A Tragic Desease Has Hit

You email your teacher to tell them you won’t be in class because you’re feeling under the weather. Awww. We’re so sorry to hear that. We hope you start to feel better soon. Except… this isn’t the first time you have sent one of these emails. What is this awful illness that has had you so bedridden this semester?

It’s awful. It turns out you have come down with a very bad case of… SENIORITIS… Dun dun dun. What is this illness? Is it contagious? Will you die? Yes and yes. Nah I’m just messing. To know what Senioritis is, let’s go to every young persons favorite definition source, Urban Dictionary! According to the site, Senioritis is:

n. A crippling disease that strikes high school seniors. Symptoms include: laziness, an over-excessive wearing of track pants, old athletic shirts, sweatpants, athletic shorts, and sweatshirts. Also features a lack of studying, repeated absences, and a generally dismissive attitude. The only known cure is a phenomenon known as Graduation.

Before I get into the “legit” Senioritis conversation, check out this audio story. While the whole thing is a satire about high school Senioritis, there are some valid points in it about what happens while someone has Senioritis. Check it out.

The thing is, Senioritis is not only something people deal with in high school. It’s a huge deal in college as well, but I’ll talk more about that in a bit. Right now, I’m going to focus on the high school aspect. Denise Witmer of About.com, thinks she has figured out what the sources of high school Senioritis is. Parent’s, this part of the post is for you.

Boredom is thought to be a cause of Senioritis: High school seniors aren’t often challenged in the second half of the senior school year as their workload may dwindle for some of their classes and schools may fail to keep them engaged in learning. All they are focused on is going to college and getting away from mom and dad. The problem with this is that they don’t realize if they loose their grades, they can loose their spot at whatever college they are expecting to go to. According to the National Association for College Admission Counseling, “21 percent of colleges reported that they had revoked an admission offer” in 2009. This is because of things like drops in grades and other factors.

Parental apathy can be a cause of Senioritis: Often parents don’t mean to be apathetic, but after a few years of not having to discipline a teen for school work because they have been working independently and doing it well, parents are surprised to see that they need to get back on the discipline horse so close to the finish line. This can lead to an attitude in parents of: “Oh well, they can’t fail now.”

Burnout is another cause for Senioritis for some seniors: Senior high school students are busy people. They have a full course load and are charged with cementing their plans for their future. The busy life of tests, sports, friends, extra-curricular activities and part-time jobs is further crammed with college or technical school visits and applications, scholarship searches, senior projects and job or career searches. Without careful planning and attention paid to a teen’s stress levels, burnout is to be expected.

Fear of change can cause Senioritis: Graduating high school is a double-edged sword for many teens. They are looking forward to growing up and moving on but they will miss the familiarity of high school and their friends. Parents, don’t get offended if your teens start to act differently during these times. While it may seem like they “hate” you, they are just repelling their fears in a different way.

Parents will begin to notice the signs and symptoms of Senioritis about mid-year of their teen’s senior year, but they could show up sooner. Below is a list to help you identify the signs, things that happen because your teen is developing Senioritis, and symptoms, physical ways your teen is acting because of Senioritis. This list is from the International College Counselors website.

– Poor grades
– Incomplete assignments
– Does not make it home for curfew
– Cut classes
– Increased absences from school
– Concern from teachers and school administrators
– Using alcohol or drugs

Use these signs and symptoms to help you prevent your teen from catching a debilitating form of Senioritis or to help your teen who is suffering from a bout of high school Senioritis. While you may think that Senioritis is just a stage your teen is going through, much like the ones you went through or that ‘everyone’ goes through, “be warned that the consequences of Senioritis can last a long time and be devastating for a teen and their family” (About.com).

Now what about college seniors? While it seems like they have less to loose, it actually depends on what major you’re graduating with. Every senior gets Senioritis. I don’t care what a person says. They have it. Whether it hits them as bad is the question. If you’re a business major, yes your grades are a huge factor in getting a job after school is over. If you’re a broadcasting major like me, grades don’t really matter. I went around and asked people around campus what people in their particular work force were looking for and this is what I found.

Employers in fields such as business, math, and education find grades very important. But employers in fields such as broadcast, print, acting, and other “artsy” things, feel that your ability is more important. I talked to a producer at the ABC affiliate in San Diego, who said, “no news director hiring is going to care what your grades are. As long as you are good at what you do, that’s what we want to see”. Senioritis in college is all relative to your studies. It’s no wonder I have it. I don’t care about my work just because I know none of my future employers are going to want to see my transcript. But another major’s will.

Below you will see a photo slideshow I put together. It depicts what happens when a college senior doesn’t work hard and gets Senioritis. Then fights it and graduates. Check it out.

Senioritis – slideshows

Essentially, Senioritis is all in the mind. Is it real, absolutely. You just need to work hard to make sure it doesn’t completely ruin your life.

A Little Tease For You

Tick… Tick… Tick… That’s the sound of senior year coming to an end. Whether it’s high school or college, the time to move that tassel is approaching. But with that time crunch comes something else… Senioritis. Dun dun duuuunnnn. What is this “disease” you ask? Make sure to tune in on Sunday to find out. I will have the entry up by midnight!
I will explain what Senioritis is, what professionals say causes it, what teachers advice is for getting through it, and so much more. And if you think I’m just going to talk about the college perspective, you’re wrong. I’ll be focusing on high schoolers as well, since this hits them just as hard, maybe worse. This isn’t just my perspective. I have intel from professors from all over the country, students, and actual doctors who do research on this.
So don’t forget to tune in on Sunday. You won’t want to miss my biggest post yet!

Mom… Do We Have To Move?

I got a new job and have to uproot my life and move across the country. The thought of it is scary and I’m not sure what to do. So I took to the internet for help. Here’s what I found. Most people agree that moving is stressful. Some people argue that it’s the most stressful thing that anyone can do. While I agree, there are lots of ways to reduce the stress of moving so you can actually enjoy the moment, look forward to the change and know that this move is a positive and rewarding experience.

Give Yourself Time
Time is not always in your control. Sometimes a move sneaks up on us and we have to act fast. If you can plan ahead, try to allow yourself at least eight weeks. I highly recommend twelve, especially if you need to hire movers and/or if you’re planning a summer move. But everything can be done without too much stress within eight weeks.

Get Organized
Make a list of all the tasks you need to do, then divide them into weeks, allowing yourself enough days to complete everything on that week’s list. If you’re unsure where to start, check out an eight-week plan that will ensure you keep on track.

Clear Out The Clutter
I recommend you tackle this one first. Ridding your home of all the clutter will help you be, and feel, more organized. It will also ensure that when you begin packing, you’ll only be packing the things that you need to. There’s nothing more frustrating than packing items that you’re going to get rid of after the move.

De-cluttering also helps you unburden some of the old stuff that might have been holding you back. The process itself will help you make that transition between the past and the future; between one part of your life and the next. This will help you feel excited about the upcoming change.

Ask For Help
Sometimes it’s difficult to ask for help. But remember, most people have been through at least one move in their lives and understand how hard it can be. Reach out. Ask friends and family if they can spare a couple of hours. If you’re moving far away, this could be one of the last opportunities you have to spend time together.

Say Goodbye
Allow yourself the time to say goodbye. Throw a party. Invite friends out for dinner. Take an hour everyday to walk through your neighborhood. Visit one favorite spot every day. Feel the memories and allow yourself to relive them one more time. This will also help with the transition from the old to the new and give yourself some much needed time to enjoy the moment.

Treat Yourself
During a stressful time like a move, we often don’t feel that there’s enough time to get all the tasks done, and as such, we often neglect our own needs. I know that I often go without enough sleep, spend long days packing without taking breaks and end up eating junk food just to save myself cooking time. While it may seem like you’re be efficient with your time, you’re also neglecting the most important moving tool that you have: yourself.Make sure you take care of yourself. Add in some time to your task list for special treats like having dinner with friends, going to a movie, visiting a bookstore or having coffee at your sister’s place. It doesn’t need to be big, just something that ensures you’re taking time out from the hectic moving pace.

Get Enough Sleep and Eat Well
I’m adding this in since these two items are the first on my list to be ignored, yet, they are the most important factors in keeping us healthy and happy. So make sure you’re getting enough sleep and that you’re eating a balanced diet. Don’t skip meals and try not to live on coffee (although that can be difficult not to!).

Go With The Flow
Even if you’re the most organized mover ever, things will still go wrong. Unplanned events will happen, so you need to be flexible and allow yourself some extra breathing room to deal with these problems. Maybe return to your task list and timeline and work in some extra days if you can. Allowing for some wiggle room will ensure that you can adjust and feel calm even when chaos abounds.

Have a Back-up Plan
Now, I’m not talking about creating a full back-up plan, but rather that you have a list of options should some of the major pieces of your move fall out of place. For instance, I always keep a short list of back up movers and rental agencies, just in case. I also allow a few days on either end of our move out/move in day should our moving company cancel or not show up. This can happen even though it’s rare. Plan for alternatives. You’ll feel better knowing that your uncle and his two-ton truck is available should you need it.

Be Prepared to Feel Uprooted
You’re going to be living in chaos for a while, with boxes everywhere and things feeling out of control. It’s normal to be upset when you can’t find the spatula or the crockpot; just remember to consult your lists and know that you’re organized and on track for this move. You’ve done the work, and even though there’s still more to go, it will get done.

And when you move into your new home, also remember that it’ll take a while for this new space to feel like your own. Give it time. Give yourself time to settle in.

And remember to breathe…

Feel Good Television

We all have those moments when we just want to stop what we’re doing and plop on the couch and veg out right? Well next time that happens, try watching one of these shows. I have created for you a timeline of, what I think, are 10 of the greatest feel good television shows ever. You may agree with some and think I am crazy for inputting others. I have personally watched all of these, and in one way or another, they help. So click and enjoy. 🙂

Click Here For My List of the Best Feel Good Television Shows

The Ticking Clock

How many of you are about to graduate from college and have no freaking clue what you’re doing? ***Raises Hand***

Me too! There is so much we need to prepare for. Job applications. Going into the real world. It’s all happening so fast. Well here is a little feature piece I put together with REAL people giving their ideas about how to get through it.

Tune In For Something Awesome

Wanna know what it is? Follow my blog on Twitter right now to find out!

Top 5 For Falling Behind

So for those of you who are students like me, you might appreciate this post. How many of you have fallen so behind on your school work, you feel like you’re drowning and just can’t seem to find your way back to the surface? *Raises Hand High In The Air* I’m going through that right now. Heck, this blog post is a day late, but maybe it will be so awesome that I won’t get in that much trouble for it. Who knows. Anyways, I have created this Top 5 on How to Catch Up When You Fall Behind. Some are my ideas and some I found from other sources. Maybe it will help you and maybe it won’t. I know some of it helps me and some of it doesn’t, but this blog isn’t for me. It’s for all of you out there.

5. Set Goals and Reach Them
Set yourself some realistic goals on a daily basis. If you think that you’re a week behind, try to figure out how many hours you think it will take to get caught up. Set the appropriate goal for what you want to accomplish each night and stick with it. The most important thing is sticking with those nightly goals. These are your stepping stones to the big goals. It won’t take long to reach them and eventually you’ll be caught back up. It might seem like it will take forever, but it’s better than cramming everything in one night, right?

4. Modify your Schedule
You will likely need to set aside some extra time to get caught up so start taking steps to do that. The earlier the better. If you need an extra hour each night to catch up, be sure that you let your family know that and make the needed arrangements. Plan out easy dinners, set your favorite TV shows to record- so you’re not distracted by the desire to go watch them, and do anything else you need to do to fit your extra time into your schedule. This also means… *gasp* turning OFF the cellphone. Dun dun dunnnn.

3. Eliminate Distractions
Distractions are the enemy when you’re a student, and they’re even worse when you’re behind. Whether it’s Facebook, your family, a favorite TV show, or something else, make sure that you eliminate all distractions. Five minutes spent messing around on Facebook is five minutes of studying you could have accomplished, and every time you break your concentration because of some distraction you’ll end up facing the task of getting back into the groove. You’re better off if you’ll just set your goals and ignore all distractions until the task at hand is completed. It’s not that difficult when you get the hang of it. I haven’t personally mastered it yet, but like I said before, this isn’t for me. I am the queen of… Ooooo look a butterfly. See what I mean.

2. Relax
This is an obvious step but one that is so important it needs to be mentioned. If you’re behind then it’s very easy to let your stress and worry influence your lessons. Trust me. You’ll end up rushing through them without fully understanding the subject and your grades will likely suffer as a result. Instead, remember to calm down and focus on what’s ahead of you. If you’ve contacted your teacher you’ll likely have less stress already. Relax, don’t panic, and the results will be much better.

1. Contact the Professor
If you’re falling behind, contacting the professor is always something you can do. Well hopefully. While those who are just a short assignment or so behind can usually catch up without much trouble, those who are significantly behind will want to let their professor know. Explain the situation and what has happened and you’ll be surprised at how understanding your instructor will usually be. They’ll help ease your mind and get a bit of the stress off your shoulders so that you can focus on what’s important – catching up. Try it. They may surprise you.

When The Going Gets Tough

So I learned something this week… Always look for the bright side to life. For the last 5 days, I was in Washington DC with 15 other members of my university’s National Broadcasting Society chapter at the national convention. There we listened to professionals talk about the industry and entered some competitions. Well guess what. The whole thing sucked!
The convention was unorganized and the competitions were so unfairly categorized that no one in our chapter left happy. Needless to say, it was a very stressful time. So I kept trying to think… How do you take this stressful experience and find the positive? Well, look for the things that happened in between the actual convention.
I was there with 15 of the coolest people I go to school with. Some I am very close with and others I barely knew. But we all have a connection… We all love broadcasting. We got to do things that I never thought we would ever get to do. Hang out with Lincoln at the National Mall at 3am, almost die of hypothermia shooting a story, and just make new friends! These are the things that make all the stress so much better.
I now have 15 new brothers and sisters who I have shared an incredible journey with. They showed me a great time and I hope we can experience more good times before I graduate.

“It’s Gonna Be Totally Awesome!”

So almost everyone in the universe has used YouTube… Unless you have been living under a rock. But have any of you watched full length movies and shows on them?
My professor this week wants me to write a review about a movie or a CD or something along those lines. The thing is though, I can’t think of any of things relating to my blog topic. Sooooo… What I’ve decided to do is write about a show I have watched on YouTube that I have found helps me when I’m stressed. This I hope gives you readers out there ideas about what you can watch to help with your stress.
The show I am talking about is called A Very Potter Musical by Team StarKid. If you don’t know what that is then we are no longer friends. Just kidding. This show is actually the first of three separate, 2 hour each musicals, tastefully spoofing the Harry Potter series. It started at the University of Michigan in 2009 when the theater program wanted to do something different. They literally had no budget and everyone doing it dedicated their time and money to make it happen. They wrote, composed, produced, did absolutely everything for this show. The show was so well received by the students at the school, and they decided to put it up on YouTube. That’s how people like me… With no ties to Michigan at all… Found out about this. And I am so glad I did.
For all of you Glee fans out there, you might recognize the lead role of Harry as none other than Darren Criss, aka Blaine. This is how he got his start. And honestly, the whole cast is going to be famous one day (as if they aren’t already). You will love Joey Richter, Lauren Lopez, Joe Walker, Dylan Saunders, and the rest of the gang.
Anyways, back to the actual show. The hilarity of each character and funny musical numbers keep you entranced the whole time. You honestly don’t realize that the show is 2 hours long. By the time it’s over you are pretty bummed. The opening number is called “Goin’ Back To Hogwarts” and that sensation you used to get when you were a kid reading the Harry Potter books or watching the movies all comes back. You get so excited to follow Harry and his friends on this incredible journey. Yes, the musical is different as far as the story line order goes because it needs to be comedic, but it’s still no different then it’s original purpose. The minute you hear Harry sing the line, “No way this year anyone’s gonna die. And it’s gonna be totally awesome”, you know you are in for a treat.
I actually had the chance to interview three of the characters from the show when I was at ComicCon in 2011: Joey Richter (Ron), Brian Rosenthal (Quirrell/Shamus), and Brant Cox (Colin Creevey). They were some of the nicest guys I had ever met and really know how to show the fans how appreciative they are. One fan asked them to grab dinner with them and they made sure they kept their promise that they would. They explained to me in the interview that they did these shows for the fans. They knew they had something when they made the first one, and felt it let them down by not continuing with the others. You have to love watching something that has that much fan love behind it.
So if you are in a stress mode and need an outlet try watching something. Heck, try watching this or one of Team StarKid’s other 6 shows online. I won’t be offended if this isn’t your cup of tea though. I just want all the readers out there to know that something as silly and entertaining as this can brighten up a day. So give it a try. Relax. Plop your feet up on the couch. Poor a glass of wine (if you’re 21 I mean). Do whatever it is you need to do to enjoy a show. And don’t forget… “It’s gonna be totally awesome!”

If any of you are fans of these shows, check out the thank you Joey, Brant, and Brian gave to all their fans during my interview with them!

Hello… And Goodbye Spring Break

Well… That went by quick. I just experienced the last spring break I will ever have and I feel like I’m still owed a few more days. I know I’m not the only one who has felt that way.
I had so much work I planned on getting done this week and did it… nope! Is anyone surprised? I know at least 4 of my friends who had this happen too. The question is… Once the break is over, how do we catch up with the life that continued on while we were in our own little world?
I guess my best piece of advice is to just take it one step at a time. I have two big things due on Wednesday and had no clue how I would get it done. After thinking… It made perfect sense to do one thing tomorrow and the other on Tuesday. This might not work for some, but for the people who do nothing but work an go to school, it works the best. It’s also better than trying to cram everything on one day.
So it is now 10:40pm on Sunday night and I am going to enjoy the last few hours of my spring break. Don’t worry about the thousands of things you have coming up in the next few days. Enjoy the little freedom you have left. It will be great for your sanity.