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. 

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

Photo Diary: Ski Trip 2018 + the Women's March

Hey everyone! Since January blogging didn't work out so well, I wanted to share some of the things I did in during that month and in the first few days of February. Also, I am reading quite a few books right now, so hopefully I will have some book reviews up soon. Although I haven't been blogging, I've taken a lot of photos.

School Ski Trip to Okemo Resort, Vermont 

Last year, I went on my school's ski trip for the first time. You can read all about that here. Back in December, Nikki and I went skiing at Hunter Mountain in preparation for this year's ski trip. In January, I spent two days in Vermont to ski and just have fun with the girls in my school.

If you are familiar with Okemo Mountain Resort, there's a green run called Sachem, and I had never done a full run before... until this trip! Previously, we've only done runs that are pretty short also known as the Bull Run. After a 15-minute lift ride, we went down such a cool slope, except we were still pretty scared, but falling is half the fun.

              We skied half way down the mountain to a restaurant just to take pictures of the view.

 The conditions on the first day were so bad that I had to buy a face mask to cover my whole body. Not a single part of me was showing. Every time I would talk to someone, I would have to say my name because they couldn't recognize me.

 I use this app called 1SE (one second a day), which compiles a second every day into a video. This was a short clip from the day with some of my friends.

It's not a ski trip without waffles!

The Women's March

In January, I took part in the Women's March in NYC. I loved the idea of #PowerToThePolls because the only way to see real change in the United States is through new representatives, policy change, and legislation. I have to say though, the Women's March in New York was very disappointing because there was no passion. People walked the streets in silence, which would've been good if it were a silent protest, but the Women's March is all about using your voice and empowering people. I was so sad that people cared more about going on there phones than actually making noise and getting messages across.

 We spent hours before the March making signs.

Thank you for reading my blog! I will be back with new posts soon. Also, check out some of the other places I write for here.

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