[Everyone’s got a vice, a bad habit, something they know they need to change. Unfortunately, everyone also has a million excuses why they just can’t do it. Not anymore. Every month we will be following a different CollegeCandy writer as she takes on a personal challenge. This month we're following Jill as she gets out of that boring box of hers and starts facing some fears. Last week she killed a spider. This week, she's singing karaoke!]

When I was 14 I wanted to be a pop star.

I reasoned that if Britney could do it in all her lip syncing glory, surely I could have some big time pop producer synthesize and auto-tune my voice to make me sound semi-decent, dance around on stage and become a billionaire (who would one day walk barefoot into gas station bathrooms and shave my head).

The key being someone else making me sound semi-decent. Because when push comes to shove, my singing voice really shouldn’t be shared with anyone except my pals, Kerastase and Patene Pro-V and whatever brand makes my hair brush.

I can dance in front of crowds – I grew up competitive dancing – and I can talk in front of crowds – I don’t get intimidated – but ask me to sing karaoke and it seems RIDICULOUS that I ever thought pop-stardom was in my future. I get shy, sweaty, uncomfortable and watch with envy as all the people (both bad and good) get up there and have a great time.

Until now. Read More »

I’m a shy person. I’ve gotten a little better over the years, but the thought of speaking to a roomful of people or even just one new person still terrifies me. And parties…the thought of going to a party is basically like hell on earth.

So in a way, it’s natural that I don’t drink. Drinking is something that’s confined almost exclusively to social occasions, and since I avoid social occasions like the plague, I don’t have any reason to drink. I’m not interested, and I just don’t care to do something that might make me look stupid or blur my judgment. So why do so many people treat me like an alien because of that choice? Read More »