3/7/2016

3/7/2016

Friends with Benefits-The Human Jungle

As a college senior, I have had my fair share of emotions—some wanted, and more unwanted. I have had ups and downs, and inside outs, but I’ve never been the type of person to want to find my true love in college. I just never had the urge—it seemed pointless (and still does kind of, if I’m being honest).

I’ve always thought of college as a place to go to class, join lots of clubs, have fun with your friends on the weekends, and make the moments count. For me, those moments did not consist of having a boyfriend, breaking up, finding a new boyfriend, etc., you get where I am going (I’ve never understood people that get out relationship, only to find a new one two weeks later, like what are you doing?)

Two years ago, I wrote an article on the infamous title of the dating term, “friends with benefits.” To this day, I wrap my head around that term so crazily, that my head almost falls off trying to figure it out. I still think of the term FwB and relate it to one of my favorite movies, with of course the title Friends with Benefits—fitting right? Well, if you haven’t seen the movie, it stars Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis, and they work together, sleep together, and catch real feelings for each other (without telling one another), and then they fight, and of course it ends with some crazy love scene in Grand Central Station, NY, and Justin tells Mila he DOES want to be with her forever and ever and ever. *cue throw-up emoji. Stop. The whole point of the movie was to portray FRIENDS with BENEFITS. That means SEX.

College students LOVE the idea of “staying” friend and having sex. It’s like engrained in our heads that this is the way life should be, until your mid-thirties when you are finally like, “damn, I let my whole young life pass me by, and I’m still single.”

You don’t see “Friends with Benefits” as a Facebook relationship status, do you? No, because it’s a made up thing some college frat boy made up ages ago.

Being in a ‘no strings attached’ relationship with someone has guidelines and rules. You can’t just go up to a random stranger and be like “sleep with me!”…Well maybe you can, but here is the link to get tested. STD Testing Information here.

Like I said, there needs to be guidelines for this made up relationship status. Click here for those said guidelines…Trust me, you need them.

Glamour magazine has basically god writers for anything revolving around sex, and they have 10 rules of being friends with benefits. FWB can be hard for some people, as depicted in the movie. Some people catch feelings quickly, and some are not on the same page, so it’s ok to talk to your partner about what is going on (preferably after sexy time). You are friends, you know.

Make sure you know that friends with benefits usually do stem from friendship, and if you decide to stop the whole thing, be aware that your friendship might suffer because of this. Try not to get too emotionally attached, to the point where you can never let go

If you’re in college, have fun. If you’re out of college, have fun. Just know friend with benefits is either for you or against you—you have to be the judge of that.

xxx-Meghan

Sexist Jokes Need to Stop

I am a feminist—I always have been. Every aspect of my life has lead me to standing up for the inequality that women face, and the justice we deserve. In today’s society, that justice seems near far away, due to the power our male counterpart exemplifies. I am never one to shove my opinions down someone else’s throat but sexist jokes need to STOP. For examples, a man joking around with his buddies at a bar with cheap beer states, “I like my violence like I like my beer: domestic.” or “What do you tell a women with two black eyes? Nothing, you already told her twice.” NO! What part of those sentences are ok? A man will usually defend himself with “it was just a joke,” but no, that’s not funny- I don’t see the punch-line. This impacts women’s lives and jokes like these are offensive to most people—key word: most.

Sexist jokes are not funny—they’re hostile. In my opinion, people who laugh at these types of jokes are just as a problem as the people telling them. According to a research study done by Western Carolina University, a psychology professor indicated that “exposure to sexist humor can lead to tolerance of hostile feelings and discrimination against women.” Yes, all those fancy words mean that people will think its ok to make jokes like this without the regards of another human’s feelings. That also means that people making the jokes will spread to other people, and then more people, and so forth. Sexist jokes not only allow men to berate women, but it also makes people think that sexist behavior is socially acceptable.

I don’t want to be told I belong in a kitchen, or to go “make you a sandwich.” I don’t want to be told that I am only good for making children and staying at home to care for the house. I want the full dollar opposed to the 77 cents I would make versus any male. I want women to feel empowered, and I want a movement to stop these sexist jokes and attitudes. Let’s try moving towards a society where we can live in harmony and make jokes that are funny without being offensive. What ever happened to “Knock, Knock? Who’s there? Apple.” or whatever the damn fruit was?

Work is needed to be done to actively make a change. That won’t happen without work. Women are not the stomping ground for some man to make jokes about domestic violence, or pay gaps, or sexual harassment. Last time I checked, these jokes are harassment and it needs to stop.

Actively LISTEN to the problems with these jokes is the first step. I believe in a world where one day offensive jokes will not exist—I’m just waiting to see it happen.

xxx-Meghan

Top 10 Items From Trader Joe’s I CAN’T Live Without

 

I don’t know about the average person, but I LOVE Trader Joe’s. I go through withdrawals when I can’t go at least once a week, and miss the products I get from there. Sure, I could just go to a normal grocery store, but it’s just not the same. I LOVE THIS STORE. You walk in, usually to a beautiful array of flowers, some plants that you can keep in your home, and some that you can give to someone else. They look so tempting, I even buy myself some at times (and I have no shame). When you look around this marvelous store, you see employees like no other—they are smiling, loving their jobs, and wearing these fun Hawaiian t-shirts that just make you feel good. Trader Joe’s has no internal loud speaker, because the stores are so quaint and cute, they just need bells, and high-pitched yelling. It’s not just a grocery store, it’s an experience. I make my friends, and roommates come with me, because it’s more fun, but leave me in Trader Joe’s by myself, and I will be walking out with the entire place.

It’s a place for everyone, health-food nuts, vegetarians (like myself), vegans, or even the average eater who loves meat and cheese AND since they don’t put things on sale, or do “deals of the week” like regular grocery stores, they always have LOW PRICES. You seriously cannot go wrong.

For all you friends, and readers that don’t know about the store—I’m going to give you a little bit of a head start on some of the products I cannot live without.

1. Cookie Butter- Preferably Chocolate Swirl Cookie Butter:

I SWEAR BY THIS PRODUCT. I worship this product. When I was first introduced to Cookie Butter, I automatically lived a different life. I couldn’t stop thinking about it, I knew I needed it always. It covers everything you need in a diet: crunchy, smooth, creamy, and crunchy, sweet and even a little bit salty. The chocolate swirl adds all of that, times 100 of flavor. I eat this by itself, with pretzels, or graham crackers. But like I said, I eat it by itself, with a spoon, out of the jar, like its pudding.

2. Goddess Dressing

The name says it all. You may think your favorite salad dressing is Ranch, because I know, everyone likes Ranch, but wait until you try Goddess. *que the angels*.Everything about this dressing makes salad worth eating—you just need to try it yourself.

3. Pumpkin Pancake/ Waffle Mix

You don’t need fall to love and eat pumpkin all year round. Trader Joes Pumpkin Pancake/ Waffle mix is everything good in the world and more. When they have it, I stock up ( I mean I am basic and love pumpkin everything) but this is amazing. It taste nutty, and has cinnamon flavor, and for years, I have been TRYING to make a single serving of this, but I end up making about 14 pancakes, and eating most of them. Add some chocolate chips, and it’s basically dessert for breakfast.

4. Reduced Guilt Spinach & Kale Greek Yogurt Dip

Reduced guilt…Say no more. One of my favorite foods is spinach dip. My dad has been making a wonderful cold dip since I can remember, and I ask him to make doubles so I can sneak the snack late at night, and the next day. THIS DIP IS EVERYTHING. I pair this wonderful, creamy, tasty dip, with Trader Joes Multigrain Pita Bite, and I have to say, I have to force myself to stop snacking (I take Reduced Guilt literally). This dip is oozing with spinach and kale, and has chucks of water chestnuts and other fun chopped up veggies. I can eat this every day…Trader Joes, want to give me a life-time supply?

5. Five Layer Fiesta Dip

GIVE ME THE 5 LAYERS. Oh my god, I can’t get enough of this dip ( Can you tell I LOVE dips or…) I am constantly begging my step-mom to buy this dip when I am home, and if she says no, I basically try to sneak it in the cart. I do like making my own layered dip, but this is just so yummy. So much flavor, in such a tiny container. The taste of cilantro, and salsa, and the mix of beans and sour cream makes my taste buds tingle, because I just love this food. Try it- you won’t regret it.

6. Garden Vegetable Frozen Lasagna

If you think you’re Italian grandmothers lasagna is good, I’m sure it is, but THIS is something for all lovers of pasta. I am so skeptical of frozen dinners, that some even make me sick. Like literally sick. I think of frozen dinners, on sale at Walmart, heating them up, and it being a pile of mush. No thank you. Luckily with Trader Joes, my faith in humanity has been restored with frozen meals. I have found so many I adore, but the Garden Vegetable Frozen Lasagna is my absolute favorite. And it takes about 5 minutes to heat up, therefore if you have a busy schedule like me, you never have to worry!

7. Orange Peach Mango Juice

If you’re a lover of all things juice (a.k.a) me, you will absolutely LOVE this juice. Talk about the best combination of flavors, OPM has it all. Big secret: I sometimes drink it straight out of the carton, how bad-ass am I? This juice is seriously good at any time of the day, breakfast (with Champagne, of course), lunch, dinner, and dessert. Now, Tropicana has a mimic version of Orange Peach Mango, but no offense, your oranges are just NOT as good. You need this drink in your life, I swear.

8. Tea Tree Triangle Body Wash

If you are looking to smell good, while eating all these delicious foods, you NEED Tea Tree Triangle Body Wash in your life. It smells like peppermints, even though it’s not supposed to ( I don’t know if that if really true, but uh, yes anyways) It even has eucalyptus in it, so stress-free body wash… Hello??? It’s the best. I feel refreshed after the shower, and love every second of it. They make the Tree Triangle in Shampoo and Conditioner, and hand cream. This stuff if the real deal.

9. Salted Caramel Chai Tea Latte (Mix)

If heaven could talk, it would be talking about this product. Only found a few times of the year, the Salted Caramel Chai Tea Latte mix is the best darn drink I have ever tasted, ever. Oh my god, I could talk about this one all day, and I STOCK UP when I see it on shelves. TJ’s has a lot of other great chai products but this one beats them all. I love making this drink. Even in the summer, I will make a hot SCCTL, with whipped cream and just love life. You know when you watch a movie, and the main character is all huddled up reading a book, with a nice cup of something…THIS IS IT. This is the drinks of the stars (Totally made that up too, but man it should be famous.) Be on the lookout the next time you head to Trader Joes, and stock. up.

10. Cowboy Bark

Yee-haw cowboy! Trader Joes is known for making good chocolate barks. This one though, is exceptional to all the rest. Cowboy Bark is thin pieces of dark chocolate, with toffee, pretzels, Joe Joe Cookies (something like an Oreo), peanuts, almonds, and a sprinkling of salt. So. Damn. Good. I try to limit myself to one piece (every hour, until the bag is gone), but I swear this stuff does not last long in my sight. It is the PERFECT combination of sweet, salty, and crunchy. The perfect snack for everything. Someone could tell me I’m the ugliest human being on the planet, but if I am eating Cowboy Bark, I will not care. I will be gnawing away on my Cowboy Bark

 

I hope this makes you want to go to Trader Joes almost as much as I love being there. It is seriously the best place in the WHOLE WORLD. Below is depicted just how happy I would be if I was Joseph Gordan-Levitt walking into Trader Joes.***

 

xxx-Meghan