A Day in the Life of Lauren
- Lauren Casey
- Mar 26, 2018
- 9 min read
This week's post is to give some insight as to what my average day looks like here in "Gustieville." Rather than just telling you, I thought it would be fun to show you some snapshots of what I see and experience on a daily basis. I am one who likes routine, and rarely strays from it. I plan out my days from the time I wake up, to the time that I am back in bed, and basically do the same thing everyday. Consistency is key for me! So here is a day in the life of Lauren through "my eyes."
Life of Lauren means early bird. I start out my day waking up at 6:45 AM (by choice) to the song I have used as my alarm since my freshman year of high school. "Heartbeat" by Carrie Underwood. Yes, I've tried changing to other songs, but they just start too suddenly, making me wake up with a heart attack. So, I've settled to waking up to a "Heartbeat" rather than a heart attack. From here, I make up my bed, and proceed to get ready using my morning routine. It is nice having my own room because I can do my own thing such as getting dressed like a normal person and not having to use 6th grade locker room tactics, flip on the light with ease, vacuum as many times a day as I want, HIIT workouts, people watch out my window, move my bed around the room, use both closets even though that still is not enough space, have private dance sessions without being judged hardcore, and sometimes I just simply starfish on the floor for no reason at all. By around 7:50, I am ready to go to the caf for breakfast and my "morning me time" before my 9 AM.
Life of Lauren is caffeinated and mindful. My morning me time consists of stopping at the Courtyard Cafe, our little coffee shop on campus, and ordering my usual short cold brew. It is also home to my favorite kettle corn that I cannot resist (a friend got 15 bags of it for me at once one time... I carried it back to my dorm in a giant trash bag slung over my shoulder which is completely normal, I know.) I honestly don't like the taste of coffee, but I'm trying to because I feel pretty professional when I drink it straight black with nothing added to it. Going against that "basic white girl" Starbucks stereotype! So far I am almost to the point where I can swallow a sip without making an "ew this is bitter" face. From there, I trudge my way up the stairs (2 stairs at a time because leg day never stops) to the caf. Since I've had to go gluten, dairy, soy, and egg free, you can imagine that's changed up my meals a bit. I used to have eggs or greek yogurt everyday for breakfast, but now I have resorted to plain oatmeal or a plant protein based shake. Exciting stuff! Once I settle at MY table, I pull out my daily devotional called the "Upper Room." I love to start my day with some words of wisdom, and the daily takeaway it gives me. I try to remember it and apply it throughout my day. I then pull out my laptop, and I'm sure to everyone around me it looks like I'm up and at it doing homework already, but I'm really just watching "Parenthood" on Netflix. I am also replying to my Snapchats to keep all my streaks! When the clock hits 8:40 I make my way over to Microeconomics to get there by 8:45 because early is on time!
Life of Lauren is academic. The walk to Beck Hall is one that I make on average 5 times a day because all of my classes are in this building this semester. It really is my home at this point. I don't have much to say about micro other than the fact that it is all the way up on 3rd floor, and I was told it had some aspects of psychology in it. I'm not a big fan of graphs, so let's just say that I'm not very keen about this course because there isn't as much psych in it as I was expecting. You could say that it isn't exactly supplying what I am demanding...I had to make that joke somewhere. All the practice examples in the book use food on the x and y axis. My psych brain tells me that the authors use these to keep college students engaged since that's what most think about all day. It sometimes makes me question what I really value in life more..apples or oranges? Green beans or tomatoes? Poems or cucumbers? This is college level deep thinking right here. Despite my lack of love for graphs and marginal utility, Professor Owen is a pretty cool guy, and he is 6'7! He likes to talk about his "old man basketball" pick up games, and his passion for bird watching. From micro, I usually go back to the campus center to pick up some lunch and either do homework, check my P.O. box to see how unpopular I am, or find some sorority sisters to chat with until psychology at 11:30.
Life of Lauren is passionate. My favorite class of the day! I am a true psychology nerd because I get excited to go to class everyday. My professor, Mary, is my absolute favorite because she is so casual and laid back, but still knows what she is talking about. I had her for general psychology, social psychology, psychopathology of heroes and villains, and now Research Methods II. This class involves conducting our own study using general psychology students as our test subjects. She explains concepts by using very memorable examples whether that be how to train a cat to use the toilet, NSYNC, and many many more cat examples. There are only about 10 of us in the class, and I really like that compared to giant classes. It is a reason that I have come to know and like her so well. My biggest class this semester has 3o people, and I can't even imagine what it would be like having a 500 person lecture. It is nice being on a first name basis with your professor, knowing the name of their dog, them knowing the name of my dog, and other personal stuff that I am pretty sure a professor would not share with 500 students.
Life of Lauren is interactive. Next, I go upstairs to room 319 for Interpersonal Communication as part of my minor in Strategic Communication. Today I made it there early, so I had to wait outside and I'm pretty sure others could hear my music blasting through my earbuds. Interpersonal Comm has been an interesting class this semester. We share a lot of embarrassing stories during class, and relate them to how communication is affected (sometimes it gets borderline TMI). I even shared my story about the time the shower rod fell off the wall during my shower, and of course the male custodian walked in at the same time (this will be expanded on someday). Bea, my professor, is fun and feisty, and one who is not afraid to crack a joke or tell something like it is. She is the one that makes the class so intriguing! Today she talked about a blind date she went on with a guy who showed up drunk, but still proceeded to drive her home as he swerved across all lanes. It almost feels like a gossip group instead of class because we sit in a giant circle and share examples for most of class.
Life of Lauren is active. After sitting in classes all morning, I love when I am finally done for the day so I can get my workout in! Usually I will do a mix of cardio, abs, and weights in the functional gym. The second picture looks like a playground in my eyes, which makes killing my legs on leg day a bit better. There is always the same group of "regulars" when I walk in, and we all subtly acknowledge each other. To anyone that has ever tried to say hi to me but I did not reply, I am sincerely sorry, but my music is always at the max so chances are I just didn't hear you. Try screaming next time and that'll do it. Working out is my stress reliever, but also where my best ideas come about. Fitness is a huge part of my life which is why I always have it scheduled into my day. If I don't get at least some kind of activity wedged into my schedule, my day doesn't feel complete. I love getting the time to unwind and exert myself while listening to my favorite songs and feeling myself get stronger. Like I mentioned in my last post, it is a privilege not a chore. The feeling I get after a workout is always rewarding, and as I tell my friends and followers, there has never been a workout that I have regretted, but I have regretted the workout I chose not to do.
Life of Lauren is productive. Back at my room, post workout mirror pic is a must! Usually I take this time to vacuum, do laundry, and Clorox my room because I'm still running on my post workout motivation to get things done. A much needed shower before dinner! Sorry to my hall mates, sometimes my music speaker doesn't know its own strength.
Life of Lauren is healthy. Dinner time! No surprise, I get pretty much the same thing every time. The cooks in the kitchen know me so well that they don't even have to ask what I want anymore. We just make eye contact, exchange a slight nod and that's that. Shout out to Vikki for making the chicken without soy, she has saved my life and my sanity. Every time I eat this I tell myself "this is what Simone Biles eats" and I swear it makes it taste 10 times better instantly. Since coming to college, I've cleaned up my diet and I am glad that I did because I feel so much better when I eat clean. I like to make sure there's lots of color on my plate because that is the epitome of health, unless it's a plate full of Skittles which I have seen done, and also it's more photogenic that way, gotta have the style points for Instagram. Look Mom, I'm eating my fruits and veggies!
Life of Lauren means variety. From dinner until my bed time, I either have FCA meetings, sorority board meetings (I am Vice President of Operations), Proclaim, or it is my scheduled time to not have a schedule. Depending on how much homework I got done during the day; I either study in a corner like a hobbit, watch more "Parenthood," explore Pinterest, draw and color, visit with my friend and sorority sister Vanessa Case, and now I can add writing my blogs to this list! My favorite way to spend this time is with Vanessa because we are basically the same person, and I can't stand going a day without seeing her. On the other hand, writing blog post drafts and getting my thoughts on the screen is the most effective way to slow my brain down even though it may seem counterproductive!
Life of Lauren means reflection. As I set my alarm for 6:45 AM, the last sight I see at night is the faint glow of my salt rock lamp. The calming glow combined with Psalm 46:10 is the perfect combination to end my day as I reflect on all the good parts. Sure, there are always some downs that happen during the day, but as it can be seen here, the bright parts end up being seen the most and are the most meaningful. "Be still," it says. This is something that I constantly have to remind myself to do. My mind is always analyzing, thinking, creating, worrying, and reminiscing all day long. Resting is one thing that I struggle with, both literally and figuratively. While my functional movement disorder literally prevents me from being still and sleeping, my thoughts usually overpower this even more. My head keeps a running list of things that need to be done and linger over me. This is when I need to learn to shut all that off. I take this time at night to practice "being still" to pray about what I am grateful for, pray for a full night of sleep without any spells, or play those awesome parts of my day over in my head once more. The life of Lauren does not stop, it is strategic, busy, stressful, interesting, tiring, inspiring, random, perfectionistic, and maybe a little bit much at times... but I wouldn't want it any other way.
I hope you enjoyed being in the shoes of a 5 foot tall little blonde girl for the day, that's not something that you get to say often. Have a wonderful week! Stay tuned for next week to find out all the ridiculous reasons that prove I am a psychology nerd!
~Lauren