Lifestyle Category

World renowned psychologist Abraham Maslow once ordered all our needs into a rigid pyramid of importance. As Maslow argued, at the base of all our needs is what keeps us physically alive as human beings. As the pyramid narrows toward the top, meeting physiological needs transitions toward meeting more internal, emotional needs. He deemed this to be what founds a “stable” individual. However, is it true in every moment that we put our physical “needs” before what we mentally desire? Can Maslow’s rigidity ever flex? I don’t want to believeRead More

I take pride in my beard.  I love growing my facial hair out because it makes me feel manly.  Maybe it’s my own version of a lifted truck, but I don’t care.  It also keeps my face warm in the winter months, so there’s that.  Here are some things that can start to get annoying about having a beard once you realize that they’re going to happen over and over again regardless of where you are.   1. Things get stuck in your beard. Namely food, but you’d be surprisedRead More

I come from a long line of proud, Chinese-born and Chinese-raised relatives, but I am the first one to be born in the United States. Despite living in a suburban Bostonian home, I was raised on scallion pancakes and rice, torturous Chinese lessons every Saturday, and stereotypical Asian values. Every dinner was a lecture about how fortunate I was not live in a poverty-stricken communist country. Grades were always held as a number one priority, even before health and sanity. My Chinese school and group of family friends were alwaysRead More

I ran the San Diego Rock n’ Roll Half Marathon a couple weekends ago. My training leading up to it was spotty (at best). The foundation of my diet was ice cream and red meat. Having grown up an athlete—not a good athlete, but an accomplished try-hard—I assumed running thirteen miles would be a walk in the park. I was so wrong. Because we only walked for a few minutes in the proverbial park, and then had to keep running. I will now recount for you my first half-marathon—and possibly myRead 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

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this listicle are those of one dieter and do not reflect the opinions or official position of all dieters. To those who enjoy almond butter and hot yoga, I salute you. You will run into someone you know at the gym and they will see you sweat through every inch of your A Day to Remember tank top or cut-out summer camp tee from 2006. Be it an old classmate, a neighbor, a representative to a councilman you work with on the daily. Not even 8 a.m. is safe. Actually, 8 a.m. is theRead More

We walked against the nighttime wind with our heads held high and our heels a little higher. We were slowly making our way into the comfort of a house where we’d be provided with intoxicating substances and communal sweat. Homework was done, classes over for the week, petty stresses behind us, and a night out before us. Suddenly, a group of boisterous, clearly wasted guys showed up next to us. One of them caught my eye and asked, “How are you doing tonight?” “I’m doing well, thanks,” I mumbled, notRead More

I asked for the moon and you came back with the galaxy. When one boy said he didn’t love me anymore, you said you would never stop. You taught me that donuts are the only way to start a Saturday morning (or any morning) and that cigars can be smoked in times of celebration or sorrow. And when Mommy parted this world too soon, you stepped in to take over as Mr. Mom. I view the world with hope in my eyes and faith in my heart because of you,Read More

I just completed my freshman year at the University of Michigan. It was turbulent, to say the least. Not in the sense that scores of dramatic events kept happening to me, but that my emotions had never gone through such a tumultuous course before. Adjusting was difficult, to say the least. I go to a public university in a state other than my own. A school with 30,000 high-achieving students. Many people came to school with high school friends, extended family members, or roommates they had chosen. My friend groupRead More

Some people go through life blissfully ignorant of all the horrible, disgusting germs that are literally everywhere. Other people carry the burden of constant fear, paranoia, and revulsion from living in a world contaminated by germs. These people are called Germaphobes. Germaphobes are faced with many challenges on a daily basis, as their phobia robs them of the joys that non-Germaphobes get to experience, such as…   Ball pits Ah, Ball pits. Ball pits are a childhood staple of seemingly innocent fun. Wrong! Ball pits are full of heinous germsRead More

For a while I’ve wanted to write about my experiences in strip clubs. I never got around to it. I was worried it would be preachy. Dumb. Boring. I requested guidance from amethyst I’d purchased from an Austin, Texas mineral shop. When the rock declined to tell me what to do, I got stoned and held a séance with dead white authors. Hemingway, the greatest of the sexually confused Modernists, appeared in a subliminal mushroom cloud the shape of two roosters crossed at the neck. E-Hem poked his ass outRead More

I’ve always been the person who thinks that if pictures of your drinks for the night, memorable club snaps, and smoking photos make you happy, go ahead and post them. But I’m not a smoker or a drinker, or even a promiscuous model, so when I was messaged this weekend to take down my picture from Instagram, I was extremely confused. My picture was of a messenger bag. With the HypoPARA Association logo on it. The HypoPARA Assoc. is an association that holds annual conferences and distributes countless amounts ofRead More

It began in first grade when the discovery of a substitute teacher greeting the class in the morning distressed me so much that I begged my mother, through snot and salinized skin, to take me home from school. My threshold for the substitute teacher’s performance being less than perfect in mirroring my own teacher’s routine absolutely shattered me. I was sort of a high-strung child, you might declare. Thankfully, years later, there is nothing that warrants this exact reaction from me, except, perhaps, intense moments of hunger. Childhood anxiety isRead More

I realize this title is misleading and before you ask, no, I did not get a boob job. I did, however, go on birth control which made me go up a cup size (estrogen, TURN UP). Going from not really having boobs to having a respectable amount of boobage is a weird transition to go through overnight (okay, over the course of a month or so). Here are some struggles I’ve faced and continue to face now that my boobs are considerably larger.   Struggles of Big Boobs 1. SleepingRead More

As citizens of the world, we rarely stay in one place for our entire lives. Most of us move away from the place we were born at least once. As the 20-something nomad that I am, I’m often thinking about what the word “home” means to me. Home is usually a place; country lines or a physical place where all of your belongings are. But at 22 years old, and having lived pretty much all over the place. If you were to ask me where my home is, I would haveRead More