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There are only a few short weeks left until Christmas, and some of you are probably either still stressing out about finals, finishing up grad school applications, or trying to finish buying gifts. It’s so easy to get caught up in our own problems that sometimes we can forget about other people. The holiday season is a great time to think about what you can do to help others and consider giving back to the community.

One great way to give back is through volunteering.
Love the idea of volunteering, but think you’re just too busy?

Think again.

How many hours a day do you spend on the internet, browsing Facebook, watching funny YouTube videos, and reading CollegeCandy? Sparked lets you put some of that time to good use. Read More »

About 3 weeks ago, David and I were laying in bed on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon, nursing epic hangovers from a Happy Hour that lasted far too many hours. After eating an entire pizza and deciding we were too lazy even to go rent a movie, we channel surfed, trying to find something we could both agree on. Naturally we settled on a marathon of Flip This House (can anyone ever get enough of Armando Montelongo? C’mon, just saying his name puts me in a great mood).

Anywho, while watching, we had our usual conversation about how awesome it would be to flip a house. All the demolition and repairs (and interior decorating, hello!) almost had us salivating at the idea (or maybe it was just the leftover pizza crusts, hard to tell). We both agreed that it would be incredibly cool to flip – nay – build a house from scratch. But who in their right mind would allow two completely inexperienced college kids masquerade as architects/carpenters/interior designers?

Enter Ty Pennington. Well, kind of. An Extreme Home Makover: Home Edition marathon was starting on the next channel, and after crying intermittently for 2 hours, David suggested we volunteer to build a house. This way, we’d get to help a family in need and if we screwed anything up while building, we wouldn’t have to actually live there (he was kidding. I think). Read More »

Spring break, a week most college students spend on the beach during the day and in the bars at night. While this is always fun, sometimes it is nice to get away from the ordinary and try something different. Having trouble brainstorming a spring break that doesn’t involve bonging Mexican beers on a beach? We’ve got you covered!

Skiing – Get away from the crowds, and hit the slopes! You can be active during the day and snuggle up with a cute snowboarder in a cabin next to a fire during the night. If you’re worried about coming back from break paler than when you left, that’s what spray tans are for! It’s safer for your skin anyways.

Camping – Picture this: tubing down a river with a cold beer in hand. Some camp sites even have hot tubs and activities at night. I have been to a camp site where I got to set up my tent near a waterfall. There were running showers and live music at night. If that is too “fluffy” for you, there are tons of camp sites without running water. Assateague, Maryland is an island of wild horses which I have personally camped on, and went an entire week with no running water but obviously, the ocean. If this is more your style, check out local camp sites, you’ll be surprised how many you’ll find.

Read More »

When I think of spring break, I usually imagine lounging on a beach in Mexico sipping some type of frozen cocktail by day and dancing at a nightclub with all my friends by night.

This March, instead of doing any of the above, I’ll be in New Orleans with 11 strangers, volunteering at an animal shelter that was damaged in Hurricane Katrina. We will be walking dogs, helping with some repairs, and doing some administrative work. At night, we’ll be sleeping in an old church that has been converted into temporary volunteer housing (into which I cannot bring my flat iron!!).

So why would I possibly want to spend my break waking up every morning (without a hangover) at 7:30 a.m. to work with people I don’t even know?

I can think of lots of reasons!

Meeting New People: I wanted to meet some new people and do something fun without having to pay the expensive price of a ticket to somewhere tropical. What better way to make some new friends? At least you know that they’re all going to be nice; I doubt mean people spend their free time volunteering. And while it might be a little awkward at first, after some dreaded icebreaker games and bonding over scooping dog poop together, I’m sure I will leave this week with awesome new friends and memories. Read More »

When I think of spring break, I usually imagine lounging on a beach in Mexico sipping some type of frozen cocktail by day and dancing at a nightclub with all my friends by night.

This March, instead of doing any of the above, I’ll be in New Orleans with 11 strangers, volunteering at an animal shelter that was damaged in Hurricane Katrina. We will be walking dogs, helping with some repairs, and doing some administrative work. At night, we’ll be sleeping in an old church that has been converted into temporary volunteer housing (into which I cannot bring my flat iron!!).

So why would I possibly want to spend my break waking up every morning (without a hangover) at 7:30 a.m. to work with people I don’t even know?

I can think of lots of reasons!

Meeting New People: I wanted to meet some new people and do something fun without having to pay the expensive price of a ticket to somewhere tropical. What better way to make some new friends? At least you know that they’re all going to be nice; I doubt mean people spend their free time volunteering. And while it might be a little awkward at first, after some dreaded icebreaker games and bonding over scooping dog poop together, I’m sure I will leave this week with awesome new friends and memories. Read More »

I don’t know about you, but growing up, I was definitely not confident.

Most of my insecurities stemmed from the fact that I was deemed “gifted” in grade 2 and taken out of class for one day every two weeks for enrichment activities. Since I was only 7 at the time, no one, including myself and my teachers, hid this from the other kids and, for a couple years, I didn’t see any need to. I was still a normal student, only I got to do harder schoolwork.

Then grade 5 rolled around and my teacher basically created an entirely separate curriculum for me, segregating me from all my classmates. And that’s when the bullying started. I’ll spare you the story, but basically my friends abandoned me, calling me a “freak.” I know now that this was only out of jealousy, but up until recently, it hurt. As a result of this, until grade 10 I was content to be quiet, simply finishing my work and not really getting involved for fear of ridicule. I even pulled out of the gifted program for a while in an attempt to fit in.

And then in grade 10, something happened. I can’t pinpoint the exact moment or reason, but I decided to get involved. I joined our student council’s cabinet and attended a 4-day leadership conference and slowly but surely began building my confidence. I made friends within student council and leadership groups who were like me; smart, motivated and, honestly, a little bit weird. Read More »