The Evolution of *Your* Identity

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your identity

Who are you? If you ask your mother, she might offer grandiose characteristics such as “amazing, extremely talented, beautiful inside and out…” Your friends might note your excellent dry sense of humor, your talent for belting out “Shake It Off” in the locker room after games, and your insatiable appetite for Peppermint Patty’s. People who don’t know you very well at school might suggest you are “Loud, smiley, and into sports and math.” When you stop to answer the question yourself, it’s probably more difficult to boil yourself down to just a few adjectives and flippant descriptors.

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How to Handle Twitter Handles

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twitter handles

Twitter is a fascinating social network; and perhaps the most controversial, leaving users more vulnerable than most other platforms might. Whether you are a high school student or a professional, Twitter is one of the more public and therefore searchable social media sites – and yet people are encouraged to use their real name and identity for it to work effectively. Unlike other platforms such as Facebook, where you can custom control who sees your content, or Instagram, where you often follow protocol and select a private account with a cutesy pseudonym, Twitter thrives on its immediacy and authentic exposure. It’s no wonder that this social network in particular has emerged a true global and political force filled with moving hashtag campaigns and viral news – but it is also more often a venue for public disgrace and scandal (here’s looking at you, Kanye…)

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Major Crush Dot Org

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Introducing P+S’s brand new sister site, MajorCrush.Org! A sleek, more streamlined way to view the inspiring women (and more) featured on Role Call and The Graduate. From college majors to career paths, you’ll find your Lady Inspiration for Life.

Browse a growing list of college majors, graduate programs and professional tracks – and keep checking back for more featured areas of focus.

Because every day is #WomanCrushWednesday.

majorcrush

The Graduate: MA/PhD in Classics

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MA PHD in Classics

Lauren is Pursuing an MA/PhD in Classics at UC Berkeley.

The Graduate is a new blog feature considering college majors, graduate school, and a look into career options beyond higher ed. To view a more comprehensive list of professional tracks and career paths, check out our sister site MajorCrush.org.

Name: Lauren Miller

College/ Major: Williams College ’15, Classics and Comparative Literature

Graduate School/ Program: UC Berkeley, Classics MA/PhD

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A Love Letter From Us To You: The Best Of

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Miss Peony
Miss Bluebells
Miss Magnolia
Miss Rosebud
Miss CallaLily
Miss Lilac
Miss Hydrangea

From birth control to body hair, our Love Letters panel of diverse women (now in their 20’s and 30’s) share their personal experiences from high school and beyond- and the advice they wish they had received growing up. Catch up on the ‘best of’ highlights below, and click the links to view more perspectives on each topic.

On Feminism: “What does feminism mean to me now? I don’t have the tidy philosophy that I did in high school or college. But, in practice, it means making choices – sometimes hard choices, like staying at work – to keep myself economically empowered. It means not setting myself up to be screwed if something happened to us or to him. It means protecting myself against pressure to stay with him for economic reasons.” –Miss Rosebud [read more]

On Parents: “If I was required to drink a glass of milk at dinner, I wanted to know why, and if it was so healthy, why they weren’t drinking one, too. And it was my body, why did they get to dictate what went into it… I needed a logical answer to every question, and I was also keenly aware of what I felt to be “injustice.” That they had complete authority, which seemed like a grave injustice to me, and I was constantly fighting them. The more I argued for autonomy, the more my parents tried to control me, and the more I rebelled from their control.” –Miss Peony [read more]

On Dangerous Relationships: “I was seemingly in control of every aspect of my life except this one, and I didn’t want anyone to know because a.) I loved this person and thought I could help him learn how to love and trust someone, since he had been abused as a child, and b.) I was embarrassed: I was a confident, smart, funny, no-nonsense feminist. This went against everything I believed in and the life I had built for myself.” –Miss Bluebells [read more]

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The Waiting Game: College Acceptances

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waiting for college acceptances

You, on college acceptance day…

February can be a short, but cruel, month – followed by a long, excruciating March – while you are waiting to hear back from college admissions. Trying to envision your life after senior year is nail-biting: this is the rest of your (foreseeable) life we are talking about. Unfortunately, the struggle is real – there is no telling what your April inbox holds. So take a break from checking your mail obsessively or scrolling though the ivy-speckled Instagram account of that dream alma-matter, and channel your anxiety into these 10 ways to keep it cool instead.

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When Career Day Doesn’t Cut it

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June received her MBA from Harvard School of Business.
Joo is a hospital chaplain in NYC.
Dr. Katie Fuchs is an Orthopedic Surgery Resident in VT

Did ‘Career Day’ leave you uninspired? Are you currently considering a college major, profession, or career switch later in life? Catch up on Role Call, a blog feature where young professional women share their insights on achieving success (…and their advice to teens!) You can also visit our sister site, Major Crush, for a more comprehensive view of the possible college majors and career paths walked by inspiring women.

Now take a look back at the growing list of women career role models – and importantly, what they would advise young women on pursuing their dreams.

We are always looking for more diverse and unique professional young women to profile – contact petalandsass@gmail.com to recommend yourself or a friend, or leave a suggestion in the comments section below.

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Love Letters: Hashtag Feminism

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Love Letters

‘Love Letters’ is a Petal + Sass blog feature that regularly asks a group of diverse women in their 20’s and 30’s about their experiences with health, sex, emotional wellness, body image, college, careers – and what they wish they had known themselves as teenagers. Visit the ‘Love Letters’ To My Former Self page to learn more about the contributors. 

Question Posed: What does feminism mean to you? Did you think much about feminism when you were in high school, or did it become more or less important to you later in life? 

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Role Call: Real Women Novelists

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katie coyle

Katie Coyle is the author of popular YA novel, Vivian Apple at the End of the World.

Role Call is a Petal + Sass blog section featuring interviews with professional young women occupying diverse careers – and their advice to teens.

Name: Katie Coyle

Age: 29

College & major: Marymount Manhattan College, English Literature

Graduate school & concentration: University of Pittsburgh, MFA in Creative Writing

Past jobs: I have worked at a movie theater, a boardwalk bookstore, a video store, as a personal assistant to a very wealthy woman’s personal assistant, a babysitter, a resident advisor, a writing tutor to student athletes, and as a temporary receptionist at various investment banks and non-profits.

Current occupation: Writer,  Vivian Apple At the End of the World

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