Issues Tag

It’s absurd how fast things can spread around the Internet. Before someone cries and whines about how ALS is marginalized or whatever, hear me out. I think donating money to research ALS is awesome. Dumping an ice bucket over your head, not so awesome. Here is why: (like always, a short list for all the Attention Deficit people out there…so basically everyone).   It’s Narcissistic Yay! You got 75 likes because you participated. Now everyone will think you’re such a good person for doing that. I bet you got butterfliesRead More

With autumn just around the corner, universities will soon be back in session. Freshman will be clinging to schedules and seniors begin to count down the days until graduation. With all the hubbub happening I’ve started to think back on my own freshman experience, or lack thereof.  Dear Future College Student, Certain kinds of colleges have been created for certain kinds of students. That is something high schools tell you, but most of their information does not take into account personal experience. Much of their literature talks about where toRead More

Alright, so I think I can speak for many people when I say that maintaining happiness in a job, especially if it’s entry level, is difficult to do. I speak as a recent graduate who has now been at her first “adult” job for about 8 months now. For the most part, I’ve been really lucky. I work at a small company, editing ads. Because I eventually want to edit books or magazines, or maybe help  manage a website like this one, it looks really great on my resume andRead 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

Forward your therapy bills to Milton Bradley… Monopoly Anger Issues/Anxiety/Greed A ruthless quest for money, property, and power, Monopoly has a history of tearing family and friends apart. Irreparable damage has been done to relationships during games of Monopoly. Monopoly is most people’s first introduction to how greed can rot away the good in people. It’s a hard lesson to learn. That, along with the fact there are no get out of jail free cards in life. Speaking of life… LIFE Anger Issues/Fear of Failure/Severe Insecurity Nobody wants to loseRead More

We’ve all heard them… around the water cooler… in gym class… during that uncomfortable “what the heck do we even talk about?!” time with your grandparents around the holidays. We’ve all heard some pretty outlandish claims in our lifetimes and yet there are still those perpetuating myths that simply won’t die. Perhaps, we should blame Hollywood movies or simply an uninformed society, but the fact is, these untruths are continuing to spread and I, for one, am sick of it. So here it is…four popular myths (or rather the firstRead More

When you grow up with a father who is an alcoholic, either recovering, recovered, or who currently has a problem, you learn a lot of things. In my case, my parents divorced when I was very young, and so many of these things I did not learn until later. I have always struggled because of this. When your father is an alcoholic, you learn that it’s weird that you come from a broken home. There is a special bond between a father and his daughter, and you learn quickly thatRead More

I recently read an article on Thought Catalog entitled “25 men discuss the difference between the girl they want to date and the girl they want to hook up with.” Now. I mean this as no discredit to the author, because she simply posed the question on the website Reddit and recorded twenty-five of the responses. To her credit, it is an interesting concept in essence. The subject alone has the potential to become a really provocative peek into the so called “toxic hook up culture” and get an interesting conversation started.Read More

I don’t know what time it is.  I refuse to look because it makes being awake worse. I’m caught in this buzzed state, wanting to be quiet, mind and body, wanting to be accepting and still and lie next to you, strewn diagonal amongst the chaos of covers and unsteadily tucked sheets.  I know it has been hours.  I’m too sensitive of time and my perception of it surreptitiously slips in as I wake before alarms. I’m angry.  I’m angry you revealed moments before sleep that you’re looking for jobsRead More

Hello my name is Shannon. Professionals tell me that I suffer from both generalized anxiety disorder and depression. I used to be pretty pissed off about that, until I realized that, “you have a mental illness” is actually code for, “the universe is turning your life into a comedy.” Here’s what that comedy consists of:   Panic Attacks: I like to think the way I gulp air and struggle to breathe while I’m experiencing a panic attack is somehow cute and endearing. In my mind, I look like I’m practicingRead More

It’s tempting, the moment I see one of my articles has garnered some comments, to devour them up like a dieting white girl who’s finally made it to her cheat day. And I used to dot it, hesitantly, in the beginning. But what I quickly found (very, very quickly) was that reading comments just left me feeling a) annoyed b) defensive c) fed up with all of humanity and d) thankful for the one person, that lone hold out, who actually got it. Here’s some things I’ve noticed about the commentRead More

My fiancée would argue that I am extremely resistant to trying new things, and for the most part, she’s completely correct. I usually live and die by the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” motto, especially when it comes to my diet. What makes it even worse is that my pickiness is at an extreme. With food, for example, I routinely feast on the following: cheese pizza, bean and rice burritos, macaroni and cheese, plain bagels, and other assortments of bread. I should be the size of a house,Read More

As I stumble my way further through college and dabble in the so-called “real” world, I’m coming to the sad realization that so many careers are fueled by the misfortune of others. A good friend of mine was recently accepted into pharmacy grad school, much to his elation because as he put it, “I’m pretty much guaranteed a job for life now, unless people suddenly stop needing medication or something.” As altruistic as his intentions probably are, the core of his future profession is dependent on waiting for people toRead More

  I’ve been thinking a lot about feminism lately, particularly in light of the #YesAllWomen campaign. I’ve come to the conclusion that we’re in trouble. All of us. We’ve become complacent.  And that sucks. I suddenly hang out with a lot of women in their early 20s. They are smart, sharp and afraid. They tell me that they can’t walk the streets alone during the day without being harassed. When they go to college they are given classes instructing them on how not to be raped.  That they can’t walkRead More

Unless your childhood was a mundane mix of mild manners and perfect parenting you probably read the infamous, Alexander and The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorsts, somewhere between wetting the bed and fourth grade.  I could delve into details of the prizes his brothers found in their cereal bowls that morning and what Alexander found instead,(nothing), but from the title the underlying nature of the story is apparent.  As adults without bed times and with the ability to buy ourselves a cookie, we at leastRead More