Must See BG

Graduation is nearly a month away for Kayla, and it's time for us to reminisce about our college years by visiting all of our favorite spots BGSU had to offer.  Check out the map below to locate some of our favorite bars, restaurants and clubs and here about why we have grown to love them so much.


Our Stomping Grounds

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Senior night at El Zarape!

The girls and us at Kami's for happy hour!

The Big Kid Christmas List

Photo from collegehoopsjournal.com

It’s holiday shopping time, and Black Friday is just around the corner.  Meaning it is time to start making a list and checking it twice this winter, with gifts that you will need for your upcoming adventure into the job market.  Check out these great gift ideas to ask for from friends and family. 

External Hard Drive: When commuting to and from work you may want to take some of your work home with you without having to tote around a cumbersome laptop.  With an external hard drive that is small, light and stylish you can take your entire life’s work with you from the office to home.

Timepiece:  Most professionals stress the importance of wearing a watch during interviews to show your future employers you are a responsible and proactive professional.

Professional Clothing:  Suites and dress clothes can be expensive, so what better time to ask for them than Christmas.  Your spring semester of college is interview season, so get prepared during the holidays for your upcoming interviews by shopping for a few business casual outfits to wear. 

Smartphone:  Time to upgrade your phone from your Nokia flip to a Smartphone with Internet access.  Stay on top of your e-mails when checking for job opportunities with trendy new Smartphones that are reasonably priced.

Coffee Machine:  It is no doubt you will need a morning wake up call, when you are no longer dreading your 6 to 9 p.m. class, but instead dreading your 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. work day.  Save money by not venturing to Starbucks before your early shift, by making your own coffee at home with some of your favorite brews. 

Posted by: Taylor Ray

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The Dos and Don'ts of Thanksgiving Break

Image via Wikipedia It's finally here.  The holiday where it's okay to eat to the point of physical pain, sleep, then eat again.  We all know and love Thanksgiving and appreciate what the Pilgrims did for us back in the day.  But as college students, Thanksgiving break brings on meanings past the turkey and stuffing.  It's a time to relax with family, catch up with old friends, and run into your entire graduating class at the local bars on "the biggest bar night of the year."  Here are some Dos and Dont's from Collegiate Connexion to ensure you get the most out of your turkey break as possible : )


Do: Request all of your favorite foods from Mom and Grandma, and then bag up the leftovers to make sure you'll be eating good until Christmas break.
Don't: Tell your parents how you've been surviving off of the McDonald's dollar menu so you can use the cash they put into your account for beer money.  Some secrets are better left unsaid. 


Do: Take the best shower of your life in your impeccably clean bathroom at home, using your Mom's expensive shower and freshly-washed towels.  
Don't: Go into detail about how you and your roommates have yet to clean the vomit off of your toilet seat from last weekend's date party. They won't laugh.


Do: Call up your old friends, order some pizza, and have a girls night exchanging all the crazy stories from this semester.
Don't: Spend every waking minute with your BFF's. As much as Mom says it doesn't bother her when you're constantly MIA, it does. It won't kill you to pencil in some much-needed family time. 


Posted By: Kayla Molczan

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Looking Beyond the Curriculum

Five classes they should have offered in college
So you've mastered how to write a 10-page research paper and you know exactly how to cram for a stats exam.  To top that, you actually even feel pretty comfortable entering into the real world with your resume that's packed with extracurriculars to compliment your major.  But as ready as you may think you are, certain aspects of the real world are going to smack you in the face just like your roommate did when you told her you wanted to get back with your ex-boyfriend.  Here are five classes that definitely should make their way onto the required course list at every institution of higher education because they will actually help you in the real world.  

1. Groceries for the Graduate.  Just because you landed that first real job which means a first real paycheck doesn't mean you have to turn into Rachel Ray.  Buying groceries at overpriced, organic supermarkets will drain your wallet a lot faster than you think.  Don't worry, you can still think of yourself as a "mature adult" if you buy cereal at Walmart or Kroger like everyone else.  Believe me, you'll thank us in the end. 

2. Real-World Hangovers 101. Unlike in your college days, you can’t throw on sweats, sleep through your two-hour lecture, then head back to bed after a night out on the town.  You have a real job now which means putting on that pencil skirt, grabbing coffee, and showing up ON TIME ready to impress your boss.  Having a class to enlighten you on the best hangover remedies and ensure you don’t throw up in your morning meeting might save you your job.

3.  Commuting for Beginners.  Chances are you are not going to live within walking distance to your place of employment like you did to your 9:30 class.  A course with a syllabus showing you how to calculate exactly what time to set that alarm so you maximize your sleep time, yet still can grab that coffee from Panera sounds like a good idea to me.

4.  Living at Home, Part 11.  You’ve been out of the house for four years but might be forced to move back in after graduation until you can get on your feet.  There’s nothing wrong with that, except the fact you might drive your Mom to drink, and vice versa.  Readjusting to domestic life with the ‘rents can be a tough one, and a class on the Do’s and Don’ts might help ease the experience.

5.  Graduate Level Facebook.  You’ve heard it a million times, but you really do need to clean up your facebook before you send those applications out to employers.  They will look, and if they find pictures of you drunkenly dancing on tables they won’t be impressed.  A class like this should be mandatory for any undergraduate actually looking to get a real world job.           

Posted By: Kayla Molczan

Surviving Senior Year: Grad School Applications

Image by lagotic via FlickrIf you're thinking you might not be quite ready to enter into the job market just yet, grad school might be the way to go.  Telling everyone you want to "further your education" and still getting to bum around campus and live off your parent's insurance doesn't sound all that bad.  However, getting into a prestigious graduate program isn’t as easy as it was to get into the undergrad institution of your choice.  Here and some tips and tricks that will help you get accepted into your grad school of choice.

1.       Make sure your professors know who you are. You are going to need recommendation letters and it’s a lot easier to ask teachers for this favor if they know your name.

2.      Take the GRE early.  Even if you’re not 100 percent sure you want to go to grad school, take it and then decide later.  Waiting until the last minute and having it fall right before finals will bring on additional, not-needed stress.

3.      Double check application requirements.  All grad schools are different and require different things along with their applications.  You don’t want to not be considered admittance to a school of your choice before you forgot to send something in.

4.      Visit schools.  Making sure you like the look and feel of the campus is just as important for grad school as it was for your undergrad.

5.      Ask for advice.  Talk to advisors and people in your field to see if grad school is the best option for you.  Everyone will have a different opinion, but listen to a wide variety of people, look at your goals and aspirations, and decide what’s best for your life.

Posted By: Kayla Molczan

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Bucket Lists Are Not Just for Senior Citizens

Image via Wikipedia

While you may feel like your life as you known it is over, it really is just beginning!  Take advantage of these last leisure months and set some goals for yourself for the next few months and/or years.  Create a few bucket lists and break them up according to the time span!  Look forward to concluding your final year at school instead of dreading entering the real world.

Before You Graduate: 

The next four months

Look at this next year and just go for it.  Dance in that water fountain on campus, sing karaoke at the local bar, and visit your old dorm room.  Connect with old friends again and enjoy the new one's you've made.  Ace that final exam, sell all your old textbooks for some extra cash and go out for Sunday-Funday!

25 Before 25:

The next four years

Make plans for your immediate post-grad life and list your top 25 goals to complete before you turn 25.  Take a look at the New York Times Best Seller list, choose some new reads that interest you, and actually take the time to read them.  This list could include health goals, such as working out a minimum of three times a week or cutting out dessert after 7 p.m.  Find time to find yourself, start your career and find your first place to call your own.  

Before You Kick the Bucket: 

The rest of your life

Include in this bucket list career and personal things you want to accomplish throughout the entire span of your life.  This could vary between owning your own vacation home, to writing a novel.  Think of places around the nation or even the world you'd like to visit before you die and plan on making it happen.

Posted by: Taylor Ray

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A Letter to My Freshman Self

A reflection of the past four years. What I would have said to me if I knew what I know now.

It's time to step out of your comfort zone and enter into collegiate bubble.  Explore your surroundings as much as possible and don't be afraid to meet those who are unlike you.  Learning to understand those who are different and unique to you is key to finding empathy for others and communicating effectively.

Let loose!  You are here to take class and prepare for your career, but go on spring break, go out during the week ever once in a while and stay up way too late with your friends eating junk food and gossiping about fraternity boys.  I promise you will still pass your classes after skipping a few, so don't stress about every time you sleep in.

Take the time to get to know those in your dorm and don't let opportunities in greek life pass you by.  Go through formal recruitment!  Grasp a better understanding of sorority life before you actually enter it so you can appreciate it faster.

Improve upon your insecurities.  Don't let the drama of high school follow you, so start fresh as a new person.  Take the time to find yourself while holding true to the values you were raised on.

Eat Macateria breakfast WAY more.  It will soon no longer exist before the afternoon, and you won't be able to eat giant cinnamon rolls before your 8:30 a.m. biology lab.  Take advantage of the Kappa kitchen and meet the upperclassmen, that house will soon be the closest thing you have to home.

Savor the weekend moments you can barely remember, join a select few organizations and become active as a freshman, take the initiative to get an internship after your freshman year, and look for a job on-campus this year (you will really be able to use the extra cash).

Lastly, let those around you know you appreciate them, don't talk about others behind their back, take classes you will actually enjoy, add some electives into your schedule and don't take everything too seriously!

You are going to survive, so enjoy these fun-filled, four years as much as possible!

Love,

Me

Posted by: Taylor Ray