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Apr 25 2012
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Life

Renee Vandermause – Journey To The Edge

Hey y’all!

Remember when I wrote a post a couple weeks back about the wonderful people I go to school with? I mean you’ve sort of seen an example of that in Yow Yow’s guest posts, but now I would like to introduce you to someone lovely in a new format. Not too long ago, Seattle University had the opportunity to host TEDx and one of my peers, Renee Vandermause, gave a talk.

Renee is someone that I don’t interact with very often, but I pretty much think the world of her. Along with being a Civil and Environment Engineering student, she has dedicated a great deal of her time to service through Professionals Without Borders and leading and participating in immersions. She is someone that I find inspiring on campus and I wanted to be able to share this video of her spreading this important message.

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Apr 25 2012
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Life

The Past Couple of Weeks

The presence on Yow Yow! has been somewhat non-existent for the past couple of weeks and while I am sure some of you may be disappointed by that missing out on news and what not, I am…not!

These past couple of weeks have been the most fun I have had in awhile. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed this hard. I’ve never danced so freely. I’ve never scurried so fast between meetings, class, work, hangouts, etc, but I’ve managed to love every minute of it.

In the past two weeks, I have celebrated birthdays and spent time with the most wonderful company I keep. This past week, I found stability – on my own two feet. When I define support, I don’t think of money or compensation. That’s like the cop-out way of thinking of things. I prefer to just stick it to the man, you know? I think of the people around you that are willing to stand by you no matter what and I think of  what it means to support and believe in myself.

Even though I’m enjoying my last quarter of senior year to the fullest, there are still aspects in my life that are not fully developed. I am not an adult – not yet anyway.

Here’s why:

  1. I can’t change a tire
  2. I can’t take the bus by myself without feeling slightly uncomfortable
  3. I don’t know how to file taxes
  4. I don’t like cooking meat
  5. I like my stuffed animals (in my defense, they were GIFTS, okay?!)

I wish I could say that by the time I graduate, I will have all these answers – but let’s be real – I don’t want those answers. When college is over, it’s over. I am living in bliss and while I know that reality is near and that I am somewhat prepared for it, I think that I’m pretty happy right now and that’s the state I want to and should be in.

Plus, I’ve just got a lot on my plate right now so yeah, that might be the reason why Yow Yow! is lacking.

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Apr 22 2012
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Culture, Life, People

Thought Catalog Roundup

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Apr 22 2012
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Life

Prom’s Price Tag

I recently read an article from USA Today in which they calculated how much prom is costing for high school students in 2012. According to the survey they conducted, the average price is $1,078. I’m sorry, but that is just downright ridiculous. Prom, though memorable and a milestone on its own has this magical aura about it, but it doesn’t need to cost that much.

Teenage girls – (because I know that the guys aren’t as focused on trying to spend this much) here is what I am telling you. Prom is not the prerequisite to your wedding. I mean if anything, that’s what you should be saving up for. But prom? No.

Since you haven’t had your prom yet, let me shed some light on the truth behind it.

  • You’re probably going to wear your prom dress once and that’s it. If you were planning on buying your dress from those Prom magazines, there is no other occasion that will be appropriate for you to be wearing that dress. I was able to get two wears out of my prom dress by wearing it at a wedding.
  • You will lose your corsage before you even get to the dance or get tired of having a branch attached to your wrist blossoming out of you.
  • You’re going to look at your pictures once after they get printed and never again. Oh, is that your high school sweetheart? That’s so cute…and where are they in your life now?
  • You’re going to eat half of your food. I’m not sure why high school students feel the need to drop moneys on the best restaurant ever, but at 18 you just don’t know how to fully appreciate food. I would be so much more excited about eating at the Metropolitan Grill today than I would be when I was 18.
  • Okay. The limo is worth it.

Check out the entire breakdown by USA Today here.

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Apr 20 2012
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Life, People

{Guest Post} By Andrea Augustinas

Embrace Your Inner Nerd

If you know me you know I’m not someone who pretends to have a lot of advice or wisdom to dispense, but in my travels I’ve cultivated one nugget of pseudo-wisdom:  one surefire way to help yourself “make it” in the “real world” is something I like to call embracing your inner nerd.  And no, I don’t mean buying yourself a pair of coke bottle glasses or quoting obscure books at your friends (trust me, it’s not charming).   I’m talking about immersing yourself in something(s) you love that most people don’t spend a lot of time thinking about, making yourself knowledgeable, and letting your enjoyment of those things impact your life.

Nerds care about what matters and value people for who they are.  It’s a major misconception that you have to be intelligent to be a nerd.  Not so.  I would probably fail an 8th grade science test, yet I’m as sincere a nerd as they come.  Because that’s what counts with nerds—sincerity.  It doesn’t matter if we’re interested in the same things; if I can see you’re genuine in what you care about and it’s close to your heart, I respect that.  I have a friend who’s obsessed with all things Disney, another who unabashedly loves Sailor Moon, and even a friend who loses her mind over shows like Pretty Little Liars (hint: she runs this blog), and even though those things aren’t my particular cup of tea, those people are important to me because I value people who really, truly care about things.  If any of these people, hearing me mock something they love (and despite my nerd-solidarity I tend to do this), said “No, you’re right, it’s dumb,” I would instantly lose some respect for them.  I find that generally, people who can’t be sincere about something as simple as their interests will rarely be sincere in their relationships.

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Apr 19 2012
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Style

Oh, So You’re On A Campus Tour?

Every time there is a campus tour going on, I happen to be involved in some activity that is not traditional at all for a normal college student. The first time, I played water wars with Veronica on the patio. Last weekend, we were filming a parody of Dollar Shave. This time…I posed in an outfit as Space Girl. The tour then watched me prance around doing various dance moves in the space helmet.

So here’s my justification in all of this. Yes, it’s a little strange, but if you want to understand in one tour what student life in the wild looks like, then this is it. By me behaving this way, you as the prospective student, can come to the realization that your future campus will let you just be who you are. It also says, “Hey, we breed students who do not care about their appearance/behavior in public.” Oh…just me?

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Apr 18 2012
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Design, People

Kids Are Awesome – Caine’s Arcade

Let this video make your day. I’ve been meaning to watch this video since last week, but just now found some time to get around to it. Caine is a kid from Los Angeles who created an entire cardboard arcade filled with his favorite games. The rules are pretty simple. With a dollar, you can purchase yourself four turns, but with $2 you get the fun pass, which allows you access to 500 turns. That’s a pretty good deal. Despite this promotion though, Caine has had a difficult time finding customers willing to play his games. This hasn’t  gotten him down though. He operates his shop from open to close every single day never calling it quits early.

One day an independent filmmaker by the name of Nirvan Mullick stumbled upon Caine’s arcade and realized that his project was worth knowing about. With the consent and help of his father, he publicized a flashmob over the interwebs and kept it a secret from Caine until one day Caine came back to his arcade to find a crowd waiting for him.

[Source]

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Apr 17 2012
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Life

“I thought you would have had it figured out by now”

photo cred | The Cobrasnake

After not posting consistently for several days on Yow Yow, it always feels like unknown territory coming back to this. I forget how to write lengthy news posts or original posts and resort to ones that can be easily re-posted just so I can ease back into routine again. For the last several days, I have spent time getting re-acquainted with myself again. It has set me back in terms of work-related activities. I put some things on hold. I even had to back out of a commitment, which doesn’t mean that I have commitment problems – it just means that I made a shift in my own priorities and realized the importance of taking care of myself right now and figuring out where I want to be in the next chapter of my life. After all, my mother always said that you cannot take care of anyone else unless you take care of yourself first and that was precisely the situation that I had found myself in.

With each and every day, I believe that I wake up feeling more and more like an adult. If you would have told 9-year-old me that in the future my idea of a good time catching up with friends involved grabbing coffee (I hated coffee and tea) and sitting down for a meal, I would have laughed in your face. How boring, let’s go play with my easy bake oven and not question why it is that a light bulb is heating up my delicious sweet treats. Simply put, as children we are naive to the world. We love our innocence, but would we ever want it back fully? After writing that line, I automatically pictured Zach Braff circa Garden State in my head about him feeling numb and not wanting to feel that way anymore.

If I could label the cliche term of “roller coaster ride” for any period of my life, it would probably be college, but I wouldn’t take it back. In the past few days, I have sat down with a couple of my friends who graduated two years ago and just listening to them talk about life after college and how they are now pursuing different paths than when they first graduated is every indication to me that the learning doesn’t end here. Nothing is set in stone even after I get my degree because things and life change so quickly.

Now, in the spring quarter of our college years, many of my peers have been asking each other “What are you doing after college?” After answering this question tonight, my friend then said, “Really? I thought you would have had it figured out by now.” It wasn’t offensive; I maybe felt self-conscious for a second, but then I realized I do have it figured it out. I am going to enjoy my last quarter here as best as I can. In the past few days, I have been inspired by the people around me. I have strengthened my relationships. I’ve consumed my favorite foods and I can’t remember the last time I danced and laughed this hard before this weekend. All these things aren’t going to lead me to my dream job right away, but they have helped in making me feel whole again and realize what’s important NOW.

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Apr 17 2012
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Life, Style

Justice or “Just Ice”

Dress // Urban Outfitters

Jacket // Levi’s – Urban Outfitters [borrowed from Steph]

Belt // H&M

Bag // Urban Outfitters

Shoes // Cole Haan [Mom's]

Our school recently installed a new art piece next to our library and even though it looks like a tower of plastic ice cubes, I can tell the message is so much stronger than that. In the evenings, the ice cubes light up in an array of colors. What purpose that serves, I wouldn’t be able to tell you, but it is visually pleasing. A student in my department had the opportunity to name the piece and she came up with “Justice” or “Just-ice” WHOAAA two names. It is obvious why that was the clear winner.

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Apr 16 2012
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Culture, Life, People

Thought Catalog Roundup

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Apr 09 2012
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Life

When Did Saying “Hi” Become So Terrifying?

In exactly two months, I will graduate with my entire class and out of this bunch, I have met the most amazing people that I will ever come across in my life. We are a class of makers. I’m not exaggerating; I am surrounded by individuals who literally believe that they can do anything (and they can!) because they actively pursue it. They have spent the previous four years making a name and a life for themselves. They are driven by passion. They are the most talented people I know. They dedicate their spare time to service both within the Seattle University community and outside of it. Together, we walk among some incredible human beings every single day.

As I put some hours into my work book tonight, a fleeting thought seeped and settled in. Though I have been lucky enough to have met and interacted with some of the best people I know within this close community, there are still so many people in my class that I will never have a chance to meet. I can’t tell you how many times a day I walk across campus, see someone that I know of (but have never met or know only as an acquaintance) and wondered how this person wasn’t actually in my life. You would think that through degrees of separation, this might be possible, but it isn’t. Graduation is bittersweet. When I attended last year, I was thrilled for all of my friends as they prepared to venture off into the next chapter of their life, but at the same time, I had reached a realization that the acquaintances are people that I may never see again. That chance of knowing them kind of goes out the window after that. And I’m not saying that I need to be bffls with this person or that I need to increase my friend count on Facebook, but I mean this person could have potentially been a friend. A significant other. A study partner! Maybe not a study partner… but I started to wonder just how many times we choose to be reserved when it comes to meeting someone new. Why are we uncomfortable with making new friends outside of our circle as adults when we have the opportunity to learn from someone new? Is it because we were taught since we were young to just avoid strangers at all costs? How can that be though when we learned that the easiest way to make a friend was to greet someone with a “hi” or “hello?”

I suppose everyone has their own reasons. My reason is time. I am usually so focused on what I am doing next that I rarely have time to enjoy relaxing and doing nothing unless someone reminds me of it. If I could slow my roll a little bit while walking along the lower mall, I’m sure I could fix this problem of mine and use it to catch up with the acquaintance that I practically fast walk next to. Maybe, at times, we are afraid of rejection. As a sophomore, I once tried start a conversation with a freshman in my residence hall while we were riding in the elevator. Most awkward ride ever. Needless to say, we never spoke again even having a class together last quarter.

As a society, we are focused on making times for ourselves and our family and friends, but what about the people we wish to know? Where exactly do they fit into our lives and do we realize how much we are missing by keeping them out?

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Apr 09 2012
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Life, Style

Proud Owner:

1969 Lightweight Cropped Legging Jeans

After saying goodbye to my BDG ankle cigarette white denim pants at the end of this past February, I thought that it would be impossible for me to find another pair that I would grow to love and that would actually fit. The impossible has been done. When I thought of replacing the white denim pants that I had before, I assumed that I would go back to BDG, but this past Saturday I found the perfect pair at Gap! These are definitely a lot more white than the ones I had previously, which can be nerve-racking, but I suppose I can live a little, right? The prices were relatively similar and the fit on these Gap ones are a little more classic and a little less hipster.

Is my style evolving once again? Only time will tell.

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Apr 09 2012
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Life, Music

A Lullaby For You

When I was a music-obsessed teenager, music was the soundtrack to my entire life. If I had to walk somewhere, take the bus, do my homework, eat a meal, fall asleep, etc. my Apple earbuds were almost always in my ears. I can’t tell you why that ever stopped or when I decided to stop having music be the backing to everything, but I would assume it was because it became a distraction for me. It cut me off from the outside world and prevented me from having interactions in real life. While I was listening to my iPod, I could’ve been having meaningful conversations! I could’ve learned something.

On my way back from San Francisco with Riley, he was telling me that he pretty much listens to the music on his iPhone all the time. This isn’t out of the ordinary. Everyone on Seattle U’s campus does it too, but I found it interesting since I hadn’t done it in years. Last week, I tried it out again and even though it was once normal territory for me, it wasn’t last Monday. I felt awkward. I got tangled up in my headphones and I couldn’t figure out a place to put my old iPod while I listened to it so I just held it on my walk. We all listen to music for such different reasons, but I was so interested in learning about the ways my own friends utilized it in their lives. Samantha actually listens to it whiles she sleeps or before she sleeps and that is sort of the whole reason why I’m writing this post.

I listen to Bombay Bicycle Club’s “How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep?” every single day. I don’t listen to it as I fall asleep, but I feel so much more at peace if I listen to it right before I go to bed. The music video for it above is awfully sweet as well so I hope you enjoy it and I hope you have a lovely Monday.

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Apr 08 2012
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Style

Proud Owner:

Spring has sprung in Seattle, therefore, I think that it is justified for me to be purchasing a new pair of shorts. Even though I’m not as much of a girly girl anymore as I was in high school ie) I don’t feel like being covered in pink everything, I still have a soft spot for the color. Every once in awhile, my weakness for it will make me break out the wallet and this time it was on a pair of pink pastel seersucker shorts. Yep, seersucker. The kind of fabric all babies wore in the 90′s. It’s a classic though! Pair it with a tank top, a button up shirt, or a cardigan and you’ve got the ideal outfit perfect for the season. I’m pretty happy with my purchase, but am quickly realizing that I am trying to convince all of you way more than I need to.

Forever21 Seersucker Trouser Shorts

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Apr 08 2012
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Culture, Life

Thought Catalog Roundup

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