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Should I go Uptown, Downtown, Queens, Brooklyn, or Jersey?

Thursday, August 8th, 2013

 

  LITERALLY, the biggest issue in NYC we face  today is where to visit in our free time. We are jetties on the prowl, be seen to be seen, but be posh and chic, so that when our Facebook friends peruse our pictures they’ll be abysmally jealous. Forget that assignment due in the morning, your over withdrawn bank account, and the protests  about equality. It’s time to experience New York City.

   New York magazines and articles on Tripadvisor tell you to visit the Moma, the Natural Museum of Modern Art, and Central Park for an authentic, unforgettable New Yorker experience. Only issue is that New Yorkers tentatively avoid those locations because they’re tourist hives. We’re frustrated when tourists don’t automatically hypersonic to the turnstile because we know if we don’t hop on that train there is no other one arriving for at least another year.  Our fast paced, independent attitude makes us appear mean but the other alternative is for us to punch every tourist in the face, and no one wants that except perhaps Madonna who isn’t even a New Yorker.

  Most college newbies to the city stay within a 5 mile radius of their campuses. Why wouldn’t they? It’s relatively safe, there are average restaurants, and their own private library. After a while, however, it’s repetitive: you eat, drink, pray that yellow cab won’t run you over, and you’ll find love just as Sarah Jessica Parker’s character did in Sex and The City. Let’s face it that only happens in movies, commercials, and over serialized novels.

  Where then to visit with your new friends during your free time? Try planning trips to authentic places tourist rarely visit like Washington Heights, Inwood, Harlem, and Battery Park. You’ll hear diverse languages at every corner, try new foods, and practice your Spanish listening skills. Other locations to visit are Forest Hills and Flushing Queens where you’ll find bargains on every corner–they may not be Forever 21 or H&M brands, but you can certainly find  sleek styles that no one else in your school wears.

 Brooklyn is a popular destination for hipsters, those who claim they’re not hipsters, those who say they’re not hipsters and yet extrude hipster style and persona, and then regular real 1% folk. Visit the deeper Brooklyn to really experience the authentic culture and wide graffiti art everywhere. I have chosen to skip New Jersey, reader should know, since I have very deep biased perspectives as I am a native New Yorker and think Jersey is just Jersey.

  If you’re willing to travel, but don’t want an extensive trip, then head on over to the Upper West Side to Life In Motion for a $5 yoga class only available with the Campus Clipper coupon. Remember that you’re in a cultural hubbub; there’s never a dull moment unless you make it.

 

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Sergio Hernandez, Skidmore College. Send Sergio a Tweet Tweet only on Twitter

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Other Pesky Issues: To gym it or Not and is that person checking me out?!

Wednesday, August 7th, 2013

  Amanda Bynes famously Tweeted “twerk.” I am not sure if Bynes twerks  to burn off extra calories on the side (ignoring her musing, whimsical tweets) but she is in decent health. For those of you who don’t know the twerk it’s basically you shaking and tilting your derriere nonstop for approximately 30 seconds. It is a dance craze that has its origins from the deep south.  I’m not endorsing you twerk yourself skinny, but an active lifestyle is both beneficial to your body and mind.

   College can take a positive or negative toll on your body depending on your approach. If you sit around your comforter for hours until your classes begins wearing pajama pants and eating away Nutella you will gain weight–not 3 pounds but think more alongside Kirstie Alley pre and post Jenny Craig. On the other hand, if you’re running, cycling, swimming, or briskly walking you will keep off those freshman 15 pounds and will avoid awkward questions that are obviously meant to point out, as if you didn’t know yourself, that you’ve gained weight. Perfect example of this roundabout comment, “oh you look different. Did you get a haircut or is that new sweater?”

 Most specialist suggest you exercise in the morning because it makes you less likely to overeat throughout the day. The logic is that your body will be craving nutrients and you can’t get those from three slices of pizza or a whopper (you can but that’s another topic). College students who maintain an active life also score better on tests and assignments. Don’t lock yourself up in the school gym for hours; set aside 30 minutes to an hour to exercise during the week. Remember that you’re in the gym to improve your overall self so don’t worry if someone is running at 12 miles/hr on the treadmill or lifting your body weight over their head, which is super impressive and deserves some glances. I should also remind you that your tuition covers your gym membership while in school so why waste it?

  Perhaps you’ll see someone often enough at the gym that you’ll approach them next time and find your perfect gym buddy or your new significant other.  You probably, however, want to explore the city more than your school campus at this point, especially since you’re located in a cultural oasis named NYC. Try Moksha Yoga, they offer unlimited hot yoga with the Campus Clipper coupon. You can find other similar deals so know your options are limitless until you graduate and then are basically broke.  Till then keep healthy.

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Sergio Hernandez, Skidmore College. Send Sergio a Tweet Tweet only on Twitter

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Settling: The Art of Friending, Side Friends, Lunch & Dinner Friends

Wednesday, August 7th, 2013

You’ve unpacked, bought your books, and attended a few courses, and missed one on account of  the screeching alarms being set off at 3 a.m. No worries, you’re just becoming a real New Yorker. You’re a competent adjuster but forming new friendships is another story. It would be much easier if this were kindergarten where anyone sharing their PB&J is your friend.

   Don’t panic. Here are useful tips to transverse that murky friend zone. How do you know a person is a friend? There should be a “talk” or verbal contract specifying you’re both friends as it would ease the friendship, unfortunately, it does not exist yet. I digress, people are your friends if they are willing to spend time outside class with you for more than 1 hour (this does not encompass study partners) and attends parties with you and other people, and has decency to say goodbye if they leave before you. People are in your friend circle, additionally, if they eat either lunch or dinner with you more than once a week. You shouldn’t force it but prop up naturally, spontaneous.  These scenarios also apply to you because people expect you to reciprocate the same efforts.

             

  We have finished the rules to being a friend. Now to find them. Arguably, New York City is treacherous for newcomers because of the fast paced, goal driven personas you often meet on the streets. Unless you’ve grown up in this jungle you can’t be expected to know every single nook and cranny. If you’re new on campus worried you won’t meet other newbies then join a campus club; you’ll meet tons of like minded people and enjoy your activity. Keep in mind you should try other clubs that spark your curiosity, and if you dislike them there’s nothing chaining you to them except guilt. Find clubs you think mesh well with your personal values and goals. If you’re searching for active, outdoor people then enrolling in an art club is unwise; the positive is you’ll learn tons about abstract color synchronization techniques. If you’re like me, then enroll to every single club you find interesting, attend their first meetings, and then decide whether to commit or scratch it off your plate.

     My school holds a club festival every beginning of the semester to enlist new members–then again my college is in upstate New York so choices are scarce during winter time, either you remain inside your dorm eating instant noodles or visit off-campus sites to gorge on the local food…and then regret it.

      One club stood out the most, the Men and Women’s Rowing club. My first thought was that this would really get me down to my ideal weight and body shape, and seeing as my friend was eager to join, we signed up. Our first meetings were just basic paperwork, insurance information, and minor details. However, practices were gruesome. For starters, I always thought they would be held during late afternoons; turns out we had to meet at 5:30 a.m–this our coach would later angrily explain meant we had to be on the dock at 5:30am. Therefore, for 3 times a week I woke up at 4:45 a.m to be driven down to the boathouse and arrive at 5:15 a.m. This was utter madness. yes! Why do it? Tremendous guilt would burden me for life if I left my friend suffering alone,  but the unforeseen occurred: I liked the sport and people.

     There are other outlets, of course, you can use these days to forge new friendships while in NYC. If sports are not your forte, then stick to your interest, slowly branching yourself into other groups. You don’t have to  join the local soccer, football, or rugby team. You can start small with Yoga classes at Moksha Yoga that offers a free class to first timers who bring the Campus Clipper coupon, if that’s your preference. There’s never a reason to not try new things–unless you’re highly allergic or you’re bedridden–so start small and end up winning big.

 

 

 

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Sergio Hernandez, Skidmore College. Send Sergio a Tweet Tweet only on Twitter

Follow the Campus Clipper on Twitter and Like us on Facebook!

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Family: Should call ASAP, now, later, laterish, or in 3 days?

Wednesday, August 7th, 2013

     Let’s face it, most of us start getting too preoccupied as semesters start every year.  Classes, assignments, sports, friendships, relationships, and those lazy weekend afternoons you inhale a zillion calories make it so we have no time for family. Is that really the case? Can we not take a few minutes of our lives, or stop eating that second serving of Chipotle to phone our family?

     Classes are arguably consuming depending on  your semester level. For one mathematics course, which will remain unnamed, I had to solve 6 problem sets. “Bring it,” I wanted to yell, but resisted the urge as it would be not only weird but disruptive too. It took 3 hours to solve one problem–mind you this was higher level calculus where numbers barely exist. I still had 5 more solutions to find. I would not leave this spot, I said to myself, not even for caffeine (Ok, I did for coffee but it was life or death, but not really).

     24 hours later (about 10 a.m to 8p.m actually) my thoughts were scattered, murmuring mathematical concepts, seeing distant white specs, and I was overall unfocused when leaving the library. The last thing I wanted was to call my parents that night. Arguably, the call would have helped me adjust my focus. It has been noted that discussing and thinking  about other subjects clears your mind so that when you return to an assignment you tackle it differently this time around.

   Professors suggest you shouldn’t fixate on one assignment for hours on end. Don’t leave it to the last minute either because that  is just unnecessary stress on you. Instead, take breaks, walk around,exercise, eat, or talk to someone to help clear your mind. You could get a drink from T-Magic, they offer a free bubble tea with the Campus Clipper coupon.

    When you start an assignment, you never see any fault in your approach because you’ve molded your brain to one perspective. Rest your mind by calling your parents during tough situations. Perhaps they’re not prodigious math professors, but they may help by giving you a much needed boost that you’re no failure and everyone else has identical ordeals in college. Your parents will, of course, feel loved and cherished that you trust them during such small scenarios. It lets them know you think of them foremost during your academic debacles.

    Don’t habitually phone them every time you suffer a school related mishap; trust them enough to talk about relationships, friends, food in NYC, and professors. You should not set your parents, or immediate family, aside because you’re now ‘busy’ or too ‘stressed.’ There’s no decree for the correct time to call family. It’s largely your choice whether you want your family incorporated in your college life or semi-integrated, but once those years end they’re the ones who are picking you up and whisking you off back home.

 

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Sergio Hernandez, Skidmore College. Send Sergio a Tweet Tweet only on Twitter

Follow the Campus Clipper on Twitter and Like us on Facebook!

Interested in more deals for students? Sign up for our bi-weekly newsletter to get the latest in student discounts and promotions  and follow our Tumblr and Pinterest. For savings on-the-go, download our printable coupon e-book!

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Arrival: Freakout, panic attack, wait are those the Olsen Twins?

Tuesday, August 6th, 2013

 

      You’ve just graduated high school, leaving prom night behind, and that comment you wish you took back but didn’t really because you felt it was rightly deserved, and are now ready to begin your new life in the city. You’re giddy because you hope you’ll be caught in a photo beside an A-star celebrity eating a light salad and sipping sparkling water at your favorite hole-in-the wall restaurant you read about. On arrival, however, you noticed no celebrities, chic restaurants:  just random people either playing music for money or those playing music but  being paid because others have assumed they’re only there for money.

          Hopefully, dorm life is the same as shown on brochures, campus tours, and other miscellaneous google image searches you did beforehand. Hurrah! Dorms are fantastic with enough space and lighting that makes you feel it’s not jail-cell B. You’ve traveled far, maybe crossed the Atlantic, and now you’ve arrived in the Big Apple. Parents are helping you unload bags, boxes filled with snacks, and then treating you to a rewarding feast for graduating high school and marking the next big chapter of your life, college. They leave. Now what? There is one scenario that pops in your head: people will start drinking, gorging on jello shots, and parading in the dorms until 6 a.m the next day. 

         Real scenario: you’re laying on your bed thinking how many calories did I just inhale and what to do next?  Should call parents, pops in your mind, but that will make them think you severely miss them and are ready to leave college to become the next pop musical sensation or viral Youtube star. Should call friends is another option you ponder. That decision also has its setbacks, you think, because friends will see it as you trying to live in the past and being overly clingy. Who else to phone then?  Former partner?  They’ll think you’re absurd. Only person/non-human near you are either your dog or that chubby cat meowing ferociously outside for food even though it clearly needs to stop eating.

        Have no fear. The worst things most new New Yorkers accomplish is to over analyze simple decisions. Moving away from home, leaving where you grew up, knocked that kid off his bike and then lied about it, is difficult for anyone. Call your parents immediately (well, wait until they’re on the freeway) to tell them you’ll miss them and promise to either call, video chat, face-talk, Facebook message, Line, etc, that night to update them on your new day.

        Don’t fear phoning friends because they’re in similar shoes as yourself, or worse, they’re hyperventilating and looking at graduation photos yelling “Why me?!!” Instead of staying in your dorm waiting for orientation, explore the local neighborhood; if you find a store you like, you can later discuss and recommend it to your new friends, it will make you seem knowledgeable like a native New Yorker; you even find a surprising discount for new students on the Campus Clipper, the local booklet that helps you save those extra bucks, on textbooks. Now you have both a new street-smart mentality and you can rent out a Chemistry textbook for a bargain at Shakespeare & Co Textbooks which up to today was only a dead guy who wrote amazing plays; but now he also offers stupendous offers to students.If you left the comfort of your hometown, city, or neighborhood, surely you can take those extra steps to acclimate to New York City. After all, no one is really a true New Yorker. Most of us fake it ‘til we make it.

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Sergio Hernandez, Skidmore College. Tweet Sergio on Twitter

Follow the Campus Clipper on Twitter and Like us on Facebook!

Interested in more deals for students? Sign up for our bi-weekly newsletter to get the latest in student discounts and promotions  and follow our Tumblr and Pinterest. For savings on-the-go, download our printable coupon e-book!

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The Rules and Relationships in the 21st Century

Thursday, February 21st, 2013

Have you ever heard of The Rules? It’s a book compiling a guide to “finding Mr. Right,” and if you think that’s hilarious then you’re definitely on my side. Relationships are tricky, but do we really need a book telling us exactly how to act? Still, judging a book by its cover, I opened it up and started reading. Twelve pages in, I sensed a huge flashback: “In a relationship the man must take charge.” Call me a feminist, because I am, but these so-called rules are so backwards it’s painful. In this day and age it’s ridiculous to think that a man has to be in control all the time. Where would the world be without powerful women taking charge for themselves?

Do you think Beyoncé gives all the power to Jay-Z? I think not.

A Rules girl is not to offer to pay, not to speak unless spoken to, and to basically avoid phone calls, and lie to anyone who asks about The Rules. You also have to be “a creature unlike any other,” but you can’t give too much of yourself away. Don’t even think about flirting and showing off your sparkling personality—he has to work for everything.

According to The Rules: “Put lipstick on even when you’re jogging” (21).  This is, of course, because you constantly have to impress a man, which is unnecessary. While you have to be impressive, it is all about him doing everything. He is the one to approach you, ask you out, and make the plans. He’s even the one who has to keep conversation going. If you do anything, you will lose the mystery and he’ll get bored. It’s all a game and you are the challenge that men are seeking.

It is still nice for a guy to do a little extra work.

These ideas just don’t work in the 21st century. Men and women are equal. It is perfectly okay for women to be in charge, and it is definitely okay for a woman to go up to a man and start conversation. I, personally, lost any chance I had with a certain man because I was never the one to initiate conversation. He told me it felt like I wasn’t interested, so he moved on. But, according to The Rules, starting conversation will take away a man’s power and he will never actually love you. I just don’t see how placing everything in the man’s hands is helpful for anyone. Relationships involve two people, so putting all the pressure of conversation and dates (and everything else) all on one person completely throws off any sense of balance—something that The Rules is seriously lacking.

Besides a decent amount of good advice, like: don’t stalk the guy you’re interested in, have a life of your own, and don’t make him a center of your life, there is also some really harmful advice. The focus that they place on body image is worrisome: “If you have a bad nose, get a nose job” (21), “overweight is not The Rules” (131), and other instances where weight or style choice is brought up. Many women today have to deal with a lot of stress about how they look, and for a book to promote harmful self-image rules, directed towards women, is dangerous. It should be about accepting who you are and finding a man who loves you for that—not about changing everything about yourself and hoping the dropped pounds will magically draw men to you. The best relationship advice is to love yourself before someone else can love you, but once again The Rules doesn’t see that.

If you’re looking to find help for relationships, don’t go to The Rules. Trust yourself, love yourself. Don’t over-think—sometimes it’s best to just see where it all goes. Life isn’t solely about being in a romantic relationship; it’s also about friends and family and developing yourself. So even around Valentine’s Day and other couple-specific times, don’t get discouraged. Grab a good friend and go see a Rom-Com and laugh about stupid dating advice. You’re too awesome to handle anyway!

                                                                                                                              

Jen Orlando, Manhattan College. Check out my blog! Follow me on twitter!

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Love without the Time

Friday, January 25th, 2013

written by Megan Martucci

 

Image by Angela-Z


“Love knows not what time is” -Unknown
Being a full time student and working a part time job takes up a lot of time during the week. Adding in the essentials of eating and sleeping and other bare necessities, like time to de-stress and spend with friends and a boyfriend, eats up any time left behind. To compensate for the hectic schedule, I’ve become a master of multitasking, and even with that, I tend to sacrifice sleep to have time for everything else—after all, you can always make up sleep during a holiday! However, having such a tight schedule leaves little time for romance, and having a boyfriend whose schedule is just as busy as mine makes it near impossible.

On an average day, I have classes and work from 9:00 am until 7:00 pm. My boyfriend works seven days a week as a personal coach and often works from 6:00 am until 9:00 pm with sporadic breaks in between. Also, both of us have tight budgets which makes doing some things out of our price range. However, in spite of our messy schedules, we manage to see each other often.

The key to our success is—ironically—not planning. We both have schedules that are never fixed, and trying to plan around times that are subject to change at any moment makes planning a futile and usually disappointing effort. We don’t set up strict times when we should meet and instead look for any moment we both happen to be free and take advantage of it. This usually results in short meeting at cafes, running into each other to quickly say hello, and often meeting up late at night for a quick dinner before we both head home to pass out.

While we see each other regularly, our time together is all too brief and we have fallen into a rut of doing the same things which tends to dampen any surprise and romance in the relationship. At first, never planning times to meet up did help somewhat since it prevented our relationship from becoming another obligation to add to our seemingly never-ending list of things to be done. But it didn’t help break us out of our “greet-and-eat” rut which we eventually stumbled into. We tried just varying where we went to eat to add a new flair to our old system, but it quickly became just as routine to wander looking for a new place as it was to eat at a place we had been to before. It seemed like the rut would be impossible to escape unless both of us deliberately took off work, and even then it would be a temporary fix to a continuing problem.

A new solution revealed itself in the form of a friend’s own relationship problems. The two of us were were talking over coffee, and she began telling me how she felt her boyfriend wasn’t willing to contribute as much to the relationship as she was. She told me how she often went out of her way to do things with him that he liked though he often didn’t return the favor unless it was something he also enjoyed doing.

At first the situation seemed nothing like the issues my boyfriend and I were having: both of us were willing to do things the other enjoys—we just didn’t have time. I suggested that she try making him do little things that he might not enjoy and work her way up to bigger things so that he might find some enjoyment in it by the end. I suggested looking at the Campus Clipper to find coupons for things she might like to do on her college budget, and, while discussing this option, I noticed a coupon for I coffee shop I hadn’t been to. After I went home, I realized that I had found a solution to my own relationship problems.

The next time I met with my boyfriend, I suggested we pick a book we would both like to read and meet up to talk about it at the new coffee shop since we both enjoyed reading. From there, we tried cooking dinner together rather than going out to eat like we usually did, and then we began including other little things along the way to vary up our usual schedules, realizing that little changes made a big difference.

Not only have these little suggestions that we started coming up with made our time together more exciting, it has introduced a little more passion since both of us are always thinking of small romantic things to mix in. It has given a breath of fresh air to our relationship, and found us the time for romance despite our busy lives. If you run into a rut with your own relationships, try changing up the things you do and be sure to look at the Campus Clipper for ideas and deals!

 

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New Year, New Me

Friday, December 28th, 2012

A new year is upon us and with that brings the fresh start that so many of us desperately yearn for. We forget about what happened the year before and focus on the future and what we can do to ensure ours is the best that it can possibly be. As we start to think of exactly HOW this is going to be done, we usually end with a huge list of things and run for the hills due solely to its overwhelming nature.

 

We all strive for self-improvement (or at least I would like to think so) and we know that it’s way more than just jotting down whatever you can find wrong with you on a piece of paper, it takes a lot of commitment. Knowing yourself and your limitations is also very important.

 

 

I’ve always took a “one goal a year” approach when it comes to things like this. I think it’s important to know where you want to improve as a person and just focus on that. I know life will happen regardless but it’s more a matter of not stretching yourself too thin.

One thing I would love to focus on in 2013 is just letting people know that I care for them more and doing my best to be more emotionally available. I know, I know…that’s two things but I feel like they’re related in a sense. I’ve also learned that this is something I needed to work on based on the supreme workaholism I developed earlier in the year and in turned shunned out my friends and everyone who I care about.

Don’t worry, my family and friends understand that I’m busy, that’s not really the point. This is something that I’m doing for the betterment of ME that will in turn strengthen already existing friendships and relationship and helps create strong new ones.

So, that’s my goal, what’s yours? Whatever it may be let’s approach them with the most resolute of attitudes.

Happy 2013 from all of us here at Campus Clipper. 🙂

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Carlos L., Monroe College. Read my blog!!  Follow me on Twitter and Facebook

Click here to download the Campus Clipper iTunes App!

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Interested in more deals for students? Sign up for our bi-weekly newsletter to get the latest in student discounts and promotions  and follow our Tumblr and Pinterest. For savings on-the-go, download our printable coupon e-book.

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Election Day: Purpose or Propaganda?

Tuesday, November 6th, 2012

It’s no secret that today is Election Day; it’s all that people can really talk about. I even got yelled at this morning for telling someone “I’ll vote after I get out of work.” One thing’s for sure: politics needed much more attention and it has definitely gotten just that…although the intentions of some citizens can come into question.

Let’s go back to the guy yelling at me. He went on to say, “If Romney gets elected he’s gonna cut welfare — I need my welfare.” Really…really sir!? Do you even care about the issues or is your brain only big enough to focus on one? My point is (and this might sound a bit exaggerated) that about 60 percent of Americans don’t even know the issues and are voting based on race or religion or some other non-factor that really shouldn’t matter when you’re voting. I couldn’t help but feel like 2008 was a “black vs. white” election and this year seems like a lot of the same thing.

Now, I’m not saying that we are all uneducated voters, but with proof like this you have to wonder what people are really voting for.

Yea…I know, right?

Now there are three options this Election Day (there are really more than three but for argument purposes I’ll keep it limited). There’s Obama, Romney, or not voting at all. Obama and Romney supporters are strong, but no one is stronger than those refusing to submit a ballot. Now, you may be thinking “How is that so? It just seems like arrogance and lack of confidence in one’s opinion.”  To counter that, I ask you, Is it really? If you ask me, it takes an EXTREME amount of confidence.

The Electoral College’s votes have the most value and they’re counted after our votes for a reason.  I think the fact that there was no clear cut solution (or at least something that sounded remotely like one) during three elections says a lot. I read a tweet from a Twitter follower that stated: “Red=Offense Blue=Defense OF THE SAME TEAM! #2PartyDictatorship.” As a matter of fact, here’s a meme that needs no introduction.

There’s clearly something bigger going on in this country.

Regardless of what you may take from this article, I DO believe voting is important. At least you’ll feel like you’re changing the shape of your country, and I intend to do my part. I hope that you all do the same but remember, even if you don’t vote, you’ll still have to abide by whatever the government has in store for us. If that’s the case, you might as well pick the lesser of two evils, whoever you feel that might be.

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Carlos L., Monroe College. Read my blog!!  Follow me on Twitter and Facebook

Click here to download the Campus Clipper iTunes App!

Follow Campus Clipper on Twitter or keep current by liking us on Facebook.

Interested in more deals for students? Sign up for our bi-weekly newsletter to get the latest in student discounts and promotions  and follow our Tumblr and Pinterest. For savings on-the-go, download our printable coupon e-book.

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Dwindling Communication in the 21st Century

Friday, October 5th, 2012

With all kinds of new technology and social media platforms popping up every day, it seems easier than ever to stay in contact and communicate with the whole world.  It doesn’t even require a lot of effort, just a portable laptop — which come in extra small packages these days – or a smart phone.  So why is it that the real value of our words is going down the drain?

Even he didn't say much and he could be heard almost ANYWHERE

Part of this is our own fault for relying too much on technology.  There’s less effort put into meeting up with a friend or family member for a quick lunch.  Making communication easier has made us less aware of the importance of following through and actually speaking.  Personal relationships have decreased in favor of the blogosphere or Facebook.

With the upcoming Presidential election, it’s important to take more pride and responsibility in our words, our communication, and listening and hearing content.  That annoying little habit of saying “like” after every other word?  That was OK when you were 13.  Part of being a responsible adult pertains not just to our professional lives, but also to our communication.  As students, you’re going to be primed as the leaders of the future; it is important to recognize this gift and own it.

Your Presidential vote is also your future, take some time out to inform yourself on what the candidates stand for. Yes, it is true that many of their speeches and debates will be ridden with white noise you should avoid, but the important thing to do is to INFORM yourself.  Educating yourself on issues is a practice you’ll continue even after the election, making you highly employable. Try news feeds like cnn.com or huffingtonpost.com. If you’re in a real rush, newser is a great place to catch up on headlines with a short and readable summary.

As to the nonsense words you use to fill silences, start thinking a little more before speaking.  This will cause you to have a fully formulated sentence before speaking, but if you should have a silence somewhere…it’s OK! No need to add “like,” “so,” “um,” etc.  Some thoughts to keep your message in line:

Are you really saying what you want to say?

Is that person going to understand your needs and goals?

If not, could you reword it and still make the message clear?

Remember: being too wordy may lose the listener.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in preparing and physically relocating to New York City, it’s that if you can write and communicate your ideas well, your career will soar.  While social media is all good and fun, it’s only effective when used properly.  So go out and use your voice, your thoughts, and yes, your phone (in fact, you could download the Campus Clipper App RIGHT NOW)!

 

Written by: Lauren A. Ramires

If you’re interested in finding out more about my opinions and ventures with social media, social media marketing, fashion, travel and humor, follow me on Twitter, Facebook or my blog.

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Posted in Family, Friendship, onLife, onValues, Relationships, Social Media Learning, Student Activism, Student Issues | No Comments »

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