March 2024

Moving to Washington DC was one of the biggest and most unplanned decisions I’ve ever made. I’d like to say that in typical me fashion I had plans to move here after graduation, with a job lined up and ideas of what neighborhood I would rent an apartment in. But I cant. Somehow I found myself walking across the stage of my college graduation totally unaware of what my next step was. All I knew was that moving back home was the last thing I wanted or needed, and I was willing to take the first flight anywhere. Luckily I didn’t completely drop the ball my senior year, having spent a quarter interning in DC and applying to one graduate school. I didn’t think too much about it, the application fee was waived and it’s hard for me to say no to a good sale. Hell, I was saving 40 dollars, how could I not apply? Amazingly I was accepted, but I didn’t say yes to the offer right away. It took one month of living at home to realize that beggars cant be choosers, so I said ‘yes’ to moving back to DC and starting grad school in the fall. Goodbye year to find myself, hello crippling student loans! I’m not complaining though, at least not completely. I love Washington DC and all the opportunities it has presented me, but every great chance has come at a price. And that’s what happens when you take advantage of the things not everyone is offered, you give up all the comforts of predictability. Anyone who moves away to a new town far from home glamorizes packing up and catching that long awaited flight, yet no one talks about how hard it is once the plane lands. With no one to greet you at arrivals and welcome you home, living the dream feels more like surviving.

Related Post: 7 People You See on Your Morning Commute

I keep reading all these articles on sites like Thought Catalog and Elite Daily that talk about all the great things that come with moving to places like New York and being in your twenties, but who is writing about all the stress that comes with feeling alone in a place as big as New York City and how fucked up dating in your twenties has become. Moving to DC meant leaving behind every friendship I had created in California, from past roommates to high school best friends. Going to college 400 hundred miles from home meant I wasn’t new to having to start over, except this time there weren’t planned socials for me to meet new friends or extracurriculars I could sign up for with the hopes of leaving with free pizza and a new friend. Leaving my best friends had to be the hardest transition, with no one to run errands with or invite out on a Friday night. You don’t get used to not knowing a single soul, and after a while, you began to give up on the idea of finding a new group of friends. I can honestly say I haven’t really found a group of people in DC yet that I can truly call friends, and it sucks, but it’s the sacrifice I’ve made. That and giving up 50% of my income to keep a roof over my head.

Related Post: Things You Miss When You Move Away From Your Small Town

Shows like How I Met Your Mother and New Girl glamorize living in the city, and especially sugar coat what it’s like to have roommates in your twenties. This year I decided I would do everything in my power to live on my own, and while it was possible, the struggle is very much real. Quitting my job and praying I’d find a better paying one fast, renting a studio and putting up with pipes that smell like rotten eggs are just some of the challenges I face on a daily basis. But I try to not dwell on the price of rent or the fact that I’m just not clicking with the crowd in DC, cause I am living the exact life I pictured when I caught my flight to the East Coast. Sure it took a year before I found a decent paying job and semi affordable apartment, but hey, it was worth waiting for. The point of all of this was to remind you that life isn’t as simple as all those listsicles make it out to be, people who travel often than you are most likely broke and lonely half the time, and it’s perfectly normal to have to settle for less for a greater purpose. So ignore people who tell you how it’s so important to be single in your twenties or move to a new city, do what works for you, because at the end of the day nobody’s happiness is more important than your own.

Have you ever made a major life change to be happier overall? What’s the biggest risk you’ve taken, and did it work out in the end? 

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I am a die hard Halloween lover, to the point that currently there are two pumpkins a few feet away from my Christmas tree. Also, I’m lazy. While November is a time to mourn over the fact we have to wait a whole year to dress up again, by the time December arrives I’m pumped for all the things the last month brings along with it. And I’m not even talking about Christmas or New Year’s Eve. Especially not New Year’s Eve, because if Valentines Day is meant to make you feel bad about being single New Year’s Eve is meant make you feel bad about not celebrating on top of a skyscraper while kissing the love of your life in a sparkly dress. Never mind it’s winter and you’re on top of a building, people in the movies never look like they’re cold and miserable.

Some pretty awesome events happen in December though, whether you’re still in school or have landed a job good enough that your family expects you to start buying them presents as well. Damn. I’ve narrowed the list down to the top 12, because 13 is unlucky and and 11 is just a weird number to stop at.

Growing up in California, I never learned to appreciate a breezy day in the winter. Mostly because I grew up by the beach and every day was breezy. Moving to Washington DC has made me appreciate the little things like sunny days during winter, low humidity that won’t ruin my hair and wearing a scarf for more than just fashion purposes.
I know everyone likes to say sweater weather starts in September/October but no, you’re wrong. At least if you live in Washington DC. It’s still hot as hell during the fall, so all the sweaters I had forgotten all about get to come out and play in December. Plus, I can get away with not wearing a bra to the office, and life doesn’t get better than that. Everyone starts December off by saying, “oh my god, I feel like it was just January.” Early December is all about feeling like you might still be able to accomplish some of your resolutions while being optimistic about next year. Hold onto that feeling, because it will fade. Does anyone else find all their favorite chapsticks and trinkets in the pockets of their winter coats? Just me? Okay. So far I’ve found my old favorite lip balm, all my ribbon hair ties, a wallet and some old mementos from last winter. Still hoping I find a stack of twenty dollar bills in one of my coats though. The limit to the number of times I can watch The Grinch during the month of December does not exist. While I usually can’t stomach a Christmas movie marathon, as soon as the calendar hits December 1st I’m all about curling up with my cat and reciting every word of Elf. I know shipping is usually only 7-12 dollars but nothing beats not having to spend that money on something as lame as shipping! Is it weird that this made it so high on the list? I just really love saving money you guys. Does anyone else get so much joy from picking up boxes and shaking them? Since I was a little girl I’ve been obsessed with trying to figure out what my presents were before I opened them. I know I’m terrible, but I just cant stand staring at the boxes not knowing what’s inside them.

Related Post: The Ultimate Holiday Gift Guide for Every Type of Guy

Last year the company I worked for decided to invite everyone to the holiday office party, well, everyone except for me. Why? I have no freaking clue. Thankfully I ditched that place four months ago and am ten times happier working at a law firm downtown. Not only was I invited to this year’s office party, I received an email this Monday telling me to expect my holiday bonus on my next paycheck. I literally clapped at my desk. If you’re like me and don’t go home often, you know the awesome feeling of visiting and having the red carpet treatment. Whether your mom misses you or just forgot what a pain you can be, being cooked all your favorite meals and told to pick “whatever you like” is pretty freaking awesome. Sometimes going home once a year has its perks.

Related Post: 11 Perfect Gift Ideas for Your Boyfriend’s Parents (or your own!)

On top of free shipping, all the things go on sale. This year I opted to do all my Christmas shopping online because not only did I get to avoid the long lines and angry mobs of people, I stacked my savings on top of more saving by using promo codes and Ebates. Yeah, I’m pretty proud of myself. You know what’s harder than trying to get through finals week? Trying to get through finals week while working full time. Holy hell am I happy to have finally turned in all my final papers. December doesn’t really feel like December till you can stop stressing about needing to meet your page minimum and catching up on all your reading.

Related Post: The 10 Most Effective Ways to Help You Study Last Minute

I’ve been looking at Christmas decor since October, yeah, Target had the nerve to pull it out before Halloween had even passed. With almost two months on the shelf, places are finally marking down their gorgeous home goods and all those candy filled candy canes. Nothing says the holidays like buying something 70% off.

What’s makes your top 12 December moments? Also, am I the only one that has 100% forgot what my 2015 resolutions were? Oops. 

Valentine’s Day is one of those holidays you either love or hate, like New Year’s Eve. But if we’re being honest, the only people who hate either one of those holidays are the same people who pay for a yearlong subscription to Netflix in advance, because they know they won’t be making any plans any time soon.
I actually love Valentine’s Day the same way I love all holidays. Presents, color coded candy, decorations, and best of all, it all jumps to 40% off the next day at Target! Valentine’s Day sends single people into a slump with the mention of love at every drugstore in town, so while I understand the unhappiness of all the reminders that you are single, there are just some things that no person should do on this particular holiday.

With social media being all around us, people have come to believe it’s okay to share some of the most unnecessary information about their days. I’m talking to you Twitter. Save yourself the embarrassment when you wake up on the 15th and make sure to not post any of these things on single awareness day Valentine’s Day.

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1. DON’T be the person who rants about how Valentine’s Day was just created by card companies to sell chocolates and other useless junk.

» Everybody knows yet nobody cares. » This argument is so overused it’s become meaningless, like YOLO. » Last time I checked all those presents under the tree are not the true meaning of Christmas. You can’t support consumerism for one holiday and not another.

» I like chocolate dammit, whether it’s a man with a beard or a naked baby!

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2. DON’T hate on happy couples. 

Why does everybody think it’s okay to be mean to happy people on Valentine’s Day, especially that new 2 month relationship where both partners still think they’re going to get married and have yet to have a real fight? Let them be ignorant and in love!

Very few couples abstain from celebrating Valentine’s Day, so more likely than not, if you were in a relationship you’d be Instagramming the roses your partner sent you too! Like the freaking photo and keep scrolling!

3. DON’T man bash.  While you should never do this, you should especially not do this on Valentine’s Day. There’s only two rules to being single in February: » Don’t ask someone out before the 14th » And never go on a first date on Valentine’s Day

Because of these two rules, any guy that was remotely interested in asking you out once the chocolate hearts go on sale will definitely rethink it once he sees you post about how “strong-of-an-independent-woman-you-are-and-how-happy-you-are-to-be-single-since-these-are-the-years-you-need-to-live-your-life-and-any-guy-would-just-hold-you-back-anyways.”

Don’t be this girl, this girl stereotypes half of the world’s population, plus, nobody likes this girl.

4. DON’T under any circumstance fish for plans. 

I’m not sure how to explain this point besides giving an example that constantly pops up on my Facebook news feed. The post always comes up no earlier than 10 PM. It says something along the lines of “What’s going on tonight?/What’s good?/Who’s trying to do something?” The worse part is almost always no…one…ever…replies.

Which leaves me uncomfortably looking at a post by someone begging for someone to hang out with. If you feel a desperate need to make plans, text your close friends. Private message people. Travel back to 2006 and use your phone to call someone! Just don’t be the person that asks 500+ people what’s going on that night and then doesn’t get a single response. Unless a ‘like’ from your mom the next day counts as a reply in your book?

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5. DON’T share things no one wants to be reminded of. 

Relationship articles are this weird addiction I have, even though I am in no way in a relationship. (Unless you count the love affair with pizza. We’re trying to end it.) Websites like Buzzfeed, Her Campus and College Candy publish daily listsicles about why it’s better to be single on Valentine’s Day, why you shouldn’t be in a relationship in your twenties and how to have a singles only party. And even though I read these articles on a daily basis, I’m not buying it. I still would much rather prefer to spend this pink coated holiday with someone who loves me. I can’t be alone in this, right?

While we all enjoy reading about how great it is being single, the reality is it’s even better to have someone to call your own. So save the Thought Catalog articles for topics that are less sensitive, or wait for a week when everyone isn’t desperately hoping a stranger will admit their undying love for them.

6. DON’T post anything about an ex.

While you should commit to this rule suggestion year long, make an extra effort to hold back from referencing your former partner on Valentine’s Day. Any likes you receive will be from pity, plus any chance of the person thinking you are in any way sane will fly out the window.

Unless you’re a writer who can create a post that mentions them in an interesting/ambiguous way, steer clear of talking about exes on the day of love. Focus on yourself on this holiday, or at least on people who haven’t hurt you in the past 

7. DON’T post your feelings.

I too have a lot of feelings, so many that I at times rather just grunt rather than express myself with actual words. What I don’t do is go on Facebook, click the little smiley face, choose a feeling, then hit post. With no explanation!! Go bake yourself a cake of rainbows and smiles and eat it until all you can feel is FULL.

Living alone was one of the few times when I felt like I was really growing up. Dorming was fun and the independence I had was great, but I was never truly alone. I had an RA to take care of me when I got locked out and an amazing dining hall staff to cook me breakfast, lunch and dinner. (Never mind that I always slept through breakfast.)

This past summer I finally lived alone, truly alone. Away from all my friends. Not in the type of apartment complex that constantly has someone on staff in case I lock myself out of an emergency. I had a two bedroom apartment all to myself and I finally realized what Taylor Swift meant about it being a little colder than I thought it would be. Like with everything there are pros and cons to living alone, and even though I loved the part where I didn’t have to wear pants, I certainly don’t think I’m ready to be in charge of checking the locks every night. Here are the 22 things you can expect to happen when you live alone.

1. You will lose weight. A combination of forgetting to buy groceries, over reliance on dining halls and your mom forgetting to remind you to eat.

2. The floor will become your hamper. Before you have company you have to pick up the piles of clothes that have accumulated next to your shower.

3. Pants are optional, unless you have company. Then I’m sure you will have some lying right where you took them off when you got home, the front door.

4. You don’t invite people over as often as you thought you would.

5. You’ll find yourself turning into your mom. Checking and rechecking the locks on all the door and windows every night.

6. Buying some sort of weapon is standard. That or adopting a large enough rock to crack skulls with chuck at someone in case of emergency.

7. Dance parties can and will happen at all times of the day and night.

8. Eventually you will forget to pay some bill. I can’t decide what’s worse, forgetting to pay for the internet or heating.

9. Days (or weeks) without social interaction will lead you to friend some bug or rodent in your home. You think I’m crazy now but wait until you find yourself talking to a spider.

10. You will eventually pee with the door open. Not at first, but eventually, you’ll wonder why you ever closed the door.

11. You will seriously consider getting a pet. The kittens at the pet store are only 40 dollars, that’s like one trip to Target!

13. ..and buy a fish! So low maintenance, super loyal.

But it dies. Fish always die, don’t blame yourself too much.

14. Remembering to buy groceries long after you run out of food.

15. Half of your food spoils when you do buy it anyways. 16. Marathon sessions of watching your favorite old TV shows.

17. You sometimes forget to buy the boring everyday stuff, like toilet paper and dish soap.

18. And when you do buy toilet paper it never quite makes it to the thing that’s supposed to hold it in place. 19. You will never find a fork/spoon when you need it. But don’t worry, you somehow have about 20 butter knives.

20. No more waiting for your roommate to get out of the shower when you have to pee!

21. No more compromising on what you want to watch on TV! Embrace your right to watch Lockup Raw. All. Day. Long.

22. And best of all, no more passive aggressive notes scattered throughout your apartment. Everything is your fault anyways.

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Working an office job is a right of passage, and no, internships do not count. When you intern in an office you can still hold onto the feeling that this is just a step to somewhere better. When you’re clocking in 40 hours a week in the same space week after week, that feeling of an unexpected future begins to fade away with each birthday month celebration. Even though the love I had for my coworkers helped me forget just how boring the tasks I completed daily were, there were definitely moments when I sat there and thought to myself, “How can anyone wan’t to be here for the rest of their life?” If you work a job you currently hate or just have days where the smallest sneeze makes you wanna go off, then close your Outlook for a moment and stand in solidarity with all of us who know the struggle of working one of those classic office jobs where a trip to get a cup of coffee is something you genuinely look forward to. 1. Realizing you forgot your headphones when it’s too late to turn back. 2. Going to grab your tupperware only to find that someone already snatched it. 3. Peacefully using the restroom until someone walks in, and uses the stall directly next to you! 4. Surprise parties for the office that are actually a surprise. 5. When an internal meeting orders too much food and the office gets to eat the extras. 6. Early leave for holidays. 7. Both hating and looking forward to the holiday party. 8. Finding that one work friends who just gets you. 9. Bonding with your work friends over that coworker you both cant stand. 10. Secretly wondering how much money everyone else around you is making. 11. Having to let everyone now about your upcoming vacation, multiple times. 12.  Snacks becoming the only thing that help you get through the day. 13. Convincing yourself you could manage the office so much better. 14. Sitting through a photo slideshow of your coworkers kids/nephews/grandkids. 15. And coffee, all of the coffee. 16. Panicking when you cant remember if you entered your time. 17. Flying into a total rage when you find they raised the prices on the vending machine again. 18. Being way too cold in the office all summer. 19. While sweating at your desk during the winter. 20. And last but not least, the joy of having the elevator all to yourself.

For anyone with an office job, did I miss anything? Let me know the best and worst part of spending most of your days at the same desk below!

Last month marked a year together for my boyfriend and I. After months of badgering him about wanting to be swept off my feet for our anniversary, the boy pulled through with a pretty awesome anniversary date. And to make things better, a minor hostage situation gave me the entire day off. Don’t worry, nobody was hurt or anything, it was less hostage-y, more of a distressed employee. After months of spending every single day with the same person, there are times when him just sneezing makes me want to punch myself in the face. You saw that going somewhere else didn’t you? Well it didn’t, because long term relationships aren’t all about romantic dinners and nights spent snuggling. There are times when I seriously find myself arguing with him and he’s not even home, it’s mostly just me fussing by myself. But hey, I have my reasons. Boyfriends aren’t all bad though, I promise. Finding someone who can put up with my abnormally squeaky voice and tendency to spill when eating has its perks. Sure he doesn’t share my love for reality TV or frozen yogurt, but I have my reasons for not letting him go.

Related Post: How Date Night Saved My Relationship

Anyone with a cat knows the pain of having to carry a 20 pound bucket of kitty litter home. I have literally pulled muscles carrying those tubs of sand up my driveway. Thank the boyfriend gods that guys just love to show off how many heavy things they can carry. I have a bad habit of forgetting to turn off lights, and by forgetting, I mean I saw it but couldn’t be bothered to get out of bed to do it. I live in a tiny studio apartment, which means the light switch is only three steps away. But still, can you get that babe, I totally spaced out and forgot.
If you’re sort of blind like me, a working pair of eyes around the house is more helpful than you can imagine. Having another person to let me know where I set down my glasses, remote or metro card saves me so much time every morning.

Related Post: How to Spend Less Time Getting Ready in the Morning

I have white hairs okay?! There I said it! They grow way faster than my normal black hair and can’t even be called gray hairs, they are as white as snow falling. While I’m proud of them most of the time, there are days when I need the help of my boyfriend to yank one that is being a bit of an overachiever. I’m kidding! Sort of. I’m just really terrible at remembering to reload my commuter card so sometimes I need $1.75 to get myself to work. It’s not like we have joint bank accounts or anything, but I know I can count on him to toss me a few coins. Seven quarters to be exact. For the purpose of helping you focus on whatever you need to get done. While my boyfriend does have a strange fascination with my Instagram feed, he is great at “accidentally” sitting on my phone until I finish whatever needs to be completed. While usually I would complain about the channel needing to be changed, when I have a deadline to meet, my boyfriend has full control of the remote. I know I can count on him to put on a show so boring it makes my assignment feel like the most interesting thing I could be doing. Casual, candid moments don’t just capture themselves, you know? Don’t feel bad for him, most of the time my boyfriend insists on taking a photo of something when all I’m trying to do is enjoy the moment. This would be great if his photography skills didn’t mimic one of a 10 year old.

Related Post: All the Ways My Boyfriend Uses Instagram Wrong

All of my friends live on the opposite side of the country, which means sometimes I need someone to fill the role of standing by my side as I scream at the top of my lungs. I’m talking about the fact that this summer my boyfriend surprised me with tickets to the Taylor Swift concert. Yeah, it was pretty epic. While he likes Taylor Swift and puts up with me playing the CD all the time, I had no idea he knew as many lyrics as he did. While he didn’t cry at least once, he was a perfectly good substitute for the night. True story, sometimes I forget to eat for so long that I eventually just faint. It’s weird and I don’t know why I do it but it happens. Or I should say, it used to happen. My boyfriend and I like to joke that the reason we ended up together is because he made me fall in love with him by buying me snacks from the vending machine at work, which is partially true. Ever since we first met he’s been showering me with snacks to pack for work and buying me sodas at the bar to help me feel less awkward about not having a drink in my hand. He may just be buying me Cokes and gummy worms, but it’s the small things that count, isn’t it?

Are there any things your boyfriend does for you that you never imagined he would agree to? Let me know in the comments below!

Moving to Washington DC was one of the biggest and most unplanned decisions I’ve ever made. I’d like to say that in typical me fashion I had plans to move here after graduation, with a job lined up and ideas of what neighborhood I would rent an apartment in. But I cant. Somehow I found myself walking across the stage of my college graduation totally unaware of what my next step was. All I knew was that moving back home was the last thing I wanted or needed, and I was willing to take the first flight anywhere. Luckily I didn’t completely drop the ball my senior year, having spent a quarter interning in DC and applying to one graduate school. I didn’t think too much about it, the application fee was waived and it’s hard for me to say no to a good sale. Hell, I was saving 40 dollars, how could I not apply? Amazingly I was accepted, but I didn’t say yes to the offer right away. It took one month of living at home to realize that beggars cant be choosers, so I said ‘yes’ to moving back to DC and starting grad school in the fall. Goodbye year to find myself, hello crippling student loans! I’m not complaining though, at least not completely. I love Washington DC and all the opportunities it has presented me, but every great chance has come at a price. And that’s what happens when you take advantage of the things not everyone is offered, you give up all the comforts of predictability. Anyone who moves away to a new town far from home glamorizes packing up and catching that long awaited flight, yet no one talks about how hard it is once the plane lands. With no one to greet you at arrivals and welcome you home, living the dream feels more like surviving.

Related Post: 7 People You See on Your Morning Commute

I keep reading all these articles on sites like Thought Catalog and Elite Daily that talk about all the great things that come with moving to places like New York and being in your twenties, but who is writing about all the stress that comes with feeling alone in a place as big as New York City and how fucked up dating in your twenties has become. Moving to DC meant leaving behind every friendship I had created in California, from past roommates to high school best friends. Going to college 400 hundred miles from home meant I wasn’t new to having to start over, except this time there weren’t planned socials for me to meet new friends or extracurriculars I could sign up for with the hopes of leaving with free pizza and a new friend. Leaving my best friends had to be the hardest transition, with no one to run errands with or invite out on a Friday night. You don’t get used to not knowing a single soul, and after a while, you began to give up on the idea of finding a new group of friends. I can honestly say I haven’t really found a group of people in DC yet that I can truly call friends, and it sucks, but it’s the sacrifice I’ve made. That and giving up 50% of my income to keep a roof over my head.

Related Post: Things You Miss When You Move Away From Your Small Town

Shows like How I Met Your Mother and New Girl glamorize living in the city, and especially sugar coat what it’s like to have roommates in your twenties. This year I decided I would do everything in my power to live on my own, and while it was possible, the struggle is very much real. Quitting my job and praying I’d find a better paying one fast, renting a studio and putting up with pipes that smell like rotten eggs are just some of the challenges I face on a daily basis. But I try to not dwell on the price of rent or the fact that I’m just not clicking with the crowd in DC, cause I am living the exact life I pictured when I caught my flight to the East Coast. Sure it took a year before I found a decent paying job and semi affordable apartment, but hey, it was worth waiting for. The point of all of this was to remind you that life isn’t as simple as all those listsicles make it out to be, people who travel often than you are most likely broke and lonely half the time, and it’s perfectly normal to have to settle for less for a greater purpose. So ignore people who tell you how it’s so important to be single in your twenties or move to a new city, do what works for you, because at the end of the day nobody’s happiness is more important than your own.

Have you ever made a major life change to be happier overall? What’s the biggest risk you’ve taken, and did it work out in the end? 

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Even though it was five years ago I can still remember the rush I felt as I walked through the Target dorm section with an actual need for all that dorm decor. Or so I thought. Listen, I love to shop, almost as much as I love to shop at Target, but don’t let those long dorm shopping lists soak up all the graduation money you’ve been saving all summer.

One week into my freshmen year and I learned the hard way that I had packed way too much. Sharing a tiny dorm room with not one, but two other roommates was already crowded enough, but I also felt the need to bring with me everything I owned. While there were some things I definitely needed and used daily, a lot of it was junk that either never got touched or wasn’t necessary to have all year round.

Save yourself the stress and avoid bringing these things to college with you. While I know it’s nerve wracking to move to a new place, you don’t need to bring absolutely everything! How often you do iron at home? Yeah, that’s what I thought. Just because you’re now living on your own doesn’t mean you are suddenly a responsible adult who gives a crap about wrinkles on your clothes. If your blouse is super crinkled use your hair straightener, trust me, it works. For all you bookworms out there, I’m sorry, but your love affair with thick novels is about to hit a rocky patch. With all the reading from your courses and new busier schedules, you’ll most likely find you have less time to sit around with a good book. Plus, dorm rooms are loud and not the best setting to read a novel cover to cover. If you really can’t part ways with your favorites, narrow it down to just a few and not your whole collection.

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Unless you go to one of those rare schools that doesn’t offer a meal plan to all freshmen, you do not under any circumstance need to bring pots, pans, plates and cutlery with you. Most of your meals will come already cooked or out of a foam cup, so save yourself the money and space and leave all that stuff at home. Plus, with most dorms not allowing things like coffee makers and rice cookers inside the rooms, bringing them all is just setting yourself up for a write up from your RA. Colleges know what students need which is why most campus housing options having a computer lab as part of the building. There’s no need to take up space in your room with a printer! Plus, ink is ridiculously expensive nowadays. Save yourself some money and space this semester by using the facilities on campus instead. Most dorm furniture is built to be able to be raised and lowered, making bed risers unnecessary. If you decide you still need them once you arrive, places like Target and Walmart sell bed risers year round. Wait to purchase these until you’ve actually seen your room. While it’s important to know how to fix things, the year you spend living in the dorms is basically like one long vacation. With the dining hall cooking all your meals and housing staff fixing all your problems, something like a tool kit will be more needed when you begin to live off campus. Save the space and send all your luggage home with your parents. For weekend trips and holiday breaks, keep a duffel bag handy. Holding onto big luggage that will never be used will only take up space in your already small room. I wish someone had told me that there was no good reason to pack my winter clothes when I was attending school in the desert. The reality is that most college students go home during holiday breaks, unless you’re one of those lucky few that have parents willing to pay for a trip to Cabo. Bring only the clothes you will need for the semester and swap out what you don’t during your visits home. Your dorm facilities team will control the temperature inside your space, and coming from someone who is always cold, I was always comfortable. Instead of lugging around a fan or heater, invest in some awesome bedding! You’ll most likely only use the heater/fan for half the year then have it sitting around taking space the rest, so leave it at home and bring a good comforter instead. When it comes to shared items, you don’t need two of anything. Obviously you want to bring your own laptop and clothes, but no dorm room needs two TVs or mini fridges. Communicating with your roommate before you start shopping will save you so much money, plus maybe help the two of you bond over your excitement to start school.

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Did you find you packed way too much stuff your freshmen year? What’s one thing you never used or another you used all the time??

I didn’t want to write this post. Actually, scratch that, I didn’t want to publish this post. Hitting publish meant a bunch of people would know of my intentions for  the next sixty days and totally judge me next time I posted a photo of a delicious pizza on Instagram.

Okay I’m gonna be 100% honest, I ate pizza just four hours ago, but I didn’t even enjoy it, I swear! My boyfriend is super into eating out, like it’s one of his favorite things to do. That new hobby coupled with my IUD means a lot of my clothes have been not fitting me comfortably, and if I wanna be totally transparent, some I can’t even button.

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To be honest, I don’t know if the weight gain is from the hormones or the food, but either way it’s gotta go. I’ve been feeling sluggish lately, and I really rather not drag this feeling with me into the new season. On top of everything, I just booked a flight for my birthday and fourth of July, to an area I rather not have to cover my new rolls with loose tshirts. No disrespect to loose tshirts, they’ve done a lot for me the past few months. The thing is though, I’m very anti-diet. I’m a firm believer that if you want to improve your health or change your body type, whatever your goal is, it needs to be a lifestyle change. Since I’m already a picky eater cutting out certain foods is out of the question. Obviously I’ll avoid pizza, but none of that no carb, low fat, mumo jumbo. As a therapist I’m very self aware, of everything from my emotions to my eating habits. Because of my constant self analyzing I know two things: Candy is basically a food group in my life, I have a hard time saying not to soda and I get cravings that are so intense they make me get out of bed, put on a bra and walk to 7 Eleven at 11:30 at night. True story, recent story, okay it was just last week!
While I enjoy being physically active, I loathe the idea of working out. For this reason I need to find an activity that gets me moving but doesn’t feel like exercise. I’m thinking either pilates or bicycling, or both if I really wanna blow myself away.

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So here’s the challenge, I’m basically going to try to be less of a terrible example for myself. This means getting myself moving, drinking some actual freaking water, and learning to say no to high calorie foods. Today was the perfect example of me eating a meal I was neither excited for nor enjoying, so why did I do it!? Oh yeah, because my boyfriend likes pizza and I didn’t want to run his Sunday afternoon. Somewhere over the next 60 days I want to find the balance of eating well and not intruding on my social life, suggestions are welcome. I have just a few more hours until day 1 begins, so I’m going to make the most of it by finishing all the marshmallows and drinking a coke! Just kidding, I won’t do that, even though I desperately want to. Did I mention we just bought four cases of soda? This may be harder than I had planned for…

How do you manage to say not to unneeded calories? Also, do you have any recommendations for free or low cost online exercise routines? 

If you are anything like me, senior year of college consisted of too many people asking you what your plans were after graduation. Now a full year later, I’ve successfully managed to move across the country and transition from a low paying job at a nonprofit organization to my current position at a global law firm. How did I do this? Magic!

Just kidding! I worked my ass off. Not just after graduation, but throughout college as well. With every news outlet reporting how hard it is to get a job in today’s economy, I wasted no time during my four years in college. The only problem I’ve had is figuring out how to put all these experiences on a piece of paper. With so many applicants hoping to hired for the same job, it’s difficult to stick out in a sea of high GPAs and low salary requirements. While I can’t magically give you work experience or an amazing recommendation letter, I can take my experience with working at an organization that focused on unemployment to warn you about the all too common resume mistakes people make that leave their resume in the ‘no’ pile. Let’s not waste a single moment more and get to talking about all the things you want to avoid doing before submitting your next job application… While it may be hard for us to understand, this is an HR manager’s pet peeve. Typing at the bottom of your resume, ‘references upon request,’ is not only unnecessary, but sometimes redundant. Many applications today have you include references as part of the application, making the line completely unnecessary. For those applications that don’t initially ask for references, the hiring manager already knows you will be willing to provide references. You want the job, don’t you? Again, this is a small thing that bothers anyone who spends their day looking at resumes all day. If you include the month in one date range, make sure you include the month in all date ranges. For example, if I write I worked at Google from Sep 2012-Aug 2015, but my college dates are 2010-2014, the formatting is not the same. Fix it! It’s so simple yet such an eye sore when done wrong.

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This mistake would have to be in the top 5, with so many people not realizing what they’re doing wrong until someone points it out. When describing your work experience, all jobs and positions you once held should be referred to in the past tense. Talking about everything in the present tense not only sounds like you are currently very busy juggling a lot of tasks, employers will automatically know you aren’t and conclude you simply failed to revise your resume. For help with avoiding making this mistake, ask a friend to read over your resume. My general rule for what to include on my resume is that it needs to be no longer than 2 years ago, then again, I just graduated college and have never put in too many years at one job. While everyone will have a different span of time, make sure the experiences you are including on your resume aren’t from too long ago. Talking about a position you held 10 years ago isn’t very helpful if you haven’t done anything recently to expand on that experience. Just recently I was revising a resume for someone seeking positions in the field of security. In his aim to fill up the page and include as much as possible, he listed a job he held almost ten years ago in a surf shop. Again, he was looking for a professional job in the field of security! How he figured selling surfboards factored in his job search, I don’t know. As objectively as you can, look over the experiences you include and ask yourself if they are actually relevant to the job you’re applying to. If you cant apply any of your duties or skills to the new job, save the space and remove it from your resume. Your resume should be an equal balance of all your past experiences, meaning all past positions should have relatively the same amount of bullet points and space given on the overall resume. If you take up one third of the space on the page talking about one job then cram four more positions in the remaining space, that should be a signal that not all of the positions are relevant and necessary. Aim to have the same number of bullet points per position or decrease the number of listed experiences so you can expand on those you wish to.

Are any of these common mistakes on your resume? What’s your biggest struggle when trying to update your personal resume?? Let me know in the comments below!