Blue Skies and Hair Ties

Surviving the College Application Process

Happy Friday, everyone!

As my first day of school as a freshman in college gets closer and closer, I can't help but think how this time a year ago how unsure I was of where I even wanted to study. Applications were just beginning to open and I had buckets of essays to write, applications to fill out, and scholarships to apply for. Now that August is here, I know a lot of high school seniors are beginning, or have already started, applying to schools. So to all those seniors out there, you are not in this stress boat alone and I feel for you. I really do. Get as much advice as possible from anyone you can: siblings, parents, guidance counselors (my guidance counselor was the person I emailed the most senior year). People who have applied to schools before will know their stuff. As someone who was a stress-ridden senior just a short year ago, I wanted to share some things I learned when applying to schools. Now these aren’t the end-all of college application stress, but they’ll definitely save you a lot of time in the long run.

Compile a list of all the schools to which you’re applying and their deadlines. Put the dates in your planner, write them in all caps on a calendar, put countdown reminders on your phone, or write it on your hand. Do what works best for you. Just whatever you do, don’t let those deadlines creep up on you. There’s nothing worse than frantically writing three essays for three different schools on your winter break. A lot of schools have deadlines that are easy to remember like January 1^st. My goal when I applied to my schools was to have them done before winter break. That didn’t exactly happen because I applied to a school last minute (to be more exact around 10pm on the last day to apply). Even though that school worked out in the end, I do not recommend doing this. The sooner you can get your applications done, the less stress you’ll have.

Speaking of getting applications done as soon as possible, look at the different deadlines for your schools and pick which one is for you. Many schools will have different deadlines. Early action, early decision, and regular decision seem to be the most popular ones. It is so important that you read what each of those terms means for each school. Some use the early actions or decisions loosely. The main thing to watch out for is which ones are binding and which aren’t. Binding means that if you’re accepted that’s the school you’ll attend. Once you figure out the differences between your schools’ deadlines, if there are any that have early applications that aren’t binding, apply by that date! You may have to start your work a little earlier than planned but it also means you’ll find out if you got accepted earlier than if you apply by the regular decision date. I didn’t do this when I applied to the University of Michigan and I had to wait until April to see if I got in which was no fun.

The Common App is your best friend and worst enemy. Easily the touchiest program of all time, the Common App may be the bane of your existence senior year. If I had a penny for every time the page magically refreshed in the middle of writing my essay or timed out of my session, erasing everything I had written, I could pay for a semester of college. It’s clear my feelings about the site have not changed in the last year. But seriously, don’t type any essays or answers into the boxes on the website directly. Open a Word document and type them there first and copy and paste it into the Common App. You’re chances of losing your work are much smaller this way. All negatives aside, the common app does have its perks. It keeps you from entering your address five times in a row or trying to talk up those clubs you did freshman year over and over. On your dashboard they give you an at a glance look at when everything is due and how many letters of recommendation you’re allowed. So even though the website is a pain in the butt most of time, it has its helpful moments.

Save every essay you write. After you’ve copied and pasted your essay into the Common App or uploaded it to the online application for your school, I highly recommend making another master document of all the essays you’ve written. Colleges can be so repetitive in their short essays and an essay you write for one application could be re-purposed for another application. If a question seems similar don’t copy and paste a previous essay word for word. Definitely tweak it to fit the values and goals of the school before sending it in.

Create a resume of extracurricular activities, service hours, and work experience. This is another huge time saver. Every school will want to know what you did outside of the classroom and unlike the essays, there aren’t many ways you can phrase the essays. Some schools ask you to just list the activity and maybe a leadership role you had but some schools will want an actual resume. Making this beforehand can save you from typing out the clubs you did in four years over and over. Even if you don’t end up using the resume for college applications, it’s always great to have a resume for any interviews you go on. It’s one less thing you’d have to do once college starts in the future!

Doing things to benefit yourself for the future is really the silver lining in the application process. Every time you don’t feel like writing that essay, or maybe the Common App erased your response, remember that all the hard work you put into the applications put you one step closer to going to your dream school!

What are some tips you’ve gotten about applying to school? Leave it in a comment below!

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In DIY, jewelry

DIY Jewelry Organizer

For the longest time my way of organizing my jewelry was to keep all of my necklaces and earrings in a drawer somewhere, out of sight. Personally, I'm one of those "out of sight, out of mind" people, so I would always forget to wear jewelry altogether. Plus, jewelry is so pretty, so why not have it on display? I've seen organizers made with empty picture frames filled with chicken wire or re-purposed wooden pallets. I knew my jewelry organizer was going to be a large decoration piece in my room, I wanted the frame of it to be more detailed than the average picture frame; they can also cost a lot. Luckily my mom saw the original mirror out by someone's trash can around trash day, and in the end the only supplies I had to buy were a roll of cork and the spray paint!

Everyone's frames are going to be different, so find one that works for you and the following steps will be fundamentally the same for each project. Above is the original mirror, and it was a little out dated for my room so it needed a makeover. Keep in mind that if you're using an old mirror, make sure you can easily remove the glass in it so you can replace it with cork. After you remove the glass, if it's not a new frame, wipe it down so there's not a layer of dirt on it when you try to paint.

I chose to paint my frame white so it'll match my bedroom furniture. Every time I use spray paint, I think I'll get better, but I always end up with drippy paint. Maybe someday I'll achieve drip-free spray paint status. Let the frame dry and air out for about a day before putting in the cork. All that's left to do is replace the mirror taken out earlier with the piece of cork (I bought mine at a craft store as a roll but I know they sell them in squares at stores like Walmart). I used nails left over from my mason jar string art project to hang my necklaces. And earrings just stick right into the cork. This is how mine turned out, and to think someone was going to throw that mirror away!

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DIY Rustic Flower String Art

Another post on the blog is years overdue, so I figured it's time to bring the blog back. And what better way to do it than with a DIY project?! This go around on the blog will definitely be more craft and lifestyle centered and I'm excited to start writing again.

Chances are if you've browsed around on Etsy before, you've come across the style of home decor that consists of lots of white-washed wood and light and airy flowers. I know I'm not alone when I say I want everything I own to look like that but my wallet says otherwise. I've seen string art like the one I made go for $50-60 on Etsy! Yikes! So, the next best thing is trying to make it on my own.Today, I'll show you how to make your own rustic string art. I went to my local craft store and picked up these items:

Thin plywood squares/rectangles- keep in mind you want them to be thin enough that it's not too heavy to hang but also thick enough that you can put a nail about 1 cm in to it for the string
Embroidery floss (or string of your choice)- I chose white embroidery floss because it's inexpensive and comes in a big spool so I didn't have to worry about running out.
Small nails- use your judgement and get nails that work with the wood and string you get
Wood stain- either a store bought, or homemade (I tried my own by combining about 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar and fine steel wool and let it sit overnight)
White paint- this gives it the worn look, you'll water this down so go for the cheaper kind if you need to buy it
Flowers- choose any kind you like, hydrangeas are my favorite so that's what I went with!

Getting started!

Once you've made your stain, or bought it, sand down your wood (I couldn't find my sandpaper, so I had to skip this step, but it's definitely worth it). Then apply your stain.

Homemade Stain

In the above picture, you can see that the bottom left corner is darker than the rest. That corner has two coats of stain and is drier than the rest. It might take some experimenting with the stain to get the exact shade you want, I ended up watering mine down to make it lighter. Be patient and don't be afraid to use both sides of the wood. Allow your stain at least an hour to dry, or the time suggested on the store stain.

Left- white-wash and stain, Right- just stain

If you want the rustic look keep reading to make your white-wash, if you love just the stain the wood is ready for nails! The white wash makes a big difference. Take a small amount of white paint in a small bowl and add enough water that the paint becomes runny. In big strokes,brush the paint onto the wood then immediately after take a paper towel and wipe the excess paint off.

Now on to the basket!

There are so many options for the string art; mason jars, baskets, vases. I went with a basket and used a piece of printer paper as my guide. Remember to leave room at the top for the flowers. Any shape will work, just as a rule of thumb, leave between 1-2" between each nail and be consistent.

Finish line in sight, weave the string around your nails, following the pattern that you made. And you'll have your own rustic string art! Here's how mine turned out!