So if there’s one thing you should know about me, it’s that I’m a bit of an organizational freak. I like order, neatness, alphabetizing things by last name and putting things in chronological order. I don’t like messes and I don’t like excess (unless we’re talking about clothes), so needless to say, spring cleaning is one of my favorite pastimes.
But this year I won’t just be doing the regular kind of spring cleaning, I’ll be spring cleaning my entire college life. I’m not really a pack rat but I do like to be prepared, so I haven’t thrown much away over the past four years. And no, I’m not talking old magazines and candy wrappers that would make me the perfect candidate for Hoarders, I’m talking hard copies of papers, and notes from my freshman year classes. But as binder after binder and book after book take up more space than I’d like, I’ve found it’s time to finally clean it all out.
So I did. I went through four years worth of college classes in one day, getting rid of the stuff I will never use again, like the notes from my microbiology class last semester, and hanging onto the stuff I may actually want to peruse again, like a book of Carson McCullers short stories, feminist fairy tales, and obscure post colonial novels that I just can’t get enough of. I tossed the astronomy notes, and the ancient philosophy and the anthropology, but I did keep the literary theory book if only because I’m still using it this semester and because I do plan on burning it once this course is over. Parts of it were cathartic, parts of it were said, but mostly, it was nostalgic.
You didn’t leave all your work until Sunday night did you? What!?! You did. That’s okay. No stress. You’ll get it all done. We’re so sure that you’ll get it all done that we’re giving you a few more excuses to procrastinate. This week we’re taking a trip down memory lane and remembering all your favorite childhood chants and songs. You know, the ones that would drive your mom crazy.
Finally — summer’s over! It’s time for sweaters, boots, Starbucks’ signature fall drinks, and for those leaves to start falling. You could spend all fall hunched over your computer worrying about mid-terms, or you can get in touch with your seven-year-old self that took time to relish the changing leaf colors, the local pumpkin patches, and of course, the cooler weather.
Here are five things that you probably enjoyed during your childhood that you can still enjoy this fall. (Editor’s Note: especially if you add a little spiked apple cider.):
1. Go Apple Picking: Throw on some jeans, find a cardigan, and head to the nearest apple orchard. Now that fall is here, apple orchards should be open to the public. Not sure where the closest apple orchard is? Check out Pick Your Own for all the details of the farms and orchards near you. Not only will this get you outside to enjoy the nice fall weather, it will give you a reason to bake. Once you pick out those perfect apples, call your mom and ask for her apple pie recipe, make some caramel apples, or brew cider (feel free to add alcohol, of course). Baking isn’t your thing? Well, you know what they say: “An apple a day keeps the doctor away,” and that can’t hurt either. Read More »
Remember when going back-to-school meant a new box of crayons and a slammin’ new backpack (L.L. Bean. Initialed, obviously)? If you’re headed back to college this fall, no doubt this bit of nostalgia has probably crossed your head at some point or another. For collegians, a new year usually brings with it new housing, and more importantly, returning to the center of your social universe: friends, parties, and never-ending entertainment all a quad’s walk away.
But if you’re filling out your course schedule for the last time and pre-ordering your diploma frame, then back-to-school excitement may be dissolving into denial. It may seem as though the best years of your life are suddenly coming to a close, but there are still several months left before cap-and-gown season. Class of 2011, this one’s for you: follow these tips for a thrilling, guilt-free senior year, and go out with a bang! Read More »
As most of you are gearing up to go back to school, I am sitting on my parents’ couch (eating cookie dough) flipping through my pictures from the past 2 glorious years. Northwestern doesn’t start until late September, so I still have a lot more time before I start my junior year.
Me, a junior! I can’t even believe it myself.
I can still vividly remember driving to my high school graduation, trying to make sure my white dress didn’t get dirty and feeling grateful that I had foregone the mascara. But those days are long gone and now, as an almost-junior, I’m already starting to think forward to my next big graduation. I’m wondering where I’ll be in life, what my plan will be, what experiences I’ll look back on fondly that haven’t happened yet. Older people always tell me, “enjoy college, best four years of my life!” Ok, yeah, thanks. That doesn’t thoroughly scare me. Does it count as nostalgia if the experience hasn’t even ended yet? Read More »
Got something awesome everyone needs to know about? A really rad singer? A wicked new book? The secret to perfect, frizz free hair!?Email your “The Know” ideas to Jill@collegecandy.com or tweet me and I’ll pass them along to everyone right here, every week. Make your kindergarten teacher proud and share!
Get ready to love and hate me at the same time.
Love me because I’m about to tell you about the best new blog out there.
Hate me because you’re about to fall behind – WAY behind – on anything productive that you need to do.
Because there is no better way to procrastinate than by being nostalgic.
And what’s taking me on this trip down memory lane?
Hilary Buckholtz’s genius blog is a daily dedication to all pop-culture nostalgery from the ’80s and ’90s. Want a clue as to how kick-ass this site is? The backdrop banner features the infamous NBC “The More You Know” logo with the shooting star. Read More »
So far this summer, I’ve been having the constant desire to re-live childhood summer times, a.k.a hopping in my DeLorean and gunning it to 1999. The days when I was 9 years old and the world was mine. The days when the only thing I had to worry about trying not to hurt myself when I was Skippin’ It outside all day. The days when I was bumpin’ “If You Steal My Sunshine” and getting a perfect tan from swimming all day at camp. Those last moments of childhood where you could run around naked without feeling an ounce of self-consciousnes (knowing next summer you might be gettin’ some new curves).
10 years later, there are so many questions. What will my major be? Do I have enough hours at work? Do I need to take summer classes? Where da party at? When’s the next sunny day for tanning? Does he want a relationship or a hook-up? Did I text too much this month? Should I get that new iPod? It obviously doesn’t get easier.
Preeeeeetttyyy sure I wasn’t asking myself those questions when I was a kid. So I say, what the hell? Let’s worry less and bring more pre-pubescent nostalgia back into our summer lives with some fun old-school pastimes: Read More »
Time is flying and no matter how much I try to ignore how quickly the semester is going, all my friends have turned into professional counters who can tell you exactly how many days, hours, and minutes we have left.
All I have to say is, “I’m not sure I’m going out tonight because it’s hailing fully formed snowmen,” and within in seconds I have 14 texts, 9 IMs, and 1 roommate chirping out: “We only have 12 more Mondays to go out!” And of course the countdown always makes me give in.
It’s not that I doubt I will have plenty of Mondays in my future to get drunk (recession, unemployment, YES) but it’s more like I only have 12 more Mondays to get drunk in a socially acceptable way. After that it’s drinking alone on Mondays from old Manischewitz bottles that I find in the back of the fridge. And nothing good ever follows Manischewitz (although my brother will be the only one to argue that gelfite fish follows Manischewitz and gelfite fish is good). Read More »
So if there’s one thing you should know about me, it’s that I’m a bit of an organizational freak. I like order, neatness, alphabetizing things by last name and putting things in chronological order. I don’t like messes and I don’t like excess (unless we’re talking about clothes), so needless to say, spring cleaning is one of my favorite pastimes.
Time is flying and no matter how much I try to ignore how quickly the semester is going, all my friends have turned into professional counters who can tell you exactly how many days, hours, and minutes we have left.
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