College life... what?

10:00 AM den 0 Comments

I am an 18-year-old girl who does not know how to live her life independently. Mostly because I've spent the past 18 years sheltered in my own home with my parents hovering over me--as LA natives put it, "helicopter parents."
I admit it: I really don't know much about being a grown up. I also prefer being in a smaller group of close-knit friends rather than having hundreds of other ones that I barely even know. 
July 14 - 15: college orientation.
Objective? Complete event without complaining/crying/dying.
I am 18 and I don't have my license. I know, you're probably completely judging me right now. I'm a late bloomer! Plus my parents are always scared to take me out driving. Anyways, I took public transportation to my college, SJSU. I met my friend Miguel and Jackie before actually heading down to orientation. When we arrived, we noticed people bringing luggages. Seriously? For a one night thing? But I was too quick to judge. Some people had actually flown from different parts of the U.S. and just had their luggage with them. 
The school I'm attending was not exactly my first choice, but I have a feeling I'm definitely going to enjoy it here. 5 minutes into orientation and I had already made new friends named Kara and Sham! I was surprised, mostly because I am the most anti-social person in the world, yet I managed to make friends so quickly. 
Right then I knew I was going to be okay. 
I dormed with Kara and Sham. Each have different personalities, but they were just the greatest roommates. 
Later on that morning, we were all put into random groups. I was in group 4. I knew absolutely no one. I said hi to this one girl, but she was really shy. She didn't smile, and I thought she didn't like me for some reason. Kinda made me sad, honestly. But then I thought again--maybe she's just really, really shy. I made a few more friends in my group. Turns out, the most anti-social person in the world was the most not anti-social person in the group. My leader relied on me to answer when no one ever did. If you knew me 10 years ago, I was the kid who never talked. Sometimes, I am still that kid. But not during orientation. Not during college. I'm coming out of my shell for good. 



During icebreakers, we played this game called "Aye aye, captain." That's when I saw this very cute boy. Well, the back of a very cute boy. Then he turned around. I'm pretty sure my face had heart eyes. I learned that he was from Huntington Beach. No wonder he was so damn cute. 
Then I met a few more locals. I told them which school I went to, and they all said the same thing. "Wow! That place is more expensive than this college. How do you feel coming from a private to a public school?"
My answer? My high school isn't that special. I prefer not bragging about that kind of stuff. Except for the fact that we've had 3 olympians, and one recently went to the olympics. Polina Edmunds. As of coming to a public school? Extremely overwhelming. I came from a class of 22, 475, now to thousands. So yeah, I'm a little bit intimidated.
I am lucky enough to have Miguel and Jackie - my best friends - by my side. What would I do without them?!
As we were divided into our own majors (mine was Undeclared - Pre-nursing), Miguel and I met this girl named Mia. She was the sweetest and greatest person I've met during orientation! She was so much like us. I knew we'd be friends for quite a while. We also met Mia's boyfriend, who came to pick her up. They were absolutely #relationshipgoals.
Miguel, Jackie, and I walked together towards the end of orientation and grabbed a few hot dogs, hamburgers, and fries. Literally, how American can we get.
We walked across the main plaza, and I thought to myself,
"We're going to be okay. Smile. Be confident. Don't let anything stop you from chasing your dreams, because that starts now."


Kisses and Kitkats, 
Denise


0 comments:

50 Shades of Blue

10:00 AM den 5 Comments

12 days of the blazing sun, warm waters, and tasty seafood.
Honestly, I think I found paradise. I never thought I would actually find a place like this--everything in sight looked like it was just from a postcard: nothing looked real. I couldn't believe it. Exuma is where I want to spend most of my days, right by the beach.


On our first few days on the island, we ate at a little restaurant called "Tropic Breeze." There we met Sergeant Wood, who was actually from Eleuthera--where we went for vacation last year. He was extremely friendly. Eleuthera was one of my favorite spots because of how sweet and kind the people were. They never cease to amaze me with their warm hearts. Anyways, Sergeant Wood informed us about the pig roast at Chat n' Chill. We took a water taxi to Stocking Island at around 4 p.m. and found out that we actually missed the pig roast. We were pretty bummed. Stocking Island that Sunday was probably when I saw the most tourists all in one place, mostly because everything is closed on Sundays except for Chat n' Chill. 


Tuesday, we decided to rent a boat for a day. Plenty of little cays to explore in Exuma, so why not use a boat to see the rest we couldn't see from the main island! (I definitely recommend this, the worst thing I've heard someone say on this trip is that they just stayed at their resort. Yay for adventure?)
Tuesday did not exactly have the perfect weather for boating. It was cloudy, but that did not stop us. We found a sandbar that resembled my vision of heaven. White sand everywhere, and I mean everywhere. The waters were so clear and so shallow that you could walk out for miles, and the water would still be by your ankles. Unfortunately, I do not have HD pictures of the beautiful sandbar. We had to swim from the boat--anchored far away from shallow waters. I can only describe the beauty of it: soft, white sand filled with sand dollars, starfish seen from a distance, and the clearest water I've ever witnessed. The turquoise colored sea never failed to make anyone smile. 


Exuma is known for their swimming pigs! It would've been a shame if we skipped this part of vacation. Thursday was one of my favorite day spent in the Bahamas. We took a full day tour to swim with these cute pigs and sharks, snorkel in the Thunderball Grotto, and sightsee some of the islands that belong to the rich and famous. 
Swimming with pigs seemed a bit scary at first, not gonna lie. Were they friendly? Would they eat anything I gave them?
The answer is yes! To both. 
I can check that off the bucketlist :)
I also came to realize that there were plenty of Canadians vacationing on the island. I met one in particular. I'll just tell you guys a quick story.
No one could decide which beach they wanted to go to. In result, we stopped at a restaurant called Big D's. I sat on a bench, waiting for my drink, and looked up to see the most handsome boy I had ever seen in my life. He smiled, and to be honest, I was so confused! Was he smiling at me? He couldn't be. I was wearing no makeup and felt so bare. I was feeling self conscious. The Canadian--for a good 5 minutes--tried to make eye contact with me, but I just couldn't do it. Finally, when I came up to get my drink, he approached me.
"Hello love, are you from the Philippines?"
He had an accent! I almost melted. 
This is so teenage like, haha. According to my parents, he was hitting on me. I was completely drowned out by his gorgeous face and stunning body. I really had no idea what he was saying, and no words came out of my mouth.
Main point of the story? Canadians are hot af. 


The day began to become even more exciting as we dove into the Thunderball Grotto, where the James Bond movie, Thunderball, was filmed. Different types of fish crossed our paths--none I could identify. The current was fairly strong, and I was constantly being dragged into the ocean (which honestly freaked me out). Honestly, I just want to live here. Buy my own island in Exuma. Just gotta start saving up, like, now. 


Lastly, we visited the sandbar in Compass Cay: my favorite spot EVER. I never wanted to leave. There were different shades of blue. It was incredibly beautiful.
Exuma is definitely the place to be.


How could you not like this?!
Not to mention, I stood where Victoria's Secret model, Candice, stood. And Pitbull. Even Kesha. And probably more celebrities. 
I've spotted Usher's yacht, Tim McGraw and his wife, and walked where Johnny Depp has. 
THIS WAS MY DREAM VACATION.
And I cannot thank my parents enough for bringing me to paradise.


No goodbyes because I'm definitely coming back! 

For more pictures, find me on:
IG (personal): deeennisseee
IG (travel account): ocean.aesthetics

Kisses and Kitkats,
Denise 

5 comments:

OOTD: Aquarium!

10:45 PM den 0 Comments

Visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium yesterday! Haven't gone in a while, and I'll admit, I really missed those jellies. They're my absolute favorite.
The outfit I wore was very simple, but I absolutely loved it!


Light pink camisole: Marshall's, $9.99
Black jeans: Gap, $59.95
Black bralette: Urban Outfitters, $20
Basic white shoes: Zara, $79.99
Grey cardigan: Forever 21, ?

Look at these cute jellies!


By the way, I'm almost done with the Exuma post part 2! Stay tuned xx

Kisses and Kitkats,
Denise

0 comments:

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)