The Big 100.

This is Keep Not Settling's 100th post!!! Can you believe it? This little shindig is 100 posts old! CRAZINESS!

When thinking about what I wanted to write about for this ultra-exciting post, I pretty much drew a blank. What do I say? Who's even going to care? Is it really that important to celebrate? (The answers are: whatever you want, people, and yes, respectively).

So... this is what I've come up with: 

I just want to send out a quick thank you to everyone who reads this blog on a regular basis. Although I started Keep Not Settling for myself and it continues to be an area of happiness and serenity (as weird as that sounds) in my life, the most gratifying part of blogging is knowing that there are so many people who enjoy reading.

When I made the spontaneous decision to start blogging, I never anticipated that it would grow to be what it is today. I might be the one typing up these posts and sharing them to social media, but I'm just a small part of what Keep Not Settling is. Whether you're a family friend who's been reading just to keep up with my college shenanigans, or you stumbled across this blog randomly, you rock.

My hope is that you'll continue to grow with me as KNS makes its way towards 200. 

Keep not settling,

How to Catch Up.

There was a week-long period this month when I just did. not. stop. I had a long list of things that absolutely had to be finished before spring break. Most of it was reading which, I'll admit, is the most tedious task in the world. No matter how much I love reading about the Middle East, fifty pages later, I'm pretty much dead.

But I did it.
My entire list was completed. Two days earlier than I planned, actually.
Here's how I caught up on my list:

• Write it all down. I can't even count how many times I've advocated for physical to-do lists on this blog, but I'll say it again just in case you forgot. The easiest way to get started on a busy schedule is to write it down on paper. Visualize it. 

• Stay focused. It's really easy for me to be distracted, especially when I have amazing friends I'd love to spend time with. But I knew that the list was going to linger in the back of my mind regardless of what I was doing, so it was vital that the homework get finished first. To stay focused, I made sure that I studied alone. 

• Tackle the big things first. For me, the "big" things on my list were two relatively short essays. Just five pages each, no biggie. The problem? They're time-consuming! I made sure that I tackled these big projects first, before I lost brain power and energy. 

• Reward yourself. My "rewards" came at the end of the day -- an episode or two of Make It or Break It, a movie, or a few hours in the student center with friends. 

Overall, the most important part is to keep the end in sight. I knew that if I could power through the week of studying and hardcore effort, that spring break would be completely stress free, and I would be able to enjoy my mom's visit. 

Keep not settling,

image credit. 

Weekly Roundup.

ONE | Renovations

One of the most exciting things ever happened this spring break... my family bought a house!! After fifteen years of renting in California, my parents have made the amazing decision to buy a house here in North Carolina! Not only am I super excited to have a new room to design as I see fit (hence my board on Pinterest), it's also going to be so nice to have them closer to me. 

Mom and I have already started conspiring about what we're going to do spruce up the inside... Bye-bye white walls! 

TWO | DIYs 

I've been super into finding unique and easy DIYs like this one on Pinterest lately! There's so much out there to try... I can't wait for the summertime when I actually have the hours in my day to do LOTS of DIYing. 

THREE | Planner Perfect 

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It's no secret that I'm obsessed with planners. Simply obsessed. This is old news if you've known me since my sophomore year of high school. Recently on Instagram, I've started following planner decorators.... I might need to jump on board with this next year. 

FOUR | Lilly Pulitzer x Target 

To say that I'm excited for the release of Lilly + Target would be an understatement. The items in the collection were just released on Target's website and I'm so impressed. The essence of the Lilly Pulitzer brand has been relayed perfectly into an everyday affordable line. Smart marketing, if I do say so myself. 

Keep not settling,

Keep Not Settling Playlist #3

There's been so much going on lately, and I've been experiencing some serious blogging withdrawals.   But it's ok because KNS is back in full swing! Spring Break is this week, and I ended up with a pretty nasty cold (my fifth time being sick this school year....yay) but now that I'm feeling better, writing is at the top of my schedule. 

OH, and my mom is here with me!!! Double yay! Some pretty amazing things have happened since she's been here. I'm so glad she's here with me. Unfortunately, she has to go home this weekend. Boo. 

I've been listening to a lot of music this month. There have been days when my Spotify playlists keep my sane. So here's a playlist of the songs I've had stuck on repeat...

Keep not settling,

Sweet Briar.

One thing that's weighed heavy on many minds at Salem College in the last week has been the closing of Sweet Briar College. Having to see another women's institution close it's doors is heartbreaking, not just for Sweet Briar students but also for every other women's college attendee. 

Salem has done an outstanding job at reaching out to Sweet Briar over the last few days, and I thought it would be good to collect it all in one place, especially considering that those who read Keep Not Settling know how much Salem has affected my life. I hope that, come next fall, we get the chance to know some of our Sweet Briar sisters. 

ONE | Solidarity in Sisterhood 

TWO | A letter from the President 

Salem's president, the incredible Dr. Sterritt, sent out this letter of support on March 4th.  I don't think President Sterritt could have better relayed how sad we are to hear the news, but also about how proud the Salem community is in being able to thrive in a world that has been incredibly hard on women's institutions in recent years. 

THREE | In the News 

This article was published on 88.5 WFDD's website on the 5th about Salem's outreach to Sweet Briar. I personally think that this article was extremely well-written and properly articulates the importance of women's colleges. "... how to speak up for themselves, how to lead, and how to be prepared for a co-ed world..."

Like I've said before, I hope we're given the opportunity to welcome some Sweet Briar students to campus in the near future. As shocking as it is to hear that this wonderful college won't be a part of our community next year, it's been amazing to hear student and alumnae testimonies on how choosing a women's college has been their best decision. It's a bold reminder for all of us at Salem to treasure every moment we have on this beautiful campus. 

Strong are thy walls, O Salem.

Weekly Roundup.

ONE | Stick It 

I honestly don't know how I haven't seen this movie before. If you've read Keep Not Settling before or just know me in real life, you'll probably know that I'm majorly obsessed with gymnastics, and I super duper wish that I had those skills (sigh). This movie is a little silly, and some of the details are not-so-accurate, but I'm glad I watched it! 

TWO | Legend of the NeverBeast

I AM SO EXCITED FOR THIS. I pride myself in having seen every Tinkerbell movie released, and I have plans to curl up and rent this one tonight! I feel like such a little kid when I talk about how much I love the Tinkerbell movie series, but oh well! 

THREE | The "American" Rainbow Fish

This is a hilarious "adaption" of the very popular children's book, The Rainbow Fish, by Marcus Pfister. I remember reading this book when I was little, but this new "Americanized" version is even better. My roommate and I had a good laugh over this while writing up some journals for our economics class. Enjoy. 

FOUR | Russian Acrobatic Gymnastics

Back to my love of gymnastics. When I'm bored, I find myself in the part of youtube that showcases a lot of different gymnastics performances, whether that be from previous Olympic cycles, or random national/world competitions. But I'd never seen anything quite like this before, until my Big posted it on my Facebook timeline. Check this out. The human body shouldn't even be able to do what they do.

FIVE | Ellen Pompeo. 

I just love this. That is all.

Keep not settling,

The Week From Hell.

This last week has been, by far, the worst week of the semester so far.
Let me just tell you, catching up from two weeks of poorly-timed snow days is not fun, especially when your classes only meet twice a week.

I've gotten a few questions about where I've been this week regarding Keep Not Settling and, to be completely honest, it got shoved to the waaaaay-backburner. If there was any way that I could've managed putting up consistent posts throughout the last week, I would have. But there was no way.

A full night's sleep was also out of the question several nights this week. There was more than once that I saw 1 AM... and I'm pretty sure there was one night where I said "lights out" at 2:30. Ouch.
Every assignment that would have been due during the snow days got pushed to Tuesday. Just to put it into perspective... that was about 20 hours worth of assignments. Double Ouch.

Even if I didn't want to, I learned a lot this week about the importance of sacrifice.

But... I was able to sit down last night and map out everything that needs to be done before spring break starts on the 20th, and now that I'm feeling more confident about where things are headed, I'm back to blogging. It bothered me so, so much not to be putting posts up over the last week, but I will say that I've come back with a refreshed plate and a mind full of ideas.

Oh, the struggles of a college student.
Thanks for sticking with me.

Keep not settling,