Well, never fear because I have five tips on how to make the most of your senior year and also pass your finals. ‘Cause lets be honest; we all want out of school, but we don’t want to fail out of school.

Work on time management

This can be tough. But you have GOT to plan out your days as much as you can. Not plan as in refuse spontaneous trips to the river with your friends because you planned to be job hunting at this point. BUT plan as in, when you know nothing exciting is going to be happening, really get stuff done. If you wake up and it looks dreary outside, plan for that to be a day where you get a lot of work done. Because then when it’s beautiful the next day, you will be ready for those spontaneous trips with your friends.

Also look far ahead in your schooling schedule and do the work that will be due soon, but also do work that is due the following weeks! The more you get done on boring days, the less stressful fun days will be!

Ask for help

If you are in a group project and you feel like you are falling behind on your portion of the work, ask for help! Ask your teammates and teachers questions so that when you sit down to crank out some quality material, you will know exactly what needs to be done. AND you will only have to do it once.

If you are a senior, like me, and applying for jobs, it can be tough to set aside time to actually get that done. But I am sure you have a teacher in your department that you know and trust. Go to them and ask them to help you figure something out so that you apply where you want and on time. They can also look over your resume and make sure it is in top shape for those future employers.

Don’t procrastinate

This is kind of similar to number 1, but different because doing things when you plan to do them will make your fun day and night trips a lot more enjoyable. Don’t let things wait until the last minute, otherwise you are going to be stuck having to choose between doing a project due the next day or doing something fun with your friends outside. No one wants to have to make that choice, the FOMO will be very real. Trust me.

Join/Make study groups

I’m hoping this never happens to you, but sometimes it is unavoidable to have to miss a friend outing because of school work. That is OKAY! Make some friends in class and suggest meeting to study or work on your project together. This way, you might be missing out on some fun with you friends, but you won’t be hauled up in your room alone all day. You could suggest meeting outside on campus, or sitting outside a Starbucks, because DUH free wifi. Either way, allowing yourself these little bits of happiness and freedom will make the whole experience a lot more enjoyable!

Have fun!

Don’t let the stress get to you. The more you stress, the less enjoyable your last few weeks will be. You should enjoy school, not completely rush through it. So take the time to learn a little bit, because it might be useful in the long run.

But also, have fun with your friends, because we are only in college once. And we aren’t here for very long!

I know that I get seasonal affective disorder also known as SAD. I know it’s kind of a funny name, but it is very real. When I go for months without seeing the sun it will change my mood. I wont realize that I am withdrawing from my friends and life until I see the sun again. When the sun comes back out I will suddenly realize what this lack of sun has done to me!

So I like to take full advantage of soaking up the sun as soon as it appears and I compiled a list of things I like to do when spring rolls around.

Go for a run/walk

The easiest time of the year to be healthy is the Spring. I mean it’s so beautiful outside that it’s comfortable to exercise outdoors. Going for a jog around your neighborhood or on a trail is one of my favorite things to do. But when I don’t feel like running, walking is my second favorite option. It is so relaxing and nice to just be outdoors, with friends or with your thoughts.

Read outside

One of my favorite things to do is read a book outside. Whether it be on a bench or on my own deck in the sun, it is so relaxing. Finding a good book to dive into is a gift in itself and so to be able to listen to the wind and feel the sun just honestly makes the experience better.

Go to a body of water

I know this is a funny sub-title. But any body of water will do. The only thing spring reminds me of is being in the sun and going to the river. At my school we have a big river near by, that everyone likes to go to on the weekends when the sun is out. It is such a fun time! So get out to a body of water, catch those rays and enjoy some company!

Force your friends to go on a park picnic with you

If going swimming isn’t your thing, that’s totally cool. But no one can tell me that eating isn’t their thing. Going to a nice park with some friends and bringing some sandwiches, ice cream and maybe a Frisbee is always a good idea. Just enjoying some quality time with the people you care about will make any day better.

All in all, when Spring comes around, GET OUTDOORS. The time of being a hermit in the warmth of your bed is over! Find some cool outdoor activities to go to in your area! Like street fairs or farmer’s markets are both awesome options! Just get out into the sun and do something!

My solution to this is journaling. Whenever I feel like I have a million thoughts bouncing around or when I feel like I want to rip by best friend’s head off for some silly reason, I write in my journal. I honestly think this is the best solution. It is a safe place for you to just get things out of your head. It does wonders. Having these thoughts in your head lets them fester and develop into a HUGE deal, when it isn’t a huge deal. Taking the time to get those thoughts out of your head and onto some paper can do wonders for your sanity. Sometimes writing it out helps you figure out what you want to say to the person that is bugging you and really figure out what the issue is and the most effective and sensitive way to go about discussing it is. Or sometimes writing it down makes you realize you are overreacting and that the real reason you are upset is because you had a rough day! (This is my conclusion more often than not.)

I also think there is a lot to be said from being away from a screen. We are constantly being bombarded with information and these screens shove this information down our throats. I can honestly say that I get tired of screens. sometimes I want to be away for a minute and just enjoy my thoughts or enjoy getting rid of them.

Allowing myself to think away from the temptation of social media really helps me to remind me that I am worth it. I am worth taking care of myself, physically and mentally. Being mentally healthy is just as important, if not more important than being physically healthy. You have to allow yourself to be aware of your feelings and understand them. The best way I have found to do this is by using a journal.

Journaling can also be great for when you are feeling awesome and have wonderful thoughts in your head. Writing down the thoughts you have that are positive can be great to read back on when you aren’t having a good day. For example, when I went abroad I took a journal with me. I wrote in it almost every day to document what I was doing and how I was feeling. Reading it back reminds me of those happy days and reminds me to remember things aren’t as bad as they seem. It is so easy to fall into a pit of unhappiness but having these memories to read back reminds me what I have to look forward to. Life happens in cycles;  reading about the good times reminds me to not let the bad times get to me.

I challenge you to try writing in a journal every once in a while. It only takes 40 days to make a habit, so try it out!

I know starting to journal can be intimidating, because we don’t want to let emotions out, we’re used to keeping a good face for the benefit of others. So start with simple things: what you did that day and how you felt about it. Write about how the weather made you feel, or what you ate and how good it was. Something that annoyed you or something awesome that happened. Write about when you got an A on a test or when you got a D.

The best part about a journal is that it is literally only for your eyes. You can write as much or as little as you want!

Those are just a few ideas to get you to start writing. Happy writing!

Sometimes being healthy can get hard, so I use these tips to keep me on track and excited about being healthy.

Set goals for yourself and follow through!

Be realistic. Do you want to lose weight? Tone muscle? Figure out what you want and why you want it. Then figure out how you are going to do it. Once you figure out your goal and tactics, use that as fuel to keep it up and follow through. If you want to lose 5 lbs in a month to fit into those jeans you love, keep remind yourself of that. Whenever I feel like I am slipping and craving ice cream I remind myself why I am doing this.

My big tip for when craving a dessert is simple: make a dessert. Don’t deny yourself little pleasures, just redefine what dessert is! So instead of ice cream, I have Greek yogurt and fruit with a little Splenda. SO GOOD- honestly, try it!

Eat clean 90% of the time allows for the 10% junk food happiness

Eat healthy and clean 90% of the time. At beginning of the week, look at your schedule. Look at times during the week that you can use that 10% up and use that to fuel your healthy fire. Don’t eat junk food for no reason. If you go to see a movie with friends, that is the perfect time to get popcorn. Sitting on the couch alone at midnight, might not be the best time to eat popcorn.

Another rule is don’t eat after 10pm if you can help it. Your body needs more time to digest before you go to bed.

Reward yourself for sticking with little goals

Reward yourself, but not with food. When you reach your goal, or even reach little goals along the way to your larger goal, reward yourself with little treats like a pedicure or a pamper night full of rom-coms and face masks. Just do not center your reward around food. Because remember, you deserve to be pampered and you deserve to treat your body like a temple. That includes what you put into it, so treat yo self!

Stay hydrated

Being hydrated does WONDERS for your overall health. You’ll be peeing like a race horse for the first week but then your body will get used to it. We hold a lot more water weight then you think, so drinking water constantly will reduce bloating and will just overall make you feel better. If you start to get bored with the taste of water, get some sugar-free crystal light! (Crystal light is another awesome treat for when you are craving something sweet!)

The most IMPORTANT thing: Love yourself!

You need to make the change to be healthy out of love. Otherwise you will fail the second you feel like the results aren’t what you were expecting. You need to love yourself enough to know that you are beautiful, but eating healthy and being active are just ways to make you feel better and stronger. You are human. You are allowed to eat that bar of chocolate when you want it. Don’t deny yourself those little treats of happiness all the time. All it will lead to is you beating yourself up when you do “cave.”

Becoming healthy is a practice. It’ll become a habit before you know it, but the first step is to decide that you want to take care of your body. You only have one, so don’t hesitate to treat it with kindness.

What do you do to be healthy? Leave your own tips in the comments! 

We have stopped living our lives for ourselves and we have started living for the likes, the funny RT-worthy tweets, and the amount of jealousy we can create with our Snapchat stories.

If you’re anything like me, then this constant pull toward social media can be exhausting and cause copious amounts of stress. I was struggling with this social media craze and was tired of how I would feel like shit after a day of obsessing over my social media presence. So I decided to do something about it. I deleted my Instagram and Snapchat. I needed a break in order to save my mental health. I needed to cut myself off cold turkey so that I could start thinking for myself and not think through the eyes of my followers and peers.

Changing your own personal thought process and mindset is difficult but it can be done. I’ve compiled a few steps to make this process a little easier.

Give your mind (and ego) a break

Take some time away from social media. Give yourself some time to remember who you are away from the likes and the comments. The great part about social media is we can be constantly involved with other humans and never have to feel alone. But that is also the problem. Being constantly involved and stimulated is not always a good thing. Sometimes feeling a little alone is not a bad thing.

Try to do one thing a day you don’t showcase on social media

Social media is meant for showing off and telling people what is going on in your life. It is a really awesome thing. But I can honestly say that doing something and not telling anyone about it through social media is kind of invigorating. Which is really sad… but it’s true. I get a weird excitement from knowing that this thing is uniquely mine that no one, but who I am with, knows what I am doing. Allowing yourself to do something without the pressure of social media, allows you to experience the event in its entirety by itself. No need to worry about getting the perfect Instagram, you can focus on what is actually happening instead.

Do a social media cleanse

Delete accounts you don’t use and clean up the ones you do. It is really nice to know exactly what is out there and what channels of social media it is on. Keeping things clean and controlling what goes out into the Interwebs is really important. Not only for future employers, but also for yourself. Gotta leave some things to the imagination right?

Switch to reading books and writing in a journal

I know this sounds crazy from someone who writes a blog- telling you to get off your computer, but it really is important. Giving your eyes a break from the glare of a computer screen is really good for your eyes. Give your mind a break from being stimulated and let yourself think. Read a book and use your imagination, write in a journal and let your creative juices flow. There is a lot of be said for taking a pen to paper. All good writers will tell you that.

Realize that every person is going through the same thought process as you, so DON’T STRESS

I know it is so easy to say, Hakunma Matata from the outside. But honestly. Try to change your thinking, change the basis of how you think and your attitude will follow. Making a conscious effort will improve your attitude. It is incredibly hard if you’re addicted to social media, but you can do it. Allowing yourself to be free of judgment online is invigorating. Stop doing things for other people and start doing things for you.

Have you ever done a social media cleanse? Let’s talk in the comments!