delta zeta – Living off Leesh

Let Them Celebrate

Published on November 6, 2016November 6, 2016 by Alicia1 Comment

If you saw my post about the Cubs winning the World Series, then you can probably imagine that I am still ecstatic about the win. Friday morning was the parade celebrating the end of the 108-year drought here in Wrigleyville. I wasn’t in attendance because it was honestly an anxiety attack waiting to happen. There were anywhere from 5-6 million people in attendance and despite how much I wanted to go, I would rather not start hyperventilating in the middle of millions of people and I also had a concert that night and knew I would be up super late anyway (people starting leaving their homes at 5am for a parade that didn’t start until 11)

Anyway, I have seen so many people complaining that all of these people celebrating aren’t true Cubs fans. I have seen tweets and facebook posts, and received texts and so on and so on saying “Are you really a cubs fan if you don’t remember Starlin Castro, Ryan Dempster, and Sammy Sosa” “I remember the first time I ever saw the ivy, do you?” “so many people are bandwagoning the cubs and it’s not fair” etc, etc.

LET THEM CELEBRATE. Yes, I remember all of those players, I remember other players that weren’t as ‘good’ or ‘popular’ as Sosa and Castro. I don’t remember the first time I saw the Ivy because I wasn’t even a year old. People are bandwagoning because they are Chicago fans. If the Cubs hadn’t made it that far and the Sox had, you know damn well we’d all be rooting for the Sox. LET THEM CELEBRATE.

I have been a Cubs fan my entire life and the fact that basically the entire state of Illinois has banded together with the Cubs is so amazing. For so long the Cubs had been one of the worst teams in the MLB and it has taken us 108 years to get on top. Let people celebrate. Let die-hard Sox fans buy Cubs gear and cheer them on after they won. Let people who don’t know how many positions there are in baseball celebrate. The Cubs winning has created such a sense of community for this entire state and hating people who bandwagoned isn’t impacting anyone but yourself. The entire city of Chicago is colored Red, White, and Blue for this team and if the entire state of Illinois wants to celebrate, let them.

Quintessentially Autumn Day

Published on October 25, 2016May 27, 2018 by Alicia3 Comments

Hi everyone, being the ‘basic’ white girl that I am, I believe fall is an amazing season. I just wish that fall didn’t involve getting sick (I type after downing any cold relief medicine I can find and surrounded by tissues). Nonetheless, there are some quintessential fall activities that I love doing and feel are truly necessary to do in order for my autumn to be complete.

Last year, living in San Diego, there was no fall. I went to a pumpkin patch with my sorority (tbt lol) and that pumpkin patch was in the parking lot of a mall. They had scattered bales of straw and loose straw all over to make it seem more realistic, but I KNEW. Everyone in my sorority had no idea that there were legit pumpkin patches and not just lame excuses for pumpkin patches like the one we were currently in.

This year, I was able to go to a pumpkin patch ( a real one mind you) with my sister and some of our friends. It was really nice being able to go out in the crisp fall air and search for the best pumpkin.

As fun as searching for the biggest and best-shaped pumpkin is, I always seem to forget that pumpkins are heavy… and expensive. So, after looking through every pumpkin we could, all of us opted for a ‘pie’ pumpkin rather than a traditional carving pumpkin because I’m balling on a budget and we didn’t want to carry around these huge pumpkins all day.

After picking our pumpkins, we managed to see a children’s zoo. Curious as to what it was, we each paid the $13.50 (I can only pay $3.29 for a pumpkin but I’ll cut off my own leg to see some animals) entrance fee and headed in.

Preface: Not sure how many of you know, but I have an absolute love of goats. I don’t know why but I do.

As we took in our surroundings, we saw many animals. There were ducks, rabbits, chickens, roosters, pigs, cows, and GOATS. We checked out the duck pond (my sister used to think she was a duck when she was little and her Instagram handle has the word duck in it) and then crossed a cute covered bridge to make it to one of the many goat pens.

I immediately broke into tears as I saw my first goat. I then proceeded to tear my purse apart to find any quarter in my bag to buy feed to feed the goats with. My friend Casey finally found 2 and I was able to feed the goats and cry more.

Random note: I guess I freaked out so much when I saw the goats I touched my mouth with my hand and then my face to get some hairs out of the way so for about 100 photos and 30 minutes I have lipstick all over my face. Good job Alicia… you idiot.

Note the lipstick above my lip and by my eyebrow

After we saw all of our animals, we did a cute corn maze. As we first walked in I said something along the lines of “wow I wish there were more dead ends instead of going straight through.” Right after I said that there were so many dead ends we got lost an insane amount of times. You get what you wish for I guess.

This was in front of the corn maze. There were only 4 of us so this little boy (whose mother took the picture) stepped in for us. Also my sister didn’t stick her head in far enough but she’s there

When we finally were able to escape the corn maze, we headed back to the main part of the patch. We bought apple cider donuts, chocolate covered pretzels, apple cider, hot chocolate… you know the works, and finally took a ton of cute photos.

my sister moved so the pano was sort of ruined

Once we purchased our pumpkins and had fulfilled our visit, we drove around and got lost (not really lost because I knew what city we were in and recognized most of the streets) while listening to good music. Good music, good friends, good weather, what more could you ask for? I love my pumpkin pals. My heart is happy and it was such a good day.

Until next time

Alicia

PS. This was my 99th post so my next is 100 (yay for counting) and my blog turns 1 on the 29th so the next post from me will be on the 29th. I feel like 100 posts and my blogiversary are both big things so why not combine them? Anyway, adios.

P.P.S. Enjoy some more cute photos from Saturday

Petting another goat who tried to eat Casey’s pumpkin

Goat filter for a goat filled day

A goat tower

Casey was confused as to why the

Bittersweet

Published on October 20, 2016May 27, 2018 by Alicia2 Comments

Over the past month or two I have blogged a bit about getting a new babysitting job, hating that babysitting job, wanting to quit, and finally telling the family that enough was enough.

Something that always lacked for this family was communication. Yesterday the dad was the only one home when I left and he said that I had Saturday off however would continue coming part time until they found a replacement nanny. I was totally fine with that and despite still being present on laundry days, I wouldn’t have to deal with the parents nearly as much.

After picking the girls up and sitting down for a snack, Aadya asked me “Miss Alicia, is today your last day?” Confused I told her no and that I would still be coming for the next few weeks, and tomorrow as well.

As I was getting the girls showered and ready for bed, the dad got home. A few minutes later, I heard the garage door open again, signaling the mom’s return home as well.

Upon finishing upstairs, the girls and I emerged from their room and made our way downstairs. I don’t really remember the whole of the conversation because I was so confused and my face probably resembled the Mr. Krabs meme, but nonetheless, I was told that today was my final day.

Apparently the mother had contacted their old babysitter and asked if she would commute an extra 15 minutes until they had found a permanent sitter. Which completely makes sense so that there doesn’t have to be a key and car seat exchange every other day.

It just really sucks that for the whole day I didn’t know it was my last day. The mom said that over breaks and things if their other sitter can’t watch or if there were other days that I was free that I could give her a call and she would set up a day that I could watch them.

I know this whole time I had complained about being annoyed with their every move but I did love the children a lot, and despite their annoying habits (what kids doesn’t have them) and their over-protective and demanding parents, they were very sweet girls and I love being a part of their lives.

Both parents told me that they have never seen the girls connect to someone as well as they did as quickly as they did. Their point was made because as I was about to leave with my final check and Steak and Shake gift card (I don’t eat either steak or shakes but my dad will enjoy it) I was grabbed by both girls trying to drag me up the stairs to their room so that we could have a sleepover and so that I could stay forever. This is one of those “you don’t know what you have until it’s gone” sort of moments. Like yes, I will enjoy getting a job that is higher paying and I am not being treated like a slave, however, I never really realized how great the kids were until I walked out the door.

So, tonight was very bittersweet. What I had wanted for the past month had finally happened, however, I could definitely go for another game of “Auntie Moma,” “Cops and Robbers,” or “Mister Tortellini.”

I’ll be seeing you, Aadya and Dhiti.

Cancer

Published on October 19, 2016January 2, 2018 by Alicia4 Comments

Hi everyone, sorry this is so late but I wanted to write something and between working and trying to watch the Cubs game I forgot all about it.

As many of you know, October is breast cancer awareness month. This post is about cancer, not breast cancer, though.

6 years ago today (October 19th, 2010) my grandma passed away from Stage 4 lung cancer. I was only in 8th grade at the time and I am so devastated that I missed out on living so much of my life without the amazing woman she was. I have changed so much since eighth grade and I know she would be proud all that I’ve accomplished since then.

I first remember my dad coming into my bedroom earlier that year (March), telling me that she was sick. We sat and cried on my bed until there were no more tears to cry.

Next, I remember going to visit her every weekend that we could until she died, watching her slowly deteriorate before all of our eyes, everyone knowing but keeping quiet about it and only talking about how amazing she was doing.

The worst part about it was, I remember not cherishing the short amount of time I had left with her. I always thought she would get better and everything would go back being like old times. I remember ( and still hate myself for this to this day) her forgetting I had said goodbye to her already so my dad made me get out of the car to say goodbye again. I sulked into the house, quickly hugged her, mumbled goodbye and blew past everyone visiting back into my car. Looking back on it I would give anything to say goodbye to her again.

Upon getting home from a school trip to Washington D.C, my dad wasn’t home (with my grandma) and my mom broke the news to me that she wouldn’t make it much longer and we were going the next morning to see her and say goodbye. She didn’t wake up the next morning. When my dad got home and told us, we cried together for the second time.

Despite all of these sad moments, they aren’t the things I remember most about her. I remember her introducing me to the movie ‘Miss Congeniality” and watching it every time I would spend the night at her house. How that movie also became my favorite overtime. I remember that I stayed at her house for 2 weeks one summer and I got to watch old movies, garden, make woven potholders (a lot cooler than it sounds), make jewelry, and eat cake for breakfast with her.

What I’m trying to say is that cancer is a horrible disease and takes so many people away each day. Please remember, today and every day, tell your loved ones you love them because you never know when it could be the last time you tell them. I love and miss you Grampatty

Alicia

Let’s learn some words, shall we?

Published on October 16, 2016May 27, 2018 by Alicia2 Comments

Happy Birthday Noah Webster, aka Father of the American Dictionary. Dictionaries are crazy things, there are so many words in that huge book that I can’t pronounce, can’t define, or can’t even tell if it’s English or not. However, as a writer, something I should always be doing is expanding my vocabulary. It’s only fitting that I do this on National Dictionary Day.

Here are 10 words I didn’t know the meaning to but now do. I also chose words I can most likely remember to use here and add to my everyday vernacular. Let’s do this.

Lavation– (lay-VAY-shun) | noun *October 16th Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day*
1. Definition: the act or an instance of washing or cleansing
2. Examples: “In Maycomb County, it was easy to tell when someone bathed regularly, as opposed to yearly lavations….”
Odious (o-dee-us) | adjective
1. Definition: arousing or deserving hatred or repugnance : hateful
2. Example: Volunteers gathered on Saturday morning to scrub away the odious graffiti spray-painted on the school.
Guerdon (gur-dun) | noun
1. Definition: reward, recompense
2. Example: “The big hurdle … was early promotion to captain. … This early promotion, this small dry irrevocable statistic in the record, was his guerdon for a quarter of a century of getting things done.
Macadam (muh-KAD-um) | noun *only chose this word because my backyard has a macadam*
1. Definition: a roadway or pavement of small closely packed broken stone
2. Example:The sloping, curved street saw light traffic and had a smooth macadam surface that made it popular with skateboarders.
Impavid (im-pavdid) | adjective
1. Definition: Fearless
2. Example: Giant by thine own nature, Thou art beautiful, thou art strong, an impavid colossus,And thy future mirrors that greatness.
Belgard (bell-guard) | noun
1. Definition: A loving look
2. Example: She left me a belgard from across the room.
Druthers (druhth-erz) | noun
1. Definition: one’s own way
2. Example: If I had my druthers, I’d sleep all day.
Invective (in-VEK-tiv) | noun
1. Definition: abusive language
2. Example: … the explosive role that social media has assumed in this campaign have made for a nasty brew of invective, slurs and accusations….
Haimish (hey-mish) | adjective
1. Definition: (slang) cozy and unpretentious
2. Example: … you would like the candle-lit dining room (below), formerly a watchmaker’s shop, where there are perhaps a dozen tables, a fish tank, and murky paintings–all of which contribute to an ambiance best described as Transylvanian haimish.
Bon Mot (bon moh) | noun
1. Definition: a witty remark or comment; clever saying
2. Example: He was an extrovert and a character, again like his mother, with a knack for tossing off the perfect bon mot. Once at a dinner party, he told his seat mate, “We are all worms. But I do believe that I am a glow-worm.”

I hope you all learned something from these, because I definitely did. Keep an eye out and see if you see me use these in a post in the future 😉

Alicia

Sweetest Day

Published on October 15, 2016May 27, 2018 by Alicia1 Comment

It is Sweetest Day and the closest thing I have to a ‘sweetest’ is my dog. My dog who growled at me this morning because I was far too close to her food (at least 10 feet away).

Despite this, I have decided to talk about some other sweet (sweet as in awesome not dessert-like) things

Time Off Work- I don’t have to babysit until Tuesday (I also had Thursday, Friday, and this morning off) because the little girl is sick… and got me sick lol but at least I get to mope around and do nothing
Saint Motel– I AM SEEING THEM TONIGHT/RIGHT NOW depending on when I post this. May or may not make a post discussing this amazing night.
Oreos– I am curled up in bed eating them right out of the package as I type
Thrift stores- My sister and I went to two of our local thrift stores the other day. I got 2 books, a super cute mug that says “tough *picture of a cookie*” on one side and on the other side it says“smart *picture of cookie*” It was adorable and only $.25 so I had to. I also got a Polaroid camera from 1963 for only $18 dollars!!!!!!!!!! It is so cool and makes a great display next to my two other film cameras on my dresser
Ramen (without the flavor packet because.. you know meat flavor)- As a kid, ramen was always a staple if you were sick. Since I am sick again, I went to look to see if the noodles themselves were vegan (I wAS IN LUCK) and ended up adding some chives, garlic, salt, onion powder, and celery salt for the same smell and even better taste than the original.
Dogs- We are dog sitting for the weekend and instead of my daily dose of one dog… I GET TWO DOGS
Sweaters– that’s all but I have been living in sweaters because it’s cold and it looks like I tried even though I didn’t.
Grid paper journals– I gave into the trend of the graph paper journal, I ended up getting a pack of 3 for half the original price of one so obviously I had to jump on that. Not sure what they will contain, but I have 360 pages of neatness to write in.
Pumpkins- I was at Trader Joe’s the other day and bought myself a $.69 pumpkin. It is adorable. Not only that, but I am trying to coordinate a pumpkin patch visit with some of my close friends. If that does happen, expect a very cute, very orange post about it.
New Appliances- My washing machine like broke but still works but broke. It leaks water from the bottom whenever you use it so when you forget about that and step in it, shrieked can be heard from outside (or so I am told). Our new washer and dryer will be arriving sometime today and I am SO excited to use them!

Just a few super sweet things about my life right now

Happy Sweetest Day to those with a sweetie and those with merely (merely? animals are 100000x better than any significant other you could every imagine) an animal.

Alicia

2016: Expectations vs Reality

Published on July 8, 2016May 27, 2018 by Alicia1 Comment

A week ago (? ish) I read a post about the expectations of 2016 vs the reality of 2016 by lifeofaninspiredteen and really related. 2016 has been a pretty intense year. From changing my major 3 (?) times, finishing my freshman year of high school, getting my first big girl job, etc. etc.

On New Year’s Day or a few days after, I posted a New Year’s Resolution post of sorts and almost all of the things on there are exactly what are on my summer bucket list. As in they have yet to be done, or I have kept up with them so far and need to continue my streak. So I’m doing pretty good there. However, those aren’t really substantial… more like get a new piercing and meet my step goal everyday not decide what to do with your life.

My expectations were a lot different than the reality. It’s July. By this time in 2016 I figured I would have gotten a job at the Fruitful Yield (health food store by my house), been registered for classes at ASU and started gathering things I would need for my aunt’s house, have painted my room at home, gotten straight A’s at SDSU, gotten a boyfriend (haaaha), slimmed down a bit, and had started looking for engineering scholarships, internships, clubs, etc. I also thought I would be saving money to join the sorority of my choosing at ASU.

The harsh reality:

Job: The Fruitful Yield requires at least one year of job experience which apparently nannying is not, So, I’m working for my dad in a warehouse, packing marshmallows and cutting myself on cardboard boxes every 15 minutes (no joke I bled 3 times today *upside down smiley emoji*).

ASU: hahaha we all know that my life is a mess and picking a college I will excel at is just too large of a task to handle.

Aunt’s house: I may be living with her in the fall and taking classes online so I don’t have to live at home and keep working at the warehouse but I really don’t know yet. So, we may be on track but we also may not be.

Painted room: HA HA HA no. Before I left for college my sister and I switched rooms because I knew I wouldn’t be at home that often. Her room has been yellow since we bought the house and I really hate the color. I just want white… IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK?! I don’t know. I did tell my dad that if I do end up staying home I either get to paint this room or move all of my stuff to the basement

Straight A’s: College is hard and not getting a 4.0 is okay and I am accepting it. Adjusting to college is difficult, let alone taking upper division and honors courses. Straight A’s will come. Just study and be patient.

Boyfriend: LOL

Slimmed down: I have lost 20 ish pounds this year since going vegan and really taking care of myself. I’ll get to where I want to be but loving my current self is definitely more important than anything else right now.

Engineering: I’ve posted about wanting to do engineering for some time, realizing I never actually did want to become an engineer and changing my major to something i actually want to do. So, now it’s time to start looking for spanish clubs, scholarships, and internships :’)

Sorority: I have decided that I don’t need to pay money to find friends and really great friends will come naturally. Also, I have become more and more introverted as time has gone on and I don;t have the energy for going out 4 nights of the week and still be expected to hang out with them during the rest of the week too. Just me, and not hating on sororities, My DZ girls were super nice and loving and the sorority life just isn’t or me. Do whatever y’all want.

So, while 2016 has had a few bumps in the road, I’m pretty content with where I am right now and am definitely going to do another one of these posts as 2016 comes to a close. Thanks again to lifeofaninspitedteen for making this post originally and inspiring me 🙂

Alicia

The Top 100 Inspirational Weight Loss Bloggers

Published on May 17, 2016June 25, 2016 by AliciaLeave a comment

Hi, everyone. Look at me double posting. My life update post will be up in the next few days, however, I was checking my stats page this morning and saw that I had a lot of viewers that were referred to my blog by DietToGo.

Curious as to how that was, I clicked the link in my stats and was brought here

I immediately noticed that the post was entitled “The Top 100 Inspirational Weight Loss Bloggers You’ve Probably Never Heard Of (Until Now)” and got super stoked because people have noticed I exist and they think I’m decently cool.

Your girl (me) was lucky enough to score spot #13 on that list (happens to be my favorite number too) and I’m just so happy/stoked/honored to be put on this list with so many other amazing bloggers.

So, I recommend everyone check out DietToGo’s post and check out all of the other amazing bloggers who are also featured on the list. I know I did!

Anyway, I want to say again how excited I am that I was featured and want to thank Caitlin (author of the post) for taking the time to hand select my blog and to read some of my posts. It means so much

Talk to you all soon,

Alicia

To my ex-best friend (The Queen),

Published on April 17, 2016October 14, 2016 by AliciaLeave a comment

Each time I see people sharing links with this title on facebook, I immediately think of you. I click on the link quickly, trying to see if their relationship was anything like ours. If their ending was anything like ours. It never is. Upon reading at least ten of them not one of them is relatable to how we stopped being friends. I like to think it’s because our friendship was unlike any other, so if it had to end, it would unlike any other as well.

Where does one even begin? At one point in my life, you were there for everything. From my bad days, my good days, and everything in between. You stuck by me through my awkward days and how you did that I have no idea and truly can’t thank you enough.

I had never had a friend like you until I met you and I don’t think I’ll ever have someone to compare to you after the years of friendship that we had. For years, I told you everything. I told you every minuscule detail about my life. From each boy I was in love with that week, to what so-and-so said about me. Everything. That’s what best friends do; they tell each other everything, the good and the bad. From how I aced my test or that it didn’t look like you had brushed your hair this month. And that’s just what we did.

We had our weddings planned out. We’d be each other’s maid of honors. Not telling our sister yet of course 😉 We spent almost every waking second together. You’d picked bridesmaids dresses to ensure that they were a color I would look good in. We had our lives planned out together. After graduating from college we were moving to Hoboken in a small apartment waiting to find true love and high paying jobs.

I will never forget the day I met you in 6th grade in Science class. You know I’m not much for believing in fate, but we were both in the process of losing best friends. I’d like to think we entered each other’s lives to lessen this burden and to take on the best friend title. I will never forget how you came to my house in 7th grade, and we took photo booth pictures together with my sister. Or in eighth grade when you came over on the snow day and we built such a pathetic snowman, but it was great because I made it with my best friend. I will never forget our summer bucket list blog and how we tried cramming the last 30 items on the list into 3 days. I will cherish those memories forever.

I want to thank you. I want to thank you for being my rock and my best friend. I want to thank you for always believing in me and helping me achieve my goals, one baseball pun at a time. I want to thank you for being the best friend I have ever had, and probably ever will. You have given all of my friends, present and future, such high expectations to meet, even if they don’t know it yet.

I want to thank you for opening up your home and for letting me befriend your entire family, even if I was always afraid of your dad. When I saw your dog died on facebook, I cried. Calby was such a sweetie, and while he was no Gracie, he was still a cute pup. When I saw your mom got diagnosed with cancer, I cried and I called my mom. I knew I had to text you. I knew it wouldn’t matter to you that I did, but she was my second mom for so many years, and I wanted to make sure you were both okay. I just want to thank you for impacting such a stressful and amazing time of my life, for the good and for the bad.

I also want to say that I’m sorry. I know we’ll never be friends again and I’m not saying that’s what I want. We’re different people than we were junior year.

I’m sorry we ended the way we did. Everyone says that friendships end because they drifted apart or they were too different. We weren’t different or drifting apart. We were basically the same person (other than the fact that I wore sweatpants every day and you wore dresses) and we were spending even more time together than usual. We starting hating each other, slowly and then all at once, the tension in every room we were in could be cut with a knife. We had more bad days than good days and I couldn’t take it. But I couldn’t tell you that. I hate discussing feelings (something I’ve improved upon since we stopped talking). We were both too afraid of feelings and confrontation that we avoided each other until our only way of communication was through letters and our friends acting as carrier pigeons.

Now remember, I have nothing against you, and I want to say that the time being your best friend were some of the best years of my life. I wish you nothing but the best in life, whether I’m in it to some extent or not is fine by me. I just wanted to for once in my life being open with my feelings (like you always told me to be) even if it is 2 years late.

Much love and summer fun
(Princess) Alicia (Jane Catherine) Heninger

P.S. the turtle I named after you died. Thought you should know

20 tips for freshmen attending San Diego State University next year

Published on April 10, 2016June 25, 2016 by AliciaLeave a comment

Hi everyone, my best friend from home came to San Diego this weekend to visit a few colleges before the deadline to decide on a college for the next 4 years, May 1st. She still hasn’t decided and is between Pepperdine University in Malibu and the University of Indianapolis. Obviously I hope she picks Pepperdine so she’ll be closer to me but obviously I hope she chooses the place that is best for her. So, for those of you people who know that you’ll be attending SDSU in the fall, here are some tips for all of you to survive, Hope they help. 🙂

Even though San Diego is the stereotypical Sunny and 75 all the time, pack sweaters and bring an umbrella. YOU WILL NEED THEM BOTH.
While some people think that Greek Life is a huge deal at State, don’t feel pressured into rushing. There are so many great people who don’t rush and are just fine. Greek life isn’t for everyone.
Just because Greek life isn’t for everyone, it doesn’t make it ok to put it down. They did nothing to you and making people feel bad about something they enjoy is rude.
Be social and put yourself out there, I didn’t my first semester and I missed out on so many friendship opportunities
That being said, don’t worry if you haven’t found ‘your group’ after the first month… or even the first semester.
This is going to sound super cliche, but get involved. That’s the only way you will meet people with your interests. I’m good friends with people on my floor but my closest friends came from getting involved.
Don’t forget about your friends back home. They know you better than anyone you meet at school. And they’ll be there when you have to rant about your new friends.
While going home is great every once in a while, don’t go home every weekend. You miss a lot.
Don’t be afraid to go to professor’s office hours. You will need letters of recommendation at some point, and professors are more likely to write better letters (instead of a cookie cutter version) on students they know.
GO TO CLASS. It doesn’t matter if professors say class isn’t mandatory/don’t take attendance, or whether they post all of their lecture slides on Blackboard. If you want an A in the class, you have to go. Missing one or two classes a semester won’t kill you but don’t turn into the kid who just shows up for exams.
The Turtle pond is one of the best places on campus. You can look at all of the turtles and fish or you can just sit on the grass to relax or study Bonus! If you get sunburnt easily like me, there is all kinds of shade for you
Don’t feel restricted to campus. Go out and explore. Whether you go to Sunset Cliffs or just to Normal Heights, take in all San Diego has to offer.
Go to Sporting events. Whether it’s a basketball or swim meet. Every Aztec has so much spirit and we support all of our sports teams.
Do not bring a coffee maker to the dorms. They are not allowed and you will get in trouble if you are caught with one. Also, Starbucks (3 campus locations) and BCB (5 campus locations) are on the meal plan.
Utilize the Storm Hall terrace. It’s my favorite spot on campus to get homework done and the view of the sunset there is always impeccable.
Go to the Farmer’s Market on Thursdays. It’s a nice change from dorm food, and even though it’s not on the meal plan, it’s completely worth it. There is food that ranges from Western Africa to gluten free desserts… Something to satisfy everyone’s taste buds.
Don’t wait until 9:30 to go to the market to spend your meal plan money. You will wait for a really long time (I waited once for half an hour) and if the line is long you won’t be let inside. So, here is when your umbrellas and sweaters come in handy.
Cuic isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. It’s good the first few weeks, but you will get sick of it
Speaking of Cuic, when it comes to meal plans, Flex 7 is the way to go. On Meals Plus you will have so many Cuic swipes at the end of the semester you will end up wasting your parents money and bringing your entire floor to dinner there.
Remember, when Hepner hall looks really good because of the angle of the Sun, snap that picture. No one will judge you. We all do it. Who doesn’t want to brag to all of their Instagram followers that they go to the prettiest school in the country?
my photo

Hope these tips helped you, and for those of you still deciding on a college, good luck and stay true to your hearts (and wallets)

Talk to you Thursday

Alicia