Summer is in full swing and while we’re all busy toiling away at our internships and jobs, it’s hard not to dream about those relaxing and fun summers of our past. Not only did we have zero responsibility back then, but we had all of our friends to chase through sprinklers and get Dairy Queen with. Not anymore. With all of our college friends spread across the country and the dreaded 9-5 gig, summers just aren’t the same anymore.

But they don’t have to be a total bust. It is summer, after all.

When it comes to summer break, there are only 5 friends you need for optimal summertime fun. You keep these peeps around and you’re golden through Labor Day.

The Friend With The Pool.
Do you feel that? Yeah, that’s the sweat pooling in the small of your back and soaking into your now-stinky cami. It’s hot as balls out there and as much as lying nearly naked on your parents’ leather couch cools you down momentarily, it’s not even close to satisfying. What you need is a friend with a giant, refreshing body of water in his or her backyard. With a BFF like this there’s no battling small children with floaties at the neighborhood pool or all that sand that gets….up there…at the beach. It’s just pure bliss in raft and margarita form.

The Friend with an ID
If you’re an underager like me, this guy or girl is more popular than LeBron James. Find one now and hold on tight until the end of August. And if this person’s parents have a summer home out of town and leave him or her alone for days at a time, start a relationship. Yes, even if it’s a girl. Whatever it takes, right?

The Friend Who Is Still On Campus Nearby
Summer is fun and relaxing but, let’s be honest, living at home with the parental units can be extremely boring. There’s only so much you can do in your hometown before you start having cabin/”I can’t believe I have a curfew” fever. Enter: the friend who stayed on campus this summer. Just hop in the car and escape to freedom after work on Friday, get your party on, eat your 4am pizza and get back just in time for Sunday dinner courtesy of mom and pops.

The Friend With A Boring Job
Who else will keep you entertained with funny links, TFLN texts and major whining sessions when you’re at your boring job all day?

The Friend With The Awesome Job
Friend with awesome job = friend with awesome hook ups. Whether they’re mixing up ice cream at Cold Stone, hawking hipster-wear at Urban Outfitters, serving burgers at Red Robin (yummmmm), or assisting on big, celebrity events at a magazine, their paycheck means sweet discounts and freebies for you. That you can take advantage of. All. Summer. Long.

Are there any more friends you think every girl should have in the summer? Share them below!

Got some college questions? Unsure of a decision? Dealing with someone else’s crazy ex? Just wanna chat it up with some really awesome chics?

Question:
I’m a high school senior and I’m starting college next fall. I’m really excited, but also really scared. Is there anything I can or should do now before I go? Maybe a few tips or things I can start on now (to prepare and also to pass the time of my boring senior year)?

Busy Bee:
Congrats on finally escaping the wrath of high school! Reminds me of my anxiousness back in the day… Anyway, my best advice to you is to live in the moment and really enjoy your last days of senior year. I know it’s boring and you probably have Senioritis, but you will not be seeing any of these people after graduation day. Make some more epic memories because you have a right to do so!

If you don’t want to just sit around this summer, I suggest volunteering or getting a job that you have always wanted but never did because it didn’t fit into your schedule. Because you won’t have to do any over-the-summer reading assignments and write a 6-page essay on how the character development contributes to the theme of the novel, you’ll have TONS of free time! Have you always wanted to build houses in Mexico? Work as a make-up artist for a fashion show? Then, do it! Plus, it’ll look good on your resume.

As for actually preparing for college, make sure you’ve signed up for all of the appropriate classes, bought the textbooks, and know where your classes are. I’m not sure how far away you’re going for school, but if you’re a trooper, go ahead and plan a 3-day stay around the campus and find out what the local hotspots are. That way, when you’re dorming it up the first few days, you’ll be the cool kid who knows where everything is!

Party Girl:
Get a fake ID. And a hot pair of black pumps.

GPA Girl:
Look at you, trying to get ahead! Keep that kind of attitude once you actually get to college and you’ll be super successful. I think the best thing to do now is just enjoy your senior year, namely the fact that you really don’t have to do anything. Come next fall, you’ll be slammed with papers, tests and reading assignments. There’s really not much you can do to prepare for college right now, but it could be a good idea to do a bit of research and find out what sort of pre-reqs you need to take, what classes are offered to Freshmen, etc. That way when it comes time to pick classes, you won’t be totally overwhelmed (like I was – I called my friends crying, no joke).

Also, it might be a good idea to invest in a Smartphone. Professors/student groups/friends do most of their communicating via email, so having it on your phone will help you stay on top of things. Not to mention having a handy calendar in there that will keep you organized. Oh, and Facebook/TFLN while you’re waiting for class to start never hurt either.

But I’m also really excited for 2010! And not just the super adorable outfit I have picked out for NYE. A new year (and a new freaking decade!) brings a fresh start and new adventures. It’s a chance to say “TTFN” to the bad – like Tila Tequila, my muffin top, and Hipsters with skinnier legs than me – and “Holla back at me” to the new. Like a working economy, perhaps? Gay marriage? Fat free, calorie free Dairy Queen Blizzards? A girl can dream.

As we creep dangerously close to 2010, I asked the CollegeCandy writers what they are most excited to leave behind in ’09. What about you? Share yours below!

Kim – Stanford: I cannot wait to leave behind the drama that is Tiger Woods. Why is everyone so shocked that a very rich and successful pro-athlete who travels all the time cheated on his wife? That’s just obvious.

Teresa – UCSD: My fake ID!

Megan – Penn State: Definitely the crappy boys of 2009. Hopefully 2010 brings me no heart-breakers or creepers!

Erica – Kent State: Working at the Financial Aid office in the file room at 9 a.m.–ALONE– four out of five mornings of the school week.  Pure torture.

Thu – USC: My home! I’m studying abroad!

Lauren – University of Michigan: Well, I’d like to say the extra junk in my trunk but that ish is clearly coming with me into 2010 (stuffed into some Spanx, of course), so I’ll just go with Speidi. Something’s gotta happen to them soon, right?

Samantha – UC Santa Barbara: Girl drama! The only drama I want is what I’m watching on my trashy reality shows!

Sara C-Fordham: I am hoping, HOPING, that we as a society can come together and abandon the cultural practice of auto-tune in music. It’s just wrong.

Brittany – University of St.Thomas: What am I excited to leave behind in 2009? Between pictures of Michael Lohan yelling in gossip magazines everywhere and Jon Gosselin’s mysteriously sunburned face it is tough to make one decision. But if I had to choose, let us please leave Kristen Stewart behind! If I see her bite her lip or breath loudly on cinematic screen again I may self-combust.  Rest assured, I would not mind if casting replaced Stewart with a Bella that didn’t complain about how famous she is and smirk at how often she gets to stand next to Taylor Lautner. Ugh, see ya never, Kristen Stewart!

Emmy – Loyola University Chicago: CALCULUS!!! Never ever again.

Caitlin – University of Alabama: I’m excited to leave behind a year of serious health problems! Hopefully 2010 will be a year filled with good health-and yay for new health insurance!

Sarabeth – University of Texas: I’m holding out hope that this whole Twitter fad will go away in 2010.

Charlsie – Hollins University: I’m most excited to leave behind this past semester of graduate school applications, GREs, 20 page papers, and insane amounts of work.

Ricki – University of Michigan: I signed up for this class that prides itself on assigning 15 page papers.  I am so ready to leave behind teachers who don’t care that I have a life.

Kelly – Simmons College: Lindsay Lohan being a drugged-out mess. Come on girl; get it together in 2010!

Anna R. – Northeastern University: I’m so excited to leave school for 8 months! I’m doing an internship in NYC from January to June. I also can’t wait to leave behind my last year of being under 21.

Carly – Grinnell: Cannot wait to leave behind the one month of bitter cold winter we’ve had so far in the Midwest. Three more months of it is three too many!

"My name is Lisa Frank and I live at 222 North Wells Street and I was born on...."

You’re totally over the stinky, sweaty frat party scene, and the lines for the bathroom, keg, and beer pong table at house parties is starting to piss you off. You need something new for your weekend festivities… something like, the bar.

Ok, so you’re not 21, but you know as well as anyone that the bar on the corner of campus would let in anyone not still attached to their umbilical cord. All you need is a little fakey fake ID. If you’re lucky, you have an older sister who looks just like you who ceremoniously passes it down to you the minute you hit campus. If you’re not so lucky, you’re the oldest sibling/the only girl/have an older sister who is a giant bitch and won’t give you her ID because “I never had anyone to give it to me.”

But that’s OK too, because everyone knows that Howie with the sideburns on the 4^th floor of the dorm does more than sell weed out of his room. He also has a pretty sweet printer and only charges $100 for an ID that he claims can even scan (!!). So you scrounge up some cash and get yourself a pretty good Fake. The picture is a little blurry and it says you are 22 and an organ donor, but it looks better than some of the other IDs you’ve seen around campus. Overall, money well spent.

When you return from class on Friday, you opt out of your weekly nap and spend the next few hours studying every last detail of your ID. You memorize the birthday, the address, the driver’s license number. You stand in front of the mirror and rehearse the exchange that will go down between you and the (neck bearded) bouncer. You smile just like the girl in the photograph (if it’s not you). You take your real ID out of your wallet and replace it with the fake. It isn’t until you’ve got everything perfect that you relax a bit and get ready for the night.

…and then you go through the details a few more times in the shower, while drying your hair and in the cab ride to the bar.

Your hands begin to tremble as you step out of the cab and into the line that has formed around the side of the building. Sure, you know this bar isn’t very strict, but you also know how totally mortifying it would be to be the one person EVER rejected. In front of all your friends. And all the older kids in line behind you. And, OMG, what if you get arrested?! What would your parents think? Would you tell them? Could you not tell them? What is jail like!?

Panicking, you pull the ID out and review the information one last time. The line is moving quickly and it’s only a matter of seconds until it’s your turn in front of that bouncer. Who is rather large. OMG, he could totally kill you.

Bouncer: ID, please?
You: Yeah, sure. Here you go. [Nervous smile.]
Bouncer: Stares at ID. Stares at you. Stares at ID. Stares at you.
You: [Armpits begin to sweat. Stomach churns.]
Bouncer: Shines flashlight on ID.
You: [Throw up a little in your mouth. Keep smiling nervously.]
Bouncer: Alright, you’re good. Go ahead.
You: OH MY GOD! Thank you! I mean, cool. Thanks… I’m gonna go now.

You linger inside the door, making sure all your friends get in before making your way to get a much-needed drink. After everyone does an excited skip across the threshold you take a few selfies then go and get your party on.

Yeah, we’ve all been there. There is no drink sweeter than your first one procured with a fake ID. But you’ll soon see that the lines for the bathroom and the bar are longer and more annoying than those house parties, and it is far sweatier than any frat party you’ve ever grinded at.

"I'm 22, dammit!"

I look very young for my age. If scientists took a lunch break from developing anti-aging creams and instead studied my delayed aging process they could figure out how to make everyone look eleven years younger (I had to one-up the TLC show).

When I tell people I just graduated from school they automatically assume middle school and tell me that I’ll  grow out of my awkward teen years soon. And when they find out that I’m actually 22 they reassure me that once I’m older I’ll appreciate looking younger. Like, great, when I’m 78 I’ll look 75. I’ll really impress all the men then; they’ll be wetting their Depends just to get with a young broad like me.

Throughout this whole summer I’ve tried to casually walk into bars only to be stopped by massive bouncers looking for an ID. They stare at them for hours trying to figure out how I got such a good fake and if I had to sneak out of my house to be there. They always reluctantly hand it back to me as if it ruined their night that I’m actually of age. By the time the bouncers are done scanning my ID for all possible forgeries, my friends are six pitchers deep and I’m shamed into actually feeling like I used a fake.

It’s like some sick joke that I’m technically too old to go back to college yet I don’t look old enough to be out without parental supervision.

When people actually do guess my correct age range (I accept 17-22) I blush and swoon. No other compliment gets me as heated as someone telling me I look my age. It’s the secret to my heart and I will spend the rest of the night feeling insanely mature. I give out free advice left and right because when I look older, I feel wiser. And everyone appreciates advice from the old and wise.

Anyways, since my internship is wrapping up shortly and no one has gotten around to fixing the economy yet, I’m about to have a lot of time on my hands. Time that I will fill with happy hours (or getting carded/double carded/strip searched attempting to get into the happy hours) and researching an alternative plastic surgery method that would give me the opposite effects of a face lift.

Real life is….awesome. (Note: that was sarcasm.)

It’s amazing how universal the college experience is and how readily we all accept it as normal. Talk to any college student on any college campus in the country and you will easily find common ground: in the drinking games, in the fake ID horror stories, in the theme parties, in the hook ups.

It is only when an outsider (Read: An Old Person) looks in and comments on the college scene that we take a second look and realize that our choices really aren’t that…acceptable.

My friend recently sent me this article, in which some old dude jumps into the college scene and reports what he finds. And what was it? Just your typical weekend at any college campus: parties, makeouts, puking, etc. Only, when he talks about it it sounds a lot different than when we share our stories in a typical Saturday morning recap.

To any college student, this article is nothing new (except maybe that whole Girl Goyle thing…I have never heard of that!), but seeing it from the outside makes it seem so different.  So wrong.

When we are sitting in the college bubble, putting a garbage can in front of a drunk person not only seems normal, it seems responsible. But to an outsider, it is ludacris.

To a college student, grinding up next to someone at a college party is the universal sign for interest. But to an outsider, it is almost barbaric.

And how many girls have you seen giving impromptu lap dances to friends at a party? Or making out with some completely random guy at a party for 10 minutes before heading back to her friends? Or blacking out for a night only to get up the next day to do it all again.

It’s all normal, standard and expected as part of the college experience, but it all seems so shameful when seen through the eyes of someone else. I mean, stop and think about it for a minute: why do people to Keg Stands? And why do we devote so much energy into bouncing a quarter into a glass? And why are we so consumed with sticking our tongues into random people’s mouths in a dirty, stinky basement?

College is supposed to be preparing us for the real world, but how often do you think professionals judge their peers based on their performance in a case race?

How did we get here and is it something we should be ashamed of, or just another case of older people just not getting us? Should we care? And, more importantly, have you ever done a Girl Goyle?!

You may have made it through Welcome Week without any run-ins with the campus police (congrats!), but you still have plenty of opportunities to meet them up close and personal.

There are going to be many times this year and well into your college career that you will find yourself surrounded by alcohol. And, naturally, you are going to want to partake. Just beware–while you are navigating the university party scene, your RA’s, Campus Police, and Public Safety units are gearing up to bust underage revelers.

Here are some tips on how you can avoid getting written up before your first semester is over.

1. Don’t act like ‘The Freshman.’

Just because you suddenly have access to alcohol, it doesn’t mean you need to consume ALL of the alcohol at once. Even if the cops are out and about, they don’t have the manpower to hunt down every single underage boozer. So, they’ll zero in on the kid stumbling around with a trash can on his head before thinking twice about the passive mingler. The same goes with your RA, who really doesn’t want to walk in on you peeing in the corner of elevator.

2. Beware of PDA.

True story: I was once stumbling across campus with a guy I liked, and was pretty much all over him. I was stopped by a Public Safety brigade, who proceeded to quiz me: Did I know this guy? Where were we going? While I insisted that he was a friend, one of the officers interrupted with “You’re obviously intoxicated and we want to make sure you’re not going to make a bad decision tonight.” Ouch. (Editor’s Note: Where were those guys when I was making out with the guy with the tats?)

Luckily, they let us continue on our way, but the situation could have easily ended badly. This anecdote should be a lesson to guys, too. I’m sure my friend was mortified when the Public Safety peeps pegged him as a date rapist. But, just like the crazy, drunken antics mentioned above will red flag a drunk college student, a pair of horny kids who can’t make it back to the dorm room will also raise the suspicions of the University 5-0.

3. Be careful with your Fake.

If you have someone who is of age that can make a beer run for you, don’t even try to buy your own booze. At my school, all of the campus liquor stores had walls covered with confiscated fake ID’s. It’s a lot easier to get served at a bar or restaurant than it is to purchase booze from the store. FYI.

Still, you need to research the bars you attempt to get in to. Everyone at my school knew which bars would let in the worst fakes, which states made for the worst fakes, etc. I once had a fake ripped up by the manager of a new campus bar, because they were on the lookout for New York ID’s after being watched closely by the Po.

One more little tale: I knew a girl who got fined because she left her wallet at a gas station, and somehow, the cops found her fake ID in it. If a cop sees you with a fake for any reason, it can constitute fraud. Just food for thought.

4. Keep it inconspicous.

If you are walking to a party, don’t crack open a Natty Ice on the street. Don’t fill a Coca-Cola bottle with vodka. And don’t help a friend carry a case of beer if you are a minor. In many states, you can’t even handle alcohol if you are a minor. So if the cops are scouting out the liquor store, and card you and your of-age friend as you drag a shopping cart full of Patron to your car, you might get in trouble, even if you’re stone-cold sober and the bottles are unopened.

Even if you are trying to hide the libations you are hauling to the party, be careful. Ironically, backpacks scream “hidden alcohol,” especially when you are en route to a quad party on a warm Saturday evening. The cops may ask you open your bag, and having 30 beers fall out might put a damper on your weekend.

5. Stay current on campus news.

If there are four bars on campus, and three of them have been raided in the past month, you might want to lay low in order to avoid a sting operation on the fourth bar. Try to catch wind of any rumors that Tequila Tom’s might get raided.

Of course, if you are friendly with the bar staff, they might look out for you as well, because they want to save their own ass as much as you want to save yours. I’ve been flat out told by bouncers that they couldn’t let me in because they anticipated a raid; a year later, those same bouncers planned an “escape route” through the kitchen for the only girl in our group who had yet to hit the big 2-1.

6. Don’t advertise.

This goes along with watching your behavior and being mindful of your fake ID, but it’s the number one reason a minor will get busted. If you’re drinking in your room, don’t leave bottles and cans strewn about for your RA to see. Don’t display your shot glasses and your funnel. Many schools today even have rules that no alcohol-related decorations (posters, etc) may be displayed in “dry” dorms.

Just being alert to the fact that many people on campus are looking out for underage drinking can help you make smart decisions. It’s really not difficult to evade the disciplinarians at your school, and before you know it, you’ll be passing down your fake ID to your younger siblings and telling them to use it wisely. Take your time to get to know your campus and it’s policies. You have four years of partying awaiting you, so there’s plenty of time to tune up your beer pong skills.

Whether it was the mimosa I’d sip on Monday morning before class, blind-eyed to my roommate’s disapproving glares, or spiking my Coke with a little nip of rum in the dining commons at lunch to my friends’ bemusement, I’d just smile real big and cluck, “It’s five o’clock somewhere guys! Loosen up!”

Alright so maybe my tendencies slightly resemble that of Sully, the homeless alcoholic on the corner block who’s always singing Ace of Base off-key — But hey! Cheers to being young and reckless! At least he ‘saw the sign’…for happy hour.

Either way, such tendencies made it no surprise at all that I found myself in a bar (Thank you trusty fake ID!) this past Friday getting some drinks with a friend. After a hard week of internship pandemonium, a stiff drink in the city was just the cure.

The clock had just struck 6 PM and I was feeling a little tipsy when this cute guy sat down next to me at the bar. We got to talking (or maybe it was slurring) and I felt like I really hit it off with “Ben.” It wasn’t until we’d exchanged numbers and began to chat throughout the week that I found out Benny Boy was 29 years old.

I threw around the number in my head… twenty-nine…hmmm. So one less than the thirty pack of Bud Light I crushed during that frat party luau last October? I did the math. Eleven years older than me. I sighed and did what any sane eighteen-year old would do… I told him I was twenty.

Alright, I know, starting off in a lie is not always so smart…but come on. To a twenty-nine year old, eighteen is practically infantile. He probably wouldn’t know whether to buy me a drink or a pacifier! The point is, he said he still wants to see me again and that my age didn’t bother him…which led me to question (Besides the obvious, why can’t this dude get a girl his own age?), is older better?

Many girls would roar a resounding yes, older is better. He’s apparently more experienced, more mature, he knows what he wants. Even better…what you want and how to give it to you.

Really, this is an age old question that all women tend to agree and disagree on based on their own personal experiences, is older really better?

NBC’s new show aims to answer just that. Age of Love premieres Monday, June 18th. The show puts one (lucky) guy, tennis pro Mark Philippoussis in the middle of a group of 20-something bombshells and 40-something knockouts, to figure out, does age really make a difference?

As an avid Bachelor fan I can’t help but make some connections…my girlfriends and I never got over the fact that Andy didn’t give Amber a rose because she was 23. So we might’ve spat and screamed at the TV a little too loudly — the campus police were phoned, but I shouldn’t admit that.

So while Mark struggles with the painfully difficult task of wining and dining, hot tubs and romance all in the name of polygamy, I’ll just sit here and hope my fake doesn’t let me down on my date with Ben. Twenty, so that means I’m gonna’ be a junior…right?

So, I got a fake ID. I was lucky enough to inherit an actual old ID of a friend’s after she turned 21. While my friend and I look alike, she is 25 and 5’9. And yet, her ID has worked flawlessly time and time again, even when I don’t wear my seven – inch heels. How does it work, you ask? I follow a few basic steps:

The most important thing when using a fake is to have confidence. Exude it. Embody your fake ID. Relinquish your real identity and go with the card. If it says you’re 5’9 and you’re really 5’3, be 5’9 in spirit. My dad always said, “if you act tall, you are tall.” Apparently that adage rings true for getting into bars, among other things.

Also, travel as lightly as possible. I don’t mean that you should carry a clutch (which you should anyway), just avoid traveling in a large group. Alone or with one or two friends, you’re much less offensive to a bouncer.

It always helps if you’re a girl in the first place, but be a girl – boy scout. Have your fake at the ready. Don’t be afraid to look the bouncer in the eye. Be sincere with your false identity. Smile, nod, say thank you, step aside. And what to do if they take your ID? First of all, if you worry about them taking it, they probably will. So don’t even think about it. But if they do, let it go. It wasn’t meant to be.

Lastly, share the wealth. Once you cross the threshold into legality, pass your ID down to someone less fortunate, along with these guidelines to proliferate good times for all.