Throughout history, talent and wealth were the only means of achieving stardom. The naturally beautiful have pursued acting, those blessed with smooth vocal chords have recorded platinum albums and others with athletic prowess have gained celebrity status through grand slam wins and Olympic golds.
For a while, I've been the person my friends go to for tech support. They've got a virus or just lit their computer on fire or something, so they call me and panic, hoping I can somehow, magically, just fix it. More than anything, this is the problem I get: "My computer's slow!" It's taking three-and-a-half hours to boot his computer and 11 minutes to open a browser - it's not a pretty picture.
When I first met my roommate from Roanoke, I was convinced she grew up in the deep country.
The Americans have military power and McDonalds. The French have baguettes and Carla Bruni. What do the Swiss have?
It's 10:04 a.m. and the University of Auckland is watching me at the Munchy Mart. Six eyes - four human and two electronic - follow the movements of my body, gazing intently as I navigate the campus convenience store.
Oscar Major? Mechanical engineering Sexual Orientation? Straight What extracurriculars do you participate in? Squash Club Team, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers What are the physical and personality attributes you are looking for in a date? Nice and humble personality.
From what I've gleaned about the dating atmosphere right now, the smoke finally has begun to dissipate, after a hectic coming of age story for first-year students and a nostalgic back to the grind reunion for upperclassmen.
The exponential increase of wedding photo albums on my Facebook newsfeed during the past couple of years has been truly astounding.
Fall is a time University students associate with football, pumpkin carving and, of course, pancakes.
During the past few months, I have acquired a newfound interest in gardening, growing my own produce and learning about farmers' daily lives.
It's hard to be me. Lingering stares as eyes touch on my perfectly proportioned face and tan, chiseled body.
It's the time of year when many University students start to feel the drudge of work and the insatiable desire to play.
"Hey girl, you want to go to the gym with me?" "You mean, 'Do I want to go to the gym and have my self-esteem reduced to -12 on a scale of 1 to 10 because that girl has been running for 40 minutes straight and I get winded walking up stairs?
It all started on a baseball field. Not a typical field with freshly trimmed grass and carefully drawn lines, but a field of solid blacktop with a skate park interrupting right field.
When one of my housemates mentioned a drive-in movie theater, all I could picture was John Travolta as Danny in "Grease" singing about how Sandy left him.
Practice makes perfect Let's be honest, everybody wants to show up to an interview with Northrop Grumman or Wachovia with a few tricks up their sleeves.
For most students, filing tax returns ranks right up there with taking the world’s worst take-home test. But for this exam, the score is measured in cash.
Hearing the unnerving sound of squish, squish, squish beneath my feet was not the triumphant return to Charlottesville I had imagined after last year's Winter Break.
It is not every day that a Nobel Prize winner comes to Charlottesville.
