October 2019

Being a twenty something feels a lot like being a 12 year old at a kid’s party. You’re not young enough to enjoy all the fun but you’re nowhere near old enough to relate to the adults. So you’re stuck in this weird stage where people expect you to be having the time of your life while still making responsible choices, like that’s even possible. I’m currently facing a dilemma of having the money to go on a vacation but lacking the time, and friends who have said money to vacation with me. That’s the thing about adulthood, everyone reaches it at different stages, which makes navigating adulthood that much more difficult. As I hid under my blankets to avoid looking at the messy state of my apartment, I realized I couldn’t possibly be the only one that feels like I’m sometimes just going through the motions. When you realize too late that you forgot to stock up on basic necessities, like toilet paper and dish soap. The unexplainable joy of waking up on pay day, only to give away all your money to rent, utilities and student loan bills. Stalking your old college boyfriends to see if they ever did become doctors or lawyers, then moving on to check up on high school boyfriends. Feeling a lot better about yourself after Facebook stalking your entire high school graduating class. Running out of food and eating popcorn for dinner. Looking around at your messy apartment and realizing your mom was right about you being a lazy slob. Dealing with people constantly telling you how you’re going to get fat in a few years. The idea of going to the gym sounding like it could be fun, but not wanting to spend any actual time or money at the gym. Working a job you aren’t totally in love with, but also not being able to picture yourself in your ideal role yet. The constant stress of wondering if every guy you meet is the one. Quickly realize he was just another one and a really big douche. All of your friends moving in opposite directions. Growing close to people you never imagined you would consider a best friend. Adopting a pet is one of the biggest milestones of this decade of your life. Not wanting to attend anything that doesn’t promise food or booze, preferably both. Hating that dating nowadays requires an app, but also being totally weirded out when a stranger walks up to you in real life. Relatives constantly asking you about when you plan to settle down, or worse… relatives never bothering to ask you when you plan to settle down. As if this isn’t even an option for you. Your old friend are starting to get married and you cant be envious even for a second. Having to act like surprise pregnancies are total blessings and to be celebrated. Sure, but I mean, can we be real for like two seconds? Quickly realizing you cannot be real for two seconds and keeping all your opinions about marriage and babies in your early twenties to yourself! Wondering sometimes if you picked the wrong major, city to live in or TV show to binge watch.

Knowing that everything will work out because your mom said it would. Eventually.

So spill, what’s been the hardest part of being a twenty something so far?

What Am I Doing With My Life? is a weekly segment where I recap all the things I spent my week reading, watching and listening to. Think of it as a weekly link roundup but better, because it has a much more adorable name… 

What you might have missed while you were out having a life:

• The third season of American Horror Story has finally ended, and I’m not sure how I feel about what went down. Relive the best moments in gif form here. 
• Thanks to my friend Aaron I’ve developed an addiction to Snapchat. I’m a few months late to the fun though which leaves me with one friend to snap until 2 am or until he falls asleep, whichever comes first. This girl’s Snapchats make me want to cancel my cell phone service and just give up on life. Or snapchatting. 
• Apparently this is the mating dance of the Chilean flamingos. Do you think if I try it on campus I’ll nab a valentine?
• Watch these guys try to guess bra prices and other everyday things women buy.  

What I spent my week doing:

• Over on Her Campus I wrote about the photo a day challenge I’m in charge of. A twenty dollar gift card is the prize for the winning Instagram photo.
• I wrote an article for Life at UCR (my school’s admissions blog). It’s a day in the life of a typical college student at UCR, me of course!

My finished outfit for this weekend’s Hippie Run!

What Am I Doing With My Life? is a weekly segment where I recap all the things I spent my week reading, watching and listening to. Think of it as a weekly link roundup but better, because it has a much more adorable name… 

What you might have missed while you were out having a life:

• The third season of American Horror Story has finally ended, and I’m not sure how I feel about what went down. Relive the best moments in gif form here. 
• Thanks to my friend Aaron I’ve developed an addiction to Snapchat. I’m a few months late to the fun though which leaves me with one friend to snap until 2 am or until he falls asleep, whichever comes first. This girl’s Snapchats make me want to cancel my cell phone service and just give up on life. Or snapchatting. 
• Apparently this is the mating dance of the Chilean flamingos. Do you think if I try it on campus I’ll nab a valentine?
• Watch these guys try to guess bra prices and other everyday things women buy.  

What I spent my week doing:

• Over on Her Campus I wrote about the photo a day challenge I’m in charge of. A twenty dollar gift card is the prize for the winning Instagram photo.
• I wrote an article for Life at UCR (my school’s admissions blog). It’s a day in the life of a typical college student at UCR, me of course!

My finished outfit for this weekend’s Hippie Run!

The current time is 9:17pm on a Saturday night. It has been snowing nonstop since noon yesterday. I think all my wishes that winter just not happen on the East Coast have been dismissed, because winter has most definitely arrived. Living in Washington DC means I have been in the eye of the storm since it began, with CNN covering our city around the clock. To kill time I’ve watched about every YouTube video in my queue, learned all the lyrics to Selena Gomez’s new album and have eaten an embarrassing amount of Doritos. If you know me at all, you know that I was born and raised in sunny California, meaning I have no clue on how to deal with a record breaking snowstorm. The California native in me panicked when I heard the first snowfall estimate, and my nervous self ran to the grocery store to stock up on just about everything. After waiting in line to pay for over forty five minutes my patience had absolutely melted away and I found myself sending bitchy texts to just about everyone back on the West Coast. It wasn’t until my walk home that I realized what an asshole I was being. Yes me, and everyone else who has the nerve to complain about a few feet of snow falling on the ground. Storm Jonas thought me a lot more than how to prepare for the unexpected. Beyond the importance of having flashlights and bottled water is a lesson I don’t think many people are realizing. We all find ourselves complaining about the long lines at the grocery store and terrible commute home, but how many of us pause to be thankful about the fact that we have a home to drive to that’s full of warm clothing and full pantries? I’m sitting here in my overpriced apartment, pumping the heat while painfully annoyed with all the people on Instagram bitching about the metro being shut down and their favorite brunch spot being closed. Living in a city that caters to the needs of rich politicians and ignorant twenty somethings is hard enough to put up with most days, but especially during times like this when you cant help but worry about the thousands of people who live on the street. Snow or no snow. So before you complain about how tired you are of sitting inside all day and hashtag your photos #snowmaggedon, quit your whining and maybe use this time to sort through your closet for warm clothes to donate. I may whine about things more often than not, but this weekend I have nothing to complain about. So yes, I am friendless in the city, recently dumped and struggling to finish school, but at the very least I am safe and warm not just during this blizzard but every night. For those of you who are also waiting for this all to pass, I hope you are safe and warm. Let’s all use this extra time do make a positive impact in our communities, however big or small.

Since you clicked on this article I’m gonna take a wild guess and assume you’re looking for a job. Hopefully you are currently employed and wanting to transition to a better position, or like so many others, you’re unemployed and getting to the point of being willing to take any job. I graduated college with no freaking clue of what the next few months were going to have in store for me. I would have never imagined I’d be living at home for two months before making the spontaneous decision to attend grad school and move across the country. Did I mention I had absolutely no money or clue of where my next paycheck was going to come from?

My impending rent bill gave me the motivation I needed to start looking for a job, and thanks to the resources available through my university, my job search lasted no longer than one month before I was employed full time at a nonprofit in the city. While I can’t give you years worth of experience or write your resume for you (even though I have some tips), I can push you towards the job search websites that are most up to date and used most often by companies who are actively looking to hire new employees.

Monster earned it’s spot on this list because as one of the most well known job search engine sites employers are more likely to use this website over others that are just starting out. On top of posting available jobs in your area, Monster offers additional services such as resume examples, cover letter tips and salary information. For someone who is unsure of how to tailor a cover letter or what their salary requirements should be, Monster gathers all the information you could need before submitting your application.

Related Post: 6 Popular Resume Mistakes to Avoid

If you live in a major city like New York or San Francisco, you shouldn’t be skipping Idealist when looking for a new job. Unlike the other job search websites, Idealist focuses on posting volunteer, internship and employment opportunities with nonprofits exclusively. Through my experience, organizations who post on Idealist are more responsive to job applications. In the span of one week, I had three separate job interviews for positions I found through Idealist that very same week! Zip Recruiter is like most other job search websites except they’ve taken every step possible to make applying to jobs as seamless as possible. What I specifically enjoyed about this website though was that they went the extra step and emailed you available openings similar to the ones you were searching, with basically cuts your work in half! For someone who is trying to apply to as many jobs as possible without spending hours doing a job search, Zip Recruiter is the site for you. This website is pretty straightforward, and while I don’t find their extra resources helpful, their website is easy to navigate and often updated. My biggest pet peeve about using job search engine websites is when the job opportunities listed are through hiring agencies. I much prefer to apply directly with a company, which is why Career Builder is a better alternative to other websites.

Related Post: 8 Popular Reasons You Weren’t Called for an Interview

Even though Indeed is an eye sore, it’s one of the most popular job posting websites across the board. It takes time to get used to but with so many employers turning to this well know website, it’s worth getting used to. My advice is to skip past the listings that are posted by temp agencies and recruiters and instead apply with companies directly. Also, if a job posting is more than two weeks old chances are there is a small likelihood of your application being seen, simply because so many people have had the chance to see and apply for the job opportunity. For more career tips and advice for twenty something, follow my Pinterest board dedicated to resume, cover letter and interview tips!!

Follow When Life Gives You Rubi’s board CAREER TIPS & ADVICE FOR 20 SOMETHINGS on Pinterest.

What is your favorite website to find job postings? Are you like me and prefer sites that are easy to use and navigate?

Karma is this thing that I always really wanted to believe in but always sounded too good to be true. Like a conditioner that promises to erase seven years’ worth of damage. Like really dude, you’ll fix my split ends and make my hair grow faster? Please take all my money! Anyways, karma has become this thing lately that I want to believe in unconditionally but my everyday life is making a strong case against. Then 2016 came around, and it was terrible. I mean it was honestly the kind of start to the new year that you see in one of those cheesy romantic comedies about a quirky girl in the city looking for love. 

Not even one full day into the new year and I was dumped on the street in Chinatown, leaving me with absolutely no friends in the city and to top it off I was trying to determine if I was anemic or not. Turns out I wasn’t anemic, but I was heartbroken. Don’t feel too bad for me though, cause after years of wishing for a sign karma finally came through.

You know that guy who broke my heart and moved away? Had I mentioned that he literally put states between us, cause he did. Screw that guy. Well regardless, the same guy that told me I bored him is currently battling a nasty eye infection, has accepted a nonpaying job (which makes it not a job!) and had his identity stolen. Meanwhile I’m making a new friend each week, have never been up for more opportunities at work and my eyebrows have never been more on fleek. A lot of time lately has been dedicated to the things that sit above my eyes. Some girls visit the gym to get that perfect beach body, I just sit in front of the mirror in my pajamas and analyze the curve of my arch.

If you’re like me and are skeptical about things that sound too good to be true, take my experience to motivate you to be a less shitty person. I’m not a religious person but I have always believed that you get what you put out into the universe, and now that I spend my days doing the things I want to do, I’m receiving so much more of the results I once only dreamed of.

For anyone who had 2016 start of terribly or whose resolutions are already starting to fail, pick yourself up and look around. Things could be much, much worse. You could be a 29 year old man with an eye infection, volunteering, and a case of identity theft.

How do you deal with being stuck with your own negative thoughts? Plus, how is everyone doing on their resolutions? Or have we all secretly given up on those by now?

The current time is 9:17pm on a Saturday night. It has been snowing nonstop since noon yesterday. I think all my wishes that winter just not happen on the East Coast have been dismissed, because winter has most definitely arrived. Living in Washington DC means I have been in the eye of the storm since it began, with CNN covering our city around the clock. To kill time I’ve watched about every YouTube video in my queue, learned all the lyrics to Selena Gomez’s new album and have eaten an embarrassing amount of Doritos. If you know me at all, you know that I was born and raised in sunny California, meaning I have no clue on how to deal with a record breaking snowstorm. The California native in me panicked when I heard the first snowfall estimate, and my nervous self ran to the grocery store to stock up on just about everything. After waiting in line to pay for over forty five minutes my patience had absolutely melted away and I found myself sending bitchy texts to just about everyone back on the West Coast. It wasn’t until my walk home that I realized what an asshole I was being. Yes me, and everyone else who has the nerve to complain about a few feet of snow falling on the ground. Storm Jonas thought me a lot more than how to prepare for the unexpected. Beyond the importance of having flashlights and bottled water is a lesson I don’t think many people are realizing. We all find ourselves complaining about the long lines at the grocery store and terrible commute home, but how many of us pause to be thankful about the fact that we have a home to drive to that’s full of warm clothing and full pantries? I’m sitting here in my overpriced apartment, pumping the heat while painfully annoyed with all the people on Instagram bitching about the metro being shut down and their favorite brunch spot being closed. Living in a city that caters to the needs of rich politicians and ignorant twenty somethings is hard enough to put up with most days, but especially during times like this when you cant help but worry about the thousands of people who live on the street. Snow or no snow. So before you complain about how tired you are of sitting inside all day and hashtag your photos #snowmaggedon, quit your whining and maybe use this time to sort through your closet for warm clothes to donate. I may whine about things more often than not, but this weekend I have nothing to complain about. So yes, I am friendless in the city, recently dumped and struggling to finish school, but at the very least I am safe and warm not just during this blizzard but every night. For those of you who are also waiting for this all to pass, I hope you are safe and warm. Let’s all use this extra time do make a positive impact in our communities, however big or small.

Last year was my first time filing taxes, and in true twenty something fashion, I waited until the very last day. What can I say? Old habits die hard. As someone who has never earned an income that sends me a W2, I was completely clueless about the whole process. Because I waited until the last minute I ended up filing at work, as in during work hours when I was supposed to be doing probably a dozen other things. The process was brutal and with no one to call for help I was over it before it began, so I vowed this year would be different.
Fast forward to 2017 and I was not a changed woman. January had just begun when my boyfriend started nagging me about starting my taxes. All I could think was, “dude, I have months to procrastinate.” Then I remembered how last year felt, and don’t get me started about how much I owed! Like a real life functioning adult, I filed my taxes in March. March ya’ll! I don’t think you realize how big of a deal this was for me. Not only did I file early, I think I may have actually gotten a refund this year. I don’t totally trust what Turbotax told me, because with my luck I’ll get a “never mind we fucked up and you actually owe us double of what we promised you” email. Trust me, it’s happened before. This time around I decided I wasn’t going to wait, and I was going to go at it with a positive attitude. Even though I still owe the IRS a ton of money from last year’s taxes, I was determined this was gonna be my year. Well, this is what happened… Okay, let’s do this. The government wouldn’t let me do this myself if it wasn’t easy, right? I mean, Turbotax believes in me. I believe in me!
Worst case scenario I can call my mom. But oh god, I’m gonna have to tell her how much I spend a year on fast food. I can already hear her. Then she’s gonna yell about how much I spend on rent and start asking when I’m moving back home. Forget it, we’ll call that girl from college who looks like she has her shit together on Instagram. Have all my forms ready, wait, where’s my W2? Where the fuck is that W2?! It’s literally always here. Are you fucking kidding me? *30 minutes later* Found it, it slid under the couch behind all the diet coke cans. Mental note to pick those up before I have company. Okay, I’m doing this. I’m typing in numbers and stuff. Yes, I’m a student! Yes, I pay rent! Yes, I have loans! Yes, I’m single. I said, yes I’m single! Jesus christ how many times it gonna ask me if I have any dependents? I paid how much in state taxes?! From now on I’m reporting every crack in the sidewalk. I pay way too much money to be tripping on my walk home. God, this really makes me wish I had gotten pregnant in high school. Think of the write offs! Did I donate any money?? Umm, does buying Girl Scout cookies count? Shit, I really need to start donating? Own a home? HA. I don’t even own a microwave. It’s double checking all my numbers. Please Jesus and all the other deities, give me a refund!! Oh my fucking good, I’m in the green! I don’t owe money! I’m gonna faint. *two minutes later* But I guess I should pay those back taxes. Well, I guess we’re even now.


So tell me, what’s your biggest pet peeve about filing taxes?

Since you clicked on this article I’m gonna take a wild guess and assume you’re looking for a job. Hopefully you are currently employed and wanting to transition to a better position, or like so many others, you’re unemployed and getting to the point of being willing to take any job. I graduated college with no freaking clue of what the next few months were going to have in store for me. I would have never imagined I’d be living at home for two months before making the spontaneous decision to attend grad school and move across the country. Did I mention I had absolutely no money or clue of where my next paycheck was going to come from?

My impending rent bill gave me the motivation I needed to start looking for a job, and thanks to the resources available through my university, my job search lasted no longer than one month before I was employed full time at a nonprofit in the city. While I can’t give you years worth of experience or write your resume for you (even though I have some tips), I can push you towards the job search websites that are most up to date and used most often by companies who are actively looking to hire new employees.

Monster earned it’s spot on this list because as one of the most well known job search engine sites employers are more likely to use this website over others that are just starting out. On top of posting available jobs in your area, Monster offers additional services such as resume examples, cover letter tips and salary information. For someone who is unsure of how to tailor a cover letter or what their salary requirements should be, Monster gathers all the information you could need before submitting your application.

Related Post: 6 Popular Resume Mistakes to Avoid

If you live in a major city like New York or San Francisco, you shouldn’t be skipping Idealist when looking for a new job. Unlike the other job search websites, Idealist focuses on posting volunteer, internship and employment opportunities with nonprofits exclusively. Through my experience, organizations who post on Idealist are more responsive to job applications. In the span of one week, I had three separate job interviews for positions I found through Idealist that very same week! Zip Recruiter is like most other job search websites except they’ve taken every step possible to make applying to jobs as seamless as possible. What I specifically enjoyed about this website though was that they went the extra step and emailed you available openings similar to the ones you were searching, with basically cuts your work in half! For someone who is trying to apply to as many jobs as possible without spending hours doing a job search, Zip Recruiter is the site for you. This website is pretty straightforward, and while I don’t find their extra resources helpful, their website is easy to navigate and often updated. My biggest pet peeve about using job search engine websites is when the job opportunities listed are through hiring agencies. I much prefer to apply directly with a company, which is why Career Builder is a better alternative to other websites.

Related Post: 8 Popular Reasons You Weren’t Called for an Interview

Even though Indeed is an eye sore, it’s one of the most popular job posting websites across the board. It takes time to get used to but with so many employers turning to this well know website, it’s worth getting used to. My advice is to skip past the listings that are posted by temp agencies and recruiters and instead apply with companies directly. Also, if a job posting is more than two weeks old chances are there is a small likelihood of your application being seen, simply because so many people have had the chance to see and apply for the job opportunity. For more career tips and advice for twenty something, follow my Pinterest board dedicated to resume, cover letter and interview tips!!

Follow When Life Gives You Rubi’s board CAREER TIPS & ADVICE FOR 20 SOMETHINGS on Pinterest.

What is your favorite website to find job postings? Are you like me and prefer sites that are easy to use and navigate?

I never considered myself from a small town until I moved away. Right after my 18th birthday I packed up my bags and all my dorm decor and went from sharing a room with my sister to sharing a dorm with two strangers. Triple rooms should really not be a thing that’s allowed. Halfway through my college experience I could feel myself getting restless. Growing bored with the routine I had fallen into and the city I had chosen to attend school in. My junior year was spent studying in the UK, where I fell in love with traveling and the feeling you get when your flight finally takes off. After graduation I knew I wasn’t meant to be home for long, plus four years away made it feel a lot less home-y by the time I returned. Two months after my college graduation I once again packed my bags and made an even bigger move. Cross country. Moving from a beach town in California to a booming city like Washington DC was a big transition, but I never realized how small town I really can be sometimes. It’s small moments where I catch the girl from a small agricultural town come out of me. Whether I’m fussing over the price of produce or commenting on how there’s too many people on the sidewalk, I don’t think I’ll ever grow used to the fact that parking costs 15 dollars an hour and you cant rent a studio for less than 1500 dollars. You miss a lot of things when you move away from your small town, with most of them being things you always took for granted. How cheap produce is. How cheap almost all food is. or should I say was.

Knowing where absolutely everything is, from the nearest pharmacy to the organization of the aisles inside the pharmacy.

You’ll miss that thing you always took for granted, in my case, how close the beach was.

Uncommon people you never thought you would stay in contact with, ie, my high school English teacher.

The feeling that everything is bigger and better somewhere else. Now you know it’s only more cramped and overpriced. I’m looking at your apartments in the city!

The price of living.

That restaurant that already knows your order.

Hanging out with people that knew you before you blossomed, and don’t mind reminding you of those awkward years.

Spending time with your mom. Nothing beats going to the grocery store with a mom and still begging her to buy you all the junk your heart desires.

Everything closing at 9pm, leaving no pressure to go out and have the time of your life every night.

How inexpensive seeing a movie is. and how convenient it is that there’s a Dollar Tree right next to the movie theater. (What’s in my purse? Just a box of tampons that secretly filled with gummy bears.)

Fields. I never knew how much I loved staring out at the strawberry fields till I couldn’t anymore.

Have any of you made a move from a small town to a big city? If so, what do you miss the most about your hometown?