Seasonal depression is very, very real. For once I am not joking.

The cold creeps in and consumes us all with ABC Family 25 days of Christmas marathons and home delivery. Social lives are forgone at the risk of wearing open-toed heels in thirty-degree weather.

Although watching The Grinch fifteen times in one week does sound fun, I’m here to remind you that while you’re in college you’re obliged to solider through the blizzards and natural disasters and drink.

Here are eight good reasons why you shouldn’t stay in this winter… Read More »

There is a first time for everything. And since I’ve graduated, I’ve been waiting for the first time my college ID would no longer work for a discount at the bar. My mixed feelings of excitement and reduced pride lingered, but I was confident most of the students wouldn’t even know who I was. That means, for one Thursday night, I could play pretend and listen to the slutty little angel sitting on my shoulder.

Me and a few girlfriends put on our highest heels and tightest jeans, teased out our hair, chugged a glass of wine and strut our stuff downtown. For the first time, I felt a hint of cougar status brew in my insides. I was only a year older than most of the people in the bar…aside from the 18-year-old freshman busting in with fake IDs. But we all promised ourselves that this was only an experiment — to hands-on discover how much we’d grown up in the past year. Right? Read More »

It’s only the third week of summer and already I’m missing college. Yup, in 21 short days I’ve tasted enough of the real world to know I am nowhere near ready for it. What happened to the days of water wings, Disney-shaped iced pops and smeary sunscreen? Now that was real relaxation! I’m having trouble calling this a summer “vacation” when every day requires I get out of bed earlier than I did for classes! Thanks Mom & Dad for insisting I get a part-time job. As for all that responsibility and financial independence you want me to learn? Gross!

Let’s just fast-forward through the monotony of June and endless humidity of July. August means school spirit, classes and fun. And you know what? You can’t get me back to campus soon enough!

[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 super-seniors!) 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!]

This week, the last bar in State College (that’s the town where the main campus of Penn State is – the name confused me for a while too) to hold out on the 21^st birthday tradition of doing way too many shots decided to amend it’s stance and stop serving shots to new 21 year-olds. All of the bars in State College now abide by this policy – you can still get beer or mixed drinks, just no shots – where 21^st-ers will have to wait an extra 36 hours after their birthday before they can purchase tiny little glasses of liquor. The question is, is this fair?

Ok, now the whole impetus behind the ban is that Penn State (known as the biggest party school in the country) has had some trouble with it’s students binge drinking, and since 21^st birthdays are usually a big drinking night (yeah, baby!) they hope that preventing these (supposedly) new drinkers from getting shots, they might cut down on some of the dangers of overdrinking on the big night. Read More »

It’s always a toss-up to say what the best part of an evening out is. Pregame and preparation are always fun, but last call is just a crucial part of a night out, especially when you’re going to school in the Midwest and the town closes down at about 2 AM.

You can really get a sense of the type of establishment you’ve been frequenting by learning what it closes with each night. In New York, sometimes a sick sense of accomplishment coincides with every last call you actually make it to. 4 AM is much easier said than done when you’ve been trained to turn in after 2. Sometimes, though, regardless of the time, you’re going to get the same gratification.

What’s sad is that no one actually NEEDS that final drink at last call, but everyone panics all the same, as though they haven’t been drinking all night anyway.

By far, on my undergrad campus, the favorite establishments were moderately-to-very dirtball bars filled with a slightly frat-tastic crowd of kids, and sometimes bartenders in basketball shorts. Some of said frat boys were known to wear sweatpants on the rare occasion. But the best part of these bars was the unquestionable fact that come 2 AM, the lights would flicker on and the speakers would be blasting either Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” or “The Gambler” by Kenny Rogers, depending on which venue you had chosen for the night. Read More »

For the first time since graduation, my college roommates and I made a return trip to Ann Arbor for a weekend reunion full of drinking, Michigan football and a general return to the life of college students. I can’t even tell you how excited I was to get back to campus and run amok around the town; visit our old house, drink at our favorite bars and, of course, visit our favorite late night eateries.

And for all intents and purposes, the weekend far exceeded the fun-factor I was anticipating. I got my Long Island Iced Teas and ate my New York style White Pizza. I watched the Wolverines win (even if it was a crappy team) and finally picked up my Michigan Alumni t-shirt.

It was perfect.

But this weekend also made me realize some very key post-graduation truths:

1. I can’t drink like I used to: In the old days I could down a couple (10) cocktails and dance the night away only to wake up the next morning, hit the gym and get to class. Not anymore, my friends. After getting good and drunk on Saturday night, I am still experiencing a hangover. And it is Tuesday. On the plus side: I still got my boozey-moves on the dance floor…and the videos to prove it.

2. College bars are cheap: I always used to hate those grads who came back to campus and screamed about how cheap the drinks were. Now that I am a grad, I have to scream it: drinks are so cheap! Nowhere else can a group of girls get 8 pitchers, a round of shots and 3 orders of cheese fries for $95 including tip! I may have even taken a picture of the bill. Read More »