District Magazine December 2014 | Page 32

What is The College Prepster all about? The College Prepster started as a creative outlet while I was a freshman at Georgetown University. Now, it still serves as a creative outlet... and it’s my (dream) job. I write The College Prepster as something I would personally want to read myself! How did you get started blogging? I had all these dreams about what college would be like... but it ended up not quite working out that way for me. I hadn’t really been away from home or my family and I realized that I never had to really study in high school like I had to in college. It was really challenging on all fronts: making friends, being homesick, learning how to study, etc. Throughout the semester, things got worse (really bad grades) and then better (sort of figuring things out). While studying for finals, someone in my dorm suggested that I start a blog, half-jokingly. At the time, I didn’t really “get” blogs, but I went home and started “College Prep” during Christmas break. Best. Decision. Ever. 32 How long did it take for your blog to take off? Years!!! I would say that after a year and a half things slowly picked up a bit. Then it was just more steady growth. There was never one moment where things seriously took off. It was more hard and consistent work that ended up paying off. Blogging every day, creating better content, and writing about the highs and lows definitely helped The College Prepster stand out. What is your favorite thing about the December/holiday season? Getting to spend time with my family! Because I live far away from everyone (my sister lives down the street from my parents), getting to spend time with them is something I really cherish. Even just getting to sit down and have dinner at the table like we did when I lived at home makes me happy! Even though I’m not the biggest fan of the cold (#FloridaGirl), NYC looks incredible during December. The decorations, the wreathes and garland, and the lights (oh! the lights!).