Growing Up Tag

It was eighty-four degrees in San Francisco and I was riding the bus after concurrently confessing my love and breaking up with a boy I had been dating.  On our first date I told him that my brother had brain cancer.  I had just discovered the fact myself and wasn’t sure what the protocol was for these things in regard to first dates. Was it a sit-at-home-and-panic or an attend-with-pocketed-Xanax sort of situation? The idea of distraction and a lovely, little pill that allowed me to abandon anxiety for fourRead More

The difference between your early twenties and your mid-twenties is vast. Once you hit your mid-twenties you’re welcome into a strange world where planning for retirement becomes a thing that you actually have to start thinking about, a world where everyone on MTV is younger than you, a world where you get invited to more weddings than keggers, a world where you can’t eat McDonalds because it’s “too greasy.” It’s basically the Twilight Zone. Another cool, fun thing about being in your mid-twenties is that you enter into a constantRead More

I’ve had three Bloody Mary’s and seventeen olives and I’m in that crater of a conversation that revolves around significant others and their brunch orders. I wish I cared what your boring boyfriend chose to eat for breakfast to accommodate his Paleo diet and stomach sensitivity to dairy, but I don’t. I would rather gag myself with the bright green straw in charge of my Bloody Mary consumption and re-eat the marbled pieces of olive after I’ve thrown them up than continue the conversation.  After this instance I realized thatRead More

I’ve never been a big fan of “the birthday.”  While I certainly appreciate the extra love on Facebook from people I haven’t seen since Myspace was the accepted social network, I just don’t feel the need to be celebrated for a full 24 hours.  What did I accomplish?  Being born?  Shouldn’t you be sending wishes to the woman who went through horrific labor in order to literally squeeze me out into this world?  I mean, really.  Nonetheless, regardless of how undeserving I may feel of the cakes and checks, I can’tRead More

I couldn’t fully grasp this concept until recently. And by recently I mean when I found out Heath Ledger died and I tried to watch 10 Things I Hate About You. I thought it was a fluke, that one of my favorite films from my youth would solicit such a sadness.  I told myself it was only sad because he was so young himself as a serenading sparkplug, and I tried again with Brokeback Mountain, but I still could not see his face on screen without being subject to unsolicited emotions.  I can never enjoyRead More

It’s our anniversary but I’m experiencing it without you. August 18th marks the day we parted ways; you for a destination that people consider to be a “better place,” and me to a place that I have not found yet. I hope your taste buds are delighting in a huge bowl of ice cream right now because that was our sacred ritual. Honestly, ice cream makes everything better; if only we could be savoring each bite with one another the way we used to do. Our separation was one ofRead More

…If you’re a girl.   1. Provided your roommates are home, you no longer have to kill your own cockroaches. And by “kill,” I mean “trap under a cup that you weigh down with a book and wait until the roach eventually dies.” Now you get instant bug murder, and who doesn’t love that? 2. Cooking utensils of all shapes, sizes, and–more importantly–materials, go in the dishwasher willy-nilly. Am I the only person whose mom told them a million times, you can’t put Teflon in the dishwasher or else it stripsRead More

I’ve always found the concept of breaking up with someone both unsettling and sad. Whenever I hear of a friend or family member’s relationship coming to an end, I feel somewhat disappointed that another love has failed yet again. Coming from a family where my parents met and fell in love at 15, I grew up believing in the whole “fairy-tale” ending phenomenon. I just didn’t understand how if two people loved each other so much they could even fathom ending things. I think this is part of the reasonRead More

I laughed with a friend over coffee today, because she has a way of doing that for me even before the caffeine filters through my veins. I found myself thinking today about my past and my uncertain future, while acknowledging the exact moment I was in. Lord knows I cried today because I was laughing too hard and because of cuts in my heart that may never be healed. What’s the common denominator of all these actions? It’s that I didn’t just act when those emotions danced through my body.Read More

Personally, I am a huge believer in dreaming. I think that no dream is too big; I think that every dream can be accomplished. I don’t know if I just have  far fetched mind, or just a mind for success and glory. I have friends who have no direction in life and it honestly scares me. Those without direction have a greater chance of veering off course- whether we like to think it or not. I have friends who are going to college and don’t even know what they want toRead More

So, you landed your first real big boy/girl job… Congrats! Gone are the days of scooping ice cream, shepherding crying campers, and asking “Do you want fries with that?” because you wear suits or heels to work now. Applause, applause. Here are some things to remember for your first gig as an “adult” in the “real world”:   Fake it til you make it There are going to be some things that the boss throws at you that completely stump you. Probably on the first day. Probably four times thatRead More

My chest feels tight, breathing has become a struggle, and my vision gets a little blurry; this is not regarding the latest episode of the Real Housewives of Orange County, but my future. My attention span has noticeably shrunk and anxiety-provoking thoughts race through my mind. “What the hell is going on?” I ask myself. Then I realize, I’m 25 years old, and while I thought I was ready to put my early-twenties to rest, I’m still horrified of the uncertain. This must be what a Quarter-Life crisis feels like.Read More

In these uncertain economic times, a young man’s pursuit of a career has changed from how it was 10 or 20 years ago. Everyone’s heard the stories of their fathers and grandfathers sticking with a company and going from the mail room to the manager’s desk in 50 years. That simply isn’t the case with our generation. People don’t feel loyal and responsible towards companies anymore unless they can get exactly what they want. Nor should they. Nowadays, companies looking to attract the services of hip, young and savvy professionalsRead More

I used to think of most entry-level type jobs to be a gigantic waste of time. Other than making money, the work was so mundane and dreadful that I thought it was taking years away from my life. I’ve come to realize that maybe I was being hasty. Work is always of the utmost importance. It doesn’t necessarily matter what kind, as long as it pays (and is somewhat legal, but who am I to judge?). You need to be working. Not working is bad. Not working exudes stagnancy, muchRead More

Pretty self-explanatory. I promise at some point I’ll write an article for Writtalin that’s not a listicle (maybe), so fans (mom), stay with me here.   1. Unlimited boozy brunch after a night of drinking “Okay, Sunday we’re going to Red Pepper and doing unlimited mimosas, finally,” is how the conversation usually starts. But obviously it’s Saturday night so you’re not going to not go out, that would be ridiculous. So you go out and get a lot drunker than you planned (see #2) and by the time you wake upRead More