6 Tips to Combat Stress

Fall is in the air, leaves are covering the ground, and pumpkin spice lattes are fill all the Starbucks with their aromas. It’s hard not to love fall, unless you’re a college student reaching the end of your semester. Then your fall is made up of term papers, tests, and endless all-nighters, and stress may be at an all-time high. You can’t let that stress consume you though, and that's why this post is focused on 6 ways to end your stress. 

3 Things Fun Things to do in Kentucky this Weekend

This post is dedicated to anyone living in Kentucky, around Kentucky, or those who plan on visiting Kentucky soon. For those of you who reading this that do not fall in any of these categories, you really need to fix that because you’re missing out on one of the most awesome states in the US. If after reading this you don’t think so, then the rest of us will have fun without you.

Go Spelunking: For those of you who were not raised in an area with a lot of caves, the word spelunking means to go exploring a cave or series of caves, and Kentucky is home to the best places to spelunk in the world. With the longest cave system in the world running across the state, there is a cave experience for everyone. You can enjoy zip lining through the stalagmites and stalactites at the Louisville Mega Caverns, boat across Lost River Cave in Bowling Green, or hike across the massive caves at Mammoth Cave National Park. They are also great places to take a break from the summer heat and make for some envy inducing selfies.

Visit a Distillery: Whether you’re a bourbon enthusiast, a history fan, or just like seeing how things are made, a bourbon distillery is a great place to visit. When you visit a place like Buffalo Trace or Four Roses, or anywhere on the bourbon trail, you get to see how tradition, art, and science blend together to make this unique Kentucky spirit, while also getting to sample some of the small batches of bourbon that you can’t get outside of the distillery. If you’re lucky, during the tour, you may get to meet the master distiller, who will not tell you different stories about the bourbons, but may also give you great advice on what to pair different bourbons with.

Catch a Horse Race…or Four: No post about Kentucky would be complete without mentioning some form of horseracing, and I’m pretty sure half the state would scold me if I didn’t mention this, and for good reason. If you’re looking for an excuse to go out, dress spectacularly, have a Mint Julep or a Lilly and win some money, then look no further the horse tracks across Kentucky. Each of the 6 tracks across the state are set up beautifully, but my personal favorites are Churchill Downs and Keeneland because those tracks have the best views of the horses and still have the traditional track set ups. You can also tour the grounds of some of the older tracks during the off season and hear some fascinating stories about Kentucky’s horseracing history.

Are there any Kentucky experiences that you think no one should miss out on? Let us know in the comments and I may include in one of my posts.

4 Books You Need to Read Before Summer Ends

Are you stuck in a reading rut? Are you trying to find a book that keeps you entertained, yet is also very thought provoking? As someone who loves to read and gets easily bored during the summer, I know the challenges of finding a good book to read during the sunny summer days. This is why I have dedicated this post to 4 books that will keep you reading well after the summer sun sets.

 

       

How to Be a Heroine: Or, What I've Learned from Reading too Much by: Samantha Ellis: If you explored the lands of Terra Haute with Scarlett or pushed through life’s hardships with Anne, then you will love this piece by Samantha Ellis. In each chapter she reexamines the classic heroines in her life that helped shape her adolescence and view of feminism. She gives a refreshing perspective on each character and even admits that some of the characters she idolized as a teenager were not the pictures of perfection she once thought. This book is great for anyone who wants an entertaining perspective on the classics and how they relate to the modern day!

Pride and Prejudice: By Jane Austen: I know! I know! Any Janeites reading this may be thinking, I’ve already read this, why on earth are you suggesting something I’ve read a million times? I completely get it, but this book is on the list for anyone who felt that it was over-hyped when they were younger (*cough*me*cough*) and tried reading it. For those of you who fall in that category, trust me, I get that feeling, but the book I mentioned above convinced me to give this novel a second chance. If you read it after reading the first book on the list, in which a Janeite openly criticizes certain parts of the story, then you will probably actually enjoy reading Jane Austen, I promise.

Adulting: How to Become a Grown-up in 468 Easy(ish) Steps: By: Kelly Williams Brown: If you’re the kind of reader that wants to learn how to do something while you read, then this book is for you. This book is a life saver! The author openly admits that being an adult is hard, but that you will survive it. Each section is dedicated to teaching a practical skill that you wished you were taught in school without sounding condescending. The author even includes some funny horror stories of how she picked up these skills, because as she mentions several times throughout the book that nobody is perfect.

A Man Called Intrepid: The Incredible True Story of the Master Spy Who Helped Win World War II: By: William Stevenson: If you’re a big fan of James Bond, thrillers, and spy novels, then you’ll love this book. It focuses on the formation of the different intelligence agencies formed by the Allies during World War II and everything that went into winning the war. It covers everything from the events leading up to World War II, to the cracking of Enigma, and much, much more. This book gives you a unique view of World War II that you never got in the classroom!

Are there any books you think are must reads? Feel free to leave any suggestions in the comments and I may put add them in!

4 Things to do to End Your Summer Boredom

For those of us who are in college or have their peak seasons during the rest of the year summer boredom can drive us mad. Our brains and bodies have grown so used to the stress and creativity required for our busy times that during the summer we feel weird not doing something that feels productive. That is why I am dedicating this post to my top four things to prevent summer boredom.

1.  Learn Another Skill: Whether it be learning to cook Spanish cuisine through the Food Network or tackling a free online coding class, learning a new skill can be very rewarding. You’ll become even more talented than you already are and end up creating possible gifts or meals along the way.
   
2. Learn Another Language: I know, I know, learning another language  is technically learning another skill, but this is more than just learning a new skill, it’s giving you an excuse to finally learn Italian, so when you ask for directions in the Tuscany countryside you don’t end up in Rome. 
   
3. Get Crafty: Maybe you've always wanted to learn to knit or how to make your own jewelry, and the free time that you have during the summer is a great excuse to start these projects. You can go to classes around the city or use craft videos to help you learn where to start.
   
4. Read Your Heart Out: So maybe you were too busy during the rest of the year to read that best seller that grabbed your eye, the extra daylight hours give you the chance to get a jump start on your reading list. Summer also gives you the chance to read all of those classics you said you read in high school, so you will no longer have to fake your way through discussions about Jane Austen.

Which of these things will you do this summer? Is there something that you think should be added to this list? Post any comments or questions you'd like to share in the comments section or on Facebook.

How to Negotiate Your Salary

Hey everyone, welcome to part two of 10 Things I Wish They Taught Me in College, How to Negotiate Your Salary. For many people, the past few weekends have been focusing on college graduation and with the finale of your college career came that feeling of panic of finding a job. While finding a job you love is your main focus, you would also like to avoid living out of a cardboard box, eating ramen, because you are unable to pay back student loans. Never fear, I have researched far and wide to help you negotiate a good salary for the job of your dreams!!

Research, Research, Research: Like many other things in life, negotiating your salary requires some prep work. Use websites like Glassdoor to look up the average income of people with the job title you are trying to achieve in your section of the country. Then look up the company itself on Glassdoor and find more about the amount people with titles similar to your potential job make. This will give a good idea on what kind of salary amount you can feasibly negotiate with for this specific position.

State Your Number Clearly: What do I mean when I say state your number clearly? I mean that you must tell the employer the amount you would like to make with a distinct number, instead of saying a general ball park. You should state this number in an assertive tone and make eye contact when you state your amount.

Counter Offer the Counter Offer: Remember, if the prospective employer gives you an opportunity to negotiate, then this means they want you, and are usually willing to negotiate further to get you. If the employer is adamant about being unable to pay you your goal salary, then negotiate for job perks, like extra vacation time, or a larger annual bonus. Just please keep your negotiations realistic.

Be Polite: This one should go without saying, but please be polite to the person you are negotiating with. The negotiator is a human being who is most likely not out to get you, so don’t be evil to them. Remember that you may be working with this person in the future.

I hope that these tips help those of you out there currently on a job hunt. Do any of you have any negotiating tips that you found helpful? If so, please feel free to leave them in the comments.

How to Choose the Healthcare That Is Best For You

Hello again everyone, and welcome to the start of my first miniseries: 10 Things I Wish They Taught Me in College, or TWTTC. Since most recent college graduates join the workforce in the summer months, I have decided to focus my first post on one of the most important decisions you must make when starting a new job, choosing the best health insurance for you. If you are anything like me, then you have probably never been taught what the differences between PPO coverage and HMO coverage, even though this is something that we will all need to know at some point in our lives. This is why I have decided to do the research for you guys.

According to the Humana and Medical Mutual websites there are a few key differences between a PPO policy and an HMO policy. Here are the main things that vary between PPO and HMO plans:

PPO:

·      PPOs do not require you to have a PCP (primary care physician) referral to cover the cost of seeing an specialist

·      You are still provided some form of coverage when you go to a medical facility outside of your network area, although you will pay a little more than if you go to a facility within a coverage area

·      If you go to an out of network healthcare provider, you may have to file a claim to get reimbursed for your expenses

·      Monthly Premiums tend to be higher than those of HMO plans and there is usually a sizeable deductible

HMO

·      PCP (primary care physician) referrals are required to receive coverage for a trip to a specialist

·      There is no out of network coverage for healthcare

·      Lower monthly premiums and deductibles than PPO plans

So which plan should you go with? Well, most of this will depend on the area you live in and which insurance company is your provider. If you live in a rural area or an area where you are considered out of network for most healthcare facilities, then I would recommend choosing a PPO plan because it provides you with more flexibility. If you live in a city or an area where the vast majority of healthcare facilities fall under your network, then I would recommend choosing an HMO plan.

I hope you guys have found this information helpful. Do you have any recommendations for choosing a healthcare plan? If so, please leave your advice in the comments.

10 Things I Wish They Taught Me In College

          Hello everyone, I’m very sorry that this post is so short, but I felt it was important to announce my new miniseries, the 10 Things I Wish They Taught Me in College. This series of posts will focus on all of the things that you need to know how to do in life, but were never taught in school. I will be discussing how to do your taxes, how to find a great apartment, and many other things. New posts will appear every week for the next ten weeks. Check it out!

3 Ways To Decorate You're Apartment Without Getting Evicted

Whether you’re getting ready to move into a new place or just want to change things, choosing how to decorate your apartment can be a daunting task. You don’t want to violate your lease agreement, but you also don’t want to sacrifice your sense of style. Never fear, here are 3 tips to help you decorate your apartment without getting evicted.

Take Advantage of Wall Decals: If you live in an apartment complex that doesn’t allow you to drill holes to hang up artwork but are tired of the same dingy, white walls, then invest in artwork that is easy to remove. They will transform you wall from drab to fab and are easy to assemble!

Throw Around Some Throw Pillows: If you want to add color to a room, but aren’t allowed to paint the walls anything other than white, then I recommend investing in throw pillows. They come thousands of different colors and designs and are easy to mix and match with each other if you want to change the theme of your room.

Show Off Your Statement Pieces: If you’ve been treasuring an adorably random paperweight in your bedroom because it doesn’t match your current décor, then just stop. Bring out that little statement piece and show it off in your living room, it’s a piece that means something to you. It shows off your personality and that alone will make your piece fit in with the room.

Are there any tips you would like everyone to know about decorating their apartment? Let us know in the comments and I might include it in one of my posts! I hope you’ve found these tips helpful, now go forth and decorate!

2 Social Media Trends to Watch For

Social media is an ever-changing medium, which can make it difficult to predict what will be the next big platform and what will be the next big flop. This makes it hard to choose what new platforms you should join immediately and what new platforms you can ignore when it comes to advertising. However, there are two general trends that you can use as a guide to help you predict what will be the next big social media platform.

1. Smaller Social Viewing Sphere: In the past few years, the new social media capabilities that have become popular have focused on limiting the number of people who can see personal messages. When Snapchat provided the option to send stories to only certain people Facebook and Twitter followed behind them by creating Messenger and Twitter direct messaging, both of which are used to create and send private messages to people.

2. Visual: With the rise in capabilities of taking high resolution images on your smart phone came the want to post and view pictures of everything on the internet. The most clicked content on social networks tend to have great photos, GIFs, or videos that convince users to pause their scrolling long enough to read the post. With the rise in popularity of different GIFs and memes, not to mention livestreaming, good visual communication will be a very important aspect to upcoming social networks.

I hope that this post helps you prepare for choosing your next social media platform. Do you have any trends you expect to see on social media in the future? Let me know and I may include them in one of my posts.

3 Tips to End Your Writer's Block

Writer’s block, the two words that every can make every student cringe with anxiety. It can creep up at the worst possible times, whether it be before a major assignment is due or when you just want to write for enjoyment, writer’s block disrupts your train of thought. That is why I have decided to dedicate this blog post to four ways to combat writer’s block.

1. Map it Out: If you are having trouble writing an assignment, but know the general things you need done, then make a map. When I am suffering from writer’s block, I create a bubble web of the main things that I need to accomplish. Then I connect some of my ideas for each section and mark out the ones that won’t flow in the finished project. (If you like going the more traditional route, then you can do a traditional outline like this one.)

2. Take a Shower: Yes, this may sound bizarre, but doing some menial task like showering can help get your creative juices flowing. If you just showered, are away from your bathroom, or just don’t want to take a shower at this time, you can try going for a walk, doing laundry, or another task that doesn’t require the majority of your focus.

3. Steer Into the Skid: If the project you’re working on lets you choose the subject, then you can write about your writer’s block or procrastination. This will allow you to express your unique perspective on the subject.

I hope you found these tips helpful. What do you do to combat writer’s block? Please share your answer in the comments and check back next week for how to decorate your apartment on a budget.

3 Tools to Help You Learn Social Media Advertising

Social media advertising has become very popular in the fast few years because of its affordability and its level of reach compared to traditional advertising. It can be a great resource for small businesses who don’t have the budget for traditional media, but correctly navigating the advertising capabilities on different platforms can be difficult to manage. That is why today’s post is on 3 different tools to help you learn social media advertising.

1. Hootsuite University: I’ve discussed the benefits of Hootsuite in one of my previous articles, but I feel the need to emphasize the importance of Hootsuite University. Hootsuite University offers and entire section of tutorials on commerce marketing and optimizing your reach on different social media platforms. They even include a social media performance worksheets to follow along with the tutorials. I will warn you that to have access to Hootsuite University you have to be part of the Hootsuite Pro Plan which is $9.99 a month. 
   
2. Facebook Blueprint: Another good tool to take advantage of is Blueprint, the new advertising school for Facebook. This option is free and includes 50 modules to help you familiarize yourself with Facebook’s advertising section and what best advertising practices you should follow.
   
3. Twitter Flight School: This tool, launched two months ago, is perfect if you are trying to figure out effective Twitter advertising. It’s free and gives you access to good advertising case studies to help you figure out how to project your brand voice on Twitter.

I hope these three tools help you and please be aware that there are many other resources you can use for learning social media advertising. Do you have any social media tools you would recommend? If so please tell us about your favorites in the comments.

Get Your Opinions Heard!

Hey everyone, this week instead of doing a post where you guys are just the audience, I want to hear from you! I want to find what you guys like about this blog, what you don’t like, what you would like to see more of, and what you would like to see less of! Please let your opinions be heard by filling out this survey, messaging me on  Twitter, talking to me on Facebook, or feel free to do all three. Thank you so much for your support, I will love hearing from you guys!

3 Resume Tips That Will Help Wow Employers

Hello again, my readers, my fans, and everyone my mom forced to read this blog! Welcome back to the Millennial’s Survival Guide to College. This week’s post is focused on something very important to students looking for internships and jobs after, resume building. Hopefully by now you know the basics of what to include on your resume, because today we are focusing on three tips that will help your resume stand out.

1. Get Creative: Recruiters see anywhere between dozens to hundreds of applications a week, and most of them have one thing in common, they are in black and white. If you want to wow your potential employers with your creativity, put your graphic design skills to work with Canva. Canva lets you create your own twist on a resume by providing you with templates like the one above to help guide your creative juices in a professional manner. You can go the traditional route and use the resume template or if you are feeling really creative you can create your own resume infographic!

2. Include Your Social Media: Many employers are going to scour the internet anyway, so you might as well use social media to your advantage. You should include at least a link to your LinkedIn profile and to your Twitter account, because they are the two main platforms that most people leave available for everyone to access. Having your LinkedIn page available will also allow employers to view projects that you have worked on, which may help you get the job.

3. Include Links to Projects: If you are submitting your resume online and would like to include any projects or writing samples on your resume for them to click through to. This works especially well if you are trying to show off any social media campaigns you led or if you want to show off your writing skills through your blog.

I hope that this advice will help those of you applying for internships and careers. If you have any questions or comments for me, then you can post them in the comments or tweet me, my Twitter handle is @JoieBieger. Stay tuned next week for tips on how to survive the last few weeks of the semester.

3 Distractions to Help Deal with Stress at the End of the Semester

The end of the semester is coming up for many of you guys, and while I am sure that you are excited about classes wrapping up, the end of semester can be a very stressful time. That is why I am dedicating this week’s post to three distractions that will help you keep your sanity at the end of the semester. Hopefully these three distractions will help make the stress of end of semester projects more bearable.

1. Hiking: It’s no secret that physical activity helps relieve stress, but going to the gym might not be your cup of tea when it comes to exercising. Now that spring has finally arrived, it’s time to take advantage of parks near you and going for a nice spring hike. It will give you a chance to see the beauty that spring has to offer and to get your daily dose of vitamin D.

2. Game Night: Another great way to relieve end of semester stress is by doing a friend game night. You can play games like Cards Against Humanity or Quelf that will help you make each other laugh and temporarily forget about different stressful projects. These games are also great to for creating inside jokes that will make you guys laugh for years to come.

3. Spa Day: If my first two suggestions aren’t good stress relievers for you, then try a spa day. You can pamper yourself by doing facemasks, getting massages, doing your nails, and binge watching your favorite TV show. By the end of the day, you’ll be so relaxed that you’ll be ready to take on the world.

I hope these tips help you find a great feeling of relaxation. If you would like more tips on how to deal with stress during the semester, then check out my previous post on stress management. What do you do to relieve stress?