Catch Up with Simply Emily Elizabeth

These pass couple of weeks have been crazy! The last weeks of April, I finished the spring season of soccer as it was the final spring season I will have at Aquinas. I turned 21 on the 23rd of April, finally! Summer courses have begun as getting into the routine of class and lab. This summer, I am taking one class at Aquinas (that is only given at AQ) and three classes at Grand Rapids Community College. In order to graduate on time, I have to take these classes. This is my last summer of my senior year! It is crazy to think that I will enter in my senior year of college and my final year of soccer. I seriously don't know what my life will be after soccer is done (tear!). 

I can't wait to share my summer adventures with you that come in a couple of weeks! 

My Prom Experience

Prom is just around the corner, as many girls are making the decision to try dresses on and find the perfect one. All of March and early April, guys will ask the girl of their dreams to the dance. Creatively coming up with phrases to surprise the girl of interest as she says "YES".  Yes, girls can ask guys to prom (if they don't go to your school), I did it my junior year. Close to the time of prom, plans are becoming in the works as dinner reservations are finalized and tickets are purchased. All day Saturday, girls get all dolled up then off to pictures and dinner then the dance. Check out my blog post about tips for a successful prom!'

Prom was one of the nights to get all dolled up and have a fun night with friends and your date. In my high school, we never did awards for Prom King or Queen. Both years I had a really fun time with my dates and I don't regret on going. I started with my senior year prom as that was my favorite one, my date bought me two corsages to match my dress, we had a wonderful dinner at Outback Steakhouse (his pick), then we were off to the dance. My senior year prom was at the Kroc Center in Grand Rapids. It was so much fun to hangout with friends after prom and not stress about graduating in a couple weeks. 

These pictures below are from my junior year, sorry that I look like a baby. Junior year's prom was at Western Michigan University: Grand Rapids location. Yes, I took the bold choice in wearing an orange dress.

Go and check out for my next blog post about tips for a successful prom! To this day, I love the day after prom and seeing all the different dresses that everyone wore. I love seeing bold patterns and colors being worn. I hope everyone has a safe and wonderful prom.

Fire Up Chips!

I have grown up in close traditional family that has celebrated Central Michigan  football since I have been born. My grandpa went to CMU way back in 1960's, then my mother continued the tradition in going to college at Central in 1990's. My grandparents have spent 47 years, cheering on the football team through all types of weather and coaches. They have gone to so bowl games that Central has participated in and frequently like to email the AD (quite an inside joke within my family about my grandparents doing so). Their traditions have carried over into my sister and my lives as I hope to one day share those traditions with my children.
We begin any football game day by eating at a small diner in Mt. Pleasant called the Pixie, it is a very old school restaurant that has thousands of names on the wall representing everyone who has ate the most chili dogs in one sitting. There is a boom box that plays 80's music and the whole inside of the diner is decorated with 80's items. After the diner, we headed to Kelly/Shorts Stadium before game time to look at a huge jersey sale that the athletic department held on selling old jerseys and practice jerseys. My sister and I bought two basketball jerseys in maroon and gold, I was so surprised that the football jersey were fifty dollars. We suited up in our warm clothing of hat and mittens and walked into the stadium. It was a giggle as my grandpa tried to get into the stadium with a ticket from 2015. Obviously it's a sign that my grandparents are dedicated football fans. Central was taking on Eastern Michigan University at 8 pm.
The football game was a little scary, as within the first thirty seconds as Eastern scored a touchdown off of a fumble. With this being the first football game that I have seen, I was nervous that Eastern would dominate the game. Our offense was slow to start within the first quarter but finally got the wheels turning as touchdowns on the defensive side happened. More and more touchdowns happened through the game then we ended on winning the game 42-30.

Yes,  that is a selfie of the whole family who went to the game as it was my mom's idea of taking the  photo. It was so great to be on Central's campus once again this year, I am hoping to be on campus soon again. These traditions are so important and have been apart of my life for years. The first picture is one of my favorites, as my Grandpa was a part of the band when he went to CMU. The band would have old alumni band members come celebrate on Homecoming day as reminisce old memories by marching together once more.

Fire Up Chips! 

Wicked- The Broadway Musical

It has been a dream of mine to see a Broadway musical especially by the name of Wicked and on Tuesday October 24th, it came true. My Aunt Susan bought us ticket to the Wicked show so it became a girl's night out. The show was at the DeVos Performance Hall in downtown Grand Rapids at 7:30pm. With seeing the Wizard of Oz as a child, I knew the concept of the prequel for the musical but to finally understand on why the characters are reason that they are within the musical is eye opening. I highly recommend seeing Wicked whenever it comes to your town, it is definitely worth the money. I wore a simple cream Vineyard Vines cashmere sweater with dark J.Crew toothpick jeans and cute tan booties with small heel attached. It was raining outside so I wore my orange raincoat to keep me dry between traveling times. I kept my jewelry every simple to my Kendra Scott Elsa pendant with my Pandora rings.

I was so excited that last week was fall break for Aquinas and I wasn't stressing over midterms or final papers. Even though last week went by really fast, I'm glad to have a break from reality now that my credits will be dropping down from 18 to 14 now that my two quads have ended. The stress levels will at an all time low with now more time for blogging and homework. I hope that fall season may still be upon us as winter may be coming closer than what we thought.

Let's Dance The Night Away

Homecoming at my high school was always a big deal, especially the night of the dance. For years, my small town would gather on Friday night for a large parade, tailgating and a football game. On Saturday night, a dance would kick the night off. But the big questions would always be what style of dress are you wearing or who are going with. Now that is the huge rage about getting asked to homecoming. It's funny because my freshman year, I was asked over the phone. My date simply asked me over the phone whether I wanted to go to homecoming with him. Now it's a huge process about making sure it is the "right" way to be asked to homecoming with flowers and a sign. From my freshman year to senior year, I have learned many things about getting prepared for homecoming week.

1. Ladies, find a dress that defines you and makes you feel beautiful on the inside. Go every simple with jewelry and shoes (you will take these off once at the dance). Do not spend a crazy amount of money on a dress, save that money for prom.

2. If you are going with a date, go with other couples to do photos and dinner, it makes the experience more enjoyable and less awkward. Also, split the cost between the tickets and dinner, have one person pay for the tickets and the other for the dinner.

3. Flowers, a lot of people debate on whether it is worth doing them in the first place, my personal opinion is that it is your choice. I did it multiple occasions for homecoming but almost it may depend on your date whether you decide to do the flowers or not. It's not a bad thing if you do not want to do it, no one will judge you if you do them or not.

4. Just remember to get reservations at a restaurant ahead of the dance if in a large party or even do dinner at someone's house to save money. There were a couple homecomings that it was just as fun to spend time at someone's house then go to the dance then drive around town.

5. Pictures, pick one venue that many people from your school can go to, to take photos. My grade would always go to one place usually a local park to take a much photos as possible with friends. Always keep open communication between people in your group of friends on where pictures will be.

My pictures that I showed are in order from freshman year to senior year. It's crazy how puberty changes people, looking back at pictures made me laugh as how much as changed.

Homecoming is a time to have fun and make memories with fellow classmates. Don't stress about the little things on the day of the dance, it won't matter trust me. There was a moment my sophomore year where I was literally (at last minute) was sown into my winterfest dance dress. Have a great and safe night at homecoming or any dances!

AQWS Takes Chicago

First off, thank you for being patience about having no blog post for more than a week. College started last Monday (which was a great day), all of my classes have already been full go and I'm already doing assignments that will do for the following week which is crazy with 18 credits.
This weekend, Aquinas College Women's Soccer team took a weekend trip to Chicago for two back-to-back games. The weekend started with the team leaving early Monday morning with the three hour bus ride (along with a time change). We stopped for brunch at Panera Bread (where you can't go wrong). We played our first game against St. Francis (IL) where we tied 0-0 in double overtime. In the late afternoon, we had dinner at Olive Garden which was super yummy! It's fun to hang around the girls while not playing soccer. Saturday morning we traveled downtown Chicago to adventure in the city and be a "true tourist" (a phrase coming from our British coach). A couple girls and I went to the Navy Pier then to Millennium Park to see the giant "Bean". I can finally check off for seeing the "Bean" and it was probably the highlight of my weekend. Our second game was later that evening as I finally captured my first starting spot for my junior year. We won against St. Xavier 2-1. I got to see my family that spent the whole weekend in Chicago with me for about roughly ten minutes but they are my inspiration for playing college soccer.

Chicago was an amazing team bonding weekend, but also a victorious soccer weekend. Thank you again for being patience about the lacking blog posts, I promise that there are more on it's way.

Picking the Right College for You

While choosing the right college for you can be the most nerve wracking situation that a senior goes through as the process is long and hard. My college story is unlike anyone's. In October of my senior year, I had my dream already set with attending school at Olivet College to continue on playing soccer while the thought of studying Education (like my mom). During the week of my graduation in May, Olivet decided after many hard years within the hardship of the education system and low numbers in the classroom for Education major in the upcoming years, the college itself called it quits of the major all together. I was devastated with the news that my new major was dropped. I had to decide whether to say and possibly take my basic courses at Olivet or transfer to a new college before fall semester starts. Being absolutely clueless on what path to take or what would be considered the “right path”. My mom went to a bridal party of a family friend and ran into the Aquinas College Women’s Soccer assistant coach who told me to come check out the campus and the team. So in the middle of June, I took a college visit to AQ and found my home. I don't think that I would be happier anywhere else. I fell in love with the openness of the campus, how in a small range the buildings are and the freedom of not being home but still knowing that I can go home whenever I wanted to.

                                            Types of Colleges:

With my college process throughout high school, I had two list for what types of colleges that I would have wanted to attend. One list was if I wasn’t playing soccer and the other was of colleges that I would consider for playing soccer. The type of college that I wanted for being a traditional student would be a larger college and probably join a sorority. I would be probably be at Central Michigan University, studying a major that would be involved with children.

When deciding a college to play soccer for, it was completely different as I wanted a smaller college that would be more personable with my professors and coaches… I also wanted to have a life outside of soccer instead of it being a full time job while being at a Division 1 or 2 school. Being at a NAIA school, it’s not about traveling around to different states almost every weekend or during the week (of course, missing school) but more being local and traveling a couple of hours to play games. Typically we spend a weekend playing multiple games (conference or non-conference). This year we will be spending the first weekend of school and soccer in Chicago playing two teams (one on Friday and one on Saturday). It is a new change that will be happening this fall and I cannot wait to share with you on my adventures.

Ultimately, it is your decision whether what type of college you are wanting to attend. Take as many college tours as you want to get the experience of a small, medium, or large campus. Also, do a pro/cons list if you are unsure on the decision you are going to make. Do make sure that the college of your choice has your major or at least a route to be similar with your interest. As I am a Psychology Major with the Concentration of Child Life, my major of Child Life is slowing being organized to become its own title. Plus it is your life and your decision in the end (do not forget about that)!!

                                                 Class Sizes:

One things that I really enjoyed about Aquinas is the adaptability of the different sizes of the classrooms. With the ability to have smaller class sizes, I wanted to be personable with my professors whether than not just being a random person that a professor may not know. The class sizes are so different than being at a large university as my smallest class was eleven people and the largest class would be forty people.  Many of my classes are standard while spending two days in the classroom once a week, others have been half online and then days in the classrooms. Be open on the willingness to adventure out with your classes to experience which professor is a great one or a not so good one. There has been plenty of professors that I have experienced that were absolutely amazing, who helped me develop as a student and professor that I struggled in their class who also did not want help their students even visiting their office hours. With the topic of office hours, if your professors does have available office hours, GO TO THEM! I cannot stress it enough, if you do not understand material or have additional questions... GO! Professors love having students come to their office.

                                        Extracurricular Activities:

Find a college that will be able to make you happy in all situations within the social aspect. Whether you play IM sports (Intramural) such as soccer, basketball, or volleyball it will more or less keep you entertain and looking forward to in the week. At Aquinas, we have a convention called Saint Slam where all the clubs and organization basically recruit new members for their group. Of course, there is free food and tons of free items to take back home or to your dorm room. Also, dorm life is a lot of fun and probably one of my favorite memories while staying at Aquinas. I still keep in touch with my freshman roommate who is still one of my best friends, meeting her was a blessing!

I hope the beginning of school goes smoothly this next week or so (unless you started today)! Enjoy your last week of summer! Study hard and get your rest!

How I Organize My Lilly Agenda

As part of Simply Emily Elizabeth takes on year three of college, I thought it would be wonderful to show helpful tips on organizing a Lilly Pulitzer Agenda.

In high school, I never used a planner or agenda ever. I always thought that I could get by remembering certain due dates and times of events throughout the week. Which looking back now is absolutely crazy. I live by my Lilly Pulitzer agenda day in and day out.


                            Separating to-do's and schedules:
I have found this to be essential when organizing my agenda. I would write down my classes for the day or look at any assignments that were due or within a couple of days, then I would write down what I needed to do for those particular classes. I like to rewrite the upcoming week usually every Sunday right while I prepare for the week. Many times I will use Post It notes to write down my to do list for either the day or week. By the end of the week, there are tons of sticky notes around my agenda, reminding me what I need to complete for the week.

Using the Monthly View of the Calendar:

I never really used the monthly view for the past two years until now, when looking at the bigger picture for the due dates that are coming shortly. Also writing down birthdays, celebrations and schedules for soccer, work and personal events gives a great reminder throughout the upcoming weeks. Although I haven't written in anything August, I will surely begin write dates down for September. It will be easy to plan ahead accordingly with major test and projects for school.

                                              Color Coding:
To keep me organize I like to keep my classes to a certain PaperMate color pen. I am constantly coordinating colors with specific events and due dates. For example, for my summer course Human Anatomy and Physiology had two parts for there is a lecture three days a week and a lab twice a week. How I stay organized throughout my Lilly agenda is by color coordination towards the many different schedules that gets put into the agenda.
According to the following colors:
Dark Pink- Lecture
Lime Green- Lab
Black- Ellie (my sister) soccer games
Cobalt Blue- Joey's baseball schedule
Lilac Purple- Schedule for the Hospital
Black pen- Work Schedule at Uccellos
Neon Pink- Blog schedule
This helps me understanding what events are on each day. This planner becomes my life and a necessary utensil that I use within the school year. I seriously don't know how people don't write down test dates, deadlines for papers, or even homework assignments. With my class schedule, it is easy to identify by a glance what events are going on through the week.

I hope these simple tips on organizing your agenda helps. This fall will surely be a handful (with 18 credits) but nothing will compare being successfully organized with my Lilly agenda.