Tag: fairfield

Executive Bio for Her Campus Fairfield

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MaryKate Callahan – Managing Editor

“MaryKate Callahan ’15 was the original Managing Editor for Her Campus Fairfield and has most recently started focusing on the Blog Section of Her Campus Fairfield. Her life philosophy, which particularly applies to food and music, is “Don’t bash it until you try it.” She believes the best accessory is a sense of humor and/or anything Kate Spade. Basically, her quest in life is to find a career path that she loves, master winged liquid eyeliner, spend a day with Bill Murray and eat all of the guacamole.”

exec bio pic

This bio was featured on Her Campus Fairfield’s Facebook page on February 13th, 2015. 

Things We Love: Zen Ride

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When I walked into ZenRide Spinning Studio, I have to admit, I was a little nervous. It had nothing to do with the budding new Fairfield business, but rather the fact that I had never been to a spin class before. It was one of those things that I’d always wanted to try but had never gotten around to. But after contacting Jessica Gray, the owner and hands-on-operator of ZenRide, I was finally going to find out what spinning was all about! So on Monday October 20th, I logged onto zen-ride.com and reserved my spot in the 7 p.m. TotalBodyZen class.

When I arrived a few minutes early, I was greeted by Jessica and her two adorable children, Mason and Dylan. As she started telling me about ZenRide and her personal relationship with spinning (a very positive one, as one would guess), I couldn’t help but notice that she was able to greet and say goodbye to every person by name that walked through the door. To me, that’s something that’s really important, knowing that I’m not just a number, but a person worth recognizing.

When she was showing me around the actual spin studio itself, I was a little surprised to see that it had such a calm and relaxing environment; the lighting was low and there were candles set up around the room. All of the bikes were in the middle, facing the front of the room where the instructor’s bike is. Jessica brought me to the bike I’d reserved and showed me how to adjust the bike and also taught me all of the poses that would be referenced throughout the class. By the time 7 p.m. rolled around, I felt prepared (and excited and okay, still a little nervous) for my first ride.

I lucked out going to the class that I did because it was with Peter G., a wonderful spinning instructor who was very energetic and outgoing. He went out of his way to make the class a friendly and unintimidating environment. Throughout the 50 minute class, he would call out various instructions about poses and speeds, but always made a point to remind everyone to “do what is challenging and fulfilling for YOU,” emphasizing that everybody should have a personal experience, whatever their level of fitness may be. I was very happy to learn that it was “Mash-up Monday” featuring awesome song mash-ups that Peter had created himself. As somebody who relies heavily on music during a workout, I loved having some original and motivating music to pedal to- it really got me through some harder parts of the workout! Probably my favorite part of the entire class was when Peter belted out the lyrics to “Set Fire To the Rain” by Adele but changed the words to, “And I set fire…. to your legs!” The class definitely got my heart rate up and I was totally covered in sweat by the end of it, but I can’t remember the last time I felt so satisfied from a workout.

zen ride staff

I highly recommend checking out ZenRide. Not only is it a relaxing yet energizing way to spend an hour of your day, but it is also a great way to spice up your workout routine! With the weather getting too cold to run outside and working out becoming more of a chore than a release, spinning might be a great alternative for you! Plus, it is so close to both the beach and campus (it’s located in the Bob’s shopping center right next to Village Bagel.) Not only does ZenRide offer some great student discounts (seriously affordable), it is also officially accepting StagBucks! Plus, your first class at ZenRide is free, so why not check it out? If you do, be excited for a great experience and make sure you tell Jessica and all of the friendly staff at ZenRide that I say hi!

This article was posted on Her Campus Fairfield‘s website on November 04, 2014.

Post-Syllabus Week Hangover Recovery

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There’s a lot of reason why syllabus week is awesome. It’s the first time you’ve been reunited with your friends since break, you get to party every night and your teachers don’t expect a lot from you. However one of the major downsides of syllabus week is the cumulative hangover/depression that comes the week after. Here are some tips to help you navigate the harsh reality of post-syllabus week life.

 

Rehydrate. I’m sure it was not water in those red Solo cups. Therefore, it is important you rehydrate yourself with water and electrolytes so that you can resume being a fully functioning member of society. Everybody swears by their own secret: Gatorade, coconut water, Pedialyte, banana smoothies, green tea, just to name a few. A great way to waste a half an hour of your life is to type “hangover cures” into Google and let the crazy/ stupid/ sometimes-useful information just shower over you. Also, don’t let Web MD convince you that you’re dying because you’re not, you are just a hungover slob right now.

 

Call your parents. They are probably worried about you and how you’re faring after syllabus week. Give them a call to assure them that you’re a) alive and b) everything’s fine and c) that those syllabus week pictures they saw you tagged in on Facebook are NOT an indication of how the rest of the semester is going to go. Also remember to thank them profusely for the extra case of Gatorade they insisted you bring.

 

Untag yourself. Your phone has probably been buzzing a lot lately with notifications telling you about the pictures you’ve recently been tagged in. Go on and do some damage control because, spoiler alert, not all of these are going to be gems. It’s also likely that your future employers are not going to think that picture of you gargoyle-ing a keg while wearing a sombrero is as funny as your friends do. Syllabus week is known for yielding fun, memorable pictures, but remember that doesn’t mean the Internet has to catalogue every single one.

 

Reread your syllabi.  Take a few minutes to reread the handouts your teachers gave you during the first days of classes because chances are pretty high that for some or all of your classes, you were possibly asleep and/or still drunk. Whip out those highlighters and look over the course requirements. If you want to underline and star the attendance policy, we won’t judge you.

 

Go to the gym. Even if you’re not a big workout person, there is a lot to be said about working out after syllabus week. Not only is it a healthy way to get some endorphins flowing to help you deal with the sad reality of syllabus week being over, but it’s also a great way to sweat out the residual alcohol in your system.  Even if you don’t feel like going hard at the gym, just going for a walk and enjoying the fresh air is probably something your body needs right now.

 

Wash your sheets. Just do it.

 

Find a first aid kit and treat those syllabus week wounds. Syllabus week is not particularly known for great decisions or graceful moments, so it’s quite likely you collected a few injuries throughout the week. Twisted an ankle walking around in heels? Took a tumble on the way to the townhouses and skinned your knee? Burned your hand making drunk pizza for you and the random people in your house? It may not have seemed important at the time, but don’t let small stupid injuries turn into actual problems.

 

Organize your stuff. Odds are you when you first got back to school, you didn’t unpack everything. Life, as well as that text inviting you to go day-drink, probably got in the way. Take some time to reorganize your things and arrange your room the way you’ll want to have it for the rest of the semester. Pick up those almost-outfits off the floor, throw out those pizza boxes, untangle those necklaces and confirm that those plastic water bottles on your desk are filled with water and not something else.

 

Sleep. A very important distinction needs to be made between passing out and sleeping- they are not the same thing. Just because you may have lacked consciousness for a few hours every night throughout syllabus week does not mean you were actually getting rest. There are countless studies showing that sleep is critical to health, attentiveness and overall happiness. So turn off your phone a few hours earlier, change into your coziest pair of sweat pants and catch some Z’s. 

 This article was posted to Her Campus Fairfield: http://www.hercampus.com/school/fairfield