organization – The April Diaries

It’s that time of year again when back-to-school commercials start airing on television and everyone is dreading the thought of going back to school, no matter if you are in middle school, high school, or college. I’ve grown from being that nervous-as-hell first-grader, not knowing what to expect to the point of tears to actually loving the first day of school/classes!

I value my education more than anything in the world, and it’s become imperative for me to get the most out of my college education. No, I do not mean partying. [What may surprise some people is that I’m not exactly a “party girl.”] I’m not shaming anyone who does, but I’m telling those high schoolers who read my blog that it really isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be, and not what college is all about, no matter what films try to tell us.

Nevertheless, what I mean by getting the most out of my college education is getting involved and getting good grades; then there’s the occasional “letting loose.” One thing I’ve learned, as said in Burnt Out, is how to stay organized. I mentioned in that particular post that I was constantly tired — not because of the 8:00 AM Management classes — but because I didn’t have a set schedule nor did I have a to-do-list and often gave into my anxieties and napped a lot. I’ve come to realize that having a set and pre-filled agenda is a must-have when you’re a [busy] college student. Thus, I went to CVS on a whim, bought an extensive agenda, and filled out the month of August to the best of my ability.

Take a look:

Bullet journals help, as well. Plus, they’re extremely fun to fill out!

But don’t forget to fill in time spent with friends, boyfriends/girlfriends, and family! Needless to say, I’m not even close to being done filling out the month of August, yet. And this is just August — wait till you see my upcoming “week in the life” coming in September!

If you do find yourself burnt out and exhausted while doing homework, go for a run/walk, grab yourself a smoothie, coffee, soda, etc. and get back to doing your work. On that topic, it’s important to nourish yourself throughout each and every day, without breaking your budget, of course!

Be productive. It’s okay to fall off the rail once in a while and just be bored and sit in one place, so that’s why I chose what I explained in The Two Tips To Achieve Self Love, and to have something to do each day, aside from classes. Go to the gym, volunteer, or read a book (yes, those still exist. Reading is fun!) Yes, I will be posting weekly in accordance with my schedule. It’s not enough just to think about what you’re going to do every day; you need to write it down and it will happen. It’s like making yourself a promise, as well as manifesting, which I touch upon in Self-Care and Spirituality Tips. Mercury is luckily out of retrograde this time around, so no worries here!

As always, I wish you all Godspeed and best of luck in school, no matter what year/grade you’re in.

xoxo

April 😘💕

What’s up, A(pril)-listers? April here, and I’m going to show you a glimpse of this ‘busy girl life’ of mine!

A college girl is never complete without her necessities. Where does she keep them? Why, in her backpack, of course!

I was inspired by internet sensation, Katy Bellotte’s, YouTube video on what she carries in her college bag and what classes she is taking this spring 2018 semester. I was originally going to make this a CollegeFashionista article, but I thought I’d get up-close-and-personal with you guys on my blog, instead. I’m trying to build my fashion/lifestyle “brand,” after all!

Without further ado, here is what’s in my backpack:

To begin with, I might as well show you how big my backpack is. It has numerous pockets for my needs, so I never run out of space to put my things.

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Sidenote: my bag is by Kenneth Cole Reaction.

Now, let’s get down to business as to what a busy girl, like myself, carries in her backpack to survive throughout the day!

1.) Inspiration

One can use a little fashion inspiration wherever they go. I love to get my outfit/health/fitness inspo from magazines like Seventeen, Vogue, Teen Vogue, or Vanity Fair.

2.) Wallet(s) and earphones

My little furry sidekick, Sassy, obviously wanted to be in the pic XD. What a little diva! Anyway, one of my wallets isn’t big enough, so I carry two Coach wallets (both were gifts). One is for various types of cards, and the other is just simply for money (and used Starbucks gift cards, lol!). And when I pop in those earphones and play my workout playlist or any of my bangin’ Pandora stations, I feel unstoppable and I feel like I’m in a movie.

3.) Notebook(s) and planner

As Katy Bellotte said in her video, “A person is only as good as their planner.” I agree with that wholeheartedly. I bought my planner at the RWU bookstore and it’s by Vera Bradley (as are the notebooks pictured above). I like how my planner comes with it’s own special “bookmark” and keeps tabs of the months. It also comes with little stickers that say “haircut,” “appointment,” “doctor,” “girls’ night out,” etc. So cute!

You might be wondering what classes I’m taking. If not, I’m going to tell you, anyways. I’m taking Literary Publishing, Form in Poetry, Marketing Principles, Public Speaking, and Literary Philosophy. I absolutely love my classes, oh, and for those of you wondering (or are new here), I’m a Creative Writing major with a minor in Arts Management at RWU.

*Not included in this post, but I also carry numerous textbooks with me… I’m a huuuuge nerd!*

4.) Lipsticks, gloss, and chapstick

I carry not one, but four things of lip-wear in my front pocket. First, I have two lipsticks. The dark lip is totally in right now, and I love a bold lip color. One of them is a mauve (my new favorite color), and the other is “Gone Griege” (brown). But I tend to use one or the other when I feel like dressing up. For those of you who’ve seen me on campus, I’ve been going for the active look. So with that, I go for my pumpkin spice chapstick. Now, in terms of my lip gloss, I don’t like to wear it all that much, but when I do, I pair it with a more neutral lipstick shade.

5.) Pens, pens, and more pens!

I recently got felt-tip pens for Christmas, and I’m absolutely obsessed with them! One can never go wrong with a great pen. There’s something about a really good pen that makes your words flow better on paper. For my creative writing classes, I like to use my purple pen because the purple is the color of creativity. I like to use my orange pen for my marketing class — it just has that “vibe,” you know?

***Things that are not listed that I keep in my backpack: