Just a fun peek into my dorm room for my sophomore year! I'd have to say that my desk space is my absolute favorite part of the entire room. It's amazing what some spray paint, dollar store frames, and photo paper can do to transform your space. If you want a more in depth look at my room or have questions about something specific, let me know! 

What decorative plans do you have for your dorm?

College Wardrobe Must-Haves

College is upon us and that means smaller rooms, smaller closets, and less space in general. Packing for college can be hard, especially when it comes to compiling the perfect wardrobe. You want to be prepared for every occasion, but you also know you can't pack your entire closet. Below are my suggestions for assembling the perfect college wardrobe. An LBD to dress up or down, skinnies, leggings, and Norts to keep you comfy and casual, plain tees to dress up or down, warm fleece for fall or game day, and the perfect shoes for just about every occasion. And let's not forget the accessories. A perfect neutral bag, statement necklace for some bling, and a timeless watch to keep you prompt for class.

What are your wardrobe must-haves when it comes to packing for school?

Dorm Sweet Dorm

If you're anything like me, moving into college means decorating an entirely new space. This space can be anything you want it to be. You can reflect your personality in every corner and in every item you put in your room. While we all have different styles, there are a few essentials that help build the coolest room. Here are my picks to help you build the coolest dorm. Ever. 

Soft sheets are a must. Comfy for sleeping, lounging, and studying in bed. When buying bedding, you want something durable enough to last and stylish enough so that you never tire of it during your undergrad. This set from the brand Parachute is perfect, and it comes in navy which is a bonus in my book! I think these sateen sheets would be extremely comfy and I'm dying to have a set of my own.

I made the mistake of not getting a body pillow for my freshman year. Don't make that mistake. This pillow is super affordable and is great for stuffing against the wall or for cuddling. Because let's face, sometimes the math works out like this: pillows > boys.  

Don't forget to cover your pillow! This cover, this cover, and this cover all earn an A+ in my grade book! 

Throw pillows are also a must. They make your bed like a perfect cloud and are great to both accessorize and lounge with. I'm a fan of this, this, this, this, and this when it comes to throws. This would also be a nice basic pillow sham to have, also from the brand Parachute.

We can't forget a comforter though, can we? I'm adoring this one and this one at the moment!

You'll need a nice blanket to snuggle under too- for days when you don't want to unmake your bed for a quick 20 min nap in-between classes. This one has me all heart eyes emoji. 

What's a room without some art? Boring, that's what it is. To dec out your space, don't be afraid to hang some prints, posters, or marquees. It can define your space so perfectly and start some great conversations if you have some truly unique pieces hanging up. 

I'm known to love a witty quote, sassy print, or a great framed photo of me and a bestie on my walls or desk. 

You can't go wrong with posters to fill the blank spaces on your walls. I'm crushing hard of this one and this one, but if these don't fit your tastes, amazon literally has thousands to choose from!

Wall tapestries are also the bomb.com when it comes to decorating your walls. They're literally art on fabrics. Definitely search one out if you're into the boho vibe they give off. I'm a fan of this one, this one, and this one. 

Wireless // bluetooth speakers are a must when going off to college. You're able to bring the party anywhere and you'd honestly be surprised by how often you need to amplify your tunes. This speaker by jambox is portable enough to bring wherever while also giving off killer sound. 

Lighting always needs to be on fleek, especially when you're taking shameless selfies to post on the 'gram. To keep your lighting in check, invest in a lamp such as this one or this one. Thank me later when your selfie gets 100+ likes.

Rugs can do a lot for your room. Think about popping something like this or this onto your floor and watch it become the unofficial hangout zone within your dorm.

I hope you enjoyed my tips on how to build the coolest dorm room ever. These simple things will make your dorm feel like your second home & will hopefully get you amped to start school again. Let me know what's a must for you when trying to make your dorm room feel cozy!

Dorm-spiration

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HelloKaty's dorm tour

Emma Clayton's (Dash of Serendipity) dorm tour

Isabella Darden's (Yep, It's Prep) dorm room

I hope that this assembly of pins, dorm tours, and examples from other bloggers gives you the inspiration you need to have a kick-butt dorm room! What's your favorite from this post?

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LMJ

Spring Break: a picture recap

Over break, I got to spend some quality time with my favorite man. We were both feeling under the weather at the beginning of break, and Jonathan had to head back to school since he wasn't on break yet, so we spent some time watching netflix. 

I'm sad to say that I spent a good portion of my break doing homework. The upside of this is that I caught myself completely up in my psych and health classes and finished some projects well before their due dates.

Fat Tuesday may have passed by the time my break started but in my family there is no such thing as too many packzis (also, you know you're a true Polish girl when you can spell packzi without having to look it up).

Like I said, I spent a lot of time studying. That meant a lot of quality time with this cheerful looking man. 

Because Jonathan wasn't on break yet, I went up to his school with my big diamond to see him the last weekend I was on break. While we were there, we went out to Moe's, which is probably one of my favorite places to go when it's around. 

What are your plans for spring break? 

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LMJ

What College Has Taught Me: 6 Lessons from my first semester

While I've only been in college for a whopping one semester, I feel that I have learned some pretty interesting, if not valuable lessons that I would like to share with my readers. Here are six things that you're likely to learn from your first semester in college:

1. If there's free food, attend the event. Nearly everyone you meet in college (and probably yourself included) isn't bringing in stacks of money. So when the food is free, take advantage of saving your money and ditch that Subway you were thinking of buying. Sure, it's only a $5 sandwich, but now you can use that five dollars on something else, like that cup of coffee to help you pull an all nighter for your next big exam.
2. If there's free shirts, attend the event. This is basically for the same reason as the the free food, but come on. Who doesn't love free shirts? I've only been at my school for a semester and I'm already pushing 10 to 15 free shirts. My drawers are overflowing with free shirts. They're great for school pride because they probably mention your school somewhere on them, you can workout in them, and who likes doing laundry in college? Not me. Are you kidding? There's hardly ever a washer open when you need one. Take those free shirts and don't look back. 
3. Talk to your professors. I know, you're probably wondering when I was going to get serious, but this is a big one. I got face time with my psychology professor just by asking him lame questions about how to correctly set up my iClicker everyday for the first week of the class. My history professor excused my absence because I participated in class and made the effort to ask questions before and after class. Trust me, professors love this. It shows you care about the class and that you just aren't here to waste their time. So get over your fear and talk to your teachers. It helps. 
4. Join something. Anything. College can be lonely if you don't have people to share the experience with. I'm not saying to drop your friends from high school just because you don't see them everyday. I still have what I consider close friendships with my high school friends, but the fact of the matter is that they're not always around to experience things in the moment with you when you're away at school. I am lucky enough to have a sisterhood to belong to at my school, but more than that I am EXTREMELY blessed to consider my roommate my closest friend. I am also super blessed with friends who I live in the same building with. 
5. Document everything you do. This might sound crazy, but trust me, just do it. Take pictures, write in a journal. Do something. Time goes by fast and before you know it you're out in the world without a safety net below you and you're going to miss the times that were carefree. So document everything you do and give yourself the chance to look back on it later in life.  
6. Volunteer while you still have the time to. You will never have as much free time as you do in college at any other point in your life. Unless you're a trophy wife, and in that case- why are you going to college? The point is, give back to your community. Find opportunities on your campus and take them. The experience is so rewarding and really puts your life in perspective. I think getting a clear perspective while your learning about yourself is so important, so take some time to give to others. 

Life Update: I finished my first semester of college?

You would never know that after all of these months without a post that I am, in fact, alive. I know, I know, it's been a long time with not a word, but I am back my lovelies! With winter break having begun, I finally have some free time and a break from the responsibilities that come with getting a college education.

If you hadn't known before now, I am a college freshman. I am proud to say that I have now completed one semester of my college career, and I am so thrilled to have a month off. Don't get me wrong- I love school. In fact, if being a full time student was a job and could pay the bills, I would apply for that job in a heart beat, but sadly that isn't an option. Between my studies and sorority obligations, my other pleasures have been put aside for the past months. I haven't had time to pick up Mindy Kaling's Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) much less make a blog post. But that's enough for excuses. You didn't come to my blog to read excuses and frankly I didn't make this blog to write those excuses down.

Now, on to the good stuff: what I've been up to.

In the past months, life for me has completely changed. I have moved out of my childhood bedroom where I had four glorious walls of privacy to myself into what I lovingly consider my box of a dorm room. Don't get me wrong- I love living on campus, but going from your own room to suddenly sharing a room can be an adjustment. Not to mention being in a suite with five other women who all have to share a bathroom... But that is a story for a different time. Like when I write my autobiography and all of my lovely readers run to the nearest Barnes & Nobles to buy it (just kidding... we all know I can't commit to writing a novel much less making a blog post regularly). I do love my roommate though. She's awesome, she's sassy, and sometimes people think that I steal her ID because we have a resemblance that only poor quality university ID offices can generate. I would consider her to be my best friend and my closet confidant when it comes to all things of college life. She was there for me when I started the stressful yet exhilarating experience of sorority formal recrutiment all the way up that time I wanted to be the loser freshman who runs to the library the second someone makes a yak about hiding $300 in books across the library.

Besides sharing close living quarters with other girls I had never before met, I also had to learn to study. Yes, I had to learn to study. If you think high school is going to teach you how to study in college, you are most likely sadly mistaken. Not even all of my AP classes taught me how to study, and in my senior year I took three of them. The entire game changes in college. You can't just do the study guide and consider it ample preparation for an exam, mostly because study guides can be rare in college. Nope. You have to study. Like crack that book open every night, review your lecture notes, and make flash cards kind of study. Every night you are studying. If you don't have actual homework, you better be studying. There is no more "I have nothing to do" nights because there is always studying to be done. Learn fast before an exam comes up on you like a brick wall. We've all been there, but make the crash less painful.

I also hinted at joining a sorority. Yes, it's true everybody! I am a sorority woman now! I know there are mixed feelings and much speculation about sororities thank you to media portrayals, but I promise it's not this big scary thing that everyone's mom, dad, and grandma are afraid. It's really okay to be in a sorority! Carrie Underwood was a sorority woman and she's phenomenal. Go sorority women- kicking butt and changing the world and just being overall awesome. Sororities rock. I could go on and on about sororities, but if my story really wants to be told, that's means for a separate post because it is just so much more than you can imagine. It would blow your mind.

In the midst of all of this, I've more or less just been coming into my own. College is a challenge. It challenges everything. I cannot tell you how many experiences I've had where something I believe is challenged. I've learned to stand up for my beliefs, and I've also changed my beliefs. College is learning. Learning about everything. That seems vague, but if you're in college or have graduated college, you know what I'm talking about. Everyday you learn a new lesson. You discover a little more who you are. You become the person you always were, but now you're a little bit more defined.

I realize that this post has become extremely lengthy, so I will stop it here. I promise more posts to come over this next month, and I promise to keep posts coming even when I am back at school.

With that being said....

LMJ