Back To School Resolutions

Oh right...I blog. Sorryyyyy for my absence but life has been crazy busy. There is just something about the first week of class that demands you to have no free time and as many coffee dates and meetings as humanly possible. Seriously, my little and I were texting about getting lunch and she went to one place four times since classes have started...craziness!
Anyways, this hectic schedule got me thinking. Being involved is great and I totally encourage everyone to do it. I actually am working on a new outlook this year. Obviously my transition to UVA was tough and I didn't throw myself into the experience as much as I wished I had and now I am aiming to make up for lost time. 
Get involved, meet people, develop relationships, take classes you are interested in and love college. I realize that sentence sounds simple, but until you don't work on it, you really have no appreciation for how crucial those steps are.

First day of my 3rd Year!!!

yeah, roomie and I match...casual

I am planning to be busier, more active, and happier this year. I believe in New Year's Resolutions, but I also believe that resolutions are a personal thing that can come around at any time. This year I am making a couple for myself based on the academic calendar and I encourage everyone to do the same:

Sugar Snap Pearls' Resolutions:

Raise $1000 for Relay for Life

Run 2 half-marathons (messed up feet are a no-go for the full thing)

Give back to the community through service

Learn conversational Spanish

Become more fiscally responsible

Blog 4x a week...yay

Get my class reading done ahead of time

Make a firm academic/future plan

Finish decorating the apartment!!!

What are your school year resolutions?

xoxo,

SSP

Plan Away

Well it's the first day of class! I had so many back-to-school posts planned for last week and I am so sorry I didn't get to them. I had a whole plan, and then got super sick...like my Momma had to come pick me up and take me home from college sick. But, I am much better now and so excited for the first day of class! Since I didn't get to it last week, I know I have a lot of back-to-school prep left to do and I am sure some of y'all are in the same boat! 
I finally got around to ordering my planners and books (bank account hates me so much right now) and I wanted to share my thoughts on planners with you!
Normally, I just grab my favorite Lilly planner at the mall and go from there, but I actually wanted to try something a bit different and see if it benefits me this year. I am juggling way more this semester than in the past and I definitely had some reservations about trying to cram it all in that format. Since I spent so much time analyzing planners (actually though, it's sort of embarrassing) I am going to share some of my favorite systems with y'all.

Lilly Pulitzer

Duh, the iconic planner. You can't go wrong with the colorful pages and stickers that almost make you excited to write down that 20 page term paper...almost. There is plenty of room to write in this planner and the extra section dedicated to the months in the front is a nice long term flip through. Also, this year the new tabs are more durable and there's a new horoscope section!

Sarah Pinto

Well, this is my planner for the year. Sara Pinto planners are perfect for getting down to business. It has a cute and simple front cover design and no-fuss organization inside. Plus, the selling point to the organization freak in me was the to-do list section for each day!

Kate Spade

Okay these are new, and I am obsessed. I desperately wanted the polka dotted one, but I actually am getting 2 planners (yeah, I know, I'll explain later) and the price was just a bit more than I really wanted to pay for that...especially with the cost of textbooks. Also, love the quote at the beginning of each section. It's very similar to the Lilly one in that sense, basically as cute as a Lilly but with plain pages.

Erin Condren

I have never seen one of these in person, but I have heard rumors. This might actually be on my christmas list. This is the queen of all planners. I mean, it's called the "life planner" for a reason. You can plan school, social activities, work, basically everything in here. 

Google Calendar

Not to be a total grandma, but I cannot do online planning. I just struggle to remember it if I don't physically write it down. I am going to try to use my iPhone as a backup this year but we'll see. However, if you're tech savvy or always leaving your planner, this is for you. You can reference it anywhere and sync it with all devices. The calendar app on my Macbook, iPad, and iPhone is probably the calendar I'd use, but the idea of a digital calendar is great for on the go and it's free!
So I mentioned 2 planners...I am also getting a jumbo Lilly planner to leave at home. That way I can juggle social, school, extracurriculars, blogging, and maybe work. I just like the idea of having one for school and one for life in general for this semester.

What are you planning with this semester?

xoxo,
SSP