Making College A Little More Affordable

College is expensive. It's just a fact, and it's not going to change anytime soon, but there are some things you can do to make it a little cheaper. There are a ton of financial aid options out there, and a lot of it goes unused, because people don't know about it, or don't apply for it. There might just be a scholarship or grant that you could apply for. Here are some ways to find these grants and scholarships.

1. Fill out a FAFSA form. You can find the form at https://fafsa.ed.gov/ It may not get you a lot, but it's worth trying for even if you only get a little bit from it.
2. Decide where you want to go for school. If you don't decide where you want to go, you can't expect to get any financial aid from the school.
3. Don't have your heart set on the expensive Ivy league school if you know you can't afford it. Starting at a smaller school or even a community college will help you get your general education requirements out of the way, with a lower cost than a bigger school.
4. Apply for scholarships from the college or university you plan on attending. You will have a better chance at getting a scholarship award from the college or university than the national scholarship contests, or committees.
5. Apply for every scholarship you can. You won't get any that you don't apply for, so why not give it a try. You might not get all you apply for, but you might get a little something from it, so just try.
6. Find scholarships that have a  more selective niche. Find things that not everyone can apply for such as a height requirement (Tallmans or Little person's scholarships) or being a twin. Fewer people will be applying for these, because of the selective niche, so your chances of getting it are higher.
7. Don't underestimate smaller sized awards. I was disappointed when I got a small award when I first started college, and that little award helped me more than I thought it could when I saw the amount. If you get more than one small award, they can add up, and be very helpful in paying for college.
8. Look at all of the housing options available. On campus housing can be nice, but it is usually not cheap, so look at your options. Sometimes there are some pretty decent housing options that aren't going to cost you an arm and a leg.
9. Be willing to have a roommate. If you have a roommate, the price of your rent is literally cut in half.
10. Save what you can, and be willing to work while in school. Having a little money saved up, and working will help with college costs.

College isn't cheap, but if you work the system a little bit, and jump through the hoops, college won't seem as daunting to pay for. If you have any questions about finding ways to pay for school, feel free to leave a comment below.

#LifeHacks #ShortStories #PayingForCollege #PoorCollegeKidStatus

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What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger

New year's resolution time is here, and one of the top goals is self improvement in some way. Some people want to try and kick a bad habit, or change a specific behavior, and of course there are the people that have decided that they are going to finally lose the excess weight they don't want hanging around anymore. These are good goals, but unfortunately they don't often last longer than a few weeks, because we don't see the progress that we were hoping to, so we give up. It's not that we can't do it.

The biggest problem is often our approach of trying to do it all at once, but our bodies don't work that way. We have to work up to our goals. We are made of habits, and those take time to develop for both good and bad. If we expect things to change all at once we fall back into old habits. Our bodies can do some great things, but it takes a little time to make it work.

Our bodies are amazing. For the most part they are strong and healthy, and we don't have to do very much to sustain it. We can push the limits of our body through the things we do everyday, and our bodies will try to adapt to the strain. For instance starting a new workout may cause you to be sore for the first few days, but after awhile your body gets used to it, and you aren't sore anymore.

I used to think that "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger" was just a fancy phrase that body builders, and dare devils used to make themselves feel better, but even the average Joe can implement this into their lives.

I'm not a body builder, and I don't regularly go to the gym, but I strongly believe that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Over the past few months I have seen just how a body can adapt to make itself stronger. It's not that I have spent hours at the gym trying to grow stronger, but I did increase my strength just by what I do everyday.

For my job I spend about four hours a day biking around the city. Biking isn't too bad, but most of the city is uphill, so it makes it a little difficult. When I first started, everything hurt. If I moved my fingers or toes, my whole body would ache. My joints would all creak all throughout the day, and some days the idea of moving seemed impossible. Some days I would wonder if I could make it home before my body decided to give up, because I was pushing it too hard.

Little by little my body started to get used to it. Over time I could bike up the really steep hills, instead of walking my bike up the hill. I would feel a little better at the end of my shift the more often I went out. Now I can go out and bike around, and not have to worry about how bad my muscles will hurt by the end. I know they still might be a little sore, but it won't be as severe as it was when I first started.

Our bodies are amazing things, but sometimes they aren't ready for everything we throw at them. As long as we are aware of what we are doing to them, they will be able to grow stronger. Overdoing it all in one day doesn't really help, because you will most likely not continue doing the same load, because your body is sore, and you won't feel like doing it, so here's a little advice to strengthen your body without overdoing it.

1. Make a regular exercise schedule. If you only exercise every once in a blue moon, you won't see any results.
2. Make a goal. If you want to accomplish something with your workout, you should probably have a specific goal in mind, so you have something to work towards.
3. Don't over do it. If you push your body too hard it will hurt it more than help it.
4. Don't give up. If you mess up a little on your goal, don't let it be the end. Keep going!
5. Find an exercise program you like. If you hate doing something, trying to make it a regular part of your life will ultimately fail, because you won't want to do it.
6. Keep motivated. As soon as you lose your motivation, you lose your exercise program.
7. Make it fun. If something is fun, it doesn't seem as hard to do.

#ShortStories #WhatDoesntkillYouMakesYouStronger #KeepMovingForward
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The Little Rebel

Short people can have an attitude. Actually they have as much attitude as a tall person, but it's more compact, and comes out more often as a result. The vertically impaired can use this to their advantage. Short people may get overlooked on occasion because of their size, but if you make your mark by being a little rebellious, people will never overlook you again.

I am vertically impaired, so therefore I am fairly sassy. For awhile I had three or four colorful feathers in my hair to prove it, but the tool to put them in my hair went missing, so now I color the ends of my hair with kool aid. That's right I'm so rebellious that I use kool aid as hair dye. If you can't tell by now me being a rebellious person is more of a joke than anything else.

I don't exactly fit the description of the "edgy rebel." In fact when I was in high school some friends and I were talking about what things we could hypothetically see ourselves going to jail for, and everyone said that the only thing they could see me doing was, stealing a piece of candy on a tour of a factory that gives free samples at the end. Yeah, that's not exactly a hard core description.

I took radio my first semester in college, and as a part of the class they said we could pick our own D.J names, so I decided to become the rebel. I wanted to have a name that was completely different from what people know me as. The rebel was the furthest thing from the mild mannered individual  that took the name.

I will tell you this, I don't do things just because I am told to. I will do everything in my power to avoid things that have been barked at me as if I were a dog. I usually fight back with words to prove the point, and I don't joke around when I do. Nobody bosses me around. If you ask for a favor I am happy to help, but as soon as it becomes a command, the rebel in me comes out.

I do what I want even if it's not the best idea in the world. I went on a trip to Washington D.C, and I had a specific list of things I wanted to see while I was there. Nobody was going to get in my way, and for the most part no one did. I ran off by myself to the different places I wanted to see on the National Mall. My plan was going well until I got caught, and they kept me under their watchful eye to make sure I didn't run off again. Trust me if I could have gotten away, I would have.

I got away the next day, and the leader of our group was livid, because I ran off to Arlington. Technically he said it was okay, but he was thinking a small group would go, not just a single person. I wanted to see the changing of the guards, and I did. By the time I got off the subway, and made it above ground, I had three missed calls and a plethora of text messages saying that the bus would be leaving soon. I made it back in time, and we made the flight with plenty of time.

It may not be defacing public property, but it's not reading quietly in my room either. We can all be a little wild, but there are limits with how far we can push the package. If you go to far, you find yourself very alone and in more trouble than you bargained for. As Flynn Ryder from Tangled put it " A little rebellion is good, healthy even." We find ourselves when we branch out on our own and explore the world. The best way to do that is rebel a little, and see where you fit, even if it is as lame as dying your hair with kool aid, or running off on a trip.

#LittleRebel #ShortStories #FindYourself
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Our Pets Are Over Pampered

As a general rule our pets get spoiled. It may not be everything every day, but we all do it. Some are more extreme than others, and my grandparent's dog is one spoiled little dog. He's actually a medium sized dog, but my grandma is convinced that he a cute small breed. She got him last year for Christmas, and at that point he was a cute little dog, but now he is full grown, and has an attitude, because he has been so spoiled.

Mickey a week after coming home.

He gets a taste of every meal even if he is not invited to participate. When he was little, he got table scraps by begging, and following us around. Now he takes matters into his own hands and jumps up on the counter or the table to get what he wants. He has taken down whole pies, and if we would let him, he would get pots and pans cooking on the stove.

Mickey has become accustomed to the good life, because that's the way he's had it since they got him. Whenever they go out to eat, the dog always gets something. They usually buy him a couple of corn dogs or even go as far as buying him a full meal. The dog goes out to eat more than anyone I know.

He has become so accustomed to getting what he wants that he will bite you if you try to tell him "no", or take something away from him. Most people would have put him down by now, because of this behavior, but Mickey gets away with it, because he's my grandparent's "little baby."

Mickey enjoying a shoe in the kitchen.

As the picture shows, Mickey is no longer a little baby. He is full grown, and knows exactly what he wants and how to get it. He has eaten countless shoes, hats, and anything else he can wrap his teeth around. His favorite shoes are the left ones, and if they are red he is in heaven, but he will be happy to chew up anything if he can get it. Another one of his favorite things to do is to tear up the house in any way he can. His favorite method is chewing, but if he can't chew it, we will be glad to try and dig a hole in it.

To try and help improve the dog's behavior, he was sent to a six week dog training. It helped a little, but as soon as the regular fast food meals started up again, he was back to normal. With the return of his spoils, he soon became just as aggressive as before. Now we use a shock collar, but if he has determined he's going to do something, that doesn't even help.

Just like any dog, he loves people food. He will try anything to get people food. He first tries to act like he's behaving in hopes you will give in to him. If you don't do anything from his first attempt, he will try to get your attention by pawing at you a few times before jumping on you to try and get whatever he thinks should be his.

Mickey enjoying the cookies he got from the kitchen counter.

Despite all of the messes he makes, and things he destroys, he's still lovable. Pets are family members. They like going on road trips, and love treats. They need us to take care of them, and we need them just as much. So they get a little spoiled in the process. It's all worth it when they show their love for you by making you smile.

#ShortStories #Love #Animals #SpoiledPets

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When It Comes To The Holidays, People Go A Little Overboard

Have you ever been flipping through the channels around Christmastime and noticed most of the titles are focused on the extreme side of Christmas. People go overboard when it comes to decorations. It's not that every person builds a shrine to Santa or covers their house in more lights than downtown Manhattan, but the ones that do are hard to miss.

The ones that get on TV have so many lights that they have to ad an additional power box just for lights. The houses that are the most covered have usually been doing grand Christmas displays for years. People do everything from glorifying Clark Griswold's plan to have the biggest brightest display in town, to making a life size Nativity scene out of crash test dummies. The ones on TV are as extreme as you can get, but that doesn't mean those are the only ones out there.

My neighbors have a bold Christmas display that they have been doing for the past five years. It's more extravagant than any other house in the neighborhood, but it's not quite as extreme as the houses on TV. They have lights on the house, and trees, bridges, and Nativity's in the yard. All of the lights are synchronized to a half hour music playlist that rotates from 6:00 p.m- 9:30 p.m every night.

Cars line up and down the street to see the show. When I was in high school my friends would try to describe this "amazing" house to me. I used to laugh, because all I had to do to watch the light show was go out in my front yard, when they had to drive over, and find parking on the street. The display is extreme compared to some of the others I have seen.

When I was little we used to go up to this house in Ogden that I liked to call "The Dinosaur House," because they had 12ft tall dinosaurs pulling the Flintstones family as the center of their Christmas display. On top of the giant dinosaurs in their front yard, they had different light displays all over their acre lot. They were high on the hill in Ogden, and the display could be seen at the bottom of the hill. They had so much on their lot that you had to drive by it two or three times just to see what was in the front yard.

We drove by that house every December until the man who owned the house got too old to set the display up. We found some others that we liked, but nothing quite as grand until this year when we discovered an unbelievable house in Morgan that literally decorates one side of the mountain.

The owners of the house have been putting on the display for over 50 years, and they don't intend on stopping anytime soon. The people who started it have had their children and grandchildren help set up the display, so it will continue long after they are gone.

The display is so big that you almost have to take it in different pieces. At the top of the mountain they have a Christmas greeting that changes every year. This year it says "May you have love and charity this season." That is the star on their display tree. If you continue down the mountain to the house, you will find a statue of Jesus Christ with his arms outstretched. Then you will find a heard of deer, and a life size Nativity scene complete with a stable and animals.

Their front yard is an explosion of Christmas characters such as Santa and Rudolph. On their roof they have speakers fashioned into the shape of horns that blast Christmas music that can be heard a great distance away. Up the mountain they have signs with messages painted on them saying things such as "Come Come Ye Saints," "Honor Thy Father And Thy Mother," and "Sweet Hour of Prayer." There's so much in this yard that it should be on TV, but it's in a small town in Utah, so I don't anticipate that it will be on TV anytime soon.

 Cheerful Christmas characters cover the lawn.

 Hand painted 'Twas The Night Before Christmas Story.

 Rudolph leading Santa's sleigh.

 Horn shaped speakers that play holiday music all season.

 Half of the display.

 Santa hangs out inside the house and waves to visitors.

 Inspirational signs going up the mountain.

Life size Nativity towards the top.

Christmas is a fun time of year, but that doesn't mean you have to go so over the top that all of your neighbors refer to you as "The Christmas Guy." Remember that Christmas is a special time of year when we have the opportunity to be around the ones that we love, and if we don't have all of the bells and whistles that everyone else has, it's okay, because being around loved ones is more impressive than any light display we could ever find.

#ShortStories #ChristmasToTheExtreme #MostWonderfulTimeOfTheYear

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Little People Taking Over The World

Recently people have gained an obsession with "Little People." If you don't believe me, go ahead and turn on the T.V. It won't take you long to at least see a commercial for "The Little Couple," "Little People Big World," or "Little Women: LA." That's just naming a few of the shows on about the "little" people of the world.

These shows are centered around the fact that at least a few of the people featured, if not all are vertically impaired. These people are typically associated with dwarfism, but that doesn't stop them from living life exactly the way they want.

TLC airs the shows "Little People Big World," and "The Little Couple." Both of these shows focus on raising a family as a little person. They take you into their every day lives, to show the world that height has nothing to do with the ability to accomplish your dreams.  
                                             

The Roloff family from "Little People Big World" is just like your typical American family, but Mom and Dad are dwarfs, and only one of the kids actually inherited the dwarf trait, so the other three children are all average height. The height difference doesn't stop them at all. They all work together to accomplish what they need to.

Bill and Jen Arnold, to viewers known as the "Little Couple," have their own experiences to share with the world. The show takes you through many experiences that a young married couple would go through. They struggle to try and have children on their own, but when they discover that it isn't a possibility, they work towards adoption. The viewer has the ability to almost become part of their lives when watching "The Little Couple." You laugh with them when life is going great for the little couple, and your heart breaks when a new road block comes into their lives.

Lifetime has their own tribute to the world of the little people with their show Little Women: LA. These Little Women take their own approach to showing the world that the little people of the world are here, and ready to party. The show shows the women partying just like an average person in the same age group would. They go on dates, get married, and just like most young couples they want children.

The little people on TV show the world that height may change the way you do things, but it is not a factor in following your dreams. If you put your mind to it, you can do it, and that's what the little people of TV do every day.

#ShortStories #LittlePeopleOfTV #TakeOnTheWorld

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Little Surprises That Make For A Perfect Date

Dating is always an adventure. It can either be a magical adventure, or a tragic horror story. If you want to avoid the tragic end of dating, try and surprise your date while you guys are out together. It doesn't have to be something that costs money. It can just be little things you do to make them laugh.

People like to be surprised, as long as it's not over board. I recently went on a date, and he definitely had a surprise or two up his sleeve. These surprises didn't cost any money and they weren't overly elaborate, but they made my laugh, and making me laugh definitely makes a good impression.

First of all he opened EVERY door for me. Guys take note, because girls love it when I guy will show respect to her by opening her door for her. It's a small gesture, but if you want things to work out for her, it will help you out a lot.

He took me to go see Big Hero 6, and I am a sucker for Disney movies, so he got points for that. Normally people go and see a movie, and they just watch it, and maybe hold hands on a date, or others choose to use the movies as the perfect make out spot. I am the person that usually just watches, but my date had a different plan.

As we watched the previews and the first part of the movie, he instigated a game of tag, and the only way to end it was by holding hands. He still had the same goal that every guy has when they take a girl to the movies, but instead of just asking to hold my hand, he made a game out of it. Finding a creative way to hold someone's hand definitely makes them more attractive, because you know they sincerely want to impress you.

The surprises didn't end when the movie ended. We decided to go get some dinner at Zupas, and instead of ordering for ourselves, he decided that we would order for each other. I have only been to Zupa's a couple of times, so I had no idea what he would like, but he seemed pretty confident about the idea, so I went along with it, and it was actually pretty fun. Choosing each other's order made it feel like we had an opportunity to bond, and that we didn't have to try too hard to impress each other.

When he drove me home, we sat in the driveway and talked for a few minutes. Then he opened my door, and we spent the next two hours out in my yard. We tried slow dancing, and played ninja destruction. Since I am shorter than he is, he decided to help me see the world from his perspective by sweeping me off my feet and holding me in his arms. As he held me he gave me a kiss on the cheek, and spun me around.

He then surprised me by wrapping his arms around me, and kicking my feet out from under me so I would fall into his arms. Then he set me on the ground and discovered I was ticklish, and tickled me until I couldn't breathe any more. After that we sat on my lawn for awhile until we were basically frozen. To end the night he walked me up to my door, and wrapped me up in his arms and held me tight.

When you find little ways to surprise your date, it makes the date go so much better. The person feels like you actually care about you, and want to make you smile. They weren't big things, but they made me feel special, and it was the most impressive date I have ever been on. If you have a date coming up, and you want to make it go well, try and make it special by showing your date that you care without showing how much money you are willing to spend.

#ShortStories #ShowYouCare #LittleSurprises #PerfectDate

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Distance Is Just A Number

Throughout our lives we travel some pretty great distances. We don't cover the vast majority of the distance we travel in just one road trip. Most of the distance of inches, feet, and yes miles happens in the little places we go every day.

I travel around eight or nine miles every single day for my job. I know what you are thinking, I do that all the time in my car, so what's the big deal. Well I don't have a car. I borrow my roommates bike to get around the city, and honestly it doesn't even feel like I am going that far when I go out. I know I cover a large area, but I take it little by little, and it doesn't even feel like I have traveled very far.

A few people have helped me out by not letting me walk or bike distances, because to them the distance was too far to walk. When they ask me where I need to go, I usually tell them it's not that far, but then I get a look from them questioning my interpretation of distance.

I used to walk two miles pretty much every day to get home from school. After walking that distance day after day, I got used to it, and it didn't seem like it was even that far anymore. I would separate the distance into different blocks based on where I was on the route, so it just seemed like five or six small distances all in a row.

When you take things little by little, they become easier. Distances become a mere number, when you take them little by little.  When you try to take on the world all in one hit, it's impossible. It's too big to take it on all at once, but when you take it on in small pieces, you can take on the world, because it becomes smaller. Take the small person's perspective, and see the world for what it is, and take it on little by little.
#TakeOnTheWorld #DistanceIsJustANumber #ShortStories #LittleByLittle
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Short People Make Terrible Jungle Gyms

If you have been around kids ever, whether it was babysitting or being around your nieces and nephews at family gatherings, you probably discovered that kids like to climb on things, especially people. For the most part kids are smaller than the adults, so they can actually climb up on people, but when they try to gain height on someone who is vertically impaired, it doesn't work out very well.

I babysit sometimes when I am home, and there is a particularly tall family in my neighborhood, and their little girl adores me. She's five years old and she practically comes up to my shoulders, and she loves to try and hang on my arms and legs. I'm sure it works when she tries this on her parents, because they are both over six feet tall, but when she tries it on me, it usually doesn't work because I am not that high off the ground.

It's not something you can change, so if you are vertically impaired, you might as well embrace it. Just face the fact that you will not be able to be a jungle gym, which isn't a bad thing. As soon as a child realizes that you are too short for them to climb on, they will give up, and you won't be a jungle gym again. That's one of the perks of being short. Kids may like you, but they won't see you as a jungle gym, because you aren't much taller than they are.

If you are vertically impaired and you see someone becoming a human jungle gym, count your lucky stars that you aren't tall enough to be a jungle gym. You can just sit back an relax, and watch the taller people deal with the kids trying to climb all over them.


#ShortStories #PerksOfBeingAShortPerson #AintNobodyGotTimeForThat
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