Madeline Kinsey

As the holidays are approaching very quickly, many people are starting to get their holiday shopping done. To be honest, I usually wait until the last possible minute to get gifts for people because I never know what to get people. I feel like as we get older we are somewhat expected to get gifts for your friends and family. Not saying that’s a bad thing but it can get super stressful when you are trying to find gifts for so many people with different likes and dislikes. The purpose of this blog is to guide and help you along your way when you are starting to shop for people for the holidays. It should be something that should be a fun thing to do and not be stressful. The sooner you know it, it will be December 23rd and you will be empty handed scrambling to get gifts for your loved ones. The way I look at it is no one is going to look at your gift and tell you them hate it straight to your face (I mean at least I hope…). I think of it as its the thought that counts. Here are some tips and tricks to help you with your shopping:

1. You do not need to be spending $150 on every person you are getting a gift for (MAKE A BUDGET). This is an important one, I think it is more of what you put into the gift than how much you are spending. For me, I don’t ever look at the price tag of how much the gift is, I just appreciate that that person thought of me.
2. GO ONLINE. This is an aspect with shopping that I feel like many people forget about. Many major retailers like Target, Amazon, and Best Buy have some of the best deals during the holidays. You do not need to be buying the gifts from the exact brand because chances are the item is way cheaper somewhere else.
3. MAKE A LIST. Making a list can be crucial when doing your Holiday shopping. This will ensure that you stay organize and also so you don’t go completely overboard when trying to buy gifts for however many people.
4. SPEND MONEY, GET IT BACK. Throughout the years I have noticed that so many people use different apps for discounts and getting many deals for what they are ordering. I have been using the computer app called “HONEY”. I highly recommend this app because it scans the entire internet for the best deals on what you are buying online. You can also receive money back earning points and using this app every time you decide to shop online.
5. SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESSES. This is one of my favorite tips that I have. I love walking around my downtown during this time of year and visiting all the small shops. They have so many unique gifts for so many different types of people. I notice that whenever I get a gift for someone from a local business it is more heartfelt and more unique type of gift.

Happy Shopping!!!

Before coming to Penn State I was very nervous about how I was going to manage all my work and social life. Obviously your first semester as a college student is going to be difficult. You are goin to have a hard time adjusting the lifestyle from being home to doing everything on your own and having many different things to worry about throughout the week. I fell like I have come close enough to the end of my first semester that I can reflect about what I could do better for my next semesters at college and what I will continue to do. I would like to look back on this blog at the end of next semester and see growth on what I wanted to improve on for next semester. One thing I really would like to start doing is getting up at 7:30-8:00 every morning next semester. Obviously that is not always going to happen depending on how much homework I have the night before but I would like to make it an ongoing habit. It has been very difficult for me to wake up early because in high school I would finish my homework by 8 and be in bed by 10. In college, I notice that I have a lot bigger work load than high school which makes it very difficult to finish my homework by 8, and that does not even include studying. When people said that in college you have a more rigorous course load, now I definitely know what they mean by that. One aspect that I will continue to do all throughout college is not skip my classes if I don’t have to. Yes, sometimes you have to due to illness or other important things. But, there has been many times where I feel so unmotivated to go to class. Though, I push through it and know I will feel very productive after walking out of the class I really didn’t want to go to. It is so easy to get into the habit of skipping class, especially when you don’t have someone like your parents telling you that you HAVE to go and you have no other choice. This is one of the few things that I am very proud of. I have not given into any of the pressures of skipping class, even though many people do do it often.

I created this blog to try to make you reflect on your first semester of college. This is a great way to try and find the things you struggle with and the strengths that you have. I plan to make a list of my strengths and weaknesses after every semester or year of college. I think it will be a great way to grow through your years of college and become more motivated and confident for the years to come.

I know what you are probably thinking by the title of this blog. It is so early, why is she already thinking about New Years Resolutions when it is the beginning of November. Well, for starters I have never thought about my resolutions this early until this year. I normally always wait until December 31st to choose my resolution and most of the time I don’t think about it again after that. Instead of making my New Years Resolution my January Resolution, Im going to try my absolute hardest this year to stretch it out until the end. Ive been thinking about the resolutions in the passed and they mostly consisted of being nicer to my siblings, eat less junk food, do more chores, etc. SO basically, the basic ones. They aren’t well though out and most of us forget about them in a month anyway, maybe even two weeks after if you are like me. As I said before, I really would like my resolution to be well thought out and planned. I have a few ideas about what I want it to be. Some of these ideas include keep a 3.5 GPA all through my second semester of college to my third semester. If I can do that it will give me motivation going after the third semester and into all the rest of my semesters at Penn State University. My second resolution I was thinking about is every week finishing my homework for the week before Thursday so I don’t have to worry about it through the weekend when I am hanging out with my friends. Not only do I think this is a good resolution, I think it will lower my stress levels as well. If I plan out my week well enough, I can definitely finish my homework by the end of Thursday night. I feel as if I know how to manage my time better after almost completing my first semester at school. I have a few friends that do no homework Sundays. So basically that is when you finish all your homework up until Monday so you can have a relaxed Sunday and not have to worry about anything through the weekend. I think this is such a great idea and amazing habit to get into as a college student. The third and final idea I have is probably one I am not going to wind up doing but it is my last idea that I guess I could choose from. This is making a meal plan for every week at school. At first I was thinking this is such a good idea especially because I have started to workout more. Though, the more I think about it is is so hard as a freshmen to plan out your meals for the week  because  you get most of your meals from the dining haul or from restaurants downtown. I think I am going to save this resolution for when I have an apartment with my roommates next year as a sophomore so then I can go grocery shopping and really plan out what I am earring for the week. What are some of your New Year Resolutions for 2022?!?!?

As I talked about before, I love to run. Cardio is a way for me to de-stress and take everything I was worried about before, put it in a box, and lock it away. Though recently, my friend and I have been starting to lift and I have added it into my workout routine. I never was one to lift because I am very gym shy. My friend has been very helpful in making sure I have been keeping the right form and doing each exercise correctly. My confidence at the gym has gotten so much better since I now have a friend to workout with. I also have switched where I workout on campus. Most freshmen do use the IM building because it is very close to East Halls. Even though I am 5 minutes tops away from the IM building I now prefer the White Building. The White Building I think has more room, better machines, and also is less crowded. I highly recommend trying to go to the White Building if you have the chance.  In this blog I am going to be talking about some of my favorite exercises with weights and machines and how to keep the right form so you can try them out and not get hurt. I will be covering one exercise for legs, calves, back, biceps, triceps, and abs.

The first exercise I am going to talk about is the leg press. Leg press is a machine that works when you sit down and push your desired weight away from you. Here is a picture for reference:

The second exercise for your calves is one of my favorites. This exercise is when the weight is on your shoulders and you used your desired weight to push up on your toes to work your calves. Here is a picture I use at the White Building

This back exercise is a killer. Every time I do this exercise, my muscles are working harder than they ever have been. This exercise is called the Back Cable Extension. Your muscles will be so sore after doing this exercise. Here is picture of what is looks like to help you:

Now, on to the bicep exercise. This is my least favorite exercise because I have a very weak upper body. Though, my goal is to work on it to get it stronger. This exercise is a cable bicep curl. Don’t be afraid to start off at a super low weight and work your way up to what feels comfortable. Here is a picture for reference:

Next up, triceps. These are another one of my favorite muscles to work out. I normally will pair a day for triceps and back. That is what works for me best but you can do whatever works for you. This exercise is called the decline Tricep Extension. This exercise uses dumbbells and a bench.

Onto my favorite part. Abs. Abs are my absolute favorite muscle to workout. This exercise uses the machine called the Body Vision PT600 Power Tower. Sounds intimidating I know. Basically you raise your knees up to your chest using the machine to prop your forearms and elbows up for stability.

I hope you get to try out some of these exercises to get you started on your gym journey!!!

Eating healthy in college can be a struggle, especially when you are expected to eat at the dining hall for most of your meals. Before I came to school it was very easy for me to eat healthy. Everyday before work I would pack my own lunch and make sure to keep it somewhat healthy because I was going to be working in the sun all day. I am a Lifeguard at my local beach for reference. I would make sure to pack some sort of protein whether it be chicken or chick pea salad, etc. Also fruit, veggies, and some sort of bar that I can eat after I workout. Eating healthy is something that I am very conscious of and it was very hard to adjust especially coming to college and not having enough room to store a ton of groceries. The first few weeks of school were tough, trying to find different healthy places to eat other than the dining hall. What is really nice about living in a dorm though is how there is a market at your local commons. Some people don’t know about this but this is where I can get different fruits and vegetables like strawberries, blueberries, watermelon, apples, avocado, etc. There are a few restaurants that I have tried downtown that are a great alternative for when you don’t want to go to the dining hall for your meals. Here are a few of my favorites and a quick description:

Roots Natural Kitchen-Located at  270 E Beaver Ave, State College, PA 16801

• Roots Kitchen is a restaurant located underneath the Edge Apartments. My second week being here at State College my friends and I went to try it out. Here you can create your own grain bowl and salad or choose from pre made recipes that they have on their website. First you choose your choice or rice and a lettuce whether it be Kale or spinach. Then you can add toppings and dressing like tomatoes, cucumbers, cheese, sweet potatoes, beans, balsamic, etc. Lastly, you have a choice of protein which is chicken, tofu, or mushrooms. I highly recommend this restaurant for a good, healthy, filling meal.

Fiddlehead – 134 W College Ave, State College, PA 16801

• Fiddlehead is a restaurant that I just recently discovered while walking downtown with a few of my friends. I normally am downtown a lot just because my friends and I like being familiar with the area that we are living in next year. It is basically a salad and soup bar, very much like roots. The salads can be created to your liking and some of the dressings that you can choose from are actually made there directly! I definitely recommend this restaurant as well as a healthy alternative.

These are just two of the new restaurants I have tried around State College and I cannot wait to try some more in the future. I try to space out when I eat out because it tends to get very expensive after a while. If you have any restaurants that you think I should try feel free to comment them below!!!