How to make 2013 your best year ever

Imagine that today is December 31, 2013. What would have had to happen for you to say: "2013 was my best year ever"? 

That was the question author Brian Tracy posed in a SUCCESS CD I listened to recently.

What is your answer? What would have to happen this year for you to be able to say, a year from now, that it was your best year ever?

Every year on December 31st I do an extensive New Years Eve ritual where I reflect on the past year and plan for the next. Every year I add more to the process, and every year is better than the last. 

I can honestly say today that 2012 was my best year ever. My book got published, I got to travel around the country and meet incredible college students, and I got to work from home and have my own business.

It's hard for me to believe that just a year ago those things were just dreams. But rather than just staying big dreams, last year I wrote them down and wrote a plan for what I could do to make those things happen. And it worked. 

And it can work for you too. 

Being intentional about your life and your goals really does produce results, and it's never too early to start. I encourage you to start to develop your own New Years tradition. You can read my blog from 2012 on the subject, or start from scratch on what would work best for you.

At the very least, find a nice quiet spot that inspires you and take some time to reflect on this year, what you're thankful for, and what you want to happen next year. And then, this is the most important part - reflect on what you need to do differently, every day, to make those things happen.

Happy New Year! I hope your 2013 is your best year ever. 

Five ways to be fashionable on a budget

In case you are wanting to make the most of your Christmas gift cards, or simply want to know how to dress the way you want without breaking the bank, I wanted to share with you some of my favorite ideas for being fashionable on a budget, in college, or anytime in your life. 

I grew up in a lower middle-class family. To me, Old Navy was for rich people; I didn't know about designer jeans until I transferred to a private school for my last two years of college. Throughout high school and college I spent many weekends thrift shopping with friends or alone. And I loved it. 

I still love putting together outfits each morning. It helps me feel alive and ready to tackle the day. And yet, I am far from a true fashionista. I've always admired people who instinctively know how to style an outfit. I do not have this skill.

But the skill I do have? Copying. I am a pretty good copycat, and so I've learned all my fashion sense from looking at pictures and copying the outfits or color combinations with what I already own, or with inexpensive options I find at some of my favorite stores, like H&M.

So below are my top five tips to help you find your college fashion inspiration on a budget:

1. Find websites with outfits that inspire you. 

In the past few months I've fallen in love with two great outfit-creating websites; I fill up my Pinterest fashion boards with their creations daily:

1. J's Everyday Fashion Blog
2. CollegeFashion.net

And guys, I didn't forget about you: 

1. Men's Fashion Section of College Fashionista
2. 10 College Fashion Tips for Guys

You can also gleam any website or catalog of your favorite store. 

2. Pin or print.

Once you've browsed pictures and found the ones you'd love to emulate, pin your favorite outfits on your Pinterest board (my favorite method) or print them out and post them in your closet for inspiration before putting together an outfit. 

3. Copy with what you have.

Look around your closet and see what you already have that can help you copy the kind of outfits/style that you love. You don't have to copy an outfit exactly, but use it to inspire you to put together new combinations you have never thought of before. You might be surprised how many "new" outfits you'll have waiting for you in your closet. 

4. Shop smart.

If there are some items you don't have that you think will help you create the style or outfits you want, then it's time to go shopping. But remember, you don't have to spend a lot of money to get the look you want. It's all about styling and fit, so shop smart and think about the key items that will help you create many outfits with what you already own (e.g. think accessories, shoes, key basics, etc.). My favorite three inexpensive places in college were thrift stores, H&M, and Plato's Closet.

And of course, shop the sales! CollegeFashion.net shares a great list of coupons and sales every week. 

5. Make it fit. 

Clothes look more expensive when they fit. And if you're like me, getting things to fit isn't always easy (e.g. I'm very petite). However, a few years ago I discovered that getting clothes tailored wasn't that expensive. I still have shirts that I got tailored in college that still fit me perfectly and cost me less than $15, including the tailoring. I use a tailor that is in a dry cleaners. Just Google and price check to find the best tailor near you. 

Happy fashioning! ;) And feel free to share your style inspirations or outfit creations on our Facebook page! 

Five Fun Ways to Keep Your Brain Energized During Winter Break (from P.S. Blog)

Merry Christmas Eve everyone! Below is an article I wrote for the P.S. Blog that I wanted to share with you too. Hope you have a great day today!

I can still see the dark gravel on the parking lot, somehow sparkling, even on that cloudy day. I was practically skipping to my car. What had put that spring in my step? I had just taken my last exam of the winter semester.

Unfortunately though, the intense highs and lows of exam time can cause many students to get sick over the winter break, or to just mentally check out for the next month.

You should definitely take some time to relax and forget about school for a while; refreshing your self and your mind is vital. But that doesn’t mean you want your brain to check out too.

Below are five fun ways to keep your brain energized over winter break so you can recover from exams without losing your brain-momentum...Read the rest of the article on the P.S. Blog :)

Should you pick your major for your parents or for the salary? (One student's dilemma)

Lynn O'Shaugnessy, author of The College Solution book and blog, is one of my good friends and mentors. She writes many great articles, and I highly recommend her book about finding money for college. 

Today, with her permission, I wanted to share with you an article she wrote that I thought was right on. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

"Are you picking a college major based on lists of the country’s highest-paying college degrees?

Plenty of students are pursuing degrees that they perceive will generate the biggest salaries. I assume that’s why business is the most popular major – more than one out of every five students select it. I can’t resist mentioning that the blockbuster Academically Adrift study suggested that the grads who learned the least in college are business majors!

There are risks in picking majors by following the dollar signs, but before I explain why, please take a look at an email that I received over the weekend from a student I’ll call John:

I’m in a sticky situation. I am a freshman in college at the University of North Florida. Both my parents graduated with engineering degrees so I am being pressured to be major in something that in my parents view as important (engineering, biology, or law).

My dad makes good money so I felt like that the best option for me was engineering. Next semester I was supposed to take my Calculus I class to go on the engineering path, but I hit a road bump already because I got a 62% in Pre-Calculus. I have always thought of international business in the back of my mind and I talked to my counselor about double majoring with finance, accounting or an economics degree. Well I was wondering do any of these majors promise a job and a good future economically. Please help me!"

You can read the rest of the article on Lynn's Blog (start at the Picking the Wrong Major section) to find out her advice for this student, and maybe even for you too! Whether you've chosen your major or are still unsure, her advice will give you some things to think about to ensure you're on the right track. 

A great gift for a college student

If you have any friends in community college, or want to spend any holiday cash you get on something for your future, I wanted to share my book with you. Community College Success was a dream I first had in the College Success class at my community college. 

We had to write down our goals, and I can remember my brain holding my hand back from writing the words "write a book" on that piece of paper. I remember a million voices telling me it was something I couldn't do. But I ignored them and wrote it down any way.

And then, it actually happened. The book exists, I swear! :)

And it's a book to help community college students do exactly what I started in that college success class - reach their dreams. 

Most community college students are up against many barriers: working full-time, taking care of a family, being the first in their family to navigate college, taking classes in their second language, not having family support to pursue education, struggling to afford transportation to and from class, or sometimes all of the above. 

While many students rise above these obstacles, the numbers are stark; too many students are being crushed by these barriers. And they are students with much to offer. They aren't dropping out because they aren't smart. They are dropping out because they are unsupported. 

My book is not magic. But I believe people are magic, and the book outlines specific strategies to encourage students to get involved and meet the people who will help them make the most of their college experience. 

You can get a free chapter of the book right now, or you can get the entire book on Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com. 

And, for the first time ever, I wanted to share an excerpt of the book on the blog:

       On my first day of community college, I cried like a little girl. Like so many students I’ve met since then, I didn’t want to be there. I felt alone, dejected, and lost. I also ended my community college experience with crying—on graduation when the president announced I’d won the $110,000 Jack Kent Cooke scholarship. Dozens of people surrounded me with hugs and tears. I had friends, money, and a future. All this didn’t happen to me through luck or because I’m a super-genius (see my SAT scores). 

       The secret to success isn’t good fortune or a high IQ—it’s people. No matter how technological our world gets, the best opportunities in life will always happen through people. And the people you meet in community college will change your life. Millions of dollars in scholarships, incredible opportunities, and jobs are available to students who know how to connect with others. You deserve to be one of those students. It’s up to you to find the right people, ask for help, and admit you can’t do it alone. How do you find these people? How will you know what to say? How can you convince them to talk to you? And how does a conversation lead to hundreds of thousands of dollars and a life you can’t even imagine? I’ll show you. But first—to know where you’re going, it’s important to know where you’ve come from.

         I want to share a little about me so you’ll understand my background. As you read my story, I want you to consider your own story. Why are you in college? What barriers lie within your background? What opportunities? Only you have lived your life, and your personal story can teach you much about what holds you back, what pushes you forward, the things you value, and which problems in the world you want to fix. I grew up in a lower-middle class family and attended a high school where only 25 percent of the students go to college. My socio-economic status and family history never entered my consciousness growing up, but the year my grandpa died changed everything for me.

        After his death I learned more about how he and my grandma moved from Puerto Rico to New York before my father was born to make a better life for the Rosado family. My grandfather worked as a janitor for most of his life; my grandma was a maid. My dad made it into the open doors of community college, but never transferred to a university. He sacrificed and worked diligently as a case manager for a law firm, while my stay-at-home mom, my two younger brothers, and I lived on his income...

           And that’s why I ended up crying on the industrial carpet of my local community college. I felt so alone walking in there with my two-page application and a broken heart. This was not the idyllic college experience I imagined. I was supposed to be entering a lively freshman orientation, meeting new friends I’d have for life, picking out my classes and fresh books, and moving into the first place I could call my own. Instead, I was 15 minutes from home sitting in a small waiting room with strangers of all ages who looked as lost and alone as I felt. How did I get here?...

        My parents said I could go to college wherever I wanted. They said they would take out loans for my education because they believed in me. At the time, I was young and eager to take advantage of that offer. You may be wondering why, if I came from a low-income family, my parents were able and willing to take out loans for wherever I wanted to attend college. The truth is, they were willing—but not necessarily able. However, that didn’t stop them. I came from a family of sacrifice. And as a family that had been through hardship and gone into debt for many horrific things, they didn’t blink an eye when it came to going into debt for something good.

        When I was in high school, my younger brother, Tito, who was in seventh grade at the time, came home one day complaining of a stomach ache. The pain intensified, and when he began screaming and writhing in pain my mom rushed him to the hospital. They sent him home, saying he had food poisoning. The next morning he woke up paralyzed from the waist down from bacteria that migrated from his stomach to his spine. A few months later my second youngest brother Robby, who was four years old at the time, had a seizure, shaking and foaming at the mouth, in my parents’ bed at 4 a.m. My dad woke me up at 5 a.m., letting me know my mom had just left with my little brother in an ambulance, and for the first time I saw my father break. He cried and said, “I can’t take this anymore.” ...

        On a bright summer morning, I sat at our white kitchen table opening the mail that arrived for me. I chose to open the crisp white envelope from my new college first. Inside was my freshmen schedule. I looked at the classes I would attend in a few weeks, and then read about the fun and lively orientation activities. But with the next page, a dark cloud descended. This was the bill for my first year of college. And I’ll never forget what that number looked like, typed in small 12-point font, but so big to me.

$25,000.

In that instant, everything changed...Read the rest of the first chapter for free here or grab the book for less than $10 on Amazon.com - for a friend or for yourself. 

I hope you have a wonderful holiday with your friends and family!! :)