Tag Archives: summer

A Life Update:

Hello all! It has unfortunately been SO long (5 months, but who’s counting?) since I have blogged. I apologize for the lack of updates, it was one heck of a summer dealing with a family death that had me leave New York City before finals last semester, on top trying to get prepared for this year…my Senior year. Literally feels like yesterday I was writing my first blog and getting accustomed to new surroundings, classes, and activities. Over the last 5 months, I’ve felt and experienced a lot of different emotions. As everything is changing all around me again, as I move onto the next chapter of my professional life, things can get tough, and sometimes it’s okay to breakdown, the most important thing is – getting back up.

Mental health is just as important as psychical health. According to the APA, “anxiety is the top presenting concern among college students (41.6 percent), followed by depression (36.4 percent) and relationship problems (35.8 percent).” No one should cope with anxiety and/or depression alone. Trained and licensed mental health professionals can provide support in helping you to find relief from your symptoms, also right here at The Fashion Institute of Technology.

FIT’s Counseling Center is free to all full-time, registered, degree-seeking students and are private and confidential. Faculty, staff, parents and student groups are also invited to use the Counseling Center’s consultation services and educational resources. The Counseling Center staff are licensed social workers, psychologists, and consulting psychiatrists that provide short-term counseling and professional referrals for students. All clinicians have advanced degrees, training and experience, and participate in ongoing professional development and clinical supervision. To find out more information, or see some questions answered, check out the Counseling Center’s “what to expect” here. It’s great that all students here have the powerful resource of the Counseling Center. Working on improving your mental health is very important, even if you think you’re doing fine.

On another note, I look forward to sharing all of the great experiences to come this year! I will be posting every Friday, so be sure to peep in at the blog as some really great events and even application season for prospective student approaches! Thank you all for reading, and always feel free to comment any suggestions, questions, or just opinions!

Mariano

My Summer Trip to Norway

Hello! I hope you all had a wonderful summer and are all getting ready for school on Monday. I just wanted to write this post to let you know what I was up to this summer. This summer break I decided to travel for a month with my best friend in Norway. We heard so many great things about Norway, that we wanted to see it for ourselves. Instead of doing the easy thing, which is staying in hostels or hotels, we decided to camp. It was one of the most intense experiences I’ve ever had, because I really had to adapt to the different weather conditions and learn to live with the strict minimum. Looking back it was so worth it, because I got to appreciate my trip so much more, I wasn’t constantly on my phone or on internet, which made the whole experience so much more special. If you are looking for a break from your daily life and really reconnect with nature, going camping is really a great way to start.

Norway was one of the countries I’ve been to with the most incredible scenery I’ve ever seen. There was such a vast range of landscapes, from fjords, to lakes, to mountains, you could experience it all. If you love hiking and a nature girl, I highly recommend visiting Norway. You will fall in love with this country! Although I absolutely loved hiking there, I really enjoyed my stay in their capital Oslo. It’s such a cool city, and there are so many thing to do, see and visit (we didn’t have enough time to do it all), you cannot get board in that city. The people that live there, are some of the friendliest and most helpful people I’ve come across. I really cannot recommend Norway more, it’s a beautiful country with a really interesting culture and some of the most breathtaking views.

If you want to see the rest of the pictures from my trip you can check them out on my blog

xoxo

Hottest Cuts and Chops – Trendy Hairstyles for B-2-School

As a Puerto Rican guy with super curly hair, keeping my hair on trend can be quite difficult. As I am debating to dye my hair before starting school, I decided to help any of you debating to switch it up for back to school. Here are some trendy chops for for the fall!

“The Cut” Bob – a centre-parted angled cut that remains layer-less and shapes the cheekbones with its flattering frame.

2. Textured Layers – a summer/fall classic, the best look for flaunting your long locks and spicing it up with textured layers. Layers will help frame the face and offer your hair that lively boost. They’ll also give off the illusion of more fullness.

3. Bangs – Thick, yet wispy, brow-grazing look gives way for a bold statement for everyone to gag on.

4. Natural Geometric – For a natural look, it’s all about getting a cut to create shape within your hair. The key is allowing your hair to be heavy on top and structured, yet bouncy on the bottom.

5. Bleach Boy – A look for the guys, bleaching has been in the last couple of months, start of the year with a eye-catching look – great with any hair type.

6. Slicked – Keep things simple with a shiny slicked-back look or add dimension with fifties partings that will register edgy and voluminous.

Looking for the right look can be difficult, but always remember to be true to yourself!

P.S. Feel free to comment any ideas for a blog post! Would love to hear from you guys xxo

Hiking Towards a New School Year

As summer comes to an end, and my time back in California is up – I decided to really appreciate the great outdoors by taking a nice hike not far from my house in the mountains of Southern California.

Know for it’s beautiful creek and waterfall, I hiked up the North Etiwanda Preserve located in Rancho Cucamonga, California. The about an hour hike brought me closer to nature and realization beginning a new school year.

Sometimes you may feel discouraged starting a new school year, but what you do for yourself today will improve all of your tomorrows. If you want something more than anything in the world, YOU CAN do it.

As I reached the top of the mountain, where the water fall rushed down I thought about letting go of all doubts. Strength doesn’t come from what you can do, it comes from overcoming the things you once couldn’t.

I’m challenging YOU (and myself) to stop wishing and start doing! This school year I want to learn everyday and allow the space between where I am and where I want to go to motivate and not terrify me. Let’s climb to the top of the mountain… (well in New York) let’s run up the stairs to the rooftop of the skyscraper!

Can’t wait for this semester! If you are a new reader, my name is Mariano, feel free to read my short about me by clicking THIS link!

get ready, get set,

LET’S GO

– M

Saying Goodbye

SUMMER BREAK IS HERE! I am officially back in California, ready to enjoy the heat on my skin and sand in between my toes. Saying goodbye to school: long hours of studying, stressful assignments, and tedious projects; wasn’t so bad to do. However, saying goodbye to New York City, the heart of the Fashion Institute of Technology was excruciating. Going to school in New York City has made me a stronger person, but most importantly brought me to a realization of my past, present, and future.

This is a view from my dorm room window, one the best views, 17H1… infant optometrists say that when we are born our vision lacks detail and light. Coming to New York City this view with the spots of light was what I saw – I was an infant in a grown-up world dreaming endlessly without plan, and afraid to take action.

Then there is light… we can see through the darkness, however it still remains. There were times in school, were I thought I wasn’t good enough to keep up with my dreams, but I began to fight (not literally) for what I knew I was destined for, an education in the best city in the world. No one can take your dreams away from you but yourself.

We come to a point were we have full vision. Darkness, light, and color. We can get through the rough times because we know what come after the storm. Living in New York City taught me that as an adult, yeah, their are going to be occasions when you question WHY ME!? , but you need to be able to get up and realize that you can do anything you set yourself to.

As I say goodbye to that beautiful view, I know that whatever I see in the future I can find color and light in. As I say goodbye for the summer, I would like to thank all of you for reading the blog! This year has been so amazing, and I know it only will get more exciting from here.

Have an amazing break everyone!

xxxo — Mariano