I don’t know if it’s the weather, or the fact I left my heated blanket at home, but I have never been so homesick in my entire life. I honestly think a lot of it comes from the stress of school right now and how I wish I was just back in highschool kind of. When life was easier, where one homework assignment would not take hours and I could nap every single day and my mom would make me dinner instead of crusty dining hall food. I miss my cats, I will insert a picture of them. (Even though this blog is a few hours late I’m not sure who is reading this but I will anyway because they are so cute).

I miss my queen sized bed with my heated and weighted blanket. I miss my sister, she is my best friend. She is still in high school, and has the audacity to complain about that. I miss my mom because we are literally the same person, and I miss my dad because I love beating him in Mario Kart. I sound like an actual toddler right now but I don’t care.

Also sorry that all my blogs are just complaints now…it’s just that type of semester.

I especially miss my friends. Oh my god I miss my friends so much. Of course I have friends here but there is something about my home friends that makes me wish summer was here right now so I can go back to daily coffee dates and beach trips.

I feel like most people are homesick, and we do have spring break next week, but I have been having an awful semester, and I need to be home. I need to leave school here for a while and the social pressure of going out every weekend needs to chill. I am 50 year old woman stuck in a teenagers body I cannot take more than one night out a week. And that’s a stretch.

ANYWAY, I hope you are all having a better semester than me and if you are in the same boat as me, we are so close to spring break don’t lose hope, (even though I already have).

These past few weeks of school have been the most stressful weeks of my entire existence thus far. This is because I have never had this much on my plate ever. I had three exams last week…don’t ask me how they went. On top of studying for three exams which were all in a row, I had homework for all my classes to add to my academic stress. I think the worst part of it all was that I did not understand a single thing I was learning in my Stat class. If you are in Stat 200 with Buchanon you know my pain.

On top of all that I am in 3 different clubs so I am missing meetings left and right to stay on top of school work. I am also on a THON committee which I mentioned last week. This is a large time commitment for me because there is a bunch of work that I do outside of our weekly meetings. Especially with THON approaching so soon, there have been longer meetings, sending me to bed by earliest 1 am.

I also mentioned that I joined a sorority recently. From bid day, to spring break is when we are considered “new members”, so during this period we have activities to do every single day. These are bonding activities which are essential to making friends and becoming closer with your pledge class, which is just all the other girls who received a bid. These are awesome opportunities but they take up almost every single day of the week. In addition to that, I am on the hunt for a Big. If you don’t know what a Big is, I honestly don’t know how to explain it but the point is that takes time from my schedule as well.

Now thanks for letting me complain I am aware none of you need to hear my complaints because every single one of us is busy and stressed but sometimes you just have to let it out.

So here is how I manage my stress. Every night before I go to bed I write in a gratitude journal which is just a tool for reflection where I write about good things that happened in the day and what I am thankful for. This is extremely important to keep a positive attitude because it is so easy to get overwhelmed and explode, so it is essential that after a long day you still take the time to look back on the good parts.

I also am a believer in essential oils, not that they can cure illness or anything like that but they are relaxing in nature and I diffuse them everyday. And finally the most important thing is sleep. Although I don’t get much of it, sleep is so important especially to avoid getting sick.

Thanks for letting me rant guys!

I’m from New Jersey, no I don’t know Snooki and yes Wawa is better than Sheetz. But since I am from New Jersey I never had min Thon, like most of the Pennsylvania High Schools had. So prior to applying to Penn State I honestly never knew what THON was. Quickly after applying and being accepted I read into Thon and what it was all about.

Unfortunately cancer is something I have been familiar with since a young age. I have had family members die from cancer and I have known countless people that have battled cancer and won. One thing I never even thought about growing up though, was that kids could get cancer. This wasn’t me being dumb, this was me being young and oblivious. I thought how could kids be struck with such an evil disease? Until my mom told me that our family friend, Julianna, who was just 7 had cancer. I remember crying in my room all alone because I did not understand how someone the same age as my younger sister could have cancer. Granted I was very young as well so this was all new to me hearing that someone I had grown up with and played with had cancer.

(I am happy to say Julianna kicked cancer’s butt and she has been in remission for a really long time and she is doing amazing!)

Coming to Penn State I knew I wanted to be involved in Thon but I honestly thought Thon was a club you had to join. I did not know that all the greek orgs were involved in Thon, that there were orgs and committees and countless ways to contribute to Thon. I decided I would sign up for a committee even though I had no idea what that entailed in the slightest. I submitted my application and a few days later I got an email to sign up for an interview. I was freaking out because I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I went to the interview and I was extremely nervous but I guess I hid that pretty well because I got the position on a hospitality committee.

That day feels like it was just last week and I cann0t believe Thon is in 8 days. It blows my mind that what I have been waiting for the entire year is almost here. I feel like I have not quite grasped how amazing Thon is because I feel like you need to experience it to truly understand the magnitude. But week by week at our meetings, I learn about how I am actually making a difference and that makes me feel like I am creating a full circle.

From the little girl that sat and cried in her room feeling helpless, watching the people she loved be diagnosed with cancer, to having the opportunity to fundraise for Thon through my sorority, and of course all the work I have done on my committee. I will get to serve the dancers and the families food during Thon weekend which is  an amazing experience to be on the floor and working one on one with the most integral parts of Thon (dancers and families).  I could not have asked for a better experience this year leading up to Thon and I am ecstatic for Thon weekend 2020!!!

At this point I’m not sure who is reading whos blog, and who read my blog from last semester, so I will give a quick recap of an important part of my blog last semester.

Last semester I really tried to eat clean (no processed foods) and exercise daily. For a while I was doing really well with this, I was eating very healthy, exercising and losing weight which was my goal. However, winter break hit me like a 16 wheeler, and I ate like an absolute animal.  I was eating cookies for breakfast, Mozzarella sticks for dinner, and basically just caving at every single craving I had. I gained back every single pound I lost. And not to mention, I was barely going to the gym.

Coming back to school I knew I had to get back on track. The first few weeks of the semester were rough, mostly due to rush. During rush I was all over the place every single day and I never had time to sit down and have a proper meal. And forget about the gym. I did not even touch my sneakers. However…starting this week I am, hopefully, back on track! For now…

It is honestly just such a struggle for me to put all my eff0rt into eating because I truly love food and love eating everything that is not good for you. It is easy for me to go the gym, especially when I have a workout plan to follow, but I know I won’t see results if my eating is atrocious.

So I came back with a better plan. I made a well thought out workout routine, giving myself breaks when I need them. And I have been practicing eating what I enjoy in moderation. First semester I would force myself to cut out all the foods I loved and honestly I was sad…my friends even told me during dinner I looked sad while I ate. I let myself give in once or twice a week. Which is natural considering it is a change that needs time to adjust to.

I am not doing this for any other reason but to be confident in myself. I have gone too many summers unhappy with myself. In all honestly I have no reason to be unhappy. I am very healthy, I just want to tone and be confident.

If I fall off the wagon again, it will be a rough summer….