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When you’re in high school, everybody asks you where you’re going to college, and as soon as you make it there, people start asking you what you’re doing after college. For a lot of recent grads, the answer to that question is that they’re heading home to live with mom and dad… again.

There’s no shame in that. Just a couple of years ago, 20-somethings avoided moving back in with their parents at all costs, but thanks to the tough job market and bad economy, college grads are seeking out more creative ways to save money – and moving back home happens to be one of the easiest ways to cut down on costs!

But it must suck to move back in with your parents after graduation, right? Wrong. A new study by the Pew Research Center has found that the vast majority of recent grads who are living with their parents enjoy it. They’re spending more time with family, and slicing a significant chunk off their monthly budgets. We learned about this study from our friends over at Ready U, which is an awesome resource for the things you need to know about college but that isn’t taught in the classroom.. You know, like how to throw the perfect party, or, how to ask out that cute girl from class, while simultaneously learning how to balance your checkbook and mastering the monster that is the laundry room. This study, thanks to our friends at ReadyU got us thinking about some of the great advantages that come along with living at home. The money saved is a given, but there are a lot more great things about living with your parents. Check out our list of the best things about moving back in with the ‘rents. Read More »

I have a confession to make. (I really end up making a lot of those on here, don’t I?)

I’ve been in a lot of relationships. Those of every kind. Relationships that end dramatically. Relationships where he was too obsessed. Relationships where I was too obsessed. Relationships that were bittersweet and suddenly went horribly sour. Relationships where the chemistry was boiling over like macaroni bubbles on a hot burner. Relationships where the chemistry was equal to my chemistry with a wool blanket or a lampshade. Ok, fine. I’m procrastinating my confession.

I don’t think I’ve ever been in love.

I’m 24-years-old and I don’t think I’ve ever been in love.

Sure, I’ve had that high school romance where I didn’t think life would go on if we let things go. When we broke up and I was 16, I remember falling to my knees and crying. It was that dramatic. I want to pass that up as innocent love, the kind that you swiftly get over with time and look back at it like a small blip on your life radar. Read More »

I remember the days when my nose was pressed against the screen in English class, trying to hide the fact that I was scrolling through Perez Hilton. I was obsessed with checking Perez regularly. How many pee-pees was he going to draw on Jennifer Love-Hewitt’s face today?!? Among other blogs I browsed through during college….well there were not many. Texts From Last Night filled by main browser, a few visits to Damn You AutoCorrect!, and of course a little love from CollegeHumor. I loved being entertained by other people’s trashy bits of information that were slightly relevant to my current lifestyle. Aww, big nostalgic sigh for college, everyone.

A lot has changed since my campus days. I graduated, moved home and rediscovered my love for weekends and the simple pleasure that accompanies falling asleep with a good book in my hand.  I have also taken a closer look the blogging world and have become addicted to some truly great sites. Fashion has been presented to me in new and exciting ways. Pinterest has turned me into a whore for DIY projects. And I always love reading the back story on a successful, power woman-blogger. Read More »

It’s only human to have those moments (no matter how long they last) when you feel like you can’t do ANYTHING right.

Ok, my moment has been going on for over a week. I feel like I’ve been spending too much money, apologizing way too many times to people, not returning things I’ve borrowed, slipping from my usual tip-top form at work…and it’s all so exhausting. With all these mistakes, I’m feeling super guilty. And with guilt comes a constant humming in my mind that I simply can’t perform like I used to in college — back when I got 15 hours of sleep at a time and was never scolded for anything.

In this giant pity spiral (Why can’t I pay these bills? Or apologize to my friend right away for wronging her? Or bring my sister’s iPod BACK to her after borrowing it for over two weeks?) I also feel…judged. By virtually everyone. I’m left thinking that my sister sees me as irresponsible, that my best friend thinks I’m incapable of apologizing and doesn’t care about her as much as I really do, that I’m never going to make money. I basically feel like a complete pile of poo that can’t live up to anyone’s standards for who they expect me to be. Read More »

Before I begin, this post is dedicated to all of the wonderful ladies (and men, if you’re reading) out there that feel a little stuck and lost in a life post-college. The world often feels bustling with too many confident individuals and not enough nervous, actual human beings just trying to find their place — both in the universe and in the Starbucks line each morning before work.

If you’re a 20-something, recently graduated and struggling to find the meaning of life (or whatever life entails for us emotional, strikingly beautiful beings), I want you to do something. Shut your bedroom door if you get embarrassed easily and turn up Adele to the highest volume your little computer allows you to — which, quite frankly, is never really loud enough. Then, I want you to read this post aloud with your hand on your heart and your chin lifted high. If there is a mirror nearby, look into it. And wink at yourself before you begin. Ok, here goes. It’s time to make some 20-something promises. Read More »

I have discovered the answer to ALL post grad problems. The post grad problems I’m talking about consist of: stress, finding jobs that make you happy, dating mature human beings, partying, being adventurous, finding yourself…you get the point. So, how are we supposed to conquer all of these grown up issues at such a young age? Be obsessed with yourself.

With every fiber in my body I know this works. When you focus on nothing but yourself, things start miraculously working out in your favor. Put a little playful selfishness into action! Of course you should care about others and do things for the community, but lets be honest — doing good things for others makes you feel good, too! And that only aids in being obsessed with your own well-being.

You will never again have an issue with dating if you focus on what makes you happy. True story: I recently cancelled a date with a guy merely because I was painting my nails Turks and Caicos by Essie and munching on banana bread. I wasn’t really feeling a date night and didn’t want to ruin it with my selfish attitude. I’d much rather go when I actually wanted to. In the end, the guy was totally fascinated by my non-apologetic drive to live my own life and things have been working out flawlessly since! Read More »

If I were to ever win a gold medal in the Olympics, it would be for over-thinking EVERYTHING. I guess I fit the typical girl stereotype. It’s totally like me to stand in the cosmetics aisle in Target for 80 hours trying to figure out which type of mascara I want. I’ll over-think a text I’m about to send to someone I’m dating. I’ll over-analyze a conversation I had with a friend and turn it into something it probably wasn’t in the first place. I’ll over-analyze a bedroom color if I’m painting. I’ll over-analyze…OK, you get it.

I also realize I probably made myself sound like a total freak in that last paragraph but, then again, I’m over-analyzing that too.

That being said, my new goal is to STOP. Stop over-analyzing every single little thing to a point of making up fake stories, wasting time and driving myself crazy. My philosophy has always been to have fun and leave the rest (the rest being all of those unfiltered thought process jumbled messes) so how hard can it really be? Life can’t be about wasting time freaking yourself out at the expense of everything that probably doesn’t matter anyway. Read More »

I need a focus adjustment. Let’s just say I’ve been a little on the negative side lately. At first, I tried blaming it on the crappy weather (like I usually do) and then I realized I could be dealing with a personal problem.

For example, whenever I’m about to do virtually anything, I immediately envision the worst possible outcome. From sending a text to a guy for the first time (i.e. he is going to think I’m clingy or too weird) to expressing my opinion at work (i.e. everyone is going to think I’m crazy, my boss is going to fire me and where will I live after that?)…it’s becoming a problem. (Okay, not a lot of my thoughts are this dramatic, I’m just trying to make a point. I need a focus adjustment.)

The good news is, I think the fix is pretty simple.

I need to focus on what I DO want to happen instead of focusing on what I DON’T want to happen. When I send a guy a text, I need to confidently believe that he is excited to hear from me. I need to have a crisp understanding that he probably thinks what I have to say is cute and endearing. When I want to express my opinions/ideas at work, I need to focus on the positive new opportunities I’m bringing to the table. I need to zero in on all of the great things that could come out of saying what I feel.

Positive thinking is the match that strikes every great success story. If I wake up with the thought something wonderful is going to happen that day (and I pay close enough attention) something magical will happen. Even if it’s something small.

For example, I experimented with my new philosophy just this morning. Instead of waking up and deciding I was going to be crabby because it was that time of the month, I woke up with a fresh face and a glowy attitude for no reason. It was the smallest effort EVER. I literally did not do anything different with my morning. BUT, the beauty of this whole entire (starting to sound lame) story was that I didn’t pinpoint anything negative that happened to me. Minor things (cars pulling out in front of me, people cutting in front of my path in Target, etc.) didn’t ruin my day. And I would go about my own 24 hours pretty happily.

It’s really very magical and focus-altering. Turning the teeniest negative thought into a positive one could change your (or someone else’s, depending how violent you are) day. And when your inside center is sharp, things will be so much clearer.

I’ve said it before 48,573 times and I will say it again. Life after college is a hectic whirlwind. And most of your time is spent trying to decipher if you’re happy with who you are, what you’re doing and where you’re doing it all. Is this what I’m supposed to be doing? Does this make me happy? He loves me, he loves me not. Blah, blah, blah, blah. But what happens after that hump? How are you suppose to tell that you’ve finally reached that blissful element of contentment with your life?

I’m sorry if this is too deep for a Wednesday but I’m here to help because I have finally found an inner contentment in myself…nearly two years after graduation. Please don’t lose hope if you just graduated. It may not take that long for you to find inner quietness as it did me. Either way, it will come. And here’s how you will know… Read More »

Yesterday, I went out for a late night happy hour with one of my greatest girlfriends. We sat down in a booth, ordered up our California red wine, some pommes frites and got to talking. Happy Hour, might I mention, will be your favorite activity come real world. At happy hour, you discuss life’s difficult moments, relationships and friendships–all to the deepest degree.

Lately, I’ve been noticing something about these happy hours. I jump on them with all of my friends. New friends, old friends, friends from college, friends from high school, friends from work…and I realized something. My friend groups are slowly growing apart. Like a cell, they are pulling themselves away from each other and bouncing into two different worlds where they are altogether different.

In one group, are my college girlfriends. They were the lovely ladies I chose to spend the heftiest chunk of my four years in college with. They share drunken escapades with me, long stories of nights in the library, silly adventures sprouted from hunger, ambition and craved adventure.

In another group, are my newest friends. They are the lovely ladies I have chosen to spend my post-college life with. They share more recent drunken escapes with me, long afternoons in our favorite coffee shop full of recapping old college stories and new ones alike, silly adventures sprouted from a sense of eager ambition, craved adventure and a blank and exciting future.

They are pretty much the same relationships right? So you mean nothing really EVER changes? You guessed it, that’s totally not true. These new post grad friendships and the ones I held so dearly in college have evolved. My college girlfriends have all found men they plan on marrying. They talk about the cuts of wedding rings and their jobs in the office. They are busy and crazy successful, I’m proud of every single one of them. But since my life has changed, my college friendships have carefully drifted up up and away. I’m envisioning the scene in Titanic after the last bit of the ship went under water and Jack and Rose drifted apart in the ocean. They came back together of course, but lost each other for a fiercely cold moment in time.

I’m a flight attendant now. My week by week schedule changes as quickly as a young boy in puberty. I never know what I’m going to be doing day to day or where I’ll be. I’m single and comfortable with it. I have no idea what color my bridesmaid dresses are going to be, I’m not building a home with my boyfriend and, even though I totally know what cut my wedding ring is going to be, I don’t have anyone to share it with (quite yet). These differences have pulled me away from my college girlfriends but have brought me increasingly closer to a new group of girls I’ve found to love.

My post-grad girlfriends are all single, I met them through my new job and we have so much in common it almost freaks me out. We laugh in the name of marriage, love to go out and have fun. Finding this new group of ladies has fulfilled me with personal hope–that there are people out there (my age) that are still like me rooting for a single life out in the town, a hopeful future and lots of crazy stories and juicy laughs.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my college girlfriends. I will always love them with all my heart. But sometimes, I have to accept that my future may be going a different direction than theirs (even if it’s at a slower rate). And that’s OK. Because there are girls out there who share the same beliefs and stories as I do at this very moment. There are woman out there who want to live life and view the world the way I do.