When I was a little kid, I had a lot of great ideas. I think everyone does. Sometimes we’d get to see these ideas come full circle, and learn a valuable lesson. Like why you don’t swing from chandeliers, or why you aren’t supposed to convert an old refrigerator into a ‘fort.’ Most of the time, however, these ideas had to stay in our heads, because our (evil) parents wouldn’t let us try them out.

But one of the good things about growing up is you get to try some of these crazy ideas out. Especially if you kept them all in a notebook, like me.

I was never allowed to eat sugary cereals as a kid. In retrospect I don’t really resent it because that’s probably why I don’t need medicine to focus, but at the time I thought it was total bullsh*t. Whenever I was at a friend’s I would sample all the different sugary cereals like I was some desperate 11 year old Shaker who didn’t understand electricity. One vivid memory is when I first got to try Cookie Crisp. It was disgusting. It tasted like Sand Dollar Crisp. I was so disappointed. The ad promised cookies for breakfast! That dog!

Speaking of cookies, one of my favorite types when I was little was Teddy Grahams. I loved these because you could eat handfuls of them and that felt great. Of course I’d never have access to the entire box, so I’d usually be eatin’ my grahams out of a plastic baggy at lunch time. Well, one such lunchtime I was thinking about my cereal experience while nibblin’ on some grahams and couldn’t figure out why a company didn’t make a cereal that did taste like cookies. It seemed so easy…just pour cookies into milk. Just then, it hit me. Teddy Graham Cereal. Booya. Read More »

Days as a Freshman: 143
Mood: Weirded out

“So you know what I was thinking?” Sasha pushed his empty coffee cup across the table. “I was thinking you should come to a party we’re having this weekend.”

Sasha, Justin and I had spent the last 20 twenty minutes making more small talk than I had ever made in my entire life. Sports, weather, school, assignments, the holidays, favorite cookie flavor; anything small and miniscule, we covered it. Or rather, Sasha and I covered it. Justin spent most of the time staring at Sasha with a frustrated expression, turning it up into a cheap imitation of a smile whenever his friend looked his way.

“It won’t be one of our famous ragers”, Sasha grinned and flicked his cup even farther away from him, “just a bunch of us guys and some other lucky people spending their January breaks in front of books.”

“I don’t know if she’ll like it, dude.” Justin was doing his best impression of easy going. “She’s kind of low key. Right, Grace?”

“Of course she’ll like it! It’s a party, dumb ass. Who doesn’t like parties?” Read More »

New Year’s Resolutions.

There’s really no way to put a new spin on the idea of keeping those little promises we make to ourselves right before the ball drops every January 1st. The idea of starting a new year with a clean slate is always tantalizing, but how many of us actually end up doing what we toast to doing at midnight?

Instead of dolling out general, Oprah-fied advice about keeping you resolutions, I’m gonna tell you what worked for me. Obviously, I don’t represent the majority of the population, but if someone with the willpower of -3 (read: cannot eat just one cookie or stop at first base) can keep herself on the right track with these examples, maybe you can too.

*Be Reasonable: Guaranteeing yourself that you’ll lose 50 pounds in three months or give up smoking cold turkey can be difficult promises to keep, and nothing fades away faster than a lofty promise. I say, make a timetable and take baby steps. I’ll start exercising more and go easy on the sugar, and, I will find a program or support to help me wean down my nicotine intake, are two very doable sentences. Start small, succeed, and go bigger. That’s the key.

*Keep a Journal: Writing down your daily progress towards your resolutions is a great way to keep yourself focused on your the original goal. An online blog, or even an old fashioned diary, are two techniques that will help you see the daily evolution from idea to actuality. Read More »