Releasing Dopamine

Sunrise Hike w/ Friend

If you had asked me five years ago to go to the gym, work out, play sports or run, I would have said no. In high school, I had always had it in the back of my mind that I should be staying active, eating healthy and be productive, but I was so lazy. Of course, I enjoyed sports at school when I was “forced” to participate, but once I was home, I was just home. Not until I started my first year of college did I realize how important it is to add at the bare minimum, a thirty minute block of physical activity into your day. 

With the Ambassadors @ UCSB Adventure Center

The culture of Santa Barbara may have just really settled in on me; however, I have been more active in the past year than I’ve ever been in my entire life… willingly! Luckily for me, the trail down to R Beach and the Ellwood Monarch Butterfly Reserve is literally my backyard so I started out with running on that. Obviously, nothing happens easily and I struggled with how out of shape I was, BUT always reminded myself that I was one day closer to becoming a healthier me!

I ran the trail for about a good 2.5 months and when I turned 18, I signed up for a membership at my local gym! It was great. AC was running, I was running, but it was an entirely new element. Seeing these gymgoers and how intensely they lifted weights or were able to run a mile without breaking a sweat definitely intimidated me and in a way, discouraged me from trying harder. I thought to myself, “I’d never be able to do that.” Inevitably, I got out of the slump and to this day, I am still attending that gym, FitBit and all!

At the gym.

Being healthy is being happy. I’m in a fitness group page with my family members on Facebook and every day, we encourage one another to get up and do something. I have become such a brighter individual because I feel more energized, stronger both mentally and physically. I am far from where I want to be, but now I’m 100x more confident in who I am and what I can do. So take a hike, join a cycling class, go climb rock walls!

See you next post,

Chey

Currently listening to Let’s Dance to Joy Division by The Wombats

The Few. The Proud.

Saying our see-you-laters!

You can never love your family enough.

Today, my cousin, Tyler, has left home to pursue his dream of becoming a future Marine. He'll be driving to Sacramento tonight and staying there at a hotel with the other departing Marines and his Sergeant. For three months, he'll be training harder than he ever has in Marine boot camp and drastically changing, physically and mentally.

Baby Chey & Ty

For me, family has always been my top priority. It's a value that my parents taught me while growing up. With this mindset, I have grown extremely close to my 36 first cousins, aunts, uncles, brothers, grandparents and parents. I was lucky enough to have been born into a family where support is always abundant, love is always being shared, and kindness is being shown. Two weeks ago, Tyler's family hosted a good-bye party for him and his mom's sister put a journal together for the aunts, uncles and cousins who attended to write letters to him. With teary eyes, I opened the journal and flipped to the first blank page. There are so many things that can be said, but 18 years of growing up together can't be summed up in a page. Somehow, I scrawled a heartfelt message on there saying something along the lines of "I love you very much, be safe, and persevere in times of unease."

Every day, I am amazed at how true the relationship between my family members are. Despite the wide age range, we manage to come together as a unit and in times like this, we are nothing but supportive and loving for one another. The boys wrote in Tyler's journal expressing how their feelings on a brother leaving and moving on. Our memories that we share are so precious. Our history is something that I will forever cherish. And now, we will be making history. This weekend has been a whirlwind of emotions, but it's those that are best remembered.

See you next post,

Chey

Currently listening to Live Life by Zayde Wølf

Coastal Cleanse

Arrived at the sign in tent!

The Day of Caring took place today! The SBCC Ambassadors took over East Beach and we spent a couple of hours picking up trash, goofing off and laughing at each other.

Again, I am so honored to be a part of this wonderful program. I started out my morning by waking up late, getting lost to a fellow Ambassador's house, and showing up to the breakfast quite late! However, I did get to eat half of a bagel and some really sweet fruit so I wasn't starving during the beach clean up!

Afterwards, two Ambassadors and I carpooled to East Beach in Santa Barbara. Coming from a local, I can be honest and tell you that I truly didn't know the difference between East and West Beach until Me. 
today... Just like I don't really know the difference between East and West Campus, haha. I get them mixed up all the time! Once we got to East Beach, I parked... and paid for an unnecessary parking pass! $8! Eight. Whole. Dollars. When I could have gotten my parking paid for for free after signing in with the Day of Caring volunteers! Guess who's not having dinner tonight?

Productively picking up trash.

I also thought it was a good idea to carry around my heavy DSLR with me while picking up trash. Aside from all of that, we had beautiful weather! Also, for the first half hour or so, there wasn't actually that much trash. We got into groups, split up and walked throughout the entire beach. Finally after about two and a half hours, my group headed back to the sign-in tent and we enjoyed some water and snacks. Overall, it was a really successful turnout and we had so much fun even while picking up trash. If you're thinking about joining the next Day of Caring event, I definitely recommend doing it! You meet so many cool and kind individuals. :)

See you next post,

Chey

Currently listening to Time by The Maine

Striving for Success

Lately, I have been struggling to keep up with my schoolwork, exams, sleep, personal life, volunteer work, professional life and kind of everything, really. But for the past couple of nights I have been contemplating what is it that I'm doing with my life; how am I trying to improve every day?

I haven't disclosed this, but last Friday, I went and interviewed for a Social Media and Marketing Internship with the company, Peace Works Travel. Peace Works is a teacher-founded company which speaks out for various poverty stricken countries, whose duty is to expand a global perspective on culture and diversity and educate students. On September 2nd, my blogging advisor, Melanie, sent out an e-mail from Carrie Hutchinson, the Course Director of Communication, who let us know that Peace Works was looking for a Social Media and Marketing Intern. The application period also ended that same day, FYI. I was also traveling to Fresno (which is four hours away) and spent the entire time writing my cover letter and cleaning up my resume. Finally, that night, I had sent my cover letter to three of my older cousins and had my cousin, Alyssa, read it over as well to correct any grammatical errors. Then, I sent it in with fingers crossed.

Like I mentioned before, I had gone in for the interview process on the 9th. It lasted for about 35 minutes, and after I walked out, all I remember was a sense of relief take over my body! I've been interviewed before, but not in a long time and it was extremely nerve-wracking. However, I do believe that confidence is key, so if you ever find yourself walking into an interview room, believe in what you stand for and stand by your answers. And finally today... I heard back from the company, through e-mail, that I have been accepted as their Social Media and Marketing Intern! All I needed to do was reply and accept from my end. I am so thrilled to begin working and building my experience.

Earlier this semester, I had gone around campus e-mailing and talking to countless professors and faculty members if they were hiring any students, but to my dismay, I didn't find an on-campus job as I had planned. BUT, everything happens for a reason. I am so lucky to be working as a student blogger, in the Office of Communications and now an intern for Peace Works. So thank you so much, Carrie and Melanie! I could not have experienced this life-changing event without the help of you two looking out for me.

See you next post,

Chey

Currently listening to Rock Bottom by Hailee Steinfield feat. DNCE

Exams Are Approaching

School has finally got the ball rolling and we'll be starting our fourth week of the semester on Monday. I know a lot of you have already felt the pain of the first quiz or the first short essay, but not a lot of us have endured the pain of an exam yet! For me, I've only taken two quizzes for two different classes; however, I WILL be taking some exams next week and during the fifth week! I have so many tips I want to share with you on how to prepare for an exam. Trust me, for the past eight years, I have tried almost everything you can think of, but I have finally found a formula that works for me!

1. Prepare for one exam at a time. It's definitely difficult to spend a course of five hours on one subject and another five on a different subject. There's no way our brain can process all of this information in one sitting! If you have two tests in one week, study for one subject for two or three hours, take a break and then study for another subject. You are NOT a robot! Give your brain a rest.
2. Get plenty of sleep. I know this is something that is hard for college students to achieve, but if you can, shoot for six hours one night and seven hours the next. You'll feel more awake when you study and that will really let the information sink in.
3. Make a study schedule! So many friends of mine study for twelve hours straight the day before their test and end up not getting the results they want. I promise, if you write down what is due when and dedicate a block of your day to study by yourself or with groups, you'll see a grade you are proud of on your exam.
   
4. Do your homework. I cannot stress this enough! The whole reason why professors give out homework is to provide us, students, with a resource for studying and grabbing the concepts that they teach in lecture. If you do your homework, you'll figure out what you don't know and that way, you'll have to remember it for the test.
5. Flashcards... Especially if you have vocabulary terms on your test! These are the most wonderful things in the world. I learn SO quick with flashcards and the good news is they don't really require much effort!

Those are all the tips I have for now, but I bid you all farewell and good luck on your upcoming exams! It's not going to be easy, but it will be easier if you give yourself time and put in more effort than you would usually.

See you next post,

Chey

Currently listening to Belle from Disney's Animated Classic, Beauty and the Beast

Sign Up!

Come sign up for the Day of Caring!

As you all know, I am now an Ambassador for SBCC! I've really been enjoying myself and this program. It's definitely taught me a lot about the value of teamwork. I've made amazing, kind, sweet friends and if you didn't know already, blogger, Elisa, is also an Ambassador! You can check her blog out here.

Our Promotion Table

Ambassadors are a group that basically work closely with many different kinds of students. We aim to reach out to local, international, etc. students who are feeling a little down because they aren't necessarily fitting in with SBCC. Our main focus is to make those


students feel like they belong in Santa Barbara and to welcome them with open arms so they can make a nice transition! :) We're also in charge of running different kinds of events. One that is coming up is a beach clean-up in which we are collaborating with Day of Caring to put this event together. The purpose of this event is to promote a healthy, safe and clean environment for our community to enjoy! Don't tell me you don't love a clean beach...

So... if you are interested in this, the Ambassadors will be (and have been) stationed outside of the East Campus Cafeteria to take volunteers for this selfless and exciting event. Not only do you get to meet new people and make new friends, but you're also bettering your community and your home.

Me Making Another Mess

I spent about two hours last night creating a poster to advertise for the Day of Caring event. If you stop by to look at my sign and our table, you'll also be able to meet really awesome Ambassadors and converse with all of us! Today, I tabled from 10:30 to 12:30; although, I stayed an hour over my shift. That just proves how much fun it is to promote such a wonderful event! I had such a long, fulfilling day and now... I am ending it in bed! Good night, and remember to sign up for the Day of Caring which takes place on September 17, 2016! More information is posted on our Facebook here. :)

ALSO, BIG WELCOME TO THE NEW BLOGGERS!!
I've already linked Elisa above, but SAY HELLO TO MATT & CAMERON!
I'm so excited to introduce you all to these new three members of the blogging team. I can tell you already that you'll be reading golden material. These guys & lady are wonderful writers! Angela & I are the only returning bloggers this year, but I just can't wait to read all of our different experiences this year!

See you next post,

Chey

Currently listening to The Simple Things by Michael Carreon

How to Survive

Taken right after my evening class!

… a night class.

This semester, my schedule seems to be scattered throughout the week. I’ll be taking my first evening class, and by evening, I mean 6 PM to 9 PM. I’ve never been exposed to taking a class so late at night, but my first class was last Thursday and luckily, we were let out fairly early. Then again, we basically just went over the syllabus and the first chapter which is usually very brief.

In high school, I was deeply involved with the Yearbook committee and was actually a photo editor for the class. The other editors and I would stay on campus until the late hours of the night: somewhere between 8 PM and 1 AM. During winter break in 2014, I remember spending ten hours in a row in a classroom. My friend Trent and I were extremely burnt out after the four back-to-back days of long nights spent in the Yearbook classroom.

If you have a break, bring things to keep you busy.

That being said, I do have a little bit of experience on how to survive your first night class… So many of us don’t really know what to expect, but a night class is no different than a day class. The only difference is that it’s taught in the evening, when we’re mentally ready to wind down and start clocking out. The actual hard part is staying focused and connected during lecture. A couple of tips I have are:

• Make sure you EAT. Do not skip out on a meal before class! If you’re worried that you might be tired and full after eating, eat thirty minutes to an hour before class starts and then give your body time to digest the food.
• Along those lines, bring a snack. Food is energy. I don’t suggest bringing snacks like chips or candy, but possibly fruit or bars. I find that crunchy food helps wake myself up!
• Self explanatory, but drink coffee… again, if your classroom allows eating and drinking.
• This one’s a little harder, but when you’re dazing off, try and catch yourself and focus on your instructor. Use your eyes to follow him/her and really listen to s/he has to say. **Take notes to keep yourself busy!!**

So far, I haven’t had any complications with focusing in class, but I will send updates as the semester rolls along. Wish me luck!

See you next post,

Chey

Currently listening to Love by Matt White