"Marijuana is a gateway drug, honey. It will kill you."

It wasn’t until 3 years ago, at the age of 23, that I realized that a red ring won’t show up around you if you pee in my parents’ pool. I had been living in that house and swimming in that pool since the ripe age of 6, running into the freezing cold basement and struggling to pull a wet one-piece up over my ass whenever I had to pee, and it took me 17 years to learn that my parents had been lying to me all along.

Yes, I could have been peeing in that pool for years!

After spending most of my life living a lie (one that protected everyone else swimming with me, I suppose) I started to think back on other things my parents may have been lying about. Like when they told me and my brothers that they didn’t have a favorite child, when clearly that child is me. Or when they told me they’d never done drugs. Bullsh*t, parents!

And I know I’m not the only one who’s been lied to! Apparently it’s a parent’s job to seriously mislead their children. Our friends over at Lemondrop have been lied to, and the CollegeCandy writers have been living some lies, too. Read More »

The Ungaro disaster wasn’t Lindsay’s fault, ok?

Tina Fey and Al Roker get it on?!!

Do men fake orgasms?

A 140-character scholarship application? It exists!

Garth Brooks is un-retiring.

Sex and the City gets a line of shoes.

I have to admit – it’s becoming somewhat painful to watch Project Runway this season and find things to write about. Unlike seasons past where designers say and do funny things beyond whipping up runway looks, all things more than worthy of writing about, this season is a whole lot of blah. And it’s impossible to write about blah.

Perhaps that’s why the producers decided to bring in Bob Mackie and Christina Aguilera last night. Maybe a little sequins would liven things up a bit?

Too bad it didn’t work. I mean, absolutely nothing about this challenge worked. The designers were instructed to take some inspiration from Mr. Mackie and go all out on a stage design for Christina Aguilera. CHRISTINA FREAKING AGUILERA. A woman known for her strong voice and her awesomely choreographed shows.

Not a woman known for living in a cave and tearing meat from dead animal carcasses with her teeth, Logan.

And not a woman who is currently retired and heading to the Assisted Living Annual Ball, Jordana.

I’d like to think that in a subconscious homage to their good friend Epperson, the designers misunderstood Tim Gunn’s assignment. Maybe they were struck dumb by all of Bob Mackie’s brilliance and instead of hearing “Christina” they heard “Junior Prom in the Midwest”? All that sparkle. All that glitz. Seriously, I walked away for a minute to grab a snack during the show and missed the part where the designers got their assignment. When I came back in and saw what everyone was picking up at Mood, I thought this was a crossover event with TLC’s Toddlers in Tiaras.

It was just bad. Almost as bad as Irina’s bitchy attitude. Almost. That girl is one big biznatch. And that ice skating costume she made? Hurl. Read More »

[It's pretty obvious that the average CollegeCandy reader has some very strong opinions. Opinions that she likes to share with everyone on the site. We love a strong woman, so we thought we'd give her a real forum to discuss her thoughts, feelings, and perspectives. Every Friday I'll be featuring a hot topic (like lowering the drinking age!) and leaving it up to you, the readers, to duke it out. So, read it and get your debate on in the comments section below!]

Let’s get one thing straight: here at CollegeCandy, we accept all colors and creeds – and we are not talking about race here (a girl from Jamaica and one from Kenya might share a racial group, but have totally different cultural heritages). In fact, it was my multi-ethnic group of friends who got me thinking about the issue.

Because I have no real cultural heritage, I never really considered issues like this, at least until my Indian friend mentioned that she only dates inside her ethnic group. A part of my brain automatically said “that’s racist!” But then she started talking about how the culture she grew up in is important to her and how she would rather be with someone who can understand and share that background with her, and maybe their kids, one day. And I have to admit, I can see her point of view.

I’ve spent most of my dating life with white Christian guys because they’re who I grew up with, but now that I’m dating a Jewish guy, I have to admit, sometimes I feel like an outsider. And likewise, I’ve wondered what would happen if we had kids? After all, the way that I ended up without a cultural heritage was that my ancestors didn’t bother about their cultural differences. These are questions that had never occurred to me before, but suddenly, they seem important.

On the one hand, there are a lot of great things to be said about inter-cutural dating. After all, isn’t looking past the surface, seeing everyone as equal, something we’ve been aspiring to for a long time? All of the mixing helps us learn and understand about other groups – and let’s face it, you make more of an effort to understand something if someone you care about is involved in it (Manishewitz would not have been on my “to try” list if not for my guy). Also, I certainly wouldn’t want to give up my relationship, or expect anyone else to, just because of something like background – it sounds silly to even consider it. Read More »

This is the strangest story I’ve heard all week.

Meghan McCain‘s got a nice rack.

Usher’s ex wife is out to get him.

Bad romantic comedies teach bad dating habits.

What are Lady Gaga and Beyonce planning?

You go, Taylor Swift!

She loves him, but will she love me?!

I remember the first weekend I went home with my boyfriend; it was the dreaded “introduce-my-girlfried-to-my-mom-and-hope-they-don’t-hate-each-other” weekend. Matt kept telling me his mom was a really nice woman and that she’d love me, but I was terrified. She already knew that I was having “explicit relations” with her son, and she’s retired Navy, so I had convinced myself that I was walking into a deathtrap.

All I really had to go on were my friends and family members who had HORRIBLE experiences with boyfriend’s/husband’s moms. My mother and my grandmother can’t be in the kitchen together without someone trying to hit the other with a frying pan. My sister was called a whore by her religious future mother-in-law the first time they met because she had brought a Cosmo along for the 6 hour drive to meet her. Even my good friend Sarah’s boyfriend’s mom hates her because Sarah’s dog bit her on their first meeting.

So it took a lot of convincing from my dear BF to stop my hands and voice from shaking before walking into the house to meet his momma. (Too bad he couldn’t assist with the pit stains that had formed in my fit of fear…)

And low and behold, we got along great!!!! I was so thankful! We were both theatre and band kids in high school, we both like crafty things (knitting, crocheting, sewing, etc), and we even have the same taste in movies and TV. When we left, Matt told me that he could tell his mom really liked me. Read More »

While switching my wardrobe from my summer sundresses to my winter wools, I realized one very depressing thing: my winter wardrobe is more drab and depressing than those dreary January days. If I don’t want to slip into a winter funk (fixed only by large bowls of mac-and-cheese), I need to do something fast.

And that something comes in the form of color. The color purple to be exact.

Every girl needs a little color in her wardrobe and what better way to liven things up than with something beautiful, luxurious and violet?  Historically, purple is associated with nobility, but we don’t need to be canoodling with Prince Harry to enjoy the benefits of this year’s hottest color. (Although, that would definitely help with the winter blues…) We can all look regal and faboosh, even on our student budgets.

You can work purple into your look in a big way – like a silky sheath dress – or just add little splashes here and there. Either way, you won’t have to look far to find the perfect purple pieces to lift your winter spirits. In fact, I found 16 hot ones right here. Read More »

Every college student’s Saturday schedule is more or less the same: Waste half the day by sleeping until an inappropriately late hour. Stuff your face at the dining hall. Meet the girls for a pregaming/get-ready session and then roll with the punches as you walk out into the night, flask in hand.

While you never really know what the night has in store (except that you’re sure to wake up to embarrassing photos, unidentified bruises and amazing stories), there is a general progression of things, is there not?

The guys over at The Ultimate Hatelist made a little man graph, documenting the progression of activities on a typical Saturday night as one’s blood alcohol level increases.

And it got us thinking; we girls definitely have our own succession of events that come at distinct points as our BAC ticks upwards. While every night out is unique in it’s own way, we find comfort in knowing that the general sequence of events will always remain the same. No matter how sloppy we get. Read More »

Talking with your doctor isn’t always easy. Whether you are afraid she will judge you, you just don’t feel comfortable sharing the intimate details of your life between the sheets, or you can’t think straight with a speculum between your legs, many people get tight lipped in the doctor’s office. But that doesn’t mean you don’t have questions.

We thought we’d help and every Thursday our friend Dr. Lissa Rankin will be answering your questions. The ones you couldn’t ask your doctor in person. Just leave your questions in the comments, or send em over to us. (We’ll keep it all anonymous for you.) Dr. Lissa will answer anything – really, anything – about sex and other lady things. Don’t be shy; she’s waiting for ya!

Q: I know it’s pretty typical in college, but I always feel tired and lethargic.  I try to eat as healthy as I can, but even adding nuts and more protein to my diet isn’t working. I was wondering if you had any ideas of things I could do (specific vitamins/things I should be eating) that will help me feel more awake and less foggy on a day to day basis. Thank you.

A: If you’re feeling tired much of the day, you’re not alone. Fatigue and lack of energy are probably the most common reason patients come to see me at CLEAR Center of Health (www.clearcenterofhealth.com), the integrative health center where I work.  Even if the rest of your life is going brilliantly, if you feel tired all the time, it’s enough to sap you of your mojo.

While it may be tempting to grab a triple shot caramel macchiato to get you through, that’s only going to make matters worse. Here are a few natural tips to help you feel more vital. Read More »

You know that really annoying friend of yours who feels the incessant need to point out that they were the first to know about a now really popular band? Every. single. time. it comes on the radio?

As annoying as they are, there is something exciting about the knowing of a new band, new clothing brand, great sale, awesome book or recipe, and sharing it with the ones you love. And by ones you love, I mean the ones you go back and forth with right here on the CollegeCandy message boards.

So here’s the deal: every week, we will feature things that YOU think other CollegeCandy readers just have to know about. Anything at all. Nothing is off limits. You share it with me and I’ll pass along the goodness.

Old Soul, New Heart
If there is one great way to make that old black frock new again it’s with accessories. And if there is one new amazing accessories website to do just that with it’s Old Soul New Heart. This mother/daughter duo has made a brand new spot in my big ol heart. I’m obsessed. Obsessed as in, I’d buy the whole line. Obsessed as in, if Old Soul New Heart were a boy, I would be standing outside his window right now proclaiming my love for all things feathered and sequins. (And I wonder why I’m single.) And if the sheer cuteness of the product wasn’t reason enough to go stalker crazy on this line, it’s price point will having you make room in your heart and your closet, as well. Read More »