What's In My Bag: Finals Week Edition

So it's not exactly my finals week but like a good student (hear that Mum, I'm a good student), I am starting to study 2 weeks before my actual finals week. Since the library has become my new home, I obviously have to pack anything and everything I could potentially need during my journey to the land of the books and procrastination.

Here are the contents of my bag:

1 pack of Sour Patch kids - a reward of course
Half a dozen pens in various colors
2 Highlighters
1 pack of Snapea Crisps - these are an amazing snack
As many of my notes that I could find from the semester in file folders
2 Legal Pads
My iPad
My Laptop
Every electric cord I could think of - iPad charger, phone charger, laptop charger
My monogrammed TI-84 Silver Plus
A few different colors of PostIt Notes
My Planner
A Cardigan
Secret Garden by Johanna Basford - it's a coloring book for grownups in case I need a distraction
Instant Coffee Packs
A Water Bottle

What do you take for your productive study sessions at your library?

The Happy and Healthy Series: Taking Care of Yourself

It's the second post in our Happy and Healthy Series! I presume that there will be around 3 more posts in the series for those of you that are curious.

This week is all about taking care of yourself! In our ever busy schedule, we often forget to do the small things that keep us healthy.

Here are a few tips to achieving a healthy lifestyle - or at least getting yourself there.

Drink your 8 cups of water a day! 

Say no to that 3rd cup of coffee and grab a glass of ice water instead. If you don't like water try adding some fresh fruit in it to make it a little easier to enjoy! I like putting strawberries in mine.

Try to get your recommended amount of sleep! 

I know that it is often hard to get all of the sleep you are supposed to but try to get close to it!

Watch your posture!

Sit up straight and stand straight. It will really help your back feel way better 90% of the time.

Eat 3 meals a day around the same time every day! 

A meal doesn't have to be super fancy. A bowl of cereal can even count! It doesn't even have to be super healthy but if you eat regularly it'll pay off because you will snack less.

What healthy habits do you have? Email us at sisterhoodredefined@gmail.com or even leave a comment!

Making the Most of Alum Groups

The end is near for you seniors. Time to don your sorority stoles and make the walk to receive your diploma. After four years of all-nighters, formals, and random 2 AM Taco Bell runs, you are moving on into a world where these are not acceptable. How do you hold on the the letters you love so much while making this transformation?

1. Join your local alum group - The simplest way to connect with your local alum group is to simply request to join. Send an email to the chapter president and express your interest in joining.

2. Get to know each sister in the group - Once you join, don't just show up for meetings. Reach out to the members and get to know them all. Though there may be an age difference, you can always learn something form everyone.

3. Help plan events for the group - You are fresh out of college, meaning you are the one who has most recently been involved in planning active events. Use your expertise in planning and help plan the next alum brunch or philanthropy event.

4. Send snail mail to your "new" sisters - Everyone loves to receive mail. Remember how you loved sending mail to your big when she was doing study abroad? Remember how much she loved to receive it? Take the time to send fun letters to the members  of your local alum group.

The 5 People You Meet in Every Sorority Chapter

Every chapter is different! We say that every member is unique and at the end of the day that is true however we all have a few people that you will find in absolutely every chapter!

1. Miss TSM

This formal superlative is used to describe your chapter's Starbucks loving, Kate Spade toting, cooler painting, srat-tastic sister! I'm my chapter's Miss TSM (at least for another two weeks) so this girl is usually someone I can relate to in every chapter!

2. The Hippie

While she may not always be rocking a flower crown, you can expect that she always has a little something boho on. She's the one that knows about the best music and the latest yoga trends. Shoutout to her if she is influencing everyone to pick up a hula hoop!

3. The Library Dweller

She is personally responsible for maintaining your chapter's GPA. If you need a study buddy, this sister is your girl. I think she has stopped paying rent to her apartment and now makes a check out to the library every month.

4. The Back Row Senior

When the president calls for new business, this girl is the first with her hand in the air with a comment on something or another. She cares so much about your chapter that she is terrified about what will happen when she leaves so she is throwing everything into her last semester!

5. The Real MVP

There is a sheet sign that is due for Derby Days in 24 hours. This is the first person you will text. Homecoming week is two weeks away and you need someone to step up as the chair? She will volunteer to help out and she will kick ass. This girl always comes in clutch so don't take her for granted and make sure to save her a spot on the tabling sign up!

Here's to these 5 lovely ladies! We love you!

My Monday Morning Ritual

Happy Monday! I've decided it's time everyone stops beating up on Monday - just because it's the first day of the week and the end of the weekend doesn't mean it's all bad! It also means a fresh start and an opportunity to get ahead of all your work for the week!

In order to show you how awesome Monday's can be, I'm going to share my Monday Morning Ritual with you (:

Step 1: Wake Up! Every Monday I try to wake up around 8 AM. I know it sounds early but rarely do I go to bed super late on Sunday and if I wake up early, I feel less rushed getting ready.

Step 2: Caffinate! I get up and make myself a cup of coffee. Another perk of my 8 AM wake up call is that I can actually sit down and enjoy my cup of coffee in a real mug and listen to Spotify's Morning Acoustic. There is no better way to start your week! 

Check out the playlist here!

Step 3: Get ready! By 8:45, I try to be up and in the shower. I always put together a decent outfit for Mondays. Ditch the yoga pants (or running shorts) and put on a pair of jeans if nothing else! You'll feel so much more productive. 

Step 4: Plan your week! After I'm ready (and usually while on my second cup of coffee), I sit down and look at my planner and map out my week. What nights do I have meetings? When am I going to the gym? What tests do I have? Once I know the big things I have to get done in the week, I make a list of all the little things that have to be done by Friday. Then I know what to work on when I have some free time. 

Step 5: Make lunch! Shame on me but I'm not a breakfast eater but I always take my lunch to campus on Mondays. I have a long (3 and a half hour) break between my classes and I try to always go to the library to get started on the small tasks that I have to do. When I take my lunch, I don't feel tempted to procrastinate and go find food else where in places I know I'll run into sisters. 

Step 6: Go to class! Your first class on Monday is always the hardest class to get to because it marks the official end to the weekend but once you make it, your other ones are easier to get to. 

How do you do Monday mornings? We'd love to hear in the comments! 

Declutter Your Sorority Junk

I feel that the longer you stay in a sorority, more items keep popping up. Some of those items can be crafts from your sisters or shirts from philanthropies. Naturally, all of these items are cluttering together in the corner of your room, closet, or floor. The best way to keep your room clean and clutter free from sorority “junk” are with these easy tips:

Make use out of your old shoe boxes. I am positive that I can’t be the only one that has empty shoe boxes lying around her house. Shoe boxes act as a great storage unit for a multitude of things. As there are a ton of shoe boxes and a ton of sorority tanks, they work well together to give you more closet space. Once shirts are folded and stored, the shoe box can be placed anywhere without taking up a lot of space in your room! 

Rolling drawers are great to hold your craft items. Everything can be divided up by glitter, glue, paints, and more. Rolling drawers become an essential piece to a crafter because everything isn’t mixed together, you have more than one shelf space, and you can move it around with you when you are crafting.

Sorority items are hard to keep around because some can hold a special meaning or some were given away to you and you just kept them around. One way to make sure sorority items don’t become junk is to store them in boxes, decorative or plain boxes from Target or Michael’s will do the trick, and place them on an empty shelf to stack or under your bed so it doesn’t make your room look too messy. Another way to de-clutter sorority junk is to give them away. If your items hold no sentimental value to you, it doesn’t hurt to pass them down to another sister or your little. 

Editor's Note: This post was written by Christina! Show her some love in the comments! 

IMPORTANT NEWS!

Good morning readers!

I hope you are all doing well. I have some news to share with you all...while you may see it as negative, it's really a positive thing. We have officially added 10 new bloggers to our site and will be removing the current 10 bloggers. The new bloggers are members of IFC fraternities from around the country. I hope you will join us in welcoming our new staff and saying goodbye to our former staff. The official change will happen May 1. With this change, it seems only appropriate to change our name to BrosRedefined. Check out our instagram for our new logo!

Yours in Panhellenic Sisterhood,
April Fools