[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, Charlotte's kicking her bean habit. Her first week wasn't as easy as she was expecting, her second week was worse. And the third? Worse yet. So how was her final lap?]

Four weeks. And it’s nearly over. Wow.

I have to say this has been an amazing experience. Like I said at the start, I’ve never been a huge coffee drinker. A cup of tea suffices if I have an 8am class; I’m not one of those people who needs coffee to literally function. Nevertheless, it’s not been easy.

This week hasn’t been too bad, at least compared to the previous weeks. No jet lag, no trips round London, no horribly early starts. There have been a few moments when I almost caved. My homework assignments seem to have appeared from nowhere meaning that only two weeks in I’m already stuck in the library. There were a couple of moments where I walked past the coffee shop and thought “should I…?” but forced myself to walk past. I have gazed enviously at the hands clenched around paper cups in my early morning classes, I have wistfully imagined the extra surge of life a coffee would give me in such classes. But I was strong. And now it’s over.

I have learned a lot from this experience. I was thinking back today and I think over the course of the month I have only drank two or three energy drinks. I tend to turn to them a lot in moments of weakness as the sugar-free ones are calorie free and I like my coffee milky (read: fatty). However, even when faced with the prospect of one a few times, I have chosen to just carry on. This challenge has taught me the importance of an early night, especially when I have an early start. I was sick for a few days last week and I was overwhelmed by an urge for coffee. I chose sleep instead, which I’m sure was a much better cure. Read More »

[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, Charlotte’s kicking her bean habit. Her first week wasn’t as easy as she was expecting, her second week was worse. Is the withdrawal finally over?

Okay, this month was going to be hard no matter what. A month without coffee? Find me a hundred college students who would voluntarily do that. Hell, find me one. But add to that the fact that a) it’s January, notoriously the hardest, coldest and most depressing month of the year and b) the fact that I’m an international student who not only tried to pack in as much as she could while she was home but also has to deal with jet-lag and a full day of traveling.

Put it this way: contrary to what I expected to happen as this month progressed, this week has been the hardest yet.

My flight was at 9am Saturday morning. I had to be at the airport at 6am and we decided that 4am would be the most appropriate time to get up. Great, I thought, I’ll hit the hay about 8pm so I get a solid 8 hours before my flight. As with most plans for an early night, this did not happen.

At 7pm my Dad suggested an episode of Dexter. Now I’m new to the Dexter thing; after a semester in America I realized I was clearly missing out on something so we borrowed the first two seasons while I was home. Fine, a couple of episodes will be great. Unfortunately, we only had 3 episodes left, so after two I knew I had to know what happened next. One more episode? Hey, why not, it’s not like I can’t have a gallon of coffee to wake me up in the morning. I fell into bed around 10pm. Read More »

[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, Charlotte's kicking her bean habit. Her first week wasn't as easy as she was expecting. Did she get a hang of it in week 2?]

Don’t get me wrong, I love a good cup of tea. I’m a British girl, tea is my fuel. But “going for a cup of tea” doesn’t have quite the same ring as “going for a coffee,” something I found far too much this past weekend.

To celebrate my final weekend at home before heading back to the States, my family and I planned a weekend in London. I thought Big Ben, The Globe, Buckingham Palace! Fab. I did not anticipate the sheer number of times my dad would utter the words “shall we stop for a coffee?” before stumbling and saying “um, sorry, tea, Charlotte.”

See in London, you can’t move more than 5 feet before meeting a Costa Coffeee, or a Starbucks or a Pret a Manger (I should know, I introduced a “count the Starbucks game”); it’s coffee paradise. Mix that in with early starts and late nights – I was desperate for a bucket cup of java.

It started on the first day. Up early for packing and getting ready, I anticipated the hot drinks trolley on the train with excitement and was quickly greeted with my first cup of tea of the weekend. Fine, it’s great, I love tea. But despite its apparent caffeinated properties, I’ve been drinking the stuff since I was a child (seriously, I used to drink it in a beaker with a straw), any sensitivity to the caffeine in tea was eradicated in my childhood. I settled for a train nap and woke up more tired, groggy as hell and with dry contact lenses.

Not the feeling or look I was going for.

Read More »

[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. Last month, Megan went 4 weeks without dining out. This month, Charlotte's kicking her bean habit. At least she's gonna try....]

Like I said before, I was feeling cocky about this challenge. I stocked up on energy drinks and planned to get at least 8 hours sleep a night. I’ll be fine, I thought. It’s only a month.

But obviously, what was the first day of my challenge? You’ve got it, New Year’s Day. I didn’t exactly have a riot of a New Year’s; in fact, I kinda hate it. I went to my auntie’s 50th Birthday party with my parents and banked on a reasonably early night. However, there was a mix up getting our lift home and we ended up waiting almost two hours for a taxi. Two am rolled by and I found myself half-asleep on a chair. I got home around 2:30 and then ended up staying up until three. Why, well I had someone to speak to.

See, I’m a British girl studying abroad in America home for Christmas, and I’m seeing a boy back in the States. Here in the UK we’re 6 hours ahead, so 3am is a perfect time to speak to him. I always intend to turn off my phone and go to sleep, but once the conversation starts, it’s hard to stop. And sometimes when I wake up in the night I can’t resist seeing if he’s online, which he usually is. Three am turns into four…

And I’m a morning person. So is my family. Activity starts in our house around 8am, even in the holidays, which usually leaves me reaching for the coffee. Something which I can no longer have. No matter how good it smells when I walk into the kitchen. And trust me, it smells GOOD. Read More »

[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. Last month, Megan went 4 weeks without dining out. This month, Charlotte's kicking her bean habit. At least she's gonna try....]

When I first decided to do this challenge back at the start of November, I was cocky. I’m not a big coffee drinker anyway so I figured it wouldn’t be too hard. And it’s only a month, right?

But then came finals.
And then came jet-lag.

And with all that (and everything else in my life) came coffee.

And then I started to panic. How was I going to get through a whole month without a skinny latte? [Sweating.]

But I made this coffee-free bed so I guess it’s time to lie in it. For the next 31 days, I’m gonna live my life sans coffee. Note: I’m not going CAFFEINE free – oh the horror! – just bean free. And though that might seem like a cop out, I’m beginning to think that it’s anything but.

I am definitely a social coffee drinker. I mean, who can say no to “let’s grab a coffee”? And unfortunately, the coffee shop at my university doesn’t do tea (as a British girl this is my caffeinated drink of choice) so it usually ends up being a coffee. And I love waking up to the Starbucks smell of my coffee-addicted housemate every morning. And that little jolt of energy I get with my mid-day, between-classes-coffee run. Or the Sunday morning, I’m-so-hungover-I-could-die, pot of coffee that I chug as my friends and I share the horror stories from the night before.

Plus I’ve not had my red cup yet this year.

I admit, that going without coffee won’t be as hard for me as I imagine it would be for a lot of college students. But it is not going to be easy. So here’s hoping I don’t sleep my way through January and come out on the other side with a few extra bucks in my pocket.

Wish me luck, and down a few lattes for me on this brutal New Year’s day. I’m getting tired just thinking about what this month is going to bring (read: a whole lot of 5 Hour Energy).

[Check out the other One Month Challenges we've taken on. And if you've got a challenge you want to tackle (and be held accountable for), email us and we could feature you next month. Come on - it's good for you!]

"I will take the stairs" is more realistic than "I will workout 6 days a week."

With every new year comes a handful of far-fetched resolutions and often unrealistic goals we set for ourselves. We vow to be better in the new year: to be thinner, study more, drink less, exercise more, etc, etc. And then we throw them all away during our post-NYE hangover the next morning. What? It’s hard to eat healthy when the only thing that will make you feel better is a stack of chocolate chip pancakes and 5 strips of bacon.

If you’re tired of setting resolutions that never pan out, maybe it’s time to make a new resolution: to make more realistic resolutions.

Now, I’m not saying you should change your resolution from “I want to get better grades” to “I will sleep with my professor to get better grades,” just because it may seem easier. What I am saying is there are simple ways to improve your life without grand resolutions that you know you’ll never keep. Life is in the details and sometimes the smallest changes can have the biggest impact.

If you wanna see some real changes in 2010, start small.

Change Your Routine:
We are creatures of habit; it’s in our DNA. Although having a structured schedule is a great way to establish a healthy lifestyle, it also can lead to a mundane life. And one where everything remains the same. Try a new exercise (hula hooping is all the rage right now). Swap your lattes for a simple coffee (which will cut out some serious calories). Take the stairs to your dorm room instead of the elevator. Find a new study space. Just do something that will give your brain and body some new stimulation. The change will be small, but the results will be noticeable. Read More »

Whether we like it or not, January is quickly approaching.  And we all know what that means.  Yup, that’s right – it’s New Year’s Resolution time.  While self improvement is a noble aspiration, it is also an excellent way to make you feel like ish come February when you haven’t made any strides toward your goal.

This holiday season, I urge you to make a resolution that you will actually keep, and that is to take better care of your environment.  Not just because it’s a good thing to do, but also because it’s a gosh darn easy resolution to stick to.  Having a greener existence is all about baby steps, which translates into easy success without all of the leg work.  Here are some of my favorite tips to get you going to a greener and happier you!

Potential Resolution #1:  “I will get all of my books from the library.”
First of all, this is probably something most of us do on a regular basis anyways.  Second of all, it saves you money and storage space.  Buying books not only wastes a lot of paper and binding materials, but it also takes a lot more energy to package and transport.  If you absolutely need to have a certain book at hand, such as a textbook for a class, see if any of your friends are in the class and ask them to go halfsies on the book.  You’ll save money on those ridiculously expensive textbooks and you always have the option of checking it out at the library if you get in a bind. Read More »

There’s no doubt about it – we all want to fall in love eventually. Of course, some of us want it just a little more than others. Take Neenah Pickett, for example. She wants to find her man, badly. She wants to find him so bad, in fact, that she’s given herself a deadline to get her ass in gear. She’s given herself 52 weeks (1 year, for you slow thinkers) to find her husband. And, trust me, this ain’t no half-assed New Year’s resolution biz.

She’s so serious that she has actually made her own website to get her name out there.

Before you throw things at your screen and start talkin’trash about what a crazy bia Neenah is, take a moment. This isn’t much worse than what many of us do in relationships. Ok, maybe the website thing is, but still; there is a wide spectrum of ridiculous deadlines we put on ourselves to find a relationship. Here is just a smidgen of some of the…interesting…declarations that I’ve heard thus far… Read More »

2009 is just around the corner. I don’t know what your year was like, but I am looking forward to saying goodbye to some of my ’08 mishaps and start anew in ’09. Of course, I say that every year. Some years, I make resolutions, and some years, I know that I’m not going to stick to them, so I don’t bother.

However, there are several things I should consider pledging as the ball drops. Whether you’re stuck on your own resolution, or just need a fresh start with the new year, the following are some resolutions that many of us should consider.

1. I will go to the gym regularly.

When 2008 struck, I was on a regular gym regime, and resolved to keep at it and lose ten more pounds. I did. Then summer hit, and I found that poolside cocktails and outdoor keg parties were taking their toll on my thighs. The fact that this semester has been excruciating contributes to my lack of gym time, and isn’t helping my quest to tone up. Losing weight and getting in shape is one of the most common New Years resolutions, but it’s also one of the hardest to keep. Still, if you have taken to wearing sweats to class every day because you can’t zip up the skinny jeans you bought in August, you may want to give the gym a go next year. Read More »

You’ve already got a semester of partying under your belt by the time New Years Eve rolls around. How are you going to throw the bash that everyone’s still talking about in 2010? Here are some ways to make the 2008 send-off the most memorable.

If you can travel…

Hey, if you’ve got the funds, lucky you. Hit up another country and see how they do New Years. You don’t regret it. If you’re still underage, Canadian cities can be quite the hotspot (take it from someone who spent her last <21 New Years in Montreal, after a 10-hour road strip). If you’re loaded despite being in college during the recession, head on over to Europe. Hate the cold? Sing Auld Lang Syne in Puerto Rico or the Dominican Republic.

Okay, those are nice ideas in a fantasy world… but let’s move onto options for those of us who can’t cough up the money for airfare.

If you want to travel but can’t afford it… Read More »