It’s a new year, and you know what that means; it’s time to start working on those New Year’s resolutions. But before you start jotting down those promises take a minute and really think about this. New Year’s resolutions almost always involve giving something up, and making sacrifices. And that negative approach makes you all the less likely to keep them. Not fun  and definitely not productive. So instead, I’m offering you something a little bit different. Ten New Year’s resolutions that are actually attainable.

And even better, ten New Year’s resolutions you’ll actually want to keep.

10. Be more organized. In order to make any of your other way more interesting New Year’s resolutions happen you should probably commit to this one. Get a planner, or if you prefer, use a Google calendar, or your BlackBerry. (Or I’m sure there’s and iPhone app for that.) Keep track of dates. Make lists. Write down your goals. If you know what you want it’s so much easier to make it happen.

9. Do something you’ve always wanted to do. Everyone has a bucket list, something they’ve always wanted to do but have never had the time, the nerve or the money. This year, make it your resolution to make it happen. Get a tattoo. Learn to speak French. Have sex in the stacks. Whatever it is you’ve always wanted to do, make it happen.

8. Enjoy your family and your friends. We college girls live pretty busy lives, and that makes it difficult to stay in touch with people, even some of the people that matter most. This year, try not to let that happen. Make an effort to do more than just Facebook comment. If being in the same pace at the same time isn’t an option, try a Skype session. Or something they use to do way back when – a phone call.

7. Step outside of your comfort zone. I’ve already told you to do something you’ve always wanted to do. Now I’m telling you to do something you’d never thought you’d do. Grab a friend and go sky diving, or you know, skip a class if that’s more on your level. Just do something different.

6. Make healthier choices. Every year women makes resolution after resolution about losing weight, cutting out the carbs, and exercising every single day. But crash diets don’t work, and denying yourself something only makes you want it more. That doesn’t mean you should live off of Cherry Garcia and Raman noodles either, though. So start small. Exercise three times a week. Switch to whole wheat breads. Limit your ice cream intake to one night a week. Just make simple, healthier choices.

5. Stop counting calories. So now that you’re making healthier choices, one of the best resolutions you can make is to stop counting calories. It’s tedious and impossible to keep up with and takes all the enjoyment out of going for drinks or eating out. So stop with the calorie counting. You’re making healthier choices and that’s the more important thing.

4. Find some fabulous female role models. Nothing against, LiLo and co. but most of the women that are in the spotlight these days aren’t exactly role models. So start searching. Find some old school actress, some kickass women in the political sector, some awesome business women. Or even someone you already know. (Hi, Mom.) Get inspired by their accomplishments and set your own goals to work towards.

3. Splurge on something extravagant. Well, maybe not so much splurge, but rather save up for it. Instead of spending that hard earned money or that quickly pocketed holiday cash on little things, save it up for something substantial. Then, three months, six months, nine months, or even a year from now you’ll have the money saved when you really, really want something. Like those cute boots, that new i-Pod, or if you’re really ambitious, that new laptop. So save first, and then splurge.

2. Focus on you. A little shallow? Maybe. But also just a little bit necessary, and completely attainable. Stop the distraction and make sure you indulge in a little me time every now and then. Go for a manicure. Take a bubble bath. Shut off your cell phone for an hour. Everyone needs a little time to recharge. And after some rest and relaxation it will make it so much easier to focus on everything else that needs to be done.

1. Enjoy yourself. All the time. Alright, so the “all the time” part might not really be all that attainable. (I mean, you can’t exactly be expected to enjoy yourself during a three hour lecture.) But you should try to enjoy yourself whenever you can it. Be a little irresponsible. Do things you probably shouldn’t because you’re in college and you can. It will be over before you know it (Spoken as a second semester senior.), so enjoy it while you can.

What are your resolutions this year?

On this day in 1920 the 19th Ammendment was added to the Constitution, giving women the right to vote. And in honor of that momentous occasion, today has been named Women’s Equality Day. We have come a mighty long way since the days before women’s suffrage. We have women dominating in arenas that formerly were dude-only territory: sports, politics, and even entertainment (remember learning about the times when men played women in Shakespearean plays?).

Despite our amazing advances, there are still those few women who just don’t really seem to be helping the cause. In fact, they might just be ruining it for the rest of us. Let’s face it, society today has become media obsessed and some (not all) of the women dominating the spotlight nowadays may be taking us a few steps back. What happened to the positive female role models of the past?

Here’s what I mean:

Grace Kelly vs. Heidi Montag

Grace Kelly was an American actress turned Princess of Monaco. She was the embodiment of class and style. Today we have Heidi Montag. Not to say there aren’t other celebs who may come close to Grace Kelly’s overall awesomeness, but Mrs. Pratt puts a damper on women today. Aside from Heidi’s lack of talent, I doubt you’d ever see Princess Grace rolling on the beach in a bikini lip syncing to her latest (notsomuch) hit and being filmed by Prince Rainier.

Jackie O vs. Megan Fox

The Kennedy’s were a form of American royalty back in the day. Jacqueline Kennedy was the “it” girl during, and even after, her husband’s time in office. She had timeless style and always handled things with poise and class, be it her husband’s alleged affair or his untimely death. Jackie was an educated woman who was well-spoken and intellectual, not to mention beautiful. She proved once and for all that it was possible to have beauty and brains, but that theory is being challenged by the one and only, Megan Fox.

Jackie O was once quoted saying, ”What is sad for women of my generation is that they weren’t supposed to work if they had families. What were they going to do when the children are grown – watch the raindrops coming down the window pane?”
Megan, however, has said this about women: “I come across as confident and [women] assume that means that I think I’m hot sh*t. And that makes them feel bad about themselves and so they hate me.” Right.

Audrey Hepburn Vs. Miley Cyrus

Audrey Hepburn. Just another style icon in American history whose movies have become classics. The woman is beautiful, well-spoken, and forward thinking. Now there is a true role model. Miley, however, is just annoying. She’s got hits with Hannah Montana and some pretty decent songs. I love “The Climb,” and I sing it out loud in my car, but what does a 16-year-old girl know about moving mountains? And, when your demographic is 9-year-old girls, what kind of message are you sending when you grind up next to a stripper pole?

Princess Diana vs. Paris Hilton

Princess Di is timeless. The poor woman went through hell with the royal family, but held herself together in a sophisticated manner. And if we even try to go into her list of humanitarian work, we’d be here forever. While Paris Hilton has been referred to as “American royalty,” um, she’s not. I know she said she wants to be like Princess Di in that lovely documentary she did for more publicity to get people to know the real her, but, seriously Paris, you don’t even come close.

It’s a comforting constant in my life, much like passing a Starbucks on every corner or finding an episode of Sex and the City on at any time of night. I’ve come to expect it, even enjoy the high pitched squeals, sickeningly sweet smell of body spray, and live rendition of “See You Again.” But after catching a clip of Sean Hannity praising Kim Kardashian for her role model status in young girls’ lives, I started thinking about the idea of celebrities as role models.

I was left with a lot of questions, the most obvious being: does the fact that Kim Kardashian isn’t a hot drunken mess like the rest of young Hollywood really make her a role model? I mean, has Sean Hannity seen the sex tape that made her famous? And what does she do exactly that young girls should look up to? Her reality show? Her curvy body?

It took me a few moments (and a couple shots of whiskey) to get past the idea of  Sean Hannity doing “research” in front of his laptop in a dark room at midnight, and once I did I still had no idea what to think. The whole celebrity-as-role-model thing has me totally torn up.

On the one hand, my biggest fear may soon be realized: a generation of Mini Mileys all grown up. Slim girls in blond wigs walking around chomping on gum and talking with a Southern twang. It’s an image that haunts my dreams.

But I know how irrational that is; I mean, I grew up along with Britney and I’ve yet to shave my head or pump out two babies, so who’s to say girls aren’t smarter than we give them credit for? Maybe people aren’t looking to celebrities to learn how to behave, but actually learn how not to behave. Maybe watching Lindsay Lohan wither away to nothing isn’t inspiring kids to diet, but rather showing the world of impressionable kids that it’s not cute to skip a meal…every day….for a month.

And isn’t it a parent’s job to sort out the good stuff from the bad? To explain to their kids that it’s OK to be an innocent and well-mannered teenager (a la Taylor Swift) and totally not OK to get drunk and show off your panties (a la everyone else in Hollywood)? But at the same time, if we leave the parenting to the actual parents, does that leave celebrities off the hook? Again, I’m perplexed. I can’t even sort out my own thoughts!

What I do know is that no one in the spotlight signed up to mold the minds of an entire demographic, yet it’s something that comes with the job (kind of like celebrity stalkers, papparrazzi, and free gift bags, except, you know, more heart-warming). Everyone has the right to make their own mistakes, and it’s only celebrities who are forced to do so on the cover of Us Weekly. I can see how that could be a lot of pressure – lord knows I wouldn’t want some of my not-so-finest moments caught on camera and smeared all over the media. But at the same time, is it really that hard to remember how to put on a pair of underwear?

Come on, celebrities, you can’t control everything but you can control some things, and I’m pretty sure undies fall into the latter category.

I know it’s unfair to ask people to change who they are simply because young people are impressionable, but young people are impressionable. They haven’t learned their own god awful, embarrassing, I-will-never-do-that-ever-again, lessons and I don’t think they should have to just yet.

As you can see I’m still a bit torn. I’m not even sure where I stand on the topic.
What about you? Do you think celebs should be more careful as role models?

Ask any self-respecting woman what she looks for in a man, and likely among her responses is “the ability to make me laugh.” Look no further than Paul Rudd, the thirtysomething hunk from such smash hits as Anchorman and Knocked Up. When I wasn’t peeing my pants in the theaters, I was drooling over ol’ Paulie. Personality AND looks? Check, check.

And it’s clear I’m not alone.

While he may be known best for his blockbuster roles in Judd Apatow films, he’s also been featured in such landmark comedies as Clueless (duh!) and on television’s Friends as Phoebe’s husband (she was always my favorite Friends chick…so jealous she snagged Paul before the rest of us!). As such, Paul’s effability has been shown to stand the test of time. What could be better than that? (Editor’s Note: effing him, that’s what.)

Mr. Rudd’s new film, Role Models (co-starring the also-scrumptious Sean William Scott) opens today and looks to be his most promising role yet, since there’s nothing more effable than a funny boy who also takes time to hang with kids. You can join me in the movie theater while I fan myself and laugh to death. Or you can stay home with The Great Gatsby and and your Paul Rudd fantasies.

Any takers?

But what we absolutely do not want to do is send the message that sexual freedom and inhibition is a risk free lifestyle.

Recently, two writers from Jezebel – a website for women aged 25-35 – were invited onto Lizz Winstead’s show, Thinking and Drinking, to discuss their decisions to blog quite openly about their sexcapades and the message they send by writing about them (graphically) on the internet. Winstead, a former writer for The Daily Show, is a strong advocate of sexual empowerment and freedom, but argues it “can only be called a freedom if you protect yourself from rape, disease and pregnancy.”

Tracie Egan and Moe Tkacik, the Jezebel bloggers – who we have quoted and referenced many times before – showed up to the interview drunk and what they said caused quite a stir in the CollegeCandy office.

You can see the clip here:

We have no problem with the choices these women make in their personal lives, but we do have a problem with the fact that they take an issue like rape and make light of it. Pass it off like it’s funny, impossible, fictional and that they are too smart to let it happen to them.

No one is too “smart” to be raped. My friends are very smart people; some of the most intelligent, worldly and street smart people I know (Yes, I am bragging). But that didn’t mean anything when one of them went home with someone – a funny, attractive boy we knew through some friends – and found herself in an unsafe situation that she could not stop.

He was not some shady dude in the bar; she was “smart” enough to avoid that one.

It wasn’t the muscley guy buying rounds for every girl he saw; she knew not to go near that one.

It was a safe guy that she trusted and that did not make a difference.

Just as Winstead mentioned in the clip, the ladies of Jezebel have remained safe, not because they have made good choices, but because they are lucky. The same goes for me, and for a lot of the bloggers on this site. We are not doing anything different than the women who find themselves in danger; we are just really f-ing lucky.

Though we may not want to be role models, blogging comes with that responsibility. We would be jobless if it weren’t for the people who read and emulate us, so it is disgusting for these two ladies of Jezebel to ignore their responsibilities and make light of such a serious situation.

It may have been the wine talking, but what they said is embarrassing and just plain wrong. Women today are very lucky to live in a society that allows us the freedom to choose our lifestyle; we cannot take it for granted.

[Photo courtesy of Jezebel]

]]>