College Graduation

Hello All,

Guess what? I wrote this post almost a month ago and forgot to hit publish. LOL. But no seriously guess what!

I graduated college! After four and half years of college I have finally graduated! And it feel absolutely amazing! This last semester, especially, has been a lot of work but it'll be worth it. 

For those of you guys wondering I got a bachelor of science in Liberal Studies with concentrations in communication, media studies and creative writing. And no I'm not going into journalism or news production. I do have a future career in mind but since the career is in field that requires a lot of confidentially because of that I'm not comfortable discussing exactly what it is online.  I'm currently in the process of looking for a job and it may make it that I will be moving across the country which is really exciting. When I know where I'll be heading I'll let you guys know, at least a general location. 

As for the day itself it was so much fun. I started the day out by getting ready, to which I actually filmed my first Get Ready With Me video on my YouTube channel (You can check it out here). Then we headed to school and got a prime parking space. I gave Mama Judy directions to the theatre when graduation was taking place and then headed to the place where we line up.

I don't know if every school does it this way but my school has us line up by school but other then that its free range has to where you sit/stand. Right as I walked in I get a text message from my friend Chris asking me where I was and he told me where he was. I went up to where he was standing. I ended up lining up with the 3 other graduates from the Media Studies department, which was good because I had so much fun with them.

We headed into the theater right on time. I saw Mama Judy while I was walking in and she was already crying.

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We didn't have a lot of speakers at the graduation itself so it went by rather quickly. My favorite speech was done by the president of the university, where it talked about intental kindness when all around so much hate is happening. I think its an idea that we should all carry around with us.

When it was time to get the degrees we again were called by school with the school of arts and sciences going last. When the finally called us we all whooped and "got lit" as the kid in front of me said. As each person went up they got whoops from the different people in the audience who knew them. When they finally declared us college graduation we whooped and went wild.

After graduation finished I met my parents outside to take pictures. And I made Mama Judy be an Instagram Mama while I posed for some Instagram worthy pictures. If you're interested in following me on Instagram you can by searching @judy_judy94.

When we finished taking pictures I went to say good-bye to my boss. I don't think I ever mentioed it on my blog but for the past year and half I have worked as a student employee in my college's residence life department. I wanted to stop and say good-bye to my boss because she had such an impact on my last couple of years.

After saying good-bye to my boss we headed back to my hometown where we had dinner with some of our close family and friends. It was so much fun celebrating with some really important people in my life. Plus it was at one of my favorite restaurant where the staff knows us by name which made it extra special.

Graduation was such an amazing day and I am so grateful for all the people who have supported me over the past four and half years. And for anyone who has read my college adventures which I have been sharing since the end of my freshmen year thank you. I can't wait to share the next chapter with you guys.

I also want to give a special shout to Natalie, who was my first blogging friend all the way back during the first summer of the World According to Emma. Natalie and I had actually went to the same college and both graduated this December. Congrats Natalie! You can check out her blog by clicking here.

A now enjoy all the awesome pictures and a video snap that I'm adding in.

Me with my degree folder

One of my Instagram inspired pictures even if it hasn't been shared yet

And Instagram picture 

My cap, shout out to Mama Judy for helping decorating it 

My dad and I

Mama Judy and I

BLUE AND GREEN WALK 2016

Hello All,

At the end of April my mom, my family and I did a walk for Organ Donation. For those of who don't know my cousin has had 2 heart transplants during her life as well as a kidney transplant, which is the reason we do the walk. For the last three years my family has taken part in this walk, you can check out the post from last year by clicking here. 

This year our team was smaller then it has been in the past but we still represented. It was a beautiful day out, it was the mid-seventies and nice and cool. The walk is 2-miles long and for the most part is a very easy walk, there is only one part that's narrow and dirt and uphill. 

I believe that our team raised just over $700 but overall the walk raised just under $90,000 which is AMAZING. 

I don't normally like to get preachy on this blog, I would never tell someone what to do with their body, but I do want to thank everyone out there that is a register organ donor on their license and/or have had to make the decision to donate a love one's organs. I am so incredibly grateful for people like you because without people like you one of my favorite people in the world wouldn't be here today. 

As for pictures I didn't get many, actually I only got two but I'm going to show them to guys.

The starting line

This wasn't our shirt but I thought it was really cool. I believe the team's name was Lili&Meg. Also this picture is courtesy of my Instagram {judy_judy94}

I also vlogged the walk, although my camera started to die so I didn't get a lot of footage. You can get the vlog out below.

Life Update Picture Edition

Hello All,

Long time no talk! I feel like I never have time blog...at least not as much time as want to. Anyways I recently was transferring a lot pictures from my phone to my computer and I figured I'd do a quick life update using those pictures. I hope you guys like it!

New Hair

In the end of February I decided to change my hair. I got about 4 or 5 inches off my hair and dyed it a dark red. Its taken a little while but I may have finally gotten used to it. Also I got a lot of compliments on it.

My 22nd Birthday

 Over my spring break I turned 22 years old! I spent the day getting my nails done and shopping with my mom. I got a lot of amazing birthday wishes and I'm so grateful for everyone who took the time out of their day to wish me a happy birthday.

Bird in the Building

The Wednesday we came back from Spring Break it started out with the school not having power which cancelled all classes before 5 PM! It was such a cool day off because it was like a snow day but it was nice out. People had their windows open and two birds flew into our building! Our hall director, a few of the RAs and some other staff members tried to catch them. They spent a lot of time flying around but eventually they flew out! It was a pretty exciting!

Diana's 21st Birthday

Diana

LtoR: Diana and Me 

LtoR: Megan, Diana and me

A few weeks ago my roommate, Diana turned 21 years old! Diana, myself and Megan who are all 21  went out to celebrate her birthday. We had a lot of fun and enjoyed ourself.

And that's pretty much everything that's been going on in my life. Sorry that I've been kind of MIA lately but school comes first! But the good news is there is post coming up on Wednesday too!

Also if you want more consistent updates you can follow me on Instagram, Twitter and SnapChat which I update some what frequently, my username for all 3 our @judy_judy94.

{Edited April 2016} This post marks the 500th post here on The World According to Emma!

Currently...{February 2016}

Hello All,

Raise your hand if you have been very neglectful towards your blog for the past few weeks.

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I can't apologize for it either because I have been focusing on getting into the swing of the new semester. But now that I have I wanted to do a life update. So, let's do that.

Currently I have been...

...listen to a lot of Kelsea Ballerini and my favorite songs have been Secondhand smoke, Dibs and Stilettos

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...loving having most of my Mondays and Wednesdays off.

...binge watching Prison Break on Netflix

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...been loving pretzels (especially chocolate cover or dipped in Nutella)

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....missing the snow because where I live we have gotten less then we usually do.

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...missing Instagram because I gave it up for lent.

...craving fried chicken.

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...making plans for the summer.

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...excited for the Fuller House premiere

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...reading every article I can find on the Gilmore Girls Revival

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And that's what's been going on with me currently. I'll try to get back to a somewhat regular blogging schedule but then again if you've been around these parts long enough you know that there's really no such thing as a blogging schedule. 

2015 In Review

Hello All,

Happy 2016! Where did the time go? How is already 2016? This past year as been awesome, stressful, happy, great, exhausting and fast. I can't believe how fast it went. It feels like just last yesterday I was writing 2014 In Review and now its time to say good-bye to 2015. So, let's take a look back at this year.

So, without further I ado I want to share what I've done. This year I...

-Start my Junior Year: Spring Semester

-Had a Semester where we went six Mondays without having classes

-Went to Disney over Spring Break

-I Turned 21 in Disney

-Saw Cinderella (movie review here)

-My friend Tori came to visit me at school

LtoR: Me and Tori

-Celebrate 2 Years of Blogging

-Saw The Longest Ride (Movie Review Here)

-I did a Walk for Organ Donation

The Team

-Went Hiking with my Roommate, Megan

-Made a a Confession about Blogging

-Saw Pitch Perfect 2 (Movie Review Here)

-Saw Train Wreck (Movie Review Here)

-Went to a Red Sox Game with Mama J and two of my cousins

LtoR: Mama J and I

-Explored Harvard

-Celebrated Amelia's 21st Birthday

-Moved back to school

-I Fell in Puppy Love

-Start my senior year

First day of class selfie

-Got my first Macbook and of course decorated with a Bulldog sticker

-I fell and sprained my ankle

I also rocked a really weird tan line this year

-I went Pumpkin Picking

-Went to Homecoming

-Saw Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 2 (Movie Review Here)

And that is everything that I've did in 2015. I can't wait to see what 2016 has in store.

2015 Goals Wrap-Up

Hello All,

Happy last day of 2015! This year as been crazy and I honestly didn't pay much attention to my goals over the past year. But it was a good year and I proud of all the person I became over the last 12 months. If you are interested in where this and would like see where it all started you can see the first post here, you can also see the check-ins by clicking on the following months: March 2015 and September 2015. 

Not Even Attempted

In Progress

Completed

1. Start Exercising and Eating Healthier

I did a get job for about the first three months and then it completely fell off the track

2. Cross 3 Things Off My Bucket List

I crossed nothing off my bucket list this year. I focused on school this year and didn't do anything huge, bucket list worthy. Although I have decided to add 1 thing to my bucket list, I have decided that I would like to take a tour at all 7 Ivy League schools. I was able to take a tour at Harvard this past summer, so I am 1/7 of my ways through crossing that off my list.

3. Finish 2 Blankets for my 180 Blankets for 180 Days

I started a blanket but haven't finished it yet. Although I'm thinking about working on it some over this break.

4. Read 6 Books That Aren't For School

I read 5 books this year. I would say that its pretty damn close to perfect. I'm also about a quarter of the way through the current book I'm reading so I would say that its about 95.25% of this goal could be crossed out. You can read the book reviews by clicking on the following links: Six Months Later, Gone Too Far, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, PS I Still Love You and The Third Twin.

5. Blog Twice A Week

I worked really hard on keeping up with this for the first month of the year. And then I realized that I didn't like working on schedule. I have found that when I try and force myself to get two blog posts out a week they aren't as good as they should be. 

6. Create and Live By a Budget

This year I found a template I liked but wasn't good about keeping up with it.

7. Stop Procrastinating

I was awesome at not procrastinating this past semester. I got most of my work done before schedule. Most nights I didn't have to do homework after about 4:30 PM so I had my nights off and I was a lot happier that way. Although at times that meant spending hours in the library.

8. Become a Neater Person

I'm actually pretty proud to say that I have become a neater person. This semester I have found that most nights before I go to bed I'm putting things away  and making sure that most things are in its place. I have found that this has made me less stressed.

9. Go On 4 Blog Worthy Adventures 

I went on so many fun and exciting adventures this year and it was awesome! You can read about the adventures by clicking on the following links: Disney with my friends, Tori visiting me at school, Hiking with my Roommate, Boston Day 1 & Day 2, Pumpkin Picking.

10. Work on my Novel More

I haven't worked on my novel at all. I actually started working on different writing project and I'm pretty happy about the work I've gotten done on it. 

And those were my 10 goals of 2015. I only crossed one thing off my list but I made head ways on a lot of my goals. Things haven't been perfect but I'm happy about the headway I made and I can't wait to see where 2016 takes me.

Happy!

Hello All,

Before I start I would just like today say that this post is a one hit wonder meaning that I'm writing this post, schedule it to post and then not looking at it again until I tweet the link. This is because I have been editing like a mad women between school and all the blog posts that I have been working on. And when I edited a blog post I normally wait 24 hours to edit because if I edited right away I feel like I miss so many typos because its so fresh on my mind. But that's not what I'm here to talk about so so let's just move on to what I came on here to talk about.

So, I'm going to start by telling you a story. Today is Tuesday (probably about two weeks before you're seeing this) and it was raining. When I was leaving my building this morning I forgot that it was supposed to rain in the afternoon. Most people would be sprinting across campus so that they don't get soaking wet. But I was walking across at pretty normal pace and was listening to music. And while I was walking I was just overcome with this feeling of happiness. I don't really know where it came from. In all honesty I have been kind of stressed lately so I was shocked when all the sudden I was swept over with happy.

But it wasn't only happiness that came over me. It was this feeling of I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be. Not only in location but in every aspect of my life. I have always been a firm believer in the idea of fate. But at times I still wonder if I'm making the right choices and if everything is going to be okay. But while I was walking back from the dorm I got the idea that everything was going tokay and that I'm doing everything I'm supposed to be doing. 

And I was kind of surprised to be feeling this way because I had a lot of thing that just kind of went wrong today. Not that today was a bad day but it wasn't a day that would typically have me walking across campus smiling to myself. 

So, I guess what I'm trying to say is even on days that are uber stressful finding something as simple as walking in the rain can make you happy. And even when everything seems to be going wrong that everything is going to be okay!

And now I have decided spur of the momently (<--- Is that a word? If it is am I using it correctly?) that this post is going to go live on the first day of finals at my school because it seems like a positive note to start the final period with. 

And on that note I would like to wish everyone who is taking finals good luck!

Thanksgiving Break 2015

Hello All,

I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving this year and that your holiday season is off to a great start. The next few weeks in my world are going to be crazy! But I also have a lot of blog post ideas so I hopefully I crank some of those out over the next few weeks. With that being said let's talk about Thanksgiving Break.

Tuesday:

My Thanksgiving break started Tuesday afternoon after class. As soon as that class ended I pretty much ran to my car. At this time I had only spent one night off campus all semester and that one day was back in September, meaning that it had been about 60 days since I had spent a night off campus and had been home. So, you could say I was a little excited. When I got home I spent a little while with Mama J before retreating to my bed (where I spent most of break). For dinner Mama J and I went to my favorite restaurant at home.  When we got home I jumped in the shower and I'm pretty sure I was out like a light but 10:30/11 and I'm not even a little sorry.

Wednesday:

On Wednesday I woke up at about 9:15 but didn't get out of bed until like 11:30. Once I got out of bed I ran to the grocery store to get some food and came home. I had some homework that was due at 4 PM so I did that assignment and sent it in. Once I finished with my responsibilities I decided to do some baking and I made a cake (I didn't take a picture though because it wasn't that pretty). While things were baking I worked on one of my writing projects and just chilled out. 

Thursday (Thanksgiving):

Originally my plan was to wake up at 8:45 so I would be upstairs for the beginning of the parade. But that didn't happen. I woke up about an hour later and went up stairs. I watched bits and pieces of the parade while I curled my hair and did my make-up. Mama J and I made our way down to my Uncle's house for Thanksgiving itself. For our Thanksgiving it was a smaller group this year then it normally is but it was actually a lot of fun. My younger cousin pointed out to me later in the night that we had been sitting at the dinning room table for about 4 hours! It was crazy. When Mama J and I got home I was again retreated to my bedroom and worked on one of my writing projects again. All and all it was a great Thanksgiving.

My Thanksgiving selfie as seen on Instagram

 Also if you are interested in seeing my annual Thanksgiving post you can see it here.

Friday:

I slept in for quiet while. When I woke up Mama J and I got ready to leave the house because we were going Black Friday shopping! We left the house around noon and our first stop was getting lunch at Friendly's and although we would both probably return in the future our experience this time was not good! After lunch we headed over to Bath and Body Works where I picked up my winter scents as well as some Christmas presents. This was probably the craziest store we went to. It was so jammed packed but we got so much stuff from there. Our next stop was Kohls where I hit the mother load! I was so impressed with all the deals I got. Before applying coupons I had already saved $100! Plus a lot of the stuff I got were really cute! My last stop of the day was Ulta where I treated myself to some cute make-up as well as some base products. Mama J had to work that night so I went home and vegged. At around 8 PM I decided to get up and make cinnamon rolls. They were delicious. 

Saturday:

I slept in super later because it was rainy and gross. After I woke up I spent the better part of the day in bed because why not. Later that night Mama J decided she wanted to join team iphone. We went to Verizon where she was helped my an awesome worker. Although there was a slight mess up with the sims cards that got our phones sort of messed up. But they were able to fix it. When I got home I windowed shopped on Etsy for hours. And then crashed.

Sunday:

I slept until about 11:15 and as soon as I woke up I knew I would regret sleeping that late because I have to go to bed early because I work super early on Monday mornings. Once I got up I got ready to film because I was filming my Black Friday Haul (which you can watch by clicking here). Once I finished I packed up my car and headed back to school for the last 19 days before winter break!

And that was my Thanksgiving break. How did you guys spend your Thanksgiving? Let me know in the comments below.

Homecoming 2015

Hello All,

In October my college had its homecoming weekend. Homecoming at my school is a big deal but its not as big as it at other schools. But its still a lot of fun to go to and the traditions are pretty cool too. And since I did it of course I need to blog about it.

Homecoming was on Saturday, which meant that I had to work from midnight to 4 AM the day of homecoming. Luckily this year it was a night game which means I got to sleep until a pretty decent time of about 11:30. When I got up I did my make up and got ready for the game.

The first tradition my school as is the annual homecoming parade where the different halls, clubs and organization create skits to share on homecoming day.  On most of the posters around campus said that the parade was starting at 1:30 but they changed it to 2 meaning we were super early. My roommate Sonja knows some of the girls on the soccer team and we went and watched a little of it.

Sonja ended up watching the rest of the game while Megan and I went to watch the parade. I always love going to parade one because the different groups are super creative but also because one of my good friends, Mandi's (you may recognize her from my Disney 2015 Spring Break Trip) sorority always does a skit and I love to see what they come up with. All the clubs and organization did a great job and to be honest it is always one of my favorite parts of the parade.

After the parade we went to lunch at our dinning hall and then hung out at our room for a little while. But soon it was time for the game. It was a night game and the first one I had ever gone to (at night at least). It was a lot of fun but I only made it to about half time because I got too cold. Unfortunately our team lost but they did a really good job in the part that I saw.

The field

The snapchat showing how cold it was

2/3 of my roommate (LtoR: Sonja, Megan and me)

And that was my senior year homecoming!

When Life Gets Stressful

Hello All,

Recently my life has been crazy busy. You probably noticed because I'm rarely writing on here and even my social medias aren't updated as often as they used to be. (Find me by searching @judy_judy94 on any social media) Being busy has left me majorly stressed. There are some things that I found that really help when I'm stressed.

1. Venting

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Sometimes you just need to get things off your chest. Especially when it feels like everything is going wrong. And sometimes if your lucky and you have friends like my friend Mandi they'll send you little pep talk text messages to help get you through the day. 

2. Binge Watching Some Netflix

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Sometimes you just need to disappear into a world of make believe. Or a world that has more drama then your own life and you don't have to personally deal with the aftermath. Plus when your binge watching you don't really have to think about all the poop hitting the fan which is a nice little vacation for your brain.

3. Call Your Mom

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Somehow no matter what the problem or situation is moms always have the answer. Even if you don't want to hear that advice. Plus moms are pre-programmed to love you even when you go on ranting about the same stupid thing for hours on end.

4. Work Out

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Okay I'll be honest I'm not following my own advice on this one but I know from the past  working out does help when your stressed and having a bad day.

5. Treat Yo Self

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Whether your buy yourself a new shirt or eat an extra cookie with your dinner every once in a while its good to treat yourself every once in awhile.

6. Sleep

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Sometimes your body needs to sleep and it needs to sleep good. Don't feel bad when your friends want to go out one night and you chose to sleep. Also don't feel bad if you crash out at 9 PM and sleep until 9 AM the next morning because sometimes that is well needed.

7. Make Yourself Feel Good

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I find the days that I get ready for school and make myself feel pretty that I have more productive and happier on those days. Some days this doesn't work but most days it does.

8. Find a mantra

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This particular mantra has been this recently. I wrote it down on index card and have it clipped in my planner. Everyday I read it and remind myself that sometimes your going to have a rough couple of days but then you fake it and you're eventually going to make it.

Whether your you need to chill on the couch get up and be active or just remind yourself that your worth it there are so many ways to de-stress yourself and take a mini life vacation.

How do you de-stress? Tell me about it in the comments below.