Let’s face it: we all make stupid decisions. Like choosing a fifth over a review session, or bringing that guy home…who stole our iPod in the morning. That’s part of college life… and a big part of what makes it so memorable. But there are some choices that have longer lasting repercussions; things we do now that will haunt us later.

So here are the 11 things from your 20’s you will most definitely regret when you’re 40.

11. Risque Internet Photos: What’s the point of having technology if you can’t use it to send a naughty pre-shower photo to your BF? Nothing will turn him on quite like a naked photo popping up in his inbox while he’s brushing up on his Stats knowledge. You trust him, so what’s the worst that could happen? How about a break up? Or the “forward” button? No matter what you think, those photos are going to come back and bite you in the (naked-with-a-spot-of-cellulite) ass. Just show him the real thing and let him turn to his imagination (or internet porn) for a mid-class pick me up.

10. Trendy Tats: You totally love butterflies/stars/unicorns now, but I can bet money that you won’t want them plastered on the top of your foot or your lower back forever. No one wants to see a mom with a rose tattoo on her left shoulder, so think before you ink.

9. Choosing guys over your girls: You get caught up in your relationship sometimes and blow off the girls. Fine, we get it. But when sometimes turns into “What the hell ever happened to Mary?” there is a problem. Especially when Mr. Douche Bag finally breaks up with you and you come crawling back to the girls with a tub of Edy’s and a box of tissues and they aren’t there to wipe the snot from your cheek. Do you really want to spend the rest of your days holed up in a dirty apartment watching your man play Rock Band and chug Natty Light? Learn the balance, honey.

8. Getting married too young: I’ve seen it too many times – people graduate, freak out and hold onto whatever they can of their youth. And they get married.  And become super lame married people. It may be pure bliss now (and lots and lots of kitchen-ware), but just think about all the awesome stuff you will miss by being tied down in your twenties, all that freedom: to travel when you want, to take a job wherever you want, to sleep with whomever you want, to party as late as you want, to discover yourself, to sleep with whomever you want…. Plus, do you really want pictures of your friends doing keg stands in your wedding album? I thought not.

7. Smoking: Mmmm tobacco. It feels so good when it hits (and consequently blackens) your lungs. Especially after you’ve had a few Rum and Diets. And you look so cool doing it. But you know what doesn’t feel good? Chemo. And you know what doesn’t look cool? Your wrinkley face or your kids stealing the pack from your tobacco stained purse and trying it for the first time. When they are 6. This sh*t will kill you, so stop it. Right now! Seriously, put down that Marlboro Light, sister.

6. Not traveling enough: Trust me on this one – you will never have the time, money or freedom to travel like you do now.  Pretty soon you’ll be working late nights and counting down the minutes until the that will be chock full of grocery runs and Bed, Bath and Beyond trips. Try finding time in that busy schedule to jet-set to Europe and “find yourself.” Pack your bags and see the world now, before you’re too old to experiment with drugs in Amsterdam and enjoy a ping pong show in Bangkok.  Pick up a travel book and start planning!

5. Bad Credit: You can’t live without that Coach bag right now. You just have to have that DVF dress for the date party. Everyone else has an iPhone and you want one too. You’ll just charge it and worry about it later, right? Wrong, bitches. Ruining your credit now on stupid stuff (yes, I am telling you that bag is a stupid investment) will totally eff things up for you in the future. Things like getting a house, a car, a boyfriend (bad credit is a total turn-off) and sometimes even a job. Spend wisely, ladies. That bag is going to be out of style in .25 seconds anyway.

4. Not finishing school: Do we really even need to mention this one? Could you think of anything you’d regret more when you are 40 and working the checkout lane at your neighborhood Wal-mart? That is, assuming, you can even get that job in this economy.

3. Pre-vacation tanning: You tell yourself that you just want to get a base tan before Spring Break in Cabo. Sure, you will look fiiiine in that white shift dress for the 6 days after you return, but that wrinkly, skin cancer-ed mess is not going to look so hot when you’re 40 and you look like a Sharpei.

2. Stilettos: Part of becoming a woman is rockin’ the hottest pair of the highest heels. They make your legs look sick (that’s a good thing), make the men beg, and your jeans are too long to wear with anything lower. Why wouldn’t you wear them? I’ve got one hyphenated word for you: hammer-toes. You want to spend the later part of your life looking at that in a sandal?  Make your Feet Happy with these ultra comfy and cute socks..

1. “It feels better without condoms” sex: You’ll probably regret this one right off the bat as you spend your senior year chasing a kid around the dorms, but you’ll seriously regret it later when you look back at your life and realize how much you missed out on because you were busy changing diapers and bouncing a kid on your knee. Oh, and no one likes a woman with a bumpy vagina. I’m just sayin’; those genital warts will never go away.

[Lead image via Yun Yulia/Shutterstock]

What is it about smoking that feels mysterious, or sexy, or chic? Or is that it? Do you smoke because of its image or do you smoke because it’s convenient? It gives you something to do with your hands at parties, I guess. But what else is there? Despite everything you know about smoking – emphysema, the fatality of lung cancer, the fact that it will give asthma to your kids if you keep this up – you’re still doing it. There has to be a reason.

Friends, I’m not trying to guilt-trip or shame you. Certainly, if you want to smoke – go ahead! It only hurts you (well, mostly — anyone in your direct vicinity is getting a good dose of secondhand, but hopefully, you make the conscientious choice to smoke away from others). I’m just trying to understand.

More than anything, smoking is disgusting. It smells bad. And let’s be real, you smell bad. I know you talk about how you always change your jacket from smoking outside to coming inside. I know you wear perfume, brush your teeth, wash your hair. But it’s still there. A constant scent underneath your body spray, your toothpaste. You stink, buddy. Plain and simple.

I think the worst thing is that it makes you look like you don’t care. It’s one thing to not care about what people think of you, or to not worry about intimidating other people. That’s confidence and it’s sexy. It’s different to look like you actually don’t care about yourself: your health and your future don’t matter as much to you as that cigarette. And friend, that is not sexy.

In the end, I want you to be in my future, friends. I want to get really old and cranky together. But the more I see you smoke, the more I realize you might not be there to play checkers in the park or feed pigeons together.

Friend, I hope someday you decide to quit. I’ll be there for you until that point, of course, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to contain my excitement when you make that decision.

Love always,

Michelle

Michelle is a food fanatic and fashion blogger trying to find her way in a post-graduate world. When she’s not frantically applying to grad schools, she’s shopping online and pretending to be getting work done. You can follow her @lockedoutblog! 

Aren’t you glad these didn’t happen to you?

Is smoking harmful for your nipples?

What do you think about these crazy holiday gifts?

This is the greatest dog video ever

Finding style inspiration from Kurt Cobain

Meet the inspiration for the next Taylor Swift album

Movies you may have missed this year

Lilo’s Playboy mag gets leaked

The power of later

Smoke-free advocates hail these changes as major advancements for student health. But others aren’t convinced, and smoking bans have become a controversial issue on many college campuses.

Everyone has heard about the dangers of secondhand smoke, and this is one of the major reasons for campus smoking bans. Advocates argue that it isn’t fair for students who choose not to smoke to be exposed to harmful cigarette smoke by other members of their community. But recently, the focus of many schools has turned to eliminating students’ smoking habits entirely.

For example, the University of Kentucky put in place a campus-wide smoking ban in 2009. At the time, the state of Kentucky had one of the highest smoking rates in the country, at 25.6%. The ban was protested by some students in a “smoke-out,” but went into effect despite opposition. And the University of Kentucky says that their program works. In 2008, before the ban went into effect, 33 people enrolled in a program on campus to help them quit smoking.

One year after the policy was enforced, that number rose to 146. UK does not penalize students for smoking. Instead, volunteers simply remind smokers of the ban and ask them to put out their cigarettes. The school also sells nicotine gum and patches to make visiting smokers feel more comfortable.

But opponents to the ban point out that smoking is a personal choice, and say that a university has no right to interfere with students’ personal decisions. Another obvious counter argument is the fact that smoke-free campuses may not stop students from smoking – it may just force them to take their habit elsewhere. Some say that educational programs dealing with the dangers of smoking may be more effective than outright smoking bans. But would students really listen?

My own school, Columbia University, banned smoking within 20 feet of all campus buildings last year. The policy was intensely debated, with many of our University Senators arguing for a full ban, and several others arguing against smoking restrictions of any kind. The 20-foot ban is rarely enforced here, and virtually nothing has changed since the resolution was passed. But our neighbors across the street, Barnard College, implemented a total smoking ban last year. From what I can see, their ban has been effective, as I have not seen a single smoker on Barnard’s campus since the policy went into effect. But the question is: did students actually stop smoking, or do they just smoke out on the street now?

What do you think? Is it fair for a college to ban smoking on campus? Does your college have a smoking ban in place? Do you think it works? Tell us about it in the comments below!

A controversial study led by researchers from Harvard and the University of California, San Diego, concluded that behaviors such as overeating and cigarette smoking could be contagious within close social networks. The researchers came to this conclusion by analyzing data from the Framingham Heart Study, a long-running, detailed survey that examined over 12,000 participants. The Framingham Study included information about body weight and drug use habits, and also indicated which subjects were friends or family members. Thanks to this unique feature, researchers were able to take a look at rates of obesity and other health risks among friend groups.

Dr. Nicholas Christakis and Dr. James Fowler, the leaders of the study, found that if one spouse became obese, the other was 37 percent more likely to become obese as well. If a man became obese, his brother’s risk rose by 40 percent. And the risk was even higher among friends  – the doctors found that someone with an obese friend was between 51 and 171 percent more likely to become obese.

Dr. Christakis and Dr. Fowler provided three possible explanations for their findings. The first explanation was a natural human tendency to choose friends who are similar to ourselves. The second was the fact that friends may be similarly affected by the environments they share. The third explanation, which attracted the most attention, was called contagion – the possibility that a person’s ideas of acceptable weight and portion size might be influenced by how much their friends weigh or eat. This was the explanation that doctors Christakis and Fowler focused on as the cause of obesity.

But not all scientists agree with this theory. A recent paper attacked the findings of doctors Christakis and Fowler, saying that their study contained serious statistical errors. Other doctors don’t doubt the integrity of the study, but say that it is impossible to prove that contagion was the cause of high rates of obesity among friends and families. A more recent study that focused specifically on women did find that social relationships had an influence on bodyweight, but the influence was very small. The researchers were also unable to pinpoint one specific explanation for their findings.

So, the verdict is mixed: problems like obesity may or may not spread among friends. But even if behaviors like overeating and smoking aren’t contagious, the question of friends and behavior is an interesting one for college students. When we go away to college and have to make new friends, do they influence our behavior? Do we change and become more like our new friends? Or do we choose friends who are more like us to begin with? What do you think?

If any generation knows that, our generation does. We’re the ant-smoking campaign generation. We’re the ones who saw the pictures of the lungs before and after someone spent their lives smoking. We’re the kids who were told not to cave to peer pressure. The ones who sat through D.A.R.E. classes and school assemblies and were told before we ever encountered a cigarette that smoking kills. So we know the dangers, those of us who smoke and those of us who have never smoked. We’re well informed and well aware, and people make their own decisions for their own reasons regardless.

There will never be a world where no one smokes. (Maybe I’ll eat my words someday, but I’d do so gladly.) So why exactly is the campaign to rid the world of smoking still a big issue? Yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg signed a law banning smoking in public places like parks and beaches. And now, according to Gawker, the government is asking tobacco companies to publish corrective statements on their advertisements and marketing materials, statements that read, “Smoking is very addictive. And it’s not easy to quit…We manipulated cigarettes to make them more addictive… When you smoke, the nicotine actually changes the brain—that’s why quitting is so hard.”  This is just one of many, and they do get harsher. And while part of me revels in the fact that tobacco companies are finally being forced to admit to just how harmful their products are, another part of me knows this will make no difference at all.

Personally, I’ve never been a fan of smoking, or being around people while they’re smoking. But even I can see that things are getting a bit ridiculous. Everyone knows just how harmful smoking can be, and everyone knows that tobacco companies have always been well aware of just how addictive smoking can be, knows just how much they encouraged that addiction. But that hasn’t stopped smokers from smoking and it hasn’t stopped tobacco smokers from selling. And neither will this.

So while I understand the emphasis on banning smoking, and am thankful that I won’t be hit by a cloud of cigarette smoke while laying on the beach this summer, I also have to ask when is it enough? Where is the line? Smokers are making an informed decision, and while it may not be a healthy one, it’s still there decision to make. People make unhealthy, informed decisions all the time (hello, we’re in college!)  and at some point we just have to step back and let them. And then, maybe we can focus our attention on some of the more relevant and hopefully resolvable issues.

Just in case you’re curious…there are a bunch of flavors to choose from including: Sour Diesel, Grape Ape, Orange Kush, and Doc Weed – something for everyone! And for you traditional Coca Cola lovers, there’s Canna Cola. Though each bottle is going to be around $10 to $15, there’s no doubt this drink will be ‘high’ on everyone’s grocery lists…for medicinal purposes, of course!

With this new breakthrough, who knows what other products might hit the shelves? Pot-sicles? Marijuana marinara sauce? Pot-tarts?

The sky’s the limit!

“Have you tried my nail polish yet, ladies!?”

5 WTF celebrity endorsements. Seriously, WTF??

Not gonna lie, some of those trapped miners were HOT.

Love makes our hearts melt.

Kanye West (nude photo) scandal alert!!

The history of women and smoking.

Fashion challenge: thigh-high socks. Do it right.

Bonjour, mon amis!

Sorry, couldn’t help it. I’ve just taken up French and I’m getting so obsessed! The language is so gorgeous (especially when it’s coming from the lips of a sexy Parisian man) and a nice change from Spanish, which I’ve studied all my life. Plus, every French class I sit through takes me back to my days in Paris this past summer. I loved everything about it: the food, the people, the fashion, the scenery.

Well, everything except for all the smoking. It seemed like everywhere I went there was a cloud of smoke around me. Call me crazy (a lot of people do), but all that smoke just made me super paranoid. I couldn’t shake the vision of my lungs getting just a little bit blacker and my skin getting clogged with wrinkle-causing smoke particles. Not that I know if smoke particles exist, but my imagination usually doesn’t adhere to scientific fact, so whatev.

This made me imagine what it would be like to actually be a smoker, which led me to wondering:

Would You Rather be forced to pick up an unhealthy habit you hate (smoking, eating fast food for every meal, etc.) OR give up your absolute favorite activity?

Things to Consider: Disease, feeling gross, not getting to watch Jersey Shore anymore (hey, don’t judge).

Think about it. Think about it some more. Vote. Then tell everyone why below.

Let’s face it: we all make stupid decisions. Like choosing a fifth over a review session, or bringing that guy home…who stole our iPod in the morning. That’s part of college life… and a big part of what makes it so memorable. But there are some choices that have longer lasting repercussions; things we do now that will haunt us later.

So here are the 11 things from your 20’s you will most definitely regret when you’re 40.

11. Risque Internet Photos: What’s the point of having technology if you can’t use it to send a naughty pre-shower photo to your BF? Nothing will turn him on quite like a naked photo popping up in his inbox while he’s brushing up on his Stats knowledge. You trust him, so what’s the worst that could happen? How about a break up? Or the “forward” button? No matter what you think, those photos are going to come back and bite you in the (naked-with-a-spot-of-cellulite) ass. Just show him the real thing and let him turn to his imagination (or internet porn) for a mid-class pick me up.

10. Trendy Tats: You totally love butterflies/stars/unicorns now, but I can bet money that you won’t want them plastered on the top of your foot or your lower back forever. No one wants to see a mom with a rose tattoo on her left shoulder, so think before you ink.

9. Choosing guys over your girls: You get caught up in your relationship sometimes and blow off the girls. Fine, we get it. But when sometimes turns into “What the hell ever happened to Mary?” there is a problem. Especially when Mr. Douche Bag finally breaks up with you and you come crawling back to the girls with a tub of Edy’s and a box of tissues and they aren’t there to wipe the snot from your cheek. Do you really want to spend the rest of your days holed up in a dirty apartment watching your man play Rock Band and chug Natty Light? Learn the balance, honey.

8. Getting married too young: I’ve seen it too many times – people graduate, freak out and hold onto whatever they can of their youth. And they get married.  And become super lame married people. It may be pure bliss now (and lots and lots of kitchen-ware), but just think about all the awesome stuff you will miss by being tied down in your twenties, all that freedom: to travel when you want, to take a job wherever you want, to sleep with whomever you want, to party as late as you want, to discover yourself, to sleep with whomever you want…. Plus, do you really want pictures of your friends doing keg stands in your wedding album? I thought not.

7. Smoking: Mmmm tobacco. It feels so good when it hits (and consequently blackens) your lungs. Especially after you’ve had a few Rum and Diets. And you look so cool doing it. But you know what doesn’t feel good? Chemo. And you know what doesn’t look cool? Your wrinkley face or your kids stealing the pack from your tobacco stained purse and trying it for the first time. When they are 6. This sh*t will kill you, so stop it. Right now! Seriously, put down that Marlboro Light, sister.

6. Not traveling enough: Trust me on this one – you will never have the time, money or freedom to travel like you do now.  Pretty soon you’ll be working late nights and counting down the minutes until the that will be chock full of grocery runs and Bed, Bath and Beyond trips. Try finding time in that busy schedule to jet-set to Europe and “find yourself.” Pack your bags and see the world now, before you’re too old to experiment with drugs in Amsterdam and enjoy a ping pong show in Bangkok.  Pick up a travel book and start planning!

5. Bad Credit: You can’t live without that Coach bag right now. You just have to have that DVF dress for the date party. Everyone else has an iPhone and you want one too. You’ll just charge it and worry about it later, right? Wrong, bitches. Ruining your credit now on stupid stuff (yes, I am telling you that bag is a stupid investment) will totally eff things up for you in the future. Things like getting a house, a car, a boyfriend (bad credit is a total turn-off) and sometimes even a job. Spend wisely, ladies. That bag is going to be out of style in .25 seconds anyway.

4. Not finishing school: Do we really even need to mention this one? Could you think of anything you’d regret more when you are 40 and working the checkout lane at your neighborhood Wal-mart? That is, assuming, you can even get that job in this economy.

3. Pre-vacation tanning: You tell yourself that you just want to get a base tan before Spring Break in Cabo. Sure, you will look fiiiine in that white shift dress for the 6 days after you return, but that wrinkley, skin cancer-ed mess is not going to look so hot when you’re 40 and you look like a Sharpei.

2. Stilettos: Part of becoming a woman is rockin’ the hottest pair of the highest heels. They make your legs look sick (that’s a good thing), make the men beg, and your jeans are too long to wear with anything lower. Why wouldn’t you wear them? I’ve got one hyphenated word for you: hammer-toes. You want to spend the later part of your life looking at that in a sandal?  Make your Feet Happy with these ultra comfy and cute socks..

(Editor’s note: I was going to put a picture of a gross foot here, but you Google “gross feet in sandals” and tell me how it makes you feel.)

1. “It feels better without condoms” sex: You’ll probably regret this one right off the bat as you spend your senior year chasing a kid around the dorms, but you’ll seriously regret it later when you look back at your life and realize how much you missed out on because you were busy changing diapers and bouncing a kid on your knee. Oh, and no one likes a woman with a bumpy vagina. I’m just sayin’; those genital warts will never go away.