Traveling Turtle: Tunica Falls

On Martin Luther King Jr. Day I grabbed two of my friends and went hiking at Tunica Falls! Tunica Falls is a natural area, about a hour and a half away from Baton Rouge, that has beautiful waterfalls and views. It feels you are not even in Louisiana anymore! Doing this hike was one of my semester goals and I have been wanting to go for about a year, so I was very very VERY excited it was finally happening.

Overall, it took us about 3 hours to hike. We didn't do the entire thing, we just saw the main waterfalls. Some parts were pretty steep but all in all super fun

It was a perfect day, not to hot, not to cold, all I needed was a light jacket.

Took this with a selfie stick but it broke right after :(

Six Ways to be PREPARED for This Semester

It is always better to be over prepared than underprepared! Here are six things you can do to make this your best semester yet. I get super nervous going into a new semester with new teachers.
Here are some things that I do to make sure I am ready!

1. Print out the Syllabus (even if you're not required to)

Most syllabi have the entire semester outlined with due dates and all that good stuff. They have the teacher and TA's office hours listed, and basically everything you would ever need to know about that course. Print it out!!! Stick it in the cover of your binder, in your folder or tape it in your notebook. If you have a question of when something is due, you can access it before asking your teacher and them responding, "Did you even read the syllabus!" If you can access quickly while in class, then when a teacher changes a due date or office hours, you can quickly write it down instead a hoping you just remembering or losing the sticky you just used.

2. Write down important due dates from the syllabus you printed out!

Get out that snazzy planner you haven't been using all break! In my planner I use different colored marker for different events. I use pink for all my sorority events (geaux DZ!). I use blue for school stuff. I mix it up every now and again but it just makes it easier for me read, when I see something written in black I know that I have a dreaded math test on Friday. I also write down school holidays and my sorority events.

3. List all things needed for each class

I make a lot of lists so maybe this is just a me thing. I like to write down each class I'm taking and what I need for each class. When I get the item I need I draw a line through it. This is helpful for me so I don't get what I need for each class mixed up.

Math

Buy Online Access Code

Buy used textbook from Tiffany $25

Get HUGE notebook

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Interior Design

Sign up for tophat.com

Buy used textbook at bookstore

Get small notebook

Communications

Find used textbook

Buy small notebook with folder pocket

4. Make a tentative schedule for each day of the week

I like to write down my classes for each day of the week along with when I am going to lunch/dinner/gym. This helps me keep on top of things before I completely memorize my schedule and habits.

Monday
6:30 Wake up
7:30 - 8:30 Communications
8:30 - 9:30  Landscape Architecture
11:00 Lunch
5:30 Dinner

Tuesday
8 Wake up
9 - 10:30 Geography
10:30 - 12 Interior Design
12 - 1:30 Math
1:30 - 3 Accounting
5:15 Dinner
6 Meeting

Wednesday
6:30 Wake up
7:30 - 8:30 Communications
8:30 - 9:30  Landscape Architecture
11:30 - 12:30 Math Lab
1:00 Lunch
3:00 Workout
5:30 Dinner

Thursday
8 Wake up
9 - 10:30 Geography
10:30 - 12 Interior Design
12 - 1:30 Math
1:30 - 3 Accounting
5:30 Dinner
7 Workout

Friday
6:30 Wake up
7:30 - 8:30 Communications
8:30 - 9:30  Landscape Architecture
11:00 Lunch
1:00 Workout

5. Write down your goals

Two posts ago I shared my "Semester Goals" board. (I recently hung this up in my room and I'm very excited about it!) I am really aiming to get a 4.0 GPA this semester so that is my main goal; while also trying to be more organized. Writing down what you want to achieve makes you more motivated and able to achieve it. Especially when you see your goals everyday.

6. Take a deep breath

This semester is going to be what you make it, so make it great! Take a deep breath, it will be fine. Stay of top of your assignments, study before you need to, and don't procrastinate!

xx - C  

Traveling Turtle: Breckenridge

I recently traveled to Breckenridge, Colorado to ski! I left on January 3rd and came back on January 8th! It was such a fun experience and I can't wait to go again next year! 

Every year LSU takes a group of kids (about 2,500 students) to a different ski resort. This year it was in Breckenridge. I got to ski for four days straight and my body definitely hurts from it. My family and I go skiing about every other year; so it was fun to experience skiing with college kids and some of my friends.

The town of Breck is super cute! There are a lot of places to shop and eat on Main Street. The slopes are really nice and groomed as well. Most of the blue slopes were not to steep. I know how to ski but I am not an expert, so I stuck to mostly blues. The first three days it was sunny, the last day it was snowing all day, but it made for good #freshpow. Although I did attempt a black diamond (not a good idea) . I somehow got stuck in the tress by going the wrong way. It took my friend and I 30 minutes to get out, but we survived!!! But it was all fun and made a good memory!

Every night we were there, we got to go to an event. The first night a band from Louisiana, Bag of Donuts, played at one of the concert halls. The second night, a band played at one of the bars. The third night, The Expendables Band played at the concert hall.

Overall, it was a very fun experience; 10/10 would recommend Breckenridge!

The beautiful view

About to go down the black diamond

girl down

xx - C

2016 Resolutions

This year I really want to change. I want to become more positive and outgoing. I also want to be more organized and heathy.

I wanted to make something that I could see everyday that encouraged me every morning. I decided to make a board of my goals for the semester.

When I sat down to write my goals I decided I want a combination on things to achieve and things to think about. I wanted physical goals to obtain such as getting a 4.0 or drinking more water. But I also wanted things that said "be more inspiring" and "do more reading".  I complied everything that I wanted and made a Word document that I will print out large and hang in dorm room.

This is my finished product!

xx - C

Traveling Turtle: Florida

Over winter break I have the opportunity to travel to my aunt's lake house in Florida. I left on Monday, December 28th and cam back on Friday, January 1st.

Tuesday, December 29

Four of my little cousins were also staying at the house with us. So, we went to LEGOLAND. It is about 30 minutes from my aunt's house. I will most likely never go back there as it was strictly made for children ages 5-12. The lines for rides were long and not worth waiting for. Although, there was one portion of the park I really enjoyed. Major cities in the US were made from Legos. It was cool to walk around and see all the different cites from a Lego point of view.

The Entrance

One of the rides

Wednesday December 30th

We just hung around the house and went kayaking on the lake.

kayaking on Lake Marion

Thursday, December 31st - New Year's Eve

We went to Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park and Weeki Wachee Springs State Park. Homosassa is a manatee refuge spring. There are three manatees that stay at the park year round. The park was beautiful! The water is super clear and super blue!

After we went to Weeki Wachee State Park. We saw an underwater mermaid show which was really cool! We swam in the spring, which stays at a constant 74 degrees. It felt freezing when I first got in but my body got used to it! Overall, it was beautiful!

Friday, January 1st - New Year's Day!

We started our 9 hour drive back home. We stopped at underground Devil's Den Springs. We are planning a trip to go diving there and wanted to check it out.

view from above

walk way down

Panoramic Shot

xx, C

The Start of Something Great (Hopefully)

One of my 2016 New Years Resolutions is to document my life more. I want to do this by taking more pictures of my adventures and journaling them as I go. Then an idea came to me! I can combine both of those by starting a blog. I have done one other blog in the past in high school. I posted about the football games and school dances I attended. But I slowly faded out of updating it.

I am not certain what this blog will become but I hope it will be something great! I plan to post my daily life stories and adventures.

xx, C