Sisterly Social: Tech

GIRLS NIGHT PLAYLIST

Thursday, February 26, 2015Unknown

APPS TO ORGANISE YOUR UNI LIFE

Tuesday, February 24, 2015Unknown

Ah, First Year. I remember I had the worst fashion sense and was so scared of how big my new campus was. It was weird, seeing hundreds of new faces that I'd never seen before. You must think that I was some neurotic First Year (yeah, I pretty much was) with the same streak to please as Lisa Simpson, but I felt like this because university meant a lot to me. Even now I look back and think that I wish I could do it again, bad fashion and all! But as a First Year I did wish there were some things that people told me before I began since it would've been better to know these things sooner rather than later. For the new starting class of 2015, this one's for you:

1. Pick classes that YOU want to do

The good thing about the first week of classes is that there's still a chance to make any last minute changes. After all, you won't really know what Sociology is like until you've sat down in class and learned about what it's really like. My advice is this; ask yourself if the class you're doing is going to be something you're going to be willing to wake up at 7am for. For instance, my 18-year-old self thought studying Chemistry would be more worthwhile than studying Anthropology. First week in, I knew that something wasn't right. Nothing was sinking in and my mind refused to retain information because I knew that it wasn't the right choice for me. The week after I refunded my books and went to the Anthropology class. I ended up majoring in Anthropology and have found it to be a vital career asset that helped me land my first Full Time job outsidd of university. Do the subject that you believe in and paths will be created without you having to build it. After all, you decided to go to university. It's your chance to learn whatever you want to learn without anyone else having a say in it.

2. Don't be shy to speak up

My first few weeks at university was as if I'd taken a vow of silence. I used to be scared to speak in class because I (stupidly) felt like I wasn't as smart as any of the kids who were so confident in what they were saying. Some people just seemed to have the gift of the gab and were so knowledgeable from Week 1. It's great to have people like that in your environment because it's a challenge for you to get out of your comfort zone. By Week 4 I suddenly just clicked and thought, "We all worked just as hard to get into this course as each other. My voice isn't any less valid than theirs." So I started speaking up. It didn't matter if I was wrong or right, or if I was saying something that might not have made sense or if I was even asking a question. Even uni lecturers have questions and I can assure you there are some that don't even make sense during their lectures. But whether it was students or teachers speaking up, there's nothijg wrong with speaking up too. Engage, and be excited to learn what other people are thinking and how they think.

3. Sleep well

You've just finished high school and you think that staying up until 11:00pm to finish an 800 word English Essay is pretty much the same as an all-nighter. I've got news for you, my friend; that's a real treat compared to what's coming! But that won't really happen until second or third year. While things are still easy, try to get into a good sleeping habit with at least 7-8 hours sleep. Sleep is going to be so valuable to you once exam time comes around. So start doing the work early in the day and sleeping early at night. Believe me, your brain, body and grades will thank you for it.

4. And finally, pick your friends wisely!

I think some people imagine that university is going to be a landscape filled with parties, expanding social circles and gaining so many new people in your life. It is and isn't and this all depends on what you want. I was pretty surprised at how shy I actually was at uni at first. I left school with a huge circle of friends and was actually really happy to have my own time and my own space when I went to uni. I did get to meet some really like-minded and amazing people and never really envied the kids in my classes that travelled in big groups and boasted about the huge parties they went to over the weekend. It turned out that having a small amount of friends at uni who shared the same ideas as you and valued their education were people who were worth the company. Study hard and surround yourself with people that are going to make you better.

Always remember you're at uni for a reason, and that's to learn infinitely more than what you've learned at high school and will give you an education to create something big in the future. After all, I think it's only 6.7% of the world's population that has a university degree. That means you're in that 6.7% that has the mind to make big changes in the world. Go to class, study hard and remember; Smart Girls Do It Well!

Enjoy!

Apps Blog Lifestyle

What apps do we love?

Wednesday, February 18, 2015Unknown

Despite the fact that our entire blog is dedicated to our obsession with beauty and lifestyle, we honestly couldn’t get our posts and photos out there without the help of our trusty compadres; our phones. Yes, we’re phone people. And proud of it! Without our phones, we'd never be able to find inspiration, meticulously (OK maybe an overstatement) prepare our posts and make our photos look just that little bit nicer.

So here are some of our favourite apps for blogging, inspiration and preparing our posts!

Instagram

Of course it’s the second social platform where we let the world know what’s new on our blog in square format. But the best part about Instagram is of course, the social aspect of it. Being Sisterly Social after all, a majority of our inspiration is by going on Instagram and going starry eyed at the Lorac hashtag or what other beauty products people are hauling from around the world.

Pinterest

Pinterest is THE best for inspiration. Whether it’s makeup pictorials or photography tips for better blog posts, Pinterest is a treasure trove for gathering ideas while you’re on your lunch break. Half the time I also use Pinterest to collate images from random places to make a virtual scrapbook of my dream Santa Barbara Ranch/Mansion/Palace.

VSCO Cam

When Instagram consisted of only Filter > Frame > Post, there wasn’t much choice in making your photos look good. You could tell who was using Amaro because your friend’s recent post had a similar sort of visual aura as the post you just did. So to have more variety and more control over photo editing, we turned to VSCO Cam; it had the most bomb-as filters, the ability to brighten, sharpen, edit the shadows and so on, so forth. To this day we still use VSCO Cam and have a bit of a feeling that Instagram imitated the editing capabilities in its more recent updates.

Evernote

When I’m on the train and think of a blog post idea, I usually like to whip out my phone and type it all out on Evernote. With Evernote’s Sync option, all the files you’ve created will transmit to any device that you’re logged into with your Evernote account. So as soon as I get home, I open Evernote on my laptop and continue writing where I left off after syncing the files from my phone to my computer. Never miss an opportunity to write about new ideas!

And when we need some retail therapy...

ASOS

Do not even get me started on ASOS. OK, maybe I will. I could be on ASOS until the end of time. It’s one of the most phone friendly online shopping apps, rarely crashing and loading all of the products so seamlessly. It’s also a lot easier to scroll through online shopping on my phone rather than sitting on my laptop, I feel.

AliExpress

AliExpress is the eBay version of a Chinese marketplace. You can find so many bargains from clothes, beauty products, shoes and even pet accessories in that place! Because most of the items you purchase are shipped from China, you can expect to wait a couple of weeks for the items to ship. But nonetheless, it’s fantastic to have on your phone if you’re looking for some really affordable ideas for beauty or even your next costume party.