new look or try out that interesting trend you wouldn’t normally wear.
Most importantly, wear whatever makes you feel confident because that is when you are going to have the most fun. When you look good, you feel good.
The point of Bearstock is to bring the Mercer community together. So, pick out a killer outfit, take lots of cute pictures and make some lasting memories.
(03/06/18 9:13am)
With streaming services revolutionizing the entertainment industry, watching movies has never been easier. Yet, there is something nostalgic, almost sacred, in the experience of going to the movie theater.
Something about the dark room full of cool air, the ritual of new trailers playing before the film starts and the collectiveness of everyone staring at the same screen is distinct. It offers an escape that a 12-inch MacBook can’t provide.
The only problem is the price. Movie tickets are expensive, especially for college students who have to scrape change out of their car to pay for Ramen. A $10 ticket suddenly seems like a luxury, which is unfortunate considering how beneficial a trip to the movies can be when you’re trying to forget what a hot mess your life is.
Former Netflix Executive Mitch Lowe has tried to alleviate this problem. As CEO of MoviePass, he recently slashed the price for the movie subscription service from $50 to $9.95 a month. So, you could theoretically see 30 movies a month for less than the cost of one ticket.
Such a low price seems too good to be true and unsustainable. But, the company doesn’t just make money off its subscribers.
“Studios are paying us around two dollars per ticket we buy in exchange for us marketing their film,” Lowe said to the Washington Post. MoviePass has the potential to create a mutually beneficial relationship between moviegoers, studios and theaters where consumers get a lower price, studious get higher box office numbers and theaters subsequently make more off concessions.
When you sign up for MoviePass you will get a card in the mail after two weeks. To use the card you simply download the app, go to the theater and select the movie you wish to see, much like Fandango. The exact amount for the ticket is instantly transferred to the card and you present it at the ticket window or kiosk like you would any other debit card.
Forbes gives the service three stars out of five. Opinion writer Rob Cain described an exasperating tale of walking 25 minutes to the theater only to find the movie sold out, something the MoviePass app failed to tell him.
“The service is nice when it works and frustrating when it doesn’t,” Cain said. Getting a ticket isn’t always smooth, prompting anyone with a lack of patience to give up on the service completely. In order to get your money’s worth, you have to really want it.
MoviePass’ biggest downfall is its customer service. Their Facebook page is riddled with complaints about the slow response to customer inquiries. Yet, there are virtually no complaints regarding the service itself.
“I’ve never had one single problem with the app or service. I’ve watched over 15 movies in 3 months,” Joshua Parsons said on Facebook. What MoviePass does well is perhaps the most important thing: providing a wide selection of movies at a convenient number of theaters. There are four theaters within 20 miles of Mercer’s campus that accept MoviePass, with AmStar Stadium 16 being the closest.
College students have the most to gain using MoviePass because they usually only pay for themselves. The service is less beneficial to families who would have to open multiple subscriptions to really reap the benefits.
But there are still quirks to the system that can be trying. You can’t order tickets in advance and can only buy tickets on the app when you are within 100 feet of the theater. It also doesn’t grant access to 3D or IMAX movies.
In cities like Los Angeles or New York this is a big issue because theaters get sold out quickly. In smaller areas like Macon, however, purchasing tickets on site isn’t really as problematic since turnout is lower.
People usually see the most movies their first month before reverting back to seeing one movie a month to justify the cost of the subscription. Still, the subscription service can be exploited by the few avid movie goers who plan to milk it for all it’s worth.
(02/26/18 12:17pm)
After countless lectures and motivational posters, college students can become desensitized to the importance of safety. But as these last few weeks have exemplified, someone's safety could be threatened in an instant. Though some outside factors cannot be controlled, it is a student’s responsibility to learn everything they can to protect themselves. In other words, reading this article could be the difference between life and death.
There are an astounding number of websites like HerCampus or U.S. News that put together lists of the top 10 ways to stay safe on campus. Luckily, I’ve read all of them and am here to summarize.
Never walk alone at night. If you’re going out, know where you are going and tell your friends. Make sure your phone is charged. Be cautious, especially of strangers. Always be aware of your surroundings. Check the back of your car before you get in. Don’t post your location when you are alone.
Technology has changed safety in the past couple years.
I like to listen to loud music. With my headphones in, there could probably be a firefight behind me, and I would continue obliviously bopping along. The realization that while I’m jamming someone could easily engineer a sneak attack has subsided my enthusiasm for loud music. My well-being outweighs my desire to listen to Kelly Clarkson on full blast.
Phones have the tendency to make us unaware. Staring at your screen while you walk can feel comforting, but it is hazardous when you become oblivious to the people who could be lurking around you and the shifts in the pavement that could cause you to face plant.
However, phones can also be beneficial in sticky situations. If you are walking home alone, (which we’ve already established you shouldn’t do, but we all make mistakes) call someone. Get your mom, or your friend or the guy from Pizza Hut on the phone and keep talking to them until you are safely back in your room. If something goes wrong, they will know to get help right away.
There is also an SOS safety feature for iPhones and Samsung devices you can turn on when you feel threatened and it immediately calls emergency services if you are not responsive. For more information, look up the directions for your specific phone.
For the less faint of heart, there are tools you can carry with you like pepper spray or a taser to help with safety and peace of mind. Self-defense classes can also be beneficial and empowering.
In an effort to up my safety game, I took a Krav Maga class at the University Center with the hopes that I could fulfill my childhood dream of becoming a Power Ranger. Though a life of fighting crime is not in my future, I did learn how to utilize my elbows if I’m ever grabbed from behind.
It is better to overreact than underreact to an unsafe situation. If you feel unsafe or want to report suspicious activity, call the Mercer Police Department at 478-301-(4357).
(02/13/18 3:24am)
I would consider myself a fairly healthy person.
I often stay up until 3 a.m. watching health documentaries on Netflix. I always skip the whipped cream on my tall, double shot, extra drizzle, caramel Frappuccino. And I exercise regularly in the sense that I sometimes take the stairs.
Therefore, the ease in which sickness manifests itself within my body continues to mystify me.
Furthermore, I don’t understand the disparity between being sick at home and being sick at school. In third grade, I was sent home with a fever and promptly diagnosed with the flu. What followed was perhaps one of the greatest weeks of my life.
I got to stay in bed all day while my mom brought me soup and ginger ale. There was a delightful “Zoey 101” marathon playing on TeenNick. I read leisurely and finally figured out the rules to Solitaire.
Aside from the high fever, headaches and monstrous cough, life was good.
In contrast, I caught a cold last semester and died. I was dead. I’m pretty sure my soul left my body when I was taking a German quiz. There was no soup or ginger ale. I had no energy to read books or download “Zoey 101” off the internet.
My time was spent lying in my miniscule dorm room bed, quietly contemplating the tapestry on my wall and periodically putting one arm in the air to make sure I could still move. One question kept rattling around in my head: Why does getting sick in college suck so much?
There is the obvious distinction of having to deal with illness on your own, maybe for the first time. This means making the painful pilgrimage up those never-ending UC steps with a 102 fever for a coveted Chick-fil-A sandwich or running to Einstein’s at 11:54 p.m. because you slept all day and forgot to eat.
But friends and roommates are always empathetically ready for a quick run to the pharmacy or to grab food on the way back from class. When an epidemic breaks out on campus no one is really alone; we are all suffering together.
Yet, there is something that elevates that anguish, to make sickness in college especially miserable. Is it the inconvenience of it all?
Sure, I can compose a pleading email to my professors to get out of class for a few days, but that doesn’t mean the chapter we cover is going to fall off my syllabus magically.
Most students fall into deep denial when symptoms start to emerge. For example, if I feel especially tired I ignore it and drink extra strong coffee. If my throat starts hurting I drink some nice, warm, soothing coffee. If I have a headache I down ibuprofen and chase it with coffee.
Then when friends ask me if I’m feeling okay because I look like a literal zombie, I feel affronted. I’m fine, really. I don’t need sleep. I’m a machine. There are things to be done, and I’m going to do them even though I can’t feel my face, and my throat is quite possibly on fire.
The fear of being left behind cultivates stress and anxiety which weakens the body even more and allows sickness to flourish. The task of weighing the severity of the illness against academic importance falls squarely on the students’ shoulders.
Do we follow the advice of lifestyle bloggers everywhere and stay in bed all day while drinking copious amounts of water? Or do we power through and finish the two quizzes, three papers and one test assigned for the week? The answer is subjective, depending on the student.
I guess this is where the decision-making part of adulthood comes in. One second, let me call my mom real quick.
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(01/20/18 3:35pm)
Goodbye forever,, Target. It’s over. Done. You’ve given up on us, and I’m fine. Really, I’m not going to cry.
Because you see, Target, I’m remembering things now. Without the diverting allure of your one-dollar section or hypnotic glare of your fluorescent lights, I can finally see clearly.
I remember the time you somehow convinced me I needed a cupcake decorating kit when I had no kitchen. I remember the way your candy was just slightly overpriced.
I remember that one afternoon I came in looking for colored pencils and left with floral paper napkins, a cashmere plum scented candle, Valentine’s Day on DVD and three different kinds of nail polish.
And it wasn’t even the fact that I found the plot to Valentine’s Day stupid and Ashton Kutcher’s character infuriating that made me angry. Or the realization 26 hours later that I forgot to buy colored pencils.
It was the fact that three hours had gone by, day had turned into night, and I completely forgot where I parked my car. Nothing is more embarrassing than wandering aimlessly through a parking lot, knowing full well that several Target employees are watching your every pathetic move and not even trying to hide their laughter.
Truth be told, your bakery section is nonexistent, and your aisle numbers are confusing.
So, it’s okay that you’re leaving. Honestly, it’s for the best. Sure, I will miss your 99 cent face masks and the way you always smelled like movie theater popcorn. I will miss your perfectly stocked shelves and the pristine condition of your bathrooms.
I will miss the understanding smile of your cashier whenever I bought a pint of ice cream and a single spoon, and the comfort of devouring it in my car three minutes later.
You were always unapologetically optimistic, like how you had an entire CD section as if everyone doesn’t download music onto their phones.
And I won’t pretend I didn’t love you, Target. Maybe I still do. I know you loved me. You showed me my potential, giving me a list of all the things I will buy once I get an actual job.
I could be someone who owned five different types of scented hand sanitizer. Maybe one day I’ll have a home and stock it with the entire Magnolia Homes Collection. That could be me. I could be that person.
And as we say our final goodbyes all of these questions keep floating around in my head. Where will I go when I need wood accented picture frames? How will I adjust to my new exclusive relationship with Walmart? Why isn’t the entire store 50% off now that you’re closing?
As Feb. 3 approaches, I can’t help but reminisce about our time together. The good and the bad. I know we will see each other again. Until then I will meet you in cyberspace, while you fuel my online shopping addiction. You won’t be getting rid of me that easily.