Now let me start this off by saying I have nothing against freshman.  I volunteer at Orientation every year. I dutifully hand out identification cards and point them in the direction of the cafeteria/registrar/financial aid office.  I’ll help them get through Writing 101. I’ll edit their articles. I’ll listen to their incessant chatter in the library with mild amusement.

But um…well…actually, it’s probably a little bit more than mild amusement. But it’s not my fault, honest. You see I have tutoring hours in the library and when no one shows up desperately asking me to explain what the Bard was rambling on about (All they really need to do is watch 10 Things I Hate You.) I’m left with nothing to do but catch up on my reading…or you know, listen in on other people’s conversation. And I can’t help it if the freshman sitting in the library basement at the table opposite me talk, really, really, loudly. And really, who wouldn’t be intrigued about “OMG. The most perfect schedule. EVER,” or how one particular girl was so thrown off by midterms week that she gave up brushing her teeth because she just didn’t have the time. Or about how one professor “totally mentions sex in every one of his lectures.”

No I am not making this stuff up. I am not that creative or gross. So yeah, as I said. These conversations are a lot more entertaining than Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit. Frankly, the guy liked to ramble on, and his writing can get a little stale.  But the freshman, they never steer me wrong. Their life altering college experience is my reality tv.

Here are just a few of my favorite freshmanism. (Yes I made that word up. It totally works though, don’t you think?)

Read More »

So I’m registering for classes this week. The second semester of my senior year. My last semester ever as an undergraduate. Better make it a good one right? Oh, I intend to.

You see, I have a plan. I’m going to take my last two required college classes and then take on an internship for college credit so I don’t have to take a full course load can gain some real life experience without jumping into real life at full force.  But as I sit here and consider my potential schedule for next semester I start to realize, once again, just how final all of this is.

If everything goes according to plan (then again, nothing ever goes according to plan) I’ll only be in class two days per week next semester, six hours each day. Plus work, and the occasional club meeting/party/annual-event-I-swore-I’d never-attend-again-last-year. College life will still take up a decent chunk of my time, but not nearly as much time as it takes up right now. And it will be a complete turnaround from this semester, a semester that feels a whole lot like someone is playing a game of let’s see how long we can keep Jenn away from her bed before she collapses. So yeah, it will be different.

Less time on campus, means less time to be involved on campus. And as my college life gets closer to ending, my college life gets closer to ending. The school paper has already starting training editorial assistants to replace us, something I have a hard time grasping. We’re training people to replace us when I still feel like I need to be trained! And continuing with that theme, that campus job I had since I was a freshman? I’ve started training my replacement there as well.  And as I yammered on incessantly about the exact font size and label color that should be used on each folder, I started to realize exactly how not ready I am to hand over my color coded filing cabinet to someone else. (And, no, I don’t think it’s just because I’m a control freak, either.) Read More »

I’ve sat down to write the first entry of the column that will chronicle my final year as a college student about fifty a few times now, but I just haven’t been able to figure out where to start. So I figure I might as well start with the truth: I can’t seem to write this column because I’m not really sure how I feel about this whole “senior year” thing.

I mean, sure, part of me revels in the fact that this will be the last year I am forced to deal with pretentious professors and overzealous freshmen. No more writing papers on topics I just don’t care about or being forced to take core courses I have no use for. (I am a currently taking Plagues, Outbreaks and Biological Warfare for my science requirement. I can be bitter.) No more late night cram sessions or midterms. Or finals. No more college.

But no more college doesn’t just mean no more classes, its means no more college. No more college means no more built in, ever expanding social network. No more themed parties or club sponsored events or months off in between semesters. No more college means that I’m going to have to join the real world.

So with that in mind, I’ve decided I’m going to enjoy it while it lasts. I’m a recently 21-year-old, single college girl with way too much to worry about. I have every reason to check out and give in to that oh so tempting state of being known as Senioritis. The only problem? Life won’t let me. You see, it seems that Junior Jenn was much more eager than Senior Jenn. Junior Jenn believed that writing a senior thesis would be fun, that attempting to finish out both of my majors in the fall semester was a great idea, that taking on leadership roles in clubs would be worth it, and that – oh yeah – taking on the roll of tutor in addition to already working 10+ hours a week would be the right thing to do. Read More »

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 »

In high school I was a boyfriend kind of girl. I was never single for long, but instead jumped from guy to guy. I went through every relationship possible. I was in love, I was out of love, I was in lust, I was in good relationships and in not so good relationships. I dated guys that treated me like I was everything, and guys that treated me like I was nothing.

Regardless, I was never really single. So when I came to college, I wanted things to be different. I didn’t want to be tied down in a relationship or be known as some guy’s girlfriend. Instead, I wanted to be independent and on my own (and I also wanted to have a lot of fun). And in the four years that I’ve been at college, I’ve been able to be and do all of those things.

Unlike a lot of people, I have never seriously dated anyone or had a boyfriend in college. Read More »

Today is May 5th. Many of you are wearing sombreros and chugging tequila graduate in a few weeks, or even days. (Did I just freak you out!?) Thankfully I’m on a college quarter system, so I have one more month of bliss before entering the real world. But still, there never seems to be enough time these days for everything I want to do.

I want to tie up lose ends, check off more things on my bucket list, hang with my friends, take those last few exams, and maybe even make out with that hot guy in my Comm class. But despite all the things I’ve yet to do, I still know graduation is approaching. And like paying taxes or eventual old lady boob saggage, there is nothing I can do to stop it.

Soon all of us will be packing up, moving out, and moving on. We will pack up our extra long twin bed sheets, our dorm room essentials, and say goodbye to our roommates. And for the first time ever, many of us will be living on our own for the first time ever. Think about it: we’ve lived with family until college where we had the luxury of dorm life or a whole slew of roommates to share our space wtih. But now we’re on our own. Many of you may cheer and jump at this notion. Others may weep.

I’m somewhere in between. I mean, I hated wearing shower shoes all the time, but I didn’t mind the coed bathroom (I see you, unnamed hottie sophomore year that “accidentally” let his towel drop a few times). I’m excited about leaving my 10X12 jail cell behind, but I’m apprehensive about going it alone in the real world. There are just pros and cons to both, and I can’t decide which I prefer. Read More »

Graduation is fast approaching and soon we college girls will have to swap our flip flops and sweats for pumps and two-piece suits.

Unless you have an amazing job where you can work in your PJs, you’re going to need to update your wardrobe with some real people clothes (that don’t permanently smell of pizza and beer, no matter how many times you wash them).

I, for example, currently own one pair of nice slacks and two dress shirts. And because of all that pizza and beer, they don’t exactly fit as well as they used to. Looks like it’s time to update my closest. But like most college students, I’m not exactly rolling in the dough and can’t exactly afford to buy an entire new wardrobe.

So as per usual when I need some real life advice, I sought out my go-to career hero, president of Hearst Magazine’s Cathie Black. With her work wardrobe guidelines, I’ve compiled a no-nonsense guide to work fashion, complete with tips to help you (and me!) navigate the world of appropriate work wear. Read More »

"Uhhh... what now?"

[OMGeeee. Graduation is coming soon. As in, my graduation. As in, in less than two months I'm going to be donning a really unflattering gown and listening to someone tell me that the world is my oyster and blah, blah, blah. As in, I'm about to be a real adult living in the real world. There is so much to do, to enjoy, to learn before I graduate, that I'm not sure I'll have time to do it all. But I'm going to try, starting with my Senior Year Bucket List, then tackling a little reading....]

With graduation fast approaching, I am trying to cram in all the education and life lessons that I possibly can before I have to leave this place. I go to class, take notes, listen, and really try to absorb the teachings from all my amazing professors, teachers, and friends.

However, there are some life lessons that simply can’t be expressed in a quarter long class or in a classroom at all. There are just not enough practical classes that will ready us for life after graduation, or answer so many of the questions we don’t have the answers to. Like, how do I manage a checkbook? How do I find the perfect apartment in an unknown city? Am I going to stay in touch with all my friends post college? How do I make a cup of coffee? What am I actually going to do? Who will I become?

Since we don’t have much “real-world” experience yet, we can benefit and learn from others’ life experiences, stories, and knowledge. There is so much to be learned from other people, and thankfully, so many of those people have written their wisdom down for us.

So for all my fellow college-seniors-who-are-freaking-out-about-graduating-and-have-no-idea-what-they’re-doing, here are five great books by five great authors that might give us all a little insight and guidance. Read More »

Ho.ly Sh*t

Today, I was walking across campus on the way to my last class before Spring Break (CABO, HERE I COME!) and I had a HOLY SH*T moment. You know, one of those defining moments when reality slaps you hard across the face prompting you to stop dead in your tracks and scream HOLY SH*T.

Well, today reality slapped me with the inevitable fact that I am graduating from college in three months. Three short, tiny, baby-like months.

After having a minor panic attack, I started to think about what this really means to me and probably to all seniors out there. As cliché as it sounds, this really is the beginning of the end. Unless you’re sticking around for an extra semester (aka: for one more football season), college is practically over.

This is the end (or slow decline, I should say) of all things that aren’t socially acceptable outside in the real world: keg stands, aggressive day drinking, an affinity for theme parties, fast metabolisms, sleeping till noon, and – occasionally the college staple – the walk of shame (or the stride of pride, depending on how you look at it). Read More »

After the novelty of college graduation (and all the great gifts that came with it) wore off, I spent a year crying myself to sleep. And I’m not exaggerating. While being done with school after 16 years was pretty liberating, not knowing what was coming next scared the sh*t out of me. And the fact that no one ever warned me how difficult being an adult would be made things a whole lot harder.

I went through a lot that first year – looking for a job, moving to a new city, ending a long relationship, and learning how to care for myself, to name a few – all by myself and now feel that I have the experience and knowledge to advise others on the transition. Because it’s a hard one and every college grad should know that they are not alone. Come back every week for another nugget of information to help you survive in the big, bad world.

The hardest part of graduating college is not the fact that your friends are now spread all over the country. It is not the fact that you can no longer party 6 nights a week with $1 pitchers. It isn’t even the whole “getting a job” thing (even now).

The hardest part is having no freaking clue how to do anything. Read More »