Do You Wanna Be a DZ?

"...It doesn't have to be DZ... YES IT DOES."


After what seemed like an eternity, summer flew by and sorority recruitment left as quickly as it came. While it was an excruciatingly stressful and lengthy process, I could not be more happy with the final outcome!


I am now a Delta Zeta at Stephen F. Austin State University!


Below is just a tiny glimpse of what the past Monday was like, but I will continue to update this blog about the new member period (and beyond) of my life as a member of one of the greatest organizations in the world.

From left to right, then top to bottom is: my Rho Gamma group, Kappa Nu, my bid from Delta Zeta, my entire chapter at bid day, and then last but not least is my enormous pledge class at bid day.

I am so excited to be able to share my experiences as a Delta Zeta with y'all! I will have several posts coming up about the new member process and will be more than willing to answer any questions about what the formal recruitment process is like! Don't doubt for a second that blog won't be flooded with pink and green.


Happy Wednesday night from a very happy DZ!

New School, New Home, New Life

Hi everyone! It's been such a long time since I last updated this blog (May, actually!), but I'm glad to be back. Over the course of the summer, I got a job as a bartender at Hawkeye Hunting Club, a very beautiful but prestigious resort hidden in the pineywoods of Center. I also moved out of my parents' house to live with my grandparents', took a few Summer 1 classes, and went road tripping to various places in Texas such as Fredricksburg and Kemah. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to update and keep y'all posted because my cousin's darling puppy chewed up my charger.

Anyways, I just wanted to write a short post to let whoever may be reading this know that I am still alive. With the fall semester (and sorority recruitment!) right around the corner, I am beyond excited to start my junior year of college at a brand new university.

My Ultimate Summer Bucket List And Why It'll Never Get Accomplished

Ahh, summer break. Some have been enjoying it for a few weeks, while others are falling asleep and waking up in their caps and gowns in anticipation of graduation. Whether you're in high school, college, or a post grad, summer is inarguably the happiest three months of the year. There are no weird roommates to put up with, no exams to study for, and virtually no stress at all. You can basically do whatever you want... or at least you think you can.

Here is a list of things I've planned to do every summer for the past few years and how they normally pan out:

1. Spend quality time with your family. Find out you won't be able to go on your annual vacation with your parents or your annual road trip with your grandma because you'll be too busy working or taking summer classes. Take solace in the fact that you'd probably be on your phone the whole time anyway.
2. Fall in love with a hot guy on vacation, only to find out when you get back home that he lives in the area. What is this, a Nicholas Sparks novel?! Psh. Does this kind of thing even happen in real life? 
3. Get so tan that people begin to question your ethnicity, but only after having a slight melanoma scare after a bad experience with a dirty tanning bed. I'm looking at you, Hollywood Escape.
4. Get a tan tattoo. Realize you are way too impatient to put a sticker in the same exact place every day.
5. Grow your hair out and become the modern day Rapunzel by buying weird shampoos and overdosing on biotin and prenatal vitamins. Get frustrated when nothing works.
6. Save up your money for a future apartment or sorority, only to spend it all at your local McDonald's.
7. Lose a ton of weight and get a thigh gap/chiseled stomach/whatever. #LOL
8. Buy a super cute pair of sandals, only to have them chewed up by your cocker spaniel who is probably part billy goat.
9. Start a blog in hopes that people will actually care enough to read about your uneventful life. Oh, the irony of this one.
10. Vow to read every novel in existence, only to realize how much less time-consuming it would be to watch the movie when it comes out.
11. Watch all your favorite shows and movies on Netflix. I'm going to call it right now and say this is probably the most achievable goal on the list.
12. Start training for 5Ks after your mom tells you she'll start paying for them, but realize soon after a 1 mile jog that you'd be dead if you had to run for your life.
13. Try to fry an egg on the sidewalk. That's just nasty.
14. Get a tattoo. Remember the time you almost got a matching tattoo with your ex-best friend and chicken out because you can't commit to something being permanently stuck on your body. Or friendships.
15. Go camping in your backyard. Go back inside after being eaten alive by mosquitoes within the first 5 minutes.
16. Create a bucket list with realistic goals you can actually achieve. Well, at least you tried.

35 Things I Wish I Knew Before My First Year Of College

If I had a time machine, I would have entered my first year at an actual university knowing that through the good times and the bad, it would still be a very memorable year, even with the many, many mistakes I made. However, I would've told my sophomore self to avoid certain people (the promiscuous, loose-lipped ex-best friend, the nice guy turned wannabe frat star), certain outfit choices (sweatpants every day, wrinkled t-shirts, dresses that leave glitter everywhere), and other questionable life choices (such as bleaching my dark brown hair with a $3 kit from Walmart). Here's what I wish I wish I could go back in time and tell my freshman/sophomore self:

1. Don't go into your first semester dead set on your major. You will more than likely change it.
2. Your first year of college will go by faster than you think.
3. Never, ever, EVER use box dye.
4. If you dress up excessively for your classes, you will be made fun of.
5. However, this is not a free pass to dress like you're homeless every day.

6. You will hate your roommate(s) after the end of the second semester. It doesn't matter if you were friends before.

7. Getting piercings or tattoos done in a small town is a very bad idea (especially if you get it done at your friend's apartment for free like an ex boyfriend I wish I never dated did).

8. People who constantly brag about getting drunk or high are people you don't need in your life.

9. Even if you deleted it, that Facebook post is stuck on the Internet forever and could come back to haunt you. 

10. Don't rush into anything your first semester.

11. Frat boys are pretty to look at, but they are not boyfriend material.

12. Most college boys in general are not boyfriend material.

13. Despite everyone you went to high school with getting engaged, most people in college don't even consider marriage until after they've graduated and have a degree.

14. The friends you went into your first semester with probably won't be your friends by the end of the second semester.

15. Classes can be retaken, and it's not the end of the world if you fail a test.

16. Order water at restaurants and tip your waiter generously (most of them are broke college kids, too).

17. Your school's cafeteria will save you from starvation, but nothing can save you from the food.

18. Since their salary comes from your tuition, it is your professor's job to help you as much as they can. Don't be afraid to ask them for help or extra credit.

19. Don't let anyone else define your self-worth.

20. People will talk. Let them, but act in a manner that will make everyone disbelieve what is said about you.

21. What Susie says about Sally says more about Susie than it does about Sally.

22. Other people are not against you, they are just looking out for themselves.

23. Social media stalking is a hobby that you'll spend a lot of time doing with your friends.

24. "Dress well, test well" actually works.

25. Go to church. Eat healthy, work out, and do whatever it takes to take care of yourself. You'll feel a lot better.

26. There is nothing wrong with using the university's counseling services.

27. Procrastination, especially when dead week and finals are around the corner, will make you hate yourself.

28. Even if you don't like him, give him a chance. Let him take you on a date. Enjoy the free meal/movie.

29. Being lonely doesn't mean you're alone, and vice versa.

30. Call your parents often. You'll miss them more than you think. 

31. Take lots of pictures.

32. Think about about what you say and post before it leaves your thoughts.

33. You're going to meet tons of people who are just like you.

34. Don't forget to have the time of your life.

35. Transferring schools doesn't mean "goodbye," it means "see you later."

71% off Jack Rogers!

Happy Tuesday everyone, and happy Earth Day! I couldn't think of a clever post about how to conserve energy, but I did stumble on some a great deal that could help you save money!

My 19th birthday fell on Easter this year, and a pair of Jack Rogers sandals have been on my wishlist for the longest! Luckily, I managed to get mine for less than $40! Here's how:

1. Click here to buy a voucher from Living Social, (it costs $25 and you can receive a discount by using the promo code BESTMOM) which give you $50 off anything you buy from Neiman Marcus Last Call.

2.  Go to Neiman Marcus Last Call and choose the pair of Jack Rogers you want. Most of them are 40% off already, so the $50 voucher should knock off a huge portion of your final bill

3. To apply your Living Social voucher, go back to the website and click on the My Vouchers button in the upper right corner. Copy and paste the code from that page into the promo code box at the Neiman Marcus checkout and you're done!

Violà!

I really hope this helped someone! Feel free to comment below if you have any questions.

Finds Under $30

Happy Sunday! Everyone loves a good bargain, and these items are perfect for those who are prepping on a budget! Treat yourself every once in a while. You deserve it.

Like something? Find it with these links:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Demons Go Dancing

Happy Wednesday! Unfortunately, I don't have a good camera, so I could not take pictures of the haul I was planning on posting today. 😔 During the Southland Conference, the men's basketball team was knocked out of the bracket by Stephen F. Austin, but our women's team came back and beat SFA's women's team for the championship! The Lady Demons will be playing the #1 seed in Tennessee.

Purple Haze Pep Band after the game and after the court was empty:

Short Update

Hey y'all!

Remember when I said in my last post I was going to chop off my hair? Well, I finally got the courage to do so! I should've taken a before picture but I couldn't, since I don't have a camera phone anymore.

I actually wanted an asymmetrical bob like the one in my previous post, but since my hair is so curly it'd look weird unless I straightened it every day (which I'm too lazy to do anyways. 98% of the time my hair stays in a ponytail and my bangs are pinned back.)

Since I'm in pep band for my school, whose basketball team made it to the Southland Conference Tournament, I will be traveling to Katy, Texas tomorrow morning and will be gone all weekend because of the tournament. I will be sure to post plenty of pictures in my next blog if I can get my hands on a camera.

If you're reading this post, please relink me! Thank you. ♥

Hair Problems

Hi! I have a quick little update for you guys, even though y'all probably get bored listening about my uneventful life.

If you read I finally dyed my hair! back in January, you will notice that I, a former hair dye virgin, got the bright idea of trying to dye/bleach my hair blonde with $3 box dye from Walmart, consequently forcing me to go to a salon in town later that week to fix it. Unfortunately, the second dye job has long since faded and my brown/orange hair in contrast with my dark brown roots (which are now an inch long) screams white trash. I obviously would like my natural color back, simply because I am too lazy and poor to get my hair recolored every six weeks. If you look back at I finally dyed my hair!, you can get a pretty good idea of how long my hair is. My mom and I agreed that we should get Stephanie, my hairstylist, to chop off a few inches so my hair can become healthy again. The only problem is, I don't know if I should My appointment is at 2, so I have less than 24 hours to decide what kind of cut I want. Stumbling across a picture of Beyoncé has me thinking I could pull off an asymmetrical bob a few inches longer than hers. It's almost as if Beyoncé herself gave me a pep talk that made me believe I was the fiercest woman on the planet. The fact that this cut looks good with curly hair is giving me even more reason to like it. I don't know though. I know I'd miss my long hair, but I'm chopping it all off anyway and it's about time I tried something different.

Sneaux Days

HEY GUYS ❅

I have no idea if any of y'all were involved in the recent "snowpocalypse," but I live in Central Louisiana. We had not one, but two snow days in the past week! It snowed on the 23rd and the 28th, so naturally, the entire state of Louisiana fell apart. Classes were cancelled last Friday and on Tuesday and Wednesday this week.

Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures during the first snow day because my cellphone was ultimately destroyed. Thankfully, I am going to Shreveport to get it fixed this weekend.

On Tuesday, however, my friend Ashley needed to take some snow day pictures for her photography class! I was pretty happy with the results. These are my personal favorites:↓

RANT: After living with someone else for over a semester, I now understand my mother's frustration with me when I was too lazy to clean up after myself. I love my roommate and I understand that she's going to have her friends over like I have mine, but please, for the love of God, I wish she would pick up after herself for once. A mountain of dirty dishes in the sink is bad enough, but it's even worse when my roommate won't even throw away her trash. I finally broke down and threw all her trash away and put even more of her dirty dishes in the sink to wash, but the dorm is still disgusting. There are crumbs all over the carpet and there are sticky spots from God knows what all over the counter and furniture. I used to tolerate it, but now it's really starting to make me mad. I am not her mother, nor am I her maid. I just wish she would pick up after herself for once. 

Rant over.

I finally dyed my hair!

Hello everyone! Remember when I mentioned changing up my hair in Is it too late to make New Year's resolutions? Well, I actually have a very much overdue hair update to show y'all today! I actually tried to do myself on the 12th, but I hated the way it turned out and had to wait until today to fix it again. /SIGH

Before I begin explaining what my new hair looks like, keep in mind that I was a hair dye virgin. I had never put any chemicals on it except a relaxer several years ago. My hair was a medium to dark brown, and the picture on your right was actually taken a few minutes before I decided to open the $3 box of L'oreal hair dye I got from Walmart. I went to my friend's dorm to do the deed. My friend's roommate, (who I probably shouldn't have trusted with my hair because she has ruined her hair with box dye and possibly killed a good number brain cells, but I digress back to my point. She mixed bleach into the hair dye, and disaster ensued. I thought I was going to pass out from the chemicals in the dye, and my entire body was stained from the bleach and I seriously thought I was going to dye when a piece of my hair accidentally got into my eye. On top of that, my roots made the "Screw you Camryn; we're not going blonde" message very clear. I'm starting to think there was a reason why they were so stubborn. Not like my hair can talk or anything; that's just weird. I got the bright idea to put straight up bleach on those roots.

This was the aftermath:

And in that moment, I swear I was the real life princess emoji. 👸 Reactions to my unfortunate dye job range from everything from "OMG, what the happened?! Your friends must hate you." to "YES CAMRYN YES! 😍"

I wouldn't be surprised if the people who said they liked my hair were just trying to be nice.

Don't get me wrong, I actually really liked it at one point, but the more I looked at it every day in the mirror, the more I realized it looked yellow and the more I hated it.

The next day, I made an appointment at Salon Rogue in Natchitoches to fix it. I originally wanted my hair darker than my natural hair color, but my friend (the same friend who let me bleach my hair at her dorm) coaxed me into dying it a lighter color. My hair is incredibly close to my natural color, but it is a little bit lighter and has a reddish tint in the sunlight. Since I didn't want to walk out the salon with no change whatsoever, I had Alicia give me side swept bangs. The salon was a little pricey, but you get what you pay for with hair. I paid $65 for the cut and color. This is the final product: ⤗

My hair is actually down to my chest, but the lighting in the picture makes it seem like it's shoulder length. I couldn't be happier with the results!

I learned two valuable life lessons from this experience:
1. Embrace your natural hair color. 
2. Avoid box dye like the plague.

With that being said, have a lovely day! ❥

Back to School

Hello my dears! I, along with many other people, have went back to college for the spring semester! I started classes on Monday. Below is my schedule:

Introduction to Chemistry, MWF @ 10:00am: I actually missed this class on Monday because I misread my schedule and thought my first class started at 11.  I'm determined not to miss any more classes, though. The professor sounds like he really knows what he's talking about and his lectures are easy to understand. The only thing is he doesn't post his PowerPoints on Moodle, which sucks.

Biological Principles 1, MWF @ 11:00 am: I took this class semester but I am retaking it with a different professor because I was not happy with my grade from fall semester. Compared to my old professor, my new professor is really laid back and is easier to understand. She said on the first day of class that it is her personal goal for everyone in her class to make an A, which is good.

Beginning Aerobic Exercise, MW @ 2:00 pm: I was actually dreading this class, but it turned out to be my hands down favorite class this semester! The professor is probably in her mid-60s, but she's so lively and so in shape that you can't help but enjoy the class. Other than some pain in my upper-middle back that I have been suffering from for the past week or so, it was really fun. I was relieved to find out that the class was all girls except for one guy.

Biological Principles Laboratory 1, Tuesday @ 2:30 pm: I took this class last semester and was happy with my grade, but I had to retake this class if I wanted to retake Biological Principles 1. Unfortunately, I loathed this class last semester and the professor is very strict about lab safety (for example, she actually suggested we invest in lab coats. According to her, I have to wear either my glasses or goggles in the lab at all times because I wear contacts.) Needless to say, I don't think I will enjoy this class very much.

Basketball Band: The music we played at Tuesday night's rehearsal was pretty cool, so basketball band should be fun. Who doesn't like getting free admission to basketball games and $35 for each game I play at?

Finite Mathematics, Online: My friend, who is an accounting major, recommended to me that I take this class online. I'm still trying to figure out how Moodle works, so I don't know how I feel about this class.

Intro to Literature, Online: I've taken two other English classes online when I was in high school and made As in both classes, and since I like to read, this class should be easy. Unfortunately, Moodle is very complicated and I'm still trying to figure out the ropes.

With that being said, I will be very busy this semester and won't be as active as I normally am. Nevertheless, I wish you all the best of luck, whatever you may be studying, and may the odds be ever in your favor.

Is it too late to make New Year's resolutions?

I was blogwalking today when it dawned on me that I didn't make any resolutions this year! I would say "New year, new me!" but that's cliché and it never works out the way you want it to. So instead of taking the easy and redundant way out, I decided to break down my "new year, new me" project down into more specific terms:

1. Dye my hair.
This one's a little iffy for me. I love my natural hair color. I always have, and that's what's kept me from ever dying or coloring my hair in my 18 years of living. I decided that I needed to take this semester to discover myself. It's time for a change. I wanted to dye sections of my hair peacock colors, or maybe even dye my hair a light pink or an icy blue,  but unfortunately I have to make sure my hair color is "socially acceptable," so my acceptable options are blonde or Ariana Grande red. 

*edit: I am dying my hair blonde this Saturday! I will eventually dye the tips pink.
**edit: Just kidding, I'm not dying my hair pink, as much as I would like to. 😭

2. Wear cuter clothes and do my makeup every day.
If you know me,  a good majority of my wardrobe is sweatpants and black t-shirts. I decided I need to quit carrying myself around like a homeless college student and make myself presentable. That means putting colorful clothes in my wardrobe and actually wearing girly clothes that flatter my figure! As for the makeup, I don't plan to paint my face on every day. Just enough to enhance my features.

3. Take better care of myself.

This one is a huge deal for me. I have very low self-esteem and I've been dealing with depression for a few years, so I think it's time I treat myself with a little more respect. I'm going to take more bubble baths, paint my nails more often, and get up every morning and compliment my reflection. I'm going to learn how to properly style my hair and makeup, eat healthier foods, and do more what makes me happy.

4. Get healthy.
I would normally say "go on a diet" or "lose weight" for this resolution, but I realized you can be skinny but not healthy. I'm going to exercise more, eat my Wheaties, tone the muscles in my body, and get to a weight I can be confident about my body with it would be nice to be able to fit in my dress for the Red Carnation Ball again, too. Maintaining a healthy diet and exercise can't be that hard, right?

5. Manage my money better.
See Champagne taste on a beer budget.

6. Become a more professional blog.
I recently hit 1,000 visits on my blog (yay!), but I still want to increase my blog's audience. There isn't really something I can do anything about except for being active and interacting with other bloggers a lot.

7. Stop relying on others for my happiness.
This one is pretty self-explanatory.

8. Get closer with God.
Again, self-explanatory. I need to learn how to cope with certain people and situations better.

9. Knock my grades out of the park!
I can do it, but I have little to no motivation! From now on, school comes first.