The other day, I walked into Home Depot with a mission. A mission to find a soft, neutral color that would match the awkward black trim of…my parents’ basement.

That’s right. One month ago, I moved back home. And now, I’m sitting here with my dear mother at our kitchen counter in full on PJ-wear at noon, playing Words with Friends, browsing Pinterest and drinking coffee (because she’s my new roommate). And let me tell you, it’s not a bad thing. I’d be doing the same kind of useless things with my old roommates.

The thing is, moving home was NEVER in my post-college plan. I wanted to rent a cute little apartment in the cute little neighborhood in the outskirts of the city where all of the cute, buzzing coffee shops and bistros nest. I wanted to own a cute tabby cat and name it Cat (just like Audrey Hepburn) and decorate with a cute shabby chic twist so I could drink my coffee every morning amidst thick pink blankets and a crystal chandelier. [Editor's Note: This sounds really cute.] Read More »

Remember the summer before college when you were so fed up with your hometown? You were sick of the same room, friends and hangout spots – you needed a drastic change! Well welcome home to the land of same ol’, same ol’. If your ‘hood is like mine, nothing much has changed in the past few years. Swallow the thought of being at home for another few months and think about ways to stir things up at home.

initiating the gallery...

So by now we all know the statistics.

The economy is suffering and because of that post-grads are suffering as well. More college graduates are left without job prospects than ever before, and maybe even more importantly, more college graduates are moving back in with their parents than ever before. Years ago, this may have been taboo. It was practically unheard of. But now, it’s happening more and more often, and is far more widely accepted. And that’s because for the first time, my generation does not expect to have a better lifestyle than that of their parents. That’s right, ladies – the recession has officially become a depression, and post grads are eying their limited prospects wearily.

According to The Huffington Post, in a survey conducted only 44% of those interviewed believed that they would surpass the lifestyle they grew up with. And as one of those soon-to-be post grads, let me say that I understand this lack of optimism completely. The economy is still recovering. The job market is terrible. And companies are downsizing instead of hiring. So how can we know be sure that we’ll even find a job, never mind a job that will provide us with a better lifestyle than the one we grew up with?

It’s a dark realization. Read More »

Once upon a time, there was a girl named Brittany (why yes, I’m beginning this post by talking in third person).  Her roommates were Mom, Dad, and cat.  She spent all day eating Frosted Flakes and watching The O.C. re-runs and wondering where Benjamin Mackenzie’s career went wrong. She slept deeply and soundly until late hours of the afternoon, wasn’t keeping a healthy social life, and finished a bottle of Grey Goose in six months.  Her life was essentially an embarrassment to all 23-year-olds, as well as to the overall post-grad society.

Suddenly, one sunny, completely normal afternoon, everything changed for Brittany.  She put down her Frosted Flakes spoon, ran out of episodes of Degrassi, got a job, a new spicy apartment in the city, and jump started her social life.

Everyone rejoice.  For she lived happily every after.
Or not.  Because like Noah and Allie (ehem, Notebook reference), it’s never over.

OK, enough of that third person stuff. The truth is, my life went from zero to sixty in a matter of five days, and I lost my steering and breaks.

Let me explain.

I literally went from sitting in my parents’ house for hours on end watching HGTV with my mother for six months to having a real life.  I love my mother and I love quality decorating tips, but nothing about that should be happening to any human being considering eventual marriage, a steady income and a stable social life.  Therefore, the minute I got an awesome job, new apartment and stitched up my social life, I was like a zoo animal who had been released back into the jungle. There was no way that animal would survive without a few hard-earned, hands-on lessons.

You’ve got it, folks – I’m back into the wild jungle that I call a normal 23-year-old life and I’m a hot mess.

Read More »

[Life after college is different for every single grad. While some might be going to grad school, others enter the real world in attempts to make their dreams come true pay off their student loans. We've been following Charlsie on her post-grad journey since September, but now it's time to check see what someone else's post-grad life brings. And apparently what it brings is a quarter-life crisis. (But don't worry - Charlsie will still be writing!) So ladies, allow me to introduce you to Brittany and her tumultuous life after college.]

Pre-grad text conversation:
“===D hahaha im druInk”
“shut Up me 2! hehee”

Post-grad text conversation:
“Wanna watch HGTV and eat a quesadilla with me after work?”
“I will be on your couch waiting for you. Whoa, I almost typed I will be waiting on your cooch, eating for you.”

Basically, sober thoughts come in disappointing packages.  And the packaging runs small.  That makes communicating with friends post-college even more difficult.

Back in the days of making unlimited bad decisions and opting out of doing anything productive (read: college) I would spend valuable time with my friends grilling Texas toast on our George Foreman, laughing with Joel McHale on ‘The Soup,’ and spending four hours a night putting on our whore faces to Britney Spears’ ‘The Hook Up’ on repeat.  Having friends was so effortless. Spending time with them was easier than spending time with myself. Read More »

When you’re in college, everyone knows there are the classes you take because you have to and then the classes you take because they’re actually going to help you in life.  Anthropology of Magic?  A major sophomore year mistake.  Unless my letter to Hogwarts got lost in the mail, I’m never going to need to know how to read tea leaves.  Wine and Spirits?  Fun, but again- not exactly functional in the job world.  (That is, unless I’m going to “networking” events where there’s an open bar.)

Unfortunately the classes that actually will help you down the road are few and far between.  Sure math is important and English is pretty essential, but what about:

Intro to Hangovers on the Job
So you went on a weeknight bender and now you’re dealing with the aftereffects.  The real world isn’t like college where you can just curl into the fetal position, skip class, and ride out the storm.  Oh no.  You’ve gotta put on that pencil skirt, slide on those pumps, and look like you’re ready to get sh*t done.  Do you know how to not puke in a board meeting?  Or how about not falling asleep on your keyboard?  Skipping greasy hangover brunch?  This class would open your eyes to all those things and more.

Read More »

Members of the Class of 2011, I have some good news and some bad new for you.  Which do you want first?  The good?  Okay.  It appears that when you graduate this upcoming May, the job market will be significantly better than it was for your Class of 2010 friends.  In fact, it’s said that employers will be hiring 13.5% more graduates this time around, especially in the Midwest and West.

Congratulations!  This means there’s a good chance you won’t be surfing mom’s couch for the next year and a half looking for work and collecting a “temporary” paycheck from the Tastee Freez.

Don’t forget, though, I said there was bad news, too.  Ready for it?  While it may seem wonderful to graduate college and, within months, start off on a bona fide career path, the truth is you’re really going to miss out on a lot. Yes, as a member of the Class of 2010, I’ve been “real” jobless for over 6 months now and I can say from experience, I’m happy it all turned out this way:

The Post-Grad Internship(s)

While hopping right on the fast track to success is exciting, it really doesn’t offer you time to really consider what you want to do with your life.  A sluggish job market, while limited in employment opportunities, is rife with internships!  It’s like the all-you-can-eat salad bar of career choices.  Don’t like something?  Just say “no, thank you” and pick again!  Even more so than college, internships are the best way to figure out what fields suit you…and which don’t.

Clean Laundry, Warm Meals

When you graduate sans-employment, there’s really only one place to go: Home.  Sure, it’s not that downtown luxury bachelorette pad you had hoped for, but the pink carpet and teddy bear wallpaper are comforting…sorta. And after 4+ years away from mom and pops, they couldn’t be more thrilled than to have you back. And cook for you. When the Class of 2011 is rushing back to their lonely apartments after work, tripping over a mountain of dirty clothes, and throwing a little cereal in a dirty bowl, their unemployed brethren will be taking comfort in Tuesday meat loaf and clean bed sheets.

Solidarity, Sister

So you’ve got a little jobbie.  I bet it’s cutthroat.  I bet everyone is clamoring for that employee of the month spot.  Don’t even try to tell me Patty from accounting wasn’t the one who stole your cinnamon bun out of the fridge yesterday.  She’s a bitch and I hope she choked on it.  Have fun keeping tabs and stressing over who the boss likes more.  You should know, though- unemployed grads march to a different beat.  We sit with our laptops in Starbucks, scanning the online job boards and making pleasant conversation with one another.  There’s no competition, just the security of knowing we’re not alone.

One More Summer Vacation

Those statistics look pretty promising, Class of ’11.  I’d guess you’re going to find work in no time.  Your bad-economy predecessors, however, got to enjoy a full three months (or more!) to sit in denial while they drank frozen, blended beverages.  Being the victim of a recession means you don’t have to don that wool skirt suit in the middle of July.  90 degrees, long sleeves, and high heels?  No thanks, I’ll take my umbrella drink instead.

A Chance to Breathe

That bonus summer vacation isn’t just for sitting poolside with friends.  Once you enter the workforce, the breaks are few and far between.  Soon enough your world will turn into too-short weekends and looking forward to getting sick, just so you can sleep in for the first time in a year.  After you’ve worked your butt off for a diploma, getting a job right off the bat will lose it’s luster when you’re burnt out two months in.  Regardless of what type of economy you graduate into, it is important to set aside a little “you” time before taking on the real world.

I am the perfect product of a 20-something generation.  I am 23 years old, I’ve graduated college, I’m single and I live at home with my parentals (wow, typing it in a sentence just made me realize how pathetic it all sounds).   I’m doing a bit of freelance blogging and slowly looking for jobs (by slowly I mean sifting through jobs that don’t give me a heartbeat and leaving my energy for the ones I truly love).  Living the dream can be a slow and patient process, but I have the drive to let the dreams settle in.  I want to find that perfect job.  I want to do something I love and as long as it’s going to take me – I am willing to let it ride.

And according to a recent New York Times post, that makes me (and the rest of us) lazy and immature.
Read More »

Before I started college I would spend literally weeks fantasizing about summer. The perfect summer camp, summer job, summer fling, summer barbecues (mmmm cole slaw), whatever. Daydreaming about all the fun I was to have in the summer days ahead was the only way I managed to keep my eyes open during those high school classes that miserably lasted through June.

Now, things couldn’t be more different.

College has opened me up to a whole new world that allows you to be basically as lazy, drunk, and independent as you please, whenever you please. I know not everyone will agree with me about all this, but real life back at home with real responsibilities just seems so much more dull than simply having to cram for an exam every once in a while. But that’s not all. I’m yearning to be back on campus because, well:

1. You don’t have to drive anywhere.
What’s a bigger buzz kill than fighting with your friends over who’s going to be DD for the night? Life is way more fun when everyone gets to enjoy some cocktails and your biggest issue is whether or not it’s safe to take off your pumps and walk home barefoot.

2. Your friends are willing to go out roughly Monday through Saturday.
Although everyone has the friend who could care less about showing up hungover to their summer internship, wasn’t it just so much more fun when no one cared about showing up hungover to their classes? Read More »

Got some college questions? Unsure of a decision? Got a romantic interest in your T.A.?Just wanna chat it up with some really awesome chics? We’ve got the girls for you. Hit them up in the comments or shoot them an email with the subject “College Q&A”! They’ve got all the answers you need, no matter who you are.

Question
Hi! I love your website, I read it all the time. It’s really helpful. I will be a senior in highschool this upcoming year (2010-2011), but instead of going to high school, I’m taking classes full time at a local university in a joint-enrollment program my state offers. The university gives joint-enrolled students the opportunity to live on campus, but you have to pay for it yourself. With all the economic crap thats been going on lately, my parents can’t afford to pay for a dorm and the deadline has already passed. My question is, is it possible to have a good college experience while living at home? I really want to have a lot of fun, meet lots of new people, and have a lot of new experiences next year. I’m worried that this won’t really be possible if I’m stuck living at home next year. If you could give me any advice at all, I would really really appreciate it! Thanks so much! Read More »