It’s May 26 and I officially have less than three weeks left in my college career. Most of you are already out of school (how’s that going by the way?), but I have twenty more days left. That means twenty more days to stress about my unplanned future before graduation day.

Like many of you recent grads or soon to be college grads, I do not have a job lined up. In this economy jobs aren’t as flourishing as Lindsay Lohan’s alcohol problem and therefore neither is a recent grad’s income. A lack of income can present a problem when your funds have to be spent on rent and insurance rather than Natty Light and late night fast food. I am included in this fund-deficient category. Sure, I have some cashmonay saved up… but not enough to sustain three months worth of rent in New York City.

So after some debate and inner turmoil, I have decided to move back in with my parents. This is a desperate act and the last option I wanted to choose, but with no job and no income, it wasn’t a choice at all. So back to Mom and Dad’s I go.

It’s going to be a major transition, yes, and probably not the most exciting prospect after having total freedom for 4 years, but maybe it’s not the worst thing, either. I mean, at least you know the bathroom floors are clean, right? Read More »

Four years ago, I started the crazy journey that is college. Though it doesn’t seem like four years ago; the entire experience flew by. It felt like just yesterday that I stepped foot onto Penn State’s main campus and now I’m packing up my apartment and heading off into some crazy unknown direction, also known as the casa de mama and papa.

Sitting at our graduation, I remember thinking, ‘how is this end?’ It just doesn’t feel real. I’m still waiting to wake up in my old dorm room, 4 years ago.  I feel like I should still be attending classes, where I stopped going to learn the material, but more to hang out with the friends I’ve developed along the way.  I feel like I should still be partying it up with my crazy friends who have made this one of the best experiences ever. I will never forget all our numerous inside jokes, and to be honest, I am petrified of a life without them.  I know graduation changes friendships and it sucks.

College has been a great time and I’m by no means ready to say goodbye, or even see ya later.

I guess what I’m trying to get at is I’m not all that excited about having graduated. Yes, it’s exciting to have accomplished a major milestone, but it’s also a big life change that scares the living crap out of me.  And to be honest, graduating didn’t help me in my book of life.  Young freshman me thought by this time I would have such a clear understanding of “who I am.” And although it’s challenged me, at times I feel like I’ve only learned little tiny bits (like I actually do like wings, I’m a terrible beer drinker but awesome pong player…), if anything. Read More »

It’s Friday the 13^th, and even though I’m not particularly superstitious—I’ve stepped on many a crack in my day, and my mother’s back is still working just fine—I do feel a little uneasy. That’s mostly because, as my main man Tim Gunn might say, I’m concerned about a lot of things right now. Senior year just isn’t as stress-free as I thought it would be. I’ve got stupid group projects, the college gender gap, and the Gosselin-Johnston unholy d-bag alliance to worry about.

And that’s not all—we’re living in a world where wearing a miniskirt to class can get you expelled, for Pete’s sake. It’s enough to make you want to abandon college altogether. Here are some of the other things that have been worrying CC writers this week:

-       Gossip Girl’s ill-advised threesome. Was anyone else hoping that the ménage would turn out to be between Chuck, Blair, and a clone of Chuck?

-       What exactly is Google Wave, and does it mean that the robot revolution is coming sooner than we thought?

-       How long it’ll take to get off the waitlist at Rent the Runway, a website that promises to make all your fantasies come true. Read More »

I'm gonna be bald by the time I graduate.

Ok, I know it’s only the middle of the semester – the hump of the term – but I can’t lie … senior year is brutally kicking my ass. As I keep referring to my day-minder to see what is due next or what I need to worry about in the near future (For example, the GRE), I can’t help but think back to sweeter, less busier times such as my first year in college – which I swear feels like it just happened yesterday.

Seniors, doesn’t it feel like just last week were filling out college applications, picking where we would attend, and nervously packing up our rooms and moving into our dorm room for the first time? The last three years have flown by, and this year is no different, except instead of saying to yourself “I have ___ many years left” you hear the fast-paced ticking of the clock letting you know your time is dwindling.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

Well, if you’re like me, you are hearing more than the ticking of the graduation clock. Read More »

I’ve always appreciated the phrase “no offense but (insert ANYTHING!)” for it’s ability to take away all offense to the next part of the statement. I went through about a thirteen year phrase where I truly believed that saying “no offense, but” before I said the most heinous thing possible would make it impossible for the person to be mad at me.

Needless to say I lost a few (all) friends over this phase.

As the time starts to tick down at school I’m not only getting increasingly nostalgic (remember that hilarious time I fell on the ice and broke my tailbone!??!) but also increasingly eager to dole out some honesty before certain people go out to the real world. Hence I started the first official Honesty Month at Syracuse. It’s an entire month of “no offense but.” I know, fabulous idea right? Read More »

I’ve started preparing for my post graduation depression/emo stage. I’ve bought the tissue boxes and I’ve prepared the soundtrack (Seasons of Love on repeat). But I also made a proactive step of creating a list of things that I know I absolutely won’t miss- that way when I’m putting on my fifth layer of black eyeliner and tattooing tears on my face I’ll remember that there were some bad things about college.

STUDYING

I always start my studying with a lot of energy and excitement. I have blank flashcards stacked next to fresh pens and my unwrapped books. I put on my fake glasses and start poring over the material faster than I can highlight. Three minutes into this invigorating “studying” process I’m bored. I only have two more tests left and then I will never ever have to study ever again. Never again will I have to eat breakfast, check my e-mail, and simultaneously flip flashcards and mumble answers to myself. Read More »

While I’m not known for having tons of morals, standards, or values, I do know the difference between purchasing something and stealing it. However, for some reason, taking things without exchanging money at college is not considered stealing. It’s considered hilarious, thrifty, and even heroic in some cases.

Throughout the past four years I’ve improved my stealing skills and I can now easily slip an entire overhead projector into my pants while distracting my professor with nonsensical questions about alternative office hours. And the best part about taking things at college is that it’s not the use that’s important; but rather the obscurity. A traffic cone? Awesome! Frat Composite? Sick! A wheelchair? Stellar!

But now as I sit in my living room looking at the stolen fishbowl full of billiard balls, the cabinet filled with dining hall forks, and the freshman we took to do the housework, I’m starting to realize that it’s soon time for me to stop grabbing everything I can put my hands on. I didn’t realize it had become a problem until I was home over winter break in the mall and I found myself straining to pocket everything that wasn’t nailed down to the floor. I would walk down the supermarket aisle with my mom and whisper “pocket the apples, frozen peas in the purse.” She not only did not abide, but she questioned how she raised me so wrong. ( I have a long list if she’s truly interested one day, but that’s another blog.) Read More »

I usually love the first week of the semester. Hour-long classes are reduced to ten minute group-syllabus readings and the only homework is filling out an index card with my name and a fun fact. I usually run to the bookstore and pick up five color-coded notebooks, folders, and pens and then quickly fill them all in with class names, professor’s office hours, and class meeting times.

But this semester I just can’t make myself seem to care about my classes.

I spent all my ten-minute syllabus lectures twitching to leave while glaring at the girl who thought it was okay to ask questions about the professor’s font preferences (really? is that really essential information right now?). I bought one five-subject notebook and started using an old Trapper Keeper folder that I found at home for all my handouts. I’m not even exactly sure where I even found this Trapper Keeper because the fun facts on the inside folds include a list of the presidents and ends with President Clinton 1993- ___. The only other things I have at home that are that old are an empty pog case and a Minnie-Mouse diary with one entry that reads, “Woke up, watched tv. Urkel very funny today!” Read More »