'Growth' // The Creative Collective

Melyssa from the Nectar Collective has started The Creative Collective. She brainstormed 23 creative activities for bloggers to participate in throughout the year of 2014.  I'm really excited to participate in this collective and actually made my collage almost a week early because I was so eager to start!  The first prompt, for January 15th, is to create a collage of materials in your home which embodies the word you want to focus on in 2014.

For 2014, I have decided upon the word 'growth'.  This word will remind me to grow with change and work on my intellectual growth.  With my freshman year in college fall 2014, change is going to happen and I want to be okay with that.  I think the word growth will remind me that with every change comes an opportunity to better myself too.  Another aspect of growth is intellectual growth.  It takes a lot of effort to sit down and read nonfiction instead of just going to sleep or turning on the computer.  However, I feel more accomplished by finishing a book than a TV series. I hope the word growth will help me remember to further my education outside of school.

My collage is made entirely of college pamphlets.  I have been sent at least a pamphlet a day for the past year and a half which has added up to a large pile of paper.  For some reason I have kept all of these letters but there are no magazines my house! I actually find the use of college pamphlets very fitting as college is what a lot of my growth will be centered around in 2014.  It is also incredibly easy to find inspirational images in a college look-book!  I really like the combination of reading and adventuring in my collage.  I think they're both valid ways of expanding your worldly knowledge which is my main goal this year.

While searching through the mass of leaflets, I found these great quotes in a letter from MIT.  Unfortunately, the did not fit on my collage but I just pinned them up underneath it.  These quotes are great inspiration to begin your dreams.  My favorite has to be "The most effective way to do it, is to do it." which Amelia Earhart said.

I'm really excited about this series of posts for 2014.  Creativity is a great thing to foster and can easily be lost in the day to day.  If you decide to participate in the Creative Collective make sure to visit the master list of days and prompts on Melyssa's blog (link) and comment below with a link to your post!

University Of California, Santa Barbara

I am quickly approaching my senior year of high school.  I can already see the college applications on the horizon.  Being lazy, I had not thought about college until my mom took me to visit her alma mater University Of California in Santa Barbara (UCSB).

This was my first college tour, so I had no idea what to expect.  I was worried that I would be the only kid so all the energy would be focused.  Thank God that wasn't the case.  There were at least 50 kids with their families so it was easy to blend in.  Unfortunately I didn't take very many pictures so most of these are from the University's website but I can validate that it does look like this in real life!

"Is that really what my hair looks like from the back" (10pts if you know that quote) oh dear look at that tan line...

The tour started at 11am with an hour long presentation about what UCSB has to offer.  Somehow, I was not bored once.  The admissions worker giving the presentation was perfect for the job.  He recited all the important information but kept it fun with stories and an energetic personality.  He definitely loved UCSB and wanted students to apply if they felt a connection with the campus.  If not he wanted the student to find the best college for them, which I think is a great attitude to have toward prospective students.

During this presentation I learned what I would have from the website.  However, having never looked at the website it was extremely informative.  The main points that the presenter stressed was to put yourself into your application as much as possible and that UCSB is a fabulous university for students who want to participate in research as an undergraduate.  Apparently there are few graduate students at UCSB so the programs typically reserved for them at other universities are open to the undergraduates. Which is awesome in every way possible!

After the presentation we went on a tour of campus guided by a student currently attending the school.  I LOVED my tour guide.  I may just feel connected because we were both from North California, but he was also just fun.  He was easy to connect with and it never felt like he felt like he was just reciting pre-arranged words.  If you decide to visit UCSB and he is one of the tour guides, pick him, you won't regret it!

His name is Brennan by the way! You can thank my mm's ninja skills for this slightly creepy photo...

Something I really liked about UCSB was their lack of greek life and sports. Don't get me wrong, these are both fine institutions, they're just not for me and knowing my college doesn't spend too much time or money on them sounds like a bonus to me.    In fact UCSB doesn't even have a football team!  Their most popular sport is soccer where they have a tradition of throwing tortillas onto the field!!! Now this looks like fun to me.

Last, but definitely not least is the food.  Now, I didn't try any, but it sounds soosososososososo good. Our guide claimed that sushi and mexican food are a daily occurrence.  You can't get better than that!  It was also nice that everything at UCSB is in a centralized location.  It seems as if everyone on campus has a bike and uses it daily and with that instrument getting to all your classes doesn't seem too difficult. UCSB also has an amazing campus. A lot of the campus has direct access to the beach and there are beautiful hills in the other direction.  I feel that at UCSB I would never have an excuse for holing up in my room.  There is just so much to see and do. Ugh can I just go already!

Important Facts:
Average GPA: 4.07
Average SAT: 1922
Average ACT: 28
Population: 18,620
Undergrads to Faculty: 18:1
Application Available: Oct 1
Application Due: Nov 1-30
My Major of Choice: Anthropology BA (Cultural and Biological), Classics BA (Archaeology)
Application Fee: $70
Total Tuition: $32,233 (in-state)

Favorite Photo // 17

Favorite picture of myself, eh? How about this one?  I like it mostly because all of my features are showcased in a way that actually makes me look okay! My friend just said, I quote, "u have so many pictures where u just look like dead lol" so this is definitely an improvement.  Plus it reminds me of my first camping experience sans parents.  We made our own card game, awkwardly slept together and more.  It was a wonderful experience that I can't wait to repeat.