The Life of a Pregnant College Senior

"Every New Beginning Comes from Some Other Beginning's End"

- Semisonic

     It feels like I am wrapping up so many thing in a four month period! I'm already feeling anxious, disorganized, and unprepared. Most of it, I think, is because there are so many things that are supposed to happen within the next few months, but nothing seems to be written in stone. I'm not one that has to have everything planned all the time but jeez, I need some sort of idea about what's going on when, if at all!

Final Semester

     Clark U, I'm baaack! It's my last semester! And this is what must be the only part of my life I feel organized about right now. Despite the organization, there is a lot that has to be accomplished this semester! Some of them are fairly substantial, so I am already trying to read ahead. No doubt that this may prove to be the biggest resume-building semester of my undergrad career.

1. I'm taking a class on influencing public policy on the state level, which I am really stoked about. I'll be helping in putting together the Family Impact Seminar taking place this Spring in Boston.
2. I'll be presenting group research with other students in my Cultural Psychology class during Academic Spree Day (date not yet announced, usually late April) 
3. I'll have the opportunity to publish a research paper. Hey! That's on my list!

     Looking at it now, it doesn't seem so bad. I think it's just knowing that all of this is happening in such a short amount of time, and during a time where my personal life is completely disorganized. All finals are due May 9th and then graduation from college is May 20th! I'll be able to cross that off the list!

**Note: Also currently working on my applications to Graduate schools-
another goal on my list that needs completing

23 Weeks

Carrying the Peanut

     I've seen quite a few pictures and, for 23 weeks, I'm pretty small. I'm considering myself pretty lucky- I've had no real aches, back pains, leg cramps, etc that a lot of other women experience. The only slight annoyances I've had thus far is swelling of the hands (not feet, though) and a soreness of my upper left leg. I'm probably jinxing myself right now.

     I think the thing that is giving me the most anxiety is not knowing where we're going to be living when baby comes. It's our hope to move back up closer to family, but when? It isn't even something that we can necessarily push- it has to fall in to place at the right time. I'm probably not very anxious about it at all, but the change in hormones have really had an effect on my mood within the past few weeks. The whole first half I was proud of my lack of mood swings and then BAM! I'm mostly trying to recognize when my emotions feel disproportionate to the extent of the issue and then gauge my reaction appropriately. I can't always control the emotion, but I can control my reaction.

     There's a lot going on! I just have to focus on managing my moods and not panicking about upcoming deadlines, and everything will be okay. It's always been, and most likely always will be, mind over matter.

Let's get this party started.

A Small Rant About Today's Blogosphere

Complete: Drop#78- Guest Post on Someone's Blog/Site

     What I learned in the past few days: The blogging world is a lot  more complex than I originally thought!

     What do I mean by this? When I started this blog about a year ago, I had one goal in mind: to start a blog where I could document my progress as I worked on crossing off the goals I accomplished on my bucket list. It was that simple. I didn't want to make money or promote myself for the sake of becoming published. I didn't even necessarily have a message I wanted to promote. I had no target audience in mind or affiliates to link to. I didn't have any of the tools or ambitions that are in a blogger that are necessary in making a blog successful. I was oblivious to this. It wasn't until a couple of days ago that I discovered the truth about the blogging world. I can't say I like it.

     Truth is, most blogs that I have come across seem to have one aspect in common: the desire to make money, or to tell others how to make money. It seems like everybody feels they are an expert in drawing traffic to your blog, linking to affiliates, building a successful business, marketing, beauty products etc. In other words, everybody is an expert on everything. To me it's boring, repetitive, and overworked. Is that what I should be doing? Should I be relaying a message, playing expert, and writing 'How To' articles in the hopes that someone will read my post and take in to consideration my advice?

     Should I care?

     No, I don't think I care. I refuse to change my blog in an attempt to cater to a particular audience. I won't sacrifice the value and originality of my content or my thoughts so that I can draw a high readership. I am not out to make a buck blogging full time, and I'm not trying to exaggerate or stretch opinions to back up my own point-of-views. I am here, right now, writing about my experiences the way they took place and document how I did them.

     With that said, there is nothing wrong with a little self-promotion!

     I put the desire to be a guest writer on someone else's blog a few days ago. I didn't realize how quickly I would accomplish it! Overall, I believe it was a good experience. It gave me an opportunity to relate my interests to someone else's and provide a sample of my writing, style and ideas on a different site for an audience that I may otherwise not have reached. After all, I can't think of any blogger who doesn't want their blog read.

     To check out my first guest blog post, click below!

Adding Value to Your Travel Bucket List

 Almost everybody has a list of places they want to visit in their lifetime. Although the intentions are good, many people simply never follow through with their dream to travel. It's easy to have the desire to visit specific destinations, but actually going to all these places....

     Hey Stephanie, here's a question- Will you guest blog again?
     Simple answer: yes
     More thorough answer: as long as I've got nothing else going on, am not wasting my time on  content that doesn't represent me and my beliefs, or on a site that clearly doesn't value content.

     Here's another question- Will you be seeking guest bloggers for this site?
     There's only one answer here- For what? Who's going to blog about my bucket list? About my experiences? About what I'm doing to work towards crossing more off my list?
 

     ... I'll consider it.

How to Get Off of Facebook- And Stay Off

Complete- Drop #47: Wean Myself from Social Media

  
      Let me just say this: if you are one of the 175 Million People who log in to Facebook at least once a day, there is no weaning yourself. It's similar to a drug. How many cigarette smokers are addicted and yet choose to only have one cigarette each week? Not many. Sure, it happens, but the reality is that very few individuals are able to control the urge to check their accounts, especially when it's just a mouse click or finger-tap away.

     Sure, Facebook has its benefits. I can now easily connect with people from all different periods in my life. I can easily organize an event, check up on my favorite product, an announcement easily reaches an important target audience- people I know.
     Bored? How easy it is to fulfill my desire for instant satisfaction and a relief to my boredom! It is this underlying concept that makes social sites such as Facebook so addicting. Instant connections, instant boredom relief!

     Facebook has its drawbacks as well. If you are a daily user, the site is bound to cumulatively take up a good amount of time out of your day. Much of this time is spent wandering aimlessly around the site, 'FB stalking' others profiles, etc. It's only human nature to be curious, but never before has there been such a tool that has catered to that curiosity.