The Joys of Moving Into Your First Apartment... Or Something Like That

Okay, after recently finishing my freshman year of college [HOLY SHIT I FINISHED MY FIRST YEAR OF COLLEGE?!] , I began the lovely process of moving out of my prison cell.. er I mean dorm room, and into my apartment. There are hundreds of books and blog posts and articles about how to shop for and decorate your dorm room, yet I did not come across any about your first apartment. Its scary shit man! In a dorm room, you have minimal amounts of stuff because you have minimal amounts of space. Plus there is usually a large appliances ban [expect microwaves and fridges of course]. In my residence hall, we weren't allowed to have coffee makers! Um hello cruelty, thy name is Hayes Healy Residence Hall.

Making the leap from dorm room minimalist to having an entire apartment to furnish and decorate was extraordinarily difficult... and expensive. There are so many things you need but don't realize that you need, or took for granted in your dorm. I can't even remember how many times I went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond... and I'm still not even done yet. The amount of times we filled the entire car to the brim baffles me.

Here's a little list I put together of things you might need or want for your first apartment [keep in mind that I may have spaced on some things, if so, I'm sorry] :

Kitchen:
Microwave
Toaster
Coffee Maker/Tea Kettle
Mugs
Silverware
A Set of Plates, Bowls, Glasses
A Non-Stick Frying Pan
Blender
A Medium Sized Pot
Storage Containers for Leftovers [Glass is better]
Measuring Cups and Spoons
Spatula
Wooden Spoon
Tongs
Spices- Stick to Essentials Unless You Plan On Being a Gourmet Chef in Your Free Time

Living Room:
Okay, so the living room is very much up to you and your roommates' personal preferences. Think about getting some of these things--
Sofa or Love Seat or Chairs... hell, if you like bean bags, those would work too.
Standing lamp or a lamp for a table
Umbrella/ Coat Stand
Table
TV/ Multi-Media [Video Games, DVD, ETC]
Bookshelf [May also work in your bedroom]
A Wall Key Holder [Great for the entry way or by the front door. Make sure there are enough spots for all of the roommates!]

Bedroom 
As with the living room, the items you pick for your room are totally up to you and your style. Here are some of the things I think are essential/smart to have in your bedroom.
Bed/Mattress [In my opinion a headboard was not as important, so I didn't get one.]
Dresser [I got a cool old fashion TV armoire type thing and turned it into a place to put clothes]
Bedside Table
Trunk [Very useful to store extra stuff and it is decretive]
Drawers [I found a stacked set of three drawers that roll from Bed, Bath, and Beyond]
LOTS OF HANGERS [Always have a crap ton of hangers!! They tend to break and you could always use some extra. I recommend the felt kind, they are visually appealing and nice on your clothes.]
Shelves [Very practical for extra storage]
Mirror [We all love to look at ourselves!]
Over the Door Hanger [Practical for thick coats or robes if you don't have room in your closet]

Furnishing an apartment can get really really expensive! So, hit the Salvation Army and GoodWill before you go to the big stores like Bed, Bath, and Beyond or Target. I found some amazing pieces from my local Salvation Army!

Good look with your new place and happy decorating!

Debunking Greek Stereotypes

For my final speech in my rhetoric class, I had to create a creative project on any topic. So naturally, I picked the most complicated and time-consuming format as possible. Combining two of my favorite things, my fraternity and being an overachiever, I set out to make a video dispelling stereotypes attached to Greek life. It was no easy task, let me tell you... I had high expectations to make this the best possible video I could. I had all of these cool ideas in my head but actually putting those thoughts into action seemed quite a difficult feat. I wanted to add special effects and voice overs and interviews and all sorts of stuff, but I had zero experience with IMovie or making a video whatsoever. I decided to just go for it, dive straight into the deep end and create an awesome project. It was definitely an interesting process, from trying to edit the footage to adding a song to having to export the final video like six times. After maybe a week of nonstop editing, filming, voice-overing, and stressing about it, I finally finished. I think it turned out pretty cool, but you can be the judge of that.

If you have just 7 minutes and 8 seconds, take a gander at the end result of this endeavor. Stereotypes, no matter what form, hurt. No one likes being judged because of the color of their skin, their race or religion, or what they're passionate about. Being apart of Greek life is no different. There are so many stigmas attached to being a member of a fraternity or sorority, yet few stop to think about all of the great things they do. It provides a community, one that allows for service, leadership opportunities, sisterhood/brotherhood, and so much more. That's why I hate it when people generalize and stereotype Greek members. We aren't all crazy partiers... some of us have real life goals and talents; some of us are really cool [aka me... just kidding, but not really].

I hope that you, as a general member of society, take this into consideration the next time you want to judge someone based on one aspect of their life.

On Sexual Assault Awareness

Tomorrow is Denim Day and for those of you who don't know what that is... here is a little run down. In 1990's Italy, an 18 year old girl was picked up by her married 45 year old driving teacher. He then drove to an isolated area, forced her out of one leg of her jeans and raped her, threatening death if she told anyone. When she got home, she told her parents and they started the process of pressing charges. The rapist was arrested, convicted, and sentenced to jail. However, he appealed the sentence and after making it all the way to the Italian Supreme Court, the case was dismissed within a matter of days. The judge ruled that because the girl was wearing very tight jeans she had to have helped him take them off, making it consensual sex, not rape. Thus Denim Day began! Women wore jeans to work in protest to this outrageous ruling.

It seems ridiculous to me that such a thing could be allowed in our world. There is a common misconception that a victim of rape could have done something to prevent it by not wearing certain types of clothes. What a load of bullshit. That is like saying a store owner could prevent robbery simply by asking the thief not to steal. When someone is threatening you, you can't just say "oh, no thanks, I don't feel like being raped today." 

Take a moment to think about the horrors of rape. One in six American women are victims of an attempted or completed rape. According to the LA Police Department, there were 1,117 rapes were during the year 2003, with only 260 rape suspects arrested. WHAT?! Why are these rapists allowed to walk free? It is sending a message that this is okay, that if you RAPE someone, you won't be punished. How is that okay? We need to take a stand. 

No one deserves to be raped. NO ONE. No matter what they choose to wear. Wear your tightest jeans tomorrow in support of Denim Day. It starts with you. 

Learn more at http://denimdayusa.org

Trust me, guys, consent is sexy. 

The Moment I Said It

If you would have asked me a year ago if I would ever consider writing a blog, the answer would be a resounding HELL NO, yet here I am anyway, ready to embark on this crazy blogosphere journey. I always thought that no one would care about my thoughts and opinions on things. I have, however, been contemplating the idea of remembrance of late. What happens when we aren't here anymore to think things and say things and do things? It seems cliche, I know. How many people before me have thought about the Ominous Afterlife? Like, a billion. I think that people struggle with the idea of being forgotten. We all want our life to have some sort of meaning, that our thoughts were important at some point. I don't care if this blog is ever read or not, but it gives me comfort knowing that my thoughts exist somewhere and there is a slight possibility, no matter how infinitesimal, that it could change someone. 

I change the world; the world changes me. This is the idea that everything we do shapes the way the world works and everything that happens around us changes the way we do things, perceive things, react to things. It is us changing things and in turn being changed by them. It is an endless cycle of affecting and being affected. I'd like to think that I have changed the world, even in some small way, and that it has changed me too. 

Peace.