A scholarly analysis on the annual process of manufacturing and distributing a list

I have finally come to terms with the fact that I write a joke of a column. If I ever find myself in a sorority-rush-like situation talking to acquaintances or family friends - the holiday season, basically - I transform into small talker extraordinaire, and this column is somehow always a subject. "What is your column about?" they inevitably ask. Like the journalist I am, I spin my response to make it sound like what I do can actually be considered printable and professional.

Skilled worker?

The summer after third year is when most students start looking for serious internships similar to what they might actually want to do with their lives.

Black Friday

There are few things more American than the proud way we celebrate a national holiday centered on eating - or rather, overeating - platefuls of turkey, stuffing and pie.

Thanksgiving warm-ups

This is it people - Thanksgiving is upon us. Are you ready? Not the finished-with-work-turned-in-all-assignments kind of ready, but I mean are you prepared for Thanksgiving?

Somewhere in between

One of the many benefits of living in Charlottesville is the city's music scene. C'mon, we gave Dave Matthews his start.

Meet the parents

Meeting the parents in college is a much bigger deal than it was in high school. In high school, your boyfriend had to meet your family within the first couple weeks of dating because, well, you lived with them, and they still had a lot of control of what you were doing.

I want to take naps

What do Leonardo da Vinci, P. Diddy and Bill Clinton all have in common? They have all been rumored to have "alternative sleeping habits." With papers galore, quizzes and exams, go ahead and add me to the list. I have always admired the few determined souls who are able to commit to a regular sleep pattern, especially one of a full eight hours' worth of beauty rest, each and every night.

A love of Frostys

Sometimes I think college students are too focused on the social scene near 14th Street and Rugby Road.

The power of rhetoric

You have seven minutes to prepare and present a speech based on Albert Einstein's saying, "Imagination is more important than knowledge." Go. This is what students in the Impromptu category from the U.Va.

Study hall panic

One of things I have enjoyed most about my second year of being a student-athlete on the women's basketball team is the looming threat of study hall.

Things are not looking up

I am sitting in a booth in Clemons. I'm realizing that things are not looking up. It's not like I thought that they were looking up, or that they were going to start looking up pretty soon.

Bringing the beat to Grounds

KRS-One, an MC and pioneer in hip-hop music and culture, once proclaimed in his song "Hip-Hop Lives" that "Hip and hop is more than music - hip is the knowledge, hop is the movement." The Student Hip-Hop Organization at the University wants to educate the rest of the community about this culture. Although most members of the club learned to appreciate hip-hop during childhood, SHHO began with a midsummer trip to Richmond.

What do I have in common with both Barack Obama and Oprah Winfrey? If you guessed that I am black and older than 40 years old with an uncanny ability to attract housewives, then obviously you know me very well.

Wanting

Someone once told me to count my blessings. It may or may not have been my mother, and she may or may not have been chastising me for being an obnoxiously spoiled middle-class American girl.

A Talking Point

Most students will participate in a seminar during their college careers to fulfill their graduation requirements.

No more drama

In August 2001, rhythm and blues superstar Mary J. Blige released the soulful classic, "No More Drama." About 6.5 million albums have been sold worldwide, earning triple-platinum status.