Post-Grad Life: 4 Key Tips to Stay Happy at a Real Job

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I'm a few years post-grad (four in a month - wow!) but I sympathize with those who are newly entering the workforce! You're excited, nervous, and proud when you land that first post-grad Big Girl Job. You're going to take the corporate world by storm!

...but two or three months in the monotony of routine starts setting in.

When you're crammed onto the overpacked subway at 7:30am on a Tuesday morning, you miss sleeping in for lectures that didn't start until 10 or 11am. Especially when it's because you have an 8am all team meeting that really isn't helpful.

When you're receiving your paycheck and see how your formerly decent starting salary gets decimated by taxes, you miss living the broke student life, but not worrying too much about finances.

When your coworkers are all getting on your nerves, you miss the days of choosing the people you spend the bulk of your days with.

When you're coming home late, just to eat a frozen dinner or order in before doing it all over again the next day, you miss the variety of your undergraduate days, when every day was a new adventure with varied classes, extracurriculars, and free time for friends.

Guys, I'm not writing this post to depress you. I'm writing it to prepare you. Learn from an old(ish) hat, because it is totally doable to enjoy working a real job! Here's how to stay sane and happy as a 9-5er (which, let's be real, is an 8-6er these days).

How to Love Working Life

1. Choose your job carefully, if you have choice.

Not everyone has a choice of jobs and if you only have one option, that's fine. That's still great! You got a job! The rest of these tips can still help you enjoy it, whatever it is! As (I think) Oprah said, 'do what you must, until you can do what you love.'

If you do have a choice, be intentional. Especially as a broke student (and especially as a student saddled with lots of student debt) it can be very tempting to go for the highest paying job. But happiness matters! 10k more can make you happier, I don't disagree with that at all, but it's not worth it if you'll hate very minute you're at work.

Choose the fun job, be the happy girl!

The fact is that, for most people, you spend the majority of your waking time at work. Something that pays less, but makes you happier, can be the smarter choice. Happiness has real value! If you enjoy your work, you're also likely to be more commitment and produce better results. That can get you noticed for a promotion and/or raise - I have had a job before where I signed a 30k salary job offer and had raised that to 60k within a year.

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Back to College: Tips from a Grad!

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I'm over a year out of school and as an experienced, arguably wise college grad, I have some great tips and tricks from my college years for having a great start to the year!

For me, every school year comes with a lot of excitement. It's a new beginning, full of new classes, new professors, and new potential friends! There's so much to learn, so much to do, and so much to experience.

The key to a great start is great preparation. I'm sure you guys can all provide the requisite excitement and positive outlook on the new beginning, so I'll focus on my tips for some easily overlooked fundamentals that you'll want to include on your packing list!

Read on for advice for what you'll want to make sure you don't accidentally leave off of your back to college packing list this fall!

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Wake Up Call: Back to School Edition!

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Did anyone else recently look at their calendar and do a double-take? How is it already the last week of August? It felt like summer just started!

But, for better or for worse, summer is drawing to a close and that means that fall is right around the bend! In general, seasonal changes bring around routine and life changes. Fall is a big one for that, because many of us are heading back to school!

I'm done with school (WHOOOOOOT!) but that doesn't mean that I don't have some pretty big changes coming up. Those of you who have been reading my blog or following me on Instagram for a while now know that I'm a passionate children's author. 

I'm letting that passion take me in a new, exciting direction this fall. I'm starting a new office job as a staff writer for a children's television show!

As you can tell, I'm excited. But this new exciting career move also means that I have the same routine change-up as everyone who's heading back to school!

My little sister, who's proudly entering the fifth grade this fall, has already started her back-to-school prep and I have started my new job prep, as of this weekend, as well! Read on for what has been on my prep-for-fall shopping list so far!

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Paying for College: Options if Scholarships Aren't Enough

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It's crazy how much our world has changed in just a few generations. My parents were both first generation college graduates, but when it came time for me and my sister to think about colleges, we thought more about which college than whether to go to college.

Positions that used to be filled by high school grads, like secretary, nurse, personal assistant, etc., are now being filled almost exclusively by college graduates. As more and more people go to college, it becomes more and more necessary for a lot of careers!

Unfortunately, one thing that isn't becoming more accessible about college is cost. School is expensive, so much that over 50% of students say cost impacted their college choice!

Fortunately, there are options for those of us who don't have a college fund from our parents. Scholarships are great if you can get them, as are loans. But even if you can't finance your education with 'free money' you don't have to give up. There are actually some really decent loan options out there!

Let's take a look at a headache-free way for even a personal finance newbie to pay for a college education!

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Safe City Living for the Single Girl!

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I moved to New York City last summer after graduating from Harvard and I've loved every minute. I've wanted to live in New York City since I was in middle school, so it's exciting that I finally get to live here every day!

From last summer in NYC - I can't believe it's already almost that time again!

My mom, however, does worry sometimes about me living all by myself in the big city. She gets that I'm a grown up, but everyone needs a social network for security! Friends are a great way to get that social network, but what about the safety network? When you live at home or near family, your parents check up on you more often. When you live on your own, you have to figure out a way to stay safe easily, so you can do what you want without worry!

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Women Entrepreneurs: An Interview with Liane Fitzgerald of Roy Swim

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As a 20-something woman forging an untraditional path professionally, it's always great to learn about other young women who are following their dreams and thriving!

I met Liane Fitzgerald, a hot new swimwear designer from Martha's Vineyard who's also a 20-something woman, at a photoshoot recently and she agreed to an interview for the blog!

Roy Swim is a small handmade swimwear company based out of Martha's Vineyard and New York City.  All bikinis are designed and handmade by Liane FitzGerald. Check them out on Instagram @roybikini

Read on for the who, what, when, and why of Liane actualizing her dream, as well as a great spring break special!

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Welcome to the Caffeinated Club!

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The holiday season, specifically all of December, is my favorite favorite favorite time of year! It can also be a really busy time of year, however.

If you're in college, the end of the semester - right before Christmas break - is usually when you're pulling all nighters and near-all nighters cramming for exams and finishing final projects and term papers. I'm not suggesting that you cram it all into death week and miss the recommended amount of time, but let's be real. It happens.

Even if you're done with school, like me, work can often really pick up right before the holidays and busier, longer workdays, paired with an increasingly busy social calendar, can really make you need a little extra energy!

But is the only option for non-coffee drinkers an unhealthy soda fix?

I recently got to try some drinks from Caffeinated Club, a brand of unsweetened club soda with the same amount of caffeine in each 12oz bottle as in a can of coca cola. But without the sugar, artificial sweeteners, or calories of sodas or diet sodas!

It is a great alternative to soda for a caffeine kick and tastes great chilled on its own. It comes in four flavors - Raspberry, Orange Grapefruit, Lemon, and Clear. My favorite is Raspberry! Clear is plain club soda (but with a caffeine kick!) but the three fruity flavors are unsweetened club soda with a hint of fruit flavor.

I'm going to emphasize this again - they are flavored with fruit, but not sweet. For a lot of people, that's a plus. If you want your drink sweet, however, they make a great mixer with juice for a more powerful pickup than the juice alone would provide. And they make your juice bubbly!

While I tend to drink a lot of tea and try to get around seven hours of sleep a night, when I can (and not get too many nights in a row of under five), I know some friends for whom this would be a lifesaver. Even for me, I'm sure it will come in handy!

^Their photo, that is clearly not my hand.

I have a jam packed day tomorrow - scheduled from 6am to 11pm straight through with work (thank goodness, I need the distraction) and then a holiday party that I'll go to straight from work (I'm packing a slinky dress and heels in my backpack, along with some red lipstick and a mascara wand - I know how to do this busy schedule thing) and that I'll probably stay at until 2am. Then Sunday it's back at it with a shoot at noon!

Believe me, I'm packing one of these to take with me tomorrow.

Another fun Caffeinated Club fact? If you order online, shipping is absolutely free anywhere in the Continental USA!

What are you up to this weekend?

Have you tried Caffeinated Club?

What's your go-to for an energy kick?

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Community Building with BAND

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I'm a recent graduate, a blogger, a petite model, an actress, an author, a ghostwriter, and a freelance writer - that's a lot of hats to wear! And with each thing I do comes a big group of related people.

So, here's my dirty secret - I suck at names. Like:

Me: "Hi! I'm Danai!"

Her: "Hi I'm Lucy!"

>two more polite sentence exchanges<

Me: Oh darn, what's her name again? Suzy?

Having a way of keeping track of all the people I know, and keeping track of how I know them, can really help avoid some awkward situations. Especially during the very social holiday season!

More than just helping you organize people in your memory, BAND helps you organize groups - whether it's your Greek organization, childhood Girl Scout troop, work friends, roommates, etc. - for information sharing.

Because everyone needs to see that selfie. #duckface

When I first heard of it, I didn't really get why I would want to use the app when I could just facebook message the people. After trying it out, though I realized that there are several benefits to this (free) app for communication.

First, if you post to an active Facebook group your post is likely to disappear in the feed within minutes. With BAND, you're sure that everyone gets your photo or message or poll or whatever it is, not just those who are on when you're on.

Second, you don't have to go through and add each individual everytime you want to send a message to the group, like you do in email, or worry about messages bouncing back. Full inboxes are the bane of my existence. BAND makes that a problem of the past!

Third, it's a one stop organizer for life. You can share group calendars, polls, messages, files, albums, and general thoughts on a BAND board. I like not having to juggle a million apps, so I think consolidating everything you need for group management in one place is great.

I have made a BAND for my blogger community this far (feel free to join me!) but am definitely going to use it for other groups. The convenience it provides is reason enough to download the free app and join the over 35 million users already using BAND to streamline their social networks!

Do you use BAND?

How many primary social networks do you have?

What's your best way to stay organized socially?

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Back to School Basics

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This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Brita for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Fall is approaching! This year is really flying by, much like last year. Does anyone else have that feeling, or is it just because so much is changing in my life?

I graduated from Harvard! I moved to NYC! I'm a working adult now!

Anyway, the year flew by and the approach of fall means that it's back to school season.

Okay, so not for me. But I love back to school!

Back to school is awesome. What's one major reason why?

Back to school shopping.

Guys, I had SO much fun with school supplies. There's pink glitter stationery, awesome pens, cool tech, and everything for the dorm room.

If you're just starting college and don't know what the must-haves are, here's a short list of the absolute essentials:

1) A Full-Length Mirror

I didn't have one for a month last year (senior year). WHAT. Obviously that's a necessity for a fashion-forward college student!

2) A Brita® Pitcher

Brita® Pitchers are available at Target and they're not too pricey, but super convenient. You can fill them up in your bathroom and refill whenever you need more water! It's great, because it's way more eco-friendly than bottled water - not to mention way cheaper in the course of a semester.

Water is important for everyone, including college students, because staying hydrated keeps your brain working optimally, your body functioning properly, your energy levels up, and your skin looking great.

Hey! That's important! There are so many functions in college.

3) A fan.

Most dorms, unless you're living somewhere super posh, don't have A/C. Trust me, there will be nights when you will melt if you don't have a good fan.

My freshman year fall was particularly bad, several of my friends and I camped out in the Science Center some nights for the A/C!

4) A snack stash.

All-nighters require fuel and dining halls often lock up at night, even the cereal and milk sections. Since you'er not home with a 24/7 kitchen, be sure to keep some snacks for when you really need that extra energy.

Great snacks to have in your stash include: granola bars, protein bars, cereals you can eat out of the box, trail mix, dried fruit, chocolate (for that time of the month), and whatever other shelf-stable snacks you love!

5) More underwear than you think you'll need.

Sometimes laundry just doesn't happen - welcome to reading period and final's week. So that you don't find yourself in the awkward position of wearing swimsuits to class.
Besides, awesome excuse to go wild at Victoria's Secret.

Shopping spree!

What are your back to school essentials for college?

Do you like back to school or the end of the school year better?

Are you still in school? If not, are you considering going back to school for another degree at some point?

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5 Roommate Archetypes

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Hopefully you aren't stuck with any of these five (bad) roommate archetypes, but for humor's sake (and your edification, if you're getting a roommate for the first time - I'm looking at you, rising college freshmen!) here are some funnily awful types of roommates.

Funny if they're not yours, that is.

1) The slob.

Their dishes remain in the sink for days, until they become potentially important contributions to science.

Regardless of whether or not you just cleaned, every time that they cook the kitchen looks like you just cooked for the whole cast of 300. And then a tornado tore through it.

And when it's their turn to clean the common areas, they're conveniently unreachable/busy/insert lame excuse here.

2) The mooch.

This roommate is the pits. They have to be harassed to pay the rent and bills (every. single. month) and never pick up household supplies.

When you try to get the cost for half the supplies from them, they're always 'going to the ATM tomorrow,' but it seems to be more of a philosophical tomorrow that never arrives.

They're great at sharing food, but only when it's yours.

3) The paying half of a relationship.

It's understandable to have a boyfriend over now and then, but if you aren't sure if your roommates boyfriend actually has his own place and pays rent somewhere...well, that's not ideal.

Key signs that you might have this kind of a roommate situation are:

   - You can't remember which one is actually your roommate
   - Your roommate's SO still spends the night when she's out of town for break
   - Your roommate's SO has his own shelf in the fridge

4) The control freak.

It's 11:01pm and we agreed on no music after 11. Turn it off.

You used 51% of the toilet paper and I only used 49%, so here's a fair split of the cost.

You can't cook anything with curry, because I don't like the smell. 'mkay?

This roommate is exacting and controlling and starts to try to run your life and lifestyle to best satisfy them. Unfortunately, they tend not to appreciate you doing the same to them.

5) The social homebody.

This roommate seems to be terrified of leaving the apartment. I'm not sure what they think will happen if they go outside, but it can seem like they're borderline agoraphobic.

Bonus demerits if they work from home or are unemployed.

The worst thing about this roommate, however, isn't even that they're always around. It's that, despite their agoraphobic tendencies, they like to be social. And guess what that means? Friends over. All. The. Time. You thought you signed up for X number of roommates, but it's really X+5 (or more).

These guests don't pay rent, don't contribute to the household supply costs, and don't partake in the common space cleaning roster.

Who was the worst roommate you've ever had? No names, just bad roommate traits!

Are you guilty of any of these?

What is the worst trait in a roommate, in your opinion?

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How to Choose a Roommate: What Matters & What Doesn't

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It's easy to take finding a roommate lightly, especially when you're looking at a fast market like the NYC housing market.

When everything is out-the-wahoo expensive and finding a semi-reasonably placed room in a less than 10 bedroom apartment (most young professionals don't want to go straight back into dorm style living), anything sounds better than homelessness.

Which it is.

But do you really want to pay 2k a month (ouch, NYC rent) to room with a bunch of slobs that you can't stand? Most leases are at least a year long and those annoying habits can be, well, annoying.

Finding a roommate may even be considered a greater commitment than finding a boyfriend - you can't easily break up with a roommate!

But just like with boys, if you have a million and one deal breakers on your roommate list, you're going to find yourself without a roommate.

And who has the money for that? Maybe the Queen of England.

From a seasoned roommate expert (I've had roommates for over 8 years), here are some things that really matter and some that really don't in the roommate search!

Matters: Cleaning habits.

I've roomed with girls who leave dishes in the sink for days or even weeks. Girls who never scrub the shower. Girls who write up cleaning schedules, but consistently fail to deliver when it's their turn. All that does is build up resentment and make your home an embarrassing place to bring guests.

Make sure you have someone whose standard of cleanliness matches yours. 'Nuff said.

Doesn't: Decorating style.

Your shared apartment isn't your home for life. Decorate your room as you wish and compromise on the common spaces. It's unreasonable to expect your temporary roommate to have the same interior decorating taste as you and/or to contribute a large amount of money to getting decorations that you like for the common spaces.

Matters: Use of space.

I've roomed with everyone from people who are never home (pretty great, it's close to having a single) to total homebodies who are home for all but three or four hours a week.

From experience, unless you're planning to always be out of the apartment during waking hours or if you don't care at all about having any alone time at all, don't room with someone who works from home. Living with a hermit can be really trying.

Doesn't: Socialization habits.

While you probably don't want someone who is always around, it doesn't matter if they're a party animal or not (as long as they party happens out of your apartment).

As long as your roommate is respectful about keeping noise down if she comes home late, it doesn't matter if she likes to stay out until 4am dancing or if she prefers going out for a peaceful dinner on Saturday night and then turning in early. You don't need to find a carbon copy of yourself to be happy.

Matters: Pet peeves.

If your roommate does one of your absolute pet peeves all the time, it's not going to be a pleasant living experience.

Matters: Hygiene.

I've had roommates that let food mold in the fridge for weeks. That's not just a problem for them, it's a problem for you - if you're storing your food in the same place, as you will likely have to, it increases your risk of falling ill due to poor hygiene practices.

Doesn't: Friendship.

You don't need to be best friends with your roommate. A friendly, but not-friends, rooming situation can be the best for drama-free, stress-free living.

Matters: Guest policy.

From someone who has been there, be careful to talk over guest policies with your potential roommates. Having someone who treats the apartment as a hotel for any visiting friends or relatives and/or friends all the time can turn what you that would be a peaceful home into a dormitory.

Skip it.

Matters: Substances.

If you're rooming with a smoker or a drug-user, even if they say they'll only do it outside of the apartment, chances are it will affect you. Either the smell will come in with them on their clothes, you'll have to deal with erratic behavior (fi they do drugs or drink heavily), or they'll start doing it in the apartment.

Sucks, but I (and several of my friends) have ended up with roommates at some point or another that smoked pot in the apartment and made us extremely uncomfortable. Since it's a huge deal for me to not have that stuff around, one of my top deal breakers is substance use. That said, a little wine with dinner or mild social drinking is just fine.

Doesn't: Age.

I've lived with everyone from near-agemates to people almost a decade older than me.

Maturity, lifestyle, and respect is way more important than age in determining whether a potential roommate is really roommate material.

What are your deal breakers?

Do you have any roommate horror stories?

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Recipe: Zimbabwean Style Greens

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I'm half-Zimbabwean and half-German, but haven't really posted many African recipes on here at all. Collard greens, prepared Zim-style, were a staple at my house growing up. They were typically served with sadza (a hearty dish made of cornmeal and halfway between cornbread and really thick porridge in consistency) and Zim-style beef or pork. 

Here's a recipe for the peanut-y version of Zimbabwean greens!

Zimbabwean Style Greens

Serves 4

• 1 bunch collard greens, washed and shredded (discard stems)
• 1 cup water
• 1 large tomato, diced
• 5 green onions, sliced
• 1/4 cup smooth peanut butter (natural salted is best)
• salt

1) Place shredded collard greens in a large pot (they'll cook down a lot, don't worry that the pot looks like way too many vegetables).

2) Bring water to a book and cook greens for about 10-15 minutes, until intermediately tender (don't overcook).

3) Drain most of the liquid into a separate container. Save the liquid.

4) Add diced tomato and onions to greens, cook over medium heat for 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently.

5) While the veggies cook, thin out the peanut butter with the reserved vegetable broth that you drained from the greens in step 3. Add to the vegetables.



6) Cook, stirring constantly, until the greens have a nice creamy consistency.



7) Add salt to taste.

Serve hot with sadza and a protein - enjoy!

Shown here with vegetable curry, un-pictured sadza (recipe to come)

What cuisine did your parents make most?

Do you cook the same sort of food now that your parents did when you were growing up?

What's your favorite family recipe? Leave a link if you have posted it online!

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The Emotional Stages of Graduation

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Congratulations to all 2014 grads! The 2014 World Cup might be pretty darn exciting, but it has nothing on the fact that ****WE'RE DONE******!

1) Disbelief

Like wait, what? Wasn't freshman initiation yesterday?

Don't I have some paper that I have to turn in or some exam that I need to take or some something that I have to do? It can't just be over, just like that, can it?

2) Sheer Bliss

It'strueit'strueit'strue NO. MORE. STUDYING.

Semester notes, meet recycling bin. YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

This is the definition of happiness, dears.

3) Hyperventilation

There's the overwhelming fact that you're about to enter the real world. There's the fact that you're moving away from friends you've loved for four years and starting over somewhere new. There's the fear of failure or missing the bus and being the unsuccessful one. There's the realization you're fully responsible for your rent, need to learn about savings, need to buy your food, need to pay your bills, need to get your own cell phone, need to - DOES ANYONE HAVE A PAPER BAG I CAN BREATHE INTO?

4) Excitement

Eventually the panic passes and you realize that you can do it. You've made it through college, you're intelligent, educated, hard working, and ready to do life!!

There are few better feelings than the excitement of a promising new beginning.

5) Pride


Just go with it.

Are you celebrating anyone's graduation this year? 

Who are you rooting for in the 2014 World Cup?

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Gifts for Grads: A Gift Guide and A Contest!

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Graduation season is a super exciting time of year, especially for graduates and those who love them!

Hopefully more exciting than that...

While graduates are generally just happy to be graduating, it's pretty common for loved ones to give graduates gifts to celebrate their achievement - graduating still really is a huge achievement, even when more Americans than ever are doing it! It still takes a lot of persistence, hard work, and ambition to make it through twelve years (+preschool) of education, followed by a voluntary, and often most academically trying, four years of higher education.

As with anything else that involves gift giving, like Christmas, birthdays, anniversaries, and Valentine's Day, it can be tricky to come up with a gift that is both thoughtful and useful. Clothes for a graduates new post-grad life, iTunes gift cards,  and money are some always appreciated great go-tos, but if you want to think outside of the box, it might be worth taking a look at unconventional gift sources, like eBay!

eBay not only has a great gift guide for grads, but they're also running a cool sweepstakes from now through June 15, 2014! Create your own gift wish list collections for a chance to win $500!


I made some example collections myself - take a look and feel welcome to include anything that catches your fancy in your own collection! This week's sweepstakes them is father's day gifts, so feel welcome to make those collections, too, in addition to a grad collection!

Gift wish lists are really awesome - no need to get stuck with the sort of lame gifts, like photo albums and underwear, that no one actually wants.

But most of all, have a wonderful graduation!

How did you celebrate your graduation?

What occasions do you give gifts for?

What are your most and least favorite gifts to receive?

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Review: New Detour SMART Bar Flavor - Cranberry Flax

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Detour, a staple in the protein bar aisle, branched out into the natural foods industry a while ago with two SMART bars. They've recently debuted a new bar to join their original blueberry and apple cinnamon SMART bars.



I really enjoyed the other two SMART bars, am a general fan of bars. like that these are natural, and enjoy both cranberries and flax seeds, so I was excited to try the new Detour SMART Cranberry Flax bars!

Like the other Detour SMART bars, the new Cranberry Flax bar is certified gluten free, with only 140 calories and 3 grams of sugar. Instead of keeping the sugar content so low with artificial sweeteners, as some competitors do, Detour uses all-natural Stevia to sweeten their smart bars.



There's a great balance of (gluten-free) whole grains, fruit, and whey protein that make these bars a great snack and their portion-controlled sizes make them great for both kids and adults!



The sweet Greek style yogurt drizzle on top doesn't hurt either. I know my little sister would like them. She's probably even tickle-fight me for them...

Have you tried the new Detour SMART bars?

What are your favorite go-to snacks?

What bars are your staples?

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Top Ten Tips for a Successful Move

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Since I'm graduating (can I say that enough times? I'mgraduatingI'mgraduatingI'mgraduating) I'm moving cities - to NEW YORK CITY! Still, a move is a move. Here are my tips, hopefully I can take some of my own advice next week.

Don't count on it.

1) Give yourself enough time.

I'm guilty of breaking this cardinal rule, but I blame it on Manhattan rent - I'm moving into my new apartment on Sunday, June 1 in the evening and beginning work on Monday, June 2 in the morning.

Nobody talk to me. I'm going to be grouch-r-us.

Suffice it to say that I will be living out of boxes. #hobostyle4life

2) Take breaks. Have sleep. Eat food. Drink beverages.

The general point here is that you need to take care of your physical and emotional well-being or moving will closely approximate the seventh circle of hell.



3) Enlist help.

Trade cookies, beer, hugs, or your fabulous company for the assistance of some friends to keep you sane speed things up.

But don't go as far as Budget suggests. Then just hire a moving company.

4) DJ it. 

Music makes 89% of things better, including chores and moving.

Might have bulls***ted that statistic...#disclaimer

5) Don't take it so seriously.

You don't have to go from an empty apartment full of cardboard boxes to something Home & Garden worthy in one or two days. It's fine if you just get it livable at first and work on interior decorating and organization as you go.

Seems reasonable.

This is real life, not an exam. There's a spectrum of acceptable outcomes.

6) Realize that starter apartments are just starter apartments.

So maybe it isn't your dream place and the the shower looks a little dingier than it did in the photos. Maybe three or four roomies isn't what you wanted from your young 20s professional life.

Still, spending 78% of your salary on rent isn't an option and a starter apartment is just that - a start. It's impermanent.

7) Count your blessings.

Around the 35th paper cut and when you've tripped over the same disassembled Ikea table leg for the umpteenth time, your mood can get pretty low. This is around when a cheery reminder of all that's going right in your life is absolutely called for - you have a place to move to! You have things to move into it! YAY!

8) Put up a personal touch or two early on.

It's easy to focus on just what's necessary and, in a way, that's what I've been encouraging you to do thus far. It's equally important to have something that makes it feel like yours and like home, though. Whether it's a poster, a painting, a photograph, or a fuzzy pink bean bag chair, get it up pretty earlier and it'll make your place (and the moving process) much less austere.

Speaking of bean bag chairs, do those still exist, or am I dating myself? #fossilproblems

Don't even care, I want one just like that.

9) Be appreciative of your helpers.

This goes back to #2. It's important to stay friendly, because your helpers don't have to help you. They could make up a million and one excuses not to be there, but they are there, so be grateful.

It's really nice of them to do it and they don't deserve your hangry pouting. If you're getting too snarky for your own good, take a froyo break and start again when you're ready to be a nice person again.

10) Don't be scared to leave a few boxes for next weekend.

Once you have the basics out and the bulk of the work done, it's fine to call it a day and leave the rest for when you have more energy, time, and enthusiasm again.

What are your moving tips?

What's your funniest moving story?

What are your favorite songs to unpack to?

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Ten Things to Do Before Graduation

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Since I'm about to ****GRADUATE**** I thought I'd put together a list of pre-graduation to-dos for those with a semester or more left!

1) Take a class for fun. 

Twelve years of education plus four years of higher education can sometimes lead to a little burnout - it's a lot! And getting bogged down with trying to make the grade can be a bummer, too.

But when it comes down to it, learning is fun. Take a class purely for fun to remember that you actually do enjoy learning. If you didn't you probably wouldn't have chosen college!

2) Appreciate your meal plan.

In the real world, you generally can't just show up to a big room any day of the week between the hours of x and y to have as much free food, buffet style, as you want.

There's a reason people love buffets and it probably has to do with the fact that food acquisition generally takes more time, money, and effort than that.

4) Go to a professor's office hours.

Building professional relationships now can really help your career in the future. Students tend to take access to top professionals in their fields (aka: the professors) for granted, but that nonstop access dries up as soon as you graduate.

College is a golden opportunity to secure recommendations for jobs, grad school, etc. And some of your professors are bound to be just plain interesting!

5) Go to a college party.

Social relationships are important!

And it's just fun! But try not to be the person puking in the rose bushes, because then I have to feel bad for you/worry about your poor, poor liver.

6) Go to the library just to explore the stacks.

A lot of schools have super cool libraries (shout to Harvard's Widener library!) but we rarely take the time to appreciate them when we're studying or collecting books for papers.



Do it!

7) Learn about alumni organizations.

Jobs. Friends. Barbecues. 'Nuff said.

8) Knock off somethings on your school's bucket list.

Every school has their traditions, whether it's a particular to-do list or some must attend parties or just a general culture.

I'm not suggesting that you entirely assimilate to your school's stereotype, but do partake in at least a bit of the culture. It's a fun, social activity that allows you to get closer to your peers!

9) Pull an all-nighter.

I'm in no way condoning getting into the habit of no sleep, but I think it's something that's pretty universal to the college student experience and everyone should do it at least once. It will be a strugglebus towards the end, but hang in there!

Bonus if you make it a really productive and/or fun night!

10) Do what YOU want to do.

College is to life what the Enlightenment was to literature - it's a time to learn how to think critically, question what you're told, and determine independently whether or not something sounds advisable/plausible/ethical.

We're bombarded with advice about what we should do, but the ultimate goal of a college education is to be able to figure that out for yourself. As in life, sometimes you'll probably stumble a bit - but as longs as you keep trying, that's the best you can do!

What's on your top ten list?

What advice would you give a younger you?

Do you regret what you do more or what you don't?

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