OOTN: Night Out with Friends in Manhattan

Hey everyone! Summer is, unfortunately, wrapping up for me. I go back to college on Sunday (isn't that so crazy!) to start my sophomore year. I am very excited, but also nervous about the new school year. With going back to school, comes lots of goodbyes. Last night, I went out for dinner with my friends; Shannan, Aubrey, and Alexa for a meal at 'Serafina Meatpacking' before we all go back to school. 

My blouse has been seen before on the blog...here when I wore it to Easter, but I love it too much to not wear.

The blouse is from Cue Boutique.

The skirt is from Forever 21 (I just bought it for $15!)

I am wearing sparkly new Adidas Superstars with the outfit to keep it casual.

I told my friends to get in for the Outfit of the Night, in the future I'll make some videos with them for what they're wearing! Shannan and Aubrey have been featured in my latest video: spilling the TEA on our FRESHMAN YEAR| providence college, Boston University, Loyola Maryland

Part 2 of our Q&A will come out soon!

I'm not sure where Shannan's outfit is from, but three out of four of us all opted for sneakers to wear for our dinner.

Chelsea/Meatpacking is such a nice area to take pictures. I am trying to do more outfit of the days, so I loved having the background of the city and the company. 

I'll have so many more videos and blog posts coming out soon!

xx

Christina Madeleine

Second Semester Positive Moments + Youtube!

Hey everyone! Happy Sunday! Since there is a little less than five weeks left of the semester, I wanted to talk a little about the positive things about college. Freshman year is rough, but the second semester is so much better than first. I think at the end of the semester, I'll write another ramblings post, as similar to the one here. The weather has been bright and sunny lately, and my mood has gone up with rising temperatures. 

Also, lately I have been vlogging my weekends and adventures at Providence College, so scroll to the bottom of the post for the links!

Here are four things about college that I love:

1. Sports Games, and Championships 

Okay, Providence College is known for quite a few things, such as our very spiritual campus that has friars that live on campus, our pretty intense core curriculum, the somewhat infamous party culture, and mostly our D1 Big East sports teams. BIG EAST is a sports league that consists of very good sports teams at colleges mostly in the Northeast. Within all the colleges, this is one of the leagues that schools want to be because you play "powerhouse" sports schools. Providence is a pretty small school, but our teams have won national championships. That being said, our hockey team is really good this year and won the regional championships against Cornell recently, and that was a very big deal. We are hoping they win everything; so it's pretty exciting when they move on. I don't go to every sports game ever on campus, but the energy on campus is so exciting when our basketball team beats Boston College or our Lacrosse teams crushes St.John's. Sports are an aspect of the school that is heavily present but is also so fun to be a part of.

2. The Freedom to go off campus and explore

My friends and I find ourselves exploring Providence every weekend. We find new restaurants and stores to go to or just a movie theater. It's also so easy to go to Boston if we so wanted to since it's only about an hour away. I've gone up to visit my friends at Boston University or Bentley on the weekends. There's always somewhere in New England to go. Also, Providence's Board of Programmers have planned trips to Newport or ski trips to Vermont based on the weather; that students could go to. When you're at college, you can basically go where you want without having to worry about someone say no, which is liberating but also has a lot of responsibility to it.

3. Studying What I Want, and Learning New Things

The day I decided to become an English major, I woke up went to the head of the department and just did it. Then, I had to cross the entire campus to get to the Business School in order to get approval from the chair of the Marketing department in order to double-major. I couldn't stop smiling because I was finally going to study something that I have always have been interested in. College is important to me because the core-curriculum by default causes me to learn about topics I wouldn't normally be drawn to like philosophy, but also lets me take courses in subjects outside my majors such as Political Science and Italian.

4. Making Friends and Meeting New People

Up until college, most of my friends had been from New York solely because that's where I was raised. At college, I've been able to meet people from all over and different backgrounds. Two of my best friends here are from Arizona and New Jersey; a few of my suitemates for next year are from Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Yes, Northeast states aren't the most diverse; but it's the opportunities that come with meeting new people and going to a college that helps you become a more global person. The people I've met here have completely shaped my experience, even the ones that ended up only being my close friends for a little. I've always been the type of person that wants to branch out, and I think as time goes on I'll meet even more people.


ABOUT MY YOUTUBE!
 I've been very inspired by College Youtubers like Gretchen Geraghty and Margot Lee to do vlogs of my life at Providence College. I think it would be fun to get more into writing other types of posts here, but sometimes I need to explain stuff and show more of my life on video. I started vlogging three weekends ago, and I really love it. Please check it out, and subscribe!

Follow me to the BIG EAST Networking Night: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9b0R53TlJs
Weekend Vlog March 22-24, 2019: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPBXJkf9xLY
Weekend Vlog March 29-31, 2019:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMWpx9AbzFY

Thanks for reading!

xx

Christina Madeleine

Family Weekend 2019

Happy Sunday everyone! It's been about a month since I last blogged, and trust me it's been a whirlwind. I know that I said that I would be posting once to twice a week,  but life has been a bit tough recently and I haven't been able to post. I have a few partially written blog posts that I will be finishing up, so March will be filled with more of 'This Fashion Girl'. This weekend was Family Weekend at my college, so my parents came up and we had a very busy 24 hours. Here's a little insight into how I spent my family weekend.

Just making a call from the Dean Hotel in Providence, Rhode Island.

At 12pm, I met my parents at the basketball game. Providence College was playing Marquette at the Dunkin Donuts Center (our home arena). I had been to all the games this season except for two, but this was so exciting because it was sold out because of alumni & family weekend. Unfortunately, we lost the game, but hopefully, next season will be a lot better. Our freshman basketball players are so good. This was my parents first time at a PC basketball game, and they had such a fun time. 

Afterward, I hung out in their hotel room for a bit. My mom and I went to get my eyebrows threaded, which was such a necessity at that moment. Then we went to Friskie Fries and bought fries with chicken, parmesan and mozzarella cheese, and sauce. We might've devoured it before taking any photos...

Then, we went to the hockey game at 5pm. My school was playing UMass Amherst, and we won 3-2! This was super exciting because of the last two games they played each other, Providence had lost. The arena was filled too because of the weekend, and it was fun to have at least one win for the day. 

For dinner, my parents took me and my two friends, Colleen and Alex, to dinner. We hung out in the Dean Hotel first and took some photos before going to RED FIN Crudo + Kitchen, which is a very yummy tapas restaurant.

This phone is located outside of a karaoke bar called 'The Boombox'.

The three of us posing with the cute red phone. You can check out more of those photos on my Instagram!

 The Next Morning...

 My parents and I went to Rebelle Artisan Bagels and bought three different sandwiches to split. Above is the "Breakfast Sammi" which is a spinach frittata and bacon on a bagel. My mom got egg and bacon on a bagel (not shown, but either she or I will post it on insta).

 Lastly, we bought cream cheese and lox bagel. I have never tried lox before, and it's very good. I've been to this store twice, and have only gotten the "vegan dream," which is absolutely delicious, but I decided to switch it up this time. Rebelle is partnered with NitroBar, and so they have a cold brew tap, so I had to buy it.

Before this weekend, I hadn't seen my parents in person since January 12, so spending even twenty-four hours with them meant a lot. Although we facetime a lot, there's nothing like being present with people you care about. Also, it's so fun for them to come up here because we get to try out different restaurants and cafes for breakfast and dinner that I wouldn't have gone to. It's more of an opportunity to discover more about Providence and catch up. 

Second Semester Planning & Schedule

Happy Thursday! I've been getting back into the grind of school, so on Sunday I wasn't able to post, but here I am still on schedule (sticking with posts Sunday and/or Thursday). I've now made it a week and a half into my new semester of college. As you know, my first semester was rather rough (check that out with my posts: " Thoughts and Ramblings of a First Semester College Freshman and Whats Happened to Me in the First Month of College ). Not to dwell too much on my first semester, but I already have such a better feeling about this new semester! I was able to make my schedule myself opposed to last semester where they just gave it to me.

Here's what classes I am taking and what time's (it's slightly hard to wake up at times, but I love it).

Western Civilization (Semester 2 out of 4)
In my previous posts, I've mentioned Development of Western Civilization (or 'Civ' as everyone at Providence College calls it). This course is mandatory for every student to take, which makes the school very unique to others. It's four semesters and this semester is more focused on the Enlightenment and the high middle ages. I am currently reading The Two Lives of Charlemagne and The Song of Roland for this class. My first-semester experience with Civ was very positive, but I changed to a different team of teachers, so I still have to adjust.
My class times are Mondays (8:30am-10:20am), and Tuesday/Thursday (8:30-9:20).
This is my only class on Thursday's! So I have the day free to do work and catch up on all my readings for class.

Intro to Literature
On top of my core curriculum- my college makes us fulfill proficiencies (this course would fulfill an Intensive Writing-1), but I am also taking this course because I definitely needed to take an English class again. I am planning on pursuing a minor in writing, and this course is the first step in doing so. We are currently reading The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and I am so excited to be reading it again, and possibly doing a book review on it. Other books we are planning to read are Long Day's Journey into Night by Eugene O'Neill and Sula by Toni Morrison. We are also doing units on poetry and writing, which I am absolutely excited for!
My class times are Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays (9:30am-10:20am)

Elementary Italian 101
My father's side of the family is Italian, and my mother's side is Irish-American; so, I've never been completely exposed to the language or culture from Italy before. I have been able to meet and skype with family from Italy, but I finally wanted to be able to learn the language. I love learning languages and I would ultimately one day want to be able to speak Italian, Spanish, and French (which I have no knowledge of ). I've been a bit nervous in class because I want to respond in Spanish, but overall I am excited to be taking a language course again. I've been even contemplating studying abroad in Italy my Junior year of college.
My class times are Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays (10:30am-11:20am)

Microeconomics 101
Since I am part of the business school (Marketing major!), it's part of the Business core to take both macroeconomics and microeconomics. Last semester, I took macroeconomics and I loved that class, My teacher was so fun, and I found that I could easily comprehend the material. There was even a point in time that I considered changing my major to Economics, but alas I decided to stay in the Business school. Micro is a bit less exciting than macro, but the material is very useful. Economics helps you have a better understanding of political financial decisions and what's overall better for the economy. I recommend taking a basics course, but also Khan Academy and other free websites have great videos about the subject.
My class times are Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays (2:30pm-3:20pm)

Managerial Accounting 
Accounting has been one of my worst struggles in college. Accounting is another requirement to fulfill in the Business school (one semester Financial and one semester Managerial), and it's the hardest subject for me to grasp. My teacher is very helpful (and even make YouTube videos), and he explains everything very clearly, yet when I am on my own I can't seem to do the problems. This is definitely the subject I am going to have to put the most time and effort into. My father also studied Finance and Accounting in college, so he is always a Facetime away.
My class times are Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays (1:30pm-2:20pm)

Data Applications in Business (DAB)
This course is also a requirement for the Business school, and it's to make students proficient in Microsoft word and excel. It's definitely a skill that's worthy to learn.
My class time is Tuesdays 12:30pm-2:15pm


So... my schedule is a bit busy! Last semester, I felt as if I wasted so much time because I wouldn't have my first classes until 10:00 or 10:30 in the morning. Now, I have an 8:30 or 9:30 every day and I've been enjoying my day more. I'll wake up, make a coffee in my Keurig, and then go to breakfast before class. I also find myself planning my schedule a lot more for the week because I have my classes more frequently now. A downside is there are about three days a week where I will have four classes, but it never feels overwhelming.

I've also been making a goal for myself to go to the gym because I am more focused on taking care of myself this semester. I think going 3-5 times a week would be ideal and going to Zumba and Yoga classes, but also using the cardio and strength machines. Last week, I had gone to the gym three times and I already felt better than I had the month I stayed at home. Also, I've been sleeping better because of my hectic days + making time to workout. Although I go to bed between 10:45pm and 11:30pm I still am able to get up and feel awake (except for a few days where you can find me taking a nap in my dorm room between my last class and choir) and stay awake for most of the day with a little help of my water bottle and coffee.

I'm trying my best to achieve my resolutions, and I have the motivation so far.
What are some tips that you have to utilize your day? or to remain/get healthy? How are your resolutions going, if you have any?

Follow my new Instagram for the blog to see my life daily!
https://www.instagram.com/christinaxmadeleine/

xx

Christina Madeleine

Two Coffee Shops in Providence & A New Blogger

Hey everyone! In the typical blogger fashion, I went to some cafes in Providence to do some studying with my friend Colleen. I had principles of marketing final earlier that day and my brain was absolutely fried, and so I needed to leave campus for a bit.

Around 1:30pm, we went to the Nitro Cart - Nitro Bar ( https://www.thenitrocart.com/ ), which is a Rhode Island coffee shop that has portable carts that come to Providence College and Brown University when it's nice out. They have nitro coffee (which is all the craze now!) on tap, and I might have a small obsession with it.

So, the Nitro-Bar is located inside the DASH bicycle store. I was able to hear the founders of the NitroCart speak at my college, and they said that the reasons were for 1) it's hard to find space 2) the bicycle store had the customer demographics they wanted to reach.

The bicycle store is technically next to the coffee bar, but some of the bikes line the walls and they sell merch as well. 

We ended up sitting at this cafe (in a different seat than where this photo was taken) for about 2.5 maybe 3 hours. What started as Colleen planning out her English final, and myself working on making a study guide for Macroeconomics ended with us drinking copious amounts of coffee and blogging! Which brings me to this... Colleen made a blog and it's really good!

 I was obviously ecstatic because I haven't met that many people in real life that blog or want to. Also, the demographics of bloggers are usually older than me and in the United Kingdom (which I absolutely love, but also means I haven't met them).

Nitro Bar closes around 5pm, so around 4, we decided to leave, as to not overstay since at that point we had been there since 1:30. We really didn't want to go back to campus yet, so we just looked up another cafe to go to!

Before we started the ten-minute walk to another shop, we just had to take a photo of this sign. I am a fan of cute signs like this!

Okay! Next, we went to White Electric Coffee (http://whiteelectriccoffee.com/#thebestcoffee), where we proceeded to both get another coffee and camp out.

The aesthetics of the two coffee shops are a bit different. Nitro-Bar has more of a clean and minimalist aesthetic, while White Electric's is warmer and crowded with lots of browns, reds, and LED lights. White Electric Coffee reminds me of a store I would find in Williamsburg, Brooklyn; so I was a fan of that. I am going back to both places definitely!

I have yet to try to food at White Electric Coffee, but it's on my to-do list for the second semester.

Above is a photo that I took of my cappuccino, but Colleen's blog is up on the screen.  next to I am literally so proud that Colleen made a blog (so catch me promoting it a bunch), but she's one of my closest friends here. So please check it out! Her link is: http://stainedpetals.blogspot.com/

We left the cafe around 6pm to come back go back to campus. It's so dark and cold out now; so it was a tad depressing to go back to the dorm, but it was time to. We were completely bundled up in our big blanket scarves and winter coats. 

I hope you liked this post! Check out about the time I went to a different cafe in Providence called Sydney (it's Australia inspired) here. My last post is about what music I've been listening to, and I actually wrote that while sitting in NitroBar (don't forget to comment what you've been listening to on it). 

If you have finals, good luck! See you in my next post!

xx

Christina Madeleine

What I've Been Listening to *December 2018*

Hey everyone! I've been listening to a lot of music lately (the only way to get through finals week) and I wanted to share my top tens songs from my different playlists. I will also add some pics of what my covers for each playlist are (or maybe a photo that sets the vibe).

My First Semester College 

(I titled it 'Off the Rails' because college is so crazy)

1. All in White by The Vaccines

2. D'You Have A Car? by SWMRS

3. You're Going to Hate This by The Frights

4. Inside Your Mind by The 1975

5. Television / So Far So Good by Rex Orange County

6. Clean by The Japanese House

7. Lethal Combination by The Wombats 

8. I Like America & America Likes Me by The 1975

9. Your Graduation by Modern Baseball

10. Orpheus Under the Influence by The Buttertones

Study Study Study

(Can you guess what this playlist is for?)

         

This is my school's humanities building where I spend a good portion of my time

1. Visions of Gideon by Sufjan Stevens

2. Elegia by New Order

3. LostMyHead by The 1975

4. The Theory of Everything by Jóhann Johannsson

5. Hedwig's Theme by John Williams

6. The Call by Regina Spektor

7. The Night We Met by Lord Huron

8. The Funeral by Band of Horses

9. You're Not Good Enough by Blood Orange

10. Mystery of Love  by Sufjan Stevens

Oldies, Throwbacks, and Memories

Photo from Tumblr

(My Playlist of all throwbacks, Disney, and Broadway songs)

1. Stockholm Syndrome by One Direction 

2. The Club from the 'In the Heights' Soundtrack

3. 'Who Am I?' from the Les Miserables Soundtrack

4. Where You Are from the Moana Soundtrack

5. Champagne from the 'In the Heights' Soundtrack

6. I've Been Waiting For You by ABBA

7. A Girl Worth Fighting For from Mulan

8. Fathoms Below from 'The Little Mermaid' Broadway Soundtrack

9. Baba O'Riley by the Who 

10. I'll Always Remember You from Hannah Montana

Question: What songs have you been listening to?

xx

Christina Madeleine

Thoughts and Ramblings of a First Semester College Freshman

So...it's been a month since my last update. To me, it's very strange that I haven't updated in that long because I am constantly talking about my blog and thinking of ideas, yet don't write anything. I've decided instead of apologizing in every post, that I will make 2019 my year with 'This Fashion Girl' because, at this point, this blog is part of me.

What's this post about? Well, I have learned a lot in the last 3.5 months of being in college, and have some thoughts and experiences I want to write about.

1. The first two weeks are the absolute worst

In all the movies and stories, you hear about how college is such a magical time from the point of moving into your dorm to graduation. My first day was so stressful starting with finding a bug into my desk to not being able to find half my items. Also, there was a pressure to "go out" that night, and I was so exhausted I just went to bed. My orientation group was not very friendly, and it's funny now because I am very good friends with my leader for activities, but not close with all the initial people I met. I also cried so much during the first two weeks because it felt that everyone found friends so quickly, which is absolutely not the case. There is also a jump from taking high school classes to college classes (different times, and time management), which is hard at first.

2. It's 100% okay to not feel like you fit in 

I say this all the time to my friends here, but I don't feel like I fit a type of mold that the people at my school are. I stand out in different ways (for example I am one of the only people that come from New York City in my grade) or I will wear some eccentric pieces that no one would care about at home, but here people will stare. I also try my hardest in classes (even ones that are slightly boring), and I am very eager to learn, and sometimes it feels like everyone around me hates being in classes. There are times where I feel like I stand out for negative reasons, but I've also met people that like to be creative, and talk about intellectual things, and those people who are "your people" come in time. As long as you love the college you go to, fitting in should never be a worry. People are drawn to those who stand out than those who blend with the crowd.

3. Everyone is struggling, it just might not seem like it 

The worst part of the beginning of college was looking at the social media of my friends from home, and feeling like they are having so much fun...and I wasn't. Everyone posts on social media their new friends, and all the parties they go to, but no one will post all the times they cried, stressed, or homesick.

4.  Some friendships from home are just "high school friendships"

My best friend from home, Bree, said this to me a few weeks ago when I was very upset about how a friend of ours had been treating me since they stepped into college and before. I am not saying ditch your friends from home as soon as you get to college (those are some of the worst types of people), but if a friend from home isn't treating you right; it's okay to let go of them and just keep the memories.

5. You meet people in the weirdest ways

My friend group in college was formed by a bunch of coincidences, and honestly, I can't picture life at PC without them. My childhood friend from pre-school and I reunited this year, and through her, I met two girls who happened to live two dorms down from me (and I didn't even know that until three weeks into the school year), and our group grew to six people. These girls have been my rock for the last few months, and we have gone through some whacky adventures in Rhode Island. I've also met people through getting ready on the floor bathroom, filming videos, and going to Bingo.

6. Taking part in activities that YOU enjoy is a saving grace

The first club I joined when I got to college is a choir. As you know, I sang in my high school choir for four years, and I decided to continue in college. Singing is very important to me, and to have a small community of people I spent two hours a week with sounded like the thing I needed to not be so sad at school. I also joined PCTV (you can check out the tab to see the videos that feature me), and I did that because that's what I wanted to do and be part of. In the next semester, I plan on joining more activities in order to meet more people, and further develop my interests. '

7. Working hard is SO IMPORTANT

College is no time to slack off. In most of my classes, our homework counted for very little and our grades were solely based on group projects and tests. In group projects, you need to pull your wait or your group will be penalized and everyone knows the person in the group that is doing nothing. If you don't understand something, the professor moves on and you need to go to tutoring or office hours. A few posts ago, I talked about how much I didn't like my classes, but when I worked so hard this semester to understand and honestly it hasn't been that bad. Two of my best classes were Macroeconomics and Math when I really thought it would be Western Civ. I felt so defeated in high school and felt as if so many people were smarter than me, but at PC I feel so smart and accomplished. Professors will recognize hard-working students and be more thankful and nice towards the students that seem interested than the ones who look bored.

8. I definitely need to take better care of myself

There were times when I would go to bed at 2am and wake up at 9am for my 10am class, and I honestly hated going to bed that late. I wasn't doing work. I was on my phone. Next semester, I need to go to bed early, eat better, and go to the gym. It's so easy not to workout and makes excuses, but I would waste so much time on my phone when I could've gone to a yoga or Zumba class. I would find excuses to eat dessert at every meal and feel gross later in the day. I have found errors in my ways, and honestly, it's hard to not eat badly when everyone around you is. Also, colleges give out so much free food that might not be the healthiest but is so good (i.e Insomnia cookies and chicken wings).

9. Continue following your passions

I have so many career goals that I want to achieve in my life, but I also have passions outside of my major. I plan on pursuing a writing minor (and possibly economics) with my Marketing major because I love English (can't you tell?). I am working next semester to take classes that not only fulfill my core requirements but also make me want to go to them. I plan on sticking with blogging and posting more because that's what I like to do, and in the long run I know will be worth it.


Thank you so much for following me along this journey of self-growth and education.

Here's a picture of me in Haven Brothers diner at 12:30am.

My outfit:

Skirt- TopShop

Black Tights- H&M

Black Bodysuit - Forever 21

Christmas Hawaiian Shirt- H&M Men

Here's a picture of me and Ailish on our last "free" night before the rest of finals week

xx

Christina Madeleine

My Trip to the Jersey Shore 2018

Hey everyone! From July 29 to August 3, my family went to Long Beach Island and brought my best friend, Bree, along! Growing up, my family and I would go to the Jersey Shore every summer, but after Hurricane Sandy, we hadn't gone back until last year when we stayed in Ship Bottom (which is on the island). This year we stayed in Beach Haven, which is a very popular area. We also vlogged the whole trip! So you can check out our videos (it's split up into two videos):

Although most of our trip is vlogged, I wanted to share some photos as well!

We were outside during golden hour on our first night, so we took the opportunity to take photos. Bree had gifted me the lovely sun hat. 

There's a restaurant called Chicken or the Egg (also known as Chegg), and we went so many time...but this was my breakfast one day. It is a buffalo chicken omelet. 

We went to a snow cone place, and I bought a "Hawaiian" Ice, which was just super sweet ice that vaguely tasted like pineapple. It was good regardless!

Bree, Jenn (our friend who is in the vlog), and I rented bikes for a few days. One day, we biked two miles to the Wawa to buy breakfast, lunch, and coffees. I ended up having to balance the food in the bike basket while pedaling. If you ever go to the Jersey Shore, I highly recommend renting bikes! 

 Our last night, we went out to eat. The colorful houses in the background are so cute, and every time we always obsess over them. I would love to own the purple or blue one.

That same night, the four of us have a tradition of going to the waterfront in Ship Bottom to take photos.

I know this is a super quick post, but please check out my vlogs of the trip (we put a lot of effort into them!). I just wanted to highlight key moments, but most of the trip is documented on video. Sometimes we think we're funny...sometimes!

This trip was super special to me since I am going to college in Rhode Island, and Bree is going to a university in California. Also, I am so glad I got to spend time with my parents.

Leave a comment if you watched the vlog/what did you think of them!!

xx

Christina Madeleine

I am officially a #collegeblogger

Hey everyone! The last six weeks I have been on a hiatus from blogging due to many factors. I worked at a summer camp for five weeks with five and six year olds. My job consisted of teaching little girls how to sing Disney songs and taking them on field trips and basically catering to their every need. I would come home so drained, and I was completely not my self. I absolutely love working with children, but it took me away from my other passions. The fun part though was that a lot of my friends worked at the same camp as me, and we would grab dinner and hangout which meant a lot considering we are all going to different college.

I could apologize for not being a good blogger, but instead, I wanted to focus on the future of this blog. As known, I started this blog when I was thirteen (so either sixth or seventh grade), and now I will be entering my freshman year at Providence College and now I'm 18. Since I am also moving states I wanted to update my blog persona. There's a ton of college bloggers out there, but now that I am officially one... I want to do the best I can.

Photo of me in front of my high school with my college gear :)

So let's talk about what I'm studying, how I feel, and how I am preparing. I'm a bit nervous about starting at a new place and especially living there. I'm more excited than anything else but it's definitely scary. I am living in an all-girls dorm (that's the only option for freshman girls), and I got the dorm that I requested (a double!). My roommate and I have been non-stop talking about how we want to decorate our room and that's very exciting! Our dorm theme colors are white, gray, turquoise, and navy. Maybe I'll even do a dorm post....hmmm.

I am also trying to be more organized, which I always say I'll do, but this time I am serious. I put all my classes into my Apple calendar, and I plan to put all my extracurriculars, events, tests, deadlines, and blog posts into it! There will definitely be an update about how that works out, but I am hopeful!

Since I am a Marketing major (as of now!) at the Business School, I wasn't able to pick my own classes, but this semester I am taking Financial Accounting, Development of Western Civilization (a four-semester class that everyone takes at my college), Economics, Marketing, and Math Business Analysis. I don't have much experience in most of those subjects, but I am up for the challenge. Providence College is a liberal arts college so there will be a balance between my business major and humanities classes over my four years (especially when I take up a Writing minor).

There's a lot to look forward to despite how nervous I am. There's sports events, extracurriculars, meeting new people, going around Providence and Boston, learning new subjects, becoming more independent, and so many more things. It's so easy to become flustered and anxious, but I am trying to keep my head up and go into this experience with an open mind. I think my blog is going to grow even more with me now that I have the motivation to keep going with it.

I am super excited for the future and I've decided I am going to try to post twice a week from now on and be more interactive with the blogger community!

xx

Christina Madeleine

Follow my twitter to keep up with me and tweet me :) https://twitter.com/thisfashiongirl

Tips for the American College Process

Hey everyone! If you have read my blog anytime in the last year, you would see me constantly talking about the stress of the American college process. I started the process in early January 2017, and I am finally finished! I will be attending Providence College in the fall, and I am part of the class of 2022. High school isn't over for me yet (five more months, as of today), but I am still so excited for the journey that awaits me regarding college. I can't wait to decorate my dorm room and explore Rhode Island (as of now, I have only been to that state three times). Since many people all over are starting the process, I decided to give some tips I have learned over the last year of my life.

This photo is of me with my Providence College Acceptance on December 18, 2017.

1. Don't slack off Freshman and Sophmore Year.

When I was a freshman in high school, I had a really hard time adjusting to my new school. I was also super focused on making friends and extracurriculars. I was struggling in Biology, and I should've gotten more help in my classes and/or a tutor. Although it doesn't seem like freshman and sophomore year would affect your chances of colleges, it definitely sets the path for the rest of your academic career. I was never good at science, but by junior year I had found a tutor who helped me through Physics. Even if your freshman year grades aren't the best, an upward curve in grades throughout high school is looked on positively.

2. You Don't Have to Be in All Honors and APs.

There is way too much pressure to be put in honors or APs. I have met people who thrive in honors and APs, and others who crash. Personally, I was never in honors classes and I still did well in school. Many colleges don't look down upon those who are not in advanced or honors classes, they look to see how well you are doing in the classes you took.

3. Take a Practice ACT and SAT Before Prepping For Either.

 I took a practice SAT in my sophomore year and my junior year of high school. Both were given out at my school. I also took a practice ACT but didn't take it seriously because I thought that I liked the SAT better. If I had taken both with the same attitude, I would've realized how the ACT was the better test for me instead of taking the SAT.

4. Take 2-3 Tests (unless you get a perfect score).

There was no way I was going to get 1600 on the SAT or a 36 on the ACT because I had not prepped enough in order to get that high of a score, and my education didn't meet what I would've been tested on. I was held back in math when I had switched schools, so I am taking pre-calculus as a senior even though that subject is on the standardized tests that I took as a junior in high school. I had done an SAT course from January to March 2017, which was run by Kaplan (do not recommend) and by the time I took my SAT I had only gotten 1140. When I had taken a practice SAT with no prep, I had scored only 10 points lower. My SAT course barely helped me. Then, I bought both an ACT and SAT prep books because I signed up for both in June. I took the ACT because many people told me it would be "easier." The second time I took the SAT, I received 1200. On my ACT, with barely any prep I received a 27 (equivalent of 1300 SAT score). There are so many different factors that go into scoring a higher test score such as the testing center, amount of preparation, previous knowledge, the ability to answer all the questions in a short amount of time, and a clear head. The first testing center I went to caused me to become very stressed out, and I ended up not doing as well as I could.

5. Talk to your guidance counselor if you can.

 My guidance counselor is an absolute blessing! She compiled a list of twenty schools and worked with me to find the ones that I should look into. She's actually the one who gave me Providence College, to begin with, and here we are! Your guidance counselor is the person who should help you the most with the process, and help you find schools that are good for you. It's also a bit of a reality check when certain schools are far reaches meaning really hard to get in, even if you have everything they want. They are also the people who can give you fee waivers, and help you get in touch with representatives from the school.

6. Visit Schools and Do Interviews!

If you had asked me where I would want to go to college a year ago, I would've said, "possibly Boston College" and don't get me wrong...it's a lovely school, but once I visited it I decided not to apply. During my spring break, I visited three schools in Boston, and two in D.C, and ended up applying to one of those schools. After visiting schools, I decided that I wanted a campus school with lots of sports outside of the city. In June, I visited Lehigh University and Providence College and decided which school I wanted to be at. By visiting schools, you get to experience what it's like to go to that school and get a feel for the people. In August, I scheduled an interview at PC in order to express my interest there. Expressing interests in schools definitely helps because your interviewer will either take notes on you or be the person who eventually reads your application.

7. Spend a lot of time on your personal essay, and make people read it over.

I didn't have my personal essay done until two weeks before I turned in my applications, but once it was done my old English teacher read it and helped make it more coherent. Finding a topic and writing your story is a crucial part of the whole college process. You want the reader to get a feel for who you are because in the end, they are the ones who accept or deny you. Your test scores and grades are just one part of you, the personal essay gives your profile a personality.

8. There's no such thing as safety schools.

You will hear so many people talk about safety schools. As much as you can be certain a school will accept you, there is always the chance for some reason they don't (unless there is a 100% acceptance rate). There are so many colleges and universities to choose from, and they all have different things they look for in a future student. There are people I know that were accepted into schools with 12% acceptance rates and denied from 75% acceptance rate schools. There's no exact science to getting into a certain school.

9. You'll get in somewhere!

Many people become scared that they won't get into a university. If you apply to schools that you have a good chance of getting in, along with your dream schools...you'll get in somewhere. I was deferred from a school that everyone thought I would get into, but two others schools accepted me and then gave me scholarships before I even found out from my top school. Although everyone is different, you'll end up at a university no matter what.

I hope this post was helpful to those of you who are entering the college process! I am sure you'll be fine. If you have any other questions or need advice, my twitter handle is @thisfashiongirl. I am in no way an expert on the college process, but I definitely wanted to give advice because the whole process is super scary. 

For those of you not from the United States, comment what the college process is like in your country!

                                                                              xx

                                                                Christina Madeleine