Unlike many of my friends, I didn’t spend my summer working my butt off at some incredible internship, or traveling around the globe checking out exotic places. I put my seven years of competitive swimming to use and decided to teach people how to swim at a nearby university. Not only did I get to enjoy the gorgeous Miami weather on a daily basis (when we weren’t having torrential downpours) and get to look at the even more gorgeous guys, I learned some very interesting things.

For example, even the cutest little girl’s vomit will be vile when you are covered with it. And, even though the adorable boy you teach can’t be more than 40 pounds, his “accidental” kicks to your lady parts will make you see stars. Every. single. time.

Since I don’t plan on teaching swimming or working with kids in the future, I didn’t anticipate learning anything super important through this job. I figured I’d be in the sun, make some money, and get really pruney fingers now and then. But while I was teaching these little kids how to stay afloat in a large body of water, they were teaching me a much bigger lesson. Read More »

I’m a stripper.

Well, not really, but I have done a good number of amateur nights. I’ve danced on stage naked for strangers, swung around the pole, and even given private dances. I was incredibly nervous my first time, but realized quickly that it was EASY and exhilarating.

I thought this week I would share some tips with you guys on how to give the perfect striptease – I promise it’s easier than you think! Even more, it’s fun and definitely something new and exciting for you and your partner to share. He’ll love seeing you in a sexy new light and you’ll love the power you have to turn him to putty in your hands. Read More »

Last week I asked the CollegeCandy writers to share their biggest piece of advice for dudes. Then I passive aggressively sent that link to every guy I know. What can I say? I’m a philanthropist.

This week I asked the writers to dole out the advice again. This time, though, we’re dishing it to the ladies. Not because we hate, but because we want to stop our fellow females from making huge life mistakes. YOu know, like wearing full makeup to the gym or starving themselves to fit some unrealistic standard of beauty.

Share your own nuggets of wisdom and advice with your sistas in the comments section.

Kiki – University of Missouri: Friends don’t let friends date Justin Bobbys. Also, you can probably get that top for $24.80 at Forever 21.

Gemma – NYU: Cliche but true: chicks before dicks. Men can be awesome, but you’ll have more fun if you spend less time thinking about ‘em, do what makes you happy, enjoy your kick-ass friends, and then let a lucky fella or two come along for the ride.

Alex – Lakehead University: Don’t compromise yourself for a boy. You won’t have to change anything about yourself when someone loves you.

Leah – Ryerson University: If you have to think about whether a piece of clothing is too short or too tight, it probably is. Read More »

My mom does a lot of really annoying things.

She calls me really early in the morning, or really late at night. To talk about reality TV shows.
Whenever I’m on the phone with her, she hangs up abruptly to get another call…without saying goodbye.
She pees with the door open in the powder room on the main floor of our house.
She backed into my car when it was parked on her driveway…

But no matter how much I want to shake her and scream, “MOM IT’S 8AM ON A SUNDAY AND I DO NOT CARE WHAT YOU THINK OF RAMONA!” the woman has given me so much and I can’t forget that.

My mom is one of the most generous people I know, always giving her time and services to other people. She will do anything for me, including moving me and all my stuff from dorm to sorority house to house to apartment to apartment. She’s always in the mood for a trip to the mall and sometimes even throws her credit card down at the register. She’s an awesome cook, she’s pretty good at Scrabble and she did apologize when she backed into my car…

But the thing I’m most grateful for when it comes to my mom is the confidence and self esteem she has instilled in me.

I was a fat kid growing up. And not just baby fat. Fat fat. I was tall and big and had a perm – needless to say, I stuck out. But I never knew it. In fact, I didn’t realize quite how big I was until I looked at pictures from my childhood long after those years were over. At the time, thanks to my mom, I thought I was just like everyone else. You see, she was a plus sized woman, but I never realized there was anything wrong with that. I don’t remember my mom ever talking about her weight. I don’t remember her ever hiding herself or her body out of shame. Read More »

What a coincidence it is that April is both Stress Awareness Month and when we all take finals. Cruel trick, world. A cruel trick, indeed.

Instead of grabbing a cigarette or another cup of coffee, use exercise this year as a way to alleviate the overwhelming feelings that come with cramming a semester’s worth of information into a few study sessions.

Clinically proven, exercise naturally decreases the amount of stress hormones your body produces and counteracts your body’s normal stress response. By working out regularly, your body will better be able to handle finals week and allow you to get in the amount of studying you desperately need. It will allow the burden of 2 tests in one day seem much less daunting than it really is. It will make the inevitable ‘F’ seem like a very doable passing grade.

So just take a deep breath and put on those sneakers before you hit the books. Read More »

A few months ago my roommate and I went to a strip club with some friends. I was expecting a trashy bar with dirty-looking girls, but it wasn’t like that at all. The club was small, clean, and felt safe. The girls were all attractive, not supermodels, but they looked real. And we had a blast.

We made friends with a few of the girls, and even got one’s email address. She told us how much fun she had dancing and how empowered and sexy she felt afterward. We left that night wanting to be strippers, and swore we would do amateur night some day.

Well, we finally did it.

Amateur night happens every Tuesday. The club is 45 minutes outside the city, and neither of us have cars, so it was tricky trying to find a day we both didn’t have homework and could get a ride. My roommate’s friend offered to drive us and we no longer had any excuse to put it off. Read More »

I’ll admit it: I’ve got a thing for relationship self-help books. When I’m working the floor at my local bookstore, I can’t help but skim through the latest additions to the section (though I pray no one sees me…) Maybe it’s the colorful covers or the catchy titles; I mean who can pass up a book with the word “bitch” right on the front? Since I’m somewhat of a connoisseur in the area, I decided to write about my favorite for all you gals out there!

“Why Men Love Bitches” is as sassy as the title suggests, and that is precisely what I love about it! Sherry is hard-hitting, honest and, most importantly, RIGHT.

Now the word “bitch” comes with all sorts of negative connotations: rude, stuck-up, conceited and all sorts of other nasty adjectives. But that’s not the kind of bitch Sherry is writing about. In “Why Men Love Bitches,” the bitch is confident, not cocky, knows her worth and is not willing to settle for any schmuck.

Sherry empowers women and made me realize that I should not being chasing desperately after any man. That strips me of my dignity and I am better than that; in fact, every women is! If a man is making you run after him, you should turn your heels and bolt in the other direction. This is a clear signal that you will never feel good enough for him. There is a fine line between effort and desperation and Sherry definitely helped me clarify that and all my expectations when pursuing a man. Read More »

Due to a mixture of ugly rain and extreme exhaustion from losing an hour of sleep (seriously, that hour kills me every year!), I spent my Sunday in bed feeling sorry for myself with my laptop and a bag of Doritos. Probably not the best idea considering I have a white Macbook, which now has orange fingerprints all over it.

That is when I found this.

The article discusses women of all ages and our constant comparisons to others, but it really struck me as something college girls deal with daily.

When I force myself to think about it, I realize that I am an accomplished girl. I go to a great university where I excel in my classes, I have great friends, a great family and plenty of awesome life experiences. But I don’t often think that way.

Instead, I am always comparing myself to the people around me. The friend who always gets better grades, the girl who always has the boyfriend, and every single girl who is thinner and prettier than I am.

I constantly find myself thinking that I should have a boyfriend by now, that I should have seen Europe by now, or that I should have done a lot more by this stage in my life than I have. No matter how well I do on an exam, I always think that I should have done better. No matter how good I look before I leave the house, the other girls at the bar look better. Read More »

I believe that it’s a well known fact that almost all guys above 12 look at porn. It usually starts with the magazines stashed under their beds for secrecy, then progresses to scrambled porn channels and online porn sites. And, though you don’t want to believe it, it doesn’t matter whether they are single or in a relationship. Try “borrowing” your boyfriend’s computer and you’ll know what I’m talking about.

According to the guardian.co.uk website,”In the US, with the pornography industry bringing in up to $15 billion annually, people spend more on porn every year than they do on movie tickets and all the performing arts combined. Each year, in Los Angeles alone, more than 10,000 hardcore pornographic films are made, against an annual Hollywood average of just 400 movies.” Read More »

Last week one of the CollegeCandy writers asked a question that I have been thinking about since I started crushing on boys in the 4th grade: would you date someone who weighs less than you?

Many people weighed in (tee hee) on the topic via the comments, and most of them seemed angry that we even brought up the issue. I mean, weight shouldn’t matter! But I really felt that a lot of people were missing the point.

This is not a question of body image or beauty, but rather a question of comfort, societal expectations and the role of men and women in a relationship. I was curious to see if weight was something guys considered when dating someone (beyond the whole preference for a girl with big boobs and a negative waist).

And based on what this guy said, I think weight and size matter more than most people are willing to admit. Read More »