Madeline Harrington

More by Madeline Harrington

The Dos and Don’ts of Making the First Move

9/20/2012

According to tradition, boys chase girls, men propose to women, and we need to sit and wait for the right guy to come along rather than going out and finding him ourselves. Well, you know what? Screw that! The year is 2011 and feminism is no longer just a movement, it’s a reality. We get to call the shots now, and if we set our sights on a hot guy, we shouldn’t be afraid to approach him!
 
We’re all for equality, right? So if we expect a guy to hit on us, we should be able to do the same.  Granted, I don’t mean walking up to the next cute guy you see and dropping a cheesy pick-up line on him - seriously, does that actually work for anyone?? No, the best way to go about making the first move is to follow our tips and listen to the experiences of real collegiettes™ across the country.

DO Be Confident
If there is one trait that people universally find attractive, it’s confidence. A little self-assurance and poise go a long way! When you’re out somewhere and spot a hottie, follow these simple steps:

The Cold Hard Facts of College Guys: Everything You Need to Know Before Starting School

8/28/2012

Two of the most exciting things about college are the possibility of a relationship away from prying parental eyes and a whole new world of college guys to forge your way through. From a high school perspective, college men are like a beacon of hope. Not every boy in the world is an immature loser who burps the alphabet and plays World of Warcraft! But there are worries, too: Are college guys only looking for sex? What will they expect from you? Not all these dreams and fears have truth to them, however. Here are some myths and realities to both ease your mind and help you prepare yourself for the four truly wonderful years to come!
 

 

Myth:  Once high school boys enter college, they suddenly mature into men.

Reality: I hate to be the one to break it you, darling, but as the saying goes, boys will be boys. For the most part, guys will always think farting is funny, playing videogames is a valid use of time, and the more girls they sleep with the cooler they are. Upon leaving high school and entering college, the only thing that changes is that they no longer have parents around to make sure they’re clean, well-fed and not doing anything too stupid/dangerous. Add a bunch of new, equally immature friends and easy access to booze, and you have a perfect recipe for an even lower level of maturity in college “men.”  But don’t worry, you’ll keep up with the boys just fine as long as you can make a good “that’s what she said” joke every once in a while.

The Unspoken Rules of the Dorm: Learn These Before You Start School!

8/7/2012

After 18 years of living in your parents’ house, moving into your college dorm room can be a jarring transition. Suddenly your room isn’t just yours anymore, the kitchen is covered in dozens of people’s dishes, and you no longer know who used the shower before you (or what they did in there). Instead of sharing your space with people you’ve known all your life, you’ll be sharing it with people you’ve never met, some of whom you probably won’t get along with (hey, we all have our differences, right?).

Rather than endure the exquisitely awkward pain of a conflict with someone you barely know, it’s important to know and respect the rules of the dorm that Res Life doesn’t include in the student handbook. By adhering to these, you can hopefully avoid unnecessary arguments, hold onto your belongings and skip over some of the uglier moments of freshman year.

Rule #1: Don’t keep your door shut all the time. No one will want to introduce him or herself to the person who’s always locked in her room, and sooner or later you could find the building to be pretty lonely, no matter how many neighbors you have. Leave the door propped open so that people passing by can say hello and you can actually meet who you’re living with.

Rule #2: Don’t be the roommate who barges into the room without knocking. You don’t know what you could be walking in on! Regardless, your roommate deserves a courtesy knock (and so do you), and she won’t take kindly to you constantly bursting in on her privacy.

Losing Your V-Card: When is the Right Time?

8/7/2012

Virginity is a funny thing, isn’t it? In some contexts, virginity is treated as a beautiful, sacred quality or possession that women should desperately hold onto for as long as possible. In that context, virginity is something that makes a woman valuable.

Unfortunately, if you buy into that school of thought, it only follows that a woman would become less valuable, less special, less shiny and new after having sex for the first time. And since it’s practically inevitable that a woman will have sex at some point in her life, it’s only a matter of time until that tarnishing and tainting happens.
 
There’s another type of opinion though, too, one that is built on the belief that being a virgin is embarrassing or even unattractive, and consequently, a woman’s virginity should be lost as soon as possible. In this context, virginity is not something that is lost so much as something that is discarded or rejected.
 
Personally, I don’t buy into either of the above belief systems. I don’t think virginity is good or bad; I don’t think sex makes you impure or more attractive. I certainly don’t think virginity is the trait in which a woman’s value is rooted. All virginity means to me is lack of sexual intercourse. Sex is just another part of life, and that’s all there is to it.

Show This to Your Guys: What Girls REALLY Want

2/28/2012

We all know exactly what we look for in our significant others. Some girls, like Snooki, even have lists of specific qualities they look for in a guy. We may not all be looking for gorilla-juicehead guidos, but we know what we like: great smile, six-pack, well dressed… oh, and polite, straightforward, and capable of holding an intelligent conversation! That’s not too much to ask, right? Of course not! The real problem is that although we know what we’re looking for, guys don’t always know what it takes to win our affection and be worthy of our time. And as you know, no girl should be with someone unworthy of her time. So boys, listen up while I lay it down. What we want is really quite simple; you just need to remember a few things:

Out With a Bang: How To Make the Most of Senior Year

1/27/2012

The college years are some of the best four years in a girl’s life, and the last thing we want is to cross the stage at graduation feeling like we didn’t take every opportunity to make the most of our time. Unfortunately, sometimes we get so caught up in getting the grades and looking for a job that we forget to experience all the other amazing things college has to offer a girl.

For some of you, this is your last semester on campus, so it’s time for you to cut loose and grab all the fun, crazy, mind-opening experiences while you still can. One last hurrah before you graduate and head into the “real world”. Here’s what college seniors everywhere are putting on their Last Semester To Do Lists. For all you other collegiettes™, let this wisdom from seniors and alumnae help you make the most of the rest of your time, too.

Travel Anywhere and Everywhere 
The general consensus seems to be that no matter what, every girl needs to travel during her college years. Get away from campus for a weekend or just travel during breaks. Go somewhere foreign, even if it’s just foreign to you! Alone, with friends, near, or far… it seems that to many collegiettes™ getting away from campus is just as important as being on it. Plan some sort of adventure that can fit the time you have left. Take your fellow collegiettes’™ advice:

“Road trip! Driving to other schools, new cities, and even all the way back to Chicago with my friends was great. We got to discover new places together and it made us a lot closer.” 
- Priyanka Bhat, Wesleyan University

Don't Lose Your Groove Over Break: Where to Look for Winter Romance

12/19/2011

The weather might be colder, but there is no reason your love life needs to cool off over winter break as well. Yes, you’ll be home for a month, away from the exciting college parties, the hot guy who lives down the hall, and any other prospects you might have lined up, but never fear! Not only will your heart go on, the break could be a time to try something new, meet some new people in your own town, and have a lot of unexpected fun.
 
So who’s the lucky guy going to be?
If it’s someone you already know, you probably went to high school with him and he’s probably one of the following three:
 
The High School Sweetheart
Remember that guy you dated in high school? The one your parents hated but you insisted you were meant to be with? Yeah, that one. Well, odds are he’s still around and he’s probably grown up a bit since you last saw him. So why not shoot him a text and ask him what he’s up to? Check out a friend’s party together and rekindle the flame, even if only for the month you’re home. College experiences have turned you into a whole new you, so show it off, and find out who he’s become since graduation.
 
The Guy You Could Never Have

Last Chance for Leaf Peeping!

11/12/2011

The One-Night Stand: Is It Ever A Good Idea?

11/10/2011

I’ve never had a one-night stand. At least not a full-blown one like they show you in the trashy college movies, where two kids who’ve never met get totally wasted and have hot, raunchy sex and then in the morning the girl stumbles home in her short skirt and high heels with smudged lipstick and puffy eyes, rocking a fresh head of sex hair while the guy sleeps ‘til noon. Nope, never been there. The closest I’ve come to that is going home with a guy, messing around a bit, making some super awkward small talk, and then sprinting to catch the bus home. Every serious sexual encounter I’ve had has turned into a relationship of some kind, and as a result, I’ve avoided the legendary one-night stand so far. But have I really done myself a favor by avoiding it? Or have I missed out on a key ingredient in the college experience? Is a one-night stand fun? Liberating? Is it something everyone should experience at least once? Or is it a painful regret that’s just not worth the walk of shame? These are things I, as well as many other girls, need to know! So I did some research, had some juicy NSFW conversations, heard stories of love, lust and heartbreak, and I got some sexy and not so sexy answers.

The (Sort Of) Success Story
Anne is a junior at Mount Holyoke College and a veteran of the dating scene in the Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts. Like most Mount Holyoke women, she learned in her first year that the Amherst men you meet at parties are generally not interested in being your boyfriend, or in some cases, even being nice to you. Yet, like many Mount Holyoke women, she manages to convince herself to give Amherst another shot every once in a while, and she’ll go to a party, meet a guy, give it a go, realize he’s a douche bag, and swear off Amherst men all over again.

How to Be the Best Wingwoman (Show This to Your Friends)

10/29/2011

I roll with a good-sized group of girls now that I’m attending an all-women’s college, and we regularly head off campus into the rest of the Five College Area (that includes Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, Amherst College, UMass Amherst, and Hampshire College) in search of the one thing a Mount Holyoke education cannot offer us: guys. Preferably good-looking guys with good-looking friends who are over 5’10” and haven’t given in to the beer belly yet. Luckily for us, UMass Amherst, Hampshire College and Amherst College are only a bus ride away, so finding Mr. Right Now isn’t too difficult. However, there’s no guarantee he’ll come to you, so the best thing a girl can have is a well-trained Wingwoman.

This year I find myself in an unusual situation. My friends and I regularly move in a pack about seven girls deep, and for the first time, I am the only one who is dating someone at the moment.  And because I am the only one who seems to have found what my friends like to call “The Perfect Relationship”, I am constantly looked to for help when one of my friends desperately wants to talk to a guy on the other side of the room but doesn’t know what to say, or do, and she’s way too shy and nervous to do it alone. To write this article, I devoted a weekend to helping my friend Jaime talk to different guys, honing my wingwoman technique and developing a few tips to share with all of you. Take them and use them to help your friends if you are already taken, or if you’re single, e-mail this article to your friends so they can have your back at any future party.