Here are 5 Things to Know About Being Home for Thanksgiving:

“Honey, why are you sitting in your room with a bottle of Cherry Burnett’s and that T-Pain song on repeat?”

Okay, so Mom probably doesn’t know who T-Pain is.  And she probably also doesn’t know what pre-gaming looks like.  Meeting up with high school friends for a little reunion?  Avoid the sticky questions by taking your pre-game out of the parentals’ line of vision.

“Umm…will your friend be spending the night?”

Your childhood bedroom is not built from the same soundproof cinderblock walls as your dorm.  It’s also located in your parents’ house.  But you just found out that the geeky guy from senior statistics turned into a total babe during college and he totally wants to hook up with y-o-u!  Play on, player…but not at home.

“Now, your Uncle Melvin and I were wondering what you’re going to do with a degree in…philosophy?”

As you join hands and give thanks for the bountiful feast sitting on your Thanksgiving table, try to have a little patience with your relatives.  Their insistence that liberal arts majors can’t make a steady living are really just concerns for your well-being.  When you’re clutching the big turkey-cutting knife, repeat that to yourself.

“I’ll buy you a box of Sour Patch Kids if you come to the movies with me.”

Guess what?  Little siblings can be cool, especially if you’re stuck at home for a long weekend without any friends nearby.  Round up the troops and take them to see a movie or to grab a soda (with or without vodka, depending on their age).

“Didn’t we call you mouth-breather in high school?”

If you’re without siblings (or if they’re too cool for you), don’t ignore the people you might not have hung out with in high school.  “Wanna grab a drink?” is a universally understood phrase, especially during the stressful holiday season.

Why are you excited to go home for Thanksgiving? Tell us below and be automatically entered to win a $50 giftcard to BustedTees (only the FUNNIEST shirts ever made). That $50 is good for TWO t-shirts or one awesome MonsterHoodie. We’ll randomly draw a winner on Wednesday, November 24th and announce it on Facebook and Twitter.

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CONTEST CLOSED!
Congrats to Kia for bringing home the bacon! Can’t wait to see what she buys!

I came into college with a well thought-out plan of what I wanted to do with my life. I wanted to go to film school, live in Los Angeles, be a writer for television and maybe one day direct movies.

I never figured a boyfriend into my whole equation.

So now that I have one it feels like I have to somehow stick to my plan and ambitions while figuring in someone else’s. It’s MUCH harder than it sounds.

I’m from a medium sized city that was boring as hell growing up. I couldn’t wait to go to a big college in a big city to get away. I like being busy, I like having a lot of people to befriend, and I love being so close to Austin’s famous sixth street and live bands. I’ve always been a city girl and I want to stay a city girl. Matt, on the other hand, is a homebody. He’s from a small city and would much rather go back to live there (or somewhere like it) after college. He hates big cities because the driving is too dangerous, crime is high, and he is very content staying at home every night. Even though we’re in the same major, he wants to work at small town TV stations while I want to work in Hollywood.

Big difference in opinions…so what do we do about it?

I bet you’re thinking that this is supposed to be the part where I shed my somewhat wise opinion on the matter, but honestly, I don’t know what to do either. I want to be my own woman but if I’m going to stay with Matt the rest of my life (and that’s my plan) there’s going to have to be some sacrifices. It comes with the territory. And these sacrifices aren’t even something I mind. Yeah, when I started out on this journey I had big, lofty goals of Hollywood, but things have changed and now I’ve got something else (something wonderful) to consider in my planning.

I’ve laid the ground rules out and Matt and I have come to a few conclusions. He’s agreed to put my career first because he can pretty much work anywhere with what he wants to do. That means that it’s up to me to choose which city works best for me and he’ll make it work. That being said, I’m not going to force LA down Matt’s throat knowing how he feels about it, so I’m going to look everywhere but LA first.

And that’s where we’re at. He’s making concessions for me and I’m making concessions for him. We’re both holding onto our futures and our plans, they’re both just a little different than how we first imagined them. And I don’t know how this is all going to work, but it’s working for now and that’s all that really matters.

Anyone out there got some advice for people in this sort of situation? Have you given up your future to follow someone else? Has someone done that for you? Share!

My future is totally effed!

College Life. A show not worth watching. This is fact. I could list off a million better things to do with those 30 minutes. Like listing off a million better things to do with those 30 minutes. Or listing all the reasons why I’m so glad I did not have a camera following me around in college.

Since it takes place at my Alma Mater – University of Wisconsin – I always envision the kind of crazy fun I would have brought to the show if it was around while I was in college. I would have ROCKED the over-priced Juicy Couture socks off that show. (Really, Juicy Couture SOCKS?)

But let’s face it:  had I broadcast those best four years on national television, I would have had a lot of explaining to do to my Grandma. And my dentist. And my mailman. And I probably wouldn’t have a job. And then there is always that chance that an annoying nickname would be made up for me by Perez or some other media blogger. Or that MTV would force me to re-create my fights with those long awkward stares and silences that just make everyone uncomfortable.

So instead of watching College Life (or working out, cooking, doing my laundry, or catching up on my reading), I chose to spend my time making a list of the reasons why I am SO happy that I never had the chance to even consider going on it.

* Every year in Madison, the first Saturday of May is known as Mifflin Street Block Party. This goes way back to the days of yore.  To the days when kegs first began and someone thought it was a good idea to fill an entire street with kegs. Police are there by the hundreds – not to arrest you, but to cheer you on. Except after I hit up all the houses on the block, I dropped my phone. In a Sewer. And the police were more interested in the keg stands down the street than helping me get my phone.

So with a slew of drunkies cheering my name like I was JT about to take the stage at Madison Square Garden, we lifted that sewer cover.  I stretched my arm out like Stretch Armstrong (a miracle almost rivaling when Moses split the sea) and I got my phone back. Which really was a miracle because I lost my camera the year before and couldn’t imagine calling my parents again telling them of another technological mishap.

Had I been on TV, though, they would have known about that, my underage drinking, and why my purse smelled like hot garbage after that.  And it would not have been pretty.

* Unfortunately, the facts that follow are 100% true: I had a crush. A big time crush. He liked to drink. A Lot.  He got drunk. He wanted to drive. He finally got his keys and tore down the street towards his car. His friends, too busy at an A-bar, didn’t care to go after him. But someone did. And that someone was me.

I chased said crush down the street in my heels and ran faster and more embarrassingly than the way Phoebe ran on Friends. While running, my boobs popped out over my tank. And they stayed there for a good while. Flashing EVERYONE on a very main street on campus.  A very out of breath me then tried to stop him from getting in his car. I failed. Conceding, I turned to walk home. And then tucked my boobs back into my tank-top.

Other times I was so happy to not have a camera around:
* The countless times abroad I stepped in dog/horse sh*t and got it all. over. my. Uggs.
*The time I drank too much Franzia and was asked to leave the bar for being sick in the bathroom.
* The fact that I drank Franzia at all.
*The time I thought it was a great idea to dye my very dark brown hair BLONDE in Italy.
* My abroad trip to Amsterdam.
* The time freshman year I was so overly PMS-y that when I went to talk to my TA, I ended up BAWLING in her chair. I then stopped at McDonalds on the way home, got a kids meal and sat on my bed in french-fry heaven. I did however get an A on my next paper…
*Any time I was trying to throw some game at a guy. Seriously, no one needs to see that. No one.
* That one time I came home late night, tore apart everything in the kitchen, woke up the next morning clutching a two liter bottle of orange soda with pizza sauce on my chin and chocolate on my cheek.

Oh wait - did I say one time? Yeah, by one time I  actually mean every Thursday, Friday and Saturday for FOUR YEARS.  Who needs a camera to add 15 pounds when late night pizza does the same exact thing?

The truth is, college is best lived when no one’s watching. Or when the only people watching are the ones in the trenches with you. Facebook photos are bad enough – I don’t need video documentation of the most 4 debaucherous years of my life.

I think last night might have been the best episode of Tough Love yet. In fact, I’m ready to say it might be some of the best TV I’ve seen since Bromance (but then again, I clearly have no standards). Watching that episode sent me on a roller coaster of emotion and since the shades on my window were open and the people across the street can see into my place, they would have seen this:

Me laughing.
Me staring at the screen in shock.
Me laughing really loud (this is probably when Taylor was talking; that bitch is funny).
Me eating snacks.
Me plucking my eyebrows during the commercials.
Me picking my jaw up off the floor.
Me screaming at the TV.

Steve’s idea to bring the girls’ past and present together into one seriously awkward dinner party was deliciously brilliant. Of course, I wouldn’t have wanted to be a part of that, but it was pretty awesome to watch. Especially a few select ladies:

Natasha: I always found this girl to be incredibly boring. She was what I like to refer to as “tofu,” because she has no flavor of her own and only picks up the flavors around her. Last night, though, I learned that the girl has some major flava…and she probably tastes like whiskey.

Natasha did what any shy, uncomfortable girl would do when she’s faced with her immature Indian ex boyfriend and a perfectly nice pretty boy in one place: she hit the bar. Hard. And then she not only embarrassed herself, but she called the guy a d-bag on national television. I felt for her – we’ve all dealt with awkward situations by getting completely sh*t-faced – but watching her left me feeling so uncomfortable. Sorta like watching Meet The Parents. Or a train-wreck.

Jacklyn: So her Texas ex and her California stud muffin are in the same place. And then Jodi gets involved and starts trying to “fix” things. Awkward? Yes. Do I feel bad? I’ll put it this way: No.

That girl gets to make out in a hot tub with the hottest guy ever and I get to sit home alone on Sunday nights with a bowl of granola and a cup of tea living vicariously through her. I feel bad for me. And I want a Brock of my very own.

Arian: There is so much to say about Arian last night that I really don’t know where to start. Birth would probably be a good place, considering the mother that she comes from. Now, I totally understand a mother siding with her daughter (even when she gets totally wrong information), but calling my boyfriend someone a tool as an adult woman is just despicable. And then laughing about your daughter being a total whore and explaining it as “she’s just like me, she just takes it one step further” totally explains that unstable, insecure and promiscuous daughter you’ve produced.

After watching Arian break down about getting in the hot seat and then throwing her suitcases down the stairs, I’m a little worried about Steve’s safety. Homeboy needs some serious protection (and I’d be happy to assist). But now she’s gone…and probably humping every guy in L.A., so Steve is free to give his attention to drunk Natasha, annoying Jessa, and the rest of the ladies of the house.

So much drama. So much amazingness.
And when did Taylor get so damn lovable? I think I might want her as my new BFF (no offense to my current BFF)!

So, what are vision boards?
Vision Boards put your thoughts on paper, and force you to sit down and really evaluate what you want for yourself in the future – be it tomorrow or 2 years from now. And they stop you from going down a path you don’t really want. Not to mention looking at those images every day is a constant reminder of your dreams and goals and makes you that much more motivated to work towards making them a reality.

You can make them big or small. Mini vision boards are great for smaller goals. I have a mini vision board in my kitchen, which reminds me of my goal to stay healthy whenever I’m reaching for the pizza takeout menus. And I have one over my desk, filled with images and words that remind me of my long term academic goals so I don’t stray when I should be studying.

And then there are the biggies – a vision board for your life, filled with what you want to achieve in many aspects of your future: school, career, love, dreams….anything.

How do you make a vision board?
The best part of Vision Boards is the fun you have putting it together. (Oh, and down the road when you fulfill all your life’s goals and dreams…) It’s like art class, only you don’t have that weird Miss Lippy teacher breathing down your neck. Just start saving up some magazines and wait for that perfect rainy Sunday afternoon to put your vision down on poster board. Here are some tips:

1. Start pulling out images, words and quotes from magazines as you’re looking through them and save them in a file for when you make your board. Could be your dream house, your favorite inspiring quote or a picture of someone you want to meet whose inspired you (hello, Jason Segel; you’ve inspired me to want to – um – date you).

2. Make a list of what you REALLY want. I mean sure, we’d all like 12 pairs of Chanel flats but is that really vision-board-worthy? Sit down and write out what you really want for yourself, your career, where you live, who you’re surrounded by, etc.

3. Buy some Coarkboard, a thick poster board, or a pretty frame to put it in. This will make it more apartment decor and less 7th grader collage. And it really would look awesome over your couch, bed, or desk.

4. Don’t be afraid to throw on dates that you want things to happen by! Sounds crazy but as the saying goes, “what you think about, you bring about”

5. I like the idea of a few “themed” vision board -  one for physical/mental health, one for career, one for love, one for random stuff you want (Chanel flats totally approps here!). Breaking the visions down will allow you to really focus in on one area that is particularly important to you.

6. Don’t let others who laugh at you for doing this bring you down. Because they will. But they are just judgemental or dumb or people who suck at life. People who will look at you in awe when your life is falling into place and they are still lost souls looking for some direction.

Well, it’s real.

Eight college students from Madison, Wisconsin were each given cameras and were told to film their college life. The footage would then be used as part of the show on MTV.

When I first heard about the show, I was very curious.

Would this be an extended version of True Life?
Would they edit out any illegal activity?
Who would actually agree to film themselves getting trashed at a frat party where they would possibly have a drunken make-out session with some random person in their Stats class and have the whole world watching it?

What? Just me?

MTV is hoping that the absence of a camera crew will give the show a real edge. No makeup crew, no one shoving a camera in your face as you try to escape from your ex (cue “The Hills”), no scripts. This would be real.

I’m just not sure how I feel about it. (Apparently MTV wasn’t so sure either as it was supposed to premier two weeks ago and never did.) On the one hand I think it would be awesome to follow some real college kids around, but at the same time, is MTV just exploiting them for their own gain? Do this kids even realize the implications of putting their whole life on camera for the world to see? What if a potential employer is watching the show?

MTV has been known to have a reputation of “editing” in a way that makes things happen that never really did all in the name of entertainment. Who knows how this “real footage” will be cropped?

I guess we’ll all find out tomorrow night at 10:30.
I know I’ll be watching, will you?

It’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt. And in the game of Bad Habits, you will always come out a loser. As I laid in a tanning bed, I thought about how this bad habit was going to affect me in the long run. Even though I love the immediate benefits of this vice (golden, sun-kissed skin!), I can’t help but worry about my future as a leather-skinned freak. Is the bronze skin of today worth the skin cancer of tomorrow? Let’s examine the dangerous games we play and weigh whether the consequences are worth the benefits:

Tanning

Why We Do It: I am addicted to the healthy glow I get from taking a 20 minute nap in my favorite tanning bed! I feel more relaxed, have less acne, and generally feel less self-conscious. When I’m feeling confident, I can stand up straighter, smile bigger, and show off my legs without feeling embarrassed. I feel like confidence enhances my life and I don’t want to go through my heyday without it.

Why We Shouldn’t: The reality is that, while I may feel cool and confident in my 20′s, I may be hitting up the dermatologist through my 30′s and beyond. If you expose yourself to tanning beds before age 35, your risk of developing melanoma increases 75%! Not only will I be spending my health insurance on removing cancerous or suspicious growths, I’ll be looking in a mirror at wrinkles and sagging skin. So, is the confident glow I see today going to be worth the leathery cancer-face in my future?

Drinking

Why We Do It: I may be of the non-drinking persuasion, but that doesn’t mean I don’t see why others choose to do it. Alcohol loosens you up in social situations and relaxes you after a stressful week of classes. A rousing game of quarters can bring a group of people together and help you forget about that exam you may have bombed.

Why We Shouldn’t: Unfortunately, not too many college students know when to stop before getting out of control. Did you know that 31% of college students meet the criteria for a diagnosis of alcohol abuse? Each year, 1,700 students die from alcohol related causes and over 719,000 will suffer from consequences such as injury, assault, rape and unprotected sex. Drinking one too many is not only terrible for your health and safety, but what about those embarrassing pictures of you on Facebook that Jerkface refuses to take down?! When you decide to drink at a party, you may spend 3 hours enjoying yourself, but think ahead to what the consequences might be.

Smoking

Why We Do It: Nicotine creates that feel-good sensation, calming nerves in the way that adrenaline would during a terrifying public speech. After a long day of stressing out, girls reach for the cigs to chill and shake the anxiety. Some have even fallen for the myth that smoking will help you lose weight. Smoking is also considered a fun social activity that brings people together as they stand outside the smoke-free bar recounting what so-and-so just did with that blow up doll and a bottle of chocolate syrup.

Why We Shouldn’t: You may feel like that first puff is stripping away all your worries, but that’s just the endorphins talking. After that nicotine leaves your system an hour later, your problems will still be there except now you’ll have another one: poor health. And don’t think that smoking is a great alternative to getting a bod like Giselle! Once that nicotine raises your heart rate, blood pressure and labors your breathing, you won’t last two minutes on the treadmill. In fact, smoking will eventually increase your levels of bad cholesterol, damaging your arteries just like that Double-Double Burger you’ve been craving since Friday. Not to mention cancer, the stench, the expense and addiction!

Casual Sex

Why We Do It: Women have fought for centuries against the double standard and today is the first era that sexual freedom and expression has finally reached near equality. If we meet a hot guy, we can hook up and never have to call him back (especially if dude has some rank breath and a collection of anime porn mags). Some girls may sleep with a guy because they are horny, bored, lonely, drunk, like him, or want attention. A swift roll in the hay can make a girl feel empowered and desired.

Why We Shouldn’t: Aside from any moral repercussions, casual sex can reek havoc on your body and state of mind! One in four college women have an STD, but only 10% of them know it. Look around your classroom one day…several girls sitting around you will be afflicted with one of these diseases and not even know it! Makes you want to remind all your girlfriends about carrying condoms, doesn’t it? Not only can hooking up increase your chances of being a regular at the gynecologist, but it can depress you too! Having a heat-of-the-moment night may seem like a blast, but what happens if you really like the guy and he doesn’t call? Biologically, women are hardwired with oxytocin to create a bond after intercourse. If this bond is broken, it can make it harder for us to trust guys and still feel good about ourselves.

So many choices, so much to think about.

Are you able to weigh the benefits of your habit with its consequences? Have you found a successful method of changing your ways? Bottom line, do you think indulging in vices today is worth harming your future?

I recently had the pleasure and delight of meeting you while I dined during my Spring Break. I had planned on enjoying a simple dinner with friends, so you can imagine what a fabulous surprise it was to discover that you were not only a waiter, but also a career advisor and stock market analyst. At first you played coy by just taking our drink orders and delivering our food. Don’t get me wrong, you did a stupendous job as a waiter, but you didn’t really start to shine until the small talk began.

It started slow – hometowns, hobbies, and colleges. But then we when we got to majors, your true expertise came out. You asked around the table what everyone was studying. Psychology, English, Sociology. Then I said my major, communications. Your mouth dropped open and you threw your tray up into the air.

“Communications!?!?!? There’s no future in that.”

I managed to restrain myself and not get into the real intricacies of my major within my communications school. I clapped my hand over my mouth to stop myself from shouting out, “You’re a 42 year old waiter working at an amusement park. There’s no future in that.”

And everything would have progressed normally from there (minus your lack of a tip), except you felt the need to keep talking. “Now sociology, that’s a solid major, you can go far with that, but communications, aw man, good luck finding a job.” I’m used to people thinking communications is a joke major, but I will absolutely not accept a statement about sociology being a better major for future careers. Unless people-watchers start getting paid, I’m not really sure where exactly that degrees goes besides grad school applications.

But it was my spring break and I was determined not to do anything but stay relaxed. So I let you keep talking as I silently bent a metal spoon in half under the table.

“The market’s so bad right now and it’s not getting better, economy’s in the toilet, you’re never getting a job.” Really? Did you really think that I was unaware of the economic situation right now? I guess you didn’t. Because you put on your CNBC hat and kept talking. By the time I finished my dinner you had informed me that we are in some kind of situation called a recession, I should look into other majors, and my basketball team had a big game tonight. I can’t lie. I did appreciate that final fact. Since the game turned out to be somewhat history-making.

Finally you cleared our plates all on one arm and left. And I appluad you for that. I could never balance more than one plate on my arm, let alone seven. So therefore I would never try to give you advice on your job as a waiter. And in exchange, I would greatly appreciate it if you would stick to dispensing napkins instead of career advice from now on. I know how hard it’s going to be after graduation without everyone from my waiter to mailman telling me.

I’m going to cry into my pillow now.

Best,

Jenni

In some ways, I like the unclear path. I am taking classes because they sound interesting, not because they will help me complete a major. I am learning just because I want to, and my grades are just because I want to try my best, not because I know I am looking for a certain grad school or want to impress future employees. For all I know, I could be studying subjects which will be completely irrelevant to my future. So I have no pressure.

Except, I still have pressure. In some ways, it’s even more than I had in high school. Sure, it’s not like I know I have to get a certain GPA and do certain activities to get into college. But now that I’m here, I can’t believe there’s no more plan. I am the kind of person who plans out her entire future—not minute-by-minute or a 10-year-plan, more like a general idea of what’s to come– but now I have no concept of past college. All my life, I knew I was going to go to graduate high school and go to college. Now I’m here, and I can check that off the list.

What’s next? Grad school? An internship? A job? All I’ve ever done is be a student. I am good at that; I can study, write essays and take tests. I envy my friends who know what they want to be. One studies political science, so she wants to go into politics. One has a knack for design and math, and he’s planning on being an engineer.

I just like learning Spanish. But no, I don’t want to be a teacher, and right now I don’t think translating sounds that wonderful. I like writing, but I’m not betting on that being a life-long career. In fact, I like most of the subjects I learn, but none link directly to a career which catches my eye.

So here I am, one semester down, seven to go. And then what? Well, I guess I’ll figure that out soon, hopefully. But for now, I’ll settle for an undeclared student with no plans whatsoever except one part of her 10-year-plan: start planning one.

But this semester I just can’t make myself seem to care about my classes.

I spent all my ten-minute syllabus lectures twitching to leave while glaring at the girl who thought it was okay to ask questions about the professor’s font preferences (really? is that really essential information right now?). I bought one five-subject notebook and started using an old Trapper Keeper folder that I found at home for all my handouts. I’m not even exactly sure where I even found this Trapper Keeper because the fun facts on the inside folds include a list of the presidents and ends with President Clinton 1993- ___. The only other things I have at home that are that old are an empty pog case and a Minnie-Mouse diary with one entry that reads, “Woke up, watched tv. Urkel very funny today!”

I can’t make myself do any work and I’m acting like its senior year of high school all over again. Except senior year of high school I was into a college, my grades didn’t matter, and the teachers totally knew it. But this time around I have no idea what I’m doing next year, my grades still matter (I’ll be applying to law school after one year of trying to make it in a creative field paid in opinionated blog commenters) and my professors are still assigning tons of work that will eventually lead up to midterms and exams.

It’s only the second week of classes and I already find myself procrastinating with watching bad sitcom reruns (I’m talking bad like The Nanny bad) and playing Time of your Life while looking at Facebook pictures from the past four years. And since it appears that there are rules against letting me take all my classes pass-fail, it looks like I’m going to have to come up with a lot more procrastination methods for the next few months.