The Problem with School Dress Codes

A pretty controversial topic over the years has been the dress code at schools. Some say girls need to dress more conservative as to not distract the guys from their work while others say this is a violation of the right for girls to express themselves. My take? Most of the reasoning is a load of crap.

I did a blog post earlier and I mentioned that I thought girls should be careful about how much skin they show at school, and I do believe this, but not because of some ridiculous reason that it will distract guys too much. I think that while school isn’t a job, it is still at a somewhat more professional standard than hanging out with friends. You want your teachers to take you seriously as you would want your boss or manager to. So, personally I would recommend that students should dress on the more conservative side.

However, I am also a firm believer that girls should dress for themselves and not for anyone else.  So if students feel comfortable dressing in a more provocative manner and that’s their style then they should be able to express themselves. If they want to risk their reputation they should be able to. I mean it should be there decision.

I agree there can be some regulations so that students don’t show up in just their undergarments and call it free speech, but there shouldn’t be much more than that. I also am convinced that there is a huge double standard in our school dress code for males and females. Here’s my evidence:

I would be sent to the office and sent home due to a dress code violation if I wore this to school, because of the spaghetti straps and school officials would call it too revealing.

But, a guy can walk down the hallway wearing this with no repercussions.

 I mean can a piece of fabric like this really even be considered a shirt? and this is more conservative than some of the other stuff I see at school.

Im not trying to limit guys now too. My point is, at least hold male and females to the same standard.

I fail to see how my outfit is somehow more “distracting” than that of my male counterpart. Just saying.

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Latest Fashion Trends

As spring comes back around this year so does a new set of that latest fashion trends to hit the high school scene. Personally, I am probably not the most fashion forward person but I still do notice what things are in and out of style. Here are my favorites:

1)      I have noticed that fashion trends of the past have come back with a new twist. My first example is crop tops

 

These first came into trend in the early 90’s and now they’re back. I actually really like this trend because they are super cute and show a little skin. I think they look best with either high wasted shorts or a skater skirt, but you have to be careful when wearing these to school because you don’t want to show too much skin. But when it’s a hot summer day these things will keep you both cool and look adorable.

2)      My second trend I want to mention are fun pants and short! I'm not sure what they are actually called but I just like them because they seem really comfy and adorable.

 

These remind me of pants that could be found in the seventies back when disco and LSD was all the rage. I would pair these with a plain shirt (which could be a crop top?) and some cute sandals. I mean it’s as if you were wearing pajamas to school. What could be better than that?

3)      Combat boots! Another one of my favorite trends because of their comfort.  I mean unlike heels you can actually run and move in these things.

 

 

You can wear these with your everyday school clothes, or you could dress them up and wear them with a skirt. One of my favorite outfits would be a crop top, cute little skirt, tights, and these combat boots. It sort of toughens up an otherwise “girly” outfit.

4)      Winged eyeliner. This looks super cute on people if they are good at making it. Unfortunately I haven’t mastered this talent yet but I admire those who have. It’s not as easy as it looks.

 

This reminds me of the 60s and, when done right, is adorable. I would definitely like to see this trend stick around for a while.

 

Overall I have noticed that a boho vibe has taken over the fashion scene, with the flowy fabrics and the floral patterns. I do approve of this trend because it is more laid back and comfy and seems pretty simple.

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Studying for AP Exams

As we all know AP exams are coming up and they can be extremely stressful when trying to prepare for them. There are equations you have to memorize, words you have to be able to define, concepts you have to understand, laws you have to know and all of the exceptions that come with. It’s a lot to do in not a lot of time and I have some few tips to help get you through it.

1)      When trying to memorize a ton of equations, try using flashcards. I know this method isn’t unique or new, but it works. Then you sit down and go over them until they are all memorized. I know for AP Physics especially there are a lot of equations that you need to know that aren’t provided on the equation sheet, so this method is great for the last minute memorizing I'm about to do.

2)      Do all of the review sheets that the teachers give you. The school year is a really long time and you probably don’t remember every little thing that was discussed at the beginning of the year. If your teacher doesn’t give out review sheets you can always go online and other teachers have posted their review worksheets. You should go over past material before taking your big test.

3)      Many times teachers will give out finals before AP exams to try to help prepare you. I suggest using this time to really focus on what you need to review before the AP exam.  Look at what you missed on the final and look at those subjects first when studying.

4)      Don’t stress out too much. While I do believe that you do need to study in order to prepare for the exams, there is a point where you have to realize that you know what you know. There’s nothing you can do to change it but chances are that you know the most important concepts anyway and you have to trust your instincts. Take your best guess because you probably do know the right answer.

5)      Stay focused. I know you have been studying all year and are getting tired of working so hard and all you want to do is stop worrying about it. But it after the couple hours it takes to complete your exams, you will have nothing to worry about. You don’t want to regret not studying as hard as you could have because you got a crappy score. I mean you did work hard all year to get good grades and you want to be able to show that off. Besides, if you do well enough it could save you hundreds of dollars on tuition fees if you pass out of some basic classes.

I just want to wish all of you good luck on your exams and best wishes while studying!

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Why Mondays Suck

I think we can all attest to the fact that Mondays suck. Like a lot. We have to go to school again, deal with homework again, wake up early again, and actually have to have social interactions with people. I mean we are tired because we spent all Sunday night doing the homework we should’ve been doing all weekend but decided to save it for the last possible minute and the last thing we want to do is go to school to face our responsibilities.

All we’ve done this weekend was stay in bed watching Netflix, so to actually do things on Monday is always a struggle. Without fail, every Monday will feel like the longest day of the week. I don’t know if it’s just me but usually I'm counting down the hours until I can go home and take a nap.

I think Mondays are especially terrible because you know that you have four more days just like it until the next weekend when you can go back to doing nothing all day. Just the way you want it am I right?  I mean during the week you are literally up doing stuff for most of the day, while on the weekends you can just stay in your bed all day if you chose to do so. Also, you don’t have to worry about homework until Sunday night and by then the Monday blues are already starting to hit you. Maybe that’s why we stay up too late Sunday nights? We are dreading the upcoming Monday and just don’t want this weekend to end.

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Dealing with Rising Tuition Fees

I just wrote a post about picking the college you want to go to. But with college, usually, come debt. So here are some ways to help manage the extent your debt.

1)      Start saving early. I know it’s hard, but don’t spend all of your money. You need to save a little for the future, whether it’s to help with tuition, or for some spending money you will probably need it sometime in the future. I also wrote an earlier post about finding a job while in high school, and I would suggest getting one even if it is only a couple of hours a week it will help.

2)      There are tons of scholarships out there that you could apply for. I know they can take a long time and not be for a lot of money but every little bit helps in my opinion. Even if it’s only for 100 dollars its 100 less that you have to spend. Plus if you apply for more than one, they can really add up.

3)      Like stated in a previous post you don’t have to go to the most expensive school to get the best education for you. Try looking at your local state school, it could be more prestigious than you realize and typically one third of the cost of an elite school. To be successful is really all about your personality and how hard you work at your job. Plus, if you decide to go to a less expensive school you won’t be in as much debt and it will take you significantly less time to pay off your student loans. Which leads into my next point,

4)      Student loans. For most, they are inevitable if you want to even attend college. I mean who has ten thousand dollars just lying around?  And that’s on the cheaper end of college possibilities.  Some can cost upwards of fifty grand per year to attend, and if you get a four year degree that’s two hundred grand alone. That’s literally a house, like a decent house.  Unless you’re really rich and your parents are willing to pay that for you, you might have to look at student loans. They are an unfortunate sacrifice to going to a decent college, and can take years to pay off. You really want to minimize how much you borrow so you can start spending your money on stuff you want as soon as possible. Hence, the need for scholarships and jobs.

Helpful Tip: Control your spending, and I would suggest, if you can, putting at least fifty percent of your paycheck into savings. You’d be amazed at how fast that money grows. Good luck.

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Picking Your Perfect College

It is getting to that time of year when you need to start thinking about which colleges you are going to apply for if you are a current junior. It is important to choose the college that is right for you so that you get the most out of your education and have the greatest chance of finding a job once you graduate.

First thing, it is important to pick a major or have an idea of the general category in which your major is in. You don’t need to be 100 percent set on this because you can change it later if you find out you aren’t that interested in it. Picking a major that you would like to pursue will narrow down your college options. There are thousands of colleges out there so it helps to know what to look for. When you have an idea of what you want to major in, you can search for colleges that specify in what you are looking for. You want to make sure your college will have the best education for your particular subject.

You will also want to look at your potential college’s website to see your chances of getting into that college. I mean you don’t want to pay the 90 dollar application fee if you have close to no chance of getting in. You might want to check out: average standardized test scores for incoming freshman, the average grade point average, the acceptance rate,   and sometimes you can even find what specific things administrators are looking for when reviewing applications. While on the website you can learn even more about what this college is like. I would specifically look up your major and what that’s like.

It is also important to like the location you are moving to, the size of the school, the average class size, tuition, and any other specific criteria you are looking for. I mean you are going to be living there for the next four to six years of your life so you need to feel comfortable. You will also have to look and see how far from home it is and make sure you are okay with that distance.

I suggest that when looking for undergraduate schools you don’t need to go for the most expensive just because they are more prestigious. I have learned that it might help you get a job in the future, but more for graduate school. So, you could save a whole lot of money if you went to the less expensive school for your undergraduate degree, then you could transfer to the expensive prestigious schools for your graduate education. That way you are on the same level who went there for all six years but you would have paid especially less. But the most important thing is that you still get a good education and really figure out what you are passionate about. Being successful isn’t just about what school you go to, it’s about how good you are at your job and how passionate you are about it.

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The New Apple update for iphones

In the description of the new software update for iPhones it says “redesigns Emoji keyboard”. While that is true it also adds more Emoji’s to your phone, and now you can add little symbols of all races to your text messages. This has been getting a lot of hype recently on the internet and I would like to congratulate Apple for trying to become more racially diverse. Let the memes begin! 

 

 

Photo Creds: http://d236bkdxj385sg.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Emoji.jpg

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New Movies

So I know this might seem unrelated to “surviving high school” because this post is going to be about movies that are coming out that I am really excited to go see. But, everyone needs some downtime once and a while, and what better way to spend it than at the movies? I have done a post about teen TV shows that high school students should watch, so why not movies? School can be stressful, so it’s okay to take two hours of your day to indulge yourself in someone else’s fantasy world, right? I think so.

First off, I went to a friend’s birthday party the other day and we went to go see The Longest Ride. It is the newest Nicolas Sparks story to hit the big screen, and it was pretty much what you would expect from him. Boy meets girl. Boy falls for girl. Something tragic and heart wrenching happens. They live the rest of their lives madly in love. While this was super sappy and total chick flick, I found it slightly less cliché than the other Nicolas Sparks movies I've seen. I would also say it is pretty graphic for a PG-13 movie, there were middle school aged girls sitting behind me and they gasped a few times for how much was shown during a sex scene. I thought it was a beautiful story and thought it was (slightly) more realistic than some of the other romance movies I have seen. Also, I might have mentioned in a previous blog post that I might have a celebrity crush on Britt Robertson. Anyways, would recommend if you like sappy romance movies like me.

Next are movies that haven’t come out yet, but I am dying to see.

The Age of Adeline looks like another beautiful yet tragic love story. This time the female doesn’t age. Ever. I've always liked Blake Lively ever since her Gossip Girl and Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants days.  I feel like I haven’t seen her in anything recently so it’s nice to see her star in an upcoming feature film. It’s set to some out in later this month (April 24^th) so hopefully I will be able to go to the theaters to watch it.

Keeping with the theme of Britt Robertson, I am really looking forward to see Tomorrowland.  As we all know I am a geek, so I think it seems like a really cool concept about a pin that transports you to another world. I mean what could be better than a sci – fi (ish) movie with Britt Robertson? I just hope that the whole concept appears “plausible” and that there aren’t any major logical or logistical gaps in their reasoning.  (Did I mention I was a nerd?) Anyway this movie is set to come out May 22^nd.

The last movie I want to talk about is Little Boy, I saw the trailer for the first time in theaters when I went to see The Longest Ride. I think this looks like this is going to be both a heart breaking and heartwarming story about a little boy who wants to bring his father back from the war. I can’t wait to see this one. It’s set to come out April 24^th.

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Finding a Job

Recently I have been looking for a part- time job so that I can start earning money for college, and so that I can get my parents off of my back. I just sat down one day and filled out a ton of applications online and sent them in. I have realized that finding a job is not as easy as it may seem, especially if you are as busy as I am. It tends to turn off perspective employers when you say you won’t be able to come in to work until 6:30 every weekday. But, nonetheless I still need to find a job.

I have also found that the application process is a lot more difficult than expected. Sometimes you will be required to answer multiple questions and they’ll test your character, and these “tests” could take upwards of an hour each. So, when applying make sure you have enough time on your hands that you won’t be rushed and are able to sit down and really think about what the question is asking.

I have found that the place with the most flexible hours is the grocery store chain in our town, Hy-Vee. They hire a ton of students and are pretty understanding when it comes to sports or other scholastic obligations. Plus, the pay isn’t horrible. Their application is completely online and super easy to fill out and send in.

Another thing to keep in mind when applying for jobs is to be patient. Sometimes you will get a call right away to schedule an interview and sometimes it might take a month. It all depends on when they are hiring, how many people they are hiring, and the job they are hiring for. So don’t get discouraged when it might take a while to hear back from somebody.

When going in for your interviews make sure you are personable and you talk clearly. I've been to an interview that took an hour and a half, but I have also been on an interview that took twenty minutes. The people who are interviewing you know it can be nerve – racking and they are typically really nice people. From what I've seen most of the time they want to see you succeed so there really shouldn’t be any reason for you to be nervous.

Before going to an interview it is important to be as prepared as possible. I recommend these things:

1)      Think of some questions to ask the interviewer. At the very end they will ask you if you have any questions and it looks good when you have them. It shows the potential employer that you have really thought about the job. I typically ask, for example, when I will hear back if I got the job or not. This is also helpful because it gives you a timeframe to look for instead of you just guessing.

2)      Make sure you look decent. I'm not saying wear a suit to a cashier job interview, but don’t show up in Pajamas or something like that. They want people who can take care of themselves because it gives them some indication of what you will be like if hired.

3)      Know your social security number. I don’t know if it was just me but before I started looking for jobs I had no idea what mine was and had to look it up when applying. They could ask for it if you happen to need to fill out any paperwork.

4)      Be on time. Don’t be late. It sets a bad precedent for the future.

5)      When speaking, be clear. You might have to deal with customers at your future job and if the interviewer can’t understand you, then they’ll think the customer won’t be able to either.

And lastly, good luck! I wish you all the best of luck on your job searches.

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Fandoms

There is a relatively new fad that has taken over some aspects of our high school society, “fandoms” are popping up everywhere and for me, the meaning of the word has taken on a whole new meaning. When you used to hear of the word you would think of a particular sports team but now, you think of TV shows or video game usually related to the supernatural, science fiction, fantasy, or anime. There are new adjectives that you are going to be able to use to describe someone such as a “fangirl”, or I have even heard it used as a verb in more than one instance. For example “She is fangirling” meaning she is kind of freaking out over her fandom.

Personally I think this is fantastic, because as we all know I am a huge nerd, and I may or may not be a fangirl of Dr. Who. But I think this is a great way to get together with other people who have the same strong feelings about a particular show that you like and be able to nerd out together. There are a million websites online that you can go to and read/ chat/ blog/ communicate to fellow members of your fandom of your particular show and can fangirl out with other people, which, makes it twice as fun.

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Things to do in order to boost up your college Applications

It is still crazy to think that soon I, along with my entire high school class, will be applying to colleges soon. In five short months we will be sending out all of the applications to potential schools and will have to decide where we want to attend for the next four years of our lives. I mean it’s a huge decision. You will be spending thousands and thousands of dollars on this school and you want to be sure to pick the right one for you so you don’t waste all the money. But first, you need to be accepted.

I have heard so many things about what college admission representatives are looking for when reviewing applicants and I think there are some things you can do to make your application stand out.

1)      They like to see that you tried and pushed yourself in high school. So when picking classes try not to go for the easy route, as long as you can maintain a decent GPA I would suggest taking harder classes to show that you have ambition and aren’t afraid of a challenge or working hard.

2)      Get involved in clubs and sports. Even if a certain club only meets like once a week, the more you participate the more you can add to your college application. You want to make yourself look as good as possible, so the more you are involved the better.

3)      Be careful when writing your essays. Make sure to go over them as many times as you can and give it to teachers, parents, friends, boyfriends, girlfriends, etc. to try to get as much feedback as you possibly can so that you are putting your best work out there for the colleges to see. Your college application is the reason why you worked so hard in high school, so you wouldn’t want a silly little grammar error keep you from your dream school.

4)      Make sure your tests scores are up to your standard. You can take the SAT and ACT more than once, so why not take them until you are happy with your score? I am pretty sure this is one of the first things colleges look at because when you look up colleges, sometimes they are ranked by their average ACT score.

5)      The goal of this application is to show the colleges what you are made of, you want to seem driven, hardworking, and ambitious. You work SUPER hard all of high school and you do not want to slack off when it comes to college applications.

6)      Try to get as many letters of recommendation as possible. You can get creative on who writes them because it doesn’t necessarily have to be teachers. You could try your employer at work, or your supervisor if you volunteer. I think the more unbiased opinions you can put in there the better, because it is one of the only parts of the application where you aren’t bragging on yourself.

I think it is important to note that if you are looking at the more prestigious colleges because you think they will make it easier for you to get a higher paying job in the future, I would tell you to consider other colleges as well. I think where you go for graduate school is going to be more important than where you go for undergrads. Yes, the argument could be made that if you get your undergraduate degree from a prestigious school it would be easier to be accepted into their graduate school, but you could save a whole lot of money if you consider other schools.

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Spring Is Finally Here

I don’t know about where you live, but the weather is finally starting to warm up where I am at. The birds are back, the sun is out, the grass is getting greener, and, unfortunately, we still have to continue to go to school. This time of year is always especially hard because it is finally nice outside and you are stuck sitting inside under fluorescent bulbs listening to lectures about acid-base reactions, or finding the derivative of a function. I know I am only a junior but I feel like I have a bad case of senioritis. This is also the time of year when the girl’s golf season gets up and running, so every day after school we are outside practicing. This is especially bad because we all know that AP exams are coming up and it is almost time to start reviewing and studying for those babies.

All you want to is relax in the sun before it gets too hot outside, but no, you have to study your butt off for the AP exams.  This year I am taking four: AP language and composition, AP Physics1, AP Chemistry, and AP U.S. History. I feel like I am going to regret this decision later.

Also with spring, I have started looking for a job. I will probably be writing an entire blog post about this later, because it is turning out to be harder than expected. I have applied to many places and hardly anyone has contacted me back. Anyways, if you’re looking for a job as well just wait, there’ll be a blog coming to help.

The summer is almost here and the most important thing right now is to stay focused on your school work and not get distracted by everything else. I know it’s not fun and there are more exciting things you could be using your time for but you will regret it later if you let your school responsibilities slide. So to keep on track make sure you get as much done as you possible can while at school so then when you come home in the afternoon you will have less to do and more time to relax or work on other projects.

Just a side note here, I don’t know if it’s just me, but one of my favorite parts about spring is all of the thunderstorms. I know it’s a weird thing to like but, strangely, I find them calming. I know, I'm weird. Don’t Judge.

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