[This summer a dream internship with Lucky magazine moved me from Austin, Texas, where I’ve spent all 21 years of my life, to New York City for the summer. Come along for the ride and follow me through this column as I take on all that the city has in store for me. I’ll share tips I’ve picked up along the way about everything from how to pack (stop, drop and roll people!) to dating to fitting in (or standing out) and so much more.]

When a friend came to visit me in the city this past weekend, I really wanted to show her a good time while also doing some quintessential New York things. The weekend was a whirlwind to say the least but I definitely learned a lot.

Tip #9 – Take advantage of student rush discount pricing for tickets.

As former show choir nerds my friend and I knew we wanted to see a musical while she was in town but when it came to buying tickets we were both completely confused on how to nab the cheapest tickets. Luckily, one of my roommates, who’s currently interning for a musical theatre company, had no problem shining a spotlight on discounted tickets. Instead of waiting in line at TKTS in Times Square, like my friend and I had planned, my roommate told us to use Playbill.com to see if the show we wanted to see had a student rush deal. Sure enough, Catch Me If You Can was running a $27 student rush sale and all we had to do was get to the box office when it opened to buy our tickets for a show that night. Even if the website doesn’t disclose it, be sure to bring cash to pay for your ticket as many box offices only accept cash for student rush tickets. The seat location wasn’t exactly prime but we had no obstructing views from our balcony seats. We walked out of the theater thoroughly satisfied with the show and the price.

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I’ve lived in Texas for most of my life, but one thing I will never understand is the gun-happy culture that is so prevalent here. My own sister got a gun as an anniversary present from her uncle-in-law. And now our state government wants to take this love of guns one step further and allow students and professors to carry concealed handguns on public university campuses.

Yeah, you read that right. Guns in school. Apparently Gov. Rick Perry thinks that guns are the new black. Excuse me but wasn’t it just LAST SEMESTER that a student came onto my campus with a gun, opened fire, and eventually killed himself?

I can see why some would support this. Back in 1966 when Charles Whitman went to the UT Tower with a rifle and opened fire, he received return fire from not only the Austin police, but armed civilians as well. Some believe that with guns on campus, students would be protected if a shooter were to show up. But personally, I think this is way too preemptive viewpoint.

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Just about everyone out there seems to have dating horror stories. Seriously, ask anybody; chances are they’ll tell you that they have a relationship that they wish had just never happened. I myself went through a pretty nasty break up earlier this year. Not only was I with the guy for over 3 years, we lived together and were planning a wedding when I realized that what we were doing was a mistake and called everything off.

I’ve spent the past 7 months trying to put my life back together and pretty much hating my ex for how nasty he got post-breakup.

Recently, however, a friend and I were talking about living without regrets. She said, “I don’t regret anything. Sure I’ve made mistakes and have had rough times, but all of that made me who I am today. And I love what I see in the mirror, so why bother with regrets?” I love my friend for her incredible amount of self confidence, and she really made me think. I realized that instead of hating my ex and wishing that I’d never met him, not EVERYTHING about our time together was bad.

From every relationship I’ve been in, I’ve taken something away and learned from them all: Read More »

Fall semester is in full swing and it’s starting to feel like you’re doing the same thing every week. Class. Study. Drink. Hangover. Poor Theme Party Costume Choice. Homework. Switch things up by taking advantage of a long weekend or your fall break (if you’re that lucky) by checking out our Weekend Getaway guides.   We’ve already covered Boston and Toronto. Today we’re celebrating Austin.

Austin is somewhere I’m glad to call my home. It’s a city that’s big enough to be exciting, but at the same time small enough to be super friendly. There is always something to do here, making it an optimal destination for Fall Break or a long weekend away from campus.

Why, you ask?

Well for starters, if music is your thing, Austin is definitely the place to be. We didn’t earn the name “Live Music Capital of the World” for nothing. Secondly, we’re far enough south that “Fall” to the rest of the country still feels like summer. Have a cute swimsuit you got at an end of season sale? Bust it out here! Thirdly, the University of Texas, Austin’s major university accounting for 50,000 students, doesn’t have a fall break, so that means NO CROWDS! And, really, Austin is just all around fun. I mean, the slogan for the plethora of funky locally owned business is “Keep Austin Weird!”

If that doesn’t entice you, perhaps this will:

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As a student at a Big Ten school, football has become my soul purpose in life. From crackin’ the first beer in the shower at 6am on game day to FB-stalking the quarterback (shhh!), my world revolves around a bunch of dudes in spandex tackling each other on some Astroturf.

Needless to say, the past 6 weeks sans college football has been somewhat difficult. I wander aimlessly around my apartment on Saturdays, unsure what to do with all that time. I fill the void by hunting down the players on campus, but now that they’re not training as much as usual, they’re not so easy to find. And trust me, I’ve tried.

Thank god, then, that Bowl Season is upon us! I finally have a reason to drink before 11am on a Saturday! have some exciting burly-man-on-burly-man action to fill my Saturdays! Yes, ladies, it’s officially time for the best of the best in college football to duke it out in the BCS bowl games.

Confused on how the BCS works? Everyone is. But until the government sorts this shiz out, I’ve got you covered. This guide will give you a look at all of the upcoming BCS games, the teams, and who you (or more importantly, me) think deserves to win. So grab those wings, crack open a beer and get ready for some serious football showdowns. Read More »

Ok, so maybe it doesn’t snow here in Texas, but it’s finally gotten to the point where I have to turn the heater on in my apartment! And while I’m really not a fan of snotsicles, I am a huge fan of staying indoors in the winter-time and cuddling up with the boyfriend.

There are so many fun couple-activities to do when the cold sets in, besides the obvious sexy time. I mean, that’s always fun but who wants to get naked when its ch-ch-chilly out?

Here are some other great ideas to stay warm with your sweetie.

1. Make hot chocolate together – I’m not talking about the “microwave the water then empty a packet into the mug” hot chocolate. Spend some time together in the kitchen and make true homemade hot chocolate. It’s a great way to bond and you’ll have a delicious treat when you’re done! Or if you’re not into hot drinks, bake some Christmas cookies or something. Pretty much anything that uses the oven/stove will work to get nice and warm.

2. Pick a Fight – There’s nothing wrong with a little play fighting every now and then, especially because it will warm you up… and it involves a lot of touching. For those of you who DO want sexy time in the middle of winter, you can spice things up by initiating a little couch-to-bed wrestling match. Read More »

Which family will we be dining with!?

With Halloween over and done with and Christmas decorations lining hte aisles of my local CVS, it can only mean one thing: holiday season has begun.

But along with the amazingness that is Thanksgiving and Christmas, comes with one big question:

Where the heck am I going to spend the holidays this year?!?!!

With my awesome boyfriend came an awesome family, and they’ve really welcomed me as one of their own. Fortunately, his mom made the question of “Where am I spending Thanksgiving?” easy. She got tickets for herself, her older son, Matt, and myself to go see the Dallas Cowboys game on Thanksgiving day! It’s our early Christmas present and it’s a dream come true for my boyfriend. I mean come on, he’s a guy who grew up in Texas; going to see his favorite team in the new behemoth that is Cowboy’s Stadium is the best Christmas present ever. Read More »

Sheyla Hershey, a Brazilian singer, dancer, actress, and model who lives in Texas, was recently awarded the title of having the largest breast implants ever (Size 38 KKK!) by the Brazilian equivalent of the Guinness Book of World Records.

Beyond the obvious, “Are those things bigger than her head?” I was left with so many questions.

WHY????

Why would she even need boobs that big? How does she find clothes that fit? How does she find bras that fit? Can she even close her arms? Can she give someone a hug? How does she sleep? Can she go running, or would that be too dangerous? How does she even stand up without falling over face-first? How did her skin stretch that far? Could someone suffocate in there? Do her boobs get swollen during PMS? Is there an animal/small man trapped inside there? Does she even need to use a table anymore to eat her dinner?

It seems that Sheyla is yet another publicity whore looking for an unconventional way to get famous without actually doing anything worthwhile. She’s appeared on Fox News, The Insider, and, as her website states, “Her career is just taking off and about to soar to heights of majestic proportions.”

Pun intended? We think so.

If you’re from Ohio, Arizona, Arkansas, Hawaii, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Florida, Indiana and Colorado, today’s the day to get your sh*t together and register to vote.

Virginia voters have definitely heard to the call to get up and out, as many registration booths have been “overwhelmed” by the amount of people trying to insure their say in this election.  According to the Los Angeles Times;

“Virginia has logged more than 300,000 new voters since the year began. The state does not record party affiliation, but it says that 41% of the new registrants are under the age of 25, and an additional 20% are between the ages of 25 and 34.

The influx of young voters, a core part of Obama’s voting coalition, is an encouraging sign for the Democratic nominee in a state that has not picked a Democrat for president in more than 40 years .”

It’s always encouraging when young people put down their ipods and blackberrys and decide to take responsibility for a nation they’ll soon be controlling, and it’s even more encouraging that a Democratic candidate unlike any other is the one that gets them fired up.

No matter what party you affiliate yourself with, it’s got to make you happy that someone has finally (seemingly) lit the fire under the ass of America’s youth.

My mother is 100% Italian. My father, a 100% Irish. My brother got my mother’s olive skin tone: the two of them could sit outside for hours, lathering up in baby oil and bake to a beautiful golden brown. I was the fortunate one (insert sarcastic undertone here) who got my father’s Irish skin. The two of us can’t go to a windy afternoon baseball game without using SPF 45, unless of course, we want to find ourselves covered in sunburn and blisters.

Last summer, I thought I was invincible when it came to the sun. My friends can get tan with SPF 4 or 8, so why couldn’t I? On two various occasions, I felt the effects of not listening to the realistic side of my brain in terms of summer sunshine. I spent a week in June in San Antonio, Texas, where it was roughly 95 degrees every day. As this was a more family-oriented – go out to dinner, do family related things – sunbathing took a back seat, until the last dreaded day, when I thought it was appropriate to lay at the pool, for three solid hours, with nothing – and I mean, not a drop of sunscreen – on my body. Read More »