Step14: Take Student Loan Exit Counseling

Oookkkk... this one should probably have been higher up on the to-do list, but guess what! You've got a six month grace period before you have to pay back any of your federal loans, so it's all good if you're a little late on your exit counseling.

Some tips when going through your counseling session:

• It's going to take way longer than what they say (I think I read that it would take 20 minutes). It took me 2 HOURS! Granted, it probably won't take most normal people that long - in fact, there may be some of you who finish it within the 20 minutes that they promise. But if you really take the time to read through the information and think about exactly how you're going to be able to afford to pay your student loans on top of your other monthly expenses, then it's going to take some time.
• Have a pen and paper so you can write down the important stuff. Duh.
• Don't freak out when you see how much you owe. Especially when you double check what you owe with what your school says they received and you get a different number. (This discrepancy is caused by a wonderful thing called a Loan Fee - the government charges us an extra amount, sort of like a processing fee, and it sucks balls. For me, it was 1% of each loan that I took out, but I hear that they're raising it to 2% - write to your Congress to stop the increase!)
• Know that there are different types of payment plans, the coolest one being Pay as You Earn. You have to qualify for this one, but if you do you only pay a small amount, and after 25 years anything that you haven't paid off is forgiven! Great for the unemployed and the starving artist. :)

The last thing to know is that the exit counseling doesn't actually do SQUAT in concerns for paying back your loans. It's literally just a short online class telling you what's going to happen and how to prepare for it. You want to actually deal with your loans, you've got to talk to your loan servicer (the people you're paying your loans to).

So my question to you: Do you have any questions? After two hours of dealing with this stuff, I've got a pretty good idea of what's going on, and though I'm no expert I'll try to help you or send you in the right direction to get help.
And my challenge to you: Go through the exit counseling and take your time with it. It'll help you understand things better.

Step 13: Watch Zombie Shows

If Canada's preparing for the Zombie Apocalypse (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueBZuZAoglE), then we need to be preparing too! (And no, I'm not just now hearing about this awesome video - I saw it when it first came out, it just goes really well with this blog. :) )

A great way to prepare is by watching informational videos. Some titles that I currently find very helpful are "World War Z," "The Walking Dead," and for all you girls out there, "Warm Bodies." Each have their own unique ways of staying one step ahead of the flesh-eating mob, and by watching all three you'll be prepared for any type of zombie that might pop up, whether they're the result of chemical warfare, an airborne virus, or an irate-radioactive-monkey (10 points to the person who can tell me which show that quote came from).

Then there's also the classics. The only ones I can really vouch for in the classic category are "Dawn of the Dead" (the original and the re-boot). There's also "Night of the Living Dead," "White Zombie" (starring the original Dracula), and "Army of Darkness." They've made some lists, so they must be pretty good.

And of course there's a whole slew of zombie flicks in between, with the stories running as serious as "Resident Evil" to as funny as "Shaun of the Dead" or "Zombieland." Heck, they've even got kid movies with zombies in them (though I wouldn't quite classify "Paranorman" as a zombie flick, the dead do rise in this film).

So my question to you: What's your favorite zombie movie?
And my challenge to you: Go see "World War Z." It was awesome! (I really really like "Warm Bodies" too, but that's definitely more of a chick flick, so boys, you've been warned!)

Step 12: Visit with Out-of-Town Family

I'm pretty fortunate to have most of my family living within driving distance, but there is a chunk on my mom's side who's all the way out in California (I guess you could say that's pretty lucky too - having family in the perfect vacation spot - but plane ticket prices can be a bit of bad luck). When they come back to their old stomping grounds in Indiana, my mom and I always make a point of spending some time with them. They rent a big white van to haul all the family around to various former homes and hangouts, as well as to their favorite local food joints (believe it or not, one of them is White Castle - bleh!). We talk about the past and catch up on plans for the future, and it's surprisingly a good time. I say surprisingly because you'd think a younger person like myself wouldn't really be in to looking at old buildings, hearing stories, and eating White Castle's (ok, maybe most young people wouldn't have a problem with the White Castles part, but I don't even like McDonalds) - most kids of my generation and lower are more interested in what's going on in their phones. But it was neat to see that my families' old homes were still standing, and it was nice to get caught up with people I hadn't seen since I was in high school, and dang it, even the White Castles wasn't awful.

So my question to you: What do you do when your family gets together?
And my challenge to you: If you've got family coming in from out of town, go spend some time with them, even if it means doing something you thinks going to be boring. They'll appreciate getting to spend time with you, and you might be surprised to find your self entertained.

Eating with the family at White Castle.

Step 11: Get Super Busy

This is probably the easiest step - I mean, you can get regular busy doing all kinds of different things, so getting SUPER busy just takes a little extra work.

The important thing is to remember to do those daily things that you told yourself you'd do now that you've graduated - eat healthier, exercise for an hour each day, read for fun a little each day, keep better track of your finances, feed and water your animals, KEEP YOUR BLOG UPDATED... >.>

But I'll show you just how busy I've been in the next few blogs, so stay tuned for some boring, some fun, and some just plain weird posts!

Step 10: Be in a Wedding!

Sorry I haven't posted much lately. There's no real reason - I've just been busy with MY FRIEND'S WEDDING! :) I would like to congratulate my former roommate, God, and her Sexy Mexy (who's actually not Mexican despite popular belief) for tying the knot this past Saturday.

It was a simple, yet beautiful ceremony filled with true love (cheesy, I know, but when you can lick your bride when the pastor says "You may now kiss the bride," then you know you've got true love). It was everything that I hope my own wedding will be (minus, perhaps, the licking), and I'm so thankful that my roommate asked me to be a part of it.

My one and only tip for those of you who are blessed enough to be a part of something so wonderful is to  do whatever makes the bride (or groom, if that's who you're friends with) happy. Though this is a momentously happy occasion in anyone's life, it's also a momentously stressful one. I was lucky enough to be friends with a bride who didn't go all "bridezilla" (at least not in front of me), and there were moments where she probably would have been justified in doing so (when the proper bridesmaid dresses don't come in until two days before the wedding and the bridal store owner gives you the roundabout, even the bridesmaids are threatening to beat someone up!).

It's the bridesmaids' (or groomsmens') job to help alleviate those stresses so that the happy couple can be just that - happy. 'Cause when they're happy, that joy spreads throughout the room and makes everyone happy (even that really drunk lady from the bar who thought she could crash the wedding).

So, my question to you: What's your dream wedding?
And my challenge to you: Crash a wedding, but be classy about it! Don't just grab some food and run (and return two minutes later for more food) - make up a story about being the groom's dog's second cousin by marriage and then hit on the hot bridesmaids/groomsmen while going crazy on the dance floor. And leave a nice card.
[Sorry, not a great challenge, but it's the only one I could think of besides getting married, and I don't want you doing that unless you've found "the one." But hey, it'll make a great story if you actually do it!]

<3 Congratulations, you two! <3

Step 9: Play Trivia with Your Old Man

Play trivia, eat dinner, grab a drink, watch a game, or don superhero costumes and save the world. Whatever you and your dad enjoy doing together, do it! As recent graduates, we may think that we're too busy searching for jobs and/or working to spend some quality time with our dads (or any family member, for that matter). But it really does mean a lot to them when you can find the time to be their little kid again. So start making some time! Stop reading this blog right now and call up your old man!