“The first time I was finally convinced that I had been right all along was when I heard the words “You’ve got the job.” Before that no one believed me—no one thought I was being realistic. But now I could prove to them that my dream wasn’t stupid or childish. It was real. My life was going to be right alongside that of Cinderella or Belle, or any of the other princesses whose stories I read about fifty times when I was younger, and still read occasionally now. It was an elf-sized man with pointy features, wearing a striped black suit and a tie with tiny Goofy faces all over who granted me that first step into my perfect life.
“Really?” I felt compelled to ask even though I knew he wouldn’t have told me I was hired if that wasn’t the case. Despite the fact that the man in front of me wore a Goofy tie, I could tell, solely by the slight rise of his right nostril, that he didn’t have a funny bone in his sapling body.
“Really.” he said. He didn’t look up from his laptop when he spoke. And, with the glow of the computer screen whitening his already sickly skin tone, he looked like Dracula’s brother. It’s probably a good thing he hides behind his desk all day, I thought. He didn’t have one thing going for him, unless you count looking like one of the cartoon villains in the amusement park you run as something going for you. I shouldn’t be talking though, having just been hired to dress as a cartoon character myself. At least I was going to be one of the good guys. Everyone knows that the villains are never the ones who live happily ever after.”
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“Two years ago, I found myself living in a freshman dormitory at the heart of UC Berkeley. When I told other students where I was living, they gave me a congratulatory nod and told me, “Great! That’s the most sociable dorm!” They were quite right: my floormates would leave their doors open to “encourage student bonding”, plan trips to San Francisco, huddle like a group of bears while they hunt for the next frat party and just drink the night away with their red cups in hand. In a nutshell, they were the typical college students who liked to have fun.
I wished I had listened to Susan Cain’s talk on TED.com when I was a freshman. In the video, Cain, a former corporate lawyer, discusses her book entitled “QUIET: The Power of Introverts In a World That Can’t Stop Talking.” She praises the potential for leadership and creative thought of introverts, who are often undermined in a culture that overvalues extroverted and outgoing personas.”
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“The Working Woman With The Low Bun
What You’ll Need:
- Medium to long straight hair (preferably)
- Comb
- A couple of elastic bands
- Hairspray
- Bobby pins
How To Get It:
1. Part your hair all the way down the middle.
2. Take the left side of your hair and tie one of the bands about two inches from the bottom.
3. Do the same with another band for the right side.
4. Twist both parts toward each other, until they each become tight coils.
5. Wrap the stubs under and use bobby pins to lock the bun in place.
6. Apply hairspray to any loose pieces.”
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“Social media has been on a rise for the past decade – with the average person having at least a Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, or some other account to communicate online. In fact, according to NetSmartz, 73% of teenagers have accounts on these social networking websites. However, keeping in touch with the rest of the world is harder than it was when these social media sites first started up years ago. Online predators and identity theft are now among a number of dangers an Internet connection demands. Below are some straightforward ways to maintaining a safe and social experience on the computer.
Keep Your Personal Information Private
This is the golden rule of the Internet – keep your personal information to yourself. Sure, Facebook has a space for you to fill in your telephone number, but do you really want your number publically displayed on a popular website for the entire online world to come across? Sites like Facebook that allow you to record every activity and accomplishment in your life (you can now post a new language you learned or when your last promotion was right on your Timeline) are seriously in need of a reality check. No one should have such explicit access to everything in your life. Imagine what someone could do with a full profile collected of you – name, age, location, telephone number, email, parents’ names, etc – and keep your privacy boundaries in mind the next time you update your “About Me” section.”
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REBLOG if this was totally the face you made when you first started driving.
The first time he saw her he didn’t think much of her. In fact, he barely noticed her at all. She moved through his vision like a fleck of dust dances through a ray, swirling in the sunlight, hardly there, intangible, unsettled and unsettling. He was in line for his medicine, in line for tiny bits of chalk he hoped would actually slide down his throat this time. She was at the other end of the room, looking slightly perturbed, neurotic. Everyone there suffered from some sort of neuroticism, some little tremor or tick. His hands hadn’t stopped shaking since the crash. Her gaze never stayed on one spot for more than five seconds.
He was recovering from a suicide attempt.
She was leaving the next day.
His diagnosis: depression. Hers: paranoid schizophrenia.
But he didn’t know this at the time. He was too busy shuffling, groaning, sighing, gulping down little pills that always stuck at the back of his throat, examining the slowly vanishing scrapes and nicks on his hands, wondering why he couldn’t have just died in that goddamn car.
First the dark room, the dark office, the nighttime blackness that filled the room except for one bubble of light. Light so bright it hurt his eyes. Fluorescence that filled the workspace with, not holiday cheer, but dread. Dread that told him he was sure to lose his job any day. Not producing they said. Not producing work that was “up to par.” What happened to him, they wanted to know? What happened to that good work he did for so long? He had no answer for them. He wasn’t sure what had happened, where he’d misplaced his talent. It was so much more than writer’s block. It was despair. A sinking, painful feeling in the pit of his stomach and a throbbing in the back of his throat.
Dark. Dread. Despair.
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“
Have you ever struggled when it comes to studying? Or is your transition to college level work more rigorous than you expected? For some students the jump from high school to college is more than just a new living environment.
California Polytechnic Institute State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly) freshman have reported to study 3-5 hours per week during high school. This is probably due to the fact that high school students are in class for about 30 hours a week. In college, student class time is cut drastically, at times less than 15 hours per week. Due to this cutback in class hours, college students are expected to study more in their own time, yet since most only studied a few hours a week when in high school, this change is often difficult.
A recent program known as the College of Science and Mathematics 25-35 Study Program has shown that “at Cal Poly, the most successful students are on the 25/35 study plan.” This study plan is based on the idea that one must study at least 2 hours per unit, per week. Assuming that students take on 13-17 units per quarter/semester, students must study 26-34 hours outside of class. This averages to 3.7-4.8 hours of studying per day, including weekends.
After speaking to students currently attending college, the idea of studying so many hours shocked them and many admitted to not studying enough. They instead supplied helpful hints on how they study and how they keep their minds focused.”
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“If you’re like me and you can’t live without a daily shower, then the idea of camping for several days without facilities can seem quite daunting! I recently went to Pukkelpop festival in Belgium – my first ever camping festival! Now, I’m not really the roughing it type so this was quite a challenge for me, but I survived! Whether you’re a keen festival-goer or you’re thinking about going for the first time, following these simple steps will help you make the most of your festival experience.”
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“In a society that glamorizes being both absurdly skinny and stereotypically beautiful, it is no surprise that an estimated seven million women – and one million men – in America are suffering from an eating disorder. In fact, according to the South Carolina Department of Mental Health, 95 percent of people with eating disorders are within the ages of 12 and 25. Something must be done to dramatically reduce these numbers.
The media constantly bombards us with images of girls with Photoshopped bodies and faces full of makeup, expecting us to want to do the same. Unfortunately, this social pressure, combined with the pressures of our own insecurities, successfully pushes us into striving for the same unrealistic goals. As a consequence, seven million girls and women per year believe forced starvation or purging is the only necessary way to becoming a normal member of society. This simply is not true.”
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“As of late, fashion designers have been “borrowing” various patterns from long-established civilizations, such as the Aztec, Indian, and, especially, Native American cultures. Though these designers view their use of the styles as modern and chic, the Native American population finds this new trend highly offensive to the traditions their clothing instills in them.
The battle of supposed creativity versus insulting misuse began the moment Native American-inspired clothing and accessories bloomed in retail stores. Companies such as Forever 21, Urban Outfitters, and Hot Topic all embrace Native American-inspired clothing. Though these businesses incorporate the styles into their separate lines, they disagree to being outright denounced as money-hungry oppressors favoring the hipster generation.”
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“As summer comes to a close and the heat slowly begins to die down, the fashion-forward crowd eagerly turns to new trends to fawn over. With designers releasing stunning designs on the runway like daring knits and unexpected colors, the next season’s styles can be easily predicted and are sure not to disappoint. Take a look at our forecast of what is to come, as judged by the runway.
The Underdogs Take Center Stage – Burgundy & Navy Blue
Though the pair make a disastrous match together, these two are dynamic when alone. Both colors dominated New York City’s Fall/Winter 2012 Fashion Week earlier this year and are sure to equally overpower a fashionista’s closet this season. Despite the “underdog” persona both colors share, an overwhelming number of designers have embraced the shades and revolutionized them to fashion perfection. The legendary likes of Tommy Hilfiger, Alexander Wang, and Christian Siriano have all chosen burgundy as the hero color for their models’ looks this season. The runway has featured a wide range of burgundy from a rusty, brick-like color to a bright, raspberry hue, revealing the shade’s adaptability and creative potentials. On the other hand, Marc Jacobs, DKNY, and several other coveted names took on the traditional, navy blue and spun it into an exciting fall favorite. Expect these two colors to face off in retail stores in the most chic of styles.”
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“I used to want to be a journalist. Not just any journalist, mind you; an investigative journalist. I wanted to uncover, expose, expound, and explain. I wanted, simply, to tell the truth.
I haven’t told the truth in years.
I was going to, really I was, but something got in the way. The duplicity of life; it snuck up behind me and tried to drown me. So, to protect myself I struck a bargain, made a deal with the devil. I told a lie.
Now I ask myself, can I even remember the truth? After all these years? Can I even bring myself to utter that which has been buried within me for so long? I think the answer is yes. I think it might be possible; I can finally accomplish what I set out to do in the first place. I think I can finally let it out.
That was, after all, the purpose of going to the lake house. Martha, my college roommate, had asked me if I wanted to join her there over the summer. She thought we could go, just the two of us and get away for a while. I could work on my writing and she could do a little reading. It was supposed to be relaxing, refreshing. It turned out to be something else entirely.”
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“As a college student living on campus, it may seem rather burdensome to have to drag your entire life’s worth to fit into a small, enclosed room. With so much to bring, from laundry detergent to clothes hangers to everything in between, it is entirely too easy to blow off bringing any decorations with you from home. Once on campus, it becomes too costly to purchase your own trinkets from local stores without parents or for fear of abusing a new credit card. However, if you are in dire need of any ideas for lightweight, manageable items that will not cost a fortune, look no further! The following decorations are crucial to personalizing your dorm on a budget, while still making your space entirely your own.”
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“The month of August will be coming to an end soon and the college application season will soon start for the 2012-2013 year. One application, also known as the Common Application is widely used among private colleges all over the United States. As a part of the application students can choose from a variety of essay topics one in particular asks students to “illustrate [what] they would bring to the diversity in a college community or an encounter that [demonstrates] the importance of diversity to [them].” While the essay question has been a part of the Common Application for several years, the idea of diversity or lack of diversity became a debatable topic in one of the United States top research universities, when one student decided to make a post online.”
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