11 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Became a College Freshman.

1. Everything your mother has ever told you is true. 
- Wait what? Your mom actually knows what she's talking about? Heck yes she does. You know that boy she's been saying is no good? He's not. She keeps telling you to save your money. But do you? No. You should though. She tells you to be nice to everyone. Are you? She tells you to help out around the house, because these are skills you'll need later in life.... Do you help?
     Mom's have this weird sixth sense when it comes to their children, somehow they know exactly what you need to know for all instances in life. You want to know how they get this sixth sense? They were teenagers also. And it wasn't as long ago as you think. We think our parents are some far-removed generation whose problems were totally different than ours. Yeah, maybe technology has improved a hundred fold, but problems with boys, friends, and girls were exactly the same. They still had tests to take, homework to do, and college to plan for. Just like you. Moms have been through everything you have, and they had to do it all without cell phones. That deserves applause in itself. So listen to your mother, because no matter how much she nags, it's in your best interest.

2. Save ALL the money you possibly can. 
- Do you know how much it costs to be on your own? A butt-load. Just to name a few things you have to pay for when you move out: Rent. Car payment. Insurance. Laptop. Textbooks. Cell phone. Utilities. Gas. Groceries. School. Internet. Clothes. Soap. Shampoo and Conditioner. And so so much more. As soon as you leave your parents house, you become poor. So very poor. In high school, they never tell you just how much living costs. It will be a huge wake up call as soon as your savings run out. I once heard a quote that says "University teaches you how the world financially screws you over, while financially screwing you over." and it is so true. I wish there was a way to show you just how much you need to save your money... But i'll just leave you with this little nugget of information. When your in college, your bank account is under $1 way more than you'd like to believe. That's right. ONE DOLLAR.

3. Be nice to EVERYONE.
- Highschool is one big jerk fest. No matter how much you'd like to believe that you are that one person who is nice to everyone, chances are there is someone who has been wronged by you. Make sure that before you graduate, you make it right. Once you are out of high school you realize that none of the superficial bull crap mattered. There is no reason that anyone should be treated less than. If there is someone that you have ignored, or maybe thought "Oh, they're too nerdy," please try and make an effort toward them. Since leaving high school I have found out that some of the people
I missed out on meeting in high school, are some of the best people I have ever met!

4. Learn to cook.
- Ramen is really good right? Yeah, until the 200th time you have it for lunch. Learn to make easy, one serving meals now. Spend a couple nights in the kitchen with your mom learning how to make REAL food. Peanut butter and jelly can only satisfy you for so long. Being malnourished can lead to problems like sickness. And you don't want to get sick when you are paying for things on your own. Medicine is super expensive. Even the generic brand.

5. Study hard.
- D's get degrees in college. But D's don't get you a high school diploma. Or a college scholarship. Your GPA is so important. It will determine how many hours you have to work on top of all of the hours of homework you will have. In my 2 semesters of college I have gone to 2 schools. Snow College, where I had a full ride scholarship. And Weber State University, where I have no scholarship. My GPA is good enough to have a full ride, I just applied too late. (but that's a whole other story) And let me tell you, working and taking 20 credit hours is not the way that you want to do things. It puts so much stress onto you. For a while I thought that there was something physically wrong with me from they way I reacted to that stress. It's ridiculous. So, GET GOOD GRADES.

6. Stay close to what you know.
- Life gets hard. And if you are religious at all, God is what will get you through it. Yeah, maybe you hate going to church right now and your parents have to drag you out of bed every Sunday morning and forcibly drag you to the car, but you'll thank them later. I am definitely not the strongest person in my religion, not by a long shot. But when times get tough, at least I have something to lean on. By my parents example and the rough mornings of them dragging me to church, I learned things that I needed to use later on in life to get me through some of my roughest days. If you are religious, or even just spiritual (and there is a big difference) hold on to that. It will help you through all of your trials.

7. Party hard. 
- Friends are the best. The best memories you will ever make are the ones you make in high school. High school is the time when nobody really cares what you do. Teenagers can get away with so much because they are teenagers. Everyone knows that they are supposed to get into trouble. So have some fun (not ILLEGAL fun though). Stay out late. Dance in the street. Kiss people. Watch some sunsets. Go to concerts. Just make some sweet memories.

8. Keep exercising.
- The freshman 15 is a real thing. Oh boy is it so real. You may think that you are fat now, but just wait. Once you are out of school and don't do sports anymore, you don't have a mom to cook nutritious meals for you, and you have free time that you fill with Netflix and snacking, you get fat. Oh so fat. Your health is one of the only things you can control in this life, so take good care of it. Run. Hike. Jump. Climb. Ski. Snowboard. Anything. Just don't become passive. Most colleges have a free gym you can use. So take advantage of it. Find some buddies, and keep each other in check. Exercising is so much better when you do it with friends. And realizing you can't fit into your old skinny jeans anymore is an awful feeling. So GET FIT. And STAY FIT.

9. Take tons of pictures.
- Your memory is not as good as you think it is.  You may think that you will never forget your first date, or the last day of your senior year, but you will. There are so many memories that I wish I had taken a picture of. Like the first time I drove to school. Or the first time a boy asked me on a date. Or one of the (many) times I climbed on top of the video stand on the football field. There are so many great memories I have that I have no proof of. And I'm sure I have many more that I have forgotten about because I have nothing to remind me of them. Pictures are worth a thousand words. And your kids will have so much fun looking through them. I look through my parents pictures all the time and wish I had more to show my future children.

10. Keep your friends close. Even the not so good ones. 
- Soon everyone will leave. All of your friends will go their separate ways, wether that be missions, going off to school, or just wanting to leave the state. And soon only a handful will be left. Chances are, they're not going to be the friends you were closest to in high school. So keep in touch with everyone that you can. Friends are an amazing support system to have when you are going through a rough patch. And college so far, has been a big pile of rough patches. I don't know what I would do if I didn't stay close with my best friend from high school. But I wish I had stayed close with EVERYONE. I have started to rebuild many friendships, but it would have been a lot easier if I had just kept them strong in the first place. Friends are the family that you can choose. So choose wisely.

11. Make your own decision on your next steps.
- If your friends jumped off a cliff, would you? No. So if your friends are going to a college that isn't a good fit for you, then you shouldn't go. Your college experience will only be good if it is a good fit for you. I made this mistake. I followed my best friend to her college and thought that since it was a good fit for her, it would be a good fit for me. It definitely wasn't. I ended up coming home and going to Weber State which was the best decision I have made so far in my life. I enjoy going to school every day instead of dreading it. The classes are challenging, and they will help me be competitive in getting into my program. I am so glad that I realized that I needed to do what was best for me instead of what was the most fun. College is a very important part of your life, so choose wisely. 

     In closing, college is awesome. But so is high school. So enjoy it while you can and don't be in too big of a rush to grow up. It's important to cherish these moments. Because life is about to get a lot harder. But it's also about to get A LOT better. So hold tight. And party hard. I'll see you all in the real world soon enough. :)

- Morgan.

Being Trendy Isn't (Necessarily) Cool. But Being Yourself Is.

     We all try to keep up with the latest trends right?

 Do you want to know about the newest trend that has recently been sweeping the nation? 

(Or at least should be.) 

*BEING YOURSELF* 

     We all look around and see these people (...To be gender neutral. But it's mostly girls.)  who seem to have it all together. They wear the trendy clothes, listen to the underground bands, and know exactly whats going on with pop culture. America seems to idolize them and tell YOU that you're not up-to-par if you're not doing what they are doing, looking how they're looking, or listening to what they're listening to. And that...... is ridiculous. 

     Who gets to dictate what is "in" and what is "out"? There are WAY more important things to be worried about. Like what college you are going to go to, what career you are going to pursue, or what kind of person you will be.  Life is way too short to be worrying about such trivial things such as looks or music. 

-DISCLAIMER: If you wear trendy clothes or listen to cool music because it TRULY makes YOU happy, then go for it. And don't let anyone bring you down.-

     CLOTHES: Your should get ready for the day to impress you and only you. Wear your favorite T-shirt any time you wake up on the wrong side of the bed. (I honestly believe I get good energy and I have a better attitude when I wear my Star Wars shirt) As long as your not being grossly unhygienic who really cares? Why should you get dressed to impress people who really DO NOT care? Do any of us go around and think..."Oh man she wore that awful green top three weeks ago, I can't talk to her."? If you do you need to be flicked in the ear.  

     MUSIC: This one really kills me. Why do we think that listening to any kind of music makes us better than anyone else? No one looks at you and says "Oh my gosh, you've heard of ________? You must be sooooo cool." Music is meant to be enjoyed by the masses. That's why artists make it. They want to make MONEY. Not cater to one person. If you think you're better than someone else because of who you listen to, your life is going to be one rough wave to ride. 

     LOOKS: Every human is beautiful. No matter how many zits you have on your face. No matter how many extra pounds you carry around. Recently in college I've been taking anatomy and learning about this amazing piece of meat we call our body. Do you know how cool you are??? You are like a perfectly tuned machine that can repair itself. You have muscles that can move just by one simple thought sent from your crazy amazing brain! I don't know how to explain except for YOU ARE A MIRACLE. 

     POP CULTURE: I can not read magazines any more. The media is so poisonous and wretched. They make these "stars" we worship into the best people you could hope to look up to.  I don't want my future girls looking up to overly-sexualized girls on TV. Or my future boys looking up to the big jerks from Jersey Shore. I want my kids to look up to people who make a REAL difference in life. The people who don't get the recognition they deserve because they aren't in movies or music. 

     What I hope you get from this is... Don't follow the crowd unless what they're doing truly makes you happy. You can wear the trendy clothes and listen to the cool music if that make you happy. But if you're only following the crowd because its the "Cool thing to do" then search for those things that bring a smile to your face, not the face of the masses. You need to live your life in the way that brings you joy and happiness! 

     On the other hand if you're not doing the "mainstream things" just to seem cool, then that's not fulfilling either. But if it makes you happy then please don't stop. 

     Finding balance is hard. But if you can, then your life will be so fulfilling and so amazing that you can't find one thing wrong with it, because you are constantly doing things to make YOU happy. 

     You know what matters most though? People. People matter. and we should all remember that we are all just people placed on this Earth to become the best us we can be. No one is fighting a battle any less important than yours. Everyone has hidden trials that they are overcoming that you have no idea about. You never know when you could be the straw that breaks the camels back. 

Please..BE KIND. 

     AT THE END OF THE DAY NO ONE WILL CARE WHAT YOU LOOKED LIKE.

THEY WILL ONLY CARE ABOUT HOW YOU TREATED THEM.

Have a lovely week.

-Morgan.

Mean Girls and Dance Competitions.

 I don’t know why I chose this for my first blog post, but I’m hoping i’ll figure it out by the end of this sentence… I still don’t know.

     There is nothing more unattractive than a mean girl. Girls think its so cute to put down other girls’ clothes, hair, and bodies just to get a good laugh from the boys surrounding them, and it’s become ridiculous. 

     I recently attended a drill competition (Basically a dance competition for those of you who don’t know) for my local high school and found myself appalled. I was sitting in front of a rag tag group of high school students, just enjoying myself and watching the dances with much scrutiny (being a retired drill team member myself) when I heard the buzz of female gossip behind me. So of course being naturally inquisitive I tuned into their conversation, and was quite literally filled with rage at what I heard going on behind me… They were commenting on a certain girls appearance in her costume. Not just “Oh, that is not very flattering on her” but “OH MY GOSH SHE IS SO FAT. WHY DOES SHE THINK SHE CAN WEAR THAT IN FRONT OF EVERYONE? I’M GOING TO THROW UP.” I almost turned around and punched her. But my mom taught me better than that. 

1. That girl had NO CHOICE. When you are on the drill team, no matter how big you are, you have to wear the same costume as the skinniest girl on the team. Drill is all about being one body. Moving, breathing, and looking like the same person is a big part of your score!

2. That girl was doing something she loved. You could tell by the way she threw herself into the dance and had such a genuine smile on her face that she was genuinely enjoying herself. What were the girls on the bleachers doing with their lives? From what I gathered, their days consisted of straightening their hair, getting fake tans, and vying for the attention of any boy they laid their eyes on. 

3. Last but not least I used to be that girl. So their comments hit home. 

I’m the one on the right. You’d never look at me and think “Man, she’s obese” But when you’re on a team of 20 other skinny minis, that’s how you feel. You look at them and realize, your costumes don’t fit quite right, or your legs look the size of Russia, when everyone else’s are twigs.

Halfway through my senior year I realized I was sick and tired of feeling that way so I stopped giving myself time to eat. Except at lunch. So no, I did not have an eating disorder, I’m not claiming to have an eating disorder, i’m claiming a hectic life. I got down to my lowest weight of my high school experience (145) and I was ON TOP OF THE WORLD. Boys gave me attention, my costumes started to fit better (but still not quite right) and I felt so good. Until some girls took it upon themselves to make comments about me one day at lunch. I had problems with them for a few years prior (boy drama, a whole other problem entirely) and they decided to tear me down one more time…. right where it hurt. I was wearing leggings that day and as I passed their table one said “Damn, does she really think she can pull those off? Look at her legs.” and I died inside. 

No one should have to feel that way about themselves. 

Girls are so brutal. They know exactly what to say to put other girls down and they don’t try to stop themselves (or other girls, I don’t think i’ve ever seen another girl stop her friends from gossiping about someone, even when you can see the uncomfortable look in her eyes.) I don’t understand why girls are the way that they are. 

If anyone reading this is having trouble with girls, my advice to you is GET SOME EAR PLUGS. Those girls will never amount to anything. A bad ass attitude only gets you so far in life.

It gets you a crappy boyfriend who doesn’t treat you like you deserve, because the good guys look for the good girls. (Not so much in high school, but in real life. You know….The kind that starts after high school)

It gets you a part time job at McDonalds or Wal-Mart, because employers of high-end companies want someone they can depend on that will bring a good energy into their workspace and they can sense the kind of person you are from you walking into a room.

It gets you 3 screaming kids who get into all kinds of trouble in school, because you did not take the time to learn to be kind to others, so who will teach them?? It was your job. 

And it starts a vicious cycle. There will ALWAYS be mean girls. There will always be someone to put you down. But you have to remember to DO THE THINGS THAT MAKE YOU HAPPY. And if that means having that extra slice of pizza…. girl you go for it. If it means wearing a bikini even if you’ve got a few extra pounds to shed….GO FOR IT. Don’t coast through life doing things halfway and not having as much fun as you possibly can just because you feel the need to conform to everyone else’s standards of beauty or brains. 

And that’s my rant. If you are one of those mean girls, I feel sorry for you. Because being mean and putting people down never gets you anywhere in life. Pick a new hobby before it’s too late. 

- Morgan.