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Archive for July, 2017

College Hookup Culture

Thursday, July 13th, 2017

My Profile Picture on Tinder for a Small While

College hookup culture is weird, sometimes rewarding, and occasionally sketchy. Generally speaking, hookups for single people develop in two primary ways: either through a platform for meeting other single people or through circumstance. In terms of platforms, I speak digitally of apps like Tinder and non-digitally of the bar, club, and party scenes. Of course, a great many people who use these platforms are not looking for prospective romantic escapades. However, a great many also use these platforms in order to have hookups or long-term relationships. And then, there are people like me who unwittingly fall victim to “dating” platforms and/or circumstance. In any case, I will avoid speaking on this topic too specifically, rather opting to speak in broader terms, as this is a vast and personal subject.

Since move-in day of college, I developed a number of casual relationships with people I knew circumstantially. Whether these were people from my hall or a shared class or whatever else is of no real importance. Instead, what is important is that I had non-committal relations with people whom I could not avoid once one of us had chosen to discontinue the relations. I did not realize the degree of obsession that was brought out in some people with whom I stopped hooking up. While in certain cases, casual relationships ended calmly, I have had my fair share of being yelled at and pleaded with by past partners. The valuable lesson I took out of these experiences was that if I did not see potential for transforming a non-committed relationship into a committed one, then I should not have entered the relationship from the start. It appeared that most of my hookups were vacuous and led to more awkward headaches then they were worth.

Then there was going to bars, clubs, and parties whereupon many people I know found romantic interests and one-time hookups. Since I can only point to a few occasions of romantic encounters out of personal experience, I instead will explain the experiences of people I know who are more well-versed in this culture. For instance, I have one friend who would bar hop until they found someone who would be interested in a one-night frolic and then would never contact them again. Unlike me, this friend is completely content with this type of love life since they are comfortable in this mode of romance. Still, I have another friend who gave up dating entirely after becoming so disenchanted with the emotional volatility of the relationships he formed with people he met at parties and clubs. It is hard to tell if one should participate in hookup culture, as the results of college hookup culture are often unexpected. Finding out whether hookup culture is worth it often comes down to discovering personal preferences via trial and error.

As for Tinder, I made an account for networking with photographers but soon became interested in its dating potential after finding that Tinder eliminates many of the problems I had with running into spurned lovers and provides clarity as to the motivations of its users. To even use Tinder in the first place is most likely an indication that an individual is seeking a romantic relationship, whether it be serious or not serious. Plus, it was quite easy to manufacture an appealing way of constructing the aesthetic of my Tinder profile and messaging other users. Beyond that, dating through Tinder is pretty similar to other forms of dating, except that Tinder dates are typically being more straightforward than other types. Quite truthfully, after a while, Tinder became vacuous too. After a certain point, I had too many bizarre dates with bizarre people to the point where I wanted something more long-term. That is when I found my girlfriend on Tinder. And I have been happily committed ever since. Funny enough, even though I have discontinued my personal use of Tinder, I advise a good many friends on how to construct stellar Tinder profiles.

By Matthew Evert

Matthew Evert is a Campus Clipper publishing intern who is studying English and Philosophy as a sophomore at NYU. Passionate about poetry, people, and adventure, Matthew aspires to live an explorative and artistic life. For over 20 years, the Campus Clipper has been offering awesome student discounts in NYC, from the East Side to Greenwich Village. Along with inspiration, the company offers students a special coupon booklet and the Official Student Guide, which encourage them to discover new places in the city and save money on food, clothing and services.

At the Campus Clipper, not only do we help our interns learn new skills, make money, and create wonderful e-books, we give them a platform to teach others. Check our website for more student savings and watch our YouTube video showing off some of New York City’s finest students during the Welcome Week of 2015.

Tags:casual, clubs, hookups, keeping it pg, romance, tinder
Posted in onCollege, onFun, onLove, Relationships | No Comments »

Academic Relationships

Thursday, July 13th, 2017

NYU Flag Outside of the Lipton Residential Hall

It’s good to have friends to carry you through finals

Beyond having a primary friend group, cultivating ancillary relationships is beneficial for one’s time in college and outside of it. Of large importance is the relationship one shares with peers and professors within shared academic contexts. From a networking standpoint, the connections made with professors and other students from one’s classes can hold professional significance in the future. From a more present-oriented perspective, those connections can be the difference between one doing poorly in their classes and one succeeding.

Even though a student can be incredibly gifted academically, if they do not know how to be likeable in the eyes of their professors, then they may find that their classes are more difficult than they need to be and that their career prospects might be more restricted. The proverb, “You catch more flies with honey than vinegar,” proves especially true regarding having healthy relationships with professors. I remember in my first semester at NYU having a professor whom I strongly disliked. The professor did not allow for open discussion, opting instead to filter every discussion through themselves and to disregard students with whom they disagreed. It seemed that they were also very openly critical in papers and class discussions about any student who questioned this system. Despite disliking that professor, I never made it readily apparent that I felt this way. By the end of the semester, the professor loved me because I showed them kindness and attentiveness, while other students had given up on the class. This same professor told me that if I would ever need a letter of recommendation, I should not hesitate to ask. In this way, I made myself less of a target for harsh grading and allowed professor’s status to serve to my benefit. The same rule of kindness and attentiveness can apply to teachers one genuinely likes (most of my professors at NYU), the only difference being that the relationship in these cases is easier and more genuine.

As for peers, it is not necessary to be friends with them much outside of the academic context to still reap the benefits of an academic relationship. Sure, forming studying groups can be especially helpful for reviewing material and covering gaps in knowledge before exams, but there are greater benefits to having friends in class. For core classes, many students are not as interested in the subject matter as much as they will be when they take more self-directed, specialized courses later in their academic career. Core classes provide a helpful platform for students to network with students from a broader range of interests than specialized courses do, since every student usually must complete certain core requirements to complete their major. It is then possible under such circumstances that a student may find themselves in a class with both science and humanities majors. By forming symbiotic in-class relationships with other students possessing diverse interests, one may find connections that could inevitably benefit them outside of college, when their career could benefit from the help of someone from a different discipline entirely. For instance, a computer science major could benefit from the help of someone in finance when calculating the costs for a tech startup down the road. Who knows, some of the friends one may find in such classes could also develop into relationships beyond the academic sphere.

For more specialized courses, one may use such courses as grounds for honing their craft with other like-minded individuals. In my case, I have been taking workshop classes in creative writing to enhance my poetry. In this environment, I have used classroom discussions as grounds to both learn how to enhance my art and provide new insight on the work of others. In the future, some of the people with whom I shared such classes could help me in developing and editing my future work. What’s more, those same people could become partners in collaborative artistic projects. Yet, if I never made the effort to reach out to my peers, I would not have the same opportunities that I have now.

By Matthew Evert

Tags:academic relationships, learning, networking, students, teachers
Posted in Friendship, NYC Student Guide, onCollege, onValues, Relationships, Studying | No Comments »

From New York to…Berlin

Tuesday, July 11th, 2017

Every city has its story. Some are built on peace and trust, but most upon revolution and blood. I might be of the minority opinion, but I think it’s important to know the history of the place you live or visit. It tells a bigger story. Isn’t that what college is about? Discovering what you believe based upon your knowledge of the world? For American history, no place is better for that than New York City (except maybe D.C.). For Western-focused history, I think no city carries that weight better than Berlin.

In New York it’s a little easier to ignore history when there’s so much hustle and bustle around us. A lot of us don’t stop to think unless we decide on a day and time to go to a specific place and think about the history of how this great city came to be. It’s a little different in Berlin. Its past drags on you as you walk through its streets and there are signs of history everywhere—a city trying to wipe away its past through modernization.

http://pinterest.com/

http://voss-photography.com/

Since it’s humbling and humanizing, I’ve made a list of places you can stop and think about the past in both Berlin and New York:

History Museums.

Museums are meant to be quiet places to look at precious items and ponder their meaning. History museums are some of the most impactful places in any city. This is especially true for New York and Berlin. In New York the National Museum of the American Indian brings to light not only the history of New York, but also of this land. It’s a humbling experience and allows you to see the stories and artwork of the Native Americans before and after European settlers. New York boasts many other history museums, but one of the best is a bit far from Manhattan. If you can get there, the Ellis Island Immigration Museum helps anyone understand what makes modern day New York so wonderfully diverse and will give you a sense of the historical struggle of your ancestors. Berlin is filled to the brim with museums about history. One of these is the German Historical Museum or Deutsches Historisches Museum, which shows the history of Germany from its founding to its scarred past and hopeful future.

Tragedy Museums.

I define museums of tragedy as separate from museums of history because the weight of self-awareness you feel in a museum centered on tragedy is innately different from that of history. The National Museum of the American Indian is also a museum of tragedy to me, but the museum itself focuses mostly on the beauty of Native American culture rather than on their horrific plight. Another museum where New Yorkers will certainly feel the heaviness of tragedy is the 9/11 Memorial and Museum in the Financial District. Though this one may leave you feeling hollow and oddly aware of yourself and your fellow New Yorkers, it’s definitely worth visiting if you’re thinking about the past. For Berlin, the Jewish Museum will impact you in ways you didn’t even know were possible. It’s earthshattering and the mixture of art and history is made to let history overwhelm you. And you should let it this once. It’s worth it.

9/11 Memorial Pond.
https://www.nycgo.com/

Art Installation at the Jewish Museum in Berlin.
Taken by Jainita Patel

Monuments and Memorials.

I’m honestly not quite sure where to begin with this one for New York, so I’m going to state the one I love the most that always takes me back in time: Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn. Here you’ll find monuments dedicated to almost every war fought by American soldiers. If wars don’t interest you as much as common life, almost every grave in the cemetery has a story. Not to mention the place is gorgeous. If you’re looking for a more patriotic monument, Trinity Church on Wall St. has some of the most famous revolutionaries buried there including Alexander Hamilton and his family. A comprehensive list of New York monuments to sit and reflect upon can be found here. Berlin has a historical monument on every corner, but three very specific monuments had a huge impact on me: 1) The Berlin Wall Memorial. There is a piece left standing of the Berlin Wall in Brunnenviertel that has scribbles of graffiti proclaiming freedom that remains from just 25 years ago. It really puts the past into perspective. 2) The East Side Gallery. Also a piece of the Berlin Wall, this international memorial for freedom on Mühlenstraße will have you looking at art and history as two inseparable mediums by which to explore the past. 3) Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (and the nearby Großer Tiergarten—which contains the Memorial to Homosexuals Persecuted Under Nazism—and the Memorial to the Sinti and Roma of Europe Murdered under the National Socialist Regime which is by Brandenburger Tor). This last one is more of an art piece, but just as powerful.

Civil War Memorial at Green-Wood Cemetery.
http://sallyminker.com/

Graffiti on the Berlin Wall Memorial.
Taken by Jainita Patel.

Right Outside Your Door.

You know those nights were you just sit outside your small NYC dorm or apartment and look at the street and starless sky? Or when you walk to class or work, avoiding the traffic and ignoring your aching feet? There’s history there, right underneath you and around you. It’s a place to begin thinking about the rich histories and the lessons we can learn from it. It’s important, especially in cities with pasts like New York and Berlin.

So there it is—this week’s oddly sad and moving tips on how to connect with a deeper part of yourself and the world. Who says you can’t enjoy yourself while being pensive and having your mind blown? And who knows? If you like either city for the weight of its history, maybe you’ll get to visit the other some day.

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By Jainita Patel

Jainita is a Campus Clipper publishing intern who is double majoring in English and Environmental Studies at NYU. Though writing fiction and painting are her two main passions, she also has a love of travel and adventure that has taken her across the globe. Jainita writes under the pseudonym Jordan C. Rider. If you like her posts, you can find more of her work here or follow her on Twitter. For over 20 years, the Campus Clipper has been offering awesome student discounts in NYC, from the East Side to Greenwich Village. Along with inspiration, the company offers students a special coupon booklet and the Official Student Guide, which encourage them to discover new places in the city and save money on food, clothing and services.

At the Campus Clipper, not only do we help our interns learn new skills, make money, and create wonderful e-books, we give them a platform to teach others. Check our website for more student savings and watch our YouTube video showing off some of New York City’s finest students during the Welcome Week of 2015.

Tags:Adventure, berlin, Brooklyn, city, college, explore, germany, history, memorials, monuments, museum, MUSEUMS, New York City, NYC, students, Study Abroad, Travel
Posted in Budget Traveler, onFun, onTravel, Out On The Town, Outside Manhattan, Uniqueness in NYC | No Comments »

Winning the War, Not the Battle

Tuesday, July 11th, 2017

A pyrrhic victory: a victory won at too great a cost. What good is a single success if it is the only thing supporting you? If it is won at the expense of your happiness or stability? When it comes to facing the many challenges that college will inevitably throw in your face, you need to pick your battles.

This is especially true in the academic department. With all of your newfound freedom can come a lot of new self-imposed expectations. After all, when there is nobody else breathing down your neck, doesn’t it make sense that you’d do it yourself?

Wrong.

There’s nothing wrong with a healthy dose of self motivation, but the worst thing for your stress levels is constant, unadulterated, internalized pressure. And if you’re too stressed about your grades, you’ll find it hard to get anything done. Keeping everything in perspective is difficult, but here’s how I try to do it every day:

Ask yourself: Why?
Do you want to do well in school? Why? Never stop asking yourself these questions. Do you want to learn? Do you want to get a specific job? Into graduate school, maybe? Do you just want a high GPA? Create your academic plan based on your goals, instead of overwhelming yourself with too many expectations. As one of my fellow interns, Sofia, said during our first weekly summer podcast, “you can do anything, but not everything.” Do not expect to accomplish everything, and the goals that you do choose will become much more feasible. If you put your schoolwork in the context of some greater goal, it will have more purpose and you will have less meaningless stress.

https://www.15five.com

Plan your fun
I can’t stress this one enough. Plan your fun, and plan it in advance. As I wrote in my blog post “Have Good Study Habits, Naturally,” planning fun or social events for yourself can be a great tactic to get in the habit of scheduling and having a good sense of time. However, it can also be a great way to make sure you don’t get too bogged down with excess stress at any given time. Relaxing is important, and it can be hard to remember that. If you plan out your relaxation time, you won’t accidentally brush it to the wayside when the going gets tough.

Find a mantra
As the Campus Clipper intern family discussed in that first podcast, and as has stuck in my mind ever since, a mantra can go a long way towards keeping yourself in check. My mantra has always been something to the effect of “fight the war, not the battle.” To me, this means always keeping the big picture in sight. One little slip-up doesn’t mean the end, and if you choose to think it does, then you’ve already taken a toll on your happiness far greater than that of the slip-up. When I apply this mantra to my schoolwork, it’s both a strategy for success and for keeping myself calm. I focus on the larger picture in order to distribute time between assignments, but I also focus on the larger picture to keep those priorities in perspective and avoid sweating the little stuff.

By Madeleine Fleming

Madeleine Fleming is a Campus Clipper publishing intern and a rising sophomore at NYU. A lover of reading, writing, and learning in every way possible, Madeleine is excited to be writing about college study habits for the Campus Clipper. For over 20 years, the Campus Clipper has been offering awesome student discounts in NYC, from the East Side to Greenwich Village. Along with inspiration, the company offers students a special coupon booklet and the Official Student Guide, which encourage them to discover new places in the city and save money on food, clothing and services.

Posted in onValues | No Comments »

Buy Yourself Flowers (Why You Should Plan Dates With Yourself)

Saturday, July 8th, 2017

You are your own main squeeze. Your relationship with yourself is the primary relationship you will have over the course of your life. People love to stress, “You must have a solid relationship with yourself to be capable of developing meaningful relationships with other other people.”And of course, they are right; you cannot pour from an empty cup. But that goes for everything else too, not just connections with other people. Your relationship with yourself informs how you tackle opportunities, handle challenges, approach work and play, and interpret the world you inhabit, because all of these things are tied to your sense of worth and self esteem. If that cup is empty, what will you be able to pour into your pursuits and interests? Your relationship with yourself is also the only one you are unequivocally guaranteed for your whole life, so you must enjoy spending time with yourself. If you can do that, you know someone will always be there to support and guide you when times are tough, and that someone is you. It means having someone to hang out with, whose company you enjoy. It means, in this big world where it’s easy to feel disconnected and alone—especially in New York—never being truly alone.

A few years ago I started buying myself flowers when I was feeling really down or something really big and exciting happened. I realized I didn’t need a guy to buy me flowers. I could go out to dinner alone. I could take walks by the river at sunset and sit in cafés and wander in bookstores. I could think of dates I’d want to go on and then just go do those things myself. And you know what happened? I got things done. I met some remarkable people. I grew exponentially. I flourished.

Self care, in the way we often talk about it, is a luxury. Spare cash for Lush bath bombs and spare time for people working 3 jobs—these are luxuries that many people don’t have. But dates don’t have to be constant, and planning them doesn’t have to mean breaking the bank. The goal is simply to create an experience now and then that makes you feel refreshed, loved, and worthy. So hang out with yourself; get to know yourself really, really freaking well. Show yourself some TLC. After all, you’re the person you’re stuck with till the end!

If you’re having trouble coming up with solo date ideas, here are some suggestions:

Make Yourself a Picnic to Enjoy by the Hudson River

Sunshine. Soft grass. View of the water. Skyline. Benches. Need I say more?

https://www.timeout.com

Take a Candlelit Bubble Bath

This is easier if you’re in an apartment, since dorms don’t allow incendiary objects. The Kmart at Astor Place has a selection of cheap candles. You can also find some pretty reasonable ones at Michaels, or if you’re feeling a tad more extravagant, check out the yummy smells at one the many Ricky’s NYC stores. If you’re in a dorm, the right playlist will soothe your ears and help create the mood.

Smell the Flowers… Or Perfume
Speaking of smells, here’s one of my favorite pick-me-ups for when I’m down. Grab some fresh coffee beans (not required, but they add a nice touch), and head to Sephora. Indulge in smelling all the glorious scents, and take a whiff of the coffee beans between smells to clear your olfactory palate.

Visit the Botanical Garden at Prospect Heights

Admission is typically $15, but if you bring your ID it’s only $8 for students. The Brooklyn Botanic Garden website has a number of resources and information on events and activities, including a list of what is currently in bloom: https://www.bbg.org/bloom

https://www.nycgo.com/

Check Out a Museum

When you’re by yourself, you can stay for as long as you want or leave as soon as your feet get tired. No need to try and impress anyone with interpretations of artwork. Oh, and for students, they’re nearly all free. Hello Whitney, MoMA, and Met, to name a few.

http://whitney.org/

Take in a Literary Reading

There are countless places in NYC to hear writers share their work. Check out KGB Bar in the East Village for a reading! Monday is poetry night, and if fiction is more your speed, stop in on a Sunday. See you there!

https://www.timeout.co

By Sofia Lerner

Sofia Lerner is a Campus Clipper publishing intern who is studying English as a senior at NYU. Passionate about literature, dance, and wellness, Sofia aspires to help the arts thrive and help others pursue healthy lifestyles. For over 20 years, the Campus Clipper has been offering awesome student discounts in NYC, from the East Side to Greenwich Village. Along with inspiration, the company offers students a special coupon booklet and the Official Student Guide, which encourage them to discover new places in the city and save money on food, clothing and services.

Tags:collegestudents, MUSEUMS, NYC, NYCliving, Relationships, self-care, self-love, studentspecial, thingstodoinNYC, wellness
Posted in NYC Student Guide, onCollege, onEntertainment, onFun, onHealth, Out On The Town, Relationships, Uniqueness in NYC | No Comments »

Finding Your People

Saturday, July 8th, 2017

My friend Paris and I chilling in my dorm after a photoshoot.

College undoubtedly brings change. Life before college is largely different from life in higher education. Post-secondary education brings a new set of challenges that provide opportunity for personal growth and emergence into the adult world. Though many challenges exist for the incoming college student, my primary focus is the examination of relationships in college, as I have a great deal of experience in this area. And while I cannot speak to the experiences of all students in college, I do know that my account of navigating relationships during my first year at NYU can provide useful reference for any college student.

Before I went to New York City for college, I lived in a place called Snellville, Georgia. Growing up in Georgia, I had a hard time finding friends with whom I could have meaningful conversations. Most of the friends I made in Georgia were formed more out of circumstance than choice, since I was more concerned about fitting in socially than finding friends that would help me develop as a person. As a result, I had a lot of different friends before college, but very few seemed to excite and invigorate in the way I desired.

By contrast, the friends I made after moving to New York City are some of the most interesting and special people I have met in my entire life. While they are all different from me in some ways, all my closest friends in New York City have a common passion for taking advantage of the opportunities life offers and an eagerness to delve beyond surface-level conversations. How did I find these people? I simply made the decision to choose my friends based on who excited me, as opposed to letting friendships develop merely out of coincidence. Whenever I met someone who excited me, I did everything in my power to develop a friendship with them. Still, sometimes, the ones who excited me were also the ones who intimidated me. It took some courage to approach and pursue friendships with people who intimidated me, but the people who intimidated me were intimidating because they possessed something that I did not have or understand. To access the immense value of such people, I dedicated myself to not let fear get in the way of forming life-changing friendships.

To solidify the friendships I desired, I made sure to show a genuine interest in those whom I wanted to know more closely. I took time out of my schedule to adventure the city with newfound friends and let them know why they mattered to me. In doing so, I showed them why I should matter in their lives, as my investment in them indicated that I could be there in whatever supportive capacity they may need in the future. So, as I let new friends into my life, I spoke into their lives, representing my honest self, since I did not want to make friends with those who did not accept me for who I am.

To solidify such friendships, I had to make emotional room for my friends to influence my life. Indeed, it is quite a scary thing to be so emotionally vulnerable to other people. In some cases, a few people with whom I shared my vulnerabilities used those vulnerabilities to hurt me later down the road. However, such negative experiences should not dampen the pursuit of deep and honest communication with others. Rather, the negative experiences were a means to inform me of the signs that indicate a disloyal friend.

At the end of the day, I know that I’m not perfect. I need other people around me to open my eyes to different perspectives about the world, and my place in it. Every person is limited in their capacity to understand life. Yet, by sharing friendships with tremendous people, one can get a glimpse into a larger world of possibility and have support through times of hardship. After finding my closest friends, my squad, I noticed that an incredible burden had been lifted off my shoulders. Before finding my people, college frightened me. The start of college marked the first time in my life that I had to independently endure responsibility. After creating meaningful friendships though, I have taken immense comfort in knowing that I have a family in college with whom I can experience anything and find encouragement.

By Matthew Evert

Tags:closeness, college life, finding friends, friends, friends in NYC, NYU, Relationships
Posted in Friendship, NYC Student Guide, onCollege, Relationships | No Comments »

How To Lose a Roommate in 4 Months

Wednesday, July 5th, 2017

College roommates are tricky, especially in New York where space is limited, buildings are old, and once you’re off campus you’re living in a real world environment with real adults. As I approach 2 years in New York, I look back on all 4 of my roommates and wonder where it went wrong and where it went right.

1. Rooms Don’t Clean Themselves

As cool as it would be to sing a little tune and watch the cockroaches scattered about your apartment team up to tidy up à la Enchanted, this has yet to happen to me and boy have I tried. Freshman year, the cleaning in my suite was wistful thinking. Piles of dishes in the sink and beyond sported food remnants caked on like it had grown there. The stench was rivaled only by the trash, which filled every empty trash-looking container we had. A pile of unclaimed broken glass lasted over a week in a corner. The K-Mart Brand Swiffer was the only thing not dirty, it stood untouched next to the kitchen as a woeful reminder. I don’t really blame our suite of six girls – we were busier than ever, more independent than ever, and I guess more content to live in filth than I ever will be again. Early on we all claimed ourselves as clean people and concluded that there was no further need to discuss how we were going to keep each other honest and it spiraled from there. So my advice to you? Set up expectations and a cleaning schedule. Go buy cleaning supplies before you need them. And though we all have that laundry chair, just make sure there isn’t rotting food under all those clothes.

2. Talk in Person

The digital age makes communication much more accessible, but when it come to the person sleeping in the same room as you, it’s best to address things about your shared living space in your shared living space. Sure the occasional “Can you make sure my straightener is off?” isn’t going to do you any harm. But when you are sitting 12 feet from each other all afternoon, you shouldn’t receive a text about how they would prefer if you didn’t have people over on Wednesdays 2 minutes after you walk out the door. As someone who spent a semester living with that person, I would find myself falling into a trap of replying to these long texts about things that made her uncomfortable instead of bringing it up face to face. Learning to stand up for yourself or addressing a situation in person can be hard, but it’s always the best route to go. Otherwise, four months into living with someone you’ll get a text as you walk out the door saying that this living situation is no longer working for them, and you never see them again.

3. You Deserve Your Space Too

Maybe you’ve been graced with the perfect roommate whose schedule and friends fit perfectly with yours. I was not that lucky. One of my roommates was so adamant about never having people over to our apartment that on the occasional Saturday I did, she’d shut herself in her room despite my attempts to be friendly and socialize. There’s a difference between being a good roommate and a huge pushover. As much as I wanted to respect her space, I also felt I deserved to hang out in my own apartment every once in a while. Of course, there are times where it’s okay to request space from your roommate and all their friends, as long as this isn’t 100% of the time. It would have been unrealistic for me to be paying for an apartment that I was never in because my roommate didn’t allow people over. Living the early 20s adult life is all about learning to compromise and respect peoples living spaces on both sides.

4. Make a Friend

After you’ve sorted through the kinks of living with someone, it’s important to think about how you get along as people. A roommate can be just some person you share a living space with, or they can be someone you think of as a part of your home. Despite your own busy life, don’t forget to take a moment to talk to your roommate at the end of the day or even make plans with them every once in a while. The person you’re living with can have a drastic effect on how comfortable you are in your own home, and friendly conversation can bring things to a whole different level.

Looking for a way to get to know your new roomie? Have a Spa Day at IL Girasole! Whether it’s mani pedis before brunch or facials before a Friday night out, with your Campus Clipper coupon and Student ID you can get 15% all the time on any of their services.

Image Credit: campusclipper.com

By Caroline Flynn

Caroline Flynn is a Sales and Publishing Intern at the Campus Clipper studying Theatre at NYU Tisch. Caroline is passionate about the arts and dedicated to using her voice to make other people smile. As she heads into her Junior year, she is excited to be writing about how relationships have shaped her life while she takes on summer in the city for the first time. Check out her Instagram for more witty and heartfelt content on her life.

We have the most talented interns ever and we’re so proud of them! For over 20 years, the Campus Clipper has been offering awesome student discounts in NYC, from the East Side to Greenwich Village. Along with inspiration, the company offers students a special coupon booklet and the Official Student Guide, which encourage them to discover new places in the city and save money on food, clothing and services.

Tags:college advice, college life, roommates
Posted in Friendship, Housing spaces, onCollege, onLove, onValues, Relationships, Roommates | No Comments »

From New York to….Paris

Wednesday, July 5th, 2017

Paris is known for a lot of things…the lights, the romance, those little Eiffel Towel trinkets, but nothing compares to the food. From the most delicately prepared escargot to the finely aged wine and cheese, the French know food…though that’s not to say New Yorkers don’t.

http://therealwinejulia.com/

https://www.sandaya.fr/

So, how does a perfect night of food in Paris compare to one in New York? Usually I just give you tips on how to tackle a variety of issues in New York and another city with the hopes that if you like New York for one reason, you’ll fall head over heals in that other city for the same reaosn. But since food is close to my heart, I’ve instead listed two “perfect” nights of food for you to fall in love with, one for the city of love and one for the city that never sleeps. I hope one day you’ll get to compare the two:

A Night in Paris

So you’ve found a way to Paris and experienced the romance of kissing at its center and walking alone the Seine and now you’re hungry. Do I have a night for you. The credit for most of this goes to NYU London’s Tony Skitt, but I’ve made a few modifications from personal experience. An aperitif is a dry alcoholic drink taken before dinner. A kir is a traditional French aperitif and some of the best can be found at Chez Georges (get there early, it opens at 6pm but it’s hard to get just kir when this place gets crowded) on the rue des Canettes in the Latin Quarter. Then for your main meal try Chez Fernand around the corner. Now that you’re stuffed, you have to get dessert. The Île de Saint-Louis behind Notre Dame (quite the sight at night) boasts to have the best ice cream in the world. For this you have two options: Berthillion ice cream, which claim to be the best, or my personal favorite, La Brasserie de l’Isle Saint-Louis. It’s not an ice cream place, but their chocolate ice cream is amazing nonetheless—and if Chez Fernand left you wanting, the escargot is pretty good too. From here you could do one of two things. One option is going to a jazz club called Caveau de la Huchette (on rue de la Huchette) which is the place for swing dancing in Paris and a way to dance off all those carbs (the place really starts picking up at 11pm). Another is to buy a nice bottle of Parisian wine and a a box of chocolate (or if you’re a broke college kid, like me, a cheap bottle of wine and the smallest box of Lindt chocolate you can find) and sit by the river across from the Eiffel Tower. There’s a small parking lot directly across from the tower along Port Debilly that has steps leading down to the river that provides the most stunning view.

Ice cream at La Brasserie de l’Isle Saint-Louis. Taken by Jainita Patel

La Brasserie de l’Isle Saint-Louis. Taken by Jainita Patel

View from across the river. Taken by Jainita Patel

A Night in New York

Paris is beautiful and expensive and charming, but nothing says food and fun like a night out in New York City. Not only does New York have the ability to provide a fun and stunning night, but the diversity in New York is also one of its biggest assets. In place of an aperitif to get the appetite stirring, I suggest getting your stomach grumbling by stopping at La Churreria in Nolita sometime in the late afternoon. This place has the best hot churros and chocolate I’ve ever had. It’s a small venue, but cheap and delicious. Now for the entrée. Where to even begin? Well, since we’re all trying to save, I would recommend Momofuku Noodle Bar or Superiority Burger if you’re starving. Both are cheap eats that will fill you up. If you’re saving for dessert, you can save with left overs and what college kid doesn’t love leftovers? Another option is also HandCraft Kitchen and Cocktails, which the Campus Clipper intern team recently visited and has some of the most unique dishes I’ve ever had. For dessert, a lot of places will claim that they’re the best, but me, a stranger on the internet, is telling you definitively that Veniero’s in the East Village is the best. It’s right next to Momofuku, so you might need to go for a walk before you come back here, but it has the best Italian pastries and gelato I’ve ever had. Even Eataly doesn’t come close (when it comes to dessert I mean). It’s open until 1am so you’ll have plenty of time. After (or maybe before) dessert, there are a few things you can do to digest. You can go dancing or drinking in some of the fun venues I’ve mentioned before, or you can take a pastry to go and sit in East River Park to see the lit up Empire State Building to the left and Brooklyn straight ahead.

Handcraft Kitchen and Cocktails
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The best place in the world.
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There you have it. Two foodie adventures in two amazing cities. And who knows? If you like New York or Paris mainly because of its food, maybe one day you’ll get a chance to visit the other.

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By Jainita Patel

Tags:college life, food, france, New York City, night out, NYC, paris, students, Travel
Posted in Budget Traveler, Cheap Eats, onFood, onFun, onTravel, onValues, Out On The Town, Outside Manhattan, Restaurant Reviews, Uniqueness in NYC | No Comments »

Preventing Procrastination Like a Pro

Tuesday, July 4th, 2017

Consider this: every unexpected obstacle you’ve faced while tackling an assignment at the last minute has been entirely avoidable. I’ve seen my fair share of broken printers mere minutes before class while trying to prepare an essay I’d had weeks to work on. I’ve seen the internet crash the night before a research project or an online assessment was due. If you’ve ever procrastinated, then you’ve lived through these tough times too. Then why is it so hard to stop?

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It makes perfect sense in the moment. The first rush of decision-making adrenaline that comes with throwing caution to the wind makes anything seem possible. Common sense deteriorates into “you can study for that test right before class tomorrow” or “you can get up at 5 A.M. to finish that essay”–and you believe it, too. Maybe you’re busy and don’t want to set aside the time for work, or maybe procrastination still plagues your daily life even when you have a wide open schedule. Sometimes, the piles on piles of work just seem so daunting that you’d do anything (or in this case, nothing) to avoid even looking at them. The first step to solving the problem is facing the truth: procrastination is your worst academic enemy.

For such a common problem, it remains one of the most difficult to admit. When you’re caught by a professor making easily fixable mistakes on an assignment or test, saying “I just didn’t start working on time” will never be enough to explain what you really mean: “I could have done so much better.” My battle with procrastination is ongoing, but I’m learning to grow and change by implementing a few small changes every time I get an assignment.

https://www.raywenderlich.com

Quick Fixes
The internet is not always your friend. When used correctly, it can do wonders for the way you learn and study, but when used incorrectly it has an astounding ability to halt your productivity in its tracks. As long as you have the foresight to see your procrastination coming, preventing it should be easy with apps like StayFocusd for your computer that block distracting websites of your choice for designated amounts of time. If you’re looking to support a larger cause, the app Forest partners with an organization that plants real trees when its users don’t get distracted by other smartphone apps.

There are certainly less graceful approaches to cutting down wasted time online; sometimes I like to hurl my phone across the room so I wouldn’t be able to answer messages if I tried. Other times, I go out of my way to tell my friends not to contact me until I’m done with a given assignment. If I’m not feeling motivated enough to do either, I turn my notifications off and call it a day.

Leave your room to work, and bring only the essentials with you, whatever they are. You can’t get distracted by a phone or laptop you don’t have!

Big Picture
At the end of every day, write down your long term goals on a piece of paper, even if they don’t change. If you don’t know what they are just yet, even better! Write down everything that you have the potential to accomplish. Turn those far off goals into daily reminders of what you can do if you put in the work. I’m definitely the most motivated when I understand that my time is valuable. When I believe that I can do anything I put my mind to, I’m a lot more willing to put my mind to my work.

By Madeleine Fleming

Tags:procrastination, school, study habits, study help, Studying
Posted in onCollege, Studying | No Comments »

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