Your Freddy Bear

By posting this, I will probably insight hours of laughter for some of my close friends but I thought it would be fun to share some of my tips for taking care of your hair, especially if it's damaged. It's the damaged part that I am an expert on. I've done SO much to my hair I'm surprised I still have any. For example, from last September to now (October 15th, 2015) the below array of pictures is what I did to my hair. In order....





Jumping back and forth with colours, bleach, heat styling, you name it, I did it. Now that I've calmed down (Let's hope. Life Goal = have the same hair colour 3 months from now*), I'm trying to get my hair as healthy as it can possibly be. Though it may not seem like it, I did work hard to take care of my hair while simultaneously destroying it. As a result, even though I had all those colour changes, my hair is not nearly as damaged as it could be and I have little to no split ends. Since some of these tips worked so well for me, I thought I'd share the knowledge.

#1) Coconut Oil!

I know this is a common one, but I cannot recommend it enough. It is super inexpensive and works wonders. It comes as a solid and all you have to do is rub it between your hands to get the oil. Rub it throughout your hair and let it sit. I leave it in overnight but if you are in a rush, 20 minutes should do. A few friends have told me they need to shampoo twice to get it out of their hair, but I personally only need to wash once. And as a bonus, if you deal with a dry scalp, Coconut oil fixes this better than any product I've ever encountered.

#2) Don't Wash Your Hair!

This one a lot of people have trouble with but ideally, you should only wash your hair every four to five days. I definitely cannot go that long but I wash my hair every three (working towards four!) days. This gives your hair time to naturally moisturize and keeps your shampoo/conditioner from drying it out. It doesn't matter if you have the most expensive moisturizing shampoo, excessive washing will dry out your hair, while at the same time making it more greasy! The worst kind of catch-22. Over-washing your hair gets rid of the natural oils your scalp creates. If your hair is really greasy after a day or two it may be because your scalp has been trained by daily washing to produce more oil than necessary. This excessive washing can leave you with greasy roots, and super parched ends. Yuck! A couple months of washing less regularly will cause the oil production to go down and your hair will be less greasy and a lot less dry.

#3) No Heat!

I am aware this one is impossible for those who love styling. For those of you who can't live without straightening or curling, here is a tip; pick your poison carefully and only use one hot tool. If you regularly blow-dry your hair then do only that and put away the rest of your hot tools. If you absolutely must straighten your hair with a straightener, then let your hair air dry. And so on. Try to go a week with no hot tools at all. You will notice a difference.

I've been lucky enough to have these tips work miracles with my hair but I do have others stored away. Let me know in the comments below if you'd like any more hair tips or to know of an products that worked wonders for me.

- OJ

I finished University two years ago this October and was very excited to get out of the studying mindset. Unfortunately, I was not yet completely free from the grind. I've had to start a course for my job and even though it's only been two years, I found myself a little rusty in the studying department. The tips listed below are how I got myself back into exam-ready shape and hopefully they can help you get back into the studying mindset, no matter how long or little it's been.

Tip #1: Do NOT make your highlighter your bestie.

- This may seem counter productive. Of course you should use a highlighter to focus on useful information. It is deeming what is useful that is the issue. A lot of the time when we haven't studied in a while, we forget how to narrow down the important facts and in haste or worry highlight everything. My advice is to put down the highlighter until after you've read the entire chapter through. Only use the highlighter when you go back through to focus on topics you think will definitely be on the exam or topics you are still fuzzy on.

Tip #2: Reread the text!

- I know this is the worst thing to do, especially if what you are studying is not a particular subject of interest for you. Rereading the same boring thing might want to drive you to drink but it will also help your brain soak up the information a lot easier. Repetition is one of the best ways people learn.

Tip #3: Use any and all extra study guides and materials provided to you, even if they aren't mandatory.

- Sometimes courses will offer online activities or module quizzes or other learning tools to help with your cramming. These activities can seem pointless or overly-simplified, or even a waste of time to some. I agree that time could be better spent reading the actual material but don't discount these activities, especially the easy ones. These learning tools, like repetition, help to cement the ideas in your brain. The easy ones are great because the help you to remember the material and also give you a boost to your ego. That boost can help keep you from becoming discouraged which can be poison to studying.

Tip #4: Try not to study TOO much (or at all if possible) the day of the exam.

- Cramming hardcore for a big test is understandable. However, it has been my experience with myself and with friends at school that if you try to cram too much the day of the exam, you will forget a lot of what you've studied. The only thing that will stick in your head is the stuff you just over-reviewed. Let you mind have time to relax and breathe before your test. Play a mind-stimulating game like Sudoku or do a crossword puzzle. They will keep your mind awake and firing without pushing out all the information you worked so hard to learn.

I hope these tips help anyone who is trying to get back into the swing of studying, especially since we are in the middle of midterm season and exams are just around the corner! Let me know if you have any great studying advice. I still have one exam to go so I can use all the help!

- OJ

I love fashion. It's fun, creative, exciting, and most of all, it's pwetty. Unfortunately, I happen to be extremely unfashionably-coordinated. I'll buy all the right clothes, have the right fit, be on trend, and yet somehow it comes out looking awkward, out of place, and completely out of style. When I was in high school, I embraced this and went as far out of my way as possible to look insane and awkward. Now that I'm older and have dialed my crazy back a bit, I'm more interested in finding a style that works for me. I won't say I've 100% found it yet, but I am getting closer. On the way to getting closer, I of course hit some bumps. I thought I'd share them to maybe help someone know what to avoid.