How to Prepare for a New Month

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Hi everyone!

I hope you all are doing well and soaking up the last couple of months of the year :) I can’t believe that December is approaching… how quickly has this year gone by?!? With a new month coming, I wanted to give you a few tips on how to prepare for a new month–especially a new month filled with (lots of) studying for finals, and holiday festivities! I hope these tips help you stay organized and productive!

Tip #1: Write EVERYTHING down!

This has always been the most important for me. If everything isn’t written down, I miss important deadlines, I’m not sure what I need to do for the week, I am not sure what is going on each day, etc. I am completely lost! But, when I write everything down, my life is so much easier because of how organized I am.

Here are some things I always try to remember to put on the calendar:

  • Due dates (this is huge, especially since my semester is almost over)
  • Class/Lecture times
  • Birthdays
  • Appointments
  • Activities (things I will be doing with family and friends)
  • Everything I need to do for my job

Tip #2: Do something that makes you excited for the new month

Christmas is my favorite time of year. While I was home over fall break, I helped decorate my house! I was able to spend time with my family while also celebrating the new month. Once I get back to my apartment, I’ll be blasting Christmas music, drinking hot cocoa, and decorating as much of it as I can :)

If you do something that makes you happy, that gets you into the spirit of the new month, you will be going into it with a positive mindset and looking forward to everything.

Tip #3: To-Do Lists are ESSENTIAL

I am the type of person that needs a to-do list to survive. I get absolutely nothing done when I don’t write one. This is the perfect way to help yourself be productive. I tend to start my to-do lists the night before so I can understand what homework I have, what studying I have to do, things like that. But, in the morning I take a look at the day and see if there are any minor things I need to get done like preparing something for a job, doing laundry, cleaning my room, etc.

If you do this and stick to your to-do lists, you will feel extremely accomplished and you’ll also be able to stay on top of everything, which is super important, especially during one of the busiest times of the year.

These are my MUST DO top three. They always make me excited for the month, looking forward to everything, and most importantly, being organized. You may not work the exact same way I do, and if that’s the case, that is perfectly fine :) But, if you do and you have been looking for ways to spice up your month and be a bit more productive, these are three things that I live by, and may be very beneficial to you! To all of my fellow Iowa students, I wish you the best of luck on finals…I’m sure all of you will do great. And to all of you, I hope you had an amazing Thanksgiving, and Happy Holidays!

<3 Heather

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Weekend In My Life!

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Hi everyone!

I wanted to show you what a weekend at UIowa looks like in my life! I know that if you aren’t a college student, the life of one can seem very busy and very intimidating. During the week, I am a very busy person, but I like to use my weekends as a way to relax and refresh so I hope you like seeing what this weekend’s schedule looks like!

Friday:

8:30-10:30am–class (Econ & Spanish)

11:00am-1:00pm–nap (I haven’t been feeling the best the last few days, I normally don’t nap unless I am sick)

1:00-2:30pm–wake up a little, clean room, talk to my roommates, put on a nicer outfit, have lunch (Ramen)

2:45-4:00pm–work on a Business project

4:15-6:15pm–make coffee, light my new candle!, call my parents, take notes on Econ chapterMy new fall candle and delicious coffee

6:30pm–make dinner (4 cheese ravioli with pesto

Four cheese ravioli with pesto and a side salad& salad)

6:45-7:30pm–eat while watching tv

7:40-7:45pm–shower

8:00-8:30pm–work on homework

11:00pm–went to bed

Saturday:

Morning crepes11:00am-12:30pm–got brunch with my boyfriend at Crepes De Luxe

2:00pm–baked Halloween cookies

3:00pm–watched Hells Kitchen for most of the afternoon lol

5:00pm–had a Chipotle bowl for dinner

10:30pm-12:30am–watched the Joker & went to bed

Sunday

9:00am–called my mom

10:30-11:30am: went to the doctor

12:00-2:00pm–had soup for lunch while watching TV

2:00-4:00pm–took a nap

4:15pm–made some coffee

6:20-6:50pm–worked on a Spanish assignment

7:30pm–showered

8:30pm–worked on more homework

9:00pm–busywork for my job

10:30pm–went to bed

Because I felt sick this weekend, I decided to take it easy! Normally, my weekends do look a little busier than this, but it was important that I took some time to relax. I have been very stressed the last couple of weeks, so this was my body telling me to take a chill pill! Just remember, the most important thing about having a busy schedule is finding the time to put yourself first :)

<3 Heather

 

 

 

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My First Iowa Football Game

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Hi everyone!

Today I am sharing my experience at my VERY FIRST EVER Iowa Football game! This was such an awesome day, and it really gives you a glimpse into what game day is like here on campus :) I hope you like it! GO HAWKS!!!

Thanks for watching,

<3 Heather

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First Steps to Study Abroad

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Hi everyone,

I am currently in the beginning process of understanding how Study Abroad works! I am working towards figuring out how I will make it to Barcelona, Spain next fall! This whole process is a little more challenging than I anticipated, so I wanted to give you a couple guidelines to make it easier on you!

Click here to find the general Study Abroad Page

Step 1: Talk to your family

Studying abroad is highly recommended because of how great of an experience it is; however, that experience isn’t for everybody. Going abroad is fairly expensive, you need to pay for tuition, living expenses, food, etc. Many families can not afford to send their children abroad, so that is a very important conversation to have with your family before you continue the process. Also, most people tend to go abroad for a semester which is for 3-4 months. That is a long time to be away from home, and from everything you are used to. There is so much to think about that goes into this process, but if you find that it can work for you, I highly recommend going. I have only heard good things :)

If you are looking for financial help, Study Abroad has some great scholarships to offer! Click here to check them out!

Step 2: Consider all of your options

There are SO many places to go and so many programs to pursue. You need to find what one will be best and which will make the most sense for YOU! For example, I am majoring in Business and minoring in Spanish so it makes the most sense for me to do the Business and Culture program in Spain to fulfill a couple Business classes, while also developing the language.

Here is a page where you can search for places and programs to help you find what you are looking for: Study Abroad Program Search

Step 3: Speak with a Study Abroad advisor

Click here to find the contact information for our Study Abroad office! Before you call, have an idea of the program you want to do and what semester you hope to go abroad. Once you speak to the receptionist, they will be able to guide you towards the best advisor for your situation.

Step 4: After you talk to your Study Abroad advisor, speak to your Academic Advisor

Make an appointment with your Academic Advisor to discuss how a study abroad program would fit into your schedule. They will be able to help you determine what classes will transfer, and if going abroad is the smartest decision to make.

This is as far as I have gotten so far…the application for my program doesn’t open until January 1st, so I still have a lot of time to figure this out. But, I wanted to get a head start on this whole process because it is a little overwhelming. I will have another post on here once I finalize everything, giving you a checklist of things to do that will help you figure out everything you need to do before going abroad! I hope these few initial tips will help make this process a little less stressful to go through! Good luck :)

<3 Heather

 

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First Day of School Vlog!

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Hi everyone!

I hope everyone has had a great beginning to the school year! I am so excited for this blog post because you get to see what a first day at Iowa is like!! I am a sophomore this year, so I have now started getting into more classes for my major and minors rather than Gen Ed’s…so there’s a lot of fun classes mentioned in this vlog :) I hope you enjoy!

Thanks so much for watching,

Heather <3

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How to Survive Your Morning Classes!

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Ahhh. The dreaded 8:30am. I have been waiting to write this blog post to see what the first week of school was like–having to wake up for my early Macroeconomics class–to give all of you the best tips I can think of!

Some of you may be like me…I like having early classes. I am able to get them out of the way and work on homework by 10:30. Or…you may be like my roommate who has no class Monday and Friday and starts after 3pm the rest of the week. To each their own, you should do whatever will make you enjoy your college experience. For those of you who are like me, I want to give you five of my biggest tips for making it through your early morning classes.

Tip 1: Go to bed by 11pm.

I know this is a challenging thing for all of us college kids to do just because of life and homework, but I have found that it makes it a lot easier to wake up and get ready for your 8:30 if you got enough sleep the night before.

Tip 2: Have a routine.

Having a routine is important no matter what but especially if you have an early and busy day ahead of you. Here is what my classic routine looks like prior to my morning classes:

  • Pack my backpack and lay out my clothes the night before so I’m not stressing in the morning
  • Get to bed at a decent time
  • Wake up an hour before I need to leave and immediately make my bed
  • Get dressed, brush my teeth, do my makeup, etc.
  • Make coffee ten minutes before I need to leave

It doesn’t matter what your morning looks like, but doing things consistently every day will help you a lot. I also recommend waking up at least an hour before you need to walk to class because you will be energized and ready to learn by the time you start!

Tip 3: Positive Attitude.

You most likely chose your morning classes for a reason. Yes, I know, you get tired of having to wake up early while all of your friends are sleeping in. But, if you don’t have a positive attitude you will never get through them. What helps me is thinking about how accomplished I will be by noon every day!

Tip 4: Understand what your week looks like.

It is so important to be organized…in my opinion, it’s how you get through anything in life. Knowing what your week looks like with classes, homework, social life, clubs, etc. will help you get through all of your classes. Plan out your week in advance and write a to-do list for every day so then you know exactly what needs to be done.

Tip 5: Think wisely.

Going out and being with your friends is so much fun…but going to bed at 3am and waking up at 7am is not. That’s why it is so important to really understand how you want your week to be. You need to plan your social life accordingly. If you have an 8am on Wednesday, don’t be out with your girlfriends all night on Tuesday…it’ll just make those early morning classes unbearable.

Alright, everybody! I hope these tips have helped you! But, I really do want to stress that you need to do whatever works for you. Early classes may not be your thing, but they are mine, so hopefully, these tips gave you a little motivation to get through them! Also…don’t beat yourself up if you are struggling to get up early while also trying to be a good student and staying up half the night doing your homework. A lot of us haven’t been to an in-person class the last couple of years and it takes a little more effort than just rolling out of bed :) Just remember…you’re doing great!

Thank you all so much for reading!

<3 Heather

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How to Choose Your Classes

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Choosing your courses for the semester isn’t difficult, you just have to be sure you know what to take and when to take it. For example, prior to applying to Tippie College of Business, I had to take four pre-requisite classes; and, I have to take two specific classes before I can declare my major. It’s extremely important to know what classes are required for specific parts of your degree. Each college at the University of Iowa has specific degree requirements that you can find in your degree audit, or on Planning Major Sheets.

Advisors are your best friend when it comes to picking what classes to take! The balance between gen-eds, fun classes, pre-req’s, major, and minor classes is such an important factor in all of your semester schedules, and advisors work with you on finding that balance because they know what classes work well together.

Here are some tips of mine for choosing classes:

  1. Know what classes you want to take before you talk to your advisor at your planning meeting. This makes the process go a lot smoother and quicker!
  2. KNOW THE TIME YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO CHOOSE YOUR CLASSES!!! They fill up extremely fast, so it’s important to be on the ball so you don’t miss out on a class you really want to take.
  3. Go on the waitlist. You might get lucky and end up having a seat in a class that you couldn’t get into when you were choosing.
  4. Schedule Builder is your best friend! Find what classes you want to take and when you want to take them and mess around with different potential schedules. Save five that you really like because odds are three schedules won’t work out in your favor when it’s choosing day.
  5. Don’t forget about “My Plans” in your MyUI. “My Plans” is an amazing feature because it allows you to map out all four years of your education! You can put in your major(s) and minor(s) and move classes around to see what you want your schedules to be like every semester.
  6. Stick to 15-17 semester hours. I have found that this works for me extremely well because it allows me to balance my academics and social life. 15-17 s.h. is a good range because you should also stay on track for finishing your degree on time.

Find what interests you, what you like to do, and what you want to do in the future, choose your classes depending on that. I am inserting links for all of the UIowa colleges so you can look around and see what would be the best fit for you!

Tippie College of Business: https://catalog.registrar.uiowa.edu/tippie-business/

College of Dentistry: https://catalog.registrar.uiowa.edu/dentistry/

College of Education: https://catalog.registrar.uiowa.edu/education/

College of Engineering: https://catalog.registrar.uiowa.edu/engineering/

College of Law: https://catalog.registrar.uiowa.edu/law/

Carver College of Medicine: https://catalog.registrar.uiowa.edu/carver-medicine/

College of Nursing: https://catalog.registrar.uiowa.edu/nursing/

College of Pharmacy: https://catalog.registrar.uiowa.edu/pharmacy/

College of Public Health: https://catalog.registrar.uiowa.edu/public-health/

College of Liberal Arts & Sciences: https://catalog.registrar.uiowa.edu/liberal-arts-sciences/

Quote of the day: “You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step”. ~Martin Luther King, Jr.

Have a beautiful rest of your day!

Heather :)

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Best iPad Apps To Help With Iowa Classes

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I recently got myself the iPad Pro and have been trying out different apps that have become super handy with helping me finish the semester strong. I wanted to share them with you because whether you are in high school or have been a student at Iowa for a while, these apps will greatly help you! 

Here are my top three:

  1. Procreate

Hello, productivity… I love to use procreate to make myself weekly to-do lists. It’s a great, customizable app that allows you to make your to-do lists to your liking. I like to design mine with a layout of the entire week, so then I know what I have to do, and what big assignments I have to complete! Everything is at your fingertips, and the customizable feature is so nice that it makes you actually want to cross everything off your list!

  1. Good Notes

There are lots of great note-taking apps for the iPad, but this is definitely my personal favorite. In the past, I’ve been a huge advocate for having binders for every class, so it was hard for me to make the transition from paper to technology. I’ve always been super organized where I would separate the binder based on my class structure—lectures, homework assignments, essays, etc. I was never able to find anything that quite matched my organization level but in technology form, until I came across this app. I have all of my classes in separate digital folders with each class being organized differently as I would normally do in the binder. It’s phenomenal because now anywhere I take my iPad, I have all of my classes with me! Plus, once I graduate, every class I have taken will be on the app. The feature of Good Notes I enjoy the most is that it connects to the Apple Pencil! I learn better when I write rather than type, so having the ability to write lecture notes, work notes, etc. is a non-negotiable for me. 

  1. Mindnode

In college, you learn more information at a quicker pace, compared to what you’re used to in high school. A lot of the time all of the information you get just ends up being barfed onto a sheet of paper, all jumbled, not a lot of organization, and messy. Mindnode is a way to take all of that information and make it into mind maps. In case you don’t know what a mind map is, you start with a topic—for example, the philosopher Epictetus—, and build off of that topic—one of his major beliefs is that humans are not insulted by things, they are insulted by their judgment of that thing—, so on and so forth. It’s just a big mapping of a topic pretty much; but it’s an amazing way to stay organized, review all of your class information, and begin to understand the concepts. I specifically enjoy this app for Principles of Microeconomics and the Meaning of Life. I tend to get overwhelmed with the amount of information I get in these classes, so it’s nice for me to have space where I can jot everything down based on the topic it relates to. 

Obviously, there are so many more amazing apps you can get to help with your studies, but these are my absolute favorite because I use them every day. The organization within all of them makes it much easier to be productive and achieve amazing grades. Different things work for different people, but if you are someone who has felt overwhelmed with the amount of information you have learned this semester, these are definitely some apps to look into!

Quote of the day: “Innovation is the ability to see change as an opportunity–not a threat”. ~Steve Jobs

Have a beautiful rest of your day!

Heather :)

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Best Places in Iowa City

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Hi everyone, welcome back!

On this blog, I’ve been talking a lot about the university in relation to academics, so I thought I’d switch it up and give you a glimpse into my favorite places in Iowa City!

To Study/Get Coffee:

  • Dash Coffee Roasters: Dash is by far my go-to place when it comes to studying or going to get coffee with a friend. It is a place that a lot of students on campus don’t really know about because it is in a sort of hidden location. I love it because it is the closest coffee shop to the dorms. It’s just down the street from Catlett and Burge! If you are a plant lover or are super into aesthetic, cute places this is definitely someplace to try. I would recommend getting a latte and the pesto grilled cheese.
  • Java House: This place is VERY popular on campus. It was one of the first places I went when I got to campus first semester. It’s always tricky to find a seat, so make sure to get there early :) I tend to prefer the atmosphere at Dash a little more, just because during busier times, Java can get loud, so it makes it a little more challenging to study. If you go, definitely get a breakfast sandwich; my favorite is the Spicy Southwest.

Breakfast Date

  • The Dandy Lion: The best breakfast restaurant in Iowa City (in my opinion). It reminds me of a hometown diner, one where every employee knows every customer. It’s a very unique restaurant when it comes to style, vibe, and meals. The last time I was in, they had some very delicious sounding desserts on the menu, but I always find that the food is so good that I eat it all and never have enough time for dessert :( So, if you have any good desserts after your meal, please let me know.

Bring the Parents:

  • Pullman Diner: This is by far my favorite restaurant in Iowa City, and has now become my parents’ favorite as well. The most special aspect of the restaurant is that it was designed based on the Pullman Train Car. You can’t go wrong with going to Pullman for brunch, lunch, or dinner!
  • Vue Rooftop: You don’t have to be staying in the hotel to eat at the restaurant! But, make sure to schedule a reservation because it fills up very quickly, especially with COVID. The best part is the view you get of Iowa City; it’s so beautiful to look over the skyline, especially as the sun is setting :)

Shop:

  • Pitaya: I LOVE THIS STORE. I honestly think it has become my favorite store of all time just because the clothing is so cute, appropriate, and trendy! This is definitely a popular store for girls who are in sororities because there are some great clothing items for the different events they have. But, it’s also a nice place to shop for different holidays, and if you just want to treat yourself to a nice outfit :)
  • Iowa Book: If you go to Iowa…so does your family. This store has so many different options when it comes to clothes for parents, grandparents, siblings, etc. There’s tons of Iowa gear, nic-nacs, and academic supplies. They also have lots of really great sales!

Alright, everyone! I hope you enjoyed hearing about a few of my favorite places in Iowa City. Don’t get me wrong, I love every place in the city, but these are places where I am a very frequent customer :) These are definitely places to go whether you are touring the campus, or are a current student and have never tried them!

Have a beautiful rest of your day :)

Quote of the day: “Celebrate the simple”~Unknown

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It’s OKAY to change your major!

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Hey everybody, welcome back!

I’m going to be very honest with all of you. No matter what you are planning to do professionally in the future, there is a chance that your vision will change. But, that is okay! You will take so many classes in your first couple of years of college which will give you a variety of options for what you can do in the future. You will experience different fields through work, internships, extracurriculars, etc., that will help guide you in your decision. It can be very daunting when you go to college, because you may feel like you have to have your life put together (I did). I’m in my second semester, and have already decided that the major I was planning on isn’t going to be my major.

I want to give you a glimpse into what my vision was prior to going to college, so then you see how much that vision can change. I grew up in a business household, and my dad had the biggest affect on my major decision. He told me that the business analytics field was one that I should go into, and I responded with, “Okay, that sounds good, I like business and I’m good at math, so that should work for me”. Though it would be a good field, my main focus was on the amount of money I would make, rather then considering if it would be something I would love doing for the rest of my life. I went to Iowa as a Pre-Business major, pretty adamant that I wouldn’t change my major until I started a job that made me sit down and consider it.

Just recently, I became a network marketer for a beauty company and once I started, I began to gain a serious interest in marketing and sales. I realized that I was actually good at this, that I can post on my Instagram story every day talking about these products, that people wanted to purchase them from me. I realized that I loved doing this! Obviously, there’s still different aspects of the degree that I would have to consider, but I am now finding that I’m leaning more towards a degree in Professional Marketing & Sales, rather than Business Analytics.

There are so many aspects of a profession that will help guide you into choosing which path you want to go down. There are important things for you to consider such as if you want to travel, if you want to be a stay at home mom, if you want to be an athlete, if you want to be your own boss, etc. Money may play a large factor in choosing which profession you hope to have, but the more important aspect is to make sure you love it because it is something you’re going to be doing for the rest of your life. Don’t feel pressured, just take it one step at a time and I promise that you’ll figure it out :)

 

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