We all have habits. Sometimes people hail them as being good — like rescuing orphans or helping old ladies across the street — while others…well, they’re less good. I feel like people (parents, grandparents, best friends, etc.) are always telling me “that’s a bad habit, you should stop!” And while I’ve had some un-stellar habits (like nail biting) that were admittedly probably not very good for me, I still have quite a few that I don’t believe I need to kick.

These are the “bad” habits that, according to some people, I should kick…but, please. I’m keepin’ ‘em.

Do you have any “bad” habits you refuse to give up? Read More »

I don’t know this because I saw his Internet history or his collection of Girls Gone Wild: College Edition DVDs. I know this because new research shows that all men do. Let me repeat that: All men watch porn. And that includes yours.

Researchers at University of Montreal set out to compare frequent viewers of pornography with those who have never seen porn and were UNABLE TO FIND A SINGLE MAN WHO HADN’T WATCHED PORN.

Now, if you’ll come to terms with that news, consider these five facts taken directly from the study:

1) Most men started watching porn around 10 years of age.

2) 90% of pornographic viewing consumption is online and 10% is purchased from stores.

3) Although single men watch more porn than men in relationships, their spoken-for counterparts still yield to this activity weekly. Read More »

[Everyone's got a vice, a bad habit, something they know they need to change. Unfortunately, everyone also has a million excuses why they just can't do it. Not anymore. Every month we will be following a different CollegeCandy writer as she takes on a personal challenge. Last month Michelle gave up stress eating. This month, Charlotte's going to try to stop biting her nails. Can she do it!? Could you?]

Stuff I learned this week:

1. Shit happens. Nails break, and
2. Having nails is weird

First of all, yes, nails break. Sometimes they snag on something, or sometimes I’m chewing them BUT NOT BITING THEM, and I accidentally break an edge. And then I’m in a panic. WHERE IS MY NAIL FILE GODDAMNIT? However, this bit of advice, to always have a nail file on my person, has definitely helped. Now, instead of thinking “oh god, one nail gone,” I can file it up real nice and yeah, it won’t be quite as long, but it won’t be quite as short either. Breaking nails sucks though. One day my nails are all looking quite good, and then I break my “best” nail and they all look crappy again. But I am getting somewhere and I’m so proud. They’ve gotten to a point now where I don’t even want to bite them. Sure, I want to chew. But the idea of biting off that much nail is really weird. While I definitely haven’t completely kicked the habit, I’m definitely getting there, and that is something I never thought I’d be able to do. Read More »

[Everyone's got a vice, a bad habit, something they know they need to change. Unfortunately, everyone also has a million excuses why they just can't do it. Not anymore. Every month we will be following a different CollegeCandy writer as she takes on a personal challenge. Last month Michelle gave up stress eating. This month, Charlotte's going to try to stop biting her nails. Can she do it!? Could you?]

Wow, are we really onto week 3? Well I am definitely noticing progress and I’m learning what works and what doesn’t. What doesn’t is painting my nails, weirdly enough. Not being able to see that glimmer of white means I can happily gnaw away at them long before realising the damage I’ve caused. What also doesn’t work is forgetting to apply my nasty-tasting solution every day. It’s always those in-between days when I find myself nibbling, and the day-old taste is never quite enough to deter me. However, as I mentioned last week, clear nail varnish is a winner. I’m using one that is supposed to make my nails stronger, which is definitely something they need. Even when I’m not biting them, I am constantly sucking on them and they easily get soft and I feel cheated when they are ruined without the satisfaction of biting them. Read More »

[Everyone's got a vice, a bad habit, something they know they need to change. Unfortunately, everyone also has a million excuses why they just can't do it. Not anymore. Every month we will be following a different CollegeCandy writer as she takes on a personal challenge. Last month Michelle gave up stress eating. This month, Charlotte's going to try to stop biting her nails. Can she do it!? Could you?]

First of all, thank you so much to all of you who left me wonderful supportive comments after my post last week. I’m so glad I’m not the only one still biting my nails aged 21!!

I’m not going to say I haven’t bitten my nails all week. Because that would first of all be impossible for me, and that would also be a lie. There has been some nibbling. Some chewing. But I have been making a conscious effort to not bite my nails as much as I normally would. There is a little bit of white to be seen on my nails. Only a little, but more than my usual white-free stubs. I have found, and some of the comments confirmed this, that clear nail polish is definitely the way to go. Even when I wore a lovely peach colour on my nails on Monday, I was biting that off by Tuesday and in turn, chewing on my nails too. Clear nail varnish allows me to be more aware of how far I’ve come. Seeing that smidgen of white really helps motivate me. Read More »

[Everyone’s got a vice, a bad habit, something they know they need to change. Unfortunately, everyone also has a million excuses why they just can’t do it. Not anymore. Every month we will be following a different CollegeCandy writer as she takes on a personal challenge. Last month Michelle gave up stress eating. This month, Charlotte's going to try to stop biting her nails. Can she do it!? Could you?]

Back in January, I completed my first College Candy challenge without any slip-ups or failings. Admittedly, as a British girl and committed tea-drinker, a month without coffee was difficult at times, but not overwhelmingly so. I knew I could definitely complete the challenge without too much difficulty.

But coffee isn’t really my vice. This is different. My real vice doesn’t involve any money, and is completely inescapable — I am a chronic nail biter.

I don’t really remember biting my nails much as a child, and it was only in high school when I realised that everyone else had grown out of a habit I just couldn’t kick. I tried everything;  spending hours painting my nails, nasty tasting solution but none of it worked. I battled through every layer of pretty colours and bitter taste to get my fix.

When I think about it, yes, it really is a disgusting habit, but I’ve never been able to stop. I am orally fixated. I had a pacifier until I was five. I chew pens. I eat out of boredom and my boyfriend doesn’t have any complaints. Nail biting is my number one vice and this is really going to be tough.

The hardest thing is, I’m rarely aware that I’m even doing it. My boyfriend starting saying “stop” whenever he saw my hand at my mouth, and most of the time I wasn’t even conscious that I was nibbling. However, he soon got frustrated when we realised how frequently he had to tell me off and stopped. I pestered him to keep going, but even after he’d given me a stern look I’d be at it again in a couple of minutes. It helped for a while, but we’re now long-distance so he isn’t here to shout at me.

Read More »

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Sorry, couldn’t help it. I’ve just taken up French and I’m getting so obsessed! The language is so gorgeous (especially when it’s coming from the lips of a sexy Parisian man) and a nice change from Spanish, which I’ve studied all my life. Plus, every French class I sit through takes me back to my days in Paris this past summer. I loved everything about it: the food, the people, the fashion, the scenery.

Well, everything except for all the smoking. It seemed like everywhere I went there was a cloud of smoke around me. Call me crazy (a lot of people do), but all that smoke just made me super paranoid. I couldn’t shake the vision of my lungs getting just a little bit blacker and my skin getting clogged with wrinkle-causing smoke particles. Not that I know if smoke particles exist, but my imagination usually doesn’t adhere to scientific fact, so whatev.

This made me imagine what it would be like to actually be a smoker, which led me to wondering: Read More »

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College, although deliciously fun and entertaining, is full of things that are bad for us.  The four-day weekend bender? Bad for us.  The four Red Bulls we chugged to finish that paper at 5am? Bad for us.  The four classes we skipped because we were sleeping after that all-nighter? Really bad for us.

But, surprisingly, sometimes what we think is horrible for our health can have some benefits.  However, just like anything, these things should probably be done in moderation anyway.  Most benefits are demolished when you overdose on the activity (except sex…I maintain that you cannot overdose on that).

Stress – Yes, stress can be helpful (short of pulling out your hair because you haven’t started that art project that’s due in two hours).  Stress can benefit the immune system, preparing the body to withstand things like surgery and infections, and also pushes us to be most effective at the tasks at hand. Bring on the triple-bypass surgery, because I’ve had enough stress to boost my immune system to super human levels.

Caffeine – There are tons of benefits of drinking caffeine! Increased reaction speed and alertness, decreased evidence of liver damage, weight loss, lower occurrence of diabetes, and increased sex drives in females (it’s only been proven in rats, but I’m gonna make the jump).  Grab a cup of coffee from the cafeteria and enjoy the buzz.

Oversleeping – Sleeping too much is really bad for you.  However, how many college students do you know who are getting too much sleep?  Usually, we oversleep because we’ve been running on 3 hours of sleep for five days (finalsss) or because we’ve been killing ourselves with club meetings, classes, work, and assignments during the day.  Sometimes your body just needs some time to catch up and recover.  In fact, while you sleep your mind and body are putting things in order – repairing muscles, organizing memories and new pieces of information gained during the day.  Give yourself a chance to catch up to…yourself.  Sleep in! Read More »