When I was little, I used to grab those big light pink seashells and press them against my right ear. I would close my eyes and hear the soft hums of the ocean. After a few moments, I would look up in the sky and wonder how on EARTH the ocean could fit into one little shell. What forces were allowing one of the biggest things on earth to speak through a pretty oceanic form of calcium??? How DID the ocean DO that??

I wish life was still that simple. Or not simple, whatever.

Now when I listen to a shell, I laugh silently inside – unable to go to the place where I was so long ago. Little, unemployed and…sheltered. After moments of pressing the shell so hard against my ear, it started to itch – I realized I was 23 years old and listening to shells in my little cousin’s bedroom during a wedding shower…

Anyway, I was extremely inspired by my shell discovery. I’ve been getting into a bad habit lately of being unable to go past what I think I’m capable of. Let me explain. When I was in college, I was the shell. Ok, when you stop laughing and snorting snot all over your keyboard, please keep reading. Read More »

[Life after college is hard. Like really hard. But it's not so hard that you should curl up in a ball and watch E! marathons all day long. Not only are we covering the experience from a first-hand perspective, but we're now covering it from a how-to-survive-it perspective. Every week, we're going to bringing the best advice to getting through your first post-grad year. Because sometimes, your grandmother's "just go to law school" advice just doesn't cut it.]

I know how the scenario goes. They put that college diploma in your hand on graduation day, you walk across the stage with your head held high and you think, “This is it. I made it.” Fast-forward to two months later, you’re sweating bullets selling ice cream cones at the town pool’s snack bar. And they said you needed a degree for this? Read More »

College brings a whole lot of new experiences, new lessons and new people. But it seems that no matter what school you go to there are same characters on every campus. The frat house groupie, the sensitive all American, the cool girl, and the Unhinged Coed.

Once upon a time, at college orientation, you met someone who spent her weekend running around meeting everyone. Even the orientation leaders, academic advisors…and cafeteria workers. This person was friendly, funny, flirty. Then classes began, parties were under way and, whoa mama, it was…girl gone wild (annoying)!

Allow me to introduce you to the Unhinged Coed.

The Unhinged Coed is an attention hog (minus the “g”) to the umpteenth power. She will do just about anything for someone to take a quick look or give her a quick dose of attention.

While she comes off friendly and fun at first, the Unhinged is quickly reduced to nothing more than the nuisance you turn to when you need something. Eager to please (and for people to know she’s helpful), she is always there with a book someone needs to borrow, notes when someone misses class, and a pair of lips when someone is drunk and looking for booty.

In her quest to be everyone’s friend, she ends up with a small group – usually like-minded attention seeking-wannabes themselves – who stick around her to gain “access” to the people she claims to be close with. Only she isn’t, because her quest to be known by all leaves her annoyed by most. Read More »

For this week’s Wednesday Night Encounters, we’re going to observe Men Of Few Words. Not everyone finds it necessary to go on and on about what they want in a partner. Some people enjoy eulogizing for hours about their likes and dislikes, their hopes and dreams, their “future”, but these guys aren’t interested in bogging us down with such trivial matters. In only a few small sentences, they get to the heart of the matter. They know what they want…and they want it now.

Nice. Read More »