Happy April folks! I am currently blogging from Daytona Beach, Florida and the spring semester is so close yet so far from being over! Homework is slowing down as projects, tests, quizzes, and finals are picking up and we only have a few weeks between us and summer!

Some brief updates: I got rehired as an RA for next year and I got assigned a new building which I am so happy about! I also discovered a new affinity for iced chai tea lattes, and my favorite finals go-to drink… iced cappuccinos! Stopping by the Starbucks on campus in between classes or studying for a quick pick-me-up has been a recent favorite of mine.

I started a few weeks ago FaceTiming my sister every Sunday evening, its been an important highlight that I look forward to every week amongst the chaos and busy flow of both of our lives. Giving time and energy to people you love is one of the most rewarding feelings! FaceTiming with people you miss may also help you feel more connected, especially in our current era of social distancing and masked living. 

I am one shot away from being fully vaccinated and I am very excited to be done! Traveling is one of my favorite activities and not being able to go abroad the past two summers has definitely hit me hard. I deleted my social media accounts at the beginning of the semester to take a small mental break and post-finals I am considering re-downloading them to stay connected with my friends that are graduating and moving away for the summer. I have also been looking into Pinterest lately as there’s some super cool inspiration and motivation that helps me feel more connected. 

Making friends is definitely challenging and the social life component is usually a very important aspect of college connections! I’ve supplemented “normal” hanging out with friends by sharing digital connections with my friends in the meantime. Usually this consists of sending music recommendations (Spotify!), workout or yoga videos (typically Popsugar Fitness or YogaWithAdriene), cool podcasts we want to share (NPR’s Shortwave on Spotify), or show/movie recommendations on Disney+, Netflix, or Hulu. 

I don’t usually have a ton of free time, so sometimes while I’m eating dinner I will watch a show or a movie for a few moments before hopping back into my to-do lists. Recently I’ve checked out on Netflix – Nadiya’s Time To Eat and Nadiya Bakes, both which I highly recommend for a light hearted good vibes simple cooking show that helps me look forward to being able to cook again in a kitchen this summer. I also recently watched Onward, Ferdinand, and Lilo and Stitch on Disney+ which are all extremely cute and have bright colors and end on happy notes!

Keep on keeping on folks! Will report back soon with final projects, finals, and life updates!