The Top 4 Truths About Engagement

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By Ginny Latham*

It’s 1:45 on a Monday; my Chipotle lunch is begging me not to recommence my workday, so I wander over to peruse my various social media channels when all of a sudden it shows up. The huge ring and even bigger smile of my neighbor in 2nd grade who moved to California and went through a (longer than acceptable) Ricky Martin phase is engaged.

Lucky for us, social media allows us to stay in touch with our closest friends/everyone we've ever encountered. Thanks to the “Facebook friend request everyone I meet” phase in high school, or even better – the summer-before-freshman-year desperate Facebook rampage to find a college roommate – we truly can stay in touch with everyone. 

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And This Is My Dream Job?

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By Mackenzie Louise*

Teacher crushes are such a cliché, they’re pretty uninteresting and passé. You wouldn’t think the English department of my small, Christian liberal arts college would nurture such clichés, but I guess Christians are known to relish in the taboo. Something about forbidden fruit.

I was disenchanted as a young grad with my otherwise honorable department. Four months out of college and back in town for a conference, I found myself talking to my (male) mentor and another (male) student about the department’s most recent hire: a young woman, intelligent, insightful, and personable. We were all excited about her arrival to campus, even I who would never take a class with her. I met her during her campus interview the semester before, and I had enjoyed talking to her; I could tell that she would challenge students and engage them personally. I was, frankly, jealous that I’d never be under her tutelage.

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Please Leave Me Stranded, It's So Romantic

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By Violet Stevens**Violet is 23 and currently adventuring in Richmond, VA. If you are interested in guest blogging, please emailAsToldOverBrunch@gmail.com.

So, I’m 23. I don’t have much dating experience to speak of. I had my first kiss at 17; my first boyfriend at 18 for about 3 months; and then I had another boyfriend whom I was with for almost 2 years. There have been very few people in between all that. I don’t do one night stands. I have hovered around a few friends with benefits situations, but always pull the plug because those never end well. And lately, I was trying to stay away from committed relationships as well due to the honest fact that, well, ain't nobody got time fo' dat.

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The Hills Are Alive with the Sound of Bandwagoners

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By Carlisle SargentOur guest blogger this week is Carlisle Sargent, currently living undercover as a jaded graduate student in South Carolina. She is a cofounder of the esteemed audio startup, Goat Rodeo, as well as a lover of good design and giving bad advice. Play with her here. If you are interested in guest blogging, email us at AsToldOverBrunch@gmail.com.

I remember this moment clearly. At the grungy claptrap my best friends and I rented in college, we hosted many parties. I was often in charge of the playlist because I am exceptionally selective about the music that I dance to. On this particular night, at this particular party, my brother was hanging out in the living room with some of his wide-eyed freshman friends. I walked in and fiddled with the music until I found something I liked. After a few minutes, I heard my brother yell.

“Carlie, woah, this beat. This is GAGA?!”

The song I chose was "Scheiße," the 7th track from Lady Gaga’s album Born This Way. And yes, at about thirty seconds in, a laser-blasted-super-synthy-strut-your-sh*t-club-going-up-on-a-Tuesday dance beat is dropped, and it is dirty. Although I was happy that my brother, a musical genius in his own right, could appreciate one of the lesser-known Gaga hits, I was bummed. How are people continually surprised that this woman makes incredible music?

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Questions You've Always Wanted To Ask Your Yoga Teacher

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At least one night a week, I go to a yoga class offered through Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). Over the last year, I've gotten to know the instructor, Anja Bachmann, and I recently asked her to answer some burning-like-my-hamstring-when-I-try-to-stretch-it yoga questions for me:

How did you get into yoga? I was in high school and took a few yoga classes, but wasn't into it. My freshman year of college, I went to a small liberal arts college out of state and hated it. Yoga helped keep my mind off of being homesick. Their yoga teacher was graduating, and I was trying to find a way out of the food industry up there and decided I would take the summer intensive yoga teacher training in Richmond while I was home for the summer. The usual program is 9 months, and I did my RYT® 200 in 3 months. I never went back [to the liberal arts college] and started classes at VCU instead! Then, I was hired as a yoga teacher for VCU the following spring.

hat is your favorite pose? This is a hard one! It totally depends on my mood and whatever my body needs. Normally, chaturanga. It's normally thought of as a transitional pose and often overlooked, but done right it is so liberating. It makes you feel strong, balanced, and light all at the same time once practiced enough.

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