I love giving presents. I love the face people make when opening up the specifically picked gift, hearing the sounds of the wrapping paper tearing. I love the hugs and thank yous, the ‘Oh my god! You totally shouldn’t have (but I’m secretly really really glad you did)’s.

However, I hate the process you need to take to get there. I guess you could say I hate being thrown into a crowd of about 5,376.5 people all on the same mission. It’s like survival of the fittest except the contestants are fatter and will kill you to get the prize.

So, to help every other last-minute shopper out there, here are ten gift ideas that are sure to warm the hearts of the loved ones in your life. Or at least make them wince with an unappreciative ”Yeah, totally love it.” Read More »

As mentioned in previous posts, I love Halloween and everything about it. From being scared straight, to mocking the horrible fake blood in haunted houses, it’s the most magical time of the year. Plus, it’s the one time of year I can watch Halloweentown multiple times a day (which is exactly what I plan on doing today…judgement free zone).

But, because Halloween falls on Monday this year, my usual late night party escapades were moved to this past weekend. Leaving me with a bunch of left over pumpkin beer and candy  for actual Halloween (I know…rough life). And, since I live in the hood I’m refusing to participate in doling out candy, no way am I getting a “poisoned apple” on my favorite day of the year. I really just want to eat all of the left over candy by myself.

In celebration of this horribly haunted night here are my favorite things about Halloween… Read More »

If you overhear someone talking about NCAA athletics, you probably automatically think of the football and basketball games you see on TV during March Madness and hear about on the news. You may think of swanky warm-ups, the Big 10 teams who win every year, and spoiled brats who don’t work very hard at anything.  But that is not a very accurate representation of the NCAA.  There is more to the NCAA then those two big name sports. There are over 20 different sports, spread over 5 divisions. There are more then 380,000 student-athletes that participate in an NCAA sport each year, including almost 100,000 females.

And I happen to be one.

Many people only see us on TV, or goofing around together in the cafeteria, or maybe see us playing a pick-up game when driving by our field, but we work extremely hard almost every day during the year: pre-season, fall season, off-season, and spring season. We miss class, and have to teach ourselves full lessons. We ride buses for hours and hours, missing out on typical college activities. We go through more laundry soap in a week than most people do in a month and our rooms smells like sweat, feet and Febreeze. But I love it. I love my team. I love my sport, and I love what my college experience has been like because of it.

For the past two years, I’ve played soccer at my university. I started playing when I was 6, and had always dreamed of playing in college. By time I was 16, I had picked out my university, and started my training. Yes, that’s right. While you were picking out your junior prom dresses and worrying about graduation and the cute senior boys, I was already focused on my life as a college student-athlete. It has to be done that early, or you’ll miss so much, and won’t get through all the requirements that make you eligible to play. (The one thing the NCAA loves more then massive championship rings is paperwork.)

Because of where soccer falls in the school year (August-October), I have to arrive at my university about a month before classes start. While you’re on the beach sun tanning on August 1st, I’ll be moving back, unpacking my stuff, and already into the school mode. By August 2nd, I’ll be up at 6 AM to start my training. Every university sport has a two-week “pre-season” and it is the hardest part of the season. We run, lift, pass, kick, run more, press, run a little more, and basically kill ourselves at 6 AM, 11 AM, and 4:30 PM every day, for two weeks. It is not a fun two weeks. It is hard, grueling work. We do have a little fun as a team after workouts, as it’s usually only us and the football team there that early, but there is no partying in pre-season. By the time 7 PM rolls around, we’re all so tired that we just crash in our beds and sleep until the alarm goes off again. Then repeat.

And it only gets harder once school starts. We have practice at 6, classes from 8 until 2, practice at 4 and then a mandatory study hall at 7 from Monday to Saturday. If it weren’t for the Internet, we’d never even get to watch TV!

Part of being a college athlete is, of course, being a student. If you ask any administrator about the athletes at your school, he/she will call them “Student-Athletes,” because that’s what we are. Not only do we have to play our sport twice a day, we also have to stay on top of all of our school work. This gets hard during season, when, thanks to away games, we frequently miss class. You’ve probably seen the athletes going up to professors, telling them that they’ll be away, and been jealous of the amount of excused absences we get. But honestly, missing class is the worst part of being an athlete. First, our GPAs have to remain high or we could lose our spot on the team. Second, there is a maximum number of hours we can take, and usually it is not much higher than the university minimum. That means we really can’t afford to drop too many classes. I basically taught myself Business Calculus my freshmen year, because I missed so many classes due to away games and had to be able to understand what was going on when I got back. You can trust me on this: trying to read, write, calculate, or draw on a moving bus with 30 other girls and all their stinky equipment at 10:30 at night is not the best way to get an A. And because of all those absences, when I get sick (which is easy when you’re on the road so much) I still have to go to class. By time November comes, I can’t afford to take an off day, or not get up for my 8 AM lab.

Having said all that though, I love it. It’s hard work to try and balance school, soccer and attempt to have a social life. I love playing soccer, and I love my team. It is 30 girls who all want the same thing: To win it all. We work together both off and on the field; we run together, we cheer and push each other, we help each other with History, we complain about the cafeteria food, we go out dancing together, we creep cute boys on Facebook, and redecorate our rooms. My team is my lifeline, my best friends. My defense partners will probably be the bridesmaids at my wedding. I chose this life, and I don’t regret it. It has put me on the path to being the best I can – academically, athletically and personally. I strive to be the best I can in everything, because I’m used to having 30 others counting on me. I look to have friends who I can trust to work hard, who have good time management skills and can be friendly and persuasive without being bossy, and I’ve found them all as a student athlete.

[This post is a favorite of CollegeCandy fan, Chelsea....perhaps because she wrote it? Either way, thanks for reading, girl!]

Living with friends is fun and there’s (almost) never a dull moment.  There’s no awkward “Hi, I’m Alex” stage where you don’t know really how to act around your new roommate and none of that awkward/hesitant asking “if it’s okay if your roommate, you know, turns off the lights because it’s four in the morning, maybe.”

When you live with your best friends, it’s totally acceptable to cut loose and dance and sing at the top of your lungs to Ke$ha. Living with friends is fun, carefree, exciting. I wouldn’t change living with my friends for the world. On the other hand, living with a random roommate also allows you to experience new people and hang out with a different crowd.  It can be refreshing, enlightening and you may even gain a new friend out of your random housing assignment. But eventually, with any roommate no matter if she’s a friend or random, disaster strikes because you left your hairbrush out for the third time in a row.

Here are some tips to keep your roommates happy:

Do have roommate nights. Grab a bowl of popcorn, sit on the couch, or your extra long twin bed, and put in a chick-flick. My roommates and I always have Gossip Girl Mondays. Having these nights keeps your bond strong; it’s an easy way to break away from some of the stress of school, especially when it’s midterm week and you don’t say a word to your roommate because you’re cramming for your Chemistry test.

Don’t blast music when your roommate is studying. We’ve all been there—you have an exam in each 3 of your classes and an essay due, it’s 1am and the library is too far of a trek. You are focused, in the study-zone and your roommate decides to have people over for a power hour. Great. Treat your roommate the way you would want to be treated, so respect that she needs some silence and one day she will return the favor.

Read More »

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Fall is in full swing. The pumpkin spice lattes are a part of your daily ritual. You’ve broken in your new fall boots. You’ve given up that whole turning over a new leaf idea – you know, the one that involved getting your homework done on time. And hey, just in time for midterms too.

Mid semester exams are inevitable. And annoying. Just when you’ve started to think you could get away with not doing any of the reading for your classes and getting all of your notes online (from the comfort of your futon), midterms rear their ugly heads.

Essays?
Quotation identifications?

You are not prepared for this. Time for some serious studying, right? Not just yet, there are a few things you really need to do first…. Read More »

It may have been the vegetable non grata at your childhood dinner table, but now that you’re a super-chic college chick there’s no reason to balk at broccoli. Of all the greens with which to fill your plate, broccoli has a unique varied texture that soaks up yummy sauces, and is robust and filling, too. Now is the peak season for the veggie, so it’s a great time to stock up on its calcium and folate.

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. This month, Emmy's going 31 days without beef. Or chicken. Or turkey. Or....you get the idea.]

I can’t believe that I have made it through two weeks as a vegetarian! Honestly, I am a little surprised – I haven’t cheated at all! Not a single piece of meat. Not even chicken broth, because I was worried that would count.

Not that’s it’s been a total breeze…

By far the most difficult vegetarian moment for me this week was when one of the clubs I’m in had a group dinner… at Chipotle. Now, I know a lot of people like Chipotle, but I love Chipotle. LOVE. Their meat is one of my FAVORITE things in the whole wide world. I don’t even need a burrito; I could be totally content just eating their meat plain… straight out of those silver serving buckets.

So to say it was a wee bit challenging to go in there and not get my favorite Steak Burrito doesn’t really do my feelings justice. I thought about getting a vegetarian burrito, but I’m not a big fan of their beans and  thought it would be too empty without meat. So I went with a veggie quesadilla instead. Not exactly the world’s healthiest option, but it kept me perfectly satisfied while everyone else chowed down on their delicious and meaty burritos.

Point: Emmy.
And things only got better from there. Read More »

I think most people look back on their college years with nostalgia, wishing for the sunny football Saturdays, the insane parties, and even the long weeknights nights spent in the library. I’m no different, of course, having had a similar experience with every other American college student. However, my memories are shadowed with another powerful memory: that of my parents’ divorce. I was 19 and in my sophomore year when I heard the news.

Whatever age you are, wherever you are in your life, hearing that your parents are getting divorced kinda rocks your world (not in a good way). I felt like my family was breaking. What’s worse is that I had no idea it was coming. I lived on campus at my school, which was a six-hour drive from my home. I talked to my parents often on the phone, but the kind of things that hint at divorce don’t really get translated during a bi-weekly chat. It was almost as if I was six-years-old again; too young to understand the situation, excluded from all the arguments.

The day I found out was one of the rare occasions when my mom and my sister came to visit me at school. They were there to pick me up and take me on a road trip to my Aunt’s house, just one hour away. I finished my classes, packed my bag, and watched movies with my friend until they arrived. I didn’t immediately know anything was wrong until I got in the car. The mood was tense, false…what was supposed to be a relaxing family weekend already felt uncomfortable and forced. Soon it was out – my parents were getting divorced. Read More »

Just another day heading to class...

While every college girl shares many of the same college experiences (Procrastinating, Blue Book exams ), she also carves her own path and has her own unique adventure. Have you ever wondered what it’s like for other girls? What it’s like to be an online student? To get married?! To play an NCAA sport? Well wonder no more. Our one-of-a-kind CollegeCandy writers (and readers!) are sharing their unique experiences and opening our eyes to different college worlds.

I am a commuter student.

It’s a statement I’ve had to reiterate more times than I can count during the last four years. It’s a concept some people just can’t seem to understand. It’s something that professors don’t think about when they schedule their classes. It’s something club organizers don’t care about when they schedule their meetings. It’s something you hardly ever hear on my campus, one that’s over 70% residential. It’s a foreign concept to most college students, but not to me.

Let’s rewind a few years, back to when I was first applying to college. I made a list of what I wanted in a college, and where I wanted to go. And when it came down to it, the colleges right here in NYC, in the place I am lucky enough to live, had everything that I wanted. I applied to colleges out of state as well, but I wasn’t going to choose a college just because attending that college would or wouldn’t allow me to dorm.

So I sent out my applications and checked off that little box that indicated I was undecided about my residential status. When it came time to make my decision, I chose a college that was 20 minutes away, and while I still could have dormed, it just didn’t seem unnecessary. Was I really going to pay another $10,000 a year just to live on campus? It wasn’t like I hated living at home, and I had a car, so I wouldn’t be relying on public transportation. And 20 minutes is less time than it takes some students to walk across their campus. I simply couldn’t justify it to myself.

So I decided to give commuting a chance. Read More »