9. I HAVE FRIENDS
As soon as I arrive home from school for summer break I spend the next three months filling my family members in on everything that happened to me throughout the year. I expect them to smile, laugh, cry, and sob at all the appropriate moments in a story and I can’t lie, I get very angry when they don’t. I cannot comprehend why my mom doesn’t find it hilarious that I woke up next to a homeless man one morning. Even my dog is walking out on my, “and one time at school…” stories when August arrives. So it’s always exciting to get back to school and be around the people that star in all my stories.

8. ALCOHOL IS TO GET DRUNK
One of the hardest parts of readjusting to home life is drinking alcohol in moderation. When I first came home my parents would offer me a glass of wine at dinner and I would chug it down and put my glass out for more. They told me I needed to learn moderation, I told them that they needed to learn that if they wanted to get buzzed before the first course they would have to sip a little faster. They suggested I might be an alcoholic, I suggested that they suck. I can’t wait to go back to school, drink wine from a box and take shots of what may or may not be rubbing alcohol and not get stared down for getting drunk before sunset.

7. NO PARENTS
I’m very old now and so its ludicrous for me to have any rules when I’m home. However that doesn’t stop my mother from playing twenty questions every time I go out or come home. How was it? Who was there? Does she like school? What did you drink? Did you buckle up? How much did you tip? Did you see anyone from high school? Really? She got that fat? I love being at school and stumbling home at 3 a.m and having no one care. I love waking up underneath the kitchen table and not having to give anyone a reason why. Read More »

Believe it or not, it’s actually not too difficult to make (and stick to!) a budget. You can make the most of your cash by simply figuring out how much you have and then deciding how much you can spend. Easy, right?

Start with income. Do you get an allowance? Have a part-time job? A scholarship that pays for living expenses? Calculate how much money you take in per month. Don’t forget to include your after-tax job income (you may make $8/hour, but some of that will be eaten up by taxes before you ever see it!) You may also be taking money each week out of your savings (from a Summer job for example), so calculate how much of that you can spend each week without going broke before May.

Now figure out how much you absolutely MUST spend each month–these are the essentials, like rent (if you pay rent, or housing fees), transportation, loan payments, etc. If you have a meal plan and never eat out, you can throw that in there as an essential expense. Once you see how much you have left, you’ll be able to decide how much you want to spend on groceries and how much you can afford to eat out. Read More »