The Burns Effect: 2017

Can't Afford to Travel Abroad in College? Here's 4 Cheap Ways You Can.

I have always found it funny how college students talk about being broke so much, yet it seems like they're the main ones traveling for spring break. Before I became a college student, I thought that this was impossible, and these people who were complaining were lying about something. Were they even really broke? Or did they photoshop themselves somewhere? Because how are you traveling - and why are you spending all the money that you have - if you are so broke? But now that I am a college student, I see the truth. You CAN travel abroad (or around the country) with limited funding. It's all about working the system and finding the best programs/funding opportunities for you!

1. Study Abroad with Your College (Short, Semester, or Year)

This option is the most expensive on this list, but it's probably much cheaper than you going abroad by yourself! When you decide to study abroad with your college, you open yourself up to many grants and scholarships that can help fund your trip. Keep in mind the type of program you choose, however, as some have strict itineraries, whereas others are free-as-you-please.

2. National Student Exchange

I will be participating in NSE next Spring semester (2018). You'll be able to catch me in the US Virgin Islands, St. Thomas! (Fun, right?) The aspect that I love most about the National Student Exchange is how you can either pay your regular school tuition and room + board, or your host college's tuition and room + board. In my case, I will be paying the USVI, which works out perfectly because it's a bit cheaper than Iowa State.

3. Spring Break Programs

Going abroad (or, in general) during Spring Break may seem like it'd be completely unaffordable; however, that's not true. If you choose a program (either through your school or a completely separate trip), you will receive some type of discount compared to doing it alone due to it's all-inclusivity. Student City is a great place to check out future trips and prices.

4. Go With Friends + Split Everything

When I went to Chicago for a weekend, my friends and I split literally everything: hotel costs, gas, food, drinks, etc. This helped everyone financially; at the end, I spent less than $100 dollars for an entire weekend in Chicago. If you are going abroad, however, the only separate price that you would have to foot would be airfare.

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Why You Should Live in Maple, Willow, or Larch Hall Freshman Year at ISU

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In #BlackLivesMatter, A Letter Penned

Dear Dark Skin Girls,

There is so much that I want to tell you right now.

You're beautiful.
Your skin is beautiful.
You're not beautiful "for a dark skin girl."
You do not need to stay out of the sun this summer.
You do not need to be afraid to get darker this summer.
You do not need to lighten your skin.

I know that all of this was sudden, but I am so overcome with emotions that I did not want to fester any longer. Dark skin should be embraced, yet, in society, it's not (or it goes to the other extreme by becoming a fetish). Once upon a time, I disliked my beautiful chocolate arms; I wondered why I had long, sun-kissed legs seemed less feminine because of its muscular structure; I didn't understand that my natural skin was a super long kiss from the sun. Dark skin was never considered "exotic," circa the desire of "foreign girls" a couple years ago. Everyone seemingly wanted a thick redbone. It was always team light skin versus team dark skin -- I'll leave you to figure out who naturally came out on top. Dark skin was not something to be desired.

But it's time. It's time that dark skin starts being appreciated for its innate beauty. There is no competition between skin tones; all tones have their own beauty. I need you to understand that you do not need skin lightening cream; what you need to do is hold your head up, take care of your beautiful glow, and not let society knock you down. I do not want you to shed a tear over the dark skin that God bestowed upon you. Do not let a foolish guy (or girl) let you think that you are beautiful in spite of your skin. You are beautiful because of it. I'm talking about the beautiful cocoa brown, the gorgeous honey nut, the deep, warm black.

You beautiful chocolate girls and women, embrace your skin. After all, you only have one. Do not tolerate colorism; stand up for what you believe in. Never let your head fall, gorgeous. This self-confidence has to become the norm. I do not want my heart to break for any more little girls who grow up with a distaste for their own skin.

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In Birthday, Celebrate

How to Celebrate your Birthday in College (when you're not 21)

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In College, College Blog

How to Organize Your College Courses

Time management and organization are two of the most important skills that you can have in college. Not only will they prepare you for your ultimate, full-time position, but they will also allow your time in college to go by smoothly with as less stress possible. I have touched on how I use Trello to stay organized; the Pomodoro technique is also something that I swear by. Now, I want to talk to all of you future (and current) college students about how to maximize your college schedule to stay on track for graduation and to keep your stress levels down.
There are many factors to consider when it comes to choosing college classes. It is important to know which classes are required and which ones are electives. You should also know whether you plan to study abroad (or do a program similar to National Student Exchange) during your college tenure. Another important factor is your class standing - are you considered a freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior? Lastly, think about what your preferences are as far as morning, afternoon, or evening courses.

1. Are you a morning person? Night owl?

In high school, I had no choice but to get to school at 8 a.m. every weekday. This forced me to get used to the morning time; I had to learn how to be productive at such an early time. My first semester in college, I decided to take a lot of morning courses. (Because why not? I'm was used to them!) That was the worse mistake of my life. There is definitely a difference between morning classes in high school and morning college classes. I learned from my mistakes and took late morning courses this past spring semester.
Knowing whether you prefer morning classes or night classes will require complete honesty from yourself. If you were forced into morning classes in high school, yet secretly (or maybe not so secretly) hated it, do not trick yourself into doing the same in college. While you will not always be able to choose later classes, I would not purposefully select AM ones. The same goes for later courses. I strongly dislike any classes after 3 p.m. (How does this work, you ask, if I also hate morning courses? Great question - I plan, plan, plan.) Because of this, I try to select late-morning to late-afternoon courses.

2. What is your class standing [by credits]?

The more credits you have, the higher your class standing. Use this to your benefit! As soon as you are able to register for classes, you want to jump online and do so, so that you do not miss out on a class because it becomes full. I had the privilege of being assigned the very first day of registration (for seniors), even though I was a freshman. This was because of my scholarship, which I am grateful for!
In this step, you want to make a contingency schedule and select additional courses that you wouldn't mind taking if you do not get your first choices. The more credits you have, the quicker you get to choose your classes. This sucks for the younger classes because classes are typically capped at a certain number. At Iowa State, psychology classes fill up extremely fast, so I have a lot of friends who had to choose an alternate.

3. Schedule in meal breaks

You may be wondering why meal time is something you have to schedule. I'll tell you why: you will get sick. If you schedule classes back-to-back and do not appropriately plan to eat, you will not be able to focus in class because you're so hungry. This is the absolute worst feeling! So make sure to take the time to schedule time between courses to grab some lunch (or dinner, if you have later classes). I never regret doing this. If you must, grab food for lunch the night before or get up early to stop by a convenience store on campus!

4. Check Ratemyprofessor

Or, talk to other students in your college that may have taken the class before. It's important to figure out the history of a professor. While Ratemyprofessor is not the end-all-be-all, it is a great indicator for how you will like or do in a course. If you find out a professor typically has a negative rating and you would prefer not to risk it, look for other course sections and times.

5. Know what's required and what's optional

Certain courses for certain majors are not elective; you have to take them. It's important from the get-go to know when you plan to take these. Required courses are traditionally prerequisites to one another; for example, you have to take a math before an economics or accounting course, or an English class before a creative writing course. It all depends on your college's requirements. Once you plan when you will take the required courses, you will be able to start choosing electives.

6. Choose days that work best for you

Would you prefer Monday, Wednesday, and Friday courses? Or Tuesday and Thursday? It's pretty great when you can take a couple of days off, but just know that this isn't frequent. Also, note that professors will sometimes cancel classes on Fridays, so some MWF courses will turn into MW courses.

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In Code Switch, Code Switching

What in the world is code-switching? And when/why do you do it?

Code-switching happens so often that it's impossible to list all the situations that it occurs. One of the most common occurrences is when someone switches from speaking professionally on the phone to colloquially talking when they hang up. I remember laughing at my mom all the time when I was younger; she was a code-switching queen! At the time, however, I was unaware of the term. Who could've known that this was an actual phenomenon versus something moms just did? I mean, what the heck is a code and why are we switching it?
So, I've given you all the intro to code-switching; I've said the word a helluva lot, but I haven't told you what code-switching actually is. Like the example showcases above, when you code-switch, you change your behavior and speech (among other identifiers) based on your surroundings, who you're talking with, and your comfort level. When I speak about it, I am traditionally referring to how people of color have to code-switch between various communities. That's not the only type of code-switching, however; it can be as minor as speaking multiple languages or certain phrases you'd use with a particular group. Gene Demby sums up code-switching:

"Many of us subtly, reflexively change the way we express ourselves all the time. We're hos-scotching between different cultural and linguistic spaces and different parts of our own identities -- sometimes within a single interaction."

It's interesting when you really stop to reflect. Why do people code-switch and when do they primarily do it? On behalf of the black community, I can list a lot of events that we code-switch; for other communities, there are similar and additional events. Let's see:

Taking a phone call from a family member or friend at work
Going into a predominately white community
Talking to a boss
Speaking with anyone in authority
Playing with babies, puppies, or kittens
Going abroad to a country with a different language

These are not super obvious situations that one would expect code-switching to be occurring, but it is! Now, the lingering question is why anyone would do it? There are many reasons...

1. To feel more comfortable in a situation

I would not feel comfortable speaking with a potential employer like I would with my friends. This is a typical example of code-switching; everyone does it, whether its concious or not.

2. To blend in more

As a person of color, I already stick out like a sore thumb. While I have been told that I am "the whitest black girl," that does not mean that I do not have traits and identifiers that are traditionally seen in the black community, such as slang and mannerisms. When I am around non-POC, I find myself switching how I talk about by limiting my slang usage, and my demeanor changes.

3. To explain a thought or complete a sentence

I remember when I came back from Germany, I ridiculously forgot some English words, so I tended to speak Denglish whenever I couldn't remember a word in English. There are also words in German that do not translate to or cannot be described in English.

4. To be secretive

One of my friends began to learn Italian in order to speak with her roommate in public and keep others out of the loop. I love it when people do this! My roommate and I did it sometimes because we both speak a bit of German. You can also see this when accents come out; sometimes thicker accents confuse or make understanding someone harder.

To read up more on code-switching, here are a few credible sources that I found helpful: