My first day of Kindergarten went a little something like this: ditch mom ASAP at first sight of newer, shinier toys, touch and play with toys, disregard any and all hand-outs and shove them into my Hello Kitty bag for mom to deal with, chase boys on the playground, eat lunch surrounded by strange, future friends, sit on the circle carpet, play more games (Show and Tell!) and wait for mom to come back.

My first day of college? Well, much of the same: ditch mom and dad after they take me downtown to eat at an expensive restaurant but don’t marvel at the used, rusted bed frame, desk and chair; shove any and all syllabi materials into a folder and go back to texting on my BlackBerry, chase down the closest seat to the cutest cutie in the room (but don’t get too close, you’ll look desperate), eat lunch surrounded by strange, potential friends and wait for my final class to end to call mom and dad.

I wish I could have pressed rewind and told my six-year-old self to remember exactly how I felt on my first day of kindergarten because 12 years later I’d be retracing my steps as a freshman in college. Reason #4353453578768 why life should come with a remote. Read More »

Freshman year is an incredible experience. For many, it’s the first taste of Keystone freedom, the first foray into frat parties out into the world. You‘ll drink with meet people from all walks of life. You’ll quickly wonder how you ever survived without your newfound friends.

But be warned: for every awesome new friend that you make, you’ll find yourself face to face with an enemy. Not a “sleep with one eye open” enemy; more like a “OMG I want to gouge out my eyes whenever you come near me” type.

Here are my personal picks for people to avoid: Read More »

[Meet Margaret, a freshman at Yale. We've been checking in with her every week to see what she's doing, who she's meeting, and what new college surprises she's tackling (or freaking out about) as she embarks on the journey we call college. Or as I like to call it, the best thing since dark chocolate Reese's Peanut Butter cups.]

So I’m 3 weeks into my bright college years, and in between realizing that I have Spanish homework to do at 1 in the morning and figuring out how trash piles up so quickly when clearly I took out the garbage like, a day ago, there are plenty of Solo cups and pregaming parties to keep my thoughts occupied.

In the past year, I passed through the rookie stage of drinking. You know, getting over the fact that drinking isn’t such a big deal after all (I know some may beg to differ, which I totally respect, but step off for a sec, darlings) and then advancing into classic teen movie, drink up mode. It was like I was Cady Heron (a la Mean Girls) being de-innocentized, except minus The Plastics. There were chill house parties, high-ish quality alcohol bought by nice older siblings, and then classic senior year, I-don’t-give-a-f**k debauchery. Getting to a stage of happy drunk was part of the whirlwind of senior year and really, part of the fun. But I was good about it – no blacking out and never even vomiting.

So coming to college, I was under the impression that it would be the same, but something about drinking here just doesn’t feel settling to me. The glowy halo of happiness that surrounded drinking just totally disappeared.

I know, totally weird, right? Because, like, obviously drinking is much simpler here. There aren’t quite as many repercussions when you get caught, alcohol is pretty much readily available, and the number of boys who you would willingly drunkenly hook-up with has gone through the freakin’ roof. Read More »

College: a time of growing up, trying new things, and, of course, meeting new people. From the bitchy girl in Chem class to the hot guy from a frat party, freshman year brings a slew of different characters. While no two people share quite the same college experience, there are a few archetypal personalities that, without a doubt, can be found on a freshman floor. Read More »

Wow, August has been a steamer.  And it makes me so lazy. I can’t do anything. And I’m not kidding. I could barely make the trek to my freezer this morning to have a struggle-fest opening the wrapper off of my fruit popsicle before I proceeded to the center of my family room, turned on the fan and spread out like a star fish on the ground.

You can only imagine, then, my internal fight to read the September Issue of Glamour. It’s over 400 pages, people. You try lifting that to your face.

Whew. I needed a moment to catch my breath just from typing that. Before I pass out in a pool of sweat and melted ice cream, let’s take a moment to turn on the A/C and reflect on the hot-ass week that was.

* As quickly as Mother Nature dragged in weather that makes me feel like I’m suffocating inside of a leopard print Snuggie, she’s going to drag the blanket from under us and bring on the lovely season of fall. That also means college (!) is beginning! Lucky for us, Ben Bator (creator of my number one guilty pleasure – TFLN) fills us in on the dos and donts of college.

* And if that’s not enough to get you through them college days, we’re here to help you with your new wardrobe options and all your roommate woes.

* Speaking of college, are you ready for the shopping spree(s….you know you always forget something) with your parental units at Bed Bath & Beyond? We are. And your parents may not know what they’re getting into… Read More »

Got room for some condoms in there?

OK, so you have your bedding, your towels, and your laptop; you think you’re ready to move off for your freshman year of college. Before you go, though, there are a couple of things that a freshman might not think to bring that will make dorm life a million times easier.

Take it from me, after 2 years in the dorms, I have this down to a science. Make room in those duffels, people; there are ten more things you’re going to have to squeeze in there.

#1 Tool Box
Yes, seriously, a tool box. My freshman year roommate had a brilliant aunt who bought her a mini tool kit as a high school graduation present (it was pink and girly). We used that thing more than anything else in the room. Yes, even our TV. Your bike break? A nail fall out of that little nightstand you bought from Ikea? Your ex leave something valuable at your place and you want to smash it? (JK….sorta.) You’ll have everything you need in that little box. Guys down the hall even borrowed our tools, so it’s even a social item!

#2 Condoms
This should just be common sense. Even if you don’t plan on having sex in college, you seriously never know what will happen, so be smart and prepare! The best part is that this one you don’t really even need to buy; most schools give them away for free at the student health center, so hop on over there and stock up.

#3 Duct Tape
This one is along the same lines as #1; it pretty much fixes anything. But beyond that, there’s some awesome stuff you can do with duct tape for really cheap room decor! I’ve seen everything from duct tape vases to closet doorway “beads.” Read More »

I remember the days of running around Bed Bath and Beyond with my parents, frantically scrounging the aisle for that perfect plastic bin to stash all of my Ramen. Talk about a brutally long scene of events.  I stood in the florescent-lit aisles of so many department stores I started dreaming about shower caddies, futon throw blankets and Audrey Hepburn posters.

However, my parents were more than generous when they stashed the cart with college-goodies.  Especially food.  I think my mother thought I was going to eat all my food the first day, never have the desire/money to buy anymore and end up looking like a famished kid come Christmas.  Bless their hearts, ma and pa provided me with everything I would ever need in a my 8X8 dorm room.

And they didn’t even realize the half of it.

Although my parents made sure I had just about everything to satisfy my college-soul when I hightailed it to party-town, there are some sneaky things they didn’t even realize they’d purchased.  I’m not saying I smuggled a box of Trojans in between my binders; I’m simply stating there are some things out there your mama and papa can buy you that serve a college purpose they’ll never know or understand.

Allow me to explain.
Note: I really hope my mother never reads this. I love you, Ma! Read More »

[There are over 100 million sites on the Internet. 100 million! You might think you know about all the important ones (CollegeCandy, Gmail, Google, TFLN…), but there are thousands of other sweet sites out there (like BadDateTV; Beauty Story; and Dear Blank, Please Blank) and more showing up every day! We get it – it’s not easy or fun sifting through the crap and porn to find those gems, so we’re gonna bring the gems to you. Just sit back, kick up those feet and allow us to introduce you to the diamonds in the internet rough.]

It’s already August (I know, where did the summer go?!), and in just a few short weeks, most of you will be heading back to school.  Which means now is the perfect time to start your back-to-school shopping!  Sure, all you new freshmen will definitely have more that you need to buy than those baller upperclassmen, but even if you’ve been at school for year or two, I’m sure there’s still a few new things you’ll need to get before you move back into the dorms or that sick new off-campus party pad.

Pretty much every store has sales on back-to-school essentials this time of year, so you could just head to Bed Bath & Beyond or Walmart to pick up everything you need.  But that’s not always the best option, especially if you go to school in a major city like I did and you don’t have a car. (Or if the people of Walmart scare you…)  Let me tell you, lugging giant Target and JC Penney bags on to the NYC subway and bus wasn’t exactly easy (or fun).  The website Homeslyce, however, makes the whole process a lot easier by helping find the items you’ll need and collaborate with your roommate (or roommates) online. Read More »

Got some college questions? Unsure of a decision? Making the big college transition? Just wanna chat it up with some really awesome chics? We’ve got the girls for you. Hit them up in the comments or shoot them an email with the subject “College Q&A”! They’ve got all the answers you need, no matter who you are.

Question:
My half-sister and I (by dad) are going to the same college. My dad wants us to share a room so he can buy one TV and one fridge. Cheap. Anyways I was just wondering if I am wrong for speaking up for myself about not wanting to live in a dorm my first year of college with my sister?! I mean, come on now; first of all she annoys me, second she’s messy, and third she annoys me. As consequence for not wanting to live with my sister my dad is giving everything (TV, fridge, etc.) to her and not to me.

Am I wrong for wanting to have a good freshman year without having to bitch at my sister and sacrifice our relationship over stupid things I know for a FACT were going to argue about? Read More »

My first year of college is ending and it’s happening much. too. fast. in my opinion.  It feels like I just got here, just took my first public bathroom shower, just attended my first lecture, my first frat party. But at the same time, with the amount I’ve learned, seen and done in the past 8 months, I feel like I’ve been here forever.

My freshman year of college was a complete transition from life at home and as it’s drawing to a close, I realize that the girl taking her last final exam is very different than that girl who called her parents nightly when she first moved in. I’m an older, wiser, drunker more content version of myself, and I have my first year of college to thank for that.

Since I’ll be heading back to the parentals’ pad in a few short weeks, I thought I’d look back on everything I’ve learned during my freshman year. Turns out: I’ve learned a lot.

1. Colleges Aren’t That Giant After All
When you first arrive, your campus seems huge, filled with thousands of strangers that you don’t know, and navigating around it seems to require a GPS device.  After about a month, though, you’ll be zipping around like you’ve been there for years, and everywhere you go, you’ll see people you know.  Sometimes this is not the greatest thing, but I digress.

2. Papers will be the death of you.
Papers in high school were about the same length as papers in college for me, but for some reason, in college they are far more torturous.  For one thing, they are worth so much more of your grade and an afternoon spent in the library trying desperately to pound out the damn thing is more painful than the first time riding a spin bike.  Especially when you have distractions like Facebook, anything happening outside, and the fact that you are SO BORED YOU WANT TO FAKE A HEART ATTACK TO GET OUT OF HANDING IN THAT EFFING PAPER. Read More »