It has been about a week and a half since school ended and I had a lot of time to think about how crazy my first year of college went! I thought of 3 things that sum up what I learned.

1.) College is harder than you think. School work on top of extracurriculars is difficult to handle. Make sure that you form relationships with professors so they can help you along the semester.

2.) People will come and go. You have to accept that not everyone can be your best friend and most people you meet will just be people you wave to. Don't stress if you haven't found your friend group.

3.) Make sure you find things that make you happy.  Don't join clubs because everyone is doing it or because it might look good on a resume. Do it for you and only you. It may take you time what makes you happy but it will be worth it in the end. 

I never thought I would find myself in Atlanta, Georgia but I did this past April! My cousin recently moved there to be near his girlfriend so I went to visit. My other cousin, Maribeth flew down from New York to meet me there and it was a great 48 hours together.

The city is really amazing. I 100% recommend visiting there. I spent the weekend eating amazing food because my cousin's girlfriend works in the restaurant industry. We ate at the Iberian Pig and Double Zero where food was coming out left and right. The food came out with small portion sizes. My favorite was the cheese platter! I tried cheeses I don't even know how to pronounce!

We also visited the Georgia Aquarium, walked in BeltLine trail where there was so much graffiti art and stopped at Ponce City Market for a bite to eat. The weather was beautiful and the city was up and about which was nice. I am highly considering looking for jobs there after I graduate.

Pictured above: Flank steak from Double Zero

College is an amazing place to take advantage of new opportunities. Over any breaks I try to do something exciting instead of going home. This past spring break I went to Disney World with a class at Elon. We were able to visit all four parks and part take in the Youth Education Series. My class was able to go behind scenes and see hidden secrets of Disney. Here is a photo story of what I learned about in Magic Kingdom's Liberty Square: http://kvalerio.weebly.com

The greatest part of this experience was being able to explore Disney World and notice things that you would not have noticed as a kid. You really grow to appreciate it. Also, it was a great opportunity to do this class alone and have the opportunity to meet new people.

My advice: Take advantage of school planned break trips; they can be really educational and fun. Also, put yourself out there and sign up for the class alone!

It really is true your first semester of college does fly by.

So much is going on that you never have a dull moment. You are trying to balance your course load while also trying to start friendships. It can be very exhausting.

TIPS

1.  ATTEND THE ORGANIZATION FAIR: some people will tell you to only sign up for a few things but I think you should sign up for anything that sparks your interest then go from there. You will start to get emails from the clubs you signed up for and then from there you will go to the meetings and feel it out. Once you know they are not for you drop it and put some more of your time into a different organization.

2. GO OUT: when the weekend comes you are just going to want to crawl into bed and binge watch Netflix after a long week of classes but you really shouldn't. This is prime time to get closer to your friends and have fun!

3. DON'T FEEL TEMPTED BY THE DINING HALL FOOD: having a meal plan allowing you to eat whenever and wherever is really tempting. Your biggest meal should be breakfast and then it should gradually get smaller. Make sure you don't forget your veggies and try not to over do it on the carbs.

4. TAKE TIME FOR YOURSELF: it will be hard at first to manage everything but make sure you take time for yourself. You need to make sure you get proper sleep and relax when you need it otherwise you will burn out. Trust me it's possible to never have to pull an all nighter.

5. YOUR PLANNER WILL BE YOUR BEST FRIEND: you are going to need to stay organized not only for your school work but for your social life because it can get a little hectic.

6. EXERCISE: this is really important. You might end up saying you don't have the time but you have to make time to take care of your body. Whether you have 15 minutes or 60 minutes anything is good enough.

7. DON'T SPEND TOO MUCH MONEY: you pay for a dining plan so don't be ordering Dominos or Chinese food when you don't need to be.

8. PUT YOURSELF OUT THERE: don't be afraid to ask people for their numbers from class or be afraid to actually hit them up. After all college is about making friends!

9. GET A JOB: it will be nice to have pocket money to spend when you want.