Lifestyle Category

Early today I greedily left my local library with a stack of 6 books feeling like I just won the lottery. Why? Because I took 6 books, FOR FREE. I know everyone is stoked on the Amazon Prime train with free 2-day shipping but come on, those books are pricey. Too pricey, in fact, for my young adult bank account to keep up with my reading obsession. Let me outline some important points that I’m sure will convince you to run to your local library and get a card rightRead More

My first semester of college, I worked at a chain coffee and bagel café. I have always affirmed that every person needs to work in food service at least once in their lifetime. It is difficult to express how exceptionally vital it is that people understand the toil behind where their services come from, and the crucial nature of treating workers with respect. I have also always held the belief that every person needs to work at least one “crappy job” in their life to fully understand the value ofRead More

Wanderlust: (n.) The irresistible, incurable desire to travel. Don’t call me a psychic but I have a feeling in my being that there is somewhere in the world you are dying to explore.  You daydream about it from your sad little cubicle.  Perhaps your room is decorated with an excessive amount of maps.  Maybe you want to plan an anniversary trip with your lover.  “Help me, I’m poor,” you tell everyone.  “I really want to travel somewhere faraway.”  *Insert excessive crying* “…but I just don’t know how!” I am about to share a life-changing secretRead More

Distance will forever be the main problem in my life. I’m a searcher. By distancing myself from the familiar, the tsunami of transition leaves me with a flood of new opportunities. By driving away from the city, I can finally breathe. The stars are visible now that I’m away from the smog. When making a college decision, I chose one halfway across the country—a convenient 750 miles away. When the walls of my perfect suburban hometown became too small for my liking, I bolted for what I called a “biggerRead More

Lately, I’ve come in contact with people of my past, with pictures of my past, and with random Facebook pokes from people of my past. Just like any other individual, I am drawn to the magnet that my past holds and it’s hard to break away. I remind myself that the past is there for a reason. So here’s a letter to the thing that keeps tapping me on the shoulder:   Dear Past, Let’s get things straight. I have started a whole new life since you and I haveRead More

Every summer growing up, I escaped to camp in the woods, where my world transformed into a sky of glitter, aromas of marshmallows, and sun-kissed days of carefree fun. Camp was the one time I could forget about the stresses of “reality;” where I looked forward to waking up at 7AM, where I could belt silly songs and dress in costume every day with a community of others who did the same. Most of all, camp was where I met some of my lifelong friends, because truly, nothing bonds peopleRead More

The last day of school is the day when social media explodes with pictures and articles about graduation. And don’t get me wrong, I’m really happy for those grads and totally not upset over the fact that I changed my concentration middle of my school year and delayed my own graduation. Not. Bitter. At. All. But in all seriousness, while the graduates are now stepping up to bigger and better things, those of us still in school are in a new realm of reality: summer break. Summer break is, overall,Read More

Every month ends and then a new month starts and soon enough it’s the month that ended starting all over again. Beginnings and ends mean moves and changes and hellos and goodbyes– some of them are accompanied by relief, some sadness, some panic, some sheer joy and others apathetic. The end of this month means I’ll be moving out of 4L – my Craigslist apartment. Over the past four months, this random gem of an apartment in Astoria has been graced by the presence of myself, the man who owns theRead More

I have spent a majority of the past 8 months begging for summer to greet me with her sunshine and warm weather. I wanted needed shorts and sandals. I laid in bed beneath my down comforter in my fleece footie pajamas with my space heater cranked up wondering when the madness would end, wondering when I would enjoy walking outside again, wondering when it wouldn’t be necessary for me to have a parka accessible at all times. Alas, summer is here! But let’s not forget that every rose has its thorn,Read More

When I was 22 months old, something incredible happened.  My sister-friend was born.  Though my little nugget brain didn’t realize it at the time, that chunky baby sister of mine was my soul-mate in the making.  In fact, it took some years before we realized we were faster, better, stronger together.  While growing up in southern California, we struggled with the concept of sharing…okay, I did.  Our rock bottom?  I grabbed her feet while she was sleeping.  Maybe it was our mutual love of Wilson Philips or maybe I just gotRead More

Today, my mum spontaneously called an old friend of hers from elementary school. When I was younger, our family and her’s would get together every summer. She had a daughter named Heather, who was my childhood penpal and faraway best friend. We used to call each other princesses when we discovered we could never become royalty. As we sat in mountains of strawberry bubbles while our mothers struggled to bathe us, we plotted ways to annoy them for the next day. We wore more matching outfits than typical twins probablyRead More

The moment I turned 18, I threw myself a VIP-access, glitz and glamour, dance party extravaganza…because technically, I no longer had to call myself a teenager. I had finally emerged from adolescence alive. I felt like Batman because I had clawed my way out Bane’s inescapable pit. I wholeheartedly believed that the rest of my life was waiting with a bigger and better everything. I simply couldn’t wait to hop on a plane with my dream in my cardigan, and never look back. Simply being an adult empowers me toRead More

Summer is here! For the college crew, that means a three month vacation at your parents’ house. For the post-college crew, that means a few visits to your hometown. For both groups, that means bumping into old classmates. And no matter how well you once knew your high school peers, that can be awkward. Let’s face it, small talk is inherently uncomfortable, but if you’re trying to avoid a little bit of pain, steer clear of these questions:   What are you doing after graduation? Talk about a conversation buzzkill.Read More

Thanks to Instagram and Facebook, we all have “friends” who we aren’t really friends with but who we think we know anyway.  We choose to frown upon or look up to someone based on photos and status-updates.  That girl who only posts pictures of mayonnaise and her cross-eyed cat?   Clearly she’s going to die alone.  We also think we know celebrities.  “Beyonce’s life must be perfect.”  Or, for The Bachelor critics: “Juan Pablo didn’t tell Nikki he loved her on national television so their relationship is doooooomed!”  We presume.Read More

“You look tired.” “No, I just don’t have any make up on.” Never tell a woman she looks tired, because not only is she always tired, but 9 out of 10 times she probably doesn’t have all of her make-up on. This is what she normally looks like and now you’re making her feel bad about it. Men never have to look tired. They never have to explain why they look tired. They never have to answer the question, “Are you tired? You look tired.” Unless of course they areRead More