HAILEYANELA

When I was still in high school and I imagined college, the first thing that came to mind was: freedom. No curfew, living by my own rules, and no "checking in". I was pumped to be my own guardian and ruler... Ok I know that sounds a bit exaggerative, but I was so ready to fly from my nest and not look back. And let's be real now, my first year of college was all that and more. I had amazing roommates, a comfortable apartment complex, and the only time I was "checking in" was to make sure, what we had dubbed the "couch boat", was clear for a cuddling sesh. I had gotten use to the semi-restrictive rules that our school Honor Code enforced, but regardless I felt like I was living the dream. I felt a sense of independence and liberty that I had never experienced when I had lived at home. The feeling had given me a glimpse of what life after college offered, a look into the near future where I could come home to MY apartment where I made MY own rules... Bu...

Dear fellow learners, I’m writing this letter on behalf of incoming college freshmen. I just recently (as in last week) finished my first year of college, and I thought it would be wise to bequeath some of my knowledge and insider tips to all you youngsters. So here it goes… First: Set time aside for your homework. I recommend the quiet floor of the library because you are practically forced into productivity. I had a big problem with procrastinating and am currently seeing a therapist to sort out that personal problem. But seriously don’t tell yourself that you’ll do it later, because later turns into the last week of the semester. Second:        Take notes while your professor is lecturing. You may think that lectures are just time for you to paint your nails and not absorb anything, but you would be wrong. Very wrong. Take advantage of the class and your professors’ insight and jot down notes in a notebook, or even better in the margins of y...

Our society puts high importance and an even higher price tag on beauty. We are told and reminded from adolescence that we need to fit a specific mold and form to be considered “beautiful”; and if we don’t fit society’s norms and expectations than we are not up to par to the glamorous models plastered on magazines and newsstands on every corner. But since we have grown up and matured in this society we already believe that we need to meet their vain requirements to ever succeed in this competitive, aggressive, and sex oriented world. We should meet those standards because, let’s be real, pretty people always make it further in the job field.   Women are hired based on their looks, how white their teeth are, how smooth and poreless their face appears, how small and non-existent their waste is, rather than the job requirements. Sure they may possess some sort of stipulations that helped them to land that position, but if a heavy-set woman with frizzy hair and bad skin came in with...