[Everyone's got a vice, a bad habit, something they know they need to change. Unfortunately, everyone also has a million excuses why they just can't do it. Not anymore. Every month we will be following a different CollegeCandy writer as she takes on a personal challenge. Last month Michelle gave up stress eating. This month, Charlotte's going to try to stop biting her nails. Can she do it!? Could you?]

Stuff I learned this week:

1. Shit happens. Nails break, and
2. Having nails is weird

First of all, yes, nails break. Sometimes they snag on something, or sometimes I’m chewing them BUT NOT BITING THEM, and I accidentally break an edge. And then I’m in a panic. WHERE IS MY NAIL FILE GODDAMNIT? However, this bit of advice, to always have a nail file on my person, has definitely helped. Now, instead of thinking “oh god, one nail gone,” I can file it up real nice and yeah, it won’t be quite as long, but it won’t be quite as short either. Breaking nails sucks though. One day my nails are all looking quite good, and then I break my “best” nail and they all look crappy again. But I am getting somewhere and I’m so proud. They’ve gotten to a point now where I don’t even want to bite them. Sure, I want to chew. But the idea of biting off that much nail is really weird. While I definitely haven’t completely kicked the habit, I’m definitely getting there, and that is something I never thought I’d be able to do. Read More »

[Everyone's got a vice, a bad habit, something they know they need to change. Unfortunately, everyone also has a million excuses why they just can't do it. Not anymore. Every month we will be following a different CollegeCandy writer as she takes on a personal challenge. Last month Michelle gave up stress eating. This month, Charlotte's going to try to stop biting her nails. Can she do it!? Could you?]

Wow, are we really onto week 3? Well I am definitely noticing progress and I’m learning what works and what doesn’t. What doesn’t is painting my nails, weirdly enough. Not being able to see that glimmer of white means I can happily gnaw away at them long before realising the damage I’ve caused. What also doesn’t work is forgetting to apply my nasty-tasting solution every day. It’s always those in-between days when I find myself nibbling, and the day-old taste is never quite enough to deter me. However, as I mentioned last week, clear nail varnish is a winner. I’m using one that is supposed to make my nails stronger, which is definitely something they need. Even when I’m not biting them, I am constantly sucking on them and they easily get soft and I feel cheated when they are ruined without the satisfaction of biting them. Read More »

[Everyone's got a vice, a bad habit, something they know they need to change. Unfortunately, everyone also has a million excuses why they just can't do it. Not anymore. Every month we will be following a different CollegeCandy writer as she takes on a personal challenge. Last month Michelle gave up stress eating. This month, Charlotte's going to try to stop biting her nails. Can she do it!? Could you?]

First of all, thank you so much to all of you who left me wonderful supportive comments after my post last week. I’m so glad I’m not the only one still biting my nails aged 21!!

I’m not going to say I haven’t bitten my nails all week. Because that would first of all be impossible for me, and that would also be a lie. There has been some nibbling. Some chewing. But I have been making a conscious effort to not bite my nails as much as I normally would. There is a little bit of white to be seen on my nails. Only a little, but more than my usual white-free stubs. I have found, and some of the comments confirmed this, that clear nail polish is definitely the way to go. Even when I wore a lovely peach colour on my nails on Monday, I was biting that off by Tuesday and in turn, chewing on my nails too. Clear nail varnish allows me to be more aware of how far I’ve come. Seeing that smidgen of white really helps motivate me. Read More »

[Everyone’s got a vice, a bad habit, something they know they need to change. Unfortunately, everyone also has a million excuses why they just can’t do it. Not anymore. Every month we will be following a different CollegeCandy writer as she takes on a personal challenge. Last month Michelle gave up stress eating. This month, Charlotte's going to try to stop biting her nails. Can she do it!? Could you?]

Back in January, I completed my first College Candy challenge without any slip-ups or failings. Admittedly, as a British girl and committed tea-drinker, a month without coffee was difficult at times, but not overwhelmingly so. I knew I could definitely complete the challenge without too much difficulty.

But coffee isn’t really my vice. This is different. My real vice doesn’t involve any money, and is completely inescapable — I am a chronic nail biter.

I don’t really remember biting my nails much as a child, and it was only in high school when I realised that everyone else had grown out of a habit I just couldn’t kick. I tried everything;  spending hours painting my nails, nasty tasting solution but none of it worked. I battled through every layer of pretty colours and bitter taste to get my fix.

When I think about it, yes, it really is a disgusting habit, but I’ve never been able to stop. I am orally fixated. I had a pacifier until I was five. I chew pens. I eat out of boredom and my boyfriend doesn’t have any complaints. Nail biting is my number one vice and this is really going to be tough.

The hardest thing is, I’m rarely aware that I’m even doing it. My boyfriend starting saying “stop” whenever he saw my hand at my mouth, and most of the time I wasn’t even conscious that I was nibbling. However, he soon got frustrated when we realised how frequently he had to tell me off and stopped. I pestered him to keep going, but even after he’d given me a stern look I’d be at it again in a couple of minutes. It helped for a while, but we’re now long-distance so he isn’t here to shout at me.

Read More »

Nothing creates a buzz like a crrrrraaaaaazy combination. Like PUGGLES!! And MEGGINGS!

Which is why “Smexting” – or, the combo of “texting while smoking” is all the rage for people who need their fidgety fixes. Recent research shows that as more and more smoking gets prohibited in restaurants and other public places, the number of sent text messages increases.

UK’s phone brand, Orange, coined the term after discovering that, in the two weeks following a workplace smoking ban in England, text traffic went up by seven and half million messages!

Okay, it’s not exactly a phrase that rolls off the tongue, (“She’s been smending me creepy mext smessages,” “He won’t stop smexting me!” etc, etc) but smexting totally makes sense.

Engadget.com says, “…smokers freshly ousted outdoors to get their smoke on need something to do to pass the time — out comes the phone, and, well, you know the rest. Secondly, smokers that are working on quitting as a result of the ban are turning to texting to give their fidgety, nerve-wracked fingers something to do and to seek support from friends.”

Even though I’m not a smoker myself, I definitely have been comforted by the art of the text – sitting alone on a bench, awkwardly standing in a silent elevator, waiting on my friends to show up at party (what, they were late, ok?) and feeling that burning desire to whip out my phone and start texting like a crazy person, just to keep busy, look distracted and not look like a complete loser with no friends. Read More »