Okay, when did the Jersey Shore become about heartfelt “feelings” and “emotions” instead of bar fights, beating the beat and smushing? SERIOUSLY. Thank goodness we had MVP running a very serious game plan last night about how they were going to maneuver three girls and a grenade to get us through the hour. The Situation stepping up to the role as commander and directing his men to deal with the “hippopotamus” was disgusting, yes, but also the heart of why we love the Jersey Shore.

Let’s step it up a bit, though; even the Real Housewives of NJ have more fire in their bellies than the J. Shore kids these days. We need more excitement. More humor. Come on! Don’t make me put JWoww and Teresa Giudice in the same room.

Not that there wasn’t a lot going on last night. There was that (connived?) drama caused by Sam and Ron and a little type-written note by JWoww and Snookie. (Or, as Ron likes to refer to her, Shnookie. How does he still not know her name?) The girls wanted to tell Sam that Ron’s being a dirtbag but they don’t want to upset the house dynamic so, you know, they decided sneaking around and lying was the way to go. Because Sam will never turn on the TV find out, right? Of course, when the bomb (read: Scary Sammi and Roid Rage Ronnie) blew up, the only one who owned up to Ron doing everything listed on the note was The Situation, imparting the great wisdom, “It’s funny because it’s true.”

Which pretty much sums up why we all watch this terrible, trainwreck of humanity. And we just can’t look away. every. single. week. Read More »

"Spending the day snuggling with my snuggle bunny. Smoochy smooch!"

[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 (unless she happens to be charging at us with her fists raised), 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 whether sex sells!) 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!]

“Jane Doe adores John so much, it’s like fluffy pink bunnies of love are frolicking around inside of her. Wuvs U Baby!” Gag me. Seriously, how many times have you looked on Facebook and seen somebody else getting all schmoopy over their significant other in their status? It’s right up there with Farmville for my top FB pet peeves. My question is, have I become a jaded cynic who can’t appreciate open expression of love, or do other people think these overshares need to be outlawed too?

OK, maybe I’m reacting too strongly – I’ve totally been in that cuddly-baby-animals-feeling phase of relationships and have totally overshared it on Facebook without a second thought. Is it really fair to want to go punch a friend in the face because of the multiple daily updates on how much she misses her BF when he has to go to class? (Sidenote: don’t you wish FB had a “punch” feature similar to the poke? Come on, Mark Z., get on that!) No, probably not. I get why people do it, and it’s their business so I shouldn’t even let it get to me. If I don’t want to see it, just don’t check FB, right (ha! Like that’ll ever happen!). People have the right to put up whatever they want in their statuses and the rest of us should just deal. Read More »

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[The following post was written by dating coach, Kira Sabin, a keg of dating and relationship wisdom. She's been helping people find love for years so we thought we'd tap this keg and see what sort of brilliant advice she has for the CollegeCandy readers. Drink up!]

His name was Tyler.  He was the roommate of one of my good college friends and from the moment I met him I was smitten.  The witty banter was perfect and it took about 10 hours (and a few drinks) before we were hooking up.  After that near perfect weekend we walked to my car, kissed like we invented it and he said he was crazy about me.    It was a definite moment in time.  He was everything I was looking for.  He was ridiculously smart, cute, had a smile that made my toes curl and did I mention completely emotionally unavailable?

For the next few months or so Tyler and I did this little dance where we would have incredible moments and then I wouldn’t hear from him.  I would get vague emails breaking our plans and even when I visited him four hours away sometimes he gushed and sometimes he was cold.  I thought, “How could this be happening? Did I do something wrong?   Connections this incredible rarely come along and have to mean something, right?”

Excuse me conductor… are there any seats left on the crazy train?  Ticket for one, please. Read More »

You’ve got your mattress cover, your mini-fridge, your XL twin sheets, and lots of garbage bags, but there is a whole category of dorm room essentials you are skipping out on.  DORMWEAR.  Because, if you’re like me, no matter how hard you try and fight the stereotypical college student walking round in pajamas and sweats thang, there are times you will break down.

I by no means encourage you to wear your sweats and pajamas out in public EVER, but a dorm is a whole other realm of the world.  Having cozy loungewear comes in handy when you want to fist-pump with the rest of your floor while catching the newest Jersey Shore episode.  It’s also handy when you need to do the L in GTL – because everything else you own is stuffed inside that hamper.

But don’t be fooled. Just because you’re lounging doesn’t mean you need to look like a slob. There are so many cute and cozy items out there for you to lounge around in.

And they’re perfect for sleepy time, too. If you’re sharing a bedroom, the person 10-feet away from you will appreciate you wearing pajamas to bed.  And if you’re a sleep-in-a-shirt and underwear kind of girl, try keeping a few of these pieces near your bed in case someone pulls the fire alarm in the middle of the night.  You’ll thank me for this advice later.  Trust me. Read More »

You, dear readers, have spoken.

The battle was tough. Some good men lost (I’m talking to you, Backstreet Boys and Skip Its). There were some major upsets (I loved Gel Pens just as much as the next 12-year-old, but who knew they would make it further than Monica Lewinsky?!). There were some huge surprises (Beanie Babies didn’t make it past round 1? WTF?)

But much like the 2008 presidential election, you came out in droves, and let your voice be heard week after week. And with 61% of the vote, you made it very clear that Cory and Topanga were the biggest and best thing to come from the ‘90s. (Side opinion: The mushroom cut that Sean used to rock – not really all that great.)

To say we at CC HQ were shocked is an understatement. Hell, even Cory Matthews himself was speechless.

Seriously, we asked him. Read More »

This post provided by college nutritionist, author, and all around excellent source of healthful info, Melanie Jatsek.

If I were to tell you that eating certain foods in the right combination will make you more alert and focused, would you give them a try?  How about if I told you that some of your food choices are literally draining your brain power? Would you think twice before chowin’ down on them?

The bad news – it’s true!
The good news – you don’t have to completely overhaul your diet in order to get results.

Three factors influence what I like to call your “brain power”:  meal composition (the foods that make up your meal), meal size and meal frequency. Allow me to break it all down for you: Read More »

There are a few things in life that never cease to put me in my happy place.

Frozen Yogurt.
An awesome concert.
Pumpkin Spice Lattes in the fall/iced coffee in the spring – both while sitting outside.
Cozying up in bed on a rainy afternoon with some childhood classic movie – The Parent Trap remake anyone?! (Amazing movie but still makes me sad for LiLo.)
A late night convo with my best friends.
A new song that I love so much I keep listening to it on repeat:

Monday night, when I interviewed our surprise guest (check back for our ’90s bracket results and our surprise interview later today!) he/she/it told me about this new song saying it was a MUST listen. Insisting that as soon as we get off the phone I go listen to it on YouTube, even going so far as to email me her/his favorite version of the song. This person was so passionate about this new jam that I thought anyone who goes on and on about this song with a total stranger is either A) totally overselling it or B) totally onto something good. Read More »

Would you say goodbye to the FB?

Back in the ages of early social media, I turned to Facebook to find as many friends as I could before I went to college my freshman year. “Hey [insert name here], it says you are living in [insert dormitory here], like, OMG let’s meet up and do our laundry together or something!”

Facebook was there for all my major college needs, and I quickly came to depend on the status update to let people know I was really fun/cool/endearing, busily tagged myself in pictures, and coyly searched for the cute boy in my Spanish class…

Then things started to change.

The mom friend request. The 13-year-old sister friend request. The 13-year-old sister’s friend’s friend request. The sparkly new mini-feed, which loaded itself and pressured me into talking to people on Facebook I forgot I was friends with. (“Bill is lonely. Reconnect!” Um, Facebook? Chill your jets, Bill is lonely because he peed his bed Sunday morning after our first football home game.) And now, Facebook is begging you to check in with Facebook Places.

Oh, goody.
And by “goody” I mean, “WTF IS YOUR DEAL, FACEBOOK?!”

I can’t count how many times I wanted to meet the people who were changing the online community I had built, take them by the shoulders and shake the ‘idiot’ right out of them. How many times I drew a line in the sand and threatened to say goodbye to FB forever.

But would I really?

Well, that option is becoming reality as a barrage new social networks come our way. One of which will give us the opportunity to go back to the way things were so many years ago: college kids only. Read More »

So you’re going to college. You got your GPA up and your admissions essay down, you got in, and now you’re out! Happy times are here. Your final days are characterized by blasting Lil’ Wayne with the sunroof open and going to lunch with the people with whom you’ve spent the last four, eight, or even 12 years of your life in school. You’re pretty sad it’s over, but you know that your life isn’t about to end; in reality, it’s only the beginning.

But before you unpack those Yaffa blocks and stock up on the highlighters, allow me to dispel a few of the myths your older, wiser and drunker friends have told you about your freshman year. Is freshman year awesome? Hell to the yes. But there are some things you just gotta prepare for.

“You’re going to become best friends with your floor.”
Maybe. Or maybe not. Yes, while the people on your floor are going to be the first people you meet and become friendly with, don’t feel pressured to become best friends with them. The only thing you may have in common with these people is that you live on the same floor in the same dorm at the same school. They’re great for trips to the dining hall, party wandering in the first week of school, and swapping hangover stories on Sunday mornings, but don’t feel bad if that’s it. You might find yourself laughing a month or two into school saying, “OMG, I can’t believe I used to go to breakfast with her” if your neighbor becomes “that girl” at parties on campus. Your real friends in college will be eclectic, and while many people find them on their floor, many do not. Friendships are rooted in a sharing of values, not a sharing of a hall. You’re lucky if you find both in the same place.

“Your classes aren’t that hard.”
Kind of a lie. Senior year you don’t do any work at all, and it’s really hard to turn your brain back on and retrain yourself to read and understand 60+ pages of reading a night. This lie depends on the school you go to and the classes you take, but the way I experienced it and the way most of my friends experienced it is that your classes are kind of hard. Especially when you’re trying to decide on a Tuesday night between $1 pitchers of beer and making notecards. You need to do a lot of the learning on your own and if you’re not careful, it’s very easy to fall behind. You might have floated through high school, but college is an entirely different ball game. You’re going to have to retrain your study muscles for those college classes! Read More »