College Life

By Olivia Orellano

For many college students, the biggest obstacles while attending school isn’t learning calculus or chemistry, it’s the fundamentals of saving and efficiently spending the money they’ve earned and/or have. The majority of college students live to the quote “broke college students.” This meaning, most if not all college students, have no means of money. Whether they’re invited out for a bite to eat, need to purchase textbooks, or as important as buying a metrocard; a college student may not have the money to pay for it, hence being “broke.” This can be because, students don’t have jobs in fear that it’ll interfere with their studies, or have a job that can only pay enough for the essentials. Such as paying off all their bills and leaving them with a measly amount for groceries and other expenses. Decisions such as what to buy, how to buy it and when to buy it are asked when college students are faced with budget dilemmas. Dilemmas that happen every so often; as that college is a turning point for many. It’s the time to be independent, pursue goals, hobbies, and to both experience and learn from their mistakes. Most importantly the time to understand financially what it is to be a college student, and being on your “own.” Here I am, a college graduate, graduating with a “broke college student” degree. With easy steps and my own stories to account for, I’m here to save you the trouble, time, and money to live a better college life without having to focus exclusively on your financial needs. Also, to not live up to the “broke college student” quote. “The queen of spending” is ironically writing about saving more than you spend.

With two degrees in English and Advertising & Public Relations now under my belt, I look back and question how I survived college with the amount of money I made and spent. Four and a half years as a college undergraduate, I was able to learn new things, enjoy my time, cry, be stressed, yet never knew how to control my spending habits. If I liked something, I bought it; if I was hungry and didn’t like anything in my fridge, I ordered. As “broke” as I was my spending habits were more for a person on an everyday wine budget, rather than cheap bottles of beer. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, I made money, just enjoyed the luxury of spending money rather than saving it.

The New York Bubble

By Oliva Salomon

I grew up with a dream shared by many: to take a bite out of the Big Apple. I arrived fresh off the plane from Georgia with the plans of an eighteen year-old and a wardrobe from Target, ready to take the city by storm. New York is legendary for a reason, and chances are if you’ve taken the plunge and moved to the city that never sleeps you’ve got bravery and dreams to back you up. Ask any New Yorker and they’re certain to assure you that nothing tops this. Because that’s the thing about New York: it’s all here.

There are few New Yorkers who can truly say they’ve seen everything this incredible city has to offer– and how could they? One of the best things about New York is its ability to surprise you. While it’s certainly in a state of constant change, it’s the cultural caches hidden in little streets throughout the boroughs that hold the city’s history in place. There’s so much to see and do, yet it’s important to remember that there’s always more to see. It’s easy to become happy in the New York bubble; if I had my choice I’d never leave. But there comes a time when every person needs to reclaim the sanity that New York life can allow us to lose. We have to be able to find silence, serenity, and a perspective other than the typical New Yorker’s. And while we’re lucky to have countless parks and museums at our fingertips, there aren’t many opportunities to be alone.

It’s also important to stay in touch with the outside world– not just politically. There is so much to appreciate just beyond the city’s boundaries. Opportunities are endless, and when you live in a city that’s sometimes superficial, it is vital to spend time amongst nature and to find ways to connect with the Earth and help those around you.