Advice For Women Category

When I was in my early college years, I tried to convince myself that I had ADD so I could get myself on Adderall.  I had an eating disorder and thought that this trendy drug would speed up my “lose every pound of fat or kill yourself” diet.  The truth is, I just get distracted like everyone else.  In fact, I came to It’s A Grind today to read and write, but have spent the last 1.5 hours narcissistically browsing photo albums on Facebook while simultaneously posting recipes on PinterestRead More

Failure is a term we hate to hear in our vocabulary, let alone actually use it to describe one of our attempts at something great. Society does not commend defeat, nor do we as individuals actually want to celebrate a moment of downfall. But maybe in order to truly appreciate the extraordinary events in our life, we have to understand our lowest lows to recognize our highest highs. Success is something that we work towards and it’s measured in different magnitudes based on the individual’s values. Before we reach theRead More

Alcoholism rocked my early 20s.  Typically of the white wine variety, it was an hourly obsession that could have destroyed my life if I had let it.  Spoiler alert: I’m almost two years sober.  It’s not always easy though, especially during holidays like Fourth of July when I have to pretend that O’Doul’s is really doing it for me.  If I’m ever feeling envious enough of my normal-drinking peers to fantasize about picking up, I just have to remind myself that, well, I can’t.  “Elin, honey, you poured a bottle of chardonnay onRead More

Both of my parents went to college.  They understood the importance of getting the piece of paper at the end of it all that said you were now qualified to do more jobs than if you just had a lesser piece of paper that you received when you graduated from high school.  That used to be the case.  People would go to college because they knew that in doing so, they would open up doors for themselves in the future that would not be opened in any other way.  ManyRead More

In this moment, you are afraid. You are afraid of being successful in your dream job you just landed. Afraid of failing grades in one of your classes at university. Afraid of possibly getting the opportunity to make a girl happy for the rest of her life. Afraid of possibly getting the opportunity to make a guy happy for the rest of his life. Afraid to ask for help in any part of your life. Afraid of letting YOURSELF be happy for the rest of YOUR life. In this moment,Read More

I can’t tell you how many people have told me “fall in love with yourself first before someone else loves you.” Maybe not in those exact terms, but that’s the gist of it. I now use those same words as sincere advice to everyone that is looking for love. I have been single for a year now since my last relationship, and at first it was a lonely ride. Once you’ve been loved- touched, kissed, and spoken to in a genuine way, you feel lost when that all disappears. ItRead More

People love to tell you how to live your life.  Given the chance, most everyone jumps at the opportunity to provide an endless supply of advice out of their own life manual.  Telling you what they would do, pausing only to pass judgment on your latest decision, then quickly back to campaigning their next “If I were you” epiphany.  The thing is, life is hard, we all need help at one point or another so we listen to the perceived wisdom of those around us.  To make an unpopular decisionRead More

I have always been an advocate for self-motivation; whether it is reading Self Magazine or the do-it-yourself handbooks you get from your local bookstore. I have a firm belief that if you can’t help yourself, than nobody can help you…and if you can’t make yourself happy, then who can you make happy? I am fresh out of my freshman year of college and I already have 3 writing jobs, my own website and 2 jobs outside of that. Where would I have been without motivation, right? I have learned toRead More

There’s someone you love, who doesn’t care about you nearly as much as they should.   You’re sitting here, reading this, and suddenly a face pops into your head. You know who I’m talking about, even its only something you’ll admit when no one else is around. Even if this accusation about this person is something you’ll push to the back of your mind, squishing the thought with so much fortitude that it disintegrates, for a moment at least. But you know who that person is. There’s no escaping it.Read More

“You’re not trying hard enough” 5 painful words that should not be drilled into a young, vulnerable and still developing mind. While everyone is entitled to their own opinions, this particular opinion should be kept to oneself. How are we to know who truly is and isn’t trying hard enough? How are we to know where to draw the line between what is enough and what isn’t enough? I can think of far too many moments I was told those words through out my life. Maybe those who spoke themRead More

First dates cause my nerves to spin into a panic.   They saunter between fear and regret the moment I have left my home and begin wishing I were back in my sweat pants, back in my bed, watching some show about sex and a city that was created when I was graduating from 6th grade.  My future husband could be the pizza guy, right?  I had left work earlier than usual to allow myself time to shower and eat something, lest I enter the date hangry and ready to stab himRead More

Now, before I make a complete ass out of myself, I’d like to take the time to apologize for what I’ve just written.  After too many beers and far too little common sense, my watching of the Miss America Pageant became much more than a planned Sunday of inactivity. With stupidity at an all time high, I felt the need to support the feminist movement in the wake of the controversy surrounding the newly crowned Miss America which was probably the dumbest thing I could have done. Nevertheless, I amRead More

So, you graduated and said goodbye to your home- and your family- of four years. No longer can you so easily drag your roommates out of bed at midnight to meet the gang at the local bar down the block or make impromptu late-night diner trips. The truth is, maintaining those ties is going to get a lot harder as everyone starts moving in different directions. Some friendships may start to fizzle and fade, and you’re all going to have to start putting in some extra effort. Here are theRead More

Food is honestly one of my closest companions. It is there for me in the day and in the night, and when I call, it always answers. I love food more than I love people. I like to think that others think the same. Here are a few phrases that I put together that hold true when it comes to comparing food and guys: 1.”I still feel so satisfied…” (3 hours later) 2.”Chocolate will always understand.” 3. “Cheese is never late.” 4. “Fried chicken never argues.” 5. “Pizza answers whenRead More

Embarrassment, by textbook definition, is a feeling of self-consciousness, shame or awkwardness. It is a feeling we all have experienced more than once in our lives. We are ashamed of an action, a fault, a flaw, etc. We all get pimples. We all trip and fall. Most of the time, we as humans are embarrassed by the same things. But, that should be a reason why we should never be embarrassed. Let’s take this scenario: it’s picture day in 8th grade and you wake up with a huge pimple onRead More