Student Blog
Life Hacks

New Year, New You! ⟩
January 9, 2013, by Alisa

Life Hacks School/Life Balance

Happy New Year! Happy New You! Yes, we all survived the apocalypse. That’s something to celebrate about, right? I hope all my readers had a restful break. Last year I was in Thailand for the holidays and got to visit China as well. It was short and sweet, and I learned a few new things as well. This year, however, I did a stay-cation. I got to enjoy the warm rays of sun, wished upon a shooting star, and spent the holidays with friends and family. As I grow older, I realize that the people you spend time with matter more than the location. I made myself a few goals over break, and I achieved most of them. Yay! Time to celebrate by doing the Gangnam Style dance!

Just to recap the goals:

• Decorate the Christmas tree (Did that and already undecorated it)
• Learn how to play a ukulele (Had a jam session with a classmate who generously taught me tuning, reading tabs, and strumming patterns)
• Learn how to juggle (I haven’t practice over break yet, but break is not over, so I could still achieve this goal)
• Master the Gangnam-style dance (Okay, maybe I haven’t completely mastered it, but a group of us danced in front of a crowd. Does that count? Also, on New Year’s Eve, my mom and I danced with Psy on TV. Did you know that his YouTube video reached a billion views? That’s unbelievable and of course, it was the top news of 2012)
• Read Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (Done and already rented out the next book on my Kindle)
• Do more yoga (Yes, I went to my local yoga studio to practice. One of the sessions I attended was taught by a male instructor. Honestly, he was the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen, which, of course, gave me the adrenaline to work harder. He was an eye candy with a soft tone of voice, muscly, tall, and handsome and emphasized fluidity in our poses and movements. Another class that I attended was taught by a chiropractor. The class is called Prana Flow, and it was 2.5 hours. Yes, you are reading correctly. 2.5 hours. 150 minutes. A good half hour of it was meditation. Since I went to the class at night, I had already exerted myself leading a food tour earlier that day, so when the corpse pose (savasana), where you lie supine on the ground, came around, I knocked out. Twice. At the start of class and at the end of class. So, I’ve concluded that I’m addicted to yoga. I would like to get a teaching certification one day, so that I could share my practice with others, making it accessible to everyone. It is my dream to own a health and wellness studio one day. Yes, all my readers could get a free class. 😉

I can’t believe that school resumes next week, but it’ll be good to get the ball rolling. I still have to finalize my schedule, but I’ll get that all sorted out very soon. It doesn’t help that there are so many elective options we could choose that with my being the indecisive type does not really help.

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Resolutions ⟩
January 8, 2013, by Ricky

Life Hacks School/Life Balance

As of today, I am beginning operation Get Fit (Registered Trademark by Ricky — not really). So I know we’ve been in the New Year for a few days now, but I was on vacation up through yesterday — well . . . technically, I started work yesterday, but yesterday was the BCS Bowl (which turned out to be a disappointment) and I knew I’d be enjoying several delicious beverages and a few unhealthy snacks. Anyhow, as of today, it’s go-time! Operation Get Fit is a work in progress, but the foundation includes daily physical exercise, meditation, and eating healthy. The focus right now is maximizing mornings. My ideal morning includes some exercise, a warm shower, and a solid breakfast. I always feel more productive and satisfied with my performance if I start the day with a good jog. This might actually have something to do with my sensory preferences — I may just be giving my body what it needs to start the day. The real challenge with my fitness goals is being able to make the time. My schedule is pretty tight, with school, work, the fiancée, and living so far from everything. But it is as they say, “Where there’s a will there’s a way.” There is always a way. One strength is having a gym nearby wherever I’m at. And another strength is the fact that I love the gym. I get so pumped when I walk in and see super-fit people grinding on the machines and weights. I get even more pumped when I see people that are in non-ideal shape hitting it hard. I’m like “yeah, get your health on!” I guess I’m lucky to feel this way because I know some people who hate the gym. Anyhow, as most college students probably do, I am really reconsidering my living arrangements as of late — I may just rent someone’s couch for the remaining semester. Anybody got a living-room couch for rent? Haha. We’ll see how it all works out, one thing’s for sure, I am getting FIT! I’ll be getting married this summer and I want to be in top shape. Next on the list: figuring out how to grow some more hair. 😊

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Goals for winter break ⟩
December 17, 2012, by Alisa

Life Hacks

I’m done with finals! Woohoo! I’m looking forward to relaxing more over winter break.

I’ll be doing a stay-cation this break, and here are some of my goals:

• Decorate the Christmas tree (I just did last night!)
• Learn how to play a ukulele (I purchased one over Black Friday weekend!)
• Learn how to juggle (a friend told me I have potential 😉)
• Master the Gangnam-style dance
• Read Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
• Do more yoga

These goals should keep me busy, and I’ll keep in touch by blogging too. Do you have plans for the holidays?

It’s beginning to look and feel like Christmas!

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Transitioning Occupations ⟩
December 5, 2012, by Kendra

Life Hacks School/Life Balance

Three years ago when I decided to switch gears from being an actor to becoming an occupational therapist, I went through a difficult transition. I constantly berated myself for giving up too soon or not having the chutzpah to make it work. In a way I went through an identity crisis. I had dedicated the majority of my life to acting! I moved thousands of miles away from home, dropped cash on classes, workshops, and headshots galore while working multiple jobs at wild hours just to make ends meet and get to auditions on time. Juggling so many factors just to maybe get a job took away the joy I’d felt performing over the years. Even though I wanted to be an actor more than anything I did not relish in the laborious, seemingly endless, struggle.

So when I decided to change careers I had to let go of a part of me, but I promised myself I would always find my way back to performing. But next time it would be on my terms. I could do it as a hobby, as a side project, for fun not money. Part of me thought that was a bunch of bologna, but part of me hoped I was right.

Having made the transition and been in grad school for nearly two years, I am so glad I made the choice I did. Knowing what I know now about occupations, I also know that I was never ‘giving up’ acting. It will always be a part of me. What I did was shift its definition within my life, moving it from work to play and leisure activities. Doing this allows it to best suit my personal needs, and therefore be a more meaningful, fulfilling occupation as opposed to one causing stress.

I had my first read-thru for a web series this last weekend. It was wonderful. Exciting. Freeing. Invigorating. Never once was I worried how this would affect other auditions, or disappointed it didn’t pay. I was able to indulge in the performance and truly sink my teeth into the experience. By redefining a meaningful occupation, I was able to find the just right fit for the rest of my life.

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Oh Sandy ⟩
October 31, 2012, by Kendra

Community Life Hacks

I lived in New York City for four years before moving out west. Each time a blizzard or nor’easter (as the locals call it) would shut down a bus line or impede the usual hustle and bustle of the city that never sleeps, my mom would call up frantically wondering if my disaster kit was assembled and if my windows were sealed. And each time I would calmly tell her that the news media is making it out to be way worse than it actually is. Usually I’d be waiting for my sushi delivery as I told her this.

But this time it’s different. Due to a perfect confluence of variables, the storm has taken the city from fast-paced to off the grid.

And it’s during times like these that I love New Yorkers most.

Instead of hearing stories from friends of looting and violence, you hear about neighbors helping neighbors. You hear of businesses making pizza in the dark for 15 hours just because they have gas and want to provide hot food to their neighborhood.

You read posts on Facebook, people offering their hot water and dry homes to those that need it. Despite their reputation for being rude, fast-talking people during times of trouble New Yorkers come together demonstrating one of the greatest human capacities: support and caring. It is a truly beautiful thing.

In learning about the physiological aspects of the stress response we learn of a number of factors that can help ameliorate its effects. One of those is social support. Talking to a friend about a bad day helps someone unwind. Going to church weekly helps a person find peace and understanding in a busy life. And having a community of 9 million people come together after a shared trauma to help rebuild helps each person cope with the tragedy in a healthy, productive way.

So hats off to you New York City. My heart goes out to you, but I know New York will continue to stand tall.

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