Surprise! I'm going to Vietnam in a little less than a week!

As a lot of you know, I have been to Europe plenty of times! However, those were times I went to study abroad. This time is different! Even though it is through the school, it is just a 12 day study tour with some of my best friends! 

This trip will be so nice because I don't have to focus on getting school work done. Instead, we are starting from the south of the country and making our way all the way up through the main cities!

I have never been to Asia before, so this will be a complete culture shock to me. Even though we will be going in January, it will be Vietnam's summer...so it's going to be HOT and HUMID! This is going to be my first 24 hour plane ride too. My longest plane ride to date would probably be around 9 hours. However, I will be flying from Baltimore to Texas to Tokyo, then finally to Vietnam.

To prepare, I have asked for a lot of travel accessories as a part of my 2019 Christmas list! Here are some of my favorite picks below:

AirPods Pro

With complete noise cancelation, the new AirPods are perfect for those long plane rides! They have an all new design, so they are very comfortable for sleeping on the plane with. ($249.00)

Tempur-Pedic Sleep Mask

I've always had trouble sleeping, and ever since freshman year of college, I've been sleeping with an eye mask! However, it was time for an upgrade! To stay comfortable on the long plane ride, I a got new Tempur-Pedic eye mask! ($23.26)

A Super Cozy Cardigan

On every girl's Christmas list, cozy socks and cardigans are a must! Especially when you are preparing to travel! I asked for mine from Target because they have a super comfortable collection in their new loungewear! ($24.99)

 

A Cute Backpack to put it all in!

I finally caved in and bought a Kånken bag from Fjällräven! I've wanted one since I went abroad to Berlin, now I'm excited to have one for Asia (and a few other trips scheduled for next year...stay tuned!) I wanted a cute backpack to fit all of my necessities in, plus my camera! Of course, I had to get pink! ($80.00)

I can't wait to write about all of my endeavors while I am in Vietnam!

It's hard for me to believe that summer 2019 is coming to a close and my senior year of college is about to begin! Choosing to stay in Baltimore this summer was probably one of the best decisions I could have made. I made so many new friends and indulged in new activities!

However, this summer had also brought me many learning experiences. I went through I tough break up towards the beginning of the vacation. This was something that had been coming for a while, but it soon became reality. I realized I finally had to do what was best for me in the long run. I had to surround myself with people who were going to make a positive impact on my life. I really try my best to see the light in the small things everyday, and I felt as though I was not getting that in this relationship. This was an impactful learning experience for me since it was my first break up with a guy I actually considered spending the rest of my life with. Some people just aren't meant to be together, but as much as the heartbreak hurt, I am grateful that I finally realized what I needed for myself and that is to concentrate on me first. In order to love someone, you need to love yourself first.

Next, I took a lot of time to get close with new people at my school. Even though Loyola is only 4,000 undergraduate students, I never really realized how many people I don't actually know. This summer, I surrounded myself with new people who had many different interests from me. This got me out of my comfort zone and I did activities with them I wouldn't normally do on my own. Even though the summer is ending, these are people I know I will maintain long lasting relationships with. 

Finally, I moved into my senior year apartment! This means becoming a college senior is finally starting to feel real! Even though I am normally super excited to start school, this year I am feeling a little different. I realize I'm almost done with my undergraduate degree and I will be moving on to bigger, better things...which means it's time for adulting. On top of that, I will be taking some of the hardest classes I have ever taken (including one graduate course). This school year, I will be writing a lot about my senior year experiences (the good and the stressful!). We all know senior year is an exciting time with many different celebrations, but it could also be one of the most bittersweet times in your life. 

Overall, I want to conclude this post on a positive note. I have been going through different quotes to signify how I want to live out my senior year after the lessons I had learned this summer. There were 3 quotes in particular that stood out to me:

Recently, I just got my first tattoo. I was always the person who told myself that I would never get a tattoo, nor would I ever want one. However, I had been thinking about this for a while and I finally decided that I was ready.

I got a small Harry Potter tattoo on my ankle. I want to discuss why I got the tattoo and what the symbol means to me.

Harry Potter has been such a huge part of my life since I was 5 years old. I remember when the first movie came out, my parents surprised me with little Harry Potter dolls for Christmas 2001. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was the movie I always had on repeat in my living room. I fell in love with the magic right away and I never turned back. 

I remember in 8th grade I used to lug my big Harry Potter Page to Screen book to school everyday and I would read it during Independent Reading...and trust me, dragging that huge book around wasn't easy. I even found ways to include Harry Potter into my school assignments. For example, I wrote a whole science report on the magic behind Harry Potter (I got an A by the way). 

Harry Potter was always my escape during the hardest times in my life. Middle school was such a tough time for me and I would always come home and emerge myself in the Wizarding World. 

Now that I'm 21, the magic has only grown stronger. In high school, people can be very cliquey and judge you for your image, so I was always nervous to show my true self. Sometimes, people would chuckle when they heard I still loved a "children's book", and they even thought it was a phase (pft muggles).

 But in college, I realized there are so many people that have the same interests as me, and it has made me flourish. Harry Potter means more to my life than ever. 

So, I decided to get a tattoo of the 3 little stars at the top of each Harry Potter page in the books. It is small, but it has a very symbolic meaning for me. I connected my tattoo to one of my favorite J.K. Rowling quotes that inspires me:

“We do not need magic to transform the world. We carry all the power we need inside ourselves already.”

As a future teacher, I want to have an opportunity to transform the world one step at a time. This tattoo is a reminder to me that I already have the power to do that. This tattoo will always be there to remind me the strength Harry Potter has given me throughout my whole life. It will remind me how far I have come, and I have the power to keep pushing through hard times. 

Every time I look at my ankle, I will be reminded that Hogwarts will always be there to welcome me home.

Fears.

This is a topic that has been in my mind a lot lately. 

I have a fear of being left out - I always want to be with people. I always want to be where the fun is. I don't want to miss out on something people will be talking about tomorrow.

I have a fear of people not liking me - I try to be as social and as nice as possible. For those who know me personally, I try to be the most bubbly person possible because I am scared of people hating me. I'm scared of people talking behind my back.

I have a fear of the unknown - As a girl in college, I'm scared no job will want me when I graduate. People keep telling me that teachers don't make enough money...and try to make me explore other options. They make me feel that my choices are not good enough.

Ever since I've gotten back to school, I feel like I'm getting myself down. Starting last January, I really committed to the gym and started being healthy. I felt like I looked the best I ever had!

However, this year, I feel like my motivation is slowly going down. After a long day of classes and work, all I want to do is eat carbs and lay in my bed.

I've been doing a lot of reflecting on the topic of motivation and I thought I would share it with you all.

At Loyola, the gym is a short walk up North Charles Street in Baltimore. As I walk to class, I always see people bracing for the cold, all bundled up...because they are actually motivated. I think to myself: how can I be like them? 

You are only as strong as your mind. You will get there one day. Just be patient and keep working.

Nothing worth having comes easy. If you want abs more than anything, and one day you woke up with them, it wouldn't be nearly as satisfying as watching your body get stronger.

Mental toughness is half the battle. If you think you are strong, and believe you are strong, you will be strong. Soon, when you look back on the struggle and these hard days, you will be so thankful you didn't give up.

Don't forget that weight is just a number. What is really important is how you feel, and that you like how you look. But girl, shout out to you for working on loving your body, because that's hard.

"Breathe... Take air into your lungs. Be reminded of His love. Breathe it out. Let it go." - Morgan Harper Nichols

"Do something today that your future self will thank you for."

"Don't stop until you're proud."

"The secret of getting ahead is getting started" -Mark Twain

-Jenna

Christmas break went by in a blink of an eye, and just like that, I'm back to start another semester at Loyola University Maryland! Since I just came back from abroad, I had to completely move back in on Saturday, and one of my favorite things to do is to decorate my dorm room!

I worked so hard on decorating my dorm room through out the years and people ask me so many questions about it! So here are some tips on how to make the cutest dorm room for the preppiest girls!

Let's face it, your bed is where you're going to spend most of your time when you're in school (I know that's where I binge watch my Netflix marathons), so I make sure my bed is an comfy as my one at home. I have a 3 inch memory form mattress topper to ensure that happens.

 Also, since I'm going to be in my bed everyday, I want to make sure it's going to be cute! I ordered a dorm bed skirt to cover up the storage under my bed.  For my comforter, I chose a navy blue comforter to match my Lilly Pulitzer bedding (not available on the website at the moment)! Finally, I love pillows! The more pillows the better! I have a bunch of Lilly Pulitzer pillows to match with my bed aesthetic.

Studying at a desk has always been the way to go for me. So, I always have to make sure that my work space is organized! I got a lot of my organization supplies from Home Goods back in 2016, however, I will be tagging some similar objects. I love my folder organizer and pencil box! It ensures that my desk isn't cluttered while I'm doing work. Also, I have a pin board that I hang important notices on through out the semester! It definitely helps me stay on task.

I LOVE CLOTHES, so having an organized closet is important to me. However, in college, it's sometimes hard to ensure that you have enough space! Through out my 3 years of school so far, I've had a wide arrange of closets. The closet I currently have is just open, which I wasn't really a fan of. So I got a sheer curtain to create a "door". It adds a great ambience to my room!

I also love shoes, so I had to make sure I had enough room for all my shoes. This year, I have a shoe shelf in my closet, however, in the past I didn't! I normally used a shoe organizer to make sure they never got messy (or lost) in my closet. 

My favorite part about creating my dorm room was deciding what decorations I wanted. Let me just say...ETSY SAVED MY LIFE! I really wanted a room that would show my personality and was very original. Once I decided an initial theme for my room, I went onto Etsy to look for what I wanted. My main colors are navy, pink, light blue and gold. I really wanted to go for a preppy Lilly theme with a classy flare.

 

A few of my favorite decor items are listed below:

My  wall monogram

My gold foil pictures

My box signs

My twinkle lights

My decorative lamp

My monogram pillow

I hope this helped you create your perfect dorm room! I know I worked really hard on mine because I wanted to make it feel like home and make it a space I actually felt comfortable staying in! You'll do your best in school if you have a great space to match that motivation!

-Jenna