Squidoo has a nice site for pulling together resources you might want to keep track of. The site is designed for generating traffic for a small website, but could also be used to organize links and images.

Here are links to two of my "lenses" (or pages) on Blythe Dolls and Edie Sedgwick.

In going through my bookmarks this weekend, I stumbled across some of my old scholarship links.

All-Ink.com College Scholarship Program:All-Ink.com is offering up to $5,000 in scholarships to qualified students who are enrolled or planning to participate in an accredited college or university program during the Spring 2007 or Fall 2007 term or full-year 2007-2008 school year.

• Minimum GPA: 2.5
• Write Two Essays: Who has been your greatest influence? & What do you hope to accomplish after college?
• List Honors & Awards
• Apply Online!
  

OP Loftbed $500 Scholarship Award
Accepts applications from February to July.
Answer several questions in a paragraph
Previous Questions:

• Imagine that you have just found out that you have 24 hours left to live. Tell us what you plan to do in your last day on earth.
• Describe the best practical joke that you have ever pulled on someone or that someone else has pulled on you.

For the ambitious...
The Collegiate Inventors Competition
Advisor required.
Deadline: June 1st
$25000 Grand Prize
For Undergrad and Grad Students.
The invention, a reduced-to-practice idea or workable model, must be the work of a student or team of students with his or her university advisor.

• If it is a machine, it must be operable.
• If it is a chemical, it must be complete with evidence of successful application of the idea.
• If it is a new plant, color photographs or slides must be included in the submission.
• If a new or original ornamental design for an article of manufacture is submitted, the entire design must be included in the application.

Even non-music types can do these...

Even though I had a passion for music, I was never musically inclined; so, I had to find way to express my passion in other ways.

1. Hold a Music Festival. Luke Bronin's deep love of folk and country music was manifest in the New Haven Folk Festival, a non-profit cultural event celebrating folk music and arts, of which Luke was co-founder and director.

2. Have a music collection? Categorize, alphabetize or create an XML file of your collection. Display on your web site.

3. Meet with friends to discuss and critique new music.

4. Hold an Ode to my Favorite Artist week. Immerse yourself in the music and biographies of your favorite artist. Wear clothing and memorabilia of the artist. Share your favorite with others, telling them of your special week.

5. If you are musically inclined, be a DJ or start a band. Jam Sessions! Practice rooms for music students are often open for non-music majors; have practice there. Or use a vacant dorm lobby.

7. Pay homage to your favorite artist; visit their grave.

8. Write music reviews for the school newspaper or local idie media source. Check out my attempt at a music review.

Check out:
Jazz
Indie/Alternative Rock
RollingStone
PitchFork

So, no artist needs advice from me, but here it is anyways...

1. You don't have to be a drama 'geek' to try out for a school play. Write or draw something for the school magazine. Play in the Band or learn to play an instrument. Be involved in the Arts. Try out for a school performance.

2. Write/draw a comic strip. Submit to the local or school newspaper. Make your own copies of your comic strip and leave on cafeteria tables or tape on bathroom stalls. This is a great way to practice your artistic skills and make a statement at the same time.

During my college graduation, several art students passed out small comic strips about life after college; they were thoughtful strips causing students to laugh and think about the journey upon which they were fixing to embark.

3. Use your art to promote something else, like a band, a banquet, a protest etc.

4. Keep a notebook, website or blog on artists you have learned about or admire. Post pictures or things you find interesting about each artist.

Time, time, time

So, there are a lot of suggestions to be given on which extracurriculars to participate in, but how do you go about making them a reality?

1. Time Management Skills: calendars, hour by hour scheduling, planning, priorities. Be creative. Create a system that works for you.

2. One of my favorite sites is: StevePavlina.com. I really hate self help shit, but this guy has totally stripped the ideas of goal planning and hard work down to those bare essential things that must be done in order to be the person you want to be.

3. Multitasking. Listen to music while you type up your notes from the day. Go through your French note cards while jogging on the treadmill. Review the material that you have learned for your test while taking a shower.

4. Prioritize. What activities are truly important to you? Which activities can you not afford to devote your attention? If you allow your GPA to drop so low, you may be placed on academic probation or loose your scholarship.

5. Create a Semester Calendar when you first get all of your syllabi. Write down all test and paper dates; note those busy week like midterm week. Don't plan any special trips or events right before or during that week.

Reading Groups

Not ready to commit a huge chunk of time to researching a particular topic? Start a reading group with friends on a topic of interest. Maybe everyone could commit to reading the same book, meeting once each week to discuss a chapter or two at a time. Have one person responsible for developing discussion questions.

A friend and I realized that we had a significant gap in an area of our education. So, we each did some reading and met a few times to discuss what we had found. You might want to meet for dinner with friends and bring a conversation starter like an object, articles or books. Take turns developing discussion material and preparing dinner.

So, you think you love books? Well, if you say you love books, then I am sure you do, but how can you transform your love of books into ways to explore how you might spend the rest of your life studying, admiring and consuming them? I mean even a book critic does get paid to simply read books. So, what are you going to do with your passion?

1. Write a review for the school newspaper. School newspapers often do not require that you be a full time staff writer to submit an article. Letters to the editor are also usually acceptable. Or write reviews on Amazon.com. You can help fellow shoppers and if you amass enough reviews, you become a top review with all of its privileges.
2. Maintain a list of books to read. Cross off and add to. I keep my list on my web site so that I can access the list from anywhere and keep track of what I have read by using the strikethrough tag.
3. Aid your reading comprehension by expanding your vocabulary. Sign up for Merriam-Webster's word of the day email. Or buy one of those word a day calendars. Are you a total etymology whore, always referencing the etymology of words during conversation?
4. Keep 5-10 of your favorite books in your dorm room. They will cheer you up when you are down, and make you feel at home when you are far away. They also can serve as paper topics or beginning points for reflection on a topic. I would flip through them and remember literary devices their authors used. I was given this advice by a college survival book, and it helped me out so much. My books reminded me of how far I had come.
5. Check out the Purchasing Groups information maintained by Amazon.com. See what students from around the country are reading, listening to and watching. You can also see what persons from different companies are buying.
6. Start a reading group among your friends. Read a book per month or every other month. Get together and have dinner together and discuss the book. Don't make it directed or scholarly; just have fun.
7. Give away your books after you read them. This is a great incentive to finish your books. You gain a sense of accomplishment and giving when you share your stuff with others.
8. Hold a Poetry Reading. Ask everyone to bring their favorite poem or a new found favorite to read. Don't forget to advertise. You might want to create a theme for the poetry to be read: war, love, nature or pick poetry from an era or by a particular author. If friends are reading their own poetry, you might want to set out some guidelines concerning
9. Start a Newspaper or Literary Magazine. Being a part of the inaugural season of my school's independent newspaper was a great experience. I began by working on the layout for the newspaper, and for the second edition I actually wrote two articles for the paper. Is there a faction of your school whose voice is not being heard? Contact a local printer and get organized.
10. Read an amazing book and the author is still alive? Write her/him with questions and comments. No harm done if he/she does not reply. Writing accolades and criticisms strengthen your ability to think as well as write.

A Fashion Passion?

Yes, college is about books, academia, research, partying and alcohol. But it also is about discovering your real passion. Here are some tips to try if you think your passion might be fashion.

1. Can you look at a piece and tell who its designer is and what season and year they designed it for? Bone up on all of the hottest designers. Try style.com. I like Daily Candy for fashion and shopping in the major metro areas, as well as for online shopping. Chelsea Girl and Midnight Sparkle have great vintage clothing. Maybe devote a wall in your bedroom to a designer. Emerse yourself in their work. Do you find studying designers something that you find yourself doing when you have spare time? If the answer is yes, fashion may be your true passion.
   
2. Attend a fashion show. Yes, you could actually do this; it isn't a crazy idea. Take one of your breaks, and save up money to attend fashion week in London or New York. There are some shows that don't require an invitation; try the Champagne Fashion Brunch. Can't get into a fashion show? The New Yorker magazine has a fashion show section on its web site.
3. Try to start a trend. It is frightening sometimes to wear an outfit that noone else would dare to wear. Add an unusal piece or accessory to your wardrobe. Do strangers look or ask you where you bought the piece?
   
4. Learn to sew, crochet or knit. You can buy a kit or a book if you don't know how to knit.
   
5. Write reviews of designers and their collections. Get them published in your school's indie or local newspaper or zine.
6. Create a web site exhibiting information about designers/ your favorite designer. Check out Splendora for ideas on the different things one could put on your site.
7. Try modeling. Sign up for classes at a modeling school. Even if you don't end up doing any professional modeling, you can get a sense of what the model go through and make some great contacts in the business as well. Remember even if you don't like who you are working with, always be positive and polite. Keep in contact with models and photographers and other you meet; you never know when they might be able to help you out in the future.
   
8. Form a fashion club for those interested in discussing fashion design.
9. Start designing your own clothes. Take a sewing course, if you don't know how to sew. If you already have a significant amount of work done on some pieces, you might consider selling your stuff online. Try Virgin Threads.
10. Read fashion blogs at least one hour each day. I like these sites:

http://hotbisexualmodel.blogspot.com/
http://www.fashionologie.com/
http://blogs.papermag.com/category/fashion-schmashion/
http://papierblog.papierdoll.net/
http://dappr.com/

Even though very few of these activities are associated with school, they are great to put on resumes or bring up in interviews. But the biggest plus of all is that they put you out there taking risks and getting experience.

Get published as an Undergraduate

One great thing you can do as an undergrad to better understand what you enjoy doing (or what you might enjoy doing for the rest of your life) is write something to be published in an undergraduate journal. Getting published in an Undergraduate Journal is a great way to push your analytic skills further than you would normally in writing a paper for a course. Journals and conferences for Undergraduates generally come in two different categories: those that accept a articles and presentations from a variety of disciplines and those that accept articles and presentations from one discipline.

How to tell whether research and writing are for you

1. A good thing to think about when trying to get published is what your motivations. Are you motivated by the idea of giving a presentation or sharing your thoughts with others? Or are you drawn by the ideas of a specific field?
2. To be passionate about something is to be continually trying to improve your work and abilities in that area. Are you constantly tweaking a paper or argument you are working on? Are you continuously reading articles and journals in the area you think you might be passionate about? Do you bring up your research in everyday conversations to drawl similarities and insights? These are signs that research in a particular area are for you.
   

Check out:
Journal of Undergraduate Sciences
Undergraduate Journals and Conferences Directory
Canadian Undergraduate Journal of Cognitive Science
The Harvard Brain
Undergrad Journals in Philosophy.
If you know of any other journal or conference sites, feel free to post them here.

I would like to use this space to impart some of my experiences from college to up and coming college students. The site should not function as a checklist of activities to be accomplished or attempted during the span of your years at school. With this site, students should see the creativity of other students and aspire to develop such creativity in their own lives.

Is the following a description of you? Neither students nor profs know what to do with you. Your peers are experimenting with a variety of illicit substances, but you want to experiment with new ideas and new activities.

Maybe you want a million dollar education, but don't have the money. Or as a Valedictorian, you may be offered free tuition at a state school and must 'decide' between a free education and a much pricier Ivy League education that you really can't afford. What are you to do if you cannot attend a school that offers small classes, lots of special talks, and research opportunities? Or maybe you are at Ivy League U. and want a heads up on what all is out there (or don't know how exactly how to take advantage of all of the opportunities available to you)?

Maybe you don't want to travel half way across the US to go to school and your only other option is to attend Local U.

How can a college student to continue develop his or her intellectual pursuits while sitting in a biology class of 150 people?

Why should only those who perform well on tests have access to the smallest classes, special talks and opportunities? This site helps students continue exploration in their gifted areas, even though their school may give most of its opportunities to more well rounded students.

Because many students who are accepted to America's top Universities are unable to attend for financial reasons, this site seeks to help college and high school students take their education into their own hands and to a whole new level. Here's a springboard of ideas to expose ambitious students to activities and ideas. This site aims to encourage students to forge their own paths while making the most out of their college experiences, no matter where they may attend school. Additionally, this book seeks to show students how they can begin to develop unique and authentic lives.

Many students, including myself, have expected to finish college with a clear and correct conception of the 'real world' and the skills to get that perfect job. Often, however, upon completing college, students either do not have a clearer idea about what they want to do for a career or have unrealistic expectations about the positions they will have in their field.

As a college student, you should be preparing to enter a field or searching for a field. Undecided majors or students who change their major often are patronized for not knowing what they want to do with their life. But, honestly, there is nothing that you can do to stop a nagging mother from popping the question during your every trip home. Try to think of your family's interest in your major as a result of their personal investment in you. They have educated you, fed you, nurtured you and now they are anxious to be proud of the decisions you will make concerning the 'real world'. No pressure...yeah right! In thinking of your family's expectancy, remember that they are looking to see what decision you make 'on your own', not a decision that you make in order to gain their praises.

The activities students should participate in while preparing for a field are not entirely unlike those that students should participate in while searching for a field. The major difference between searching and preparing for a field is that a ctivities in preparation for a particular field are limited to those in a field of study.