Is it really August already? As unbelievable as it is, summer break is nearly over and it seems that everything is piling up while you prepare for school. And to make matters worse, most colleges don’t even provide school supply checklists for you! Not to worry, CG has got you covered.

The Clothes:

• Booties: A high-quality pair of faux leather or suede booties will add instant style to almost any outfit. Pair them with colorful tights or socks and have the entire room staring in envy.
• A maxi dress: What’s great about a maxi dress is that it can be used as a skirt as well. Top it off with a button-down shirt or pocketed blouse and no one will ever know it’s a dress! It can also be dressed up or down for day-to-night wear.
• A sheer, sleeveless blouse: This classic adds style to any outfit. You can wear it with jeans, trousers, shorts or skirts. It’s a staple that belongs in every girl’s closet. I’d suggest having multiple blouses in different colors!
• A messenger bag: Sling it over your shoulder or across your torso for optimal efficiency and ease. Store your pens, paper and flash drives in here and easily access them whenever you need to take some quick notes.

The Essentials:

• Lip balm: Make a good lip balm your priority for the fall. Lips tend to get chapped with the autumn weather and no matter how much NARS lipstick you layer over them, lips only look good if they’re moist and smooth.
• A leisure book: Sure you’ll have a ton of assigned reading for your classes, but having a book of your own choosing to read at all times is crucial. It’ll keep your mind stimulated, your conversation interesting, and yourself entertained. Also, you’ll have something to keep you busy if your iPhone battery dies.
• Shower shoes: Even if you have your own private shower in your dorm, someone else has probably showered in there before and who knows what they did in there. Save your feet from the unknown and pack some flip-flops.


The Backpack:
• A flash drive: You WILL need this. I can’t tell you how many times my printer broke and I needed to get my assignment printed at my school’s ITS building—in times like these, a flash drive can be a lifesaver.
• Black gel pens: Black is the most professional color to write in, so equip yourself with plenty so you can jot down quick notes, song lyrics or a grocery list.
• A notebook for each class: One for each class will keep your organized so that when it comes time to study for your midterm and final, you’ll be ready to focus solely on studying instead of gathering your notes.
• A dictionary: This is a no-brainer. When your professor says a ridiculously long word and you are just puzzled, a good dictionary can keep you in the loop and save you from embarrassment.

Gear up and get ready for another year of learning, peace and partying!

By: Diana Kraikittikun | Images: Tumblr, Tumblr, Tumblr, Weheartit

Feeling the heat this summer? Here are some steps you can take so that all your summers aren’t this hot and stuffy. Most of these options are cost-friendly and actually reduce costs in the long run!

While you drive:

While cruising at 35mph or lower, roll down the windows to cool off.

While driving faster than 35pm, use the air-conditioner (at the low or medium levels) to cool off. The reasoning behind this is similar to the reason a parachute is used to slow things down. While you are driving fast and your windows are down, wind enters your car, which makes your car work harder (and thereby makes you use more gas) to drive at the same speed. Like a parachute catches the wind and causes resistance, so does your car.

When traveling with large objects, try to place things inside your car instead of on top of it. This allows your car to retain its aerodynamic shape and prevent wind resistance.

Buy a car that has more miles per gallon and combine trips to keep from restarting your car multiple times.

Ride your bike or walk! It’s good for you and it tones your legs!

While you’re at home:

During the warmer months, dial your thermostat slightly upward, and during the cooler months, dial your thermostat slightly downward. The logic behind this is that the less temperature differential the air-conditioning system has to maintain between the outside and inside temperatures, the less energy will be used.

Avoid using air-conditioning at all if you can help it by opening up windows to let the breeze in, strategically planting shading trees outside your house to cover your windows, and closing your blinds when the sun is shining in.

But if you must use air-conditioning, make sure to replace your air filters as recommended because a dirty filter can make it harder to pull and suck air, which causes you to use more energy.

When washing clothes, use the energy preferred option on your washing machine and change the setting to “cold” or “warm” but not “hot” water.

When drying clothes, make sure to dry a full load, switch to the energy preferred option, and clean out the lint filters after every load (for the same reason you should change your air filters).

Switch all your light bulbs to CFLs (compact fluorescent lights) because they use a quarter the amount of energy of standard incandescent bulbs and they last at least 8 times longer!

These changes are affordable and easy ways to make a big impact, especially if you spread the word to your friends and if you do your own research on how you can make an even a greater impact with your energy-wise choices. Go green!

By: Diana Kraikittikun | Image: Weheartit

Here are five summer musts that could potentially turn an “OK” summer into one you look back fondly upon for years. Check them out.

1. Watch
Summer just isn’t summer without watching at least seasons one and two of “The O.C.” You just can’t beat the drama of Ryan and Marissa. If your love life is looking a little lackluster, then you could draw some inspiration from Seth and Summer, or be a little naughty like Julie Cooper and well…every guy in Newport.

2. Read
Crack open all the “Harry Potter” books—yes all seven of them—and relive the magic that comprised your childhood! We are the Harry Potter generation after all and we need to make sure that the magic doesn’t end with the completion of the last movie! Oh, and you absolutely must watch the last installation of the “Harry Potter” series on IMAX 3D (real IMAX; a lot of theaters claim that they have Imax screens, but they’re fakes—IMAX screens should be overwhelmingly huge when you see them. Most screens are about 72 x 52.8 ft.). You won’t regret it. Oh and bring tissues…trust me, you’ll need them.

3. Listen
Go to a concert! There’s nothing like live music and seeing your favorite artist perform and pour his or her soul out right before your eyes. My friend went to the Prince and Steely Dan concerts and had a blast. Last year, I went to a five-hour concert and caught the water bottle of the band Boys Like Girls and danced to Cobra Starship. I’ll definitely have to relive the fun.

4. Taste
Nothing brings people together like a good meal. Go to a restaurant with your favorite people and order whatever you want. Just this once, splurge and indulge yourself in food and aromatic bliss. All the world’s problems seem to melt away when loving people are enjoying themselves and the pleasure of eating wonderful food and sharing it with each other.

5. Give
Pleasure is ten times more enjoyable when shared with others. So hand make or donate a gift for someone special as a “thank you” for being so wonderful, and to show that you haven’t taken him or her for granted. The thought will be cherished forever and will most likely be the subject of warm, nostalgic stories for years. Make a mixed tape, a donation, a friendship bracelet, a Mother-daughter picture frame, anything—that’s all you need to show you care.

Make sure to cover all these bases and you’ll surely have a wonderful rest of the summer.

By: Diana Kraikittikun | Image: Weheartit

We all want to save the whales, end world hunger and eliminate human trafficking. And we’re all filled with beautiful dreams of creating a better tomorrow for ourselves and our loved ones. But we can’t all abandon our lives completely and become full-time advocates of the cause or social issue we’re most passionate about. Or can we?

While some of us will grow up to become revolutionary difference makers by making it our lifestyles, others of us will find ourselves immersed in careers that don’t have much to do with the social issues that call and affect us so deeply. But that doesn’t mean that the latter group of people cannot be difference makers as well.

If you don’t have the means to fully commit yourself to any particular cause with every moment of your day, there are amazing ways to enact social change right from your very computer…and if you’re not swimming in Benjamins, some of these ways cost a grand total of $0.00.



SocialVibe is one of the greatest sites around. It allows communities and people of all ages to really make an impact for the better at no cost by combining both industry and social change. Anyone can pick the cause of their choice (or many causes of their choice!) and complete short and fun industry-sponsored activities in order to “earn” points or hours for change. Big corporations get advertising. We get to contribute for free. Millions get to benefit. It’s a win-win-win for everyone. Check it out at thevibe.socialvibe.com.

Change.org is a great petition-signing site that has met many victories. There are petitions for almost every cause and you’ll be sure to find the one that resonates with you. It’s free and effective. Take a look at change.org and sign away!

Do Something gives you, your family, your school, and even your community the resources and information you need in order to do something related to your cause of choice and it even caters to the amount of time you’re willing to commit ranging from a minute to a year. Learn how you can do something today and even tomorrow at dosomething.org.

Free Rice is as direct of a site as they come: for every question you answer correctly (and you will answer them correctly—they’re that easy) 10 grains of rice will be donated through the World Food Programme to help end world hunger. You can change the subject/theme of the questions as well and some of them are really fun! You’re literally playing games to help end hunger. If you or a friend are tired of Angry Birds (is that even possible?!) then you should just head on over to freerice.com and get your game on!

The non-profit organization Waves For Water was originally created by Jon Rose, a wicked surfer who traveled the globe to catch the best waves and, in the process, realized that he could do more than just surf. Originally created for surfers who travel, Waves For Water asks them to carry 10 or more clean water filters on their journeys. They can catch the waves and provide sterile drinking water to the communities they encounter. It doesn’t ask you to go out of your way to provide clean water, it asks you to have a wonderful time traveling to places you’re already headed—and carrying a few filters with you. You can purchase either family or community filters that last for years! Catch some Waves For Water at wavesforwater.org.

Global Giving offers limitless venues of change, one of which is listed by Kranti, an organization created by trafficked girls themselves in order to educate and train young women to become revolutionaries. The goal is to empower women through education and keep them in school and out of exploitative trafficking. Read more and decide if you want to make a donation at globalgiving.org.

The Gift of Change:
Let’s be honest here… no one wants yet another thoughtless gift card as a birthday or holiday present. Why not give the gift of change? Make a donation in your loved one’s name and trust me, your gift will not only transcend dollar amounts, it will transcend generations. Turn a $15 coffee gift card into a $15 donation toward WWF. The ripples of your donation will reach farther than you can even imagine. Also, if you’re planning a wedding any time soon, consider making the wedding favors donations in your guests’ names as well. The guests will just end up tossing out whatever tacky favor was headed their way anyway. Why not make the gift mean something?

Change can easily be just a click away.

By: Diana Kraikittikun | Image: Tumblr

There’s nothing that says “summer mode” more than blasting music while cruising on the highway with the windows down, your shades on, and the sunlight shining on you. Here are a few tunes that are sure to make your summer drives in traffic enjoyable no matter where you’re headed and no matter how long it takes you to get there.

1. “Tears Dry on Their Own (Al Usher Remix)” by Amy Winehouse
2. “Run (Instrumental)” by Gnarls Barkley
3. “Holidays (Cassian Remix)” by Miami Horror
4. “I’m Good, I’m Gone” by Lykke Li
5. “I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You (The Twelves Remix)” by Black Kids
6. “Elephant Gun” by Beirut
7. “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” by Bob Dylan
8. “Something to Do With My Hands” by Her Space Holiday
9. “Bring on the Comets” by VHS or Beta
10. “Mother We Just Can’t Get Enough” by New Radicals
11. “When the Stars Go Blue” by Ryan Adams
12. “Little Secrets” by Passion Pit
13. “If You Leave” by Nada Surf
14. “After Tonight” by Justin Nozuka
15. “Burning Love” by Elvis Presley
16. “Shoot Down The Stars” by Gym Class Heroes
17. “Live High” by Jason Mraz
18. “Electric Feel” by MGMT
19. “Traffic in the Sky” by Jack Johnson
20. “Just Like Heaven” by The Cure

Get in your car, buckle up, pop your CD or iPod in with this playlist, and sing the summer away.

By: Diana Kraikittikun | Image: Tumblr

Whether you’re spending your summer on the coast tanning poolside or you’re working at the local Abercrombie & Fitch, there’s no better time than now to take a good look at yourself and decide who you are and what you’re going to believe in.

Hit the books: For those of you who are dying to do some independent reading during the school year but can’t find the time, summer is a godsend. Finally, you can read what you want to read and learn something that you might not have learned in school. So whip out your copies of “Half the Sky” and “The Help” and get crackin’!

Take lessons: Dance lessons, ceramics lessons, surf lessons, diving lessons, you name it. This is the time to learn what you’ve been waiting to learn all year long. By the time you get back to school in the fall, you’ll be a pro at whatever you’ve decided to take up and all of your friends will want to join in on the fun.

Volunteer: If you’re an undergrad, how much money can you make from a summer job anyway? Unless you’re an actress in a future blockbuster hit or you “know a guy” who can hook you up with cash, you’re probably not going to make anything substantial. So if you’re one of the many who just couldn’t get a job this summer, do not fret—volunteering is always an option. No one turns away free help, and unpaid experience is experience nonetheless—the fact that you worked for free doesn’t devalue your work at all. Volunteer supervisors can write letters of recommendation just as well as work supervisors can. Check out your local animal sanctuary, social policy organization, or help hotline and get your philanthropy on!

Believe in something: Your time spent in college is the first time you really realize something bigger than yourself. Research an issue you care about until you become an expert on it. Go online, go to the library and fill your brain with everything you can about it. Take a stand and hopefully you’ll develop the conviction you need to enact change and believe in something more than you ever thought possible.

Hopefully by the end of this summer, you’ll be proud of who you are, simply for making the effort to be better.

By: Diana Kraikittikun | Image: Source