Niner Times: Spring Fever 2019

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SPRING FEVER 2019

Table of Contents Pg. 5

Stop Multitasking: Take Real Breaks Instead

Pg. 8

Spring Travel Destinations

Pg. 11

Spring Music Recommendations

Pg. 14

Off-Runway Fashion 2019

Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Kopp

Lifestyle Editor Hailey Turpin

Marketing Director Fred Brown

Creative Director James Bourke

Contributors

Emily Hickey & Olivia Lawless

Marketing Staff

Caleb Adams, Eddy Falls, Sully Oliver

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stop multitasking: Take real breaks instead Olivia Lawless Staff Writer

This is it; the home stretch: a.k.a. post spring break. It’s the last bit of the semester you’re trying to wring out of your brain after a week of traveling or sleeping, the last bit of concentration you desperately need to close the year or graduate for good. It’s so close yet so far.

Some people try to hang on by barreling constantly through their work like a sprint. The end of the semester seems to be just around the corner, so they think they can make it tearing through whatever work comes their way. Just one more chapter, they think, just one more math problem. This is a dangerously easy loop of one more’s to get caught in.

Really, the distance is longer than they think it is. And just like in any lengthy race, sprinting too quickly will just end up tiring you out part of the way there. Working constantly at a fast pace is more likely to run you into the ground than to help you get ahead on your workload. There’s always more work to do, so when we continue working in attempt to reach a break in the flow, we’re tricking ourselves in thinking that a reprieve has to be near.

Sometimes this does work and you get a night or two off. It’s just not as likely as you’d hope.

Even if this does happen, you’re right back to working constantly, wishing you had time to

relax a little more.

The bad news is that the time isn’t going to magically appear. The good news is that you have the power to wrench yourself out of the work and take that time for yourself. You just have to accept that a break is not going to come to you willingly; sometimes, you have to drag it out kicking and screaming.

Some people don’t fight for their breaks. Instead, they make the mistake of halfheartedly working through them, the prevailing thought being that getting some work done is better than none. This is actually a flawed mindset. While multitasking seems efficient on the surface, it’s

Photo by energepic.com via Pexels.com

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really just an easy way to do multiple things inefficiently. You’re never actually fully focused on any of the things you’re doing, and since multitasking usually involves spreading your focus to unrelated activities (like eating and calculus), most people are naturally bad at it.

This combo produces mediocre results and leaves you feeling burnt out. Halfway finishing several small tasks rather than devoting your time and attention to one larger task makes you feel like nothing was really finished at all.

Additionally, if you’re always multitasking, you’re never actually relaxing. No matter how much you fool yourself into thinking that working while relaxing is an acceptable substitute for actual leisure time, you’ll probably be left feeling unsatisfied. This is why it’s better to set aside a specific time to fully focus on working. Ignore the temptation to work while watching Netflix

or chatting with your friends. Once you finish the assignment or work through the time you’ve set aside, you can take a real break — one that doesn’t involve any working.

What if that’s not enough? If you’re still busy after your work time or you feel stressed out about the amount of work you have remaining, take a break anyway. Unless the assignment is time sensitive or you are otherwise in a major time crunch with a make-or-break grade, it can probably wait. Take a break. Without it, you’ll eventually just burn yourself out.

The length of the break can vary from ten minutes to the rest of the night. What’s important is that you take some time to save yourself from exhaustion. Talk with your friends, watch a movie, listen to music, make something new and reach the end of the semester at a steady pace.

Photo by Flash Alexander via publicdomainpictures.net

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spring travel destinations Fort Lauderdale and Miami, Florida

Hailey Turpin Lifestyle Editor

When I found myself looking at spring break destinations, my roommate Janna looked at me and said, “Why don’t we all just go to Florida again?” Me, looking all puzzled at her, proceeded to say “I’ve never been to Florida.” That’s when I remembered her spring break trip from last year with our sorority sister. Rachel’s family is from Fort Lauderdale and her family graciously allowed her and Janna to stay at a relative’s place.

A free place to stay and a new state I’ve never been to? My bag was already packed.

We chose to drive to almost the very end of the Sunshine State just because gas is cheaper than a flight (also Janna is afraid of heights). We left the first weekend of the break after I got out of work and then proceeded to drive 10.5 hours to get to our destination. Every three or four hours we rotated drivers until we parked our car in front of the house at 2:30 a.m. We then proceeded to fall asleep for almost 12 hours and decided that the first thing to do on the agenda was to head to the beach. Let me tell you, I haven’t ever 8

been to the famous Clearwater Beach destinations (i.e. Bahamas, Punta Cana, etc.), but Fort Lauderdale Beach is probably one of the prettiest beaches I’ve ever seen. The water was much clearer than Dirty Myrtle’s and there are palm trees on the actual beach (like I said, I’ve never in my life seen that).

One of the things I recommend for Florida beaches if you’ve never been is that the Florida sun is a lot different that the rest of the country’s.

If you wear the right type of sunscreen (anything over SPF 30 is a farce) and reapply every hour or two, you should be good to get that perfect crispy shade of brown we all love. However... being burnt in large areas is probably the worst sunburn I’ve ever had. It’s the kind of sunburn that is so ticklish/sensitive to the touch and nothing can make it feel better. And mine being right in my knee-pit (a.k.a. the back of the knee joint) just made my leg swollen and stiff, so WEAR SUNSCREEN. We started our week with a few days of just

SPRING FEVER 2019

Photos by Hailey Turpin

hanging out at the beach until the spring breakers got there at noon. By then we went home, showered and relaxed.

On Tuesday, we decided to take a trip to Miami to explore since none of us had been.

After the 45-minute drive and 20 minutes of traffic, we finally got to the city and planned our day out, beginning at a little seaside market. We pigged out on food and beverages from the Hard Rock Cafe and made new friends who also happened to be from North Carolina. For the rest of the day, we did a lot of driving/sightseeing, shopping and hunting for a good but cheap sushi restaurant. When we found one, we stuffed our faces with happy hour spicy tuna and crunchy monster rolls until we decided to make the trek back to the cheapest parking lot in all of downtown Miami.

Wednesday and Thursday included us tanning on the beach/back porch of the house, as well as food and libations. After meeting one of Rachel’s relatives for dinner on Thursday, we decided that the next and final full day would be spent letting our poor lobster skin breathe and explore more of downtown Fort Lauderdale. There we found the best sushi of the trip (that was the cheapest) and indulged on gelato until I couldn’t move from being so full.

Leaving Florida was hard; I wanted to stay for one more week to explore the state I had only spent a week in. The trip home was especially hard because of the cold and rainy weather in Charlotte. It’s true: the sunshine does make you feel a lot better, and I wouldn’t change my last spring break of college to have been anywhere else.

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spring music recommendations Emily Hickey Copy Editor

Spring is the time for new beginnings and fresh starts, bringing warmer weather and beautiful flowers to give us all the nature feels. Not only does the earth give our senses an absolute overload, but many people turn more to art during this season due to the influx of beauty. This is my list of recommendations to listen to this spring, combining both new and old albums and songs to give you a truly ethereal season.

Wasteland, Baby! – Hozier Hozier’s recently released album gives us all the swamp-lord vibes we consistently receive from him. His infusion of choirs and elongated notes make for a perfect springtime album that makes you feel like you need to be dancing in a muddy field barefoot in the late spring evening. I don’t make the rules, Hozier does. His voice is perfect for an emotional outburst of any sort, pairing it with the birth of springtime even more so. You too will feel as if you’re blossoming when you listen to this beautiful album. wish you were gay – Billie Eilish Billie Eilish is one of my all-time favorite artists, so it’s really no surprise she made it onto this list. Her newest single, “wish you were gay,” has the perfect amount of softness mixed with synthetic beats to make a spring day that much brighter. Perhaps you listen to this with your

morning coffee, or maybe when you’re lying under a freshly green tree. No matter where you listen to it, I am convinced you will love it.

Photo via billieeilish.com; all information courtesy of Darkroom/Interscope Records

Wake Me – Message to Bears This is the epitome of springtime. An instrumental song that samples different animal sounds in the background is certain to make your spring morning that much more authentic. Grab a nice cup of coffee or tea and sit outside on a nice day, watching the world as this song plays in the background. I am positive you will feel like you are a part of spring; like spring is probably growing out of you. You are the captain now.

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Needs – Verzache An overall feel-good song. I guarantee your first listen you will be bopping along to this addictive jam. Not only does it make you feel good and want to dance, but it’s a great song for a nice spring day to get you in a happy mood.

Grab some friends, put this on and dance your heart out. You won’t regret it.

Everytime You Go – Broods On the more electric side, this song will also make you want to dance. Although the lyrics are kind of sad, the beat is electrifying. This is probably better suited for the multitude of rainy days spring always has to offer, but honestly, this song could work in any mood. It’s versatile, making it THAT much better.

Pat 1 Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost – Foals Alternative music is my JAM. Being my favorite genre, I love the infusion of rock mixed with experimentalism that Foals consistently utilizes. They’re a band that always finds their way into my library. Their newest album is perfect for those spring drives with your friends as the weather finally gets warmer, leading into the highly anticipated summer months. They make music that is fun and that you can sing and dance to. Roll down the windows and let this album play at full volume for a spring/summer you won’t forget.

Give these a listen to see if any suit your musical preferences. If they don’t, that’s okay; I tried my best. I’ll still be jamming out to them this upcoming spring.

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Photo via broodsmusic.com; all information courtesy of Atlantic Records

Photo via foals.co.uk; all information courtesy of Warner Music UK

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Emily Hickey Copy Editor

Off-runway

2019 is the year for all different types of patterns. Paris Fashion Week 2019 gave us the fall predictions for this year, yet most of the designs reflected the streetwear happening this season.

Thanks to Emma Chamberlain and other influencers (but mainly Emma), we are likely to see a rise in the Californian-style that Urban Outfitters and PacSun have been pushing since the beginning of time.

Faux Shearling Jackets This is the biggest one. This trend has really taken off since Emma’s rise to fame and has now been adopted by many other celebrities, like Selena Gomez and Kylie Jenner. Even though the warmer months are approaching, there are multiple styles of this jacket, ranging from button up to pullover, making it perfect for those chillier spring nights.

Photo by Anil GÖrkem ÖzŞan via pexels.com 14

Checked Patterns Plaid and checked patterns have never really gone out of style, but with the rise in Glen Plaid pants, the patterns are in – specifically in pant form. Everyone is obsessed with pants this season, experimenting with flare, wide-cut and mom/boyfriend styles to really amp their style.

While a lot of times the go-to fabric is jean, a lot more people have been feeling the checked print to add that extra oomph to their outfits. I have to admit, it’s one of my favorite trends. Everyone looks so stylish.

Photo by Timothy Paul Smith via unsplash.com

SPRING FEVER 2019

fashion 2019 Animal Prints Animal prints come and go, but this season, we’ve seen a resurgence in cheetah print. Because of this, zebra print has also wiggled its way back into our wardrobes. But hey, don’t leave out snake print! Apparently, to go with our checked pants, we want to look like a zoo. Despite how harsh that sounds, I actually love it. The prints are perfect for going out or just making a plain outfit pop. While animal print shirts and dresses are the most popular in this trend, don’t overlook the snake print boots or animal print belts. They do just as much to your outfit and are good for those who like to be subtler with their style.

Photo by Maria Badasian via unsplash.com

Neon Spring always calls for neon, so of course, Forever 21 is running with it. That’s not to say it’s a bad thing, though. In fact, it’s no longer as tacky as we remember it in middle school. Probably because the Kardashians have made us think it’s not tacky and we’ll look back in a couple years and cringe, but for right now, we’re running with it.

Spring is bright and so is neon, so it’s like they’re the perfect pair. It also makes your outfits that much more fun. Experiment this spring and try adding neon into your wardrobe. It might make you feel good.

Photo by Vinicius Costa via pexels.com

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