Daily Improvement

First things first, I am the type of person who does not like to pay for applications. I have to try to reason with myself into buying an app. For example, sometimes, if I do not buy my lunch, I allow myself to buy an app. Anyway, here is a list of my favorite applications.

1. Shazam (Free)- When the user is listening to the radio or any type of music, by pushing one button, this app will recognize the song, allow you to purchase it, watch the youtube video, or save if for later so you can download it. Best of all it is free. Great way to remember songs you like so when you get home your not searching for random lyric in google.

2. Jelly Car (Free)- This app is a game where you have a car and basically drive through different levels trying to reach the end. I have spent hours playing this free game and even now, I find myself randomly coming back to it in my free time. A great choice.

3. Touchgrind ($4.99)- I was a little skeptical about spending $5 on a game, but after reading reviews I decided to go for it. This game is great! The best app I have paid for. You are basically playing with a virtual tech deck doing all the tricks you could only dream of doing with a real one. Many many hours put into this game and I still love it. The only app I have ever written a review for.

4. Sally's Salon ($1.99)- This is a game where you run a salon and have to hire workers and make sure your customers are happy. Sort of like a tycoon game. I love this game because the levels are not too long that you have to have a lot of free time to play, but not to short that they don't occupy time. It does have a small tendency to stress you out though, but a lot of fun to play.

What is college like? Am I going to be stuck in classes with hundreds of kids? Will I study for hours on ends everyday of the week? Will I make friends? These are all many questions people think about before they enter or even choose a college. I am going to try to help with some of those questions.
I am a third year college student at University of California San Diego. This is a very big school with about 25,000 students. I lived in the dorms my first year in a suite with nine other roommates. The dorms are a totally different experience than you will ever experience. I have had drunk roommates fall in my doorway and drug deals going down at my poker table. There is always going to be drinking and drugs no matter what college you go to but there is also a lot of life experiences to be learned like making new friendships, learning to be independent or for some learning to clean up all their messes and do their laundry. Many dorms will have building parties, game nights, or random events that many people participate in. Even though it was a big difference living in the dorms and taking care of myself the biggest difference I felt in college was the time difference.
In college there is a lot of downtime. Whether this is times between classes or even days with no class at all, it will be nothing like High School. You might go to a one hour class at 10 am then have nothing to do till a class at four. There were many days when I would wake up to go to a class at 8 am then come back, take a nap, then go to class at 11. There is a lot more free time and you are in control of how your weeks will look. I am not a morning person, so I never sign up for early classes because I know I will not want to get up and if I do it will be a lot harder to learn when I am falling asleep. Classes are also very different in college.

While many people think that the best way to get into good Colleges is through grades, that is only one factor that the Colleges actually look at. I grew up and live in California and my High School grades and SAT scores were not super great. I had a GPA of 3.81 and got a 1730 (690 in math) on my SAT and was ranked about 130 out of 400 in my class. I got into every school I applied to including University of California San Diego, UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara and seven others. To some people my GPA and SAT scores may seem good, but to others, those are very low marks. I currently go to UCSD and I have not talked to anyone who had below a 4.1 GPA or under a 1900 SAT score. I ask a lot of people because I am interested. How did I get into this school with 99% of the students being in the top 10% of their class when I was not in the top 30%? Because what a lot of people don't realize is that there are other ways to get into top schools.

Colleges look for people who are different and who stand out. They want students who are well versed in many areas, not just in school. If you want to get into schools, you need to start early and either join a sports team and/or clubs. I was the captain of my High School Volleyball team and was involved in two different clubs at my school. In one club I was the vice president. That may sound nice, but the club was only about 25 people but colleges don't know that. They see that vice president ship as being a leader. It is very important to find small things to put on your application. I served in my church so I also put that down on my application.

Another way to stand out is to do some community service. If you register 40 hours in the school (at least in California) you get a community service award and they also put you in a category for some more awards. These are small things that colleges will see and love.

Starting conversations with people you don't really know can be very challenging. They could be the "cool" kid on campus, or you might fear looking boring or weird. It is really much easier than you think to start a conversation with someone; most people love meeting and talking to people. The first thing you have to do is be confident in yourself. Just be calm. When starting a conversation you can ask them a question; like if you are in math class, how to solve a problem or something you can both relate to. Then, you can go from there.

People love talking about themselves, so let them do most of the talking. Start on some common ground, whether it be a teacher you like/don't like, or the football playoffs, or whatever you think may interest them. Ask them about themselves. In turn most people will ask you about yourself, alas you are in a conversation. Don't ramble on about yourself, tell what is necessary and then get back to them. If they look interested or ask you questions feel free to go into details. Now you should have a conversation going. Allow the conversation to flow in its natural direction, you have broken the awkward stage. If you haven't, just talk more about what they like. Be aware not to overwhelm them. If they appear disinterested or are only offering short, one word answers, just let them be, try again later. Don't be afraid to be yourself when talking to people.