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Get Your Groove Back After Break

Featured Author:

Ariana Finlayson

Hey there! My name is Ariana Finlayson and I've been chosen to be your FastWeb College Senior Student Columnist for the next five months. I'm from South Jersey (there is a difference!) and my school of choice is Hofstra University. Located on Long Island, N.Y., I'm about two and a half hours away from my stomping grounds and 25 miles east of New York City. I am one of the lucky ones who knew what she wanted to study from junior year of high school and stuck with it all throughout college. I wanted to change my major a bunch of times, but alas, print journalism and I made it out through thick and thin. My minor is in psychology--that means I only like it a little bit. At Hofstra, I'm a Resident Assistant as well as a Student Ambassador. As an Ambassador, I do outreach to prospective students who think that "the Hof" is pretty cool and might want to come here. I'm a staff writer for the newspaper, The Chronicle, and a section editor for the magazine, Pulse. My friend and I are trying to start up a fashion/beauty section within the newspaper to give it a bit of flair, but mostly I just write features. Pulse is the birth child of the Magazine Production class here, but really, any students can contribute. My spare time is spent going into the city for concerts, getting a great bargain at any retail store, tearing through my monthly magazines, eating ice cream with friends much too often, and working out. I love Apple computers and I abbreviate words way too often. Music is my best friend. Since this is my senior year, I'm sure I'll have a ton to share from both past and present. I'm totally psyched and can't wait to hear your feedback!

More articles from this author:

• Room(mate) With a View: Tips on Handling Roommates
• The Grass is Greener on the Other Side of the Quad: Living Off-Campus
• Stop Living in the Past

Welcome back and Happy New Year! I hope you had a great holiday and a relaxing break, and that if you returned home, my advice from the previous post was useful.

Of course the buzz in the first month of the year always includes the same subject: What is your New Year’s resolution? I usually don’t believe in making resolutions, but this year I figured I’d give it a try.

I’m making many of these promises to myself since this spring will be my last college semester as an undergraduate student. It’s scary at times when I think of the year ahead, which will be full of adjustments, changes and promising future endeavors.

At the same time, I feel exhilarated because what lies before me is unknown. I don’t know where in New York City I will live, I don’t know who my roommate(s) will be, and I don’t know if one of my top magazine picks will have entry-level openings.

So here are my resolutions:

• Maintain the healthy nutrition choices! I’m finding that I feel better when I eat better and have some sort of physical activity. I even signed up for a yoga class this semester so I will be kick-starting my Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8 a.m. with some Zen time!
• Strengthen my relationships with the friends I have at Hofstra. The unfortunate reality is that not everyone is planning on staying in the area. It’s scary to think that I’ve spent four years practically living next to these people and within months, some of them will be across the country.
• Take advantage of guidance. I need to take advantage of any mentors that I have found among my professors, administration or older peers. Their knowledge and advice will be my building blocks for the crazy times ahead of me.
• Cut back severely on ordering take-out. There are a ton of restaurants around my school, and since I have a car, nothing stops me from ordering my favorite dish — grilled chicken salad with mozzarella cheese (no onions or olives) and pita bread – three times a week. I’m trying to keep the cash in my pocket.
• Buy coffee in the cafeteria instead of at Starbucks. At my internship’s café, it’s only 75 cents when you bring your own travel mug. At the Penn Station Starbucks, it can cost over three dollars a day. Do the math!

Hopefully I’ll be able to stick with the resolutions I’ve made. I’ll keep you updated along the way and let you know how I’m doing.