Days as a Freshman: 135

Mood: Not so glad to be back

As I heaved the last of my suitcases onto my bed, I couldn’t help but feel like everything would be a lot better if I only had one more week at home.

January classes were supposed to be a way for me to get my math requirement over and done with without a hassle, but when I made the decision to come back to college after only two weeks at home, I hadn’t anticipated how naked and lonely everything would be. Campus felt empty and silent, the usual crowds replaced by a few duos and trios dragging heavy backpacks and even heavier expressions.

It wasn’t a really thrilling thing, to be spending the month of January doing extra work.

Slowly, I unzippered the first of three suitcases and began to unpack the loads of clothes I never ended up wearing at home. Besides a few family functions and a few meetings with high school friends, I had spent my days in fleece pajamas and sweatshirts, reveling in a no make-up, no fuss lifestyle.

“This place is gonna feel so huge with just us two!” Stacey walked into our room wearing her pink bathrobe and carrying a dripping wet shower caddy. Squeezing her wet hair on the carpet, she looked at me and spoke/shouted again. “Isn’t going to be awesome to have all this space?”

“I guess…” Read More »

New Year’s Eve. One of the biggest party holidays on the calendar. A time to wear something sparkly, drink pink champagne and not feel like a lame idiot, and count down the last remaining seconds in a year that was hardly what you imagined it was going to be this time 365 days ago.

If, like me, you live in a large city, you’ve been hearing about New Year’s Eve for almost as long as you’ve been hearing about Christmas. Giant parties in giant clubs, complete with open bars, fancy food, and “hot people!” have been pushing themselves into your email inbox and popping up in conversation; urging you to fork over $100-300 for a place on the guest list.

Even if you don’t happen to reside in a metropolitan area, you’ve undoubtedly heard about a house party here and there, polling your friends to find out where and how they’ll be saying goodbye to 2007.

The point I’m trying to make is—everyone always seems to have something to do on New Year’s. Some house to crash, some club with a bouncer who can get them in, some party of a friend of a friend’s, a First Night celebration out in the frigid cold…staying home just never seems to be an option.

But what if it is—at least for you? What if you don’t have any plans this year? What if the plans you do have don’t sound as appetizing as they usually do? What if spending a night sloshing in high-heels and trying to grab someone before midnight isn’t your idea of a good time? Read More »

This time of year is notoriously spent looking forward and making resolutions for the upcoming year. I have never really been a resolution kinda gal – I don’t wait until the New Year to make the important changes in my life – so I often spend the weeks leading up to New Year’s looking back.

Not so much on changes I’ve made or how far I’ve come; more at the ridiculous situations I have found myself in over the past 365 days.

My 2007 can probably be summed up as a year of dating. Not relationships. Dating. I made a lot of drastic changes this year – online dating, getting setup, handing out my phone number – and it definitely made for a lot of first dates, one quasi-good relationship, and some amazing stories.

Looking back on everything, there was one particularly amazing story that I think everyone can enjoy.

Right before moving home from New York last year, I met a boy online. He seemed really interesting and funny through IM’s so we started talking on the phone and eventually planned a date.

“I want to take you out for drinks and dinner,” he told me.

We decided to meet at a central location, grab a drink and then head downtown to a cute little hole in the wall Chinese restaurant he and his dad had been eating at for years. I am not usually a fan of multiple locations (or even dinner!) on the first date, but he seemed so excited that I really couldn’t resist. Read More »