Victory Lap

I thought no matter what year you were, registration was always hell. There are the counseling appointments, the down-to-the-minute registration time, the prerequisite and time conflicts and the seemingly endless fight over availability of courses (i.e. yoga). Well, tonight I had my registration for winter term - as I’m sure most of you did as well - and it was pleasantly and surprisingly easy!

Let me introduce you to something that I just recently discovered the crazy beauty of: priority registration. I never knew registration could be so easy! I was an hour late (see How to Procrastinate Like A Pro) and still, every class that I looked at had at least 20 seats still available. Even yoga (which I totally signed up for by the way)!

That isn’t the only perk either! Over the last four years, registration always seemed to land on the week when I was busy writing all my final term papers and studying for my incredibly important final exams. Because of this, I would completely forget registration and, consequently, all the classes I needed would fill - and, in like 10-30 minutes too. But this year, that was completely not the case! This week is actually quite tame - paper and test prep doesn’t start for me until this weekend so it was the perfect time to register for classes.

Now as much as ILoveMakonnen has the idea that he’s “got the club going up on a Tuesday,” the rest of us know it’s not the best time to go out and party. Most of us have jobs and school that we need to get up for and no one wants to wake up hungover on a hump-day. That would beyond cruel and unusual punishment. Instead, this Halloween, settle for something a bit more subtle and relaxing. Here are some ideas to make this Hallow-Tuesday the best yet!

Trick-or-Treat Get-Together

If you’re like me, Trick-Or-Treating has morphed from something you enjoyed doing to something you enjoy watching little kids do. It’s like Disneyland or Christmas: the fun is sort of tainted after a certain age and, at that point, it’s more fun to have little kids around so you can watch them get as excited as you used to get when you were their age. Plus, kids are the cutest in their little costumes! Much cuter than teenagers in their costumes…. (you’d swear you’ve never seen so much saran wrap, fake police tape, and cat ears in one place before). SO… I propose a Trick-or-Treat Get-Together.  

Here’s what you need:

A couple friends

A drink of choice (maybe pumpkin beer or cider)

Halloween movies

A cute and comfy costume

Dinner

Candy

This idea is fairly simple, super fun and really easy. Basically, just have a small Halloween movie night with friends while drinking and answering the door for trick-or-treaters! Just make sure you have plenty good movies, your jack-o-lanterns are lit and you’ve picked a comfy costume and you’re set to go!

Scary Movie Night

‘Tis the season of the witch, seniors! I hope you have your pumpkins carved and you’re spiderwebs hung but if you don’t here’s a few tips on how to get Halloween-ready before this weekend’s “festivities.”

Decorations

The first thing you are going to need, of course, are decorations. Since virtually all of us are beyond broke and into debt-range, here are a few ideas that you can either make yourself or get cheap at the Dollar Store.

Spider Webs

Orange Lights

Baby Pumpkins

The great thing about these decorations is that you can find them for very very cheap. The Spider Webs come in big packs for a couple dollars, the orange light are around $5, and the baby pumpkins are around $.69 cents. Super easy to find and really easy to set up.

Jack-o-Lanterns

Next you are gonna need some pumpkins to carve. I would suggest the Melon Shack in Albany. They have a cute little pumpkin patch with the perfect size pumpkins for a dorm or an apartment and it’s not too far from campus. They also have a great corn maze and hot donuts that they sell. I recommend the cinnamon sugar ones - they are mouthwatering! Best of all, it’s also cheap! The donuts are $1, the maze is $5 a person, and the pumpkins are around $1 - $3 each depending on the size, of course. There is even a little place where kids can do arts and crafts if you have a little monster of your own to entertain this fall.

Costume

Third step is a costume. Now, for many of us in college, a costume is somewhat of a dread to think about. So much work and money to fit into a tight budget and schedule. Well, here are a few costume ideas that will look super cute but won’t break your bank!

Minnie Mouse

This costume is super easy and cheap. Odds are you have a plain black shirt somewhere in your closet and you can find a cheap skirt at Goodwill. For the dots on the skirt, use white felt sheets from Joannes, add some makeup, high heels and your ears and you are ready to party!

Mia Wallace

This is a super easy and cheap costume. A white button-down, black leggings and shoes, a wig, syringe and fake cigarette and blood. This one is super sexy, cheap and cultured. You will be getting great quotes yelled at you all night - “It’s the one that says ‘Badass Motherfucker.’”

Unicorn

What better way to show your inner sparkle than with this fantastical mythical creature. All you need is a unicorn horn, wings, makeup and sparkles! The best part about this costume is that it is completely customizable. There are so many ways to do this costume and every way is SUPER cute. What color is your inner unicorn?

Cat

If all else fails and you are down to the wire, you can pick up a pair of cat ears literally anywhere. You can also have a fair bit of creativity with this costume and if you don’t want to be that girl, you can turn your cat spooky like this one from Alice in Wonderland.

The final thing you need for a great halloween this year is a good halloween movie list. This is a halloween must have. Make sure you find every opportunity to sit down, munch on some pumpkin seeds and watch your favorite Halloween movies this season. To do anything else would be criminal!

Works Cited

A WEEK BEFORE ASSIGNMENT IS DUE:

In order to procrastinate like a pro, a week before the assignment is due, have a conversation with yourself. Tell yourself things like, “...HAH! Seven days of working on this thing is plenty of time,” and, “I’ve done a paper in, like, four hours. This’ll be a piece of cake!” 

6 DAYS BEFORE ASSIGNMENT IS DUE:

You’ll probably have one of these conversations:

“Hey, Jess, did you do that assignment for Writing?”

Assignment? What assignment?! God, I hope it isn’t due soo- “You mean, the one that’s due next Monday?”

“Yeah, I always like to get a head start though.”

“Mannnn, you got me stressin’ and no I haven’t. We still have 6 days to get it done!”

5 DAYS BEFORE ASSIGNMENT IS DUE:

*BINGE WATCH TV*

4 AND 3 DAYS BEFORE ASSIGNMENT IS DUE:

Spend these days lying to yourself about how close the deadline is and how long it’ll take to do the assignment. 

2 DAYS BEFORE ASSIGNMENT IS DUE:

Finally look at the assignment and tell yourself that it’ll take no time to get done. Then put the thing away until about 4 hours before the assignment is due. 

FOUR HOURS BEFORE ASSIGNMENT IS DUE:

Have a mini panic attack before reciting things like, “I can do this!,” and “This’ll be easy” while rocking back and forth in the fetal position. 

FINAL STAGE:

Turn the assignment in three days late. Like this blog post. 

Where I sat today as I watched the leaves fall. <3

As a senior, you may feel overwhelmed by all the dates, projects, essays, and tests you have between you and your shiny, hard-earned diploma but, this year I encourage you to take extra time to appreciate your surroundings. Morbid thought or not, this is the last year you will be on this campus as a student and it’s important to take it all in.

For instance, here at OSU, the trees look like they are on fire in the fall with how red they get. I guess I always noticed but earlier today, I simply sat in front of the Valley Library for a good 30 minutes just appreciating the beauty. Do the same! Or maybe pick up a coffee at the java shop and go for a stroll?

Most people will tell you to make the very most out of your last year by joining clubs and trying things you haven’t before. While that is nice, and productive, most seniors don’t have time for that. A short stroll through the campus this fall is a perfect substitute if you haven’t the time to get more involved.

Sunset @ Newport, OR

My 4-Year-Old-Niece @ Newport, OR

This blog is a digital diary of my senior year. Here I hope to give advice on how to live your last year in college to the fullest at OSU. There are many things that I didn’t know were here my first few years and this year I plan on taking full advantage of everything on campus and I am going to document it as well.

My themes would be things like “How to Start off Your Senior Year Right,” “How to Party Like a Senior,” “Senior Study Tools,” and more. I want to explore and write about these themes because senior year is always a bit bittersweet and I feel like a lot of us at OSU would like to know how to make the most out of our last year. These are, after all, “the greatest 4 years of [our] lives,” and while most of us have been having a blast, there are a few things we might have been partying too hard or simply not been mature enough to enjoy in the first three years of school (Every Grownup Alumni Ever). My goal is to make it my job to ensure that no graduate misses anything important in this incredibly exciting time.

My favorite time of year. <3