Wait..Really..Me..NYU?

I have some super exciting news to share with you guys.. and a tiny question to ask which I will expand on at the end of the post!! So as you may know, I have toured a few colleges.. Uconn, Pace, and NYU. Well I did fall in love with NYU when I visited, but I tried to pull myself away because I thought I would never have the chance to get in...  I was Wrong!! 

I got home from school on Friday and right in my email was an ACCEPTANCE letter to NYU Steinhardt! You do not understand how I felt when I saw those words... I literally froze and I was so overwhelmed that I became emotionless haha!  (I'm bad at dealing with emotions as you may already know lol) I told my mom who at first was conflicted, but later after speaking with her friends and seeing the financial aid which was decent, started pushing me towards going to NYU!! I literally cried when she told me that NYU could be considered. I honestly believe she is more excited than me! So now it's down to just Uconn and NYU. I feel so lucky to have two great choices to pick from but I really thought that the decision between these two schools would be easy. In reality though, I feel so terribly conflicted... (I'll explain this later at the end of the post if you care to share your opinions.. any advice you give would be so helpful to me because I'm straight down the middle and kinda freaking out haha)

Anyways let's move onto the outfit part of my post today!! I have been digging into my stash of items from Shabby Apple lately. I got some really cute items from the store and I really want to do a haul, but I have so much other things that I want to show you guys.. such as my haul from NY and possibly even some other big items that I got recently haha! (I'll keep that a secret for now!) Today I am wearing a cute stripped sweater!

I wanted to take picture outside today, but the weather would not cooperate.. it's raining as of now and I couldn't risk breaking my camera so inside I went haha! This sweater is very simple but so cute at the same time. I personally love the look of a comfy sweater like this one paired with leggings. It's a quick, but put together look for me that requires minimum effort! Recently, I have been in love with this pair of leggings.. I actually accidentally ordered two pairs of these a while back and I'm glad I did because they are so cozy! They are much thicker than regular leggings (so they are more jegging like) and they keep me quite warm!

Even though the sweater was sold as a "sweater," I personally feel that the material used to make it isn't what I would consider a sweater haha. The sweater has two layers.. a thin white tank with a material on top. It resembled more of a shirt for me, but it's still cute nevertheless! The gold thread that they used for this sweater really caught my eye. It makes the sweater sparkle in the light and I feel that it even kinda has a holiday flair to it haha.

With a simple outfit like this, I tend to like to wear more jewelry. Today I have on two rings and a set of bangles. The cute little fox ring is one of my favorite but I sadly don't wear it as often as I want. I just love how detailed the fox is made to be and the crystals that they put on it. For my shoes, I wore a pair of boots that I just recently purchased when I went to the mall. I feel like I got these boots for a steal to be honest! They were just under $20 and the material is quite strong! Plus there is a tiny big of a heel which I like. It gives me extra height without the twisted ankle! =) (I just checked online and I did get the boots for a steal!! They are originally $69, but they are $40+ now on clearance!! Getting these for only ~$20 was a great deal!))

Sweater- Similar @ Nordstrom
Leggings- Aeropostale
Boots- JcPenny
Rings- Similar @ Forever 21 (Ring 1, Ring 2)
Bracelets- Wetseal

Do you like the sweater and leggings combo?
Have you gotten any steals before like with me and these boots?

Okay so feel free to chime in your opinion on my college situation if you wish... any opinion will help me out greatly! (I'll also try and keep it short haha)
In the beginning of my college choices, I was literally 100% against Uconn, but then after lots of thinking and talking, I realized that Uconn is a great school that I could potentially come out debt free from! I also had many friends there so I more or less forced myself to like the school... and now I LOVE it and I can see myself there quite happy. 
On the other hand, NYU has been a dream school for me but I had to give up on my dream because for one I though I couldn't get in and 2nd I couldn't afford it. So when I got my acceptance letter, I was shocked and even more shocked when I got my financial aid and saw that it was a decent amount.

With the scholarship, NYU would be ~10K +expenses of being in NY more than Uconn each year... which is still a lot, but my college experience at NYU would be a lot better than Uconn (that is what I think.. it might not be true) I feel like at NYU, I'll be able to see a more diverse group of people and have the chance to meet people with higher status. I just need to justify that extra 10K per year somehow...

On the flip side, I did get into a really good program at Uconn which has quite a few perks such as picking classes early (which I heard could make a big impact) and Uconn isn't ranked that much lower than NYU. It's just the location that bothers me because my heart feels like it belongs in the city.. not in the middle of a farm haha.
Long story short, NYU is where I want to be, but would it be worth the risk? Uconn is the safe choice in everything- location, money, majors, classes, even friends... while NYU is a bunch of scary new things coming at me... I feel like though that I could grow a lot more at NYU..

**One more thing that I have to consider if my major.. I got into both schools for teaching (I know uconn has a great teaching program) , but I may switch it to undecided.. because I really don't know what I want to do... If I do go to NYU, I would definitely switch my major to something more risky.. basically something I can't get at Uconn.. so that it is worth while.
Yup, this is how my mind is working right now.. it's a mess and from my writing, you can tell I'm uterally confused and it hurts so badly. I had my life set up before this!!
NYU is amazing, but a huge risk with everything.. money, majors, life, friends, opportunities..
Uconn is safe and flexible...
They are both great schools especially with the program I got into at Uconn.. I feel that it is on par with NYU.. but the name of NYU is better and the location of NYU is so much better for me..
Yeah I'm going to stop now because I could go on forever, but you get the point haha. If you have any advice, feel free to share them!! I'm very grateful for any opinions I can get!  =) Thank you guys so much!! 

My 18th Birthday Dinner

It's been over 3 weeks since my birthday, but I've finally had time to celebrate it last week on Sunday! If you don't know, I recently turned 18 years old!!! I had to put my birthday celebration off though because I was going to be heading to NY only a few days after my birthday. (I recommend you read my NY vacation recaps here (part 1) and here (part 2) if you haven't already because the picture are pretty awesome!) When I got back, I was super exhausted both physically and mentally so we pushed the dinner off until the week after!
Usually for birthday celebrations, my family tends to go out for a simple dinner rather than doing something big. The person whose birthday it is gets to choose the restaurant so seeing how it was my birthday, I chose to go to Olive Garden for my dinner!

My Mommy And I

We got ready to for dinner earlier than usual since we wanted to get home before dark.. plus since it was the Sunday before Saint Patrick's Day, we expected to have a long wait at the restaurant! Luckily for us, we actually didn't have to wait at all when we got to the restaurant because we got there so early! We were instantly seated and given our menus!

I actually went to Olive Garden a few months ago and I kinda already had an idea of what I wanted to get. I'm a vegetarian so most of the time at restaurants, my choices are a bit limited. I don't mind though since the choices I do have are usually delicious ones! As we pondered over what to order, our waiter came out with our unlimited breadsticks and salad!

I love how olive garden gives us basically free breadsticks, soups, and salad. I am a huge fan of Olive Garden's breadsticks and the salad is pretty tasty as well. To be honest, I don't like pasta as much as breadsticks so I usually end up filling myself with the breadsticks that by the time the meal comes, I can't finish it haha... though they do give big portions there so I guess it all evens out!

When our waiter came back around the 2nd time, we decided to order ourselves a mini appetizer. There were quite a few items on the menu that I thought I would love, but we eventually settled on something that all three of us would enjoy which was the Caprese Flatbread. This was quite the delicious item! It reminded me of a mini pizza, but with super fresh ingredients. The tomato was quite juicy and I loved the gooey cheese on top! As we ate our flatbread, we had to finalize our decisions on what to order.

These two items were chosen by my mom! She got the Italian Sausage Soup and the Parmesan Crusted Tilapia. I have to admit that the soup looked pretty delicious and I even tried some of it.. (not the sausage part, but the italian dumplings) I really liked the taste of it! My mom was so eager to eat her food, but being the blogger that I was, I just had to stop her from eating anything until photos were snapped haha =)

 This next dish was what my sister ordered. It was the Chicken Parmigiana. From what I remember, this was a meal consisting of pasta and breaded chicken. The first time I went to Olive garden for my friend's 18th birthday, I got something similar though instead of chicken, it was a fried eggplant. All I can say was the the fried eggplant was delicious! My sister also said that she really enjoyed this dish!!

 For my meal, I chose to order the five cheese ziti al forno. (That was quite the mouthful to try to say!) I had my eye on this dish for a while now because as you may know, I love cheese!! This pasta came out on a huge plate and they gave me quite a bit of pasta in my opinion! I am sort of a picky eater so what I ended up doing with my pasta was that I picked off all the cheese and ate that all haha. The pasta was also delicious, but the cheese was even better! Overall I really enjoyed the five cheese ziti al forno and for the price, you really do get a lot of pasta!

After we all stuffed ourselves full of pasta, fish, soup, salad, and lots of breadsticks, we still had some food leftover!! We decided to pack it up and bring it home for dinner the next day! The waiter for our table was also nice enough to give us some extra soup!
Along with our leftovers, we were also given three mints. The mints that they give at olive garden are my favorite! I know that they are most likely just regular mints, but maybe the olive garden stamp on it makes it taste just that much better!

One last picture of my mom and I! 

hehe so much for getting home before the sun sets! It was such a nice dinner though and I had such a fun time out! March has been such a wild month for me. I have been so busy with school and scholarships, but at the same time, I have had such fun adventures outside of school! Senior year has definitely been one of the busiest for me as far as colleges + scholarships, but one of the funniest! I'm really going to miss it when it's over!
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Ohhh wow, I just took some time to look through my blog and I came across a post I wrote about a year ago titled "My 17th Birthday Recap." It's honestly so hard to believe that it has already been a year since then since I feel like the same person.. well maybe I'm a teeny bit more mature and knowledgeable, but it's so crazy how time passes! I'm interested to see where my life will be a year from today now! =)

How do you typically celebrate your birthdays?
Have you ever been to Olive Garden?
Where do you see yourself a year from now?  For starters, I see myself as a college student buried under work and lots of social events hehe! =)

Spring Polka Dots

The weather has been pretty nice lately! It's exactly the temperature that I like.. not too cold or hot. A lot of people are excited for summer which I am too, but I cannot stand how hot it gets! I really love the way it feels right now where it's a bit chilly, but I'm still able to go outside in jeans and a sweater and feel comfortable.

 Plus now that it's not as bitter cold as it was in winter, I have finally been able to go running in usually a long sleeve and leggings. I actually stopped running this winter because of how cold and snowy it got (and maybe I was lazy too haha) and I didn't want to get sick. However, once I heard that I had to run the mile in under a certain time, I immediately put my running shoes on and off I went! It felt so nice and though I was huffing a bit at 2 miles, I loved it. Running is such an escape for me because my mind is always racing, but when I run, it actually kinda stops working and I enjoy it haha. =)

Anyways here is my outfit today-  I wanted to embrace the slightly warmer weather with this adorable polka dot dress! 

My sister has been so sweet lately and agreed to help my photos! It makes things so much easier for me! The photos today were taken outside and we were actually trying to figure out the lighting. It was bright, but the sun wasn't out so were confused on how to set the camera up haha.. we ended up just using the automatic settings! This dress was purchased a while back from forever 21 and I fell back in love with it again after putting it on today! The dress fits me to a "T" and I love the fabric of it. It's quite lightweight and super soft!

The dress is a black color with a pattern of  white polka dots on it. The waist is cinched in and the dress actually came with a belt. However, I opted not to wear the belt since I felt that the belt hit me in a weird area. It didn't really land on my waist, but rather on my ribcage which I felt uncomfortable with. The back of the dress has a cute little keyhole and a button.
I think spring is a perfect time to bust out dresses and skirts so I am pretty excited to start being able to wear more of them. I feel that jeans are often so tight and constricting on my legs.. does anyone else feel this? haha

For my shoes,  I opted to wear a simple pair of black flats. I also have on two bracelets and a ring with this outfit. The two bracelets are beaded with a huge infinity charm in the center. Both bracelets are the same except for the color: one is white and the other is a soft pink. On my finger, I have on a cute ring I got during Black Friday. I really love this ring and it's one of the rings that I often reach for. It's quite a simple ring, but I love the design of it a lot.

This pic was just for fun... The camera actually caught me in the air!

Now that I'm looking at it, I'm realizing March is almost over!! In a few more days, it will be April, scholarship deadlines and spring break, AP testing, and then basically school will be over for me. I'm trying to not let senioritis get to me until after the AP test.. and after that, I'm not going to resist it at all haha! I'm going to enjoy the last few months of being a high school student to the fullest! It makes me so sad since I feel like everything is ending and I'm kinda closing a huge chapter of my life! I've literally got such a mix of emotions about everything right now... =)

Dress- Forever 21
Flats- Kohls
Bracelet- Similar at Jcpenny
Ring- Similar at Forever 21

Is it finally warming up a bit where you are?
Who else prefers dresses + skirts over jeans?
Did you guys experience the same emotions when you graduate high school/college as me?

My Trip To NY (Part 2)

This post shall be a continuation of my post last Wednesday which was "My Trip To NY (Part 1)." Like last time, I struggled again this week when it came to pictures. I took so many pictures that it became near impossible to pick the ones I love. Even doing collages (which allows for more photos in less space) was hard since I just could not pick!

I arrived to NY on Thursday hiked an hour to the amazing hotel haha! (the walk was well worth it) On Friday, I toured two schools, Pace University and NYU. Not onto my third day in New York-

Okay so unlike the night before (where I went to bed after 3am...), I actually attempted to fall asleep a bit earlier so I could wake up early and explore the city! I'll just say that sleeping in a foreign city all by yourself is very hard!! Maybe it's the fact that I was all alone that bothered me or maybe the idea that I have so much adventures I could experience here that kept me from sleeping. Either way, I'll admit that I slept with a "mini night light" because I was scared haha.

I woke up pretty early (around 8 am) and quickly got up and ready to go out. I had done research the night before for fun activities in NYC that cost little to nothing and decided to take on the challenge of walking the Brooklyn Bridge and exploring Brooklyn. I got up, put on comfy clothes/shoes, grabbed breakfast, and went towards the bridge! 

On my way to the bridge.. I sort of got lost..

This picture looks so unreal!!!!!! But I was there and I took this!!! I can't believe it!!

Even though the bridge was next to my hotel, I managed to get lost trying to walk there haha. I just walked around hoping to find the bridge because I mean, how can I not find such a large bridge ... It took a while, but I found it! The bridge was right next to Pace University!! (I was there yesterday haha)

I was very fortunate with my trip to New York because on the days I went, the weather was perfect! A bit chilly the first two days, but Saturday was absolutely gorgeous! I wore my jacket on my walk and even ended up having to take it off because I got too hot! I couldn't believe how nice it was! 

Can you spot me?

As soon as I found the bridge, I was so excited! I had seen the pictures of it online, but nothing compared to seeing it in person. I just couldn't believe how big it was and how beautifully designed it was! There were also many people on the bridge with me.. some were tourist like me while others were just running or biking on it as if it was there normal routine! The bridge was a only a little bit longer than a mile so I calculated that it wouldn't take over an hour (including stopping for pictures) for me to get to Brooklyn! 

I actually see my hotel from here!!!  

As I mentioned before, the weather was gorgeous this day so I tried my best to take as many photos as possible! The only difficult part was getting a picture of me on the bridge since I didn't have anyone I knew to take it for me lol. The bridge itself was quite amazing! There was a section just for walkers and to the sides of us. I could see and feel the cars zooming by underneath me and I actually took a little video of me walking a section of the bridge! I actually walked the bridge pretty slowly and turned around many times to get a glimpse of the view behind me. What I saw was so surreal. For one, I could see the statue of liberty and the Manhattan skyline just put me in awe! hehe I really did feel as if I was in a movie! 

Something that I noticed on the bridge intrigued me. As I was walking, I noticed that on the sides of the bridge, there were locks. It wasn't just one lock, but rather a couple bunches of locks.. at certain parts of the bridge, there were sides literally covered with these little locks. I had no idea why, but from what was written on the locks, I came to the conclusion that it had something to do with relationships. I later researched this and learned that I was right!! 

At the end of the bridge, there were a set of stairs. I was nervous at first because the stairs were a bit sketchy looking, but I noticed that everyone was taking them so I just went along with the crowd. On the bridge, even though I was by myself, I didn't really feel scared at all because there were so many people on it with me! haha

After getting to the bottom of the stairs, I was under a bridge with the sign "Welcome to Brooklyn" on it and right then I knew I had made it!! I was in Brooklyn!! I even called home to my little sister and mom to tell them haha. My sister had no reaction while my mom sort of freaked out lol. I on the hand was just super proud and ready to explore! 

I had researched Brooklyn and had a few places in mind of where I wanted to visit.. unfortunately, I could not for the life of me figure out how to get to those places so I was stuck with either the choice to go left or right.. I chose to go left and ended up in a beautiful, quiet park! It was amazing for me to see how calm and peaceful the park was in comparison to the rest of the city. I mean I could hear bird chirping when I was at the park! I took that opportunity to just sit down for a few minutes, relax and take everything in. I was in the city, but at the same time, I still had a bit of the country side here with me haha! 

After resting for a few moments, I set off again towards what looked like a farmers market!! I am a huge lover of anything fresh so I couldn't resist buying myself a bag of apples and a muffin from two of the stalls! I also got some really delicious samples of cheese here! I ate my mini lunch on the go as I continued walking... Did I know where I was going... no not really haha?  I just kept walking and hoped not to get lost!! I kept walking and walking until I hit a huge street with just shopping centers! I immediately recognized it as a place I had seen online and decided to check out the stores there! I did not anticipate to buy anything, but long story short, I ended up just having to buy a new bathing suit from Aerie! (I'll share pics later since I already have too many photos in this post haha)

After my shopping trip, I walked all the way back to the bridge and wanted to head back to the hotel until I looked down at the clock and realized ... it was only 11?? What.. I thought to myself. I still had half a day left to explore so I made the decision to go in the opposite direction, right, and see what I would encounter. It turns out that I ended up in a place that I wanted to see all along.. a little place by the name of Dumbo! I read online that this neighborhood was very quirky and filled with fun shops! 

It was true!! The buildings in the neighborhood had a interesting feel to it and all the shops were ridiculous. I saw numerous shops ever corner I turned! I did more window shopping than actual shopping there because I have to admit, the prices were a bit inflated there!! I did end up getting some candy and mints there though because they were just ohh so cute!

I explored the shops down at Dumbo for hours and before I knew it, I had to head back soon so I could get back to my hotel before it became too dark. I got back to my hotel around 4 or 5 and realized just how tired I was!! I had been walking for almost 8 hours straight and wow, I guess the excitement numbed all my senses of being tired and hungry!! I took a mini nap and awoke at night starving! I didn't eat much that day and I wanted food! It was dark outside, but since it was my last night in NYC, I wanted to do something daring.. haha it probably doesn't sound daring to you guys but I did go out and explore the city at night while picking up some much needed food! The city looks even more amazing at night then in the morning!!! I actually spent quite a lot of time out that night by myself haha! I felt quite accomplished! 

Being 55 floors above the ground is scary!!

Once I got back to the hotel, I decided to make my way to the top, 55th floor of the hotel just to see what it was like! I took the elevator, pushed the 55th floors, and it quickly rose to the top. I got out and to my surprise, the suites up there were for the rich haha. The governor and presidential suites were all up there. The view from that high was also stunning!! I failed to capture a decent photo though, but trust me when I say that it was like nothing I had seen before =) 

While I was up there, a hotel worker actually saw me and I was quite embarrassed lol. I explained to them I was curious about what it was like up here and how I wanted photos... they looked at me as if they didn't care and a normal occurrence lol =) I mean I'm sure other people are curious as to what life is like 55 floors above the ground! 

After the 55th floor, I headed back to my hotel room and took photos of everything. . !! I needed memories. I even took pictures of the crazy priced snacks ($8 for gummy bears..) that they offered! 

I actually began tearing a bit as I took these photos because I really didn't want my adventure to end. I mean I just turned 18 less than a week ago and here I was, in NY. It was so hard to take in. 

To keep things short and sweet, I realized that night that a chance to get a trip like this again was slim and I really wanted to make my trip worth it and even more memorable that it already was! I didn't do anything that wild on my trip, but I did step out of my comfort zone and experienced lots of new things. As you may already guess, I did not sleep early that night at all. I was too overwhelmed by my emotions to get some rest haha. . In fact, I barley slept my last night haha! 

I woke up around 9... but it was actually 10 thanks to daylight savings and just laid in bed reminiscing about my whole experience. I had to check out of the room before 12 so I started packing around 11:45 haha. I made it out in time!! However after checking out and handing in my card, I found myself super emotional for some reason. I didn't expect it, but I actually began crying and had to sit in the lobby for a while to get my feelings in check. Everything was so overwhelming and I wasn't crying because I regretted the trip, but rather because I didn't want it to end. I would relive it over and over again! 

I eventually figured my feelings out and got myself up. The hotel had a service where they would hold your bags.. I took advantage of that and as they held my luggage, I walked around the city one last time! I went everywhere and snapped as many photos as I could. I took it all in - I was here in NYC, I explored, I had fun, I experienced new things, and now I would be going home. 

I walked for almost 2 hours and went back to the hotel to pick up my bags. I thought I would be okay to go, but as I picked up my bags and walked out, I felt tears in my eyes again. I didn't want to leave, but I knew it was time. hehe now thinking back... I'm not sure whether the tears were from not wanting to leave or the daunting idea of an hour long walk with my 10+ lbs of luggage in my hands...  

Next time, I will pack lighter!! 

I finally got to Chinatown and with the help of some people on the streets, I found my way to where my bus stop was. I was just 3 hours early lol. So to pass the time, I went to a nearby bakery\, sat down, and got so much food!! I did not really eat that day since I was so depressed about having to leave that by the time I walked an hour to Chinatown, I was ravenous. I ate 2 breads and 2 desserts in one sitting... the breads to fill my hunger and the desserts to fill my sadness lol =) 

As I ate, I took out some of my notes from psychology class and tried to keep my mind off being so sad. 

Okay so what happened next is kinda crazy and I think it is okay to share... as I was wiping tears, this guy walks in who looks more or less like my age. This was strange to me because everyone in the bakery were older people so my eyes immediately went to him. I think maybe he noticed me because he sat down and we ended up talking... man did I look terrible at that time! I literally just finished crying a stream of tears and I my outfit was more or less a disaster   I couldn't believe someone would want to talk to me haha.

We talked a bit and he actually offered to walk around Chinatown with me! It was so sweet and it definitely brought my mood up!! I just needed someone to talk to since I was a bit lonely on my trip and my emotions were so out of whack. Well anyways, I felt a lot better after talking and I finally was able to come bring myself to accept the fact that my trip was over and that I was going home. I felt a sense of closure on my trip and I realized and believed  that I would have the chance to experience this again! 

One final picture of the outside of my hotel!

My trip to the city is something I know I will remember forever! So much happened that I ran out of room to explain! I saw many new sights, ate some new foods, and experienced some new fun things. I also feel much more confident now and I have actually gained a sense of direction haha. (I get lost all the time , but I made it out alive in NY!) There were parts of my trip that felt like one of those Asian Dramas haha and I will never forget this trip! I am so thankful that I was able to come here and I'm actually glad I came alone as I feel like I've grown and changed a bit as a person! =) 

Have you ever walked the Brooklyn Bridge?

Have you had a stranger bring up your mood like what happened to me? 

Do you love my pictures haha? (I sure do.. it's hard to believe that I took them!) 

Getting Down To Business

It's been a week since I've been back from New York and I am still reminiscing on all that I did there. Even though it was a lonely being by myself, I enjoyed seeing all the new sights and getting time to just relax. The whole trip still feels unreal to me and it's just so hard to believe that last week at this time, I was still walking the streets of NY.
Personally I feel for me that whenever I come back from vacation, I have a hard time getting back into my normal life. I mean of course, I attend school, do my work, and all that stuff, but my mind isn't exactly all back sometimes haha... there are parts of the day where I just think back to my vacation and wonder if it really did happen.. oh what I would do to relive it again! It's strange and maybe it just has to do with me growing up and the feeling that time is going by way too fast for me. I mean my senior year feels like it's flying by and while I am excited to graduate, it's scary to see life passing me by like this! I'm trying to snap myself back though by forcing myself to focus on the present because I have quite a bit of work to do this month. I'm also trying to realize that in less than a month, I will be back in NY again with my cousins for spring break.. so if I can just hold on for a few more weeks, I'll be back in the city again!! Let's stay positive here haha! =)

For my outfit today, I am wearing something that I wore earlier this week for my oral communications class. This Tuesday, our class had to give a pitch for an invention or idea that we came up with in a similar fashion to the show Shark Tank. We divided into groups and my group came up with the idea of a restaurant featuring dishes from all 4 seasons as well as activities. Long story short, for our presentation we had to dress up. I had the hardest time with this since I didn't have any business clothes haha. I have bits and pieces, but nothing that really matched until...

I did some digging around and came across this little piece from Shabby Apple. I got the dress as part of a huge haul from the store last year that my sister and I had. I still have not worn any of the pieces since the dresses all felt to business formal for everyday wear, but the dresses were perfect for this speech that I had to give! Everything from the design to the length of it reminded me of a business lady!

This dress is quite unique and it's probably one of the most business formal outfits I have worn in a while! The dress is black and gray and the bottom half of the dress actually resembles a high waisted skirt. The top blouse part of the dress is low cut and has a "faux tie" which I really loved the look of. The dress also had a gray belt that went between the top and bottom portion of the dress. One part of the dress that I thought was quote interesting was the zipper. It was the coolest thing ever! The zipper ran down my back and when I first tried on the dress, I didn't realize just how far the zipper could go unzip.. haha the zipper could actually go all the way down and my dress could basically open up!! How cool?

For my presentation, I didn't have the chance to style my dress that much since it was sort of a last minute decision to wear this dress. (as in I chose it in the morning before school lol) I kept my hair down and I actually went to school in a pair of black flats with these heels in my backpack. When the presentation came, I slipped on the heels and I instantly felt very high class and a bit more confident. I delivered the speech and I felt that I did okay on it. I'm always terrible at speeches so it's a good thing that I felt that I did fine on this one. Usually I feel like I fail the speeches, but not this time!! It might also have to do with the fact that I had a partner with me haha! After the speech, I actually chose to keep these heels on for the rest of the day instead of going back into flats! I loved the feeling of heels on with this outfit! =)

Haha.. My sister always has to snap the weirdest photos of me!! 

My sister helped me take these photos today and I've very thankful because it takes a lot less time when I have a photographer. However with her, she always manages to snap photos at the worst times haha.. (I won't even show the ones where my mouth was wide open lol) but I thought this one was quite funny! I don't remember what I was trying to do there, but it looks like I'm deep in judgement here.. where in reality I was probably just zoning out haha!

Dress- Shabby Apple
Heels- Macy's

Tonight I finally get to go out and celebrate my birthday! I'm super excited and I'll be sure to take pictures! Also in honor of Saint Patrick's Day tomorrow, I got these super cute earrings that I plan on wearing these little babies tomorrow-

Do you have any plans for Saint Patrick's Day tomorrow?
What do you think of my "business chic" dress?
Any advice on how to get over my vacation blues haha? I'm just trying to keep myself busy so I don't feel sad and realizing that I will be back soon before I know it! 

My Trip To NY (Part 1)

Hey everyone!! I'm back from my mini vacation to New York!! It feels so crazy to be back! Haha you might notice that I said part 1 for this post and that is because I took so much photos (500+) on the trip and I have so much to say that I felt the need to split things into separate post! If I didn't, my post would probably be way too long for anyone to read lol. As I'm writing this post, I'm still trying to figure out the best way to write this post. I want to share everything and all my pictures haha, but there is simply too much! I think I'm just going to take you through my day event by event.. with lots of collages so I can show more of my pictures without overwhelming you guys!

As always, I took the bus to get to NY. The only difference was that I was by myself this time! It wasn't that bad though since one of our friends came on the same day and we talked a bit on the bus so I wasn't that lonely. Once we hit Chinatown, I got off the bus and was pretty much left on my own. Let me tell you, I was kinda freaking out.. I mean I had printed instructions on getting to the hotel from google last night, but being there in person was a lot different than being there on google maps!!  I acted like I knew where I was going because I didn't want to bother my mom's friend and after they left, I quickly started asking people for help haha. Fortunately, people in NY aren't that mean and I got quite a bit of help! The hotel I was staying at (which I can now reveal) was the Millennium Hilton. This was one of the only hotels that allowed 18 year olds to check in and was close enough to my colleges so I could walk.

55 floors!! oh my!

The walk to my hotel was a little bit over a mile and according to google, it would take ~30 minutes. I am a runner and I tend to walk a lot (1 hour + a few times a week) so I didn't think 30 minutes was anything big... well I forgot the fact that I had 15+ lbs of luggage with me haha. Remember my struggle with packing in my last post.. lol, I ended up packing so much that I barely wore half the things I brought! The 30 minute walk to the hotel took about an hour for me since I had to stop and rest so many times haha. I didn't get lost as much as I thought I would though!!! It was just honestly a much longer walk than I thought since I didn't take into consideration how heavy my 3-4 luggage bags were..=)

Once I got to the hotel, it was a huge sigh of relief for me!! I was able to check in early with no cost and was given a room on the 26th floor! I kinda have a fear of elevators, but there was no way I was about to walk up 26 flights of stairs. It was time for me to conquer my fear of elevators and I did it!! After that super long walk, I was so tired!! I planned to go out and get some food, but instead I snacked on my apple and before I knew it, I passed out on my hotel bed haha!! I don't know exactly how long I was asleep, but when I awoke it was already dark. I wanted to go out so badly, but I was too scared lol so instead, I just took in the amazing sights of the hotel.... and ohh boy was the hotel nice!!! The hotel itself had 55 floors and I could not believe how high it was!!
The hotel also came with a free gym and pool. The pool was amazing and I personally just loved the whole atmosphere inside the hotel. Everything felt so high class and perfect!

My room was also beyond amazing. It took my breathe away when I first walked in. I expected the room to be small because.. well it's New York and space is limited. My room was actually pretty roomy and had a king sized bed!! I tried to get a smaller bed when I booked the room, but I was only given the choice of either a king bed or two twins. I felt that two twins was strange for just myself, so I chose the king bed! The best part of my hotel room though had to be the crazy view!!! I mean no need for me to explain... just take a look for yourself at the last picture haha! (saving the best for last here)
Okay, I'll admit that I was a little baby the first night and instead of going out and getting dinner like a normal person, I was so scared that I stayed in the hotel all night and snacked on the food that I had brought.. which sadly wasn't a lot. I also managed to hit the gym and explore the hotel even more though!

I went to bed pretty late that night (around 3-4 am... and no one stopped me!!.. I am such a loser lol) because of all the excitement I felt being in NY. I awoke around 9 in the morning and quickly scrambled to get ready for my 1st college tour at Pace University. I got dressed and left the hotel. You don't understand how independent I felt walking out of the hotel by myself like that.. I felt like I was on my own and making my own decisions which is basically what I was doing. No one questioned me about where I was going!! As I stepped out of my hotel, the first thing I saw were the buildings which you see in the above picture! Those buildings were skyscrapers!!

So according to my computer, the walk from the hotel to Pace is suppose to take under 10 minutes. However, knowing me, I get lost walking to the house next door so I left a good 45 minutes early. I'm proud to say that it didn't take me 45 minutes to find Pace University haha! I actually found it rather quickly, thanks to the "Pace flags" and arrived to the tour very early!
The tour guides at Pace were super nice!!! They were so welcoming and were quick to answer any questions I had about the school. The tour itself was pretty sweet too!! We started off inside the school and then went outside since Pace's campus is basically NY city.

We even checked out the dorms on John Street. I saw the pictures online and I thought that the dorms were very nice and after seeing the dorms, I still believe they are nice, but just not as amazing as the pictures haha. The dorms are a decent size though which I liked.
I won't go to deep into everything that I saw on the tour, but my opinion of Pace was a mix to be honest. I really loved the positive vibe that the school gave off. Everyone was so helpful and I even got a cute little goody bag at the end of the tour! However, I personally felt that the academics at the school seemed to be lacking a bit for my taste. Don't get me wrong here.. Pace is an amazing school, but I just didn't feel that academic wise, it was for me sadly. I felt that Pace was more of a school for business rather than what I want to study...
The location of Pace gave me mixed feelings as well. I really LOVE the location for the fact that it is always so lively there and everything is so convenient. However, being located in NYC is also very expensive and distracting. I know if I was there, I would easily spend all my money in a month and be broke for the rest of the year. Even though I love it there, I can't afford it at the moment. I also felt that with the open location, there was a lack of a sense of community. I felt that I would like that feeling, but in reality now that I have put more thought into it, I think I personally want a traditional college campus instead.. I mean

  I have my whole life to live in the city, but only once chance to experience college life. 

Even though I had my sights set on the city, I think that little quote up there changed my mind about things. I want to know what college life is like and being in a traditional campus is going to give me that.. it's sad right now, but I think I will be thankful I made the choice not to go to the city when I am older.

Streets of New York!!

After my tour of Pace, I realized there was still a lot of daylight and after talking to my mom, I decided to go visit NYU! New York University was about an hour walk from where I was and I honestly planned to walk there. However, after talking to someone on the streets, they explained to me that NYU was very far and that I should take the subway. . yeah my expression when I heard that was =0.. The subway honestly scared the heck out of me and going alone was a huge no no for me. 

However, as you can tell by the above picture, I did eventually decide to take the subway. I was freaking out being down there by myself. I'll just say that I am scared of dirty things and subways are so dirty in my mind. Plus I have heard some really creepy stories about subways before... After taking the subway, I feel that my fears were over exaggerated haha. The subway made traveling so much easier and faster! It was a bit hard to know which train to take, but a lot of people down there were friendly enough to help me out! =)

As soon as I got off the subway, I walked out and saw Washington Square Park and NYU!!

This is a library at NYU... This is just WOW.. I felt speechless when I first saw the decor here!

Can you spot me? haha?

I'm not going to go into NYU that much since I personally don't plan to go here next year and my post is already too long haha. The cost is just too ridiculous for me.The visit to NYU was also a bit impromptu, but I really enjoyed it. The college is definitely a prestigious one I'll say. Everything from the buildings, to the academics, and even the students there gave me an impressive vibe! Going here could open a lot of doors for me and I will probably look into NYU if I need grad school. In fact a lot of people on the tour were actually looking to NYU for grad schools so I think I will be doing that too in 4 years ! =)

This view looks like it came from a movie.. but I promise you, I was actually there!

The above picture is what I saw from my room at night.. this was a ridiculous view.. like I still don't believe that I was physically there seeing it. It felt so surreal! My whole trip actually felt sort of like that and it's hard to believe that it's over now! I want to tell you more of my trip, but I'll save the rest for my post next Wednesday. I write so much haha.. it'll be worth it later when I look back haha

I know I have been to NY numerous times in the past, but this trip in particular was so different in the fact that not only did I go by myself, I also stayed by myself there. I'll be honest and say that I super nervous beforehand.. (like mini heart attacks mixed with excitement) but I'm glad I did it. Visiting colleges and walking around Manhattan was so much fun and I truly think I in a way sort of grew as a person after coming back. It's hard to put words to it, but I  feel more independent and sure of myself now... I mean I kinda have to be confident in my choices while in the city since I was alone and had to depend on myself to get where I needed to be haha, so yeah,  I definitely feel a lot more mature after coming back from my trip in more ways than one! =) 

Who has been to New York City?
What do you think of my 1st day in the city and the colleges I toured?
Have you ever had the feeling after an event where you feel like you've been changed as a person?

Sorry for any mistakes in the post. I wrote this post kinda on the spot and talked about whatever came to my mind! I'm still suffering from post vacation blues a bit and trying to take in the fact that I was in really New York experiencing these things and that now I am back to my normal life. It's so hard to explain, but my vacation felt very surreal now that I look back on it. I miss NY so much... =)