I Made It!

Acceptance E-mail

Awesome news! So yesterday, I auditioned for the ENCORES Singing Competition put on by the SBCC International Student Ambassadors and they got back to me in less than 24 hours! I definitely was not expecting to be contacted so quickly, let alone make it past the audition round haha. A lot of people auditioned and I met a couple who were just so talented! I met two other auditionees, Rob and Liana, and they were absolutely so kind. Rob was from England and he plays guitar on State St. in his free time! He's planning on pursuing a career in music and he also told us that Nov. 1, he's going to be playing in the Angels Baseball Stadium which is absolutely crazy! Props to him, though because that is an amazing opportunity to have. :) Liana was from San Francisco and she's a UCSB alumni. Her hair was perfect, her outfit was perfect AND she had a great voice. I was thrilled to be able to meet other musicians haha. If you don't know already, I really enjoy putting up YouTube videos and would definitely love to collaborate with other local musicians because it gets old working by yourself.

Taken by Angelica Dass

Anyway, this weekend is going to consist of studying for my ETHS 101 class with Craig Cook! Definitely a class you must take if you plan on attending SBCC. It's about immigration studies in the U.S. and sometimes I'll see things on my Facebook Newsfeed and it will totally reflect what we talked about in class. This class makes you realize all of the little things that each minority group and the majority group experiences in the real world and changes your perspective on the lives of others. Anyway, definitely one of my favorite classes thus far and I've got a midterm on it next week, so I'll be busy with that! Have an amazing weekend and let me know if you want to see a cover posted on here someday. :)

See you next post,

Chey

Currently listening to Icarus by Bastille

Make It Home

If it doesn't feel like home, make it.

Singing Comp. Flyer

This past week, I've finally adapted to the college life. It's SO different from high school, in a good way. I'm going to make a little flashback Friday move (sorry, was that lame?) and let you know that during my senior year, I auditioned and made it into the final 10 for the Santa Barbara Teen Star competition! It was so much fun, I met so many wonderful people and had the chance to perform at the Granada. Any who, back to the present: I usually don't come to school on Friday's, but I did today and for a good reason too! I auditioned for the SBCC International Student Ambassador's singing contest. As you all know, I absolutely love singing and it plays a huge role in my life. Some people sit in the dark, wrapped in a blanket, eat ice cream and run a Netflix marathon when they're down or sad, but me? ...OKAY, well sometimes I sit in the dark, but I wrap myself up in music, sing songs and run karaoke marathons when I'm upset. If I didn't express how sad I felt when all of my friends left in my previous post, then maybe it would be a good idea to read it again, haha.

Chey's Fam @ Teen Star Red Carpet Event

Chey getting interviewed @ Teen Star Red Carpet Event

In high school, I was super involved and absolutely loved being in clubs, organizations and just busy busy busy. There was never a moment where I would be sitting down, bored because I had so much on my plate! It took my mind off of things and put me in a better mood. Then, I graduated. Graduation was so good, but at the same time, it was like I was letting go of everything I knew! I was the President of Asian Student Alliance, Photo Editor of Yearbook, Vice President of Usherettes, and I was a part of the Leadership class. All of these little worlds that made me "me", vanished. But then, I looked into what SBCC had to offer and, Lord help me, the options were overflowing. There are so many things that I hope to be a part of within my time here at SBCC because I love having things to do. Keeping busy is how I make foreign, weird places my home.

But yeah, I auditioned for the SBCC singing competition with Etta James' "At Last" and hopefully I did enough justice with that song to give me the chance to perform in the finals! If not, there's always a next time and I encourage you to try it out as well! I'd also like to take this little moment to give a shoutout to my voice teacher, Joyce Michaels, for providing me with all the tools that are necessary to be confident in myself and for being a stable role model throughout my childhood and even now.

Wish me luck!
See you next post,

Chey

Currently listening to I Knew This Would Be Love by Imaginary Future

Dealing With Separation

Being known as the greatest city college in the U.S., SBCC has gained so many students from different parts of the country and different parts of the world. Education is a huge part of each and every one of our lives and that's why some of us decide to pack up our things and try to get the best opportunities that we can. But when happens when homesickness settles in and you're missing your family, friends and just the comfort of your own home? You're in a foreign place, you've just learned what State Street is and frankly, you're just confused about what your purpose is for being here in Santa Barbara.

Chey & Friends @ Fiesta

Chey's Friend who is attending UCLA

I, on the other hand, spent the last 6 and a half years living here in Santa Barbara with my family. Attending Goleta Valley Junior High and Dos Pueblos High School, I made an insane amount of such dear friends, but the majority of them moved away to do the same thing that so many people come here for: get a better education. By mid-September, loneliness crept in and I was essentially homesick in my own home. Thoughts crossed my mind such as: "How am I going to make new friends now?" or "What are my weekends going to look like now?" Beginning in mid-August, my friends were slowly trickling out of Santa Barbara, which gave me the chance to adjust to them being gone. But even then, that didn't help with coping at all.

Chey & Friend: Last Hangout

Chey & Friend: Polaroid Pic

I went through the well-known 5 Stages of Grief:

1. Denial – I began to wonder what my real purpose here in Santa Barbara was as well. Why isn't anything making sense for me? Why couldn't I just get over the fact that my friends were all in different cities now?
2. Anger – Everyone's having so much fun where they are at and I'm stuck here doing absolutely nothing. It's worthless, a waste of my time, I just don't understand.
3. Bargaining – Then I thought, "Well, maybe this is the right choice, right? Even if we're all spread out, I'll get to see them during Winter Break. I mean, I've only got a couple months of school then a whole month of break to kill."
4. Depression – I think this stage is the one that hit me the hardest. I found myself missing a lot of the memories I spent with my closest friends, what we used to talk about and all of the good times. I never thought of my family, how lucky I was to be living in a city where so many people can only wish to visit, let alone live here. I was being completely and utterly selfish and fell into a sort of unexplained sadness. I drowned myself in isolation and used all types of distractions to relieve me of the thoughts that everyone else was moving on in their lives when I clearly didn't realize that I was moving on as well.
5. Acceptance – After all of the agonizing rush of emotions, I've finally come to a conclusion that the choices I made were the best choices for ME. Of course these individuals matter to me and of course I'm going to miss them. Although it's not the same as seeing them in person, technology has become so advanced that we can see each other via a cell phone or any device with a camera and microphone. In the long run, I'm going to appreciate the encouragement I got from my parents to attend the beautiful SBCC, I'll appreciate all of the friends that I've made here and most of all, I'll be appreciative of myself for being confident enough to stick with the choice that I have made. Live your life for you because in the end, you want to be proud of the decisions you make and the roads you take.

Don't let the idea of leaving home intimidate you. Opportunities are laid out right in front of you, you just have to be strong enough to grab them and run. There will ALWAYS be obstacles, but those are there to help you grow and learn to take advantage of them. We're all given an adventure and some time in our life, we're just going to have to live it so why not live it now?

See you next post,

Chey

Currently listening to Free Fallin' by John Mayer

I Literally Have No Time

Being a full-time student can be stressful! Some of us decide to take on a job or a couple of jobs, and before we know it, the tasks pile up, our free time has shrunk into a small raisin and we're absolutely exhausted. People ask us why we do this to ourselves and we don't even have an answer. We're essentially just doing this to get through life!

Time management can be a HUGE issue, believe me. I know. I put together a quick video of what my day usually ends up looking like. Let me just say, you MUST know how to prioritize. Organization is key to feeling like you've done what you wanted to that day. I know there must be a lot of people out there, like me, who get extremely distracted for long periods of time just and before they know it, it's like 2 AM. #Unhealthy, yeah? Fortunately, through my years of experience with procrastination, unending restlessness, and intense delirium, I've learned to depict what things in my life are important and others that are eh... not so important.

Here are two things I ask myself before I get too invested in a distraction: 

1. Do I want to suffer hours of late-night studying and experience painful hand cramps?

2. How will Beyoncé's newest Instagram post help me on my exam tomorrow?

And that, my friends, is how to determine whether or not something is your number one priority.

See you next post,

Chey

Currently listening to Thunder by Leona Lewis

HELP! What Do I Wear For College?!

Chey's Outfit for 9/24

Santa Barbara has finally hit that time of year where the mornings are absolutely perfect to wear a cozy sweater, some jeans or leggings and a pair of boots, but when the afternoon rolls around, it's like the city has just been invaded with a terrible heat wave. Anything over 77 degrees Fahrenheit is just too much for a local to take and we've hit that feeling of regret with our outfit choices. I mean, all we were trying to do was take cover from the chilly 63 degrees!

Today was a perfect example of what SB has to offer, weather-wise so I wore an open-back tiered floral dress with a light grey cardigan and some brown ankle boots! I also put my hair up in a halo
braid to keep loose strands of hair out of the way while I was in class.

In addition to the untrustworthy weather, we have to worry about what we want to wear to school. With all of these attractive SBCC students (another reason why you want to attend SBCC), we'll be digging through our closets and dressers to find the perfect outfit. Here are a few tips that I'd like to offer to all of my ladies and gents to figure out what you need to wear for college!

1. Don't look out your window and predict what you think the weather will be like. Check the weather by tuning into the local news for weather reports, open up the weather app on your phone, or look it up online!
2. Prepare your outfit the night before. This saves you SO much time and relieves you of all the stress you might experience the morning of!
3. Worried about hair? Ladies, I usually throw my hair up in a braid or a ponytail if I've woken up with a bird's nest for hair. Gents? Well... I've got two brothers who just apply water to any hairs that are sticking up and they hope for the best. Sorry!
4. Bring a light jacket or cardigan if you're going to be in classrooms that offer AC. It definitely gets a little cold in there if you're wearing a short sleeve shirt.
5. Master the light-layering style. I generally wear one patterned article of clothing with solids that compliment each other! You want to wear something that will look good even when you take your jacket or scarf off, that way you'll still be in style and you'll be comfortable in the hot weather.

Of course these are just tips. You can wear WHATEVER you like! I'm definitely looking forward to the autumn season and a drop in temperature. Readers who are taking evening classes: you have been blessed with the cool evening temps. What are your ideal outfits for college and how are you coping with this weird weather?

See you next post,

Chey

Currently listening to Winter by Kina Grannis

Let's Get to Know Me

Welcome back to the sunny school season, my fellow Vaqueros!

We're already going on our fifth week of school which means midterms and exams are flying ALL over the place, am I right or am I right? The stress is taking its toll and I'm going nuts! Anyway, you might be wondering, "Whose blog am I reading right now?" Well... I'm Cheyanne or as my friends like to call me, Chey. Let's start with the basic ten random facts about me.

10 Facts About Chey:

1. I'm Hmong. The Hmong people originated in the Southeastern parts of Asia, mainly Laos and Thailand! Many Hmong immigrants moved to the United States in the 1970s and 1980s and that's how a lot of my family members ended up here in the U.S.
2. Since we're on the topic of years, I was born in good 'ole '97. August 27, 1997 to be exact! That makes me 18-years-old.
3. Some of my favorite hobbies include singing, playing guitar, photography, crocheting, and baking. I'd also like to include that I'm mildly into fashion; However, I don't think my sense is all that developed yet so we'll just have to hold off on that one. I'm one of those people who just can't settle on one hobby AKA a hobby hopper.
4. My favorite kind of weather is the kind where you can bundle up in layers and you might just have to keep an umbrella with you in case of a pour.
5. You know how I said I enjoy singing? Well, I took lessons for a good 8 years.
6. I grew up in Lompoc, CA for 11 and a half years of my life, moved to Goleta, CA the summer before 7th grade and I've been here since!
7. Chey is actually pronounced "shy", but people have pronounced it as "shay" since the 8th grade. Now, I don't mind either one.
8. Unlike many young kids, I didn't like dolls. To this day, I still think they are the creepiest, scariest, intimidating toys to ever exist on the face of this earth. I absolutely despise humanlike dolls.
9. I'm generally a really friendly and social person, so if you see me around school, please say hi! I'm always looking for a way to make new friends.
10. I'm a freshman at SBCC.

Chey's friends @ The Humanities Building

SBCC, eh? The #1 City College in the Nation. Let me repeat myself, the Nation. I am genuinely so excited to be attending this fantastic school with its amazing staff, friendly students and all the resources it has to offer. So many of my friends from high school are currently attending and it's nice to have so many familiar faces in a new environment. My current goal is to transfer out with an Associates degree in Business Management. I still need to talk to my counselor because I also want to see if I can minor in Journalism. Are minors a thing here? We'll see.

Wish me the best of luck on my midterms and all things school! I'm spending the rest of my evening in Group Study Room #17 because I have an upcoming exam for Physics 105 with Doug Folsom! He's an incredible professor, if I may say. Did I also mention the upcoming exam I have in Math 130 with Peter Georgaki?  Yeah, well that's sneaking up on me this Thursday. Yay me! But, Peter is pretty darn amazing as well. Couldn't have asked for a better math instructor.

See you next post,

Chey

Currently listening to Pushing Away by Kevin Garrett