New Year's Eve is the Worst;How You Can Make it Better!

New Year's Eve is the worst holiday, yep, I said it. It usually sneaks up on you in the midst of your cozy winter break away from reality: one minute, you are snuggled up on your parents' couch watching the 18th episode of Law and Order in a row; next thing you know, tomorrow is NYE and you have Lousy Plan A and Lousy Plan B to choose from.

Let's talk about Lousy Plan A: Have an extra $1,095 lying around? Perfect, that will get you a table at...TGI Friday's, complete with champagne for two! Have a slightly smaller budget? No worries, here's Lousy Plan B, entrance to a pizza-and-well drinks open bar at Artichoke's Pizza will only cost you $125. Comparatively, a slice normally runs you $4.50. That's almost 28 slices of fatty delicious pizza you'd be spending on NYE alone.

The hyper-inflated prices for most parties result from the work of one company, Joonbug. The company capitalizes on everyone's need to "go out and have a good time" on holidays like Halloween and NYE by colluding with any and all venues they can find, charging insanely high entrance fees in this near monopoly. By locking down all venues from TAO to the AMC movie theater, to go out on NYE will be an expensive way to get entrance to a loud, crowded room while the party glitter haunts your hair for days to come. Expectations are usually set way too high and almost always let down. I think I'll pass.

A Steal at $175!

As I was grinching and grumbling about my hatred for NYE to my friend K via Facebook chat, she gently reminded me that NYE is a time for reflection, a time to reminisce over 2013 memories. Instead of the wild year-end blowout bash that the media has ingrained as our ideal NYE, the last day in December provides a perfect period for reflection. Instead of asking yourself the panic-inducing question: "Where did the time go?" ask yourself and your friends: "What were some of your favorite memories from 2013?" My perspective suddenly shifted as the question I asked changed.

For me, 2013 was a year of many milestones and happy memories, from a stressful 2-day trip to Paris, getting lost in the mountains outside Barcelona, to landing my first big-girl job, I'm grateful for all the opportunities and experiences. I'm thankful for the million little butterfly effects that have brought me to today. And for you, in order to jog your fuzzy memories for all of 2013, Facebook's Year in Review is super helpful!

Perhaps New Year's is not so bad after all, as long as there's plenty of noisemakers and even more champagne. Happy (almost) 2014!

What I Wish People Told me as a Fresh(wo)man!

Hey there, NYU class of 2017! It is now the end of Welcome Week, and time to begin #RealLife as a newly minted NYU freshman. To help you navigate your freshman year, I've put together a list of tips that I wish someone had told me when I was a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed freshwoman, ready to tackle on big-bad-Stern and get a 4.0 GPA (Ha!).

Category: School

Take a filler class! - I know that y'all are super excited to take all major classes and graduate in three years, but the reality is, college is hard! When I was a freshman, I was busy battling the Stern curve for some A-minuses and getting some solid B-pluses instead. Trust me, once the workload piles up, you'll really wish you had one easy class to fall back on. It's always good to take a fun class to take your mind off other stress!
Plus, the added smaller booster to your GPA really makes the difference from a 3.4 to a 3.5 when it's time for junior year recruiting.

Jinna's Recommendations: Group Vocal, Individual Vocal, Intergroup Dialogue (Spring only), and Metalsmithing.

Category: Friends

"Where do I make friends?" you ask. Truthfully, freshman year is the easiest time to make friends during your time at NYU. Everyone is willing to "friend-settle" since almost no one comes in with a build-in circle of friends, and everyone is open to meeting different types of people. The question really is: "Where can I meet them?"

Dorm Floor - Many of my closest friends to this day are from my freshman year floor. (Founders what what!) If you just keep an open door, friends will literally flock in. Be nice, share your hangers, lend a hand with moving boxes. Since people spend most evenings at home, it's so easy to swing by and make casual plans, find a dinner buddy, or someone to do homework with! Make your dorm friends early so you have friends to come home to!

My first floor meeting! 

Student Clubs - The easy part: Go to Clubfest, sign up for any listserv that remotely interests you, attend a meeting here or there. The emails keep you updated on what events the clubs have planned, and you can easily unsubscribe at anytime. My freshman year, I went to Coles and collected fliers like Buddy the Elf on Christmas. I think I signed up for Chinese Mei Society, Chicken and Rice Club, Violet Circus Arts, and at least 20 other things. No matter how strange a club might seem, just show up to a meeting and give it a chance. The people are super welcoming, and there's usually free food every Thursday/Friday evenings!

The harder part: You should also apply for "E-board" positions ("E" stands for Executive) for a club you are interested in. As a part of the E-board, you go to weekly meetings and work with 10-15 people to make the events happen. I've found that it's a great way to get involved, and meet upperclassmen who really take you under their wing. I found my first club family at NYU by interviewing for a freshman rep position. Although the idea of an interview might be scary or seem unnecessary, it is really well worth the investment. Great to put on your resume!

School doesn't have to be the only place to meet people either. Get involved in some outside organizations either through a church group, find some odd jobs on Wasserman, or volunteer! Small opportunities will eventually lead to bigger ones and you find lots of amazing people along the way. It's super important to meet people in different schools and different communities, it will keep you sane and grounded as you get sucked into the inevitable quarter-life crisis. If you're in Stern, make some Tisch and Gallatin friends! If you are in Steinhardt, meet someone in nursing!

Category: Partying

I remember coming into freshman year all ready to parrrr-tay! And then I was like: "Oh wait, I have to be over 21?!" Instant bummer. Although 18+ parties exist, they are usually just a watered-down, overly-crowded version of what an NYC club should be like (save your $20 dollar cover charge and skip them, and avoid this promoter Amanda Sarah at all costs).

At times and especially on the weekends, it did seem like there was segregation between those with fake IDs, and those without. It is easy to feel left out when you are not one of the privileged few with a look-alike and understanding older sibling (or IDChief). But as a senior, when I compare my freshman experiences with new friends, it seemed that with or without an "over 21" ID, we all found different ways to thoroughly enjoy our freshman year - from shooting pool at Rubin, getting busted playing dorm room beer pong, schmoozing our way into Avenue, or making 2am halal runs. So really, don't feel like you are missing out on much. And if you wanted to order IDs, do it early on.*

Here is a list of fun things I would rally people to do:

-Eating trip in Flushing (another Chinatown in Queens)
-Camp out for Saturday Night Live
-Plan a dessert trip (Chikalicious, Big Gay Ice Cream, Butter Lane, Magnolia, Georgetown Cupcakes)
-Take advantage of discounted tickets at Ticket Central! Save $$$ and go buy nice stuff.

What you DON'T have to do:

DON'T smuggle dozens of cookies back from the dining halls, unless you think the freshman 15 looks good on you.

You DON'T have to come in knowing what investment banking is (everyone calls it "banking," but it is NOT the people you see at Chase counting money). Google it.

You DON'T have to read all the books in your Texts and Ideas or liberal arts classes, choose excerpts and know those excerpts well. Then cite those passages to support your thesis.

DON'T even buy all the books! At least a few people on your floor will have the same books, borrow and read a few excerpts (see above).

DON'T get stuck in high school drama, even over the internet. It could be such a time and energy suck! Shake it off and do your own thing.

DON'T feel like you are doing something wrong if you aren't having the time of your life. College is hard, meeting new people could be exhausting, and so is managing your own schedule. Cut yourself some slack.

With that, have a super freshman year! Upperclassmen friends, do you have any cool tips for freshies? Leave a comment below!


*This blog does not support the use of fake IDs, since they are illegal you know. That being said, the earlier you order, the more value you get out of them.