How to Avoid the Freshman 15

How to Avoid the Freshman 15 The Freshman 15 is one of the things incoming students hear about the most. Legend has it that the average student gains fifteen pounds during their first year in college. Urban myth or not, keep these tips in mind to ensure you eat and stay healthy as you adjust to eating on campus. Walk whenever and wherever you can on campus. Your campus may be big or small, hilly or flat, but regardless: its probably walkable. Do your best to take the long way when you can. Join an intramural sports team. Never played rugby or softball before? Who cares! Intramural sports can be a fun way to learn a new sport, meet people, and stay healthy during your time at school. Use the campus gym. Its most likely free, or very cheap. Make the most of it while you can. Get a workout partner. Not good at always making it to that 8:00 a.m. spin class? Find someone else who is interested in attending on a regular basis, and help hold each other accountable. Choose diet soda instead of regular. You might be surprised at how quickly all of those calories add up! Eat a salad (or a piece of fruit, or a healthy side veggie) with whatever else you grab for dinner. And do it every time. Eat a healthy breakfast. Your mom was right: your day does go better when you eat a good breakfast. Avoid the d onuts and grab some oatmeal to go. Keep healthy snacks in your room. Even if you dont have a fridge in your room, you can still keep pretzels, fruit (dried or fresh), healthy nuts, and energy bars on hand. Dont get dessert every time you eat. True, the dining hall may have unlimited self-serve ice cream, but that doesnt mean you should eat it every night. If youre going to order food late at night, make smart choices. Up late studying with your roommate and want to order pizza? Choose cheese only instead of loading up on toppings. Do something physical every weekend. Go for a run, join a pick-up game, play Ultimate Frisbee with some friends. Just get your body moving. Walk when you go off campus. Are your friends and you heading to a nice, neighborhood restaurant to get away for a while? If you can, try walking as a group instead of hopping in a car. Let yourself splurge every once in a while. Giving in to the self-serve ice cream machine is fine, as is the donut you are craving for breakfast, as long as you dont do it every day. But you do deserve a treat every once in a while! Drink water throughout the day. Do you go for 8 hours straight, from work to class to your club meeting to work again? Bring a water bottle with you to make sure you stay hydrated and healthy. Dont go long periods without eating. Running around all day, only to realize you havent eaten in a long time, isnt good for your body. It also may increase the likelihood that youll eat whats first available, instead of the food and nutrients your body needs. If you know you have a long day coming, pack some snacks ahead of time so your body has the fuel it needs to keep up with that big, college-educated brain of yours.

Six Easy Ways to Re-use Your Story Ideas

Six Easy Ways to Re-use Your Story Ideas If you believe all my published stories, Ive done everything from stitching on a shirt button to jumping off a cliff while tied to another human being. I may not have been born with such a multitude of talents as hitting the bulls-eye on a dart board, winning swimming competitions, and staging childrens theatre, but I have been blessed with a quirky imagination and a flair for language. These Ive put to good use 1. Vary the audience Target readers of different profiles, like teenagers, working mothers, or retired grandparents, 2. Vary the subject Target readers of different niche fields Character tries to learn a new skill encounters challenges - is offered help This template can work in nearly all scenarios, whether the skill is sailing a ship or baking a cake. Each new story thus created will fit with a magazine catering to that particular market, viz. sailors or bakers. Offshoots of this can be exploited, too. For example, 3. Vary the setting Mundane story lines can be enriched with the addition of uncommon locales and elaborate back-stories of each character. So even if the essential plot is good-boy-overcomes-scary-villain, a light-fantastic childrens setting can make it a Harry Potter, a complex interweave of fantasy worlds can turn it into a Lord of the Rings, an everyday urban setting in ye olde England can turn it into Richmal Cromptons William, and a science fiction setting can morph it into a Star Wars. Similarly, a different approach can turn a rags-to-riches story from an Oliver Twist into a Charlie and The Chocolate Factory. Revived tales from Aesops Fables, cultural mythlore, even the Bible can serve for inspiration. 4. Vary the region Tie in larger national journalistic stories to a smaller region 5. Vary the format Short story, essay, memoir, poem, cartoon, infographic, audio podcast, interview QA, blog post, bullet-point list you get the idea! Diversify your media. 6. Vary the frequency A newsy story about finding the right childcare is as valid two years from now as it is today. Evergreen stories, for example those around Christmas gift ideas or Independence Day celebrations, can be reprinted endlessly. Think fresh slant, timeless topics, and age-old problems. Recycling story ideas eliminates the effort required to start from scratch. As long as you steer away from plagiarism, it can be lucrative and a great re-turn on investment!