The University of the Cumberlands Odyssey team shares a little about where they are from and what they are thankful for this upcoming holiday season.
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Why hello there December! It seems like we just had a holiday season, but here we are a year later starting a new one with our stomachs full and hearts overflowing with thankfulness. If you're anything like me and didn't realize just how close the holiday season was approaching, we need to perk our spirits up for the most wonderful time of the year! Fortunately you have someone on the nice list like myself who can help you out with tips and tricks to become more bright eyed and bushy tailed about this holiday season.
1. Have a Christmas music jam out session.
Let's face it, we've all attempted to hit Mariah Carey's high note in "All I Want for Christmas is You."
2. Dig out the tacky Christmas sweaters.
What's more festive than your DIY Christmas tree sweater?
*silence*
That's what I thought.
3. Decorate a little bit!
Put up your Christmas tree, wrap your door like a present (don't forget the bow!), or hang Christmas lights in your room. Make your space feel like a winter wonderland!
4. Look up the 25 Days of Christmas movie schedule
Because you can't miss Buddy the Elf saying SANTAAAAA or the hot chocolate song on Polar Express. You just can't.
5. Go out and see Christmas lights
Some of the things you see when you go out on a Christmas light drive are just spectacular. There's at least one video a year of some of the best light shows. If not, watch Deck the Halls (refer to #4 to find out when it's on).
6. Do a crafty Christmas project
Whether it's a DIY Christmas wreath, a coat hanger Santa, or a ginger bread house, Christmas crafts aren't too costly and can be very fun!
7. Go Christmas shopping
What's more exciting than buying presents for the ones you love besides their facial expression when they open a gift from you?
8. Read Christmas stories
'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house...
9. Go caroling
Gather a group of your friends and put smiles on people's faces by singing "Joy to the World" right at their doors (or be like this lady and bump people for being off pitch..)!
10. Make Christmas shaped cookies
And decorate them too! The bonus is that you get to eat your creations!
11. Drink hot chocolate while reminiscing on Christmas memories with your family.
Nothing is more classic than your Grandma's memory of you being more obsessed with the gift box than the actual toy that was in it (thank you for the doll by the way, Grandma).
12. Play reindeer games
This will bring out the best competitions within your family, as well as determine whether people should really be on the naughty list instead of the nice list!!
13. Spend as much time with your family as you can.
Live out family traditions, create new ones, and laugh together. You never know what the future holds.
There you have it. Those are just 13 of the many ways you can have a holly jolly Christmas this year! I wish you a fa la la fantastic holiday season!
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Twist Photography
Going to the gym and working out on a daily basis (with breaks once in awhile) has been a great way for me to feel good about myself. It is 100% more than just looking good. Especially after starting college and having the stress and anxiety of tests, assignments, and just figuring out my future, the gym at my school has definitely been a place of relief for me and I have numerous reasons of why everyone should push themselves to get to the gym when they can.
1. Just another place to study
This sounds completely dangerous, but really if you're doing any cardio that doesn't require holding on, you can definitely take a notebook with you to study. When I first saw it, I thought it was crazy, but when you need to take every minute of every day to study anatomy, you'll definitely want to try reading some notes on the treadmill or something.
2. Relief of stress
DEFINITELY the main reason I go to the gym. Nothing is better than getting all your anger out and somehow miraculously running a six minute mile. After going to classes, getting a good workout in helps clear your mind.
3. Feeling better about yourself
Of course after several gym trips, you may be able to see a physical difference in your body, but aside from that, you also feel a sense of accomplishment. That plus the endorphins that are released, just make you feel so much better about yourself. You're making yourself stronger physically as well as mentally.
4. FREE
In my time of visiting of colleges in high school, I have never been to a school that did not have a free gym included with your tuition. Take advantage of that. You're in college, so you're going to love free stuff. Appreciate it now because after these 4 years of college, you'll either start paying for a membership or doing at home workouts.
5. Get motivated
Starting homework after not being productive all day is very rough. After a good workout though, you will feel motivated and productive and it will be easier to push yourself to get your work done. A body in motion stays in motion and one at rest will stay at rest, so after binge watching Netflix all day, you probably won't feel like starting your work.
Whether you're doing it for your physical or mental health, it is definitely a great idea to get to the gym when you can. College is a great opportunity to create a balance of laziness and productiveness. Force your friends to go with you and you can all look and feel better in every way possible!
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Tube Filter
Sometimes you need a break. A break from school, studying, work, anything that life throws at you. We are all guilty of binge watching a show that we just cannot get enough of. I know that I've gotten so fixated on a show that there have been entire days that I have day-dreamed about getting home and watching a particular show. Next time you find yourself having an urge to binge watch a series be sure, to check out the following.
1. Shameless.
Shameless, a Showtime original series, has given me hours of entertainment. About a dysfunctional family living in the South side of Chicago, this series is sure to keep pulling you in episode after episode.
2. Gilmore Girls.
Surely, by now, you have watched Gilmore Girls but if you haven't then you should ASAP. Lorelai and Rory's witty banter is brilliant.
3. Friends.
Friends is of course a classic that will never get old.
4. The Originals.
This show is about a family of vampires that will do whatever it takes to protect their family. It is full of thrills that will keep you on the edge of your seat for the whole season.
5. Parenthood.
Parenthood takes a closer look at a huge family and its different dynamics. Everyone is sure to find a character that they personally relate within the show.
6. Girls.
This HBO series is brilliant. This program that shows the lives of young adults in NYC is sure to grab your attention.
7. American Horror Story.
Providing us with unique, thrilling and horrifying seasons, it is easy to lose yourself in this one.
8. Narcos.
Telling the story of Pablo Escobar, Netflix hit it out of the part with this enticing original series.
9. Game of Thrones.
The cult following of this show is insane. Just be prepared to lose your favorite character.
10. Gossip Girl.
Telling the story of over-privileged teens/young adults in NYC, this show pulls you in and shows you a world all its own.
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Student Life
5 GIFs That All College Students Can Relate To
Trust me: If you're a college student, you would want to read this...
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Flickr Creative Commons
Oh college, lovely, lovely college. A four-year time span that is filled with many highs and many lows. Between procrastinating on an essay that is due at midnight to getting your first library card (if you know what I mean), college is a time that you should not take for granted, yet it is also a time where you feel like your entire world is falling apart. It is a time where one day you can feel like you are on top of the world and then the next day you are 500 feet below the ground surface.
But once you take a look back at a semester, despite all of the stress and anxiety that the endless amount of work causes you to have, you get to realize how lucky you are to be where you are surrounded by the friends and memories that you have made.
So without further ado, here are some #relatable GIFs that every college students can relate to:
1. When you told yourself that you were going to start studying two hours ago:
2. When you realize that everyone is trying to #adult:
3. When you have been pulling an all-nighter in the library and you run into one of your friends on your way back to your dorm room:
4. Two words: Finals Week:
5. But despite all of these emotions that you feel every day:
You realize this:
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Lifestyle
12 Festive Ways To Decompress After Finals
When you need to get rid of your leftover stress but also be in the Christmas spirit.
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Pexels
So you're finally finished with your semester and you really need to decompress from it, but you're also feeling the time crunch because Christmas is like ten days away and you haven't even gotten to do anything fun and festive yet. No worries! Fortunately, there are several festive things you can do to help put the stress far behind you. You can also make some of your usual favorite things to do Christmasy. Basically, you're winning.
1. Decorate
If you still don't have your Christmas decorations up, you're about to miss your opportunity. Not to mention, lifting boxes and hanging ornaments and stockings is a really nice change of pace from sitting around and studying.
2. Watch Christmas movies
If you're so mentally dead that all you can do is sit and watch movies, then check out some Hallmark Christmas movies. They're easy to follow and will leave you with a major case of the warm fuzzies. I recommend my personal favorite, A Royal Christmas. If Hallmark movies aren't your jam, there are several good versions of The Grinch, A Christmas Carol, and Its A Wonderful Life out there for your enjoyment. And of course, there's always Elf, Holiday Inn, Christmas Vacation, and Home Alone.
3. Read
If you love reading for pleasure and that's your way of chilling out, you've got plenty of good options for festive literature. Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol is always a classic, but there are plenty of others out there that require less brain power.
4. Drink eggnog
*spiking with alcohol optional*
5. Buy Christmas presents
I know that this can sometimes be stressful, but it's another way to change from having to sit around and study. Not to mention that it has to get done at some point. If you're crafty, make them!
6. Wrap presents
Once you've bought all of your presents, you'll have to wrap them. If you're someone who uses crafting to relax, this one is for you! There are all kinds of ways to make Christmas gifts beautiful and most of them are fairly simple.
7. Watch the Christmas episodes of your favorite shows
If you've been missing your time with your favorite show while you were studying yourself to death but still want to be festive, watch the Christmas episodes. Nearly every show out there has at least one or two, so if your favorite isn't one of them, you have plenty of others to choose from.
8. Take a bath
This one is great because you can pair it with several of the things on this list. Just run a bunch of hot water, add your favorite bath bombs and such (festive scents optional), light a candle or twelve (again festive scents optional), and proceed to relax with your favorite songs/books/shows/movies.
9. Jam to Christmas music
Sometimes, the only way to really get rid of your remaining stress about finals is to jam to really loud music - make it festive with some Christmas songs!
10. Go see Christmas lights
If driving around and looking at Christmas lights isn't an enjoyable activity for you, then I'm pretty sure we couldn't be friends. It's a fun and relaxing way to just sit back and enjoy beautiful things.
11. Bake Christmas cookies
If you love to bake, then this one is a no-brainer for you. Even if you or your people are on a diet, homemade Christmas cookies are always a good thing to toss into a gift to give it that little extra personal touch.
12. Hang with the fam
Christmas is another one of those holidays that's dedicated to being with family among other things. So hang out with them as a way to relax and celebrate the spirit of the season.
And, as always:
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