Embrace Your Inner White Girl

With each passing day, I notice more and more people being engulfed by a modern epidemic (ok, I'm exaggerating a bit) and not doing anything to stop it. What is this epidemic? Basic White Girl Syndrome. I named it myself; clever isn't it? BWGS isn't only for females as the name might suggest. As much as they do not want to admit it, some boys can be classified as basic white girls. This syndrome has taken over boys and girls all over the country. What constitutes a basic white girl? Many different things. If you find yourself fitting into any of these descriptions, congratulations (I think), you're an official Basic White Girl!

First of all, every BWG has an iPhone. How else would we (yes, I have diagnosed myself with the syndrome) be able to document every moment of our lives on Instagram and Twitter? Androids are lame. If it takes you longer to edit/pick a filter for your picture than it took you to actually take your picture, then the syndrome is only getting worse. I'll admit it...I paid $1.99 for my picture editing app. Sad, I know. But, it is the most amazing app ever and I recommend that everyone download it! (Camera+, currently $2.99 in the Apple App Store). You may also want to download Squaready (free...yay!) so your Insta pictures can have nice white boarders...ok done with that. Oh, and every BWG understands the struggle of coming up with an Instagram caption for their picture...it has to be clever. How else are you going to stack likes? 

Another symptom is the love of having Starbucks in public. Does holding your grande iced coffee or tall frappuccino give you a sense of confidence? I don't know about you, but when I walk around campus holding my Starbucks, I feel as if nothing can stop me (except a long-boarder crashing into me). We live in a world where an overpriced plastic coffee cup portrays "coolness" like nothing else. I'm weirdly ok with that. 

Next comes the obvious love of all things pumpkin. Every BWG has to have everything pumpkin during the holiday season. Pumpkin Spice Lattes, pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins, etc. And you must go to your local pumpkin patch and take a picture surrounded by all the fall vegetables. If there's no picture, did it really happen? There's no way we can risk our 500+ followers on social media not knowing we went to a pumpkin patch during Fall... their lives wouldn't be complete. 

Another characteristic many BWGs share is the struggle for Instagram likes/ Twitter retweets. As much as NOBODY wants to admit, we get upset when our pictures don't get as many likes as we thought they would. And we all have that magic "keep or delete" number. Your like-to-minute ratio must always be on par. If you know me, you know my obsession with Twitter is #nojoke. I take my tweets very seriously and I do sometimes get sad when I don't get RTs (retweets) on a tweet I thought was worthy of them. As sad as that it, it's all a part of BWGS. 

How many of you own an entire Nike workout wardrobe? How many of you actually work out? That's what I thought. Although many of us do take the time to go to the gym, plenty of the BWGs out there just wear nike to look cute. Nike Free Runs are also a must for every day activities; not actual running. I'm currently wearing Nike Pro Combat shorts, guess where I'm going later? Chipotle, not the gym (stressful week, I'll be back on track next week). Speaking of Chipotle, that leads me to the next symptom: unexplainable Chipotle obsession. 

Even though we've all tasted authentic, delicious Mexican food (especially those of us from Miami), Chipotle never seems to disappoint. Those of you who have Vine accounts have probably seen the famous little boy imitating BWGs all over by saying, "I love Chipotle, Chipotle's my liiife." I don't even know how this became part of the syndrome, but it has. If your Chipotle obsession has led you to uploading a picture of your burrito onto Twitter, congrats, you're a BWG. 

The list of Basic White Girl symptoms goes on and on, and I'd be here forever listing them all. If you think of any good ones, feel free to message me and I'll add them to my list! Don't be ashamed of your inner Basic White Girl; embrace it! Boys, I'm talking to you too. Maybe don't express it as much as your female peers, but it's ok for everyone to have a little bit of BWG in them. Who knows when this epidemic (there I go exaggerating again) will end? As for now, I'm going to live each day as the Basic White Girl I am loud and proud. 

Xoxo (my basic way of closing this post),

NG

P.S. If you find yourself suffering from FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) and constantly quoting Mean Girls, there's no escaping BWGS. 

The Tweet That Led To A Blog Post

Earlier today, I noticed that a lot of the actions we take are to make other people happy. A lot of us get good grades to impress our parents. A lot of us wear certain clothes to impress certain people. A lot of us throw away things we believe in to fit in with a particular crowd. We do so much for other people and forget that it's our life, not theirs. I think everyone needs to start doing things that make THEM happy, and make THEM the people they're meant to be. 

I'm currently in the process of applying to a different university. At first, my family wasn't too thrilled about the idea. They thought I was being impulsive and irrational. After talking to them, I was finally able to get through to them (kind of). Although I am not unhappy with my current situation, I do feel like I could be happier somewhere else. I don't feel like this is where I'm supposed to be. I'm a firm believer in the cliché phrase, "Everything happens for a reason," so I know this year is just a part of my life journey. Hopefully next Fall I'm where I'm supposed to be, not where everyone else wants me to be. 

Why did I share that story? It's simple: if I stay here and don't try to do what I think is right, I'll simply be doing that to satisfy everyone else. As I tweeted earlier today, I'm going to start making decisions that make ME happy, not anyone else (Rational decisions, of course. I'm not planning on doing anything crazy or irrational.). 

I think we should all start making decisions with ourselves in mind first. Let's get good grades for our own self satisfaction. Wear whatever makes you feel good, not the person looking at you. Don't throw away your values to fit in with people who you think you belong with. If you have to change who you are, then you aren't swimming towards the right crowd. We need to stop living for others and start living for ourselves. Don't take this as me advising to disregard others' opinions; rather, keep them in mind, and use people's opinions, advice, and suggestions to shape your life in a way that you think will be most beneficial. 

Start tomorrow by doing something good for you and only you. Don't do it for your parents, or your best friend, or your boyfriend. Live your life your way. You only live once (that's the motto, isn't it?), so don't miss out on anything you think will impact your life in a positive way because you were too busy living for someone else's satisfaction. 

Goodnight cyber-world!

NG

Road Trip Tips

When I got home today, I was so happy to see my room. On Friday, I took a (mini- it only took two hours) road trip to visit some friends in Gainesville. I stayed in my friend's apartment which is really nice and spacious, so I really have no complaints about my sleeping arrangement or living experience for the past few days. Although this weekend was filled with long time friends and endless laughs, I was extremely happy to be home and to be able to rest. This road trip was a short one, but I understand that some road trips take more than two hours. There are a few things I discovered which make these trips go by a little faster. Here are some useful tips to ensure you have a fun, safe road trip no matter where you're headed!

1. Have a good playlist. We all know that point in a road trip where our favorite radio stations start sounding like pure static. Once that happens, have a fun playlist ready on your phone or iPod so you have something to listen to for the rest of your trip. My favorite types of songs to listen to while driving are old songs I grew up listening to, or songs that are fun to sing along to.

2. Make sure you have water and a snack. I don't know about you, but I'm always drinking water. Keep a bottled water and a snack that's easy to eat with you so that you can avoid stopping unless you really need to. It's a waste of time to just stop because you were hungry/thirsty! I tend to bring Brookside chocolate covered pomegranates with me on road trips. Try them! They're a great blend of dark chocolate and fruit flavors.

3. Try to have a friend with you. No one likes to drive alone, especially if your destination is far away. College kids are usually always up for a trip, so just ask around to see who wouldn't mind tagging along! Ask them if they could split gas money with you, every penny counts!

4. Don't text and drive. The highways are a scary place to drive, especially when you're driving fast to try to get to your destination. Avoid causing accidents by not using your cell phone while you're driving. As much as we hear this: It can wait. Make sure your phone volume is loud if you're using it's GPS system so you can have the phone down next to you and you don't have to have it in your hand.

5. Make the best of it! Although a two hour drive really isn't that bad, I can imagine how boring and tiring the longer road trips can get. If you're riding with a friend, take turns driving so you get some time to rest. Have fun, and get to know the person you're riding with if they aren't already your best friend. You never know how much you don't know about a person, and you might as well get to know them during your 6+ hour drive. Who knows, maybe you'll find out really interesting things!

I'm taking another road trip this upcoming Friday, so hopefully these tips make it easier for me. Comment or send me a message if you have any other tips/ideas on how to have the best road trip!

Happy traveling!

NG

The Happy Month

The time has finally come. October. Just hearing the word brightens my day. For years now, the month of October has brought me so many feelings of happiness for no particular reason. Maybe it's because Fall starts (those of you in Miami can pretend). Maybe it's seeing everyone decorate their houses for Halloween. Whatever the reason may be, the month of October never ceases to bring joy to my years.

This October is going to be an exciting one in my book. First off, I'm spending my first weekend of the month back home with all my best friends and family. Who wouldn't be happy? The following weekend I'm making a trip to Gainesville to visit my best friend (yay!), and the weekend after that I'm making a trip to Tallahassee to visit another best friend and watch the FSU vs. Notre Dame game. Can you feel the excitement?! I'm sad to say that between all the mini weekend vacations I won't have time to go to Halloween Horror Nights for the first time in the past four years (insert sad-face emoji). If you go, ride the Rip Ride Rockit for me. Quick tip: choose Stronger by Kanye West as your song... I promise it makes the thrilling roller coaster ten times more fun.

So, the countdown to Halloween begins. No matter what you do to celebrate the holiday, it's always fun to dress up and spend time with good company. Wouldn't it be nice if it wasn't weird for us older kids to trick-or-treat? You don't come around free candy that much in college...or anything free for that matter. That reminds me... I need to buy a costume! Every girl loves dressing up for halloween. I wonder how many cats and bunnies I'll encounter this year... Get creative girls!

I challenge all of you to embrace the month of October as much as you can. Find your own reasons to be grateful for this month. Do you ever just get a feeling of happiness when hearing a certain song or thinking about a specific memory? That's how I tend to feel about October. There really is no concrete reason; it just brings a sense of serenity and joy to my year. It's a new month: start fresh! Get rid of all the built up stress and just have an enjoyable month. Take a break from every day drama and sit back and watch the leaves change (if that happens where you're from). Hopefully my new city will give me reasons to wear all the winter clothes I felt necessary to buy while living in a city with no winter season.

Happy October!

NG

P.S. October calls for all things pumpkin! If you've never tried it, take this as an opportunity to try something new! I do not think you'll regret it. If you're a coffee drinker and you have avoided tasting Starbucks's infamous Pumpkin Spice Latte, put your pride aside and make one of the best decisions of your life. If coffee isn't your thing, pick up a pumpkin loaf at your local super market! I recently tasted Entenmann's Pumpkin Loaf and I have to say that I found my new obsession. It goes great alone or paired with any warm drink.