After we graduate college, some of us may bypass the period of time where we move back home with our parents and relish in not paying rent and having home cooked meals and just go straight into the real world. My friends and I like to joke about how none of us are actually real people because we all still rely on our parents for many, many things. We’re all kind of in that limbo stage or the words of Ms. Spears, “Not a girl, not yet a woman.” But this notion does not stop me from dreaming of days when I live in Downtown Chicago in my very own amazing apartment with grown-up stuff everywhere such as candles and plants.

When people come over for dinner parties (yup, I will host dinner parties), they will walk in and gasp, “Katie! Your apartment is so…adult!” I will smile humbly and thank them not leading on to the meticulous and thought out structure of my adult oasis. This is the dream, people.

While this is on my mind, I decided to compile a list of things that every aspiring adult needs in their new apartment! It’s time to ditch the futon, guys… Read More »

This last Saturday, I woke up at promptly 10:30 a.m. stretched like a cat in my comfy, fluffy girl-bed, got up slowly and wandered into my kitchen for some toast. My feet were cold against my linoleum floor, my eyes were still a little sleepy and a soft breeze blew my crack-head bed hair into my eyelashes. And you know what I did after that?

I cleaned out my refrigerator. I even used Windex.

This is what I would like to call a “grown-up moment.” Times like these (where I clean out moldy chicken salad from my refrigerator door) are small adult moments. And trust me, I have big ones too. Why do I want to share them with you? Well, when I was in college – where washing a single dish, “tweaking” my resume between naps and considering the gym were all labeled hard work – I thought I would never grow up to feel big adult moments. But I already have! And so many of them. So, let’s get serious. I’m going to show you my top five:

1. Getting my first real job

It really can happen people. You will have a job, someday. I’ll be honest – when I was offered my job, I danced in an office with my boss with glee, got in my car and started crying. Crying tears of…joy. And for the record, tears of joy aren’t salty – they taste like cotton candy. And I swear the clouds were pink that day. I remember feeling so complete and accomplished, I could have stuck a rock up my ass and turned it into a diamond. I was that good. All of my worries about making everyone proud diminished.  Because I was making myself proud. Read More »

Even at the beginning of my senior year, my friends and I were starting to discuss where we would end up after school.

It was a given that I would be around New York City because that is the place to go for my future career. Not to mention the fact that I absolutely love the place and had the time of my life interning over the course of two different summers. Lucky for me, a good amount of people from my school also head down there to start “real” lives.

My experience was similar to a new trend that has really started with our generation. That new fad being putting priority on WHERE you will be living, instead of WHAT you will be doing. Recent grads tend to decide what city they want to live in, and then the job comes secondary.

The job tends to be something figured out once you have moved to the chosen location, as was my experience, which made for many stressful unemployed days filled with cupcakes and wondering just how I was going to get by. Eventually things worked out and I can officially say I am employed in my chosen field and have my own apartment.

But, this ballsiness (is that even a word?) is something that our parents are not used to. Long gone are the days of sending out resumes to every viable city or town in America and seeing where you get a bite. We refuse to live in a horrible town just to have a job, which I think is a great philosophy. Read More »

Currently living the post-graduate life in a city 16 hours away from my closest friends and family has forced me to deal with many grown up situations that I would rather not deal with, aka large bugs in my apt, sketchy landlords, and the fridge breaking ten minutes after filling it up with brand new groceries. Yeah, sweet life.

One problem that I would rather not encounter is seeking into depression, or what some may call the quarterlife crisis. And after doing extensive research on this topic for a previous blog called My Impending Quarterlife Crisis, I am realizing that it’s only a matter of time until I sink fully into the blues.

Therefore, I am attempting to be proactive and launching a pre-emptive strike on becoming depressed. Who’s with me?

My first tactic: reincorporate exracurriculars into my adult life. No, I don’t think that “joining a club” is the key to social issues such as obesity and body image as Leah rightfully points out. But, I was the QUEEN of being busy and involved in everything throughout high school and college. Why should the rest of my life be any different? Because of my activities, I met so many interesting people, learned all kinds of new things, and kept myself from boredom.

Here are some of the options that I am exploring now that I am no longer on a college campus:

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I’m officially old. This month marks one year since I’ve graduated from college. I did it. I got through a whole year without begging my folks for money, I’ve been self-supportive (with the exception of a few loaners from mamadooks) AND, to top it all off, I’ve made it to the Big Apple all by my self, thank you very much.I don’t make a ton of money in my entry-level job, and now that I’m a working girl, my days of partying on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, are no more. Not only because I’m too tired at the end of the day, and, as previously stated, old, but because this city is freaking expensive.

But the weekends are another story. Yea baby. I go out. I go out good! Read More »