June 2022

The past few days have been a whirlwind of crazy, the type that make you stare intently at the sidewalk in the small hope that it won’t get directed at you. Even though I’ve been running all over the city enjoying my favorite holiday weekend, I did pause to reflect on the fact that all of this would be so avoidable had I never taken my love of talking and turned it into a full time hobby/job/whatever you wanna call it.

Here’s the thing, I’ve been writing since early 2012. I saw an ad for writers for a popular collegiate website and figured why the hell not? As someone who has been reading women’s magazines since the age of six, I know a thing or two about what young women like to read. With friends my whole life telling me I should write my stories down, I finally took their advice and applied for the position. That turned into another opportunity, which turned into another, all of which ended with me creating my own space where I could talk about what I wanted, how I wanted.

There was just one problem, no one seemed to be talking about the things I enjoy talking to my friends about. Angry moments on the subway, deciphering out if you’re in a relationship or just hooking up, and figuring out how the hell to write a resume that won’t get tossed in the trash. Basically websites we’re too niched, or simply so big that you lost the relatable factor. So I set out to create exactly what I wanted to see in the world, a place where a basic ass millennial could write about that time an ER doctor said her UTI was caused by too much sex! (This is very much debatable and will definitely one day be written about in depth, because I’m shameless.)

One problem though, not everyone likes when you tell it like it is. Bloggers don’t talk about sex and people don’t like you talking about your experiences with them. And that’s when I realized, there’s so many interesting topics bloggers miss out on just because we see others being successful when writing about the topics we were all taught are marketable, or worse, we’re scared of the backlash! We live in an age where we’re obsessed with the intimate details of celebrity lives, yet I don’t think any of my favorite bloggers have ever referenced anything more personal than their dress size. I know that I’m not going to change the direction of blogging and that my blog is not pulling in millions of readers every month. But there is one thing I do have, other bloggers with similar platforms to mine reading my content. So maybe if we started talking about the things that we all really wanna hear about, blogging will no longer be this place where everything needs to be picture perfect and every critical/hateful comment is discussed in our Facebook groups.

Currently I have my ex-boyfriends current girlfriend completely harassing me in the comment section of one of my latest posts, on top of the string of Facebook messages that I swiftly ignored. And do I give a crap that she thinks I’m pathetic for putting my experiences out there? Hell no! At the end of each day, every time she click my page to comment about how pathetic I am, that’s one more page view that helps me later along the line when choosing how much to charge companies who want to partner with me.

If you’re a blogger who sometimes gets bored of publishing the same type of content, or just a girl who wants to say more in her Instagram captions that how nice the sunset was, do it! Write about the time you cried on public transportation, take that selfie on day one of your period and let your followers know how bad your cramps are, say the things you say to your best friend without the fear of what some judgmental person may have to say back. As for me, I plan to keep writing about the topics I always wished others would talk about when I was younger. Currently I have a post on the first page of Google that every girl sees when searching how to get over a guy. And you know what? That feels awesome! Four years later and that post is still helping young women deal with a breakup that they too weren’t ready for. And until I write another post that goes as viral as that, I’m just gonna keep oversharing on the internet, hoping someone reads it and finds it totally relatable.

So tell me, are you a blogger who keep certain things private, and if so, why? And if you’re just a everyday reader, what’s one thing you wish more men and women would talk about online?

At least once I day I find myself yelling, “oh my god, how did I forget that?” to myself. Usually I’m talking about the fact that I failed once again to type a response to that text I saw while walking down the street or scrolling through hours of Instagram posts. I am definitely one of those people that will bump into a chair and then apologize for being in the way. And don’t get me started on mannequins at Macys, those things basically have a heartbeat.

Over the past week I’ve been jotting down things I’m sorry for, whether my fault or not. Mostly my fault though. Some I feel terrible about and I promise to try to do better, others I’m not that mad about and you shouldn’t be either. 

Forgetting to say ‘Happy Birthday.’

Yesss, I know Facebook reminds you when you log on and sends you a text plus we’ve known each other for years but I was like super busy and didn’t even check Facebook that day. I promise to make it up to you with a super long winded text about how busy my life is to justify forgetting your birthday then an Instagram post with a paragraph caption explaining how good of friends we are and how no one can replace you. But please don’t replace me, I’ll try to do better next year. Probably. 

Cutting in line. 

Before you come at me with pitchforks hear me out! I am 100% against line cutters! Don’t like em, don’t ever let them slide by me, would vote to have that be something you could get ticketed for if I had the chance. So before you call me a hypocrite this is what happens. I’m waiting for the bus stop, off to the side because other people were there before me. As the bus pulls up it stops literally right in front of me, right in front of me guys! What am I supposed to do? Not get on? So I accidentally cut in front of an entire group of people, but hey, destiny decided I needed to get on first. 

Replying to emails days later. 

While I check my email no less than 50 times a day, I am terrible at replying. Why? Because I’m lazy. Yes I saw the email, yes I heard the notification on my phone, yes I even may have the answer you need, but I do not want to type it out and then stress about how to sign the end of the email. Best? Sincerely? Thank you? More like no thank you, I’ll just tell you next time I see you in person. 

Never replying to your text. 

In my defense, I read your text! I don’t know why I so terrible, but I have a bad habit of reading a text, replying in my mind, but never actually sending my reply. Then I love to sit in my bed of lies and give a thousand excuses about how my phone was on silent and in my purse which I left at work and that’s why i couldn’t respond. Oh, and all those Instagram photos you saw me liking, well I must have been hacked. Sorry, truly truly sorry.

Long winded stories with no real plot. 

Kevin Hart had it right, women do love to tell long stories with no real beginning, middle or end, usually about someone at work, and spill details about things you know nothing about. This one is mainly aimed to my friends who I like to call as I walk home, and for all the hours they’ve spent listening to me rant about how this girl at work had the nerve to talk about her holiday party knowing I was within earshot and not invited. I like to tell long pointless stories, please don’t hate me.

Is there anything you do on a regular basis that you’re sorry for? If so, leave a comment below, I promise to not hold it against you! 

Dr.Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas is my all time favorite movie, and not in a it’s-my-favorite-holiday-movie kind of way. I mean, I can watch Jim Carrey covered in green fuzz whether it’s Christmas Eve or Fourth of July. There has never been a time when I’ve seen the movie on TV and not dropped everything I was doing to watch it.

When I was younger I was fascinated with Jim Carrey and all the strange looking Whos in Whoville. During my teens I soaked up how amazing the set design was and now in my twenties I’m realizing that I may or may not have grown into a real life version of the Grinch. Except less hairy and much more stressed about holidays like Valentine’s Day. 

This weekend I realized I went as far as to name my cat Max, just like the lovable sidekick dog. After way too many hours spent watching a film that just gets better with time, I sat myself down and wrote out all the lessons you can learn from this movie, except they’re not about togetherness or holiday cheer, cause that’s way too commercial you know?

Related Post: The 12 Best Things That Happen in the Month of December

How many of you look back at a point in your life and wonder how stupid you had to be to put up with something or someone? Pay attention to how things and people in your environment are making you feel. If something or someone ruins your day every time you come in contact, get rid of that stressor. Also, if all your friends hate someone, and I mean all of them, take that hint. 

I’m not the only girl who has secret home alone behaviors, am I? Ever since I was a preteen I have lived for those few hours when you’re home alone and there’s no chance of anyone walking through the front door and disturbing your peace. After a long week in the office, sometimes all I wanna do is run home, take off my pants and sing some Taylor Swift songs while deep cleaning my apartment.

Related Post: 8 Weird Things I Do When Home Alone

Sophomore year of college is when I realized I didn’t have to be friends with absolutely everyone, and my life has been so much better since. I’m not saying be rude to people, but there’s no need to learn everything about a person just because a friend of a friend brought them to your night out. When you stop trying to be best friends with everyone you meet you’ll be surprised how much closer you grow to the people you genuinely care about. Listen up, our twenties are the years we’re meant to be broke while trying to still look fabulous. If you know a person who always has the newest gadget and is taking trips all over the place, chances are they are lacking somewhere else. So yeah, I am still rocking my iPhone 4s, but that’s just cause all my money goes to my fabulous apartment in the city.

Whether you’re trying to lose some pounds or boost your GPA (or pageviews for the bloggers reading this), don’t discount your progress because it isn’t major. Nobody gets famous overnight, unless you post something really offensive on Facebook and it gets shared thousands of times. But nevertheless, keep working towards your goals, and hold onto that motivation you had when you first set them. 

Be your own biggest fan.

Everyone needs a squad to remind them how awesome they are for passing their classes, getting that new job or just making it a week without contacting their ex. But what’s a girl to do when all her friends are way too far away? Be your own damn fan! I’m not saying become totally self involved, but there’s no shame in telling yourself how awesome you are for meeting that deadline and taking out the garbage before it smelled. 

This is especially true if you work in retail. Christmas is a great time of year, totally on board with the happiness, presents and togetherness it promotes. But when Christmas starts clashing with Halloween, oh no no no. The holidays can already be lonely when you’re trying to be a successful adult away from home, so can we save the jolly tunes till December?

Ignore the trends, wear what makes you confident.

Raise your hand if the scene with the Grinch trying on multiple outfits totally touched you on a personal level. (*raises hand) I’m sorry, but crop tops don’t look good on me. Not because I feel I’m too large for them or have an abnormal looking belly button, it’s because I’m twenty freaking three and have no business wearing bralets with oversized cardigans. Ignore the trends and wear what looks good on you, or better yet, whatever outfit makes you walk down the street like you’re on your way to steal someones man. But don’t don’t that, cause that’s a terrible thing to do in actuality.

Boys are like bras, you never know if they’re worth the investment till you’ve brought it home and decided to wear the next day. That’s when they decide to be a total pain in your side and you literally rather walk around sans either than be totally miserable for a moment longer. Don’t waste time on boys or bras that don’t make you feel 1000% more confident. 

You don’t know the joy of coming home after a long day until you come home and find there’s no one there. No seriously, I know it sounds depressing but it’s not. Roommates can be great, except when you’re tired and they wanna tell you all about this thing that happened in the office that you could not care any less about. Trust me, the moment you can afford it, get your own place ASAP.

Related Post: What It’s Like to Rent Your First Apartment: As Told by the Real Housewives

Just because you should enjoy a roommate free existence doesn’t mean you have to be alone though! Pets are the perfect way to help you feel less lonely without intruding on your space. Unless you also happened to adopt a cat who has no respect for personal space between the hours of 1-7am. Pets not only provide company, but also serve as a way to be responsible for something that does nothing but love you back. Even when you forget to buy more food on the way home. 

So many of us juggle work, school and hopefully a personal life. With deadlines at school that are impossible to meet when you work forty or more hours a week, it can be hard to sit yourself down and relax. And I don’t mean watching Netflix while stressing about how you’re wasting time watching that episode of The Office for the seventh time, cause that is not relaxation! Do something for you whether it’s taking a walk or buying that expensive face mask you’ve been eyeing at Target. Treat yo’self!

Are there any lessons I missed? Leave me a note with your favorite movie (Christmas or otherwise) and why it beats all others in the comments below!