Continuing its industry-leading efforts to provide strong role models to its female readers, Seventeen once again chose a winner for this month’s cover: Barbados’ own marijuana maven, Rihanna. Nothing like trashing hotel rooms and smoking illicit substances to inspire girls to be their best and make their dreams a reality. But aside from sharing “The Awesome Reason She’s So Happy Now,” Seventeen also provided us with an excess of tear-out pages designed to get us in gear for the school year.

From three foot wide “Ultimate Jeans Guide!” to the overly-complicated six-week workout plan in “Get Your Best Body for Back-to-School,” it seemed like the brains behind the Seventeen operation did their best to inspire readers to destroy the latest issue in a vain attempt to neatly tear through the delicate magazine paper. But fear not, dear readers, for the juicy insider secrets and advice within the magazine itself was brilliant as ever.

As usual, I skipped over the fashion stories (who knew denim would be big this fall?) and headed straight to the Love Life section. In “Dude Drama,” Nadia shared the story of her ill-fated tryst with an Internet lover. It began as all great romances do: “When I was 15, I fell in love with a guy I met online.” That didn’t work out well? Shocker. We were also treated to the “real MySpace breakup convo” between 16-year-old Jessie and her sleazy boyfriend. Honey, I feel for you, but MySpace? Really?

“The Wild Stuff He Says Behind Your Back” contained some of the usual anti-sexting propaganda (but really, high school students: stop sending naked photos to your bf), along with some other “surprises”: Sometimes guys rank girls! Sometimes guys exaggerate! Sometimes guys…turn to their older guy friends for kissing tutorials? (Although, to be fair, that “over the shoulder makeout maneuver” is the closest Seventeen‘s ever gotten to publishing anything remotely sexy, albeit neck-pain inducing.) Read More »

I always find myself procrastinating so much during finals week that sometimes I have to procrastinate from my original procrastinating. You know it’s bad when you have to take a break from what you were doing to take a break from your studies. Needless to say, I accumulated a list of go-to games, puzzles and quizzes that would keep me preoccupied when times in the library get tough, and I’d like to share a few of those with you.

Your tired brain can thank me later.

The Impossible Quiz: Honestly, I still haven’t finished this quiz. If anyone out there can tell me how to beat question 15, I would die for that knowledge. This one will make you pull your hair out, but my dedication to the cause keeps me coming back for more. I think you’ll find yourself feeling similarly.

Seventeen.com Quizzes: This site has everything you’ve ever wanted to know about yourself. Literally. Do you want to know what your purse says about you? Seventeen knows. Is your boyfriend about to dump you? Ask Seventeen. I could spend an entire 48 hours taking these quizzes and finally decoding the mystery of life. Read More »

"Did you guys know this beer can make your hair stronger, too!?"

Labor Day may be an awesome third day to a typically-too-short weekend, but sadly, it’s also pretty much the last day of summer. But just because those summer days are drifting away, does that mean the fun is o-v-e-r?

Not for CollegeCandy readers! Psh, we can have fun no matter where we are and September is just brimming with some awesome stuff to take part in. Here are some fantastic things to do after Labor Day that don’t involve any heavy labor… or white shoes.

1) Enjoy (useful?) beer at tailgate.
Beer has better uses than just giving you the guts to talk to that cutie you’ve been eying at the party. You can use it to clean your hair and unclog pores, make your own facial mask concoction, and draw a uniquely-colored bubble bath.

2) Do the Downward Dog.
You can get a full week of free yoga at a studio near you during the first ever National Yoga Month. And since yoga is supposed to improve your sex life, why not try it? Your boyfriend can thank me later.

Read More »

Unlike most women, I don’t watch Sex and the City. I don’t have HBO, and I just never got around to watching it. And unlike most men, my boyfriend looooves SATC. Seriously.

By all other accounts, he’s your average college male: he’s got ESPN.com as his homepage, he wears the same three t-shirts on a rotating basis, and drools over Jessica Biel. But when the movie came out this past spring, he begged me to come with him to watch it in theaters. I remember waiting on line outside the box office with hundreds of other women and a few other couples, when one of the men came up to my guy and nodded his head in my direction. “She dragged you, too, huh?” My boyfriend smiled proudly and said, “Nope! She’s never seen the show- I love Sex and the City!” The poor stranger gave me a sorry look that clearly said, honey, your man is hitting for the other team. I hadn’t really thought about it before then, but since the SATC incident, I’ve always kind of wondered…could my man be gay? Read More »

Sure, you’ve had a rough day. You failed a quiz, got in a fight with your mom and your roommate’s boyfriend has become a constant presence in front of your t.v. You go to The Cheesecake Factory and decide for a much needed indulgence, you’ll soothe yourself with Chris’ Outrageous Chocolate Cake.

But did you know the treat contains more than half the calories you need for the day? This cake clocks in at 1,380 calories and a whopping 33 grams of saturated fat.

Shocked? Soon, if you live in New York City, there will be no more snack surprises. The city’s Board of Health unanimously approved a new law requiring chain restaurants to display the calorie content of their foods. Hopefully this new transparency with menus will spread across the nation, along with New York’s 2006 ban of trans fat.

For ladies who work hard to stay slim and eat healthy, this is welcome news. It’s not tough to get duped when eating out. Remember how those fast food salads can be just as dangerous to eat as Whoppers once you figure in the high-fat salad dressings?

With this new law, it will be easy to go out and have fun with friends without freaking out about our diets or accidentally taking in too many calories. Get those forks ready and nix the freak out!

Don’t know which candidate you’re leaning towards for next year’s presidential elections?

Yeah, me either.

Despite the candidates push to get the attention of our generation, I still haven’t done as much homework as I need to on the candidates and their issues.

From getting on MySpace to being interviewed by Tyra Banks, these candidates are speaking to the ladies and gents of our technology savvy generation.

They (finally!) understand that the young people in this country have a voice, and that voice is going to speak loudly in ’08.

This quiz (I know, quizzes, UGH!) is a good precursor to all that candidate homework that is right around the corner. It asks how you feel about a few of the very important issues and tells you how you align with EACH of the presidential candidates. Read More »

Days as a Freshman: 23

Current Mood: Lovesick

“Hey guys!”

Stacy’s voice was too loud for the library, and much too loud for my ears. Plunking herself down at our table, she made sure that she was sitting opposite Sasha, and leaning close enough to almost touch his forehead with hers.

After bumping into him in the dining hall, I had somehow miraculously started a conversation about Chemistry—the class we had together—and mentioned that I was headed to the library to study for the chapter quiz. I was just going to do the same thing, he said, smiling in a way that made me feel like I was having a mini heart attack. Wanna study together?

I knew full well studying with Sasha meant studying his face, not our notes, but in the scope of life, I figured one failed quiz was worth a few hours next to the cutest boy I had ever seen. Read More »

Back when I was much younger, say 7th grade or so, I had a horrible relationship with my weight. We’re talking abusive. It wasn’t pretty.

These days, I tend to think I’m much better. A little critical, maybe, but what 24-year-old women isn’t? I certainly don’t really restrict myself, and try to eat everything in moderation (with a cupcake here and there) while working out a few times a week.

But according to this test, I’m still sorta weight obsessed.

While I’m not sure if a little online quiz can really diagnose a person, it was interesting to see what my knee-jerk reactions to some of the questions were.

As easygoing as I’d like to think I am about myself, I still tend to have a negative reaction when it comes to my weight. I can be judgmental of myself, and don’t take compliments very well at all.

I guess I’m still a work in progress.

Either that, or this quiz was totally harsh. Answer the questions, let me know what you think; accurate portrayal of your psyche, or severe take on a common female issue? Read More »