We're hitting that point in the semester where motivation slows down, the number of beautiful days skyrockets up, and the workload in classes comes in waves of papers and exams. As an English/Philosophy major, I know that my work schedule can be a lot different than some of the other majors out there, but I think that there are just some things that hold true regardless of a person's major, or even their school.
Before I start that, I just want to take a quick moment and put it out there that I honestly think that anyone who chooses to pursue a higher education in whatever way they can deserves props. I don't think that there are majors that are harder than others, or that what school you choose is the sole factor in judging a person's intelligence factor. I personally have been put down on many occasions by friends who claim that their arithmetic heavy homework is a lot harder than my writing heavy work, but I honestly believe that there is just no viable comparison. As long as someone is working hard and trying their best, we are in no place to judge the work that they do.
End Rant. Okay...
So to keep myself motivated during the beginning weeks of the semester, I use the reminders app on my iPad. It's basically a virtual checklist. As soon as you get the course syllabus (which is usually the first day of class) you should go through and type all of the assignments in on whatever day they are due. For me, it ends up being a lot of reading, so I like to put the title and the page numbers for the assignment. For exams and papers, I type them in all caps, just so I make sure that it catches my eye early on and I know to make sure that I plan ahead to get that done.
Another reason I like using this app is because whenever I don't check something off, it adds to it a longer list. When there are weeks when I can't get my individual readings done, I just leave the boxes unchecked, and then when I get a weekend that I can devote to studying, I have a longer to do list which really motivates me to work to get it all checked off.
It's stupid, but also stupidly helpful.
Love,
Ranjini
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Friday, April 12, 2013
Monster Quesadillas
Recently, I found out that I have an iron deficiency. While it isn't alarming for a vegetarian to be low on iron, finding this out did make me realize that eating dorm food and Chipotle all the time probably wasn't the best thing that I could be doing to get healthier. I spent a little time at the grocery store and a tiny bit of inspiration brought me to get through about 12 cooked meals that are fairly healthy and pretty high in iron! I thought I'd start sharing these ideas.
Note that everything that I "cook" is incredibly easy and hardly counts as real cooking. I'm in class all day and I work at night so this is the best I can do!
Today I made these monster quesadillas. I've found that this combination of vegetables is very filling and creates a lot of flavor.
I used one whole wheat tortilla as the base and I started off with the tiniest sprinkle of pepper jack cheese. I like to put a little cheese on the bottom so that as it heated up and started to melt it would help the whole quesadilla stick together nicely. Next, I loaded up the tortilla with baby spinach. I used a decent sized handful because the iron in this meal comes from the spinach and that is a major goal for me! I then used a smaller handful of diced green peppers for crunch and few diced red onions for flavor. I added one more layer of spinach and added my pepper jack cheese!
Here's a picture of the open faced quesadilla before adding another whole wheat tortilla on top:
Note that everything that I "cook" is incredibly easy and hardly counts as real cooking. I'm in class all day and I work at night so this is the best I can do!
Today I made these monster quesadillas. I've found that this combination of vegetables is very filling and creates a lot of flavor.
I used one whole wheat tortilla as the base and I started off with the tiniest sprinkle of pepper jack cheese. I like to put a little cheese on the bottom so that as it heated up and started to melt it would help the whole quesadilla stick together nicely. Next, I loaded up the tortilla with baby spinach. I used a decent sized handful because the iron in this meal comes from the spinach and that is a major goal for me! I then used a smaller handful of diced green peppers for crunch and few diced red onions for flavor. I added one more layer of spinach and added my pepper jack cheese!
Here's a picture of the open faced quesadilla before adding another whole wheat tortilla on top:
After that, it's just a matter of heating up a flat pan and toasting the quesadilla for about 20 seconds per side, or until the cheese is melty and the outside is crispy. Cut it into 4 pieces and you've got a great healthy lunch that will keep you full until dinner!
Love,
Ranjini
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Get Me Outta Here
It's been a while but whatever. I'm in a homework rut at the moment...I really really want to get my stuff done so I can hang out with my friends tonight, but I'm just not making any progress even on simple stuff. I'm hoping that taking a little time to write about something I feel like writing about will inspire me and I'll get going!
So late last summer I had this recurring fake memory that I was walking down a street with beautiful weather frat hopping with my friends. I was especially concerned because at the time it was extremely vivid, yet something like that had never actually happened. It felt like it had, and it seemed like it was one of my favorite memories of college, but in reality, I had never experienced anything even close to that.
Until this year. The very first day that I got to school this year, I sensed that things would be different. My friend and I got invited to a party the first night and we dressed up before we had even finished unpacking and went to this party. It was a typical frat party with douchey guys pouring alcohol down slutted up girls throats and making any excuse to step just one step closer. I noticed things like how sticky the floor was and how sweaty everyone was, but at the same time, I noticed how cute all the guys were and how special my friend and I felt when they would come flirt with us or hand us drinks. As awful as it sounded, there was something flattering about a guy trying to get you drunk enough to go home with him.
It's been a semester since then, and there have been many, many drunken nights since then. Although I don't remember all of them with perfect clarity, I have to say that not once did that exact memory of summer frat hopping. I've come close, dancing with my friends in the beer garden of a bar during the first weeks of school or playing flippy cup on balconies before Saturday football games, but that feeling of summer carefreeness or whatever it was that I feel when I think about that "memory" still hasn't hit me.
As we come up on the last weeks of the semester, I'm hoping I get that moment. And if I like it, I hope there's many more to follow.
Love,
Ranjini
So late last summer I had this recurring fake memory that I was walking down a street with beautiful weather frat hopping with my friends. I was especially concerned because at the time it was extremely vivid, yet something like that had never actually happened. It felt like it had, and it seemed like it was one of my favorite memories of college, but in reality, I had never experienced anything even close to that.
Until this year. The very first day that I got to school this year, I sensed that things would be different. My friend and I got invited to a party the first night and we dressed up before we had even finished unpacking and went to this party. It was a typical frat party with douchey guys pouring alcohol down slutted up girls throats and making any excuse to step just one step closer. I noticed things like how sticky the floor was and how sweaty everyone was, but at the same time, I noticed how cute all the guys were and how special my friend and I felt when they would come flirt with us or hand us drinks. As awful as it sounded, there was something flattering about a guy trying to get you drunk enough to go home with him.
It's been a semester since then, and there have been many, many drunken nights since then. Although I don't remember all of them with perfect clarity, I have to say that not once did that exact memory of summer frat hopping. I've come close, dancing with my friends in the beer garden of a bar during the first weeks of school or playing flippy cup on balconies before Saturday football games, but that feeling of summer carefreeness or whatever it was that I feel when I think about that "memory" still hasn't hit me.
As we come up on the last weeks of the semester, I'm hoping I get that moment. And if I like it, I hope there's many more to follow.
Love,
Ranjini
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