Mums The Word

Don't hate me! AHHHH I've missed a couple of posts…but life is hard, and keeping up with blog posts is also hard. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise! Well I'll just have to make it up to you this week with amazing blog posts, right! Well amazing blog post or not, I want to talk about things people don't talk about. Ironic, I know! So it's officially been two weeks since school started and three weeks since move in day. Man does time fly when your on your own.

Let me tell you though college is not easy. I'm not talking about just the school aspect, but in general its hard. It's not like anything I've done before. People always say "college is the best four years of your life" and "you'll make the best friends who will one day be your bridesmaids". I believe this, but I guess I believed it a little too soon. There is so much hype about college and once you get here its nothing like what you've been told. The first week is so hard. I expected to jump in and be fine and have friends, and start this journey of finding myself. It didn't happen right away and it still isn't that way two weeks later. I'm not sure why people don't talk about it. Maybe because everyone tries to look like they have it all together all the time. It's not possible. We can't keep it together all the time, and the most meaningful connections I've had so far have been about this new new and difficult transition.

So the first week was a crazy and sometimes lonely time. I had met so many knew people, but nothing really went past exchanging names and what dorms we were living in. So it was hard finding people to go to the dinning hall with and seeing so many other people making friends. Things get better with time, and they truly have. I know more people, and have met some incredible people who I know I will look up to and have as guides throughout my next four years. I have met more girls in my sorority, and have gotten better at making plans. It gets better, but it's just a process.

Here are some tips that will help, but the first couple of weeks is an experience that you learn from. Acknowledge that it is hard, and be okay with the fact that you are struggling. Everyone is, yet it may not seem like it. I also added a picture of my roommate and I with the pieces of hedge we stole…don't turn us in.

1. Remember names. Take the time to be intentional and remember names. Try to put them with faces. It's really difficult because you are meeting so many new people, but it is worth. It makes my day when someone remembers my name, and they stick out in my mind. This will really open you up to knowing more people and start the process of getting to know someone better. Do it. It's worth it.

2. Initiate the plans. Everyone is feeling like they don't have many friends and don't know people, but be the one to text someone and ask to go to the dinning hall. It's awkward at first, but it will make you feel better being with someone. I asked one of my new sisters to go to dinner with me and now we are really good friends.

5. Say yes to everything. I got this advice a lot this past week and it seems crazy, but it works. I knew I wanted to get involved in ministry on campus so when someone asked me to an event I took a chance, and it felt good. I'm in the middle of picking the ministries
I really like but when someone asks you do to something…DO IT. It could be no big deal or it could have a huge impact on your year.

4. Trust. It gets better.

GO DAWGS!

I am proud to announce that I am part of the Bulldog family and have called Athens Georgia my home since last Tuesday. Move in day was a mess, we (mostly my dad and boyfriend) carried all of my bags and items up six flights of stairs to avoid the long wait for the elevator. Dorm life has treated me well so far. I love the fact that I have a little escape and a comfy bed waiting for me. My freedom is amazing, and the friends I have already made on my hall have become my go to girls. Dinning hall food on the other hand isn't my thing, but I am trying to give it a second chance. College life is such a big step out of my comfort zone, but I am so excited to take it on.

Since Wednesday, I have been in Recruitment pretty much all day. I don't remember a time when I woke up past 4:15 (crazy, I know). It's full of long days, emotionally draining conversations, and physically brutal walks (sometimes in heels) to every house. It has NOT been easy, but many of the active members have told me to, "trust the system and that it really works." I am trying to do just that. Trusting something that just seems so confusing and, I hate to say it, cut throat is so difficult. I alway want life to be fair and for things that happen to have reasons, but Rush doesn't give you these answers.

Along with Rush, school started yesterday. I have no idea where summer went! I mean it was just yesterday that I graduated from my high school, and now I am starting college. It is totally different too. I no longer have to go to school from 8 to 3 constantly waiting for the bell to ring. I'm on my own, and I get to make a schedule that fits me. I am still trying to discover how I am going to handle it all. I mean school, social life, sorority, washing clothes, and feeding myself along with getting involved around campus is a lot to fit into a schedule with only 24 hour in a day. I will definitely let you know how it turns out and start making tips on how to survive.

In my pictures today I am wearing my favorite and most comfortable UGA t-shirt, cut offs from Vestique, Tory Burch Sandels, and an old fringe bag from H&M (thank goodness I kept it from a couple years ago because fringe is definitely in again!). Hope you enjoy. Maybe some Rush dresses, prouduct analysis, random thoughts and outfit posts coming up. Don't forget to check back on Tuesdays and Thursdays for new posts!

Charleston Love

I have been so blessed with three friends I met at camp a couple of years ago. Camp friends are the best because you can't hide anything about yourself like you can in the real world. They see me in the mornings when I first wake up, when I am in bad moods, when I am overly happy and excited, and when I just need a hug. They are definitely my true friends, and I don't know where I'd be without them (shout out to Annie, Ellie, and Anne Arden)! Anyway the four of us decided that we would plan a trip before we went our separate ways in college. We started planning in hopes that our parents would agree to send us away to Charleston for the weekend to celebrate Anne Arden's 18th birthday (she's all grown up). Well it worked, and we had an amazing weekend filled with laughs, shopping, and amazing food!

We loved just walking around and seeing the beautiful houses that have so much character to them. I fell in love with some mansions with giant porches overlooking the water snd vines growing up the sides. The city is just so laid back and beautiful that I felt so calm and at peace walking along the battery. If you haven't taken a trip to Charleston you must plan one quick because it was one of my favorite places I've been all summer. Besides walking around, we shopped until we dropped on King Street. It has every store you could ever dream of shopping in along with the cutest little boutiques with unique styles all in one. Anne Arden went on a major shopping spree for her birthday and got a ton of clothes for college, and I even got jean cut offs and an adorable two piece. The restaurants where we ate were top notch as well. Ellie was the meal planner of the group and made sure every place we ate at gave us another taste of the eccentric city.  Overall the city was amazing for exploring and relaxing before the hustle and bustle of starting college and the end of summer.

If you haven't seen from my Instagram, (follow me @dearlybeautiful) we found amazing backdrops for pictures and especially loved the teal house as you can see. We went back two days in a row because it is not everyday that you find a colorful house like that. I hope you enjoy my ourfits and pictures from the trip! And here's a mini guide to the shopping, the exploring, and the food of Charleston. I hope you enjoy, and it will also be posted under the travels tab on the Blog. Check back next Tuesday for a first day of school post, and pictures of me 

wearing my favorite UGA t-shirt and new cut offs from Charleston!

Shopping on KING STREET- 

Vestique (My 2-piece came from here)

Kate Spade

Willy Jays

J. crew

Impeccable Pig

Bevello

Lilly Pulitzer

Steve Madden

Exploring

The Battery

The gorgeous houses along the water

The pineapple fountain

Dreaming about possibilities and mansions

The plantations (we didn't make it there in our short weekend trip but it is definitely on my list for my next trip to Charleston)

Food

Tattooed Moose

City Lights coffee

Caviar and Bananas

Stars

Fleet Landing

Hominy Grill

Kaminsky's

Macaroon Boutique

 

What Ifs and Unknowns

Last night was the final night of what it seemed to be my childhood. I mean I am already 18 and there is no way I am going to stop acting like a kid, but today I will move in to my dorm room, say goodbye to my parents, and start living on my own. I have more responsibilities but so much more freedom. The funny thing is that I've been waiting for this day for what seems like forever. At the beginning of Junior year, I was already thinking about college and dreaming of what it would have to offer. Senior year came, and I was excited to be the top dog and was ready to make the most of all my experiences. Then there was Graduation, a day spent with big smiles, hoping for the future, and capturing pictures of the friends who were all taking separate journeys. This summer I spent counting down the days  just wanting this day to happen. I was so bored and so ready to just start this new chapter. And there I was, the night before the day my life would be so different and would never really return to what had been so normal to me. I felt stuck. I was scared and worried and upset and excited and driving myself crazy. It's the what ifs and the unknowns that really sneak up on you and leave you utterly terrified. 

Now It's the morning, the car is packed, and I'm ready to have one of those moments like in sappy commercials where the new freshman looks back at the house she has lived in for 18 years with sad eyes and an eager heart and the parents cry when they finally leave their child outside the dorm. But I want to talk a little about the emotions and the feelings that go along with new adventures and new steps in life. I mean you could be a 5 year old taking the first step on the school bus headed to kindergarten, or a couple moving into their first apartment as newly weds. It happens to everyone all the time.

What if I'm not good enough? What if I can't handle this? What if I fail or screw up? What if I'm fine? The unknowns and the worries suffocate and control you. They want to tear you down and tell you that you can't do it. They want to scare you and keep you inside the norm and the safe, but what's the fun in that. I keep telling myself that this is what is meant to happen. This is going to shape me into who I am going to be. Adventures await and although new stages are hard to step into, they can give you so much if you put your whole self into it. The memories will stay sweet in your mind, but the only way to make more memories and to live is to jump in whole heartedly. That is what I am doing (or attempting to do). I won't forget what got me to this point, but I will also adventure off into the unknown despite my fears because it will get me to where I am supposed to go. Wish me luck!

"There are things known and things unknown and in between are the doors."

Jim Morrison

P.S. Packing is really hard, and I feel like I am forgetting so much! Also the big Charleston post is next, and I'm super excited to share my amazing trip! After that expect first day of school post, and more outfits coming your way! Stick with me through this blogging thing. I'm new and trying my best! Hope you like it 

Gotta Start Somewhere…Why Not Here

Lifestyle bloggers are people who can't make up their minds. Well that describes me perfectly. I am probably the most indecisive person ever, and I really mean ever.

Lifestyle is everything the name says it is. It’s the day to day thoughts, the big changes, the clothes we decided to wear, and the people we decided to spend our time with. I am now a lifestyle blogger, so be ready for anything. Really expect the unexpected because that is what I will give you. And to tell you the truth, I have no idea what I will share either, so we will take it step by step. I hope you enjoy what I have to say, but if you don't you always have the choice to leave the page and open a new tab to discover something else.

I will leave this first post off with a quote from my friend Maisy. She told me once in AP Biology that "The good thing about having a blog is that if you ever die in a car accident there will be something to make a movie out of your life." That is definitely not the reason I am starting this blog, but I am not saying that it isn't an advantage. It will be nice to look back and see the person I was and the person I have become. Hopefully I like that person and didn't take a wrong turn, but if I did you'll probably read about here on Dearly Beautiful.

Goodbye for now. And make sure to check back on Tuesdays and Thursdays to get a peak into everything that’s happening in my mind and maybe in my closet. I am sure to talk about school, clothes, friends, family, thoughts, places, and inspirations. See you soon!