Unless you’re one of the few students who lucks out and gets a single, almost everyone who goes away to school must deal with a roommate. Although it would be ideal to become BFF with your rando roommate,  everyone doesn’t always bond like Rachel, Monica and Phoebe. And because girls like to get their  feelings out via emo Facebook statuses, rather than actually confronting the problem, situations tend to escalate fast.

Here are some problems you may run into within the walls of your shared space and a few solutions if/when you find yourself in a pickle.

She’s sloppy: Her clothes are always on the floor and on her bed, even when she’s not getting dressed. Strands of her hair line your dorm room floor. She has loose papers and party fliers sticking out of her textbooks and strewn all over her desk. And is it you, or does her side of the room smell like gym socks and onions? Unfortunately, all girls aren’t all that neat, clean and prissy. Some are straight-up foul! Maybe they’re used to someone else cleaning for them or maybe they’re just lazy. But if you’re with a sloppy sister, you will probably end up speaking to her about her hot mess on more than one occasion.

Solution: Starring at her mess with your evilest eye won’t suddenly make her realize that she’s too messy. Instead this is one of those situations where you’re going to have to be confrontational (but NOT hostile) and ask for a compromise. You can’t expect her to go from slopfest to neat freak, but you can ask her to make sure her mess doesn’t invade your side of the room and that she does her best to keep all smells at a minimum. Just asking her to “be cleaner” won’t get you very far. Give her clear suggestions like “please put your gym clothes immediately in your laundry and not on the floor.” Read More »

If you take a stroll around my city, you’ll see girls and guys alike donning short shorts and track jackets, music a-blastin’ from their iPods. They’re only participating in the latest craze we like to call running. If you haven’t joined the club, now is the best time to do so! Why?

1. Nothing feels better than setting a goal of 5K, 10K, half or even a full marathon…and actually finishing it. Talk about extreme motivation.

2. Trying to get that 6-pack to peek through? Running has amazing cardio benefits that’ll shed an extra layer of fat.

3. You don’t need equipment. Just your fave pair of running shoes and you’re good to go.

4. The running community is extremely supportive. There are fun runs almost everywhere! Check out places like Sports Basement, Lululemon Athletica or Nike.

5. Runner’s high! It exists, trust me. Read More »

I’m a firm believer that there is nothing better than designer clothing you can actually afford. For the past five years, Target’s Go! International collections have made many dreams come true, bridging the gap between affordability and designer fashion. They’ve collaborated with many designers over the last five years, and in celebration they’re releasing a 34-piece collection featuring dresses from 17 of their favorite designers!  Yes, they’re giving you another chance to snatch up something you missed the first time around (or the second if you didn’t want to pay inflated eBay prices).

SQUEAL!

To celebrate Target’s bridging of our favorite designers with a price tag that won’t have us eating ramen noodles for the rest of our college careers, we’re honoring our 5 favorite collections of all time. So thank you, Target, for filling my closet with designer threads when all I really went to the store for was a roll of toilet paper and some shampoo.

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Retailers are banding together to help support disaster relief efforts in Japan after a deadly earthquake ravaged the country and a resulting tsunami wiped away entire towns. Not only is the country’s infrastructure in shambles, but one of their nuclear power plants is on verge of a nuclear meltdown. Things are bad. But you can help! And you can do so from the comfort of your warm dorm room as you snuggle in sweats. So what are you waiting for? Start shopping now to raise money for Japanese relief efforts.

Here’s a list of a few websites and stores you can visit to help make a difference:

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Lesson 15: We Are Living In A Digital World

Whether we like it or not, we are living in the age of social media. Our Facebook and Twitter pages act as trophy cases showing off our friends, our beliefs, our inside jokes and, more often than not, the things we wished we’d never done on nights we can’t remember. Sure enough, Facebook has found its way in our dating world as it has taken over our social world.

With all the different forms of contacting a person — Facebook posts, messages, Twitter DM’s and email on top of the already tried and true texting and that one thing from back in the day, what was it called? oh yeah, calling someone – getting asked out doesn’t just happen at the bar anymore. These different forms of digital communication have the capability of ruining our chances at a future job, but on the upside, it may be the way we get our next date.

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March Madness has nothing to do with the preparations for spring break, daylong drinking holidays like Mardi Gras and St. Patrick’s Day, or studying for midterms. It is about the best three weeks of any sport — the NCAA Tournament. The best of college basketball. Even if you’ve never watched a single minute of any game all season, you can still enjoy the Big Dance. It may be the only thing your friends are talking about the next few weeks so it may be a good idea to learn some important terms.

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Spring is in the air! Can you smell it? Can you feeeeeel it?

Sorry, I think I’m high on bird chirping and my first iced latte of the season….

For many of us, this week brought the first real warm, gloveless days of the year. Ah, how I love that first day of 55 degree weather, when we all think 55 degrees means summer and you actually see people walking the streets in shorts and flip-flops, pretending they are perfectly cozy when they’re really covered in goose bumps and their leg hair is growing back. Not that they’ll admit it, or suck it up and rock their puffy jackets on a day like today. Not. A. Chance.

But we all understand. After all, it’s been EONS since we’ve been able to even comprehend the idea of going out without our frenemy, the North Face, and frankly, most of us have no clue what else to wear. So we wear nothing at all. And then we thank god our bras are padded so it’s not quite as obvious to passersby how cold we really are.

Well not anymore. Enter: the spring jacket.

There is no need to catch pneumonia (or have the rest of the world think you are crazy) when the temps start to climb, especially with all the adorable trends in spring coats rolling out right now. I’m talking jackets so cute you won’t want to go out without one, even when the warmer temps roll in and shorts (sans jacket) are actually acceptable. So why not take this time to switch out your outerwear and rock an adorable spring look that will keep you warm but looking oh-so-cool?

I’ll help you get started with 8 great jackets that won’t break the bank. Read More »

Based on the 45 spin-offs of Real Housewives and the 65 Kardashian specials and the fact that Snooki is employable, it’s more than clear that America is lowering their standards. But have we finally lowered them too much? The SAT is now testing students on their reality TV knowledge. Now, before you throw your computer out the window and buy your plane ticket to Canada, remain calm. They have not replaced the math section with a Top Chef questionnaire. Rather, they asked an open-ended essay question about reality television.

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So, like, Americans are going absolutely crazy. Not only are we following Suri’s fashion tips (pacifiers are soooo in right now), but we’re idolizing mentally unstable celebrities. Not just, like, following them on Twitter, but, like, nominating them as presidential candidates. A recent poll among independents showed that Americans would vote for Charlie Sheen over Sarah Palin. While we totally agree that our gal pal Sarah is not a suitable candidate for president, we can’t hide the fact that Charlie Sheen is a more insane choice.

Why was he even an option?
What is wrong with people?
Political polls are now allowing these kinds of responses!?

Well if that’s the case, if we can start nominating ANYONE for president, regardless of experience, let’s go with these 10 celebrities instead: Read More »