Love At First Sound

If you couldn't tell by the title of my blog, I love Mumford and Sons. For thse of you who don't know Mumford and Sons is set to release their new album on May 4 (ten days before my birthday!) and one of the songs was released already. It's called Believe and their album is Wilder Mind.

The song has a completely different sound than all of their past music. It has less banjo and strings and more electric, something people weren't expect. There has been some uproar with the new song. I had some thought of my own and just wanted to share some first thoughts.

Let me just set the picture for you. I'm sitting in the library on a Wednesday night studying Microbiology. Exhaustion has taken over me and I'm all by my lonesome self at this table. The library is filled with people. Believe comes on iTunes radio and I hear Marcus's voice (yep we're on first name bases). I can't exactly freak out so these are the thoughts that run through my head.

Is that Marcus?! It sounds just like him but like not anything like Mumford and Sons. 

*Checks phone* IT IS MARCUS! IT'S MARCUS AND MUMFORD AND SONS!

Well this is different...

Where's the banjo? I miss the banjo! That was their thing! 

I have to tell someone about this! *Looks around library*

Well there's no one here to tell... 

I'll just tweet about it. 

Wait that's not enough! I'll just text my roommate. 

Let me just simmer down and listen to the lyrics. 

These are pretty lyrics. No surprise here. 

*Song ends*

Marcus and boys I am proud of you. 

Now lets listen again! 

So as you can see I freaked out a little. Actually more like a lot and if I wasn't in the library I'm pretty sure I would have been screaming. I'm pretty dramatic. After listening to the song I went and looked at what other people were saying. A lot of people were upset it sounded different and they were saying they couldn't tell. All I have to say is if you know them than you can surely tell it's Marcus signing.

If you haven't listened to the new song go listen to it right now! I've had it on repeat for a week.

xoxo,
Lauren

February Review

February is such a short month! For some reason I thought that we still had a few more days of the month left until I looked on the calendar. 2015 is just flying by and before I know it I'm going to be done my sophomore year of college. There really weren't a lot of events in February. It was so much more boring than January that's for sure! I hope March is more exciting and really I think it will be. 

Good

• Found out who my Little is
• Spent some time with my friend and her mom 
• Had an amazing Valentine's Day with my best friends
• Had dinner with my sorority family
• Spent fell days and nights crafting 

Bad

• Failed my first Mirco test
• Got in a huge fight with my best friend 
• Stressed about some health problems for half the month 

Wonderland by Taylor Swift//\\Trampoline by Kalin & Myles//\\ Wrapped Up by Olly Murs//\\One Last Time by Ariana Grande//\\Take U There by Jack U//\\ Truffle Butter by Nicki Minaji//\\Polaroid by Imagine Dragons//\\ The Fall by Imagine Dragons//\\ Shots by Imagine Dragons//\\Up by Olly Murs//\\Electric Love by Borns//\\Honey, I'm Good by Andy Grammar//\\ Uma Thruman by Fall Out Boy

I had a thing for Imagine Dragons this month it seems. I didn't even put all the songs I've been listening to this month on the list because those were just my favorites. The two main iTune Radios I was listening to this month were the Top 50 Pop and Top 50 Alternative with most of the time being on the alternative radio. 

xoxo,

Lauren 

Spring Break: Home Bound

When people think of spring break they think of partying it up on beaches with their friends. I'm not that fortunate and will be spending my whole spring break at home surround by snow instead of sand. Although I would love to be laying on a beach right about now I think this break is just as good. No classes, a whole house to myself (most of the time), and time to watch Netflix who could complain!

Since I know I'm not the only one who's stuck at home on their spring break I have some tips to make this time better.

Visit Friends and Family

I don't get the chance to come home much during the school year so I miss out on seeing the people closest to me. Take some time during spring break to visit the people you haven't seen since winter break.

Catch Up On Netflix

I have no time to sit and watch Netflix at school. Now that I'm home with all this free time I'm catching up in my favorite shows like Supernatural and New Girl. That's exactly what I'm doing right now!

Get Ahead on Work

Yes I know that doing school work on your spring break is not exactly what you want to do but it is always nice to get ahead. I spend a few eyes doing work and studying each day this way I'm not as stressed when I get back to school. Plus I secretly like doing work.

Work on Your Hobbies

I'm getting back to blogging (as you can see) now that I have time and painting some crafts. I might even do some smashbooking too. It's a great way to spend time and be happy.

Lay Around! 

Yep I went there! Just lay in bed or on the couch for a few days. I know I don't get to do that at school so I am living it up now on my spring break. It's my favorite thing to do.

Cook and Bake

If you have the misfortune of living in a dorm (like me) than you don't have a kitchen. I know it is always relaxing to cook and bake so I'll be taking some time to do that while I'm home.

I hope you spend your spring break however it makes you happy. I'm going to go watch some more Netflix while I craft.

xoxo,
Lauren

Keeping My Sanity!

Well, the month is almost over and I have yet to get a blog post up. We can all thank my busy school life and the fact that February is such a short month! I thought that it would be great to talk about the 12x30 challenge that I have been doing for the month of February. The theme was organization and cleaning. Even though I have been so busy I have still made time to clean and organize my life. It's how I keep myself sane. These are just some of the things I did and do often to stay organized.

1. To-Do List

I make daily and weekly to-do list all the time. It's great having them to keep myself on track and make sure I don't forget anything. Some of my to-do list are for the spam of a few weeks. One of those list are the crafts I am making for my little.

2. Deep Cleaned My Dorm Room 

When I get busy I let things pile up and don't actually put things away. It's mostly clothes piled at the end of my bed and books covering my desk. I finally dedicated a few hours the other day to just clean my whole room. I was stressing and apparently my new stress reliever is to clean. I organized all he bins under my bed and made a pile of items to bring home over spring break. It felt amazing to have a clean room again.

3. Organized My Notes

This might seem little and a little bit common sense but I had papers and notes everywhere! They were just thrown in a drawer and mixed up. I was always forgetting papers or losing things. I hole punched all the papers and put them into sections in a binder. Now I can't lose anything!

4. Cleaned Up My Files

The files on my laptop were a mess. I had to delete so many things that I didn't need. I than made folders for each of my classes and placed files in them for easy access. It made my laptop faster and neater.

5. Cleaned The Forgotten Places

My roommate and I are going home for spring break in two days (yeah!) and before we leave we deep cleaned some areas of our room. The fridge, microwave, under our beds, and under the rug really needs to be clean. It was so bad and I'm so glad we did it.


How do you stay organized and clean? Any tips you have for me?

xoxo,
Lauren

January Review

January is over already! It's hard to believe that one whole month of 2015 is over. Time is just flying by and I want to slow it down! I thought I would start something new for 2015. I want to just look back at the month and see what happened in my life and some of the things I liked.

Good 

• I moved back to college for my sophomore spring semester. 
• Wore scrubs for the first time 
• Cut 10 and 1/2 inches of my hair and donated it
• Got closer to my Big Big and my Spirit in my sorority 
• Had recruitment and gained 19 new girls 

Bad

• I thought about dropping nursing and had a really rough start to the semester. 
• A close friend's mom passed away from cancer 

Sledgehammer by Fifth Harmony//\\Surrender by Cash Cash//\\Outside by Calvin Harris//\\Weekend by Priory//\\This Is Home by Bryan Lanning//\\You're Never Full Dressed Without A Smile by Sia//\\The Nights by Avicii//\\Heartbeat Song by Kelly Clarkson//\\Something Big by Shawn Mendes//\\Talking Body by Tove Lo

This has been a busy month but a month filled with so much good. Through the good and the bad, I made it to the end of the month and I am proud of that. I'm also proud of myself for staying on top of my daily journaling and questions. Here's to hoping February is just as good. 

xoxo,

Lauren 

Dear Lauren, I Love You

I saw this link up and thought it was just amazing to do especially since it had to do with loving yourself and that is what January is all about over here on Little Lion Gal! Plus, I love writing myself a nice, ole letter.

The link up is a yearly thing where each month you are given a prompt for an activity to do. I read them and they all seem so fun to do! And yes I am adding another yearly challenge to my already busy life. I am going to have to get an assistant to remember everything going on in my life!

Dear Lauren, 

So, like, January is almost over when it feels like just yesterday you were sitting at home waiting to come back to school. It's been one busy month and it isn't even over yet! You are doing great on your yearly and monthly goals. Yeah, maybe you wrote some of your daily journal entires a day or two late or maybe didn't fill in your self love journal one day but it always got done. Life gets busy so don't get down on yourself. 

You are doing amazing at adjusting to being back at school and getting back into class. I know you had some really hard days at the beginning but you pushed through and I am so proud of you for that. Keep your head up and keep moving forward. Things will continue to get better. 

I want you to promise me something. When this month is over I want you to still love yourself like you did this month. You are definitely feeling so much better about yourself this month than ever before. 

And while we are on the topic of promises will you promise me that you will do what makes you happy in 2015. No more doing things because you have to and not because you want to. This year is about you and about making you the happiest person in the world. Life is great when you are happy. 

Until next time,

Me <3 p="">

I'm not sure if I will be doing every month of this challenge but I had fun doing this one so I think I will try to do them. I'll talk to everyone later!

xoxo,

Lauren

There's A Nurse In Me

Source

I have a confession to make. At about the mid-point of winter break I started to think about coming back to school and coming back to class. I knew this semester was going to be hard and it scared me greatly. Doubt started to fill my mind. Could I do this? Did I even want to be a nurse?

At one point I thought about either leaving college all together or switching majors. I cried on the first day of classes because I wasn't happy at all. The second day of classes was the first time I got to wear scrubs and let's just say I had zero excitement. I cried the third day of classes because I just couldn't do any of the work and was so stressed. Since last week (my first week), things have gotten a little better each day. It's a slow process but I am getting there.

It's extremely hard to have doubts about something that you once loved. It's extremely hard to think you had your life together when you no longer do. Actually, its really scary to think about and to have to work through those emotions.

I allowed myself to suppress to my emotions for a week and only a week. After that first week was up I made myself really thinking about what was going on. I thought about why I was feeling that way and came to some realizations. I was more scared about the class than anything else. I was letting fear take over.

Because of the self love month, I was able to come up with an activity that helped me see things a little more clearly. I feel like this could help other people out there even if they aren't a nursing student.  Maybe you're not sure if you want to be a teacher or if you are doing the right thing.

What I did was make a list of all of the reasons why I would make a good nurse. Why I want to continue with school. Here's my list.

Source

I enjoy helping people and that's what nurses do. 

The human body and the medical field interest me a whole ton. 

I have a mothering instinct. 

I have a passion for nursing and you need that. 

It's my dream. 

I am selfless and would do anything for anyone. 

I am good at staying in control when there is chaos. 

So I am taking this and carrying it around with me. I need to be reminded why I am doing what I do. If you are having any doubts about your life choices make a list as to why you would be good at that. It will help I promise! 

xoxo,

Lauren 

P.S. If anyone was wondering I am staying on top of my self love journal and writing one thing down every day. 

I Am Loved

As part of my self love month I am taking a look at the people who love me. Sometimes it is hard to love yourself if you do not feel loved by those around you. I know there are times where I have felt so down on myself because I didn't feel like people loved me. It can be hard at times to see that people love you, especially if the things they do are daily and go unnoticed. Today I want my readers to stop and a make a list of the people that love you. Things long and hard about it. If you want to take it a step farther write down how they show it.

1. My parents

They will do anything for me. Just a few examples include my mom driving things to me in the icy rain and my dad giving my money because I can't work while at school. 

2. My siblings

My sister will ask about my dad or send me a simple text. My brother will listen to me rant and watch Tangled with me. 

3. My aunts and uncles

They always give me tons of advice, ask about how school is, and general just listen to me. 

4. All of my cousins

I have had some drive me back to school and take me out for a girls day. 

5. My grandmother

She always believed in me, listen to me, and gave me all the motivation I needed. 

6. My best friend, Bridget

Even though at times I don't think she is listening to me she always is. She will do random things for me. And if those aren't enough she tells me she loves me. 

7. My best friend, Jill

This girl tells me she loves me, listens to me rant, always helps me through my problems, and doesn't get mad at me when I am mean to her. 

8. My roommate, Erika 

Let's just say I'm not the easiest person to live with. I can be crazy and loud. Erika has spent many nights singing and dancing with me. She has helped me so much, like when I'm too lazy to get up. 

9. My Big, Carolina

She surprises me with her love. She ask how I've been, and puts up with me. She crafted so much me and had me to a point. She has made me a random cake because I just wanted one. 

10. My Big Big, Tori

She's so sweet to me. She has offered to help me with school and actually apologized for breaking a promise because she was sick. 

11. My Spir, Sami

God I love this girl! Sami will tell me how much she loves the crafts I've made for her. She listens to me and laughs with me. 

12. My sorority in general

They do little things like say hi and talk to me about my day and life. Little things that make me feel loved. 

13. My friends, Jeannie, Joann, and Anya

They will listen to me and give me advice. They want to hang out with me and we can just lay around and they won't care. 

In the past few days I have just felt the love. I have felt how much I mean to some people. They show it and don't even now it. It's nice to know that their are people out there that. 

xoxo,

Lauren 

Loving Your Appearance

School hasn't gotten busy yet but I know it will come next week. While I have time I am sitting down to write a little. It's still self love month over here on Little Lion Gal so I thought I would do another post about loving yourself. I am going strong with my journal and always writing down one things I love about myself each day. Watch now I'll jinks myself because I said that. 

Today I want everyone to make a list of all of the things they love about their physical appearance. It is completely ok to love the way you look. I don't find it conceded at all. You have to be happy with yourself for other people to like you. 

1. My short, healthy hair
2. The color of my hair. It catches the light so well. 

3. The shape of my face

4. The color of my eyes

5. My little hands

6. The shape of my legs. Yes this is weird but I love the different the curves in my legs.

7. The way my hips stick out

8. My big butt

9. My skin and all its flaws. It amy not always be clear and that ok. 

10. My chubby toes

11. The size of my breast 

12. My freckles

13. My smile
14. My straight teeth.
15. My weight 

Honestly, I felt so good about myself after writing that list. There was a huge smile on my face and I thought it was such a great idea. My whole attitude changed after that. If you make a list let me know. I would love to see what other people wrote! 

xoxo,

Lauren 

Spring 2015 Goals

I start the Spring semester tomorrow and I am both nervous and happy about this. This is going to be a hard semester for me and it makes me super scared. I like to start each semester with a set of goals for the next coming months. The goals are about both my school work and my life in general.

I’m not one to make New Year’s Resolutions so this is what I do instead. I make resolutions for the semester.

1. Call mom less

I have a tendency to call my mom multiple times a day for no reason. I’ve decided that I will only call her once a day at the end of the day. It will be good for me not to talk to her as much.

2. Go to the library at least once a week.

I only went to the library 4 times and those times were during finals week. Really, I didn’t need to sit at the library because I was able to get my work done in my room. In this semester I think I will go to the library at least once a week to get me into the habit of doing work there and to hopefully get done more work than in my room.

3. Put my phone away when I am doing work

I always have my phone put when I am doing work or studying. It than causes me to not put 100% into my work and be distracted. I plan to have my phone with me but away and on silent. If that doesn’t work I will start to either leave it in my room while I am at the library or turned off and in a drawer while I am in my room.

4. Become more private

I have a problem where I tell everyone everything about my life. It can be good, at times, to be so open but than again you have to have a line that shouldn’t be crossed. Next semester I hope to keep everything to myself and only share some things with close friends.

5. Stop using phone in class

This is a huge one and if I only follow one of these resolutions I hope it is this one. I have a problem of using my phone in class and not paying attention. It causes my grades to not be as high. I will be putting my phone in my bag, on silent, and if that doesn’t work I will start to leave it in my room.

Let me know what your resolutions are whether it is for the New Year or the semester and if you have any tips for completing mine.

xoxo,

Lauren

First "Dive" of 2014

If you read my post a few days ago than you know my word for 2015 is dive. I want to stop overthinking things and just do them. Well, yesterday I took my first "dive" of 2015. I cut all my hair off!

This is something I have been thinking about for almost 5 years now. I have always wanted to cut and donate my hair but never had the courage to do it. For the past few months I have been talking about cutting it and wanting to cut it a whole lot more. To be honest if I had scissors I would have had my hair cut months ago.

December 26 I told myself I was cutting my hair before I went back to school. There was no way I was backing out of it. All I needed was a hair appointment and I'd be set. I thought about it every single day. Like is this the last time I will have a braid? Is this the last bun?

I didn't tell a single soul. Not my friends. Not even my mom who went with me to get it cut. I was afraid of telling people and than changing my mind or feeling like I had to cut my hair after I told people. It took so much pressure off of me.

I love my new hair cut. It makes me look so much more mature and it looks amazingly healthy. Everyone has been loving it so much. Some many people were shocked because I haven't had short hair since pre-highschool but it was a happy shocked.

I'm glad I did it. It makes me so happy that I did something different and went for it.

New Year, New Me

xoxo,
Lauren

Staying Organized In Class

In order to do well in school you really need to be organized. If you have a mess desk or school bag it's hard to find things. If you just have papers thrown everywhere you will lose things, sometimes important things.

With the new semester starting I thought I would give my readers a few tips on how to stay organized throughout the semester. Staying organized is the key to success.

1. Use a planner

Planners are my life. I write everything down in them from school work to sorority events to daily reminders. My planner with this year is one from Target and my planner from last year was a Lilly Pulitzer planner. I will probably switch over to a Lilly Pulitzer planner in August.

2. Write all your assignments down in your planner right away

As soon as I print out my syllabus I write down every assignment, test, paper, and quiz for the whole semester on the day it is due. I never forget anything or have to worry about going back and looking at my syllabus.

3. Have one binder to keep all your general class information in

I have a binder where I put the syllabus for each class along with a grade tracker and an overview sheet of each class. Its easy for me to see my grades in one place and for me to be able to take out the binder if I need to look up say a professors office hours.

4. Have one copybook and one folder for each class

I don't like to mix my papers from multiple classes in the same folder. It gets confusing and mess. If you have one for each you can stay organized.

5. Color code each class

At the beginning of the semester I pick one color for each class. I then get a folder and copybook for that class. I also write all of assignments in my planner in the matching color. at the beginning it can be hard to remember but class is what color but within a week I have it down.

6. Make a weekly to do list

I like to make a list on Sunday night of all of the assignments I have due that week. It makes me less overwhelmed because I am only looking at a weeks worth of assignments and if I need to I can look just at one day. Some weeks I make the list on Wednesday or Thursday that way I can work on it over the weekend.

These are just the main things that keep me organized throughout the semester. When you have a busy schedule and a lot on your mind it is key to stay organized. Tell me any tips you have to stay organized throughout the semester. I am always open to new ideas!

xoxo,
Lauren

How To Do Well In College

For many people the spring semester starts in the week to come. I know I will be back to hitting the books come 9 am Monday morning! Last semester I did extremely well and I also did extremely well in my summer classes. My grades really improved since my first year of college and I think that has to do, in part, with the changes I made to my study and life habits. I'm here to share some of my tips for doing well this semester.

1. Stay organized

A messy room leaves for a messy life. It's that simply. In order for me to stay on top of things I need to stay organized. Tomorrow I will tell you my detailed tips on how to stay organized for class. Look out for that.

2. Stop procrastinating  

I know everyone says this but its true! I started doing my assignments a few days before they were due and the difference it made was amazing. For one, I was less stressed and two, things were done faster and they were also done better because I wasn't rushing to finish them.

3. Read the textbook! 

I never read the textbook because it was always boring and took so much time. Than I started reading the textbook and I understood things better. I was able to keep it up for more than half the semester and I would that my grades were better when I read the textbooks than when I didn't.

4. Find a place to study 

Some people can only study or do homework in the library. Others can sit at their desk in their room and do homework just fine. I didn't really have a problem doing homework this semester in my room but last year I could only get work done at the library. Find that one place that works for you and go there the whole semester!

5. Cut out distractions

This was probably my biggest change from last year to this year. I got rid of things and people that distracted me from my work. If your friends are distracted to you don't do your work with them. If you are distracted by your phone but it away in a place you can't see it and won't hear it.

I hope everyone has a good semester. If you have any tips on how to do well this semester that I missed tell me in the comments below!

xoxo,
Lauren

I Am...

In January I am looking at myself and really seeing what I love about myself. I am going deep down to really see every aspect of my life. This activity is a combination of a project from grade school and a pin on pinterest of positive words.    

What you do is start by writing I am at the top of your blog post or piece of paper. Than write down everything you are after that. Are you smart? Are you positive? Are you an artist? Are you a good writer? Think of all the things you are. It really makes you think positively and think about all of your good traits.

I am…

Smart

Positive

Hardworking

Caring

Loving

Forgiving

Funny

Courageous

Selfless

Worthy

Creative

Thoughtful

Brave

Sacrificial

Open-minded

Talented

Strong

Interesting

Beautiful

Perfect

Wonderful

Keep the list going. Write down as much as you can think of making sure you look at every aspect of your life. If you write this on a piece of paper you can add to it whenever you think of something. I am going to write this on paper and add every time I think of something.

xoxo,

Lauren

Self Love Journal

I made this simple, quick journey to go along with my self-love month. One thing I am doing every day this month is to write down something that I love about myself that day. Instead of writing it on a piece of paper I made this little book with a  page for each day.

Supplies

Paper (construction, computer, scrapbook, etc.)

Ribbon

Markers/Pens/Crayons

Hole Punch

Optional

Stickers

Pictures

First cut the paper into smaller sizes. The book can be whatever you want it to be. My paper was already cut so I skipped this step. I wanted mine to be almost like a pocket book. You are going to need 17 pages.

Than hole punch a hole in the top and the bottom of each piece of paper. Make sure that the hole is in the same spot on all of the pages.

Next write the date at the top of each page (January 1, January 2, etc.) You can write Thursday, January 1 or just write January 1. It’s up to you. If you want you can use stickers too.

Decorate your cover however you want using stickers or drawings and than tie the pages together with ribbon.

It will take you almost no time to make this. It is also really cheap if you already have the supplies like I did. If you make a journal I would love to see them.

xoxo,
Lauren

P.S. Leave the book in view so you remember to write down one thing you love about yourself each day.