[Everyone’s got a morning after story (though some are WAY worse than others) and we wanna hear yours! Send it over to us and we’ll post it – anonymously, of course – right here!]

Thanksgiving is a wonderful opportunity to come together with your family and give thanks for the abundance of gifts you’ve received over the seasons: health, happiness, togetherness, discovering that sandwich place on campus that’s open until 3a.m. on weekends.

For one night, calories (and there are many) don’t count.  There’s no guilt when reaching for that second piece of pie because you’re pretty sure your fat cousin Maggie is on her sixth slice.  Gravy is meant to be consumed over everything.  Thin slices of turkey are for novices, so you, practically a freakin’ pilgrim, want the whole dang leg.  Diets can resume tomorrow.

My favorite part of this sacred holiday, however, comes when the table is cleared and the family is passed out in the living room.  It’s a subtle tradition, but one that college students the country over take quiet pleasure in every year.  What am I referring to, you ask?  Well, it’s the “I’m home with nothing to do and so are you, so let’s do each other” booty call.

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If he spends one more minute telling me to go to med school....

A special thanks to our nerdy yet totally helpful friends at Hack College for providing us with this insightful post. Check ‘em out for all your techy needs. They’re like the nerdy boyfriend you never had but always needed.

Students are gearing up to head home for Thanksgiving and winter breaks, and that means getting back into the swing of life with family–including explaining what you’re doing at school to your parents’ friends and your extended family. For some people (engineering majors and pre-med people), this is not so bad! For others, it can be a little stressful. Here’s how to handle some of the most common less-than-positive results.

“So you’re planning to go to law school?” or “A future teacher, I see!” – This one tends to be tossed at Political Science majors (and liberal arts majors in general) by people who see law school/teaching as a backup plan. This can be frustrating for people who actually do want to be lawyers or teachers, since it implies they’re following a predictable path, and for people who are interested in other things (for instance, being the next Nate Silver) it’s equally irritating. It’s best to pick your battles–if it’s someone you’re only going to see once, laugh and say, “Anything’s possible!” before finding some more eggnog.

For family members and people who will be interacting with you when you finish school, a little more explanation can be good. If you are, say yes and give a short summary of what kind of law you want to do or why you want to become a teacher. If not, something like, “Actually, no. But I am planning to try for the Peace Corps!” will usually do the trick. You want to make the point that there are other career paths than law school or teaching that you can follow. Don’t stress about one-off encounters too much, though–over the holidays it’s best to save your energies for people who you’ll be seeing again. Read More »

But which home is home?

We’ve been following Charlsie, a 2010 grad, on her journey through the post-grad life, from the big move to the big job hunt to the major “Is this real life?!” moments. And now, with fall in full swing, she’s got something else weighing on her mind.

Whether we want to believe it or not, the holidays are approaching. I know, it feels like summer just started – even though it really just ended – but the reality is that temperatures are dropping, leaves are starting to change, and before we know it, it’ll be time for turkey, presents, and busy shopping malls. Like many people, I’m left with the question of where to spend the holidays at.

In college, it was so black and white. For the holidays, I made the seven hour drive home to my mom’s for Thanksgiving break and winter break. My dad isn’t a big fan of celebrating the holidays, so whether he spent the season with my sister and me or not – it didn’t matter to him either way. So, when the holidays started to come up in discussion with my family, I immediately figured I’d go home to Atlanta.

But I can’t help but feel like I’m leaving someone else behind, no matter what kind of holiday location choice I make. And since plane tickets nearly cost an arm and a legs these days, it makes things even more complicated. Really, it seems impossible to please everyone. Read More »

Thanksgiving has been over for less than 24 hours, which means that the world is already in full-fledged holiday season mode. The advent of The Season brings with it all kinds of things, some positive and some negative: major deals and awkward run-ins with high school friends, feelings of gratitude and feelings of Grinchiness, holiday nookie and ever-increasing swine flu paranoia, and so on.

It does suck that we’ve got to start thinking about time management so that we don’t totally bomb finals, even though there are a ton of more important global issues on our minds right now, such as “Is Prince William suddenly fugly?” and “How good is Taylor Swift, really?” And then there’s that new “desire drug,” something I certainly wouldn’t want to find in my stocking (…if I had a stocking).

In the midst of all this turmoil, maybe it’d be best just to focus on the positive side of The Season. Gift giving and getting, pumpkin pie, red Starbucks cups—whenever you start to get overwhelmed with everything that comes along with late November and December, try to take a deep breath and remember what’s great about the holidays. Or, you know, make a list of all the things you hate, if you think it’ll make you feel better.

[It doesn’t matter what school you go to, what state it is in, how big it is, whether it is public or private, all girls or coed…there are experiences that all college students share. No matter how crazy you think your personal situation is, it is not just you. So, let’s bring it all out in the open. Right here. Because you are not alone - we’ve all been there before.]

So, you’re home for the holidays. God it feels good! No more exams, no more papers – just pure bliss for the next few weeks. Just you, the couch, your home friends and a fridge stocked with all your favorite foods.

The first few days are great: you sleep late, lay around all day and don’t change out of your pajamas until it’s time to meet an old friend for dinner, or run out to get your hair cut (because you would NEVER trust one of those people on campus to do it).

But by day three, the novelty of being home starts to wear off. Your mom starts yelling at you to make your bed or hang up your jacket. She starts waking you up at 10 am with the familiar, “you already wasted half the day!” She starts pestering you about your grades, about when you are going to maybe get a part-time job, and about your love life. Read More »

Okay, let’s get real. Last week we gorged ourselves with turkey, cranberry sauce and stuffing. And although it was pretty trytophantastic, this week we are all probably feeling a little post-pavo regret. If that’s not bad enough, finals are coming (and if you’re already done for the semester/quarter – I seriously envy you!). That means we are one step closer to our trusted pal winter break.

At first, it’s exciting to wash your hands clean of campus. But we all know that the big break also equals lots of relatives, lots of bar-hopping and LOTS of food. So, in order to prepare you for the biggest belly-bustin’ season of the year, we put together a workout mix perfect for the lazy days of winter. Seriously, we all know, goin’ home for the holidays means giving up your all-access pass to the gym – and losing all motivation to do anything but watch Scrubs re-runs. Consider this College Candy’s holiday present.

Put down the remote & check out the mix here.

[Have a song on your workout playlist that you think should be included? Leave it in the comments & we will add it to the mix!]