Baby Steps for College Students

Dave Ramsey has these 7 steps that, when applied consistently over time, will guarantee wealth. As a recent college graduate, I found that I learned a lot of these steps too late, or that they didn't seem particularly applicable to my life now. Rachel Cruze, Jon Acuff, and Christy Brown (from Dave Ramsey's Speaking Team) adapted some of these steps to be more applicable for college students, and I've brought them here to share with you, along with some of my own thoughts.

Thoughts on Growth and Evaluation

With the new year freshly upon us and those New Year's Resolutions still intact, one thing that I've come across is the concept of growth. Most resolutions, New Year's or otherwise, have some sort of measure of growth. A year-long fast from chocolate measures growth by the ability to avoid eating chocolate. For my personal resolution, growth is measured by getting a book, reading through it, and writing a review. Each step of this cycle that is completed is demonstrative of a little bit of growth. It's easy and measurable. But what about things that aren't so easily measured? How do we measure growth in, for example, becoming a better mother? Or breaking an addiction?

Friends and Technology

I've noticed, especially over this past semester, that I really don't have as many close friends as I once thought. That's not necessarily due to my being antisocial, although that may be part of it. Part of the problem is distance. All of the friends that I grew up with live far away from me. All of them attended different schools from me, so we've grown apart over these last four years. And now that we've graduated, they've all moved back home, but I'm still 6.5 hours away attending grad school.

11 Things I've Learned from Reading Harry Potter

There are life lessons all around us. The question is, are we paying attention well enough to notice the lessons. I threw together a quick list of 11 things that I learned when I read through the Harry Potter series over the last five months. Without further ado, here are, in no particular order, 11 Things I've Learned from Reading Harry Potter.

New Year's Resolutions

Happy New Year, everyone!

As one year changes to another, many people want to take this time to make changes in their own lives. I've seen friends swear off of things (chocolate, pizza, soda, etc.). I've also seen people resolve that they'll start something new, like working out or a new diet. Perhaps you've also made a commitment for the new year. Personally, I've committed to reading a book per month outside of school-assigned reading, and doing a little write-up that I'll post here.