So...I can call myself a senior in college now?

I'm a little embarrassed that my last post was in February...but, I can assure you that it has been my most difficult and busiest semester of college yet! So no worries, it wasn't like I was intentionally ignoring the gigantic fan-base I have through this blog. I hope you caught the sarcasm.

When I started this blog freshman year, I wanted to denote all of my awesome college experiences. Things didn't work out that way over the course of the next two years. Don't get me wrong, I love blogging and I love talking about myself, but keeping up with what to write about and what I've done is hard. My mom and I have been to several conferences in the past year and some of the hosts were professional bloggers. It's crazy how much work goes into one of their posts before they even begin writing. On that note, I had to do a little research through my Instagram and Facebook to see what I had done in the last 2 months that was blog-worthy (two whole sticky notes full of events to be exact), so let the blog post commence! 

February held my best friend, Sammy's bridal shower. The shower was so sweet and fun. Fast forward a bit. March was the month of Sammy's bachelorette weekend in Charlotte, NC. It was so fun and relaxing, not to mention how great it was to get away from some responsibility for a little bit. We spent the weekend at The Lazy 5 Ranch, which you faithful followers have seen on the blog before, exploring Charlotte, and going to the movies. Oh yeah, and the billion and a half trips to Amelie's Bakery Uptown. I know what you're thinking, that sounds like a wild time! It was to us! I had such a great time with Lou, Chels, Katie, and Sammy.

Sammy's BEAUTIFUL wedding was in April. It was a dream. The place, time, weather, couldn't of been more perfect. Also, if you're looking for bridesmaid dresses, I can't say enough wonderful things about the ones we wore! I loved it and would wear it every day. Check them out here. 

Photos by: Kelly Pyle

Around the time of February/March, Laura (roomie) and I started brainstorming. Brainstorming what? Well, if y'all remember, during our spring break of 2015, we moseyed our way up to New York and had the most dramatic time of our lives. So, we decided to make a-trip-a-year a new tradition. We stayed on the East coast last year, so we're venturing our way out to....Texas! In June, we're hopping on a plane and flying to the Lone Star State! This will be my first time ever on a plane and visiting Texas! Why Texas?

Throughout this whole school year, Laura and I would start our mornings eating Eggo waffles and watching HGTV. If you watch HGTV, you know of the couple Chip and JoJo Gaines. If you don't, you're missing out. They have a TV show called Fixer Upper and it's based in Texas. They are also the owners of the awesome store Magnolia Market. That's our main purpose in going, to visit Magnolia Market and explore Waco and Dallas, TX. Don't worry, I will blog all about it when we get back. It's a quick two day trip that, with the help of planning and planting a seed from Laura, my awesome parents have gifted me for my 21st birthday!

UNCC Housing Banquet, Laura + I

During March/April, I decided to take a leap of faith and apply for some scholarships being offered through UNC Charlotte. I turned in my applications and resumes, and with the help of my awesome boss , April, and sweet friend, Antoinette, my recommendation letters. I didn't think much of it for about a month, but I received notification about two weeks ago I was awarded a scholarship. It was one of the most exciting days! My mom and dad were able to come up and celebrate with me as I accepted the Michael G. Green Family Scholarship for Merit. I was thrilled my parents were able to be here! Around the same time I was applying for scholarships, I was invited to join the Kappa Delta Pi International Honors Society in Education. I will be inducted in tonight! Big things are happening this semester!

In June, I will be finishing up summer school in Charlotte. I have 1 class to complete before I begin student teaching in August! Luckily, awesome roomie Laura and her great parents live in Huntersville, about 20ish minutes away from campus. They are so sweet to let me stay with them while I am in summer school. I have 3 Foundations tests to take for teaching licensure this summer, my first one is at the end of this month and the last two are in June. Please say a quick prayer, or a dozen. These tests are no joke! Y'all, this is unreal. I will be graduating college in December! 

I'm currently in the process of packing up my dorm room. My final exams start next week and then I can call myself a SENIOR in college! What? When did this happen? I literally just started freshman year yesterday. Since I will be in Charlotte for a good chunk of summer, we have some fun things planned that I've never done the whole time I've lived here. It's crazy how 3 years can get away from you.

(Almost) 20 Tips from a College Junior

It has been a long 2 months since the last post. However, as you all know, I'm not very good at doing this on a regular basis. Exciting things are happening this semester. I have LESS than a year until I graduate! Ah! Deadlines are quickly approaching and it has been a lot little bit stressful. I have to take all 3 of my teacher licensure tests by August and then I begin my student teaching. I was placed in a 4th grade classroom and I couldn't be more excited about that! Then, I walk in December across the stage. MY OH MY!

So on that note, I have a few tips from a college junior:

1.  Junior year GOES BY SO FAST. Sophomore year was definitely the longest year ever. It was between getting directly into my major and finishing up my general education classes. Junior year on the other hand is going by like 200 miles an hour. Really remember these days.
2.  I have made the decision to not work during my senior year of college (technically, I can sort of considered myself a senior now, but that feels a little rushed.) I made a separate savings account to put some money a side each month, so I will have some change to spend during my last semester at UNCC. Make sure you're looking ahead and planning for financial reasons!
   
3. Don't be afraid if you don't feel like much of an adult yet. Y'all, last week I had my mom make my dentist appointment (and I may have asked her to make them for the rest of my life.) It's okay! I mean, as long as you're doing some adult things. Please have at least your first job by now, oh, and PLEASE be doing your own laundry. Don't rush growing up, but you are going to have to grow up.
4. Be considering where and what you're going to do after you graduate. I only have 1 semester of senior year unlike most people, so I have to think a little faster, but definitely start thinking about some long-term plans.
5. This is the year a lot of your friends start getting engaged and married. Don't sulk about your singleness, be happy for your friends and family! One of my best friends, Sammy, is getting married in April and I'm so excited to be apart of it. My brother, Drew, is getting married in August and that's so exciting! Be supportive and happy for those close to you.
6. Just like last year's tip, go home and visit! It gets even harder to leave home this year. Luckily, my sweet mama and daddy are coming to visit this weekend! I can't wait to see their faces.
7. Do something different this year. It doesn't have to be crazy or anything. I recently tried hot yoga with my friend Kelly and I'm going back again this Sunday! It was a really cool experience.
8. I'm still living on-campus and loving it. This is my second year in an on-campus apartment and the convenience is real. I recently registered for housing again and I will be living in another on-campus apartment this upcoming school year. Of course, shop your options, but I highly recommend on-campus living!
9. Checking the mail is still something I look forward to. Check your mail, but also send it! It will make someone's day and if you're lucky, they'll write you back!

   

   Hey Ma, please make my dentist appointments forever? Thanks, you're the best!

10. If anything, school work gets way more intense this year. I have friends working towards many different majors and I think they would say the same thing. Remember to stay focused and definitely make your to-do lists. They'll come in handy. 
11. TAKE PICTURES. We live in a time where we are so lucky to have technology. Well, it's a blessing and a curse, but you get it. Take pictures of things that mean something to you. You're going to want to look back on them later.
12. Make summer plans! I have to stick around for the first summer school session this year (one step closer to early graduation!), but I am lucky enough to have an awesome roomie to let me stay with her! Thanks Lar (and Mrs. Carolyn and Mr. Malcolm!) We're planning to do some fun stuff around Charlotte that I've never done before.

    

    Lar + I

13. I know I told you to consider future plans, but also make some fun future goals for yourself. Anyone that knows me can tell you that I want a puppy names Peaches after graduation. Silly things are still things to look forward to too!
14. Read some books, not just textbooks. Shout out to Mrs. Greear for letting my borrow See Me by Nicholas Sparks. Such a good read so far!
15. Organize your room (and don't forget to decorate either.) I bought a shoe rack this year and it has changed my life. I can actually see all of my shoes, hallelujah!  

For the sake of being too repetitive, I'm going to stop at 15. Just remember to pay attention to your life and enjoy the moment you're in. Wow, that was cheesy. I feel like I was just in my freshman year dorm room writing my first 20 tips post. 

Two weeks of an Almost-Teacher

Today marks the last day of my clinicals for my IMB semester. IMB stands for Integrated Methods Block in the College of Education. I'm not sure if it works the same way at other colleges like it does at UNCC, but you are dismissed from education courses for two weeks to gain required clinical experience (40 hours) in an assigned elementary school. For the last two weeks I have felt what it's like to be a teacher everyday and it has been so awesome and reassuring.

For IMB, I was required to teach a social studies lesson, literacy lesson, science lesson, and observe all of these subjects as well, including math. I could not have been placed at a more perfect school or in a more perfect 4th grade class. My CT's (cooperating teacher's) were so helpful and provided me with so many teaching resources- it was like teacher material heaven! I taught an integrated social studies and literacy lesson about comparing and contrasting NC transportation (4th grade social studies standards are all about NC) and a disturbance cycle lesson in science about oil spills. They're way more fun in person than how they sound in writing!

Weekly essentials: coffee + packed lunch

I was so nervous about teaching my lessons, as it was my first time teaching whole group lessons! I had my lesson plan "script" in-hand and ready to go, then I started teaching and didn't even look at it. I was so proud of myself y'all- the lessons went so, so much better than I expected and they flowed so well! My main CT observed my literacy/social studies lesson and went over her observations with me afterward. Her observation comments were so helpful and completely boosted my teaching-confidence. I am not trying to be braggy when I say this, but I think it's good to be proud of yourself, so I'm going to share. She said it's clear when teaching comes naturally and she could tell that it came naturally to me. I will forever hold that compliment in my heart because I was so worried I would have to look at my lesson plan the whole time to see what I needed to say. It was such a reassuring moment. My students turned in their transportation Venn diagrams after the lesson was over and I was so proud of their work! It is definitely one of my favorite teaching experiences so far!

I mainly wanted to write this post to share about my experience, but also what I learned about myself during these past two weeks.  

• I am an official grandma of my generation- well I've been a grandma probably since high school. I am not one to stay up super, super late or go out and party, so going to bed between 9:00 and 10:00 every night was probably one of the best things about these last couple of weeks y'all. Have to get enough sleep to keep up with those kids!
• Being called "Ms. Hatcher" is not as weird as it used to be! At first, I wanted to be like "that's my mama's name," but now I've learned to accept it. It comes with time.
• I really love working with 4th grade. I didn't think I would not like it, but I didn't think I would love it as much as I did either! Teaching 4th grade in the future is a very real possibility! 
• Teaching is so much fun, duh. Really putting in an effort to make your lessons interesting and interactive for the students pays off. I enjoyed teaching the material so much more when I saw that the students were genuinely interested in learning it!
• I did not want to leave those precious students after these last two weeks! It only takes a whole 2 minutes to get attached to them, let alone 40+ hours!

I had so much fun during these IMB weeks being an almost-teacher. Planning lessons and implementing them in the classroom made this experience so real and encouraging. I can't wait to be able to do this for a living!

Mini Update!

A whole, whole bunch has been going on this past month. For starters, I changed my Instagram bio to 'occasional' blogger. Let's face it, I'm not good at doing this on a regular basis. 

There has been some exciting changes that have been made to my college career...I found out that I will be graduating early! That's right- December 2016, I will be a college graduate! It kind of makes me want to throw up and celebrate at the same time. I feel like I literally just graduated high school. So much is going to be packed into this next year and I have a feeling it's going to fly by. Junior year has definitely been the most stressful by far. I am going to be in the classroom more this year and I have been writing LP's like it's already my job! Lesson plans aren't as bad as I thought they were going to be, but it's no fun when you can't actually do them in the classroom yet. For now, I will go to the study room with the white board and practice my "teacher presence" on Laura (roomie)- it makes it a little more realistic.

I have a couple of classes in Uptown Charlotte this semester and they are probably my favorite. Last week we took a tour of the city and we did SO. MUCH. WALKING. We went to some new places I had never been to and took a ride to the top of a hotel to see the skyline view. It was beautiful. It was really neat seeing all of the places I hadn't really paid much attention to before. I've lived here for two full school years and I'm just now doing this!

The roomies and I entered our dorm room into a 'Campus Cribs' contest last week. We found out Friday that we are finalists! That's pretty exciting. We have a dorm room "photo shoot" tomorrow and then voting commences. Be on the lookout for a shared post on Facebook about voting! We're all really excited about it!

Laura, her parents, and I will be traveling to Georgia this weekend for some fun! Laura got me Nick Jonas *fan girl screams* tickets for my birthday and we get to see him Friday night! He was so, so good in concert last December at The Fillmore. I can't wait to hear him again! We're going to the Georgia Aquarium with Laura's parents on Saturday and I am ready for that! I have never been before!

Anyway, I just wanted to fill y'all in on all of that. I'm sure, actually I know, I'm leaving out a bunch of things that have happened, but I can't think of anything to write it out. I hope y'all are having a great week so far!

Graphic Tee Fever

So, one of my favorite things as of late are graphic tees. I don't mean like middle school Aero short sleeves, but cute ones with little quotes or sayings on them. I mostly find them at TJ Maxx or Ross and I just love them when I see them!

I'm going to share a few with you that I have (mostly want) and where you can find them! This trend just makes me so happy.

1. I'd Rather Be Watching Gilmore Girls

I do happen to own (and LOVE) this sweatshirt. Arsenic and Lace is such a cute shop and you can scoop this one up for $37! (click here)

2. Shoes Speak Louder Than Words

I also have this little number. I love, love, love it and it's so easy to dress up or down. This one is from a company called Cents of Style and what they represent and who they are is amazing! I really encourage you to check them out. They have awesome sales weekly and there's always an incredible deal on Friday's! (click here)

3. Mermaids Have More Fun

I do not have this tank, but I want it so badly! Anything that has to do with mermaids is for me. Obviously I was given the wrong set of legs when I should've gotten a tail, but I've come to terms with it. I can live vicariously through this cute tank! (click here)

4. But First, Coffee

This one is also not a part of my collection, but it's so simple and cute. It really does describe the beginning of my day and the best part is...it's on sale right now! (click here)

5. Y'all

Y'all, I can't with this cute tee! It's from the Junk Gypsy Co. and I think it's adorable. I love the paisley pattern in the background too! (click here)

I just think anyone can pull this trend off with a pair of boyfriend jeans or skinnies! They are so easily dressed up or down and you can grab and go while getting dressed quickly. I promise if you pick one up, you'll have a closet full in no time! Guilty.

Dorm Room Decorating!

So, I have been the epitome of a bad blogger. I haven't posted one single thing since May and I am not proud of it- but I have had one of the best summers of my life! I would make a summer recap post, but oh my I don't want to torture you with about 5,000,001 pictures. However, it was one for the books (I love some clichés.)

I gave you all a peek of what my summer would look like in May and it was even better than I thought it would be! I began working two new jobs, a CIS Group Leader and a barista at my favorite coffee shop at home, they both turned out to be incredible. I can definitely tell that I learned so many different lessons about teaching through my CIS job and I know it will help me in the future with my degree! Working with three of my very best friends at the coffee shop was not something that I had expected to be doing at the beginning of summer, but I was so excited for the opportunity! It's so hard not seeing their faces everyday now that I am back at school. Summer went by so fast this year, as it does every year!

Speaking of school, I have officially started my Junior year of college at UNCC! I'm all moved in and settled. Last year, one of my most viewed posts was Dorm Room DIY's, this year, however, we were able to upgrade into a little better building so Laura (roomie) and I didn't have to put in as much effort to give the place a face-lift. We did do a few DIY projects that I will share with y'all and we decorated a ton!

I'll start with the living room. It's the room you first see when you walk into our apartment and I have to say that it makes the place feel so homey. We put a lot of effort into making it look nice this year and it paid off! One of our goals was to make everything flow together, mainly in the kitchen and living room.

Laura gets basically all of the credit for this space. She bought all of the decorations and I was just there to help put the space together. I think it turned out so beautifully! We were able to reuse the coffee table, side table, table lamp, and place mats from our apartment last year.

Laura scored this awesome chair at Habitat for $10! It fits so well in the space. The throw pillows, throw blanket, curtains, and standing lamp came from Target.

After I took the pictures above, we made initials of all the roommates to hang over the couch. They were created to match the place mats and one of the walls I will talk about below!

One of our first DIY projects in the new place was on the wall right as you come into the apartment. It was this plain white wall that was really drab and we turned it into something fabulous! Electrical tape is not just used for wires- it can also be used as faux paint stripes if you're really creative! This whole wall was done with 1 roll of tape for about $5.

We did a little decorating in the kitchen next. Our kitchen was not decorated in any special way last year, except for a rug that just collected crumbs mostly. This year, we wanted it to flow right into the living space. Laura found these precious prints on Pinterest and picked up a few frames. I think it creates almost a window-like area!

Naturally, my favorite print! All of them flow into the colors of the living room space. I love looking at these when I wash dishes. They're so fun!

Now, onto my favorite room (and that may be a biased statement.) Over the summer, I put a lot of thought into what I wanted my room to look like this year. I know that may sound silly because it's just a college dorm, but if you know me (and my mom) then you know we were both born to decorate. I feel like I need to be comfy in the place I'm staying or I won't be happy. Your environment reflects your personality and I think this room is a spitting image of me and all of my favorite things: gold decals, pictures, and navy blue. Okay, well maybe not all of my favorite things, but you get the point!

I reused my ruched bedspread from freshman year and my stool and a few decorations from last year. I saw these triangle wall decals online one day, but they were really expensive. I found the ones on this wall from Etsy for about $15 and there were 40 in a pack. I still have some leftover!

These throw pillow covers are from Groopdealz, if you haven't heard of the website, then you need to go there right now! I mean it, come back to this post later and finish it if you have to. Anyway, they were all about or under $10. The 'hello' pillow is from Hobby Lobby, my own tangible Pinterest.

I just love, love, love everything about this room! It is by far my best dorm room yet. Not that the others have been bad, I've just gotten better at decorating and planning! I couldn't have finished this room by myself, my mom was a HUGE help in the whole decorating process. I'm so thankful for her and her ideas!

Laura brought some wooden rectangles with her to do some DIYing with and we both made key hangers with them. They turned out so cute! I had some little picture loop hooks, I have no idea what they're actually called, that I twisted into the top to hang it on the wall with. 

One of the last things we decorated was the sink area in the bathroom. We reused the blue 'wash' letters from the apartment last year. We added the loop hooks to the top of them this year for an extra touch. They turned out really cute in the space! We also reused the blue bathmats from last year as well.

Laura, Kirsten, and Dominique's rooms are all so cute as well! I'm so excited for this year and our little apartment. It really does feel like home away from home. I hope everyone's first day of class went well and I will post again soon(er rather than later)!