Recently, CollegeCandy ran a post asking if our generation can really “have it all.” What we got back were some accounts of people trying to stuff as much as they could into their lives and hoping they could carry the weight for as long possible.  Sound unhealthy? Yes, and we all know it, even if we’re doing it too (and who isn’t?).

Take a breath.  I’m gonna let you into a little secret: you don’t have to. Not only do you not have to, you really can’t!  Helen Fielding, the creator of one of our favorite literary characters, Bridget Jones, says that we can’t.  During a recent speech at the Oxford Union,  Fielding cited the idea of “having it all” as a modern disease making women feel the need to live up to the images and expectations of an idealistic society that are thrown at us from all sides.  A modern disease?  Awesome.  Now we have to worry about this AND swine flu.

However, Bridget Jones certainly couldn’t do it, so why should we feel the need to overstuff our lives?  Think of all the things you love about Bridget – she’s human, she makes mistakes (awesomely hilarious mistakes!), she knows how to have a good time, she’s dedicated when it counts, etc, etc.  We love her because she is all of us!  What she definitely isn’t is a trembling, stressed-out activity freak that might collapse at any moment just because she wanted to fit just one more thing into her life… and then feel like a failure when she can’t. Read More »

Senior year in high school I was on a champion volleyball team, had a cute boyfriend, surrounded myself with fabulous friends, but did absolutely zero homework (Senioritis proved to be a seriously dangerous disease).

Freshman year in college I had decent grades, tons of extra-currics, loads of buddies, but didn’t go on a single date.

This year I worked for the newspaper, had a few flings, but also had a GPA that took a bit of a plunge.

All of this got me thinking: can you really “have it all”? Our generation has been taught over and over again that we can do anything and everything we want as long as we try, but is that really true? Is it possible to balance stellar grades, awesome friends, your fave hobbies, a significant other, and a healthy bod with only 24 hours in a day? (By the way, this is just my idea of “it all.” Yours may vary greatly.) Read More »

Effortlessly pretty, smart and popular … that’s what all of us girls have wanted to be since we hit middle school. It’s the ultimate package and everyone idolizes it, right?

Now that I’ve outgrown much of my adolescent insecurities, small-minded desires and done a little research, I’ve come to realize that there is a shitload of pressure on young girls to be perfect — look hot, get A’s, have a ton of friends … We’re told from the early age of like four that we can be anything we want to be, do anything boys can do — and we always have that in our heads to an extent.

A girl who encompasses all of this is referred to as an “Amazing Girl” according to recent NYTimes article. She’s defined as “high achieving, ambitious and confident” and she does absolutely everything: “varsity sports, student government, theater, community service.”

Although I can’t say I’ve been one to have all that, let alone be willing to juggle a bajillion things, I can remember seeming to always want it — that perfect life, where everything goes right. Read More »