Archive for the ‘Family’ Category

Plugging in with Good Intentions — Chapter 5: Bridge the Distance

Monday, August 9th, 2021

Despite the exceptional ability to search on the World Wide Web and instantly receive information, our modern-day technology allows us to accomplish one significant thing — bridge the distance. Today, we have the ability to communicate with people across the world. Advancements in technology and the Internet have come so far, and they continue to develop and improve for the better. We are extremely lucky to even have a mini device that fits into our pocket that can connect us to not only people, but places to eat, shop, and entertain ourselves. 

It seems bizarre to think that our elders were accustomed to sending handwritten letters and playing board games for entertainment. The amount of time and effort it takes to execute tasks such as ordering something from Amazon or looking up the latest news is cut in half because of technology and the Internet. A world without modern-day devices is almost inconceivable.

Think of the Covid-19 pandemic that we are still suffering through after more than a year of its discovery. Due to the transmissibility of the virus, many of us have had to resort to utilizing technology in order to connect with others. Health regulations and social distancing guidelines have created a wider gap between all of us. Despite this, the ability to continue with everyday life is possible because most of us are lucky enough to use devices that help uphold some degree of communication. From remote learning to working from home, we are still able to maintain our connections. Web conferencing applications such as Zoom, Skype, and Google Meet are just a few of the many platforms that allow virtual face-to-face meetings from anywhere that has an Internet connection. 

Even if you don’t prefer turning on the webcam, there is still the ability to simply talk to others through technology. While it was an early contraption, Alexander Graham Bell’s invention of the telephone revolutionized communication. While some of us might not own a landline anymore, most of us do have a mobile phone that can make calls. 

Fast forward to the 21st century, it’s safe to say that times have changed and younger generations continue to utilize other means of communication. Social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter have been popularized and allow users to instantaneously express thoughts and connect with people worldwide. Whether you prefer to call, text, web conference, or simply post an update on social media, technology and the Internet allow you to communicate across great distances. 

Personally, I can’t go a day without using some form of device that connects to the Internet. One time I did last most of the day without my devices. Though, I do have to admit that it was for a challenge assigned by one of my professors. Notably, a digital detox is good for the mind and body, as it’s a way to appreciate the tangible reality that is right in front of us.

In the end, it’s important to recognize the need for boundaries and knowing when to take a break from technology and the Internet. Yet, once you’re ready to log back into that device just remember to plug in with good intentions


If you’re in need of services to bridge the distance check out these deals from The UPS Store!


By: Sydney Ly

Sydney Ly studies Communication with dual minors in Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Massachusetts Boston. She is currently working in retail and has experience as a tutor. Her passions include but are not limited to reading, listening to music, and watching The Office.

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 encourages 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.

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Chapter 2- The First Week at University (Full of Homesickness and Doubt)

Saturday, August 7th, 2021

In the time between accepting my offer to attend Boston University and actually moving there from New Jersey in September of 2017, I underwent a spectrum of emotions. There were certainly times when I was ecstatic to be starting my undergraduate studies at BU. For instance, I had an overall positive experience during my freshman orientation at the end of June. On top of that, my family was proud of me and other people outside of my familial circle were excited about this change on my behalf. While I eagerly looked forward to September, I didn’t necessarily feel their level of enthusiasm. 

At random times, like when I went shopping with my mom and aunt to pick out some stuff for my dorm room, I felt nervous about going to Boston. Gradually, these feelings of anxiety continued to grow and linger, even as my family packed all my things in the car and drove to Massachusetts, so that I could officially start my first semester.

When it came time for my family to return to New Jersey, I remember crying and having difficulty saying goodbye. I clearly recall the overwhelming sensation of loneliness after seeing them leave as I stood alone, surrounded by the unfamiliar urban landscape that would be my new home for the next few years. This loneliness didn’t suddenly evaporate after a few days. Although I enjoyed my classes during my first week at BU, I couldn’t shake away my homesickness. I knew that moving from my small hometown to Boston wouldn’t be easy, but I didn’t expect it to be so challenging to adapt to my new environment and independence. I felt like I was the only one that was struggling, which made me feel even worse. Everyone around me seemed to form new connections effortlessly and seamlessly integrate themselves into their new setting. This eventually led to me thinking: If I am missing home this much, maybe choosing Boston was a mistake. Maybe I wasn’t as ready for change as I thought I was.

View from my freshman dorm room

In coping with my homesickness and doubt, I was honest with my family about how I was feeling, which was the best thing I could have done. I knew that if I had acted as though everything was alright, I would have been detrimentally bottling up my negative emotions. I was fortunate in that my family not only sympathized with me, but encouraged me to give BU a try. They instilled me with confidence during this period of my life when my self-esteem wasn’t too high. They urged me to not give up on Boston so readily because I might end up liking the city. Deep down, I also knew that if I ended up giving up, I would probably regret the decision and be left thinking “what if?” for a very long time. 

In my endeavor to give Boston a try, I decided not to rely on family so much. During my first (and also subsequent weeks), I called my family nearly every day. Although keeping in touch with friends and relatives from back home was important, I realized that this constant communication was preventing me from getting to know my new environment. Therefore, I tried limiting myself to texting and making a few phone calls a week.

I also attempted to stop myself from being cooped up in my dorm room constantly. Being confined within that comfortable space heightened my feelings of loneliness and homesickness. So, I started taking walks, even if they were to nearby places, like to Brookline Booksmith (one of my favorite bookstores) or a coffee shop. Just going somewhere outside of my room helped immensely, whether it was doing homework in the lounge of my dorm, BU’s library or a coffee shop. These small steps made me start to feel more part of the community instead of a spectator. And this was only the beginning of my adjustment to life in a city after living my whole life in a small town, where my high school graduating class was smaller than some of my lectures at BU. 

Image credit: https://www.brooklinebooksmith.com/about 

Everyone’s experience with starting college is different. Some people face more homesickness than others and homesickness can be handled in various ways. Here are some websites that offer more tips on how to deal with feeling homesick: https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/how-to-handle-homesickness-in-college , https://www.hercampus.com/life/how-deal-homesickness-freshman-year/


By: Monica Manzo

Monica Manzo recently completed her undergraduate studies at Boston University where she majored in English and minored in History. Currently, she is planning on applying for some masters programs in publishing. In her free time, she can be found either reading or adding to her pile of unread books.


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 encourages 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.

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Thanksgiving: Part One

Thursday, November 26th, 2020

Celebrating gratitude seems strange this year, however, misfortune isn’t always a good reason to not give thanks. In fact, Thanksgiving was born from struggle. The holiday’s history is intertwined with the hardships of frontiersmen, Native Americans, and war. In this piece, I will observe the history of these conflicts and will argue that coming together to persevere is important. 

Most Americans are told the Thanksgiving story in elementary school. While eating caramel candies and drawing turkey hands, our loving teachers tell us that the very first Thanksgiving took place when the pilgrims and Wampanog’s feasted together at the end of the harvest season in 1621. 

There is beauty in this myth. It encourages gratitude for nourishment, and unity with our friends and family. That being said, this story leaves out many important parts of the holiday’s history. Sixteen years after the first Thanksgiving feast, the pilgrims burned a Wampanoag village and killed 500 people, (Blow). William Bradford, governor of Plymouth, reflected on this tragedy saying, “over the next 100 years, every Thanksgiving Day ordained by a Governor was in honor of the bloody victory, thanking God that the battle had been won.” Bradford made Thanksgiving synonymous with the massacre of Native Americans. 

How can we celebrate a holiday that is linked to genocide? Thanksgiving is one of the most celebrated American holidays, and yet at its core sits the uncomfortable truth of cultural destruction and prejudice. This can be seen in some of the most famous Thanksgiving art pieces:

Jennie Augusta Brownscombe, Thanksgiving at Plymouth, 1925
Jeane Leon Gerome Ferris, The First Thanksgiving, 1932

In both of these pieces, there are fewer Wampanoags, they are in the periphery, and are depicted as subservient. In reality, there were more Wampanoags that attended the feast than pilgrims and they supplied more food.  These paintings reflect prejudice and are products of the genocide. 

As I considered how to grapple with this brutality, I searched for what some Native Americans had to say on the matter. I found some great poems by Sherman Alexie, which I highly recommend. The poet also said the following, “…I guess you could say Thanksgiving is also about survival, look how strong we are,”(Turkewitz). This strength is key to the holiday. Thanksgiving is about struggle, however, it is also about hope, strength, and moving on. 

The Wampanoag genocide is one of many times Thanksgiving can be connected to war. Following the American Revolution, George Washington officiated the first official Thanksgiving on November 26th, 1789, (Columbia).  After the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln nationalized the holiday. Finally, during WW2, congress recognized Thanksgiving as a holiday that would always take place on the last Thursday of November, (Klapper).

All of these pivotal points in the establishment of Thanksgiving are closely linked to major wars. Each war weakened the country, and politicians knew that they had to keep the country united. National holidays encourage patriotism and unity, which is why establishing Thanksgiving as a national holiday was useful.  

Thanksgiving is connected to the human struggle. The pilgrims suffered a harsh winter famine before the first Thanksgiving feast, Native American’s were massacred, and people died in every war associated with the holiday. Thanksgiving has a bloody past. However, celebrating is a way to persevere. Connecting with loved ones and sharing a meal gives us the strength to carry on. 

We need strength this Thanksgiving. There is a pandemic, a dramatic political season, and civil unrest. It hasn’t been easy, but it never has been. We need to persist–and while you may not be able to return home for the holidays, I think the best way to find peace is to connect with loved ones.  Give someone a call, send a text, and remember you aren’t alone!

Takeaways: 

1. Struggle. Thanksgiving is a day linked to struggle. This is evident by its connection to the pilgrims, Native Americans, and war. 

2. Hope. Coming together and sharing food makes moving on from hardships easier. 

3. Friends and Family. Give your loved ones a call.

4. Activities. Check out these festive poems I found. If you feel like watching some TV, I found a great list of classic Thanksgiving episodes. For movies, check out this link. Finally, here’s a Spotify playlist I’ve had going all morning.  


Sources:

Blow, Charles. “The Horrible History of Thanksgiving.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 27 Nov. 2019,

Klapper-Lehman, Sarah, and Simon J. Bronner. “Thanksgiving.” Encyclopedia of American Studies, edited by Simon Bronner, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1st edition, 2018. Credo Reference

“Thanksgiving Day.” The Columbia Encyclopedia, Paul Lagasse, and Columbia University, Columbia University Press, 8th edition, 2018. Credo Reference.

Turkewitz, Julie. “Thanksgiving for Native Americans: Four Voices on a Complicated Holiday.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 23 Nov. 2017.


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By: Erin Zubarik 

Hello! My name is Erin Zubarik and I am a junior at New York University majoring in Global Liberal Studies and minoring in Chinese and Italian. Over the last few years I have been lucky enough to study abroad in Florence and Beijing, where I enhanced my language skills and became acquainted with lovely people. This fall I am primarily holed up in my apartment taking online classes, and playing with my hamster Pork Chop. I am very excited to share my cooking and relationships series this fall on 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 encourages 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.

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The Power of Listening

Wednesday, November 18th, 2020

The world continues to change daily and rapidly, it is evolving everyday. As human beings we are shaping our own evolution, constantly changing our present and future. Through all of these advancements and technological improvements, our lives are often facilitated and our surroundings are much noisier. It can be difficult to maintain the practice of listening, and lose these skills. If we lose the art of listening, then we also lose or diminish our communication skills, which can affect our personal and professional life. It is important to be an effective listener, and to pay attention to the world as a whole.

In today’s society, we’ve grown more impatient and more appreciative of effortless things. Amazon, the innovative company that has shifted the e-commerce industry, offers a “Prime membership” that enables you to easily receive a package within a day or two, people are willing to pay more for a faster delivery service. Even when it comes to listening it is easy to daze off or filter the information we choose to retain. Especially when we are all busy fulfilling our daily duties and responsibilities, it is often convenient to keep everything short and straightforward rather than putting in the effort to listen and empathize with the speaker. 

By the early 1900’s a video camera was invented by John Logie Baird, who knew that camera’s would turn the world upside down (BBC, 29 September 2015). Nowadays, it is very easy to record everything. It is the beauty of being able to capture and relive everything taken on a camera lens. As a student myself, I rely on screenshots or photos of any class notes to help capture the information I couldn’t carefully listen to. However, it affects our listening skills because we no longer feel the need to be attentive and listen as recording content is available during any day or time. We are focusing on what these technological advancements can do for us versus the benefits that being an effective listener can bring to our development. 

We’ve become immersed in our own world, that most of the time our headphones are the answer to escaping our reality. It’s made us lose the connections amongst others, and we’ve also lost the ability to connect through sharing our ideas, experiences, and aspirations with one another. Conversation is no longer prominent if headphones serve as a refuge. Furthermore, it is negatively impacting the ability to be physically present and embrace the sounds of life. 

Being an effective listener is a gift that offers more than hearing the bird chips or our morning alarms, it is a set of skills that can bring prosperity, strengthen relationships and help us be more comprehensive in such a hectic world. Being a good listener also allows us to listen to ourselves, it gives us the opportunity to listen to our mind, body, and soul for a road to happiness. Establish wellness with yourself to be able to listen and care for others first. The act of caring is just as powerful as listening to your significant other, express themselves.

How to make yourself a priority (self-care):

Bera, Maggie “10 Easy Self Care Tips For Actors” https://www.actoraesthetic.com/blog/self-care. Accessed 12 November 2020.
  • Turn off your phone. Most of the time the first thing you do as soon as you wake up in the morning is check your phone. Now you’ll have to “unplug” to distress from your emails, notifications and buzzing that only make you overwhelmed. Try to set a schedule for yourself. For example, stay off your phone thirty minutes prior to bed or manage your screen time on the screen time tab in your settings for most iPhone users. If necessary, put your phone on airplane mode, focus on breathing and take a break!
  • Treat yourself to dinner. Food can be classified as an event, and we can make it memorable if we make it. During a stressful moment food can truly be our best friend, we don’t have to make dinner a “friends night” it can be a night to treat your cravings and watch Netflix, treasuring your own company. 

How to take care of others:

Uknown, “Self Care takes a Community, say mental health experts” https://www.folio.ca/self-care-takes-a-community-say-mental-health-experts/. Accessed 12 November 2020.
  • Reach out. Most of the time we aren’t aware of what our friends or next-door neighbors are going through, ask the person next to you “are you okay?”. Reassure them that you’re there to listen, stay connected with your friends and family.
  • Be present. Often many may experience financial problems, however, being present for someone doesn’t always necessarily mean being there financially. It could also mean helping someone study for their test, encouraging someone to achieve their goals, celebrating a birthday, or even offering them a ride home are all acts of care. 

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By: Yadira Tellez

Yadira is currently enrolled at the Fashion Institute of Technology, majoring in Fashion Business Management and minoring in English literature. She’s worked in retail and has had the opportunity to work behind the scenes during NYFW. Her dream is to be a Fashion Stylist but enjoys creative writing to relieve stress and express her mind.

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 encourages 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.

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The Diary of a College Student: Adjusting to Life Off-Stage and into the Lecture Hall

Monday, April 2nd, 2018

In having been an actor for over 10 years of my life the adjustment that I experienced in not pursuing acting further in college was interesting, to say the least. Before that, life had been a world of opportunity in the sense that anywhere could have been a stage upon which to demonstrate my craft, my commitment, my skill, etc..

Upon arriving in New York City as a freshman college student, I found myself searching for something new around which to center my life. Something that could fill the void I felt inside me. I wanted to substitute something for the hours of intense training, detail-oriented rehearsals, and a creativity that was conditioned to image the sufferings and joys of human existence. I was in the process of reimagining my life, adjusting to my new life off-stage, in lecture halls, and among unfamiliar peers; in the manner that I would live, the activities that I would pursue daily, the motivation that I felt that pushed me toward always becoming better than what I was the day before, etc.. I believe that this time, a time of life re-imagined, can relate to, and is shared by, those who experience a dramatic shift in their day-to-day routines, their sense of limitation, and their sense of liberty when choosing what to prioritize in life.

This especially applies to college students, namely Freshmen, who recently removed themselves from a familiar environment full of routine and safety. In attending an out-of-town, an out-of-state, or international university, students are faced with the difficult task of taking what they knew as life and drastically reimaging it to suit their needs in their new localities. The difficulties arises from temptation. Temptation that is reinforced by the general newfound liberty of independent living. Spiderman taught me at a young age that “with great power comes great responsibility,” and it is a fact of human existence that ameliorating one’s liberty of choice, freedom of expression, and right to self-determination is directly relatable to one’s sense power.

So in here lies the subject of responsibility. What this essay aims to make palpable is the difficulty that exists in maintaining one’s sense of responsibility and pragmatism during this time of life re-imagined. Before, we discussed the opportunities college students have in trying to find the best student deals, spark new relationships, curate better hygiene, etc. when in an unfamiliar place, such as attending a new school. However, it is this greater realization of the individual’s power of choice that is the true subject of this discourse. I don’t want to sound cliché, but for new college students, there is no greater excitement then determining exactly what it is that makes you happy and using those sources of happiness to your advantage.

Image Credit: http://www.scei.edu.au/news

The overwhelming nature of arriving in a different city, into a situation where there are no longer limits on the things you can try, or finding where those things will begin generally brings anxiety with it. It is good to feel that anxiety, because it means that you value what your life is and your happiness in living it. If I could go back and tell myself a tidbit of advice freshman year, I would tell him this: there is no greater opportunity missed than living a life that prioritizes your health, your happiness, and your ability to make patient deliberated decisions. That may seem like an Olympian sized feat, but it begins with the littlest of things. For example, when one prioritizes their health and ability to focus and deliberate, than drinking the night before a test perhaps wouldn’t even enter one’s mind as a viable option.

Image Credit: https://www.pragmait.com/therapyboss/blog/short-term-or-long-term-goals-still-required/

It may seem a little extreme. However, when I was adjusting to my life off-stage there were many decisions that I see now as being nothing but a hindrance on my overall goal of being happy. I was more concerned with my momentary happiness and less concerned with prioritizing my long term goals.  It is easy to try and find the most exciting thing to do as a young new college freshman or sophomore, but it is all too easy to get caught up in the overwhelming liberty that comes with newfound independence. Always prioritize the life you want to be living and don’t simply live in the moment, and I promise that your life re-imagined will be a rewarding one to live.

By James Rodriguez


A Texan born and raised, James Rodriguez grew up in San Antonio TX, and has recently graduated from New York University, having studied corporate and political publicity. He sings, plays guitar, studies French, etc. in his free time, and when given the opportunity to share advice that he thought noteworthy with future or current college students, he jumped on the chance. He believes that there is something incredibly important in obtaining knowledge from those who are going through or have recently finished dealing with the difficulties one is seeking advice on. Which is exactly the aim of the Campus Clipper: to share the best advice possible in order to better the experiences of students who are struggling now. Because he was once that lost college student who was searching for instruction and who felt out-of-place and in need of direction, he hopes that his words can relate to someone’s struggle and help along the way. 

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.

 

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My Mom, The Survivor

Sunday, June 25th, 2017

Image Credit: Caroline Flynn

Image Credit: Caroline Flynn

 

“I don’t want to be pitied” she said, gazing at her reflection in the mirror. A few short months ago her hair was the shoulder-length layered and highlighted style that many of the Mom’s around town sported as they rushed to and from soccer practices, grocery stores, and jobs. Now there was nothing there but a feathery fuzz like the down of a baby bird gently hugging her bare scalp. She would say that she looked in the mirror and saw a cancer patient. But I could only see someone with a determination to look like anything but, and who was succeeding.

Decisively, she put the wig she was holding in one hand firmly onto her head and grabbed her car keys. “I don’t want to be pitied” she reaffirmed, mostly talking to my Dad who had reminded her that she was beautiful bald. “I think the wig looks good” I reassured her as I watched her march out the door to conquer her fear of being in public.

Image Credit: Caroline Flynn

Image Credit: Caroline Flynn

My Mom was diagnosed with Breast Cancer over a year ago in May, and even as I write this truth, it still feels like the words are void of meaning. For those of you who don’t know me, this story has a happy ending full of life lessons and strengthened bonds. But the beginning will always be hard. At first I didn’t know how to process the realization that something this drastic was out of my hands. Usually, when little crises affect my life I’m strong willed and quick witted, and the problem is gone almost as quickly as it began. I had no precedent for how to act as you watch your Mom get sick. And if I could go back to last summer, there are a million little things I would do differently.

Image Credit: Caroline Flynn

Image Credit: Caroline Flynn

My Mom on the other hand, figured it out pretty early on. And though chemo had its days and took its toll, the second she felt better she jumped at the chance to live as normal a life as possible. When you ask her how she did it, she always breaks into a grin and begins to tell story after story of how supportive all the people in her life have been. Her friends from all parts of her life came together to bring her post-chemo gifts every week. I did the grocery shopping and helped out with her business. My dad went to every doctor’s appointment he could and my sister accompanied her to chemo. My grandmother called her everyday and would drive her to treatments, her sisters checked in often. Even friends across the country managed to find ways to bring a smile to her face, sending random supportive texts or even fruit baskets from Colorado! And from this cocoon of support, as treatments piled up and her body began to fight back against her good spirits, she never gave up hope.

My Photo

Image Credit: Caroline Flynn

Then it was September and school started again. My life in New York did not reflect what I felt like the life of a daughter supporting her sick mom should look like. Over the summer we had learned as a family that our relationships were what supported us even more than we could have ever imagined. And suddenly, I could no longer be there every day to talk with my Mom and help around the house. I felt guilty that all those people who couldn’t love my Mom nearly as much as I did were going to be closer to her physically and emotionally as she continued her battle. And while she was spending most of her days getting poison pumped through her veins, I was in New York City, happy, healthy, and far from home. So I looked for little ways to support her.

Image Credit: Caroline Flynn

Image Credit: Caroline Flynn

Freshman year, all my Mom had ever wanted was to know everything about my life every second of every day. Obviously this request to me seemed completely unreasonable and even when she tried to bargain it down to most things about my life most seconds of most days, I would claim my independence and retort that I’d talk to her when I had time. But now, with her sick at home, I realized that if that’s what she wanted – a little piece of me everyday – I would happily manage. 

Image Credit: Caroline Flynn

Image Credit: Caroline Flynn

My family wore these Hope rings everyday to remind us all that things were going to turn out okay, and it seemed like the perfect way to stay connected and supportive of my Mom. Though to the naked eye these pictures may look like nothing more than a diary of what I had for dinner and who I might have seen that day, to my Mom these pictures were a window into my world. Since her treatment ended in February, my Mom and I are closer than ever. To me this means that we fight just enough for it to feel like a mother-daughter relationship, and the rest of the time we’re friends. As adult life becomes an increasing part of my reality, her guidance and support is something I am thankful for everyday. And though her hair is getting longer and the clutter of breast-cancer-pink is slowly disappearing from the house, I can still look at her and remember how she looked with cancer: strong and always moving forward.

 


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.  

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. 

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A Place Called Home

Monday, June 5th, 2017

IMG_9056

Image Credit: Caroline Flynn

Somewhere north of Boston, a middle class suburb sits quiet and unchanged by the weathering of time. Those of us that grew up there call it Home. When I lived there, Home seemed like the best and worst place to be. The heart of Home is a decent school system that prides itself in its lack of public funding. Us kids rally around our outdated school building and its outdated policies and make it our mission to be great anyways. The sports and arts programs thrive because of it. A lot of students did great things when I was in school and Home made sure they felt celebrated and successful. A lot of students did not-so-great things and Home tried its best to sweep them under the rug.

Home is not special in any of these ways. What makes it special is that the people I love are there. When I’m with them I feel like it would be easy to fall back into the habits that I developed for 18 years before I left. Habits like mowing the lawn on Saturdays with my Dad, banging on the bathroom door until my sister got out of the shower, and watching the news in the morning with my Mom in the kitchen. At night, I call my friends and we drive off on some adventure to the edge of a lake or new empty parking lot that is a prime spot for playing music too loudly while we talk about the future. Home has a sense of measured steps. Everything is even and safe as we quietly live out another day, month, year of our lives. So when I came to NYC I was ready for a shift.

New York University. A huge school in an even bigger city. Home seems distant in memory, size, and existence. In fact, it’s difficult to believe they inhabit the same planet. No one takes measured steps here. Most people walk at a pace that suburbians couldn’t ever imagine. I had gotten the shift I wanted. My life was constantly shifting. New people, new places, new education, new food, new, new, new. And so I began to plug away at my new life.

I spent most of my freshman year in my bottom bunk, squeezed between two desks and two dressers in a Tetris-like fashion. Though the room was barely big enough for the two people it housed, I happily claimed half of it as my own. My desk quickly gained an appropriate amount of clutter. Even from 4 hours away, my mom would roll her eyes over FaceTime and urge me to straighten up my things. The rectangle of open wall next to my bed was littered with photographs of friends and family from Home. They were a constant reminder of who I’d left behind.

You learn a lot about yourself when you’re thrust into a new environment. As the year drew on, I realized that the thing that made Home so special were the people. Here, I didn’t have any relationships to keep me afloat. I loved being in the city and taking classes that pushed me out of my comfort zone, but I felt myself balancing on a fine line between independence and loneliness. Today, I no longer worry about slipping into loneliness because I’ve built some strong friendships in New York City. And I’ve strengthened the bonds with people at Home in a way that gives me the confidence to be independent. It took a while, but I was lucky enough to meet people that will change my life forever. This summer, I’ll be talking about how I got to this point and what I’ve learned about relationships since I left home. Hopefully you learn from my mistakes and fall in love with my friends and family just like I have.


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. 

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.  

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. 

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How Not to Do Anything: An Expert Guide – How Not to Be Relied On

Saturday, November 5th, 2016

Image Credit: http://www.moores.com.au/news/unreliable-employee

Image Credit: http://www.moores.com.au/news/unreliable-employee

Despite all of your finest efforts to shirk responsibility and lead a duty-free life, if you have any friends or family, you are constantly at risk of having someone try to foist some of their own well-earned obligations on you. Even if you diligently avoid the serious commitment of having a pet or a child, an aunt, neighbor, or friend can swoop in at any moment and ask you to be a good nephew/neighbor/friend and take care of their poodle or their daughter for anywhere from a few minutes to a few days. Such a request might appear perfectly reasonable to a “busy” person, since you seem to have so much time on your hands, but who are they to presume that you can act as their butler on a moment’s notice? You had some big, um, plans for this week.

Like most of the advice in this tome, the solution to this problem is rather obvious: if you don’t want to be relied on, simply be as unreliable as possible. Assure (“yeah, sure”) your neighbor that you’ll feed his fish each day that he’s away, but don’t worry too much about the details; fish don’t need to eat every day, and a week’s worth of food can be supplied at one time. If, God forbid, your neighbor’s fish tank were to turn into a noxious wastebowl, or an unlucky fish were to die, then you could rest easy knowing that you’d never again be asked to take care of anything for your neighbor.

At times when you can’t exactly blow off an inherited task, for instance, when you’re expected to watch a child, tardiness can be an excellent way of saying “don’t count on me” without doing anything really heinous or taking out your frustration on the child, who is of course not responsible for his or her own existence. Most parents will go so far as to give up on free babysitting if they can’t be sure that the babysitter (you) will show up even remotely on time. The really essential thing is not (necessarily) to do a terrible job whenever asked to do something for someone else, but to plant a sweet little seed of doubt in the minds of those who may try to foist a task on you. It shouldn’t be too hard to find someone who’s more reliable than you are.

By Aaron Brown


Aaron Brown was one of the Campus Clipper’s publishing interns, who wrote an e-book “How Not To Do Anything: An Expert Guide.” If you like Aaron’s writing, follow our blog for more chapters from his e-book. 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.  

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 last year’s Welcome Week.

Become a fan on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and Instagram!

 

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How Not to Do Anything: An Expert Guide – How Not to Get a Job

Saturday, September 24th, 2016

Image Credit: http://www.gajizmo.com/5-reasons-you-are-still-unemployed/

Image Credit: http://www.gajizmo.com/5-reasons-you-are-still-unemployed/

If you play your cards right, you can avoid employment while enrolled in school, but as soon as you’re no longer a student, the pressure to get a job becomes increasingly difficult to withstand. After all, even doing nothing costs a little bit of money. And whether you live with friends or relatives, for some reason people generally don’t like to have lodgers with no income. So here are three methods of stirring up some cash while steering clear of the undue strain of gainful employment.

  • Find a corner of the social safety net and make yourself a nice little nest. Social programs may be unpopular today, but we have them in place to take care of those who are unfortunately, temporarily, or temperamentally unable to find work. Unemployment assistance and food stamps can go a long way towards staving off that existential disaster spelled J-O-B.
  • Sell your time in tiny slices. Did you know that at any research university, there are hundreds of grad students who could never get their degrees without paying people just like you to participate in their studies? Or that no new cereal box design goes into circulation without undergoing the vigorous examination of a paid focus group? You can often make several times minimum wage for a few hours of what can only loosely be called work, and you might even contribute to our understanding of the brain, or an improved Fruity Pebbles box!
  • Find a sugarmomma/-daddy. This is really your best shot at preempting the need to work. Since ancient times, boys and girls have dreamt of falling in love with the prince or princess so that they will never have to work again. It’s the ultimate fairy tale, and in a country as economically stratified as America, there could always be a dot-com wizard or hedge fund ace just around the corner, waiting to whisk you away to a life of endless leisure and decades-long naps.

By Aaron Brown


Aaron Brown was one of the Campus Clipper’s publishing interns, who wrote an e-book   “How Not To Do Anything: An Expert Guide.” If you like Aaron’s writing, follow our blog for more chapters from his e-book. 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.  

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 last year’s Welcome Week.

Become a fan on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and Instagram!

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A Look Inside Vada Spa and College Discounts for Students

Tuesday, September 3rd, 2013

First-time-spa-user here. I’m not really one to make a big fuss over nothing, even crazy college savings,  but I have to say– there are certain things you must try in life, and one of them is getting a professional massage. This is a level of pampering that will absolutely erase your bad day, and the Vada Spa employees go well out of their ways to make sure you leave feeling like royalty. I want to take a minute and describe my trip to you.

Vada Spa, located in downtown Manhattan, is committed to excellent service that is affordable and accessible to anyone. It has two floors: the nail salon on ground level and the hair salon and spa upstairs. When I walked in to make the appointment, I was greeted warmly at the front desk, and was even offered a glass of wine to sip on while I waited for massage. (I mean how classy is that? That’s what I mean when I say they go the extra mile.) I decided I’d get a manicure before my appointment, so I picked out a pale pink Essie color and took a seat at table right away. The woman who did my nails was extremely thorough when she was prepping them, and very neat with the polish itself. I learned that all of Vada Spa’s employees all had at least five years of experience before coming there, and anyone who’s ever gotten a messy manicure knows that this really makes a huge difference.

When I was finished drying my nails, it was time to get my massage. My masseuse came to meet me at the front desk. He introduced himself as Tibor and then escorted me to the spa on the second level. It looked as though there were about four or five separate massage rooms on this floor. My room was dimly lit as if by candlelight, and there was soft music playing in the background; it was easy to get comfortable there. The massage itself was one of the most relaxing experiences I’ve ever had, both mentally and physically. It’s funny how you have no idea how tense your muscles are until someone works out all the knots. I’d had backrubs before just from friends, but this is on a completely different level. By the end of it I was so relaxed that I didn’t want to get up– I couldn’t believe an hour had gone by!

This is one experience I’d like to repeat. Those of you who’ve had massages before, you know exactly what I mean! Those who haven’t? Well, you’ll just have to take a trip to Vada Spa!

Check out this college discount before going!

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Laura DeFrancisci, Manhattan College. Check out my Blog!

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