Single. Free. Blissfully happy.

[Alright ladies, let's give a big CollegeCandy welcome (Read: raise those shot glasses!) to our new single lady! Her name is Emmy and she's a single gal living it up in Chi-town. She's hot, smart...and nowhere near ready to put a ring on it.]

Back in August, my mother and I were standing in Target debating exactly which organizational bins I would need for college when she turned to me and said, “Emmy, please don’t date anyone seriously at the beginning of college. I really don’t want you to get tied down too early.”

Alright, so this was a random topic of discussion for the Home Organization aisle of Target, but I still found myself taking my mom’s opinion seriously. After all, the woman knew her stuff when it came to under-bed storage, so surely she was a wise sage in all things relationship. The truth is, staying single for the beginning of college had been my plan anyway. I dated the same boy for the last three years of high school and being single is a relatively new experience for me. One that I am figuring out and not yet ready to give up. The breakup process was beyond painful, but now I am learning to really enjoy being a single girl. Read More »

With my midterm exams finally over, I’m taking this opportunity to do a little midterm reviewing of my own. Now seems to be the perfect time to reflect on the first quarter of my freshman year and to start looking forward to the rest of the semester, the next semester, and, well, just the future in general. As scary as that sounds.

When I first started counting down to college, I was doing so with a level of excitement you’d expect from a kid who has just eaten four bowls of sugary cereal. I couldn’t wait to get out of high school and show my stuff at an institution of higher learning, although admittedly, the idea of college itself was fairly daunting (living among 22 year-olds/life without Mommy and Daddy/doing my own laundry/etc.). Towards the end of the summer, the dream started to become a frightening reality. Was I ready? Could I handle college life? Would I get a roommate from hell?!

Then, college. Ahh, college. Orientation was definitely awkward at first, but a few weeks into school, I was absolutely loving it (and, of course, I still am, in spite of all the reading I have to do for class tomorrow). I got extremely lucky and quickly became friends with my hallmates, and as classes started, I began developing friendships with people who share my passions, understand my sense of humor, and appreciate my personal brand of insanity. Weekend movie marathons and game nights became my weekly rituals. Read More »

Of the many things I’ve learned during my first few weeks of college, perhaps the most often reinforced lesson is that Friday night + Saturday night = party time on campus. But if you’re like me and not really into the party scene, there are still tons of ways to have a great time on the weekend without resorting to the usual standby of a DVD and popcorn.

Just get creative (and a permit from public safety)!

Here are a few ideas on how to have some extraordinary (in a good way) fun on Friday and Saturday night, based on things my friends and I have done or aspire to do at some point this year. Although it’s always nice to have a plan in mind, I’ve found that the most spontaneous things end up being the most enjoyable, so don’t be afraid to just go with the flow when the sun goes down!

Screen a musical outside and have a massive sing-along

A couple of weeks ago, a program house on campus screened Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog and the musical episode of Buffy on the porch. If you’re a techie (or have friends who are), you can gather up all the theater geeks and have your own musical screening on the side of your dorm! Just be sure you have the necessary permits to do so.

Set up a bowling lane on your hall

This one’s really easy. All you need are assorted shampoo bottles/hairspray canisters and something that rolls, and there you have it – a bowling alley! If you want to raise the stakes, have a tournament for prizes, or simply for bragging rights. Not that knocking down a few bottles of shampoo with a grapefruit is that impressive, but it’s still something, I guess. Read More »

Freshman year of college, from what I’ve learned so far, is a series of firsts. Some of them are great – first 11:00 a.m. class (yay sleep!), first weekend away at school – while others simply aren’t – like your first midterm exam. But regardless of whether or not these firsts are awesome in themselves, just experiencing them is exhilarating. At what other time in your life can you call Mom and prattle on excitedly about your first time studying at the library until its 2 a.m. closing time?

Oh, wait, that just might be me.

So, my college firsts? Some of them I remember vividly, and others, not so much (but not for that reason – really, Mom, I swear!). Maybe a trip down my four-week-old college memory lane will help joggle my sleep-deprived brain.

First meal

I don’t remember what or with whom I ate, but I do recall being totally daunted by the dining hall. My school’s main dining hall has fifty billion different lines criss-crossing all over the room; while I understand the system now, on the first day, I was clueless. I’m sure wasn’t the only one stricken with trepidation, but who would openly admit feeling totally lost to a bunch of unfamiliar people? Well, now I admit it. I was paralyzed with fear by a freaking dining hall. Laugh if you must.

First reading assignment

The first assignment I read was a “short story” (i.e. a rather long piece masquerading as a short story) for my English class. Heeding my professor’s advice, I annotated the sh*t out of it, but when I was through I had absolutely no idea what I had read. A second read revealed to me that it had been some bizarre satirical story, but for a good half-hour, I was reconsidering whether or not I was ready for college. Read More »

So… it’s April of your senior year, and you’re meticulously filling out forms about your sleeping habits (why yes, you do tend to sleep at 2 AM and think 12 PM is ‘early’) and cleanliness habits to send to your future home for the next four years. Or, you’re a college freshman re-applying for housing with your dorm BFF/sorority sister/random classmate from English 101. Come June, you receive that nice envelope or automated email from Residential Life, hoping to get for what you asked for (please no early-bird neat freak!) And in that nice little slot, lies ROOMMATE: NONE. And your address happens to have an S by it.

Yup, you’re in a single. Obviously, a single room isn’t the image most conjure up when thinking about college dorms (and most freshmen aren’t lucky enough to get one), but they’re out there.

Nervous? Excited? Don’t really know what you’re getting into/how you’ll fit all your stuff into a 120 square foot box? Don’t worry; here are the pros and cons of life in a single. Read More »

Whew! It’s been three weeks since I first set foot on campus, and what a crazy three weeks it’s been! It might still be too early to tell (psh, yeah right), but I’ve come to the conclusion that college is totally awesome, and for a number of reasons.

I can also safely say that I’ve learned quite a bit about college life from my experiences so far – or at least enough to help me survive the remainder of the semester. So take out your laptops and notebooks, because there’s going to be a quiz on this stuff next week:

1. I love freedom!
For the first time…ever, really, I have the power to make my own schedule, write my own rules, and run my life the way I want to. This new-found freedom was a little overwhelming at first, since there was so much to explore on campus and only so many hours in a day, but I’ve found a comfortable rhythm that allows for flexibility when necessary. For example, I usually hit the books after dinner, but if there’s an Apples to Apples game going on in the lounge at the same time, I’m so there.

2. College dining usually sucks, but the soft serve machines rule.
Even if the food isn’t always wonderful, you can always count on the soft serve machine (and sugar cones!) to cheer you up at the end of a disappointing meal. Seriously. I want one for my room.

3. The best discussions are to be had outside the classroom.
I’ve been involved in many deeply intellectual class discussions, but nothing beats spontaneous jam sessions with my hallmates or lounging on the lawn talking about the cultural implications of Disney movies. Staying up until 3 a.m. discussing the intricacies of the universe with my friends is far more rewarding than reading the confessions of St. Augustine. (No offense, Augustine.) Read More »

In a couple of days, I will be leaving for college for the first time. No big deal, right?

Try telling that to my wobbly knees and trembling hands.

Don’t get me wrong; I’m totally excited about going to college. But, at the same time, I’m nervous as hell. My type A personality is rearing its ugly head in the form of innumerable “what ifs” and “holy sh*ts.” While most of my friends have been counting down the days with New Year’s Eve-esque anticipation, I’ve put a 24-hour ban on talking about college in my house and can hardly look at my suitcase without having a mini-freak out.

For me, it’s a combination of doubts, fears, and just plain nostalgia. Going to college is a huge deal for me, perhaps more so than it is for many of my peers. It’s my first time being away from home for longer than a five week stretch, and since I’m generally a homebody and have a very close relationship with my family, the idea of going from seeing them every day to seeing them once every few weeks is hard to deal with. Plus, I have the general anxieties that I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling: coping with the workload and stress, making new friends, living on my own.

That being said, I’m also very excited for the new opportunities ahead of me. I know that, once I get settled in, I’ll find my niche and have the best four years of my life. It may take a couple of weeks, but I’ll find my place eventually.

Do you current college students and grads have any advice for an anxious prefrosh?

Another semester looms large (almost as large as my tuition bill – hey yo!) and we’re faced with the prospect of returning to campus or, if you’re a freshman, moving into the dorms and living with someone you’ve never met before.  Stressful times, right?  Might as well crack open a couple beers (or bottles of vodka) and start breaking the ice with your new floormates.

Drinking games have long been a superb way of breaking the ice with new people (seriously, nothing sets a casual, friendly atmosphere like chugging shots at 3pm), but how do you move beyond the old favorites?  Sure, everyone loves flip-cup, beer pong, power hour, quarters and Edward 40-Hands (oh my, I do love Edward…and his crazy brother, Edward Whiskey-Hands), but if you really want to impress your cute next door neighbor, then you better bust out something creative.

Luckily for you, CollegeCandy did all the work for you.  Here, for your fall semester enjoyment, are some original and interesting drinking games.  Play with caution (and gusto!): Read More »

If you’re an incoming college freshman relying on your parents to guide you through the biggest transition of your life, you are gonna be effed. What do parents know about college?

I’ll tell you: nothing.

Who should you turn to?
The guy working at Bed Bath and Beyond?
Some old dude who puts out a college survival guidebook?

Pshhhh. What do old people know?

How about us?
You’re already here, so you obviously love us (and how could you not?!). Now it’s time to trust us and the wisdom we can impart.

We know college, because we’re in it. Right now. We know what you need to pack (costumes! Trust us!), what you need to avoid (hooking up with a prof, fo realz) and what you need to do to survive that grueling first week of college classes.

You want to know what we know? Just visit our back-to-school guide. It’s chock full of all the information you will need to go from scared pre-frosh to sexy, confident and all-knowing Queen of your campus. Yeah, we got your back. Now get out there and show that new campus who’s boss!

[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, 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 healthcare reform!) 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!]

There’s all kinds of advice out there about your freshman year, but more than what classes to take or how I should bring my own Solo cup to parties, the the biggest piece of advice I heard back then was “don’t get a boyfriend right away, play the field.” Of course, being the serial monogamist that I am, I didn’t listen. And got a boyf faster than most students unpacked their boxes. But now I have to wonder if I would have been better off if I had listened to those wise sages. There’s a definite up and down side to the first semester boyfriend, and I think we owe it to all the ladies getting ready to start freshman year to talk it out.

The temptation of the first semester boyfriend is almost insurmountable. You’re in a new place, surrounded by new people - new, attractive people – who don’t know about that time in high school when you slipped in chocolate pudding and had to walk around all day with a brown stain on your butt. All of a sudden you get to pick the kinds of classes you take, the activities you get involved in, the events you go to - which means your chances of meeting someone who’s really compatible with you is way higher than when you were just meeting guys who lived in the same school district as you. Read More »