
The Bubble Lounge (Highland Park & University Park Texas)
The Bubble Lounge Podcast is the only weekly podcast show for families living in Highland Park and University Park Texas. With over 290 episodes and 160,000+ listeners, we are the go-to source for all things in the neighborhood.
Hosted by Martha Jackson, the Bubble Lounge Podcast is a weekly show that covers a wide range of topics, from philanthropy, lifestyle, and fashion to health and wellness, relationships, and also current events.
The podcast is unique in that it provides a local focus, catering specifically to the women of Highland Park, Texas. The host brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the show, with Jackson being a marketing and public relations expert who has a deep love of her community.
For more information and sponsorship inquiries for The Bubble Lounge Podcast, visit https://www.bubblelounge.net
The Bubble Lounge (Highland Park & University Park Texas)
Chloe Walsh's Guide to Thriving in College
Ready to navigate the back-to-school season with less stress and more fun? As summer winds down, sophomores like Chloe Walsh from the University of Texas are gearing up for the challenges and rewards the school year brings. Chloe, a Dallas native, has spent the summer providing an inside look at the college experience via her blog and now she's here to share her firsthand tips and experiences with our listeners.
Having successfully navigated her freshman year, Chloe is a treasure trove of practical advice for incoming students - from the best ways to manage your move-in day to the importance of embracing new opportunities. Hear her practical tips on how to make your college move-in a breeze, how to build a strong rapport with your professors, and why a routine can be a lifesaver in college. Want to know more? Chloe also spills the beans on a secret weapon – a useful app called TaskRabbit that can make setup easy and stress-free.
But the college experience is more than just academics and logistics, it's about building lifelong friendships and having fun. Ever wondered what sorority life is like? Chloe shares her experiences, from formals to the dynamics of sharing dresses. She also explores the topics of inclusivity, the Austin Community College (ACC) feeder program, and how to enhance your social life in college. Whether you're a student heading off to college or a parent wanting the best for your child, tune in for a chat that's sure to educate, entertain, and inspire. After all, isn't that what college is all about?
This episode is sponsored by:
Kathy L Wall State Farm Agency Long Cove, Mother Modern Plumbing and SA Oral Surgeons
Please show your support for the show by visiting our amazing sponsors.
This episode sponsored by Cram Crew, your one-on-one in-home tutoring firm, committed to flexible learning, personalized support and proven success. Learn more at CramCrewcom and KidBiz, a fashion-forward children's clothing and accessories store located in Inwood Village. Learn more at KidBizUSAcom.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the Bubble Lounge. I'm Nellie Shudo.
Speaker 1:I'm Martha Jackson and I'm Chloe Walsh, and we are here to talk about back to school and summer. It's been quite a while since we've all seen each other, and actually Chloe and Nellie just met for the first time. It's crazy.
Speaker 2:I know that's how crazy the summer has been.
Speaker 1:Exactly Well, we do apologize that we've missed a couple of episodes this summer, but it's just been a hectic situation and we've had a hard time syncing up this summer.
Speaker 2:Well, and Chloe, you have been in Dallas. You have another job as well, so you've been busy.
Speaker 3:Yes, I'm working at Baldwin Red. It's been a lot of fun.
Speaker 2:But you've got this great blog and you're talking about back to school.
Speaker 3:Yes, ma'am, I just wrote a blog about some social essentials that I had for going back to school, and really it applies to all ages in college or high school, whatever.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's really resonated well. It's gotten a lot of views and people have been reading it and commenting about it and I just thought it would be good to expand the conversation some, because I think it's relevant for all ages. Everyone gets back to school jitters and needs your advice. Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 3:Well, I'm happy to give whatever people listen to.
Speaker 2:I love back to school I always have since I was a kid because to me that's like New Year's Eve. So I never think of New Year's Eve as the start of a year. I think of the school year as the start of the year. Right, you know, because you're like planning, you know what you're going to accomplish that year. You know you have goals. I kind of like it better.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely, I agree. Well, I definitely need the structure to come back. Usually, I'm not looking forward to school starting, but it's just been such a rough summer on my end that I need that structure back in my life. So, chloe, on a high level, what are we going to talk about today?
Speaker 3:So today, on the podcast we're going to be talking about college moving. I have some points about workout plans and how to treat school. Going into college it's different than high school, so some points to be adjusted to that and overall. Gover is some of my favorite blog points that were posted on the website.
Speaker 2:So, guys, this is going to be a great episode with information for all of us who have kids going back to school, and we'll get more on it after the short break. We're from Chloe.
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Speaker 1:As summer wraps up in a new school year approaches, it's time for the most anticipated event of the season Back to school shopping. And what better place to spruce up your child's wardrobe than Kid Biz and the Biz, your local neighborhood store in Inwood Village? Learn out of a vision to bring fashion for designer clothes to kids and teens. Kid Biz is not just a store, it's a local style haven run by the dynamic duo, janet and Jay Finegold, who have years of experience in the fashion industry. They're not just in the business of clothes, they're in the business of fun, trendy and personalized fashion. So if you're looking for that perfect first day of school outfit, then Kid Biz and the Biz are your go-to destinations in Inwood Village.
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Speaker 2:So Chloe wrote this great blog, which is very applicable to all of us and all of us in the bubble, and let's talk about Move-In first.
Speaker 3:Absolutely so. Move-in is such a highly emotional time for parents, for sons and daughters, and I have some tips. So, first of all, bring water, because it's so hot and there's so many people moving around everywhere. Definitely bring water. Set up the fan first, because it is so hot. Also, at Texas, there are boys that help move you in, so definitely have some extra cash on hand to tip those boys that help out. And then, finally this is such an important tip TaskRabbit is an app on your phone that we use. They set up our TV and they even help set up our headboards, which was so nice. So definitely do TaskRabbit.
Speaker 2:So question so this is great, You're talking about Texas because you're a sophomore there. You're a rising sophomore. How does this apply to other schools as well? Like I assume this is general information that everybody can get right, yes, absolutely Like for example, it's not hot everywhere.
Speaker 3:So it is not. So tell us how this is set up. So how does this?
Speaker 2:relate to everybody's Move-In? Yes, absolutely.
Speaker 3:I mean expanding on to how this applies to multiple colleges, like for the East Coast example. You're still going up 25-thousand stairs and you're still crowded around and having encounters with multiple people. So it is smart to still bring some cash on hand if you want to tip people to help you out. Or also, like for younger brothers example, they get dragged along to college Move-In. Also, bringing water definitely still applies and TaskRabbit is good everywhere. I mean, that is such a saving grace.
Speaker 2:Okay, so I have two questions. Okay, what is TaskRabbit?
Speaker 3:TaskRabbit is an app where you can go on the app and you can hire someone to come. They have TaskRabbit employees that will come, like they came to my dorm and it was one guy and he had his tools because we all of our dads, but sometimes they're not as handy.
Speaker 1:They are and they realize that on College Move-In Day. So it's actually like Uber, but to have somebody come out and do some kind of Some work, yeah, some things for you Like I've even heard people have used it to like wait in line for them.
Speaker 2:Oh, wow, okay, I think that is. I'm sorry I had never heard of it. Yeah, taskrabbit is awesome yeah.
Speaker 3:Absolutely, and they were so quick and efficient and we actually hired them for Move-Out as well at the end of the year, and they took down our TV, took down our headboards. So yeah, 10 out of 10 reviews for TaskRabbit.
Speaker 2:Okay, so when you do that, you go to TaskRabbit, you get the app, obviously, and then, like you'll put in, I need my TVs removed, and they'll send the appropriate people.
Speaker 3:Yes, okay, and they're really well rounded. Okay, hammer and nail way anything, so they're super versatile. Can they carry me up the?
Speaker 2:stairs? Yeah, how do I put that in? I can stand you if you're too hot and I love your tip about tipping, because I'm a big tipper and my husband hates it. I literally tip everybody way too much, but I didn't even think about that with move-in.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Like literally, because in Boston it's gonna be like it's a city, so they have a specific time you're allowed to move in and they have people there helping you specifically. And just think about it. Think about a busy city, street, like tips, make it all happen right.
Speaker 3:Also, just going in with a positive mindset, like there's a lot of weird nerves, especially as, like the student going in, but it's just like a new chapter in life and it's exciting. And if you just go in with a positive mindset, it's those like hours of movement are gonna go way faster than you think.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I agree with you on the positive spin, because I have a lot of moms who have said to me especially, boy, you're gonna be devastated when Charles goes to college. And I was like, actually I'm not. I think it's an exciting new chapter and it's just a different adjustment, right Like it's a new adventure for him, a new city for us to visit, absolutely.
Speaker 3:I just I think you're right.
Speaker 2:It's all about your attitude.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and that kind of goes into my next point of so your parents leave, you're there and you're like whoa, what do we do now? So my next point is to say yes to everything. I think one of the most important things is being like open to trying new things. Like if someone asks you to go to a workout class, say yes. Or if you wanna go hang out in someone's room, say yes. You never know how many people you can meet and how you can expand your circle that way. I remember the first week of college, me and the girls who lived around me we took a Swedish kickboxing class. Oh my, and I literally I'll cherish that memory forever because I think it's the funniest thing. We didn't understand one of the words in the music, but it was so fun and just. I wouldn't have gotten the opportunity if I didn't, if.
Speaker 1:I was like no.
Speaker 3:Was it like do.
Speaker 2:Oh, we're going to do it. He would be out with a Swedish kickboxing class, they gave us boxing gloves.
Speaker 1:I was so overwhelmed. You're gonna have to tell us more about this, like what's the difference between US kickboxing and Swedish kickboxing, right and Swedish kickboxing? I couldn't tell you.
Speaker 3:That was our first and last. Swedish kickboxing class.
Speaker 1:We were one and done.
Speaker 2:Austin, Texas. You know You've been weird. It's your meatballs, I'm not.
Speaker 3:But moving on, having a workout plan not necessarily kickboxing, but having a stable workout plan throughout your first year of college especially is so important because there are new stressors and it's such a great de-stressor and you're going out so much.
Speaker 1:And you want to avoid the freshman 15, right, absolutely I did not avoid it. So I recommend everybody get on that workout plan.
Speaker 3:Yes, and it was honestly. I was on the Palm Squad my freshman year so I was up and doing morning practices and I had, like football games and basketball games, so that was kind of like a built in plan, but it was so like I respected so much the girls who would like sign up for the workout classes and go to the workout classes in the morning to start their day or end off their day, because it is so crucial to mental health and physical health. Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2:And I'm glad you brought up the mental health topic, because mental health is a very big thing. And there's a huge change for everybody. And you know, hey, you might leave school being the most popular girl in school and go to college. You're starting right at the bottom, on the bottom rung. I mean even with my son who's a runner. He's been running since fifth grade. He's gonna run on the cross country and track team and I'm like, understand, you're gonna be the last.
Speaker 2:Yeah, like don't forget that now you're at the bottom again, you know, and that's hard, that's a hard adjustment and I think it's good to have positive outlets for that other than just going out.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and the good thing about college is there's so many people like if you wanna run, and that's gonna be your thing. There's like in my dorm. I lived in Harden House and there was like a hard and run club that was established like the second week of school. Or like if you wanna have pickleball, be your thing. There's so many people who love pickleball and would love to play and pickleball yeah. Having that in mind, the pain of mine is no because I play tennis, so I'm not talking about it.
Speaker 2:We've been talking about it for a while no, but everybody I know in the world is playing pickleball these days.
Speaker 1:It's so fun and they're like joining clubs to play pickleball.
Speaker 2:Like people used to join for golf, now they're joining a club for pickleball and I find it so funny. Listen I think it's great. Anything physical is great. It just makes me laugh that it's like the hottest thing. Yeah, it's like the badminton probably was in like the 70s. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Or croquet Croquet. I was totally thinking of that as soon as you said that.
Speaker 2:Okay, so great. So we've got that. Stay active. It's basically you're saying that's a good, positive way to make friends. Absolutely yes.
Speaker 3:And going on about the routine of things, my one of the pieces of advice that my parents gave me was to treat school like a job. So say, like you need to plan out, okay, I'm gonna be on campus from nine to five or not literally nine to five, but like 10 to four, 10 to three and that is your work study, grind time, focus, serious studying time. And for me, I focused and studied the best when I was on campus, so I took advantage of our library because A it looks like Harry Potter library.
Speaker 3:Bibes but also, do you have a robe? No, that's sophomore year. Okay, but definitely treat school like a job. You know, work hard, play hard. It's so much more rewarding if you finish out your school day and you can go home and hang out with friends at your dorm, but when you're on campus, you're there to be on campus. You're going to college to get an education.
Speaker 2:So that's the I have a question about that. So when you have 8 AM classes, you know how do you adapt to that. I mean, listen, it's hard because you have all this freedom.
Speaker 2:You guys are all everybody's used to in high school getting up at six, going to school, all that kind of stuff. But when you have freedom on some days and then all of a sudden you have an 8 am day, what did you do? Did you just plan an extra half hour? I mean, you didn't know the campus. It's a very large campus. Like, how did you? I imagine you had early classes, freshman year.
Speaker 3:Also some yeah. So how did you adapt to that? I adapted by honestly going. I would say, like start, say you have an 8 am, Go to campus, take your 8 am class and then stay on campus. Like just get used to the fact that you're gonna stay on campus and wait, let me. Campus is like your office, Paula. Did you get there?
Speaker 2:early Were you not worried, but like that's what it is, oh yeah. Like did you say, okay, I'm gonna get, I'm gonna be in my class at 7, 30.
Speaker 1:Cause I don't know where the building is.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I might want to eat a snack before or whatever.
Speaker 3:Absolutely Like. Our walk to campus was an easy like 15 minutes every time. So definitely get there early. Also, it's so true, it matters where you sit in the class. Like your professors need your face time they need, like you want to develop a relationship with your professor because they can write recs for you, they can have internship opportunities for you, tell you about clubs so important to get there early and sit like within the first three to four rows. That's such an important skill to have and that led me to become super close to like my professors and have them in your back pocket.
Speaker 1:No, I agree. I think that is so important. When I was at OU, I really made sure to get to know them because a lot of times if you were like one point off from a better grade because they knew you had initiative and you truly cared and you were working hard, they would bump you up. So I agree that relationship is so important. It's important to date, your TAs Just a joke.
Speaker 2:Oh my, it's a joke, it's a joke, it's a joke.
Speaker 3:Also office hours, so important. So I guess, for those of you who don't know what it is, office hours are extra times during the week that your professors will have. It's basically like a little tutoring session, so they'll have like a Zoom, or come to this room. It could be in a totally different building than your original class, but they'll have office hours where you can ask them any questions. Or what I did a lot was I would stay after class and wait in the line to speak to the professor and ask them questions about what I had, about the lecture or whatever it may be.
Speaker 3:Going back to the 8 am thing, one key point of advice I would give is do not skip that 8 am, Like once you skip one class. Skipping classes in college sounds like oh my gosh, what? Why would I do that? I would never do that. But then you get to college and you're like oh my gosh, I can sleep in until 10. I can eat lunch at four and whatever Go out after, but once you skip one class, it becomes so much easier to skip the next class and the next class. So just get your pal that you know won't skip that class with you and be like we're gonna wake you to their app and we're gonna go to class.
Speaker 1:Well and you get behind so quickly because they cover so much information. But do you guys know, to this day I still have this dream where I had skipped class all semester and now it's like final exam time and I know nothing. Like and I wake up freaking out. Why would I have that all these years later? So bizarre.
Speaker 2:I like that, though it's like you feel unprepared.
Speaker 1:It means something. It means something Like that was your go-to.
Speaker 3:I'm freaked out. You're there.
Speaker 1:I'm there Well okay.
Speaker 2:So I saw Charles' schedule just this week and his schedule is really very heavy on Mondays and Wednesdays and doesn't start till noon on Tuesdays and Thursdays. But, here's what I said to him Monday and Wednesday is gonna be a beatdown because you have classes all day, three long classes in a row, and then you run every evening. But I said he's Friday's off.
Speaker 1:Oh my God, I always timed my classes that way. Yeah, I think it's great. I was like this is my schedule. They gave him this is awesome.
Speaker 2:So I said that's not a big deal. I actually think a routine like you said you said it very specifically, treat it like a job is the same thing as saying a routine does help you. It's actually not a bad thing to be overloaded because I think, coming from the bubble, all of our kids, all of us were also overloaded and overbooked. I noticed this summer. The minute I'm not overbooked, I'm like, oh, maybe I'll sleep a little late. Like you said all of a sudden, your schedule is completely jarred right, Absolutely and also something that I wasn't prepared for to.
Speaker 3:I had a class that ended at 5.30 and I was like, oh my gosh, I'm exhausted. I haven't had class all day. So I take advantage of naps, like 20 minute power naps in the middle of your day, so nice. And also this upcoming semester, I don't have class on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so I'm gonna use those days as my study day, like go over all my notes from the Monday or the Wednesday. You just take advantage of during the daytime that you have because, like I said earlier, you are there for the education. That's the most important thing, obviously. Also, my last point about heading into college, before we talk about the blog a little bit more, is getting a good devotional. College is such a time where you can just feel like go, go, go, go go, and I always lean back on my faith to keep me grounded. So a good devotional that I would recommend is called God is with you every day by Max Lucotto. It's sure and easy and easy to understand, so definitely recommend that.
Speaker 2:That's I like that idea. And if you're not religious, you could do something like listen to podcast or something that are, you know, meditational or whatever, because everybody needs some sort of escape from the craziness. To just let your mind, shut down.
Speaker 3:Absolutely so many opportunities on campus to find like minded people like you. I know RUF is a great Bible study at Texas and they have it at multiple other schools as well nationwide.
Speaker 1:Chloe, I wanna go back for just a second when you were talking about when your parents left. How did you feel? Because I distinctly remember like it was yesterday when my parents left me and I watched them walk out to the cars from my dorm window and it was just such a weird feeling like, oh my God, I'm really on my own. I'm kind of sad, I'm kind of excited. Like, how did you feel?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I felt the same way. I'm the youngest of three so I had watched, you know, both my older siblings move out and I was like, oh my gosh, that looks so easy. Like I can't wait to go to college. And whenever I think like hugging my mom goodbye, like we were both crying, I was like, oh my gosh, this was so sad. But honestly, just thinking about the next time you're gonna see him like makes it so much easier. Like you're not saying bye forever, like you're just um. Like, for example, like I saw them in Texas OU so that's earlier in October than some of my other friends who are out of state, but it's really just like a see you later. So, oh, that's perfect.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it is like a see you later. It's a see you later. Yeah, absolutely Okay, chloe. So back to your blog that you posted last week. It was lots of great information, and so we're gonna go over some of those points now.
Speaker 3:Perfect, okay, so my first point on the blog was developing relationships with people and really getting to know people. You come across so many people every day. I mean you have your lectures of 200 people and it's so easy to just go into a lecture and not get to know anyone around you, but when you really look at it as a chance to oh my gosh, I can study with these people, like for the final exam. We can have a like notes page and really study and you actually like develop friendships with these people that you will encounter over the four years. Like my first semester classes, I met so many people that happened to be in my second semester classes or people that I could study with and get to know and that could introduce me to more people. So really just go beyond getting sitting next to someone in class, like actually ask them their name and where they're from. Everyone has comes from so many different backgrounds. It's so interesting to hear everything and go beyond just the first name.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think that that probably makes them feel real comfortable, because, especially when you're new to college or new to a school or those types of things, it's just everyone's feeling a little insecure and like not knowing everyone in the room feels awkward. Yeah for sure.
Speaker 3:And, like in my, I was like you do have 200 students in a lecture, but sometimes you do have like 30 kids in your class and I sat next to a girl and they happened to be two girls in the same sorority and we all became friends in that class and that girl ended up picking her as her little sis in her sorority. So it's just like so funny how things work out. So being nice to everyone never fails.
Speaker 2:It's always plus. Yeah, and also I like that you brought up a sorority. Sororities, fraternities, are a very big part of large state schools which you guys both you attend and you attended. But there are also other ways to get involved socially, right, Like they're all kinds? I assume they're all kinds of clubs. Did you join clubs?
Speaker 1:as well Are you too busy with the sorority.
Speaker 2:Like I know that can be time consuming.
Speaker 3:I was really slam packed to schedule eyes with Palm and my sorority in school, but there's like a communication school, like student council kind of thing. There's so many different. There's like the school newspaper or there's actually like websites. Each college will have a website of all of the clubs you can get involved in, and also that's why it's so important to get to know your professors, because they can tell you about these clubs and which professors in charge of them and who to connect to.
Speaker 2:So Well, kind of like if you're in a business class, you're saying, oh, they would talk about the business club, yes, something that's specifically something you're interested in.
Speaker 3:Okay, got it.
Speaker 2:Absolutely.
Speaker 3:Okay, moving on to my next point is, like I said, you are meeting so many people, so whenever I would forget someone's name, I would introduce them to my friend. So I would say, oh my gosh, miss. Or I would say, say Miss Jackson came up to me and I forgot Miss Jackson's name. I would say, oh my gosh, hi, how are you doing? And if I was with my roommate, I would be like, oh my gosh, you need to meet my roommate, sydney or Kate, this is my roommate. And Miss Jackson would say, hi, I'm Miss Jackson, it's so nice to meet y'all. And then now I know Miss, I remember Miss Jackson's name.
Speaker 2:That's perfect. I love that. That's like a party trick. Yeah, but it's also you can always resort to hey girl, yeah, yeah, cute top.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:It works like a charm, absolutely. Also. My next point is formals. Formals are so fun. It's part of college that I cherish because it's just fun time to. Every girl loves getting dressed up and going to whatever formal with a boy in their grade. So formals are interesting because a lot of girls stress out about oh my gosh, blah, blah, blah. I got asked before me. I'm so nervous, what if I don't get asked? But honestly, there are so many formals and the group of girls that don't get asked to formals still end up going out that Saturday night and like having a ball and getting to know the girls that they're hanging out with. Like it's such like. Do not be stressed out if you don't get invited to a formal because there's so, so many and honestly, it's nice to have a break one weekend and just stay in and watch a movie with your best friends.
Speaker 2:Well, also you kind of learned. You learned this in high school. I watched all these dances go on. I'm sure you went to all of them and Alexis did, et cetera. And what you realize is sometimes the most fun ones are when you don't have a date. You know, like sometimes it's better when it's a group going together. And that leads me to a question for you. So when you were packing, I assume you packed formal dresses. Yes, okay, I did, absolutely. How many? I'm just curious Well, coming from Because you got to narrow it down right.
Speaker 3:Yeah, at Highland Park, senior year is like in never ending. You need a dress for you know whatever black and white and everything Like. There's just so many dances. You'll learn that when you go to college. There's really not another high school that has as many dances that you need dresses for other than Highland Park. So what I loved about Harden House was that we all shared the same closet Like we all were in each other's closet.
Speaker 3:Oh my gosh, yeah, we all, and I know at Georgia they have like an Instagram account where you can rent dresses.
Speaker 1:It's like 20 bucks wear this dress and give it back? Yeah, how would you do a really good business to have? Yeah, seriously, that's a genius idea.
Speaker 3:And also there's something called rent the runway, which a lot of girls use.
Speaker 2:But how many dresses did you pack? That's?
Speaker 3:what I'm trying to say. Oh sorry, Just because I'm like you think about.
Speaker 2:What do you pack? Like if you don't have your closet, like you're at home.
Speaker 3:I would say I packed like at least six formal dresses that I had.
Speaker 1:I would guess that that I just had in my closet.
Speaker 3:And then you borrowed and shared. Borrowed and shared yes absolutely and also like it doesn't matter if you rework a dress, like I reward so many dresses so many times.
Speaker 1:Okay, alexis, are you listening to this? You do not have to have a new one for every single event.
Speaker 2:Well, you know what you else you realize, cause I realized that because, I kind of I'll wear something I'll go to different people don't Like. Let's be honest, if I asked you, martha, last time we went out what was I wearing, you probably wouldn't know, so I mean, we all think everybody's noticing exactly what we wore.
Speaker 2:But if it's been like a month and you're at a different party and you wear your hair differently, nobody's like oh my God, you wear that dress last week and no one cares, right? Everyone's too worried about their own appearance to hear what other people are thinking.
Speaker 3:Literally. Also about the formal date things. An awesome thing about being in a sorority is that you can take your best girlfriends that aren't in a sorority or like, for Texas, a lot of the ACC girls who rushed their sophomore year, we would love taking the ACC girls to formals and just having the best time with, like your girl best friend. It's just the best thing ever and it means a lot to them. Is the ACC, the Austin Community College.
Speaker 2:Like the feeder program. Yes, the feeder, and I really think and I said this to Martha I think that that is a great program and I think if you really want to go somewhere, go there and you do it and guess what?
Speaker 3:You get all your core classes out of the way you know, like you said, you're included in stuff. I think it's really it shows a real commitment. Yeah, oh, my gosh, absolutely. And a bunch of my guy friends who did ACC are like juniors now because they have so many credits.
Speaker 2:Exactly.
Speaker 1:It's getting an advantage.
Speaker 3:I'm like oh my gosh, yeah.
Speaker 3:But yeah, going on about guy friends and girlfriends, something that's so essential to know going into college is that friendships develop over time and hours and weeks spent with people. You're not just don't expect to go to college and have all of your best friends within the first week or month, because it's not going to happen. Like, friendships develop over time, and especially meaningful friendships, like there's so many people you come across that you have friends that okay, like this is like my school friend or this is my friend that I can talk to about this, but meaningful friendships you can really talk to them about anything develop over time and that's just something to be aware of. Going into college, like going into my second semester, I was like, oh my gosh, mom, like I don't know who my close circle is or who I trust with my life, really like other than my roommates. But it just takes time and that's something to look forward to, because you want those to take time. You want those to grow in their own way and just pray about it.
Speaker 2:And the semesters are rightfully planned out. Just the way it works out, because fall is very quick. So in a way you come home with Thanksgiving. You see your old friend et cetera. And, like you said, by the time you go back for a second semester, which is a much longer semester, then you're in the right position to sort of keep those friendships up and deepen them. Right, absolutely.
Speaker 3:And like that winter break when you come back, you can like it's really like a big reflection time. I felt like and you can like really think about okay, like this semester, I really want to get to know this person better, like this group of people better, or go to like different frats or different clubs at school and just like really expand your circle that way. It's a great time to think about that going into second semester.
Speaker 1:And you get a whole month off, right? Yes, that is so cool. I know it is awesome.
Speaker 2:But it goes by. It's really anything.
Speaker 3:You're like, oh my gosh, I have to move back in and get all my stuff together, but yeah, it's valuable time for sure. So, going back into the spring semester, there's so many more parties I feel like spring semester because there's not football season anymore. So one thing that's really important when you're at parties is to be inclusive with people. There's so many times where, like I myself have walked in to like a frat party or whatever and felt like really nervous or like oh, like I don't want to intrude on this conversation.
Speaker 3:So, like, one thing that will mean so much to people is if you're talking to like one of your best high school guy friends at a party and one of your different high school friends could come up or just like went to a different high school than you. Friends, come up from college like into the conversation, Tell, like include them on the conversation and tell them what you're talking about. Like hey, oh my gosh, this is Jerry. Like we're talking about this and just tell them, because it really does matter how you make people feel and they're gonna Remember how you make them feel. Like, even if they don't remember your name, they're gonna remember how you made them feel. So it's so important to be inclusive, and it means so much to them.
Speaker 2:It's good. I like all your tips on including other people because you have really good social skill Tips you know. Thank you from the hey girl to the hey.
Speaker 3:And I don't have it all figured out. This is just one year of college experience, but it goes a long way to be inclusive. Also, something going along with being inclusive is one of the most exciting parts about college is when your friends come visit from other Colleges and when your roommates friends come visit. It's such a fun. It's so fun to see like who your roommates were best friends within high school and also getting to share with your roommates like who my best friends were in high school, um, and it just really does expand your circle so much more like. I know a bunch of older girls that have graduated from college and their roommates in New York from college friends that they've met, or roommates in Wherever Dallas from friends that they met, and so it all started from being inclusive in college when they come to visit.
Speaker 2:Okay, so listen, college was a long time ago for me and I know I had a lot of friends, but I don't. I don't remember where to friends day when they just stay on your floor, oh yeah. In our groups, of our kindergarten group, that we're still friends with somebody. Everybody gave each other gifts and one of the guys. He got was a blow-up mattress and I was like. That is the best idea.
Speaker 3:Definitely getting air mattress absolutely. And also, um, a tip for, like, if you're going to stay with other people, like if a younger girl Like as a younger girl, we migrate would always like give a gift to the person that we're staying with. Like, say, we're going to visit Georgia, like we would. I would, yeah, who's this gift? Absolutely, like I would give like a $50 revolve gift card to her, like a necklace from Say what do you bring to like Fritos? Yeah, a scented candle for the smelly room and their homework completed.
Speaker 2:That's the best gift ever.
Speaker 3:Also something that comes with college that was also something in high school was group chats.
Speaker 3:I think that, especially like our age with snapchat and Instagram, there's always a New group chat.
Speaker 3:Like, seriously, I think every single month there was a new group chat and just, you know there's always someone left out of this group chat and just don't let that bog you down, because you know ignorance is bliss if you don't know about the like, it's just College is a hard time because you want your best friends and you're like I don't know who I'm gonna be friends with, and then you know about this group chat that you're not in and it's easy to stress out. But, honestly, there's a new one every month and if you're nice to everyone, it's not gonna matter because, like, for example, one of my best friends lived in a different dorm than me, so she wasn't in a lot of group chats group chats that were made from my dorm but it was so easy for me to be like, hey, can Boba come along? Because she was nice to everyone and everyone loved her. So Just going nice I keep repeating goes along the way you know, I agree with you.
Speaker 1:but sometimes those group chats it's just like you're in a room together and you're like oh, we're gonna go to the lake this weekend so you start your lake group chat or whatever right sometimes it's just you weren't in the right place at the right time. You know it's not necessarily personal.
Speaker 3:Yeah, absolutely, and it could be the most random things, like a group of girls going to, like, get a spray tan before a formal, and it could be like a group chat that gets used like for a week and then there's a different one, like it's just, definitely don't get bogged down by that and don't let that stress you out, because there's too many things in college to stress you out than the group chat, like grades or essays or Whatever.
Speaker 2:So, chloe, you know you given such great tips. I took notes by the way. So, in closing, what would be your best piece of advice?
Speaker 3:college is Such an amazing opportunity to expand your friendships with so many people, so take advantage of it. Because I mean, my parents make college Reference all the time like. I'm sure all of our parents make college reference all the time because it is such a special time. So Get to know people, expand your circle as much as you can and just enjoy the people you're around, because it's you only get four years of it.
Speaker 1:Well, I think this is great advice like that we could all, all ages and stages, we can all use this in our lives, so thank you so much for sharing it. With course, thanks for having me.
Speaker 2:That's been another episode of the bubble lounge. Thank you so much, chloe. I'm Nellie shudeau. I'm Martha Jackson.
Speaker 1:I'm Chloe Walsh and we'll catch you next time you.