Why I Transferred Universities

Transferring to Northwestern
I spent my freshman year of college at Fordham University at Lincoln Center and then transferred to Northwestern University for my sophomore year. People constantly ask me why I transferred schools and the answer is not one that can easily fit into a surface level conversation. The most general reason I usually give is that I transferred because I ...
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Studying Abroad: A Reflection Halfway Through

Image from The Abroad Guide
I have been studying in London for the past two months; it is about midway through the semester, and as I reflect on my time here thus far, I'd like to share some of what I have learned.  ​Expectations…as humans, we naturally tend to anticipate and ponder our futures. Before going abroad, it was difficult to avoid this tendency; thinking back,...
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Persevering in the Face of Long Distance

      This summer I experienced being in a long distance relationship with my boyfriend of nine months. As this was my first time doing the whole long distance thing, it was not until the summer actually began that I realized I would be putting  much more effort, energy, and time into the relationship now that we were not a...
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Fitness Dos and Don’ts

from girlslife.com
When beginning your fitness journey, you may feel dread, stress, or just have general questions. However, once you are aware of some basic guidelines, you will likely feel more ready and confident about your understanding of fitness and the ways in which you should be treating your body. Do:ExperimentWhen I first started making my fitness a pr...
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Tips and Tricks for the Active Mind: Everyday Mindfulness

from tiny buddha
I have always found that my mind and thoughts are extremely active; they tend to come whenever, wherever, especially when I am intending to stay present. Luckily, through lots of exploration, I have discovered ways in which I can bring these thoughts to rest, and try to remain calm. Find YOUR exerciseWhen you hear the word exercise, you might get t...
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My Guide to Running

Through my high school years, I enjoyed being part of the track team; I loved connecting with other team members, showing school pride, learning about my strengths as a runner, and becoming stronger. However, my heart was never fully in it, because I always dreaded going to the track meets and having the spotlight on me- in track events, you are ru...
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The Perfect Protein Bars for Every Type of College Student

For a busy college student, it’s often much easier to grab a slice or two of cheese pizza from the dining hall than it is to put together a balanced meal.  Believe me - I’ve been there!  I’m not here to tell you that every single meal has to be a gourmet experience.  But by limiting yourself to your most convenient quickest, easiest ...
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Hidden Gems at Trader Joe’s

In my high school economics class, we learned how to budget for grocery shopping.  Among the bombardment of bland, head-scratching concepts like ‘Gross Domestic Product,’ ‘scarcity,’ and ‘capital,’ I finally felt like I was handed a topic that I was passionate about-- food.  If there’s one thing I remember from that class, besides the pai...
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Pick Up Your Apron

For most of my life, I never understood where food comes from.  It was something that magically appeared in our pantry.  In fact, I spent a great deal of time being the consumer every fast/junk food company dreams of.  I was pulled in by the fudginess of Cosmic Brownies, Hostess Sno Ball’s soft pink hue, and the sheer artwork that wa...
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Recovery to Discovery: Recovering from Sexual Abuse

I don't remember when the abuse began, but I remember the isolation I felt.  I would make negative remarks about my childhood as a teenager, and my mother would say, ‘I don't understand why you say that. You had a great childhood.’ She didn't see the blotches of murky fog that laid thick in my mind.Shop 'It’s OK to Feel Things Deeply' By Caris...
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Borderline Personality Disorder: The Forgotten Mental Illness

When most people think about the word ‘illness,’ it usually revolves around physical impairments and challenges.  When you have the flu, you have an illness. If you have Crohn's Disease, you have an illness. But if you have a depressive disorder- do you actually have an illness?Shop ban.do Chill Pills iPhone X Case here!Believe it or not,...
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bSmart Tips to Tackling Exam Stress

If you're a college student, you probably know the fear that comes when a professor mentions the word ‘midterm.’  Maybe it’s for a class that you haven’t done well in thus far, or maybe it’s a class that has heavily weighted exams.  For many, college exams bring up a different kind of stress than high school exams do.  While your tea...
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Why Smoking is Still an Issue on College Campuses

Twenty years ago, it was cigarettes.  It's still cigarettes, just in a different form.  Among the beer cans and remnants of rolling papers littered across the grass at the University of Vermont, one can find a few used Juul pods.  I didn’t realize how problematic these tiny pieces of plastic were until I hit one riding my bike down t...
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Entitlement Fitness: When Feeling Comfortable Turns into a Competition

Prior to coming to college, I never really considered how strange social dynamics are inside of a gym, until I witnessed something that really made my stomach crawl.  In between bicep curls and hip thrusts, I watched two pretentious, skinny, college-aged girls scowl at a larger, woman who was minding her own business and stretching out her mus...
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bSmart Tips to Staying Healthy During Cold and Flu Season

December is right around the corner— filled with holiday lights, eggnog and the occasional snowfall.  But joy and cheer aren’t the only things running rampant.  Consistent coughs, sore throats and body aches can prevent you from getting all of your holiday shopping done and put a damper on your mood.Shop Mischa Lampert Beanies here!Luckil...
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Discovering What it Means to be Plant-Based

For eight years of my life, I haven’t eaten meat.  Seven of those years were spent as a vegetarian, and one was spent as a vegan.  After learning what it took to put the chicken nuggets or hot dogs or hamburgers on my plate, I was upset to the point that I decided I wanted to cut meat from my diet.  Watching the documentary Food, Inc...
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It’s Okay Not To Be Okay

No one is okay all of the time.  At one point or another, everyone goes through a rough patch in their life.  Some problems may be more extreme than others, like a loved one dying or financial troubles, but even the seemingly small difficulties can cause sensitivity, discomfort, stress, frustration, or even rage.  People are often qu...
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What It's Like to Work Out Without Thinking About How I Look

Like many women, I'm bombarded with messages every day--both subtle and explicit--about how I should look, feel, and act.  The fitness industry especially has inundated us with new norms about what a body "should" be.  Coupled with social media and retouching apps, it's now easier than ever to feel insecure about ourselves.  Women ha...
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Beat the Heat: bSmart Tips for Staying Cool

Depending on where you live, you’ve probably been encountering some pretty high temperatures lately.  The summer months certainly don’t hold back with heat and humidity.  Some people love the heat and others hate it, but it’s easy for anyone to forget that it can be dangerous.  According to the Center for Disease Control, more than 8...
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7 bSmart Tips to Combat Rumination

From one overthinker to another…Ever find yourself skipping three steps ahead when the slightest opportunity presents itself, creating unlikely scenarios in your head, and jumping to conclusions?  If so, hello fellow overthinker!Shop Practice You: A Journal By Elena Brower here!Instead of productively thinking about how to approach a situ...
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