For all the heartbreaking and scary stories coming out of Tropical Storm Harvey's assault on the Gulf Coast, trying times still have a way of bringing out the best in people. The latest case: This 63-year-old midwife who rode an inflatable swan to deliver a baby during the storm — AKA your new hero.

Cathy Allen Rude was faced with a difficult decision on Monday when she realized that rain or no rain, the baby she signed on to help bring into the world was a'coming, the McClatchy Wire Service reports.  She knew she had to get to her birthing clinic, a few miles away from her flooded home, but needed a way to keep dry to get there. 

So, as the Dallas Morning News reported, Rude's client spotted one of her neighbors floating in the flood on an inflatable swan and inquired about giving her midwife a ride like some enterprising aquatic Uber neogiator. 

And it worked! Rude and the neighbor tag-teamed to get all her baby-birthing equipment onto the swan and floated her to the end of the street where the mom-to-be waited in her truck. And, of course, they made it to the Katy Birth Center where they welcomed a baby boy— who came into the world at 9 pounds, 12.2 ounces and with a truly badass origin story.

While mom and baby headed home that night, Rude elected to stay at her clinic to help another client bring another small human screaming into the world. Dayum. 

TL;DR: She is the swan queen and we are not worthy.

A Georgia police officer will be fired after him telling a white woman she didn’t have to worry about him because she wasn’t black was caught on camera, The New York Times reports. A dashboard camera captured Lt. Greg Abbott of Georgia’s Cobb County Police Department having this exchange with a woman during a traffic stop in July 2016.

The woman was the passenger in the car Lt. Abbott stopped in suspicion of a DUI case. She grew nervous when the officer told her she could use her cell phone. With the phone in her lap, she didn’t want to move her hands because she had seen “way too many videos” about police behavior at traffic stops.

“But you’re not black,” Lt. Abbott is heard saying in the video recently obtained by an Atlanta news station through an open-records request. “Remember, we only kill black people. Yeah. We only kill black people, right?”

“We saw the video and we’re going to deal with it,” Chief Mike Register said in a video package produced by WSB-TV.

Chief Register also spoke at a press conference on Thursday, frowning upon Lt. Abbott’s response. “I’ve known Lt. Abbott for a number of years, and I’ve always perceived him to be an honorable man,” he revealed. “But he made a mistake.”

This isn’t the first time Cobb County has run into issues with race relations. Although the International Association of Chiefs of Police gave the county a high community approval rating, its report also gave off the impression of seeing “discriminatory and biased policing.”

Amidst some viewpoints that Lt. Abbott’s comments were sarcastic jokes, the officer’s lawyer believes he was trying to calm down the car’s passengers. “He was attempting to de-escalate a situation involving an uncooperative passenger,” Lance LoRusso said in a statement. “In context, his comments were clearly aimed at attempting to gain compliance by using the passenger’s own statements and reasoning to avoid making an arrest.”

Regardless of whether Lt. Abbott was trying to be sarcastic, comments like these are far from appropriate. It's good to see Lt. Abbott be punished for his actions. 

We all read William Golding’s Lord of the Flies in high school, right? Depending on the book’s influence on you, one of the book’s most memorable factors was probably the fact that the characters are all young boys trapped on an island together. They eventually turn against each other in aggressive and even deadly ways. According to HelloGiggles, we’ll soon see an entirely different approach to this story in the form of an all-female cinematic remake.

One of the film’s writers and directors, David Siegel, told Deadline that now is the time to rework the classic story because it is “especially relevant today.” His partner Scott McGehee said that switching the cast’s gender “shifts things in a way that might help see the story anew. It breaks away from some of the conventions, the ways we think of boys and aggression.”

Now, normally I’m all for female-heavy casts promoting girl power. But after seeing the internet’s response to this news, I’m one of hundreds who aren’t crazy about an all-female Lord of the Flies—and for a good reason. Given the fact that the book tracks the stranded boys becoming more and more savage, both men and women have pointed out that the same pattern happening with girls is a little less believable. I mean, women get things done. 

People are also concerned about a female-centric story being told by two men. 

In case Twitter doesn't convince someone of this idea's flaws, someone even dug up text of Golding explaining why the characters are boys. This is basically a message from the grave forecasting this film's negative response. 

"If you land with a group of little boys, they are more like a scaled-down version of society than a group of little girls would be," Golding said in the undated interview. "I think women are foolish to pretend they are equal to men, they are far superior and always have been. But one thing you can't do with them is take a bunch of them and boil them down...into a set of little girls who would then become a kind of image of civilization, of society."

Um, preach, Golding!

There's no word yet about how McGehee and Siegel view this understandable criticism. According to Deadline, the deal for the film has just closed, so writing the script is the next step for the duo. No matter how this movie turns out, it's sure to inspire interesting conversation about staying faithful to a book's message in film adaptations. 

Twitter users have been known to get a fact or two wrong every now and then, but their latest faux pas has left many people scratching their heads.

It all started when one Twitter user tried to defend President Trump’s response to the Hurricane Harvey disaster by criticizing Former President Barack Obama’s response to a disaster in Louisiana, according to popular Internet-myth-debunking site Snopes.

While the original tweet did not specify which Louisiana disaster the user was referring to – the infamous Hurricane Katrina or the lesser known floods that hit Louisiana in 2016 – many users took this to mean Obama went golfing instead of helping Katrina victims during his presidency.

And, unfortunately, they didn't seem all that interested in getting their timelines in order before they started tweeting.

Because there's one small (seemingly obvious) problem: Obama wasn't president when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. Katrina hit in 2005 during George W. Bush’s presidency, with Obama being elected into office a whole three years later. At the time, Obama was a Democratic senator representing Illinois.

This argument doesn’t only fail on the chronological side. It also fails to acknowledge that Obama did, in fact, meet with Katrina evacuees as a junior Senator, and can be seen in photos meeting with victims and displaced people alongside former Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, according to Business 2 Community.

While it’s unclear how many of these tweets are serious and how many are trolls or bots looking to rile other users up, there were plenty of people who didn’t buy into the false claim and were seriously side-eyeing the anachronism.

"Where was Obama during Katrina?" sis............. pic.twitter.com/h6ET2N68k9

While the Internet's tendency toward misinformation is well-documented, this chronological hiccup is a worthy (if totally depressing) follow-up to the famous "Thanks, Obama!" meme. 

Over 60,000 people are preparing to evacuate from the center of Frankfurt, Germany, after a World War II bomb was found underneath the city, CNN reports. The bomb was discovered earlier in the week on a construction site, and because of the bomb’s size, evacuation procedures have been planned for this Sunday.

Although the bomb doesn’t have a chance of going off and harming residents, the city wants to be safe rather than sorry. Police are guarding the area where the bomb, a 1.4-ton British device, is located in case of any activity prior to Frankfurt's evacuation.

The city has scheduled four hours for the defusing of the bomb on Sunday, while Frankfurt Airport has even offered its space for anyone having to leave home for the day. 

I don't know about you, but the fact that a bomb from World War II is still around today fascinates me. Here's hoping that everyone evacuating this weekend stays safe!  

A new semester at school means a lot of things: new trends, new crushes and new classes. Unless the scheduling gods love you—we’re jealous, if that’s the case—nobody’s course load is perfect. Usually, there’s that one class you just can’t stand. The monotone professor? The painfully dull readings? The grueling exams? We know–it’s all too familiar. With these unbearable courses, sometimes dropping a class is your only option. But where you should draw the line between a class you need to drop and a class worth charging through with a (forced) smile? Though everyone’s situation is different, HC’s advice will help you decide whether or not you should say au revoir to that class.

Situation 1: The textbooks were out of stock, so you’re already behind

Your college’s bookstore can be both a blessing and a curse, but it’s definitely a curse when they suddenly run out of that mandatory textbook. How rude, right? Although you may feel as if you’re already behind, it’s no reason to drop a class. If you were to switch into a different class, wouldn’t you be a little behind too? Instead, ask a friend (or that Campus Cutie who sits next to you) if you could borrow their textbook. Worst case scenario, you stay in one night to catch up on all your work once you finally receive your textbook. Of course this isn’t ideal, but that ABC party seemed lame anyway.

Situation 2: The class is a higher-level course than you need and it’s way too hard

While it’s great to broaden your intellectual horizons, enrolling in a higher-level course is not always a good move. Although advanced classes have cooler topics—“Abnormal Psychology” sounds a lot more interesting than “Psychology 101”—there are some drawbacks. If the heightened difficulty isn’t enough to make you cringe, you’re going to feel a little left out when you’re the only person in class who doesn’t know the basics. “If your new psychology class actually requires a background knowledge in neuroscience, and you’re just looking for a 100-level course, save yourself the stress,” says Micha Sabovik, the assistant dean at Boston University’s College of Communication.

If you drop this type of class now, you might not have to face its evil academic consequences. “I accidentally took a class that was way above my level and it wasn’t remotely related to what I was interested in,” Andy Bensch from San Francisco State University says. “I withdrew from the class a few weeks later and it didn’t affect my GPA at all.”

Even if your advanced class sounds like a blast, consider taking a lower-level class instead. That way, you can enjoy the advanced class another semester once you’re finally prepared for it and won’t be so worried about keeping up.

Situation 3: The syllabus is so full of assignments that it almost looks like a textbook

That awkward moment when you pick up a copy of your class’s syllabus and you thought it was a massive reading assignment. Two essays, three quizzes and a midterm in the first half of the semester alone? Just the look of the syllabus makes you want to drop the class.

In this situation, it’s important to trust your instincts and know when enough is enough. “Gauging academic rigor when registering for a class can be difficult, but syllabus day generally provides a clear idea of what to expect,” Sabovik says, referring to the first day of class when the professor goes over the assignments for the semester. “It’s okay, and important, to acknowledge when you’re in over your head.” If this class is mandatory and wasn’t too hard to get into, try scheduling it with less demanding classes next semester instead.

Situation 4: You failed the first test

It’s normal not to ace your first exam of the semester—you’re not used to your professor’s setup and you’d rather lounge out on the quad than study. But what about when you bomb a test so bad that you can’t recover? Alas, it may be time to pull the plug on this course. But before you do, make sure you try out all of your options. “You should always reach out to the professor or teaching assistant to see what you can do to improve before dropping the course,” Sabovik says.

However, if it seems like all hope is lost, it may be time to say adios to that class. Instead of damaging your GPA, take a lower-level class; usually, the workload is lighter and easier. If this horrid class is a requirement, try taking the course over the summer. “I had a really crazy workload and bombed one of my Cellular Biology tests because I had a couple other exams that day,” Lauren from Boston University says. “I decided to retake the class over the summer and I really liked it! Taking the class alone gave me a chance to get more out of the material and do better.” Though you may be wary about trading in your SPF 30 for textbooks, you can still have a fun summer if you’re only taking one class!

Situation 5: The professor is driving you crazy

Whether it’s his constant pacing around the classroom or her lame jokes, there’s something about your professor that makes you want to say goodbye and good riddance to this class. Before you do anything drastic (aka dropping the course), let’s tap into your psyche to figure out why you don’t like this professor, shall we? Although you may despise their quirks or you heard that your roommate’s boyfriend’s best friend didn’t like the professor last semester, it’s time to take a deep breath, keep calm and carry on. “Don’t drop a class just because your professor didn’t receive glowing reviews on Rate My Professors,” Sabovik says.

However, some situations deem dropping a class necessary. If you can’t understand your professor or if he or she goes on random rants instead of teaching you the material, you may want to think about dropping. “I literally dropped my stats class because I couldn’t understand the professor’s thick accent,” Andy says. “She was harder to understand than Boris from James Bond.” If this class is mandatory, make sure you can take the same course with a different professor.

Situation 6: Your friends aren’t in the class

Sounds pre-collegiette, right? However, some people do schedule their classes to correspond with their friends’. While sitting next to your BFF during Spanish sounds like fun, dropping a class just to be with your friends is kind of silly. Chances are you’ll be more focused without your friends showing you the latest Her Campus article during your lecture! Just because you’re taking a class by yourself doesn’t mean you have to rock the lone wolf status for long. Take this opportunity to make some new friends. Nothing’s better than having a new person to wave to on campus!

Situation 7: Your class is nothing like you expected

Although getting into that British history class was like competing in The Hunger Games, you’re a little disappointed now that you’re enrolled. Maybe it’s because the class’s roster lacks Peeta Mellark’s name, or maybe it’s because you don’t get to learn about The Beatles; regardless, your eyes are glued to the clock every single class period. You’re tempted to drop this class and see if Mr. Mellark magically makes an appearance in a different class, but don’t kiss this course goodbye just yet. “You shouldn’t drop a class immediately because it doesn’t cover precisely what you were expecting,” Sabovik says. “You never know when a class will spark a new interest.” No class is perfect, so it’s important to make the best out of a less-than-amazing situation. Besides, your enviable romance with Peeta can wait until next semester.

So you decided to drop a class… now what? If the dropping debate isn’t confusing already, you do have some more options! And what collegiette doesn’t have a love-hate relationship with options? Instead of dropping a class and calling it a day, talk to your professor and see what’s best for your situation.

Pass/Fail: Whether you’re overloading this semester or are dealing with personal issues, scoring that stellar GPA can be Mission: Impossible. If you explain your situation to an academic adviser or professor, they may offer a pass/fail option. Translation? Instead of receiving a letter grade, you will either pass the course or fail it. Although you’ll still have to work for your grade, you can relax knowing that your C+ won’t jeopardize your grad school application.

Changing a class: While “Philosophy of Sports” is less-than-thrilling, maybe “Philosophy of Race and Ethnicity” will be more up your alley. If you’re not interested in the course’s specific subject, ask your professor if they have any other recommendations that still fill the requirement you need. You may end up still liking philosophy after all!

Auditing a class: Even though you’re an economics major, you’re secretly a movie buff. But between your part-time job and all your extracurriculars, you just don’t have the time to write a detailed film analysis. When you audit a class, you’re taking a class for pure enjoyment, not for credit. Huh? Auditing a class means that you don’t have to write papers or take exams. I know what you’re thinking—why can’t we audit all our classes? If you’re interested in auditing a class, talk to your academic adviser for more details, like if the class will show up on your transcript or not. Once you’ve decided to audit the class, stop by the course’s respective academic department to solidify your decision. Since you won’t receive any college credit, make sure you’re actually passionate about the subject, because you’re still required to attend each class.

Before you officially drop a class, it’s important to get a crash course in your school’s academic policies. Most schools have a deadline for dropping classes and anything after the school’s designated date is a “withdrawal fail,” which doesn’t look cute on your transcript. If you do decide to drop a class, you also need to make sure that you’re taking at least the minimum amount of classes to be a full-time student. Still confused? Talk to your academic adviser. In the meantime, you have some decisions to make!

With all the practice they're getting, protesters seem to be becoming increasingly creative. We’d thought we’d seen it all, but we were clearly wrong because modern day activists have totally evolved past prehistoric protest methods like petitions and sit-ins.

 Nearly 100 protesters marched outside the White House, all dressed in inflatable dinosaur suits, The Hill reports. And, no, it wasn’t a march for tyrannosaurus's rights.

The activists, representing the Service Year Alliance, didn’t just wear their dino suits for attention — though they kind of did. As Inverse reports, the activists went all Cretaceous on the White House to protest President Donald Trump’s proposed budget cuts on national service programs, such as the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps.

A spokesperson for Service Year Alliance, Aly Ferguson, told USA Today, “While dinosaurs are fun, national service extinction is a serious matter.” Extinction of any kind is a detrimental issue. Killing national service has many negative implications: Seeing as AmeriCorps consists of approximately 80,000 U.S. citizens who volunteer their time and service to help other U.S. citizens, depleting the AmeriCorps budget would mean less of those people would get the help that they desperately need. 

After all, non-profit service organizations, like the AmeriCorps, help disaster-stricken areas and impoverished areas. Without national service, impoverished areas in the U.S. could become even more impoverished —which obviously is not moving in the right direction to “make America great again.”

See as the whole point of a protest is to get your cause noticed so you can gain supporters, the Service Year Alliance took it upon themselves to make the inflatable dinosaurs the official mascot of their cause. The protesters are urging U.S. citizens to sign their petition to “stop national service extinction.” While it’s obvious that the protesters’ passion for justice will never go extinct, we hope that national service programs won’t be endangered for long.

Labor Day weekend is almost upon us. Of course, that means cookouts galore, the last few summer afternoons on the lake and a major opportunity to save some serious cash on all your favorite brands with some killer holiday weekend deals.

Here's just a few of the sales that can help you fill out your fall wardrobe and snag those last few things off your summer wishlist without breaking bank: 

1. Beyond Yoga - Up to 75% Off Sale Items

I for one will be stocking up on all things athleisure. 

2. Silver Jeans - 15% Off Your First Order 

We all need a few new pairs of jeans for fall. Why not invest in some you'll wear all season? Not to mention they have pretty much every cut and wash imaginable — it's denim heaven.

3. ASOS - Up to 70% Off Summer Clearance 

What's a better way to say goodbye to summer than with a major clearance sale? With this one you can get all the pieces you need for one last summer hoorah. Plus, you can use the code "MORESALE" for an extra 10 percent off your purchase! 

4. Puma - 25% Off Your Purchase 

A sale like this will definitely feed your shoe addiction — but, like, look at them?

5. Free People - Additional 25% Off Sale Items 

This is a guaranteed way to up your boho, wood nymph #aesthetic this autumn. 

6. Smoke x Mirrors - $25 Off with Code "Laborday25" 

Just because it's fall doesn't mean you don't still need your sick shades. Luckily, you can buy two frames, and you'll get $50 off your purchase with the code "Laborday50" too. 

7. Milly - 30% Off Sale Items with Code "LABORDAY17"

Along with tons of on-trend pieces, Milly also has some great options for semi-formal season! It never hurts to plan ahead. 

8. H&M - Up to 60% Off + Free Shipping 

As if I needed another reason to go to H&M. 

9. ModCloth - 25% Off Everything

It's not too late to finally snag that bikini you've been eyeing all summer! 

10. Nordstrom - Up to 40% Off 

That Fall 2017 designer collection, though...

Happy shopping and happy saving, collegiettes! 

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Lush Cosmetics announced via Instagram on Monday that they will be discontinuing a bulk of the fan favorite products—and people are understandably upset over the news. 

What's really confusing is almost all of the products being discontinued are best-sellers, like the Fizzbanger and Frozen bath bombs and the Needles And Pines Shower Jelly . So why would Lush discontinue amazing products that have been selling out since the company first opened its doors?

"As our inventors create products that are more effective, more eco-friendly or more enjoyable for our customers, we need to make room for these new inventions on our shop shelves," the company's explained the sudden change on their website. "So, although discontinuations are always a little sad, they ultimately result in waves of innovative, creative products that will become your new favorites."

And in true millennial fashion, Lush die-hards took to social media to complain and mourn the loss of their faves with some hilarious memes and tweets. 

The whole situation is bitter-sweet, but you still have time to stock up on your old favorites before they are discontinued forever. You can read and weep over all of the products that are going to be taken off of the shelves (and the few things you can online-only) on the Lush website.

Let's be real here. We've all done something pretty embarrassing in an attempt to flirt with a guy. However, if it's any consolation, Bella Thorne may have just taken the cake in what is one of the biggest flirting fails ever—with Cole Sprouse, nonetheless!

So, what exactly went down here? Apparently, Cole posted a photo to Instagram that caught Bella's eye. So what's a girl to do? Slide into his DMs, of course!

Bella sent the photo in a DM to his account followed by a simple "wow." But it turns out, it wasn't Cole's account! 

Yup. Bella worked up the courage to slide into the DMs of a fan account rather than the real Cole Sprouse's account, and the fan account owner took to Twitter with the receipts.

Damn. If Bella has taught me one thing, it's definitely to double check *everything* before pressing send!

In the midst of all the devastation and havoc that Hurricane Harvey is causing, at least there's one (furry) speck of light we can all hang onto. Over a dozen dogs that were once on the 'kill-list' at various shelters are now saving people's lives in Houston, as Mashable reports. 

Partnered with K9 units deployed to the area, these dogs were given a second-chance at life and are now on the front lines searching for missing persons left behind in the floods. Our heroes! 

In Rocket's case, as Mashable notes, his "unwanted obsessive behavior" led his shelter to schedule him for euthanasia. But luckily, the border collie mix was found and adopted by the Search Dog Foundation, a group that rescues dogs from kill shelters in hopes of training them and eventually placing them with local K9 units. As is the case with many of these dogs, their 'negative' behaviors actually constitute a great advantage and resource for search and rescue mission operators to utilize.

(Full disclosure: My dad, Brian Biggerstaff, is a K9 officer for the state of North Carolina and he himself remarked on his experiences working with dogs just like Rocket. He said: "If given a chance, some of these dogs can accomplish great tasks. A lot of the time, the search and rescue k9s don't get the credit they deserve." And they do deserve that credit.)

And, luckily for Rocket and his handler Mike Stornetta, this photogenic and heroic pup is getting nothing but good publicity.  

You might not want to believe it, but senior year is quietly sneaking up around the corner. It all feels a little surreal right now, but once senior year does hit, things get all too real—everyone will be scrambling to find a job, juggling schoolwork and trying to squeeze in every last possible bit of fun before entering the daunting adult world all at the same time. Talk about a full plate!

Instead of frantically scrambling to put together a resume during job-hunting season, you can get a head start now before entering the chaos that is senior year. Check out these five things to have on your resume by your final year of college so you'll be all set to impress those employers by the time recruiting season starts!

1. Internships

As college students, we just can't seem to escape all the buzz about internships, and rightly so. In today's competitive job market, internship experience is a must-have, and employers will have their eyes peeled for the word "intern" when they scan your resume. Ideally, work to score an internship the summer following your junior year. And if you've had additional internship experience from the previous summer or during the academic year, all the better.

"Employers expect to see internships on a resume because this says you have some experience in the professional world," Martin Yate, author of Knock ‘em Dead – Secrets & Strategies for First-Time Job Seekers, says. "Internships give you experience, credentials, connections, a stronger resume and references. This is why nine out of 10 entry-level jobs go to candidates with internship history. [Internships are] the ticket to a good entry-level job out of college and a fast career start.”

Remember, the internships don't actually have to be paid to make a difference on your resume, because it's the experience that counts! What's valuable about an internship isn't so much how lucrative or competitive it is rather than the experiences and learning you take away from it.

Tina Sims, who runs a resume-writing service for military members, spouses and federal employees, agrees that internship experience will give resumes an extra boost. "Many employers use a scanning technology to weed out applicants," Sims says. "This scanning technology is looking for keywords relevant to the position, and while a college student may not have the paid experience, the scanner is only looking for the vocabulary, not whether the experience was gained while employed."

Internships seem to have become the new entry-level jobs, so if you haven't already, it's high time to go out there and get some real-world experience! There are plenty of resources just a mouse click away, like InternMatch and Lauren Berger's InternQueen.com, so what are you waiting for?

2. Other work experience

Internships aren't the only way to spruce up your resume before senior year comes around; other work experience, like part-time jobs and seasonal jobs, can also be valuable! From being a TA during the semester to working part-time at the coffeehouse down the street, work experience is work experience no matter what form it comes in, even if it isn't exactly related to your future career plans. And you can start building it up now!  

"Work experience, even unrelated to the field of study or future pursuits, should be noted on the resume," resume writer and career coach Jan Melnik says. "For internships and work experiences, key contributions/areas of responsibility/accomplishments should be noted, leading off with verbs."

So whether you're working away in a tall office building somewhere or working in retail at a local boutique, any job that you have now will not only help you prepare for the real world, but will also be one more thing you can add to your resume. 

3. Extracurricular activities

Is there a cause that you're super passionate about? Maybe an organization you’ve been helping out or a club you like dedicating your time to? You can make a difference, have fun and improve your resume all at the same time by pursuing extracurricular activities like volunteering.

Volunteer positions and side gigs are all fair game and will help paint a clearer picture of your abilities, character and potential for the employers. By senior year, it's good to have a number of activities besides internships in order to demonstrate how responsible and capable you are. Definitely work with what you've got!

If your extracurricular work doesn't seem to relate to your field, pick and choose the ones that are the most relevant to the position you're applying to, whether it's because of the skills you've learned, because it demonstrates qualities such as teamwork or because it shows familiarity with certain aspects of the job. These entries can be included in the Community/Volunteerism/Extracurricular section of your resume, which usually comes after your Education and Professional Experience sections.

4. Work accomplishments

With your newfound job or internship also comes an opportunity that you didn't have before—the chance to make some work accomplishments! You've got your awards, academic honors and leadership roles, but including work accomplishments on your resume will make you especially stand out to potential employers. While anyone can list off tasks and duties that she's completed, not everyone can say that she went above and beyond the call of duty.

 "While the tasks and duties that you have completed are important to show your experience, the accomplishments you have achieved are much more telling of the kind of employee you will be," Sims says. "An employer may be considering two candidates who have the same experience, but the one who will stand out is the one who went beyond that experience and earned recognition for their willingness to take on additional duties or complicated projects."

Of course, accomplishments don't have to have been officially recognized. According to Sims, they could be as simple as solving a problem, streamlining processes, saving money or saving time. If you feel like you took the extra step and made a difference for your employers, consider including that with the rest of the job description for a certain work experience entry on your resume.

"It's no longer enough to simply do the work you are assigned; You always want to be thinking about how you can do more," Sims says. "The job market is very competitive now and requires one to always be striving to make a difference, to stand out above the competition. If your resume is one in a stack of 500, you will want to be sure you have really articulated your skills, abilities, accomplishments and experiences as professionally and concisely as possible."

So take pride in your work, don't be afraid to go the extra mile and show those potential employers that you've got that extra little something!

5. A professional online presence

With the undeniable presence of the Internet and social media in basically everything we do, it should come as no surprise that employers are now more inclined to check out your online presence when hiring. For you, that means establishing an online presence in the first place. From the professional networking site LinkedIn to potentially more creative sites like WordPress, having a strong profile online that showcases your work and skills is a fantastic way to stand out.

"Each student should have created a full LinkedIn profile—free account is fine!—and customize their URL that is also included in resume header," Melnik says.

According to Melnik, your LinkedIn URL can go right along with your contact information at the very top of your resume. In addition, make sure to include one good phone number with a professional voicemail that provides your full name for callers, as well as a professional-looking email address. Not only will this make you seem serious about the job, it will also make it easier for the resume reader to get a sense of who you are with one quick glance, which is always good considering how many resumes he or she has to go through!

Basically, it all boils down to showing the employers that you have a strong track record. You need to convince the hiring managers that you're trustworthy and totally worth it. Luckily, you can start building a good reputation for yourself now, so that once job-hunting season comes around senior year, you'll be ready to sweep everyone off their feet!

Ah, puberty. It's a time for discovery, growth, and...objectification? Growing Up for Boys, a guide to puberty written Alex Frith seems to think that's just part of the experience — and after some blow-back, the publisher behind the book has pulled it. 

It all started when Simon Ragoonanan, the U.K. parent blogger behind Man vs. Pink, stumbled across this less-than-scrupulous section of the book about the purpose of boobs— and took to Twitter with his frustration at its message:

Frith did get the "feeding babies" thing right about breasts, but that's about it. The part about how they're also there to "make the girl look grown-up and attractive" though? Not so much. (Like, in what realm is it good or helpful to present anyone — especially young boys—with the notion that a part of a person's body's purposes include being built for sexual gratification? It's more than a little bit mind boggling.)

And, of course, Ragoonanan and Twitter did do the good work of mocking this little bit of sexism. 

Thankfully the publisher, Usborne, has decided to pull the guidebook out of circulation, as Jezebel reports, and will not be producing any more stock with that booby bit in it.

In response to the public's ire, they released a statement apologizing for the tone-deaf delivery. PerThe Guardian: 

 “This particular chapter aimed to explain and demystify to boys what girls go through at puberty, and to promote mutual respect and understanding. Again, we are very sorry indeed for any offense this may have caused."

Not much of an apology, but it's better than nothing. 

No matter if you’re a freshman in college, or you’re beginning your senior year, it seems that certain anxieties are just unshakeable at the start of each semester. Where will you sit on the first day of class? Why can’t you understand what your professor is saying? How do you ALREADY have three chapters of reading due next week? Here are 15 new semester anxieties that have plagued the minds of each and every one of us at some point or another.

1. Checking your roster 400 times to make sure you're going to the right classroom

Because even if you've been in this building a billion times, you never know if they magically rearranged it while you were on break...

2. Awkwardly searching the room for the perfect seat not too close to the front, but also not too far from the back

*Avoids eye contact* "Excuse me, uh, sorry, uh, can I just, ummmm, squeeze by you real quick?"

3. Worrying that (even though you JUST quadruple-checked) somehow you still ended up in the wrong room & *gulp* you're about to sit through the completely wrong class

"Oh my god. I'm in the wrong place. This isn't my class. This. TOTALLY. Isn't. My. Class. Everyone's looking at me. This is it. This is the end. Goodbye world." 

4. Oh no, not the dreaded ice-breakers!!

Please, professor, I would MUCH rather sit in silence, do my work and leave. Is that really too much to ask for?!

5. Did the professor just mention group projects...?

BRB, time to go drop the class.

6. Spending your life savings on "mandatory" textbooks you'll probably use one time

Well... there goes ten gazillion dollars you'll never see again.

7. Preparing for class & STILL having no idea what your professor is talking about...

"It's two weeks into the semester and I'm already behind. Is it too late to drop out of college and become a housewife?" (Kidding.)

8. Thinking about your full-time course load, your part-time job and your internship combined, and wondering if you'll ever have free time again.

Days off are actually a thing!? I thought those were a myth!

9. Contemplating if you picked the right major...

Because is there even a job for [INSERT ANY & EVERY MAJOR THAT EXISTS]???

10. On that note, contemplating every single life choice you've made up to this point

Is it too late to just, you know, give up?

11. Needing an adult's help, then realizing that you're supposed to be one of those now?

"But I'm just a child!!!" says the 20-year-old collegiette with her own apartment, job and car.

12. Realizing that you will inevitably become the broke college student you worked all summer to avoid becoming

Ten years from now, it won't matter that you were cold, broke and hungry...right?

13. Accepting that it will probably––actually, most definitely be a long time before you have an amazing, home-cooked meal again

Ramen counts as a vegetable, right?

14. Stressing that every single one of your classmates probably has his or her life a lot more together than you do

What happened to we're all in this together!?

15. Because, WTF are you even doing with your life anyway?

"This semester I will abosulely get my life together!" You tell yourself... every semester.

Like many other campuses across the nation, Rochester Institute of Technology began the new school year with a presentation to incoming freshmen about preventing sexual assault and rape on campus - which would be all well and good, except for when things took a not-so-great turn when the presentation encouraged students to masturbate to prevent sexual assault.

The Cut reports that during the presentation, which was called "Alcohol and Chill" and given to 2,800 members of the freshman class at orientation, students were told to imagine consent as a traffic light. If they got a red light, a.k.a. a "no" from their partner, they were told to stop and R.O.O. meaning, "rub one out." Yikes.

Obviously, people were not happy when the presenter reportedly told them, "Self-gratification can prevent sexual assault." (Which is basically a gross oversimplification of a very complex issue.) Not to mention that the slide makes light of what to do when someone withdraws consent, instead of giving freshmen actual advice for how to handle such a situation - especially when we know that sexual assualt often isn't about sex at all, but power.

"It made me very scared to say that I have experienced sexual assault," one female student who chose not to be identified told The Cut. "Because now I get the impression that people on campus think it is a joke. I am concerned that if I ran into an issue like that again, or want to talk about my previous experience that it wouldn't be treated as a serious issue by administrators."

Meanwhile, RIT president David Munson has since issued an apology for the presentation, saying in a statement, "We apologize to anyone who was offended by a slide that was included in our new student orientation. While we are committed to having open and frank conversations on these important topics, we pledge to take such sensitivities into account in any future programs."

With the drop of her long-awaited makeup line Fenty Beauty only a week away, Rihanna is finally spilling some deets about what we'll be able to get our hands on on release day - and her first ad for Fenty Beauty is proof that the line is going to be worth all the waiting.

After one fan asked her to "spill the tea" on Friday, RiRi granted her wish and blessed us all with a killer video campaign featuring the brand's soon-to-be-released lip gloss.

The campaign features a super diverse cast of models rocking the lip gloss, including Slick Woods, Duckie Thot Paloma Elsesser, Selena Forrest and Halima Aden (who you may remember from her killer Allure cover), Cosmopolitan reports. And from the looks of it, the stuff is going to be shiny.

RiRi also gave us a sneak peek at some #ShadeNames, which according to another teaser, include Chili Mango, Trophy Wife, Yacht Life, and Confetti.

Obviously, we knew it was going to be good (it is Rihanna after all), but this is better than our beauty-obsessive selves could have ever imagined. Is it September 8th yet?

Sponsored by Office Depot and OfficeMax stores.

It’s a weekday morning and you’re still in bed. After hitting snooze for the fourth time, you check the clock and realize you have to be sitting in your 10 a.m. discussion section in approximately 15 minutes. Oh, and that discussion section is across campus. Whether you went out the night before, stayed up until 4 a.m. studying, or are just plain exhausted, getting out of bed at this moment seems like the last thing you want to do. But instead of disappearing under your duvet, try these tips that’ll help you sleep in as late as possible and still make it to class.

1. Create a daily to-do list

Is anything more stressful than waking up late, scrambling to get ready and attempting to remember everything on your agenda that day? It’s overwhelming to say the least. That’s why we recommend finding a cute notebook — we love the Office Depot Brand Fashion Stellar Notebooks available at Office Depot and OfficeMax stores or online — for writing out all of your major tasks, projects and assignments in advance. Spend 10-15 minutes before bed each night to review the next day’s high-priority items; that way you can set your mind at ease and get extra sleep in the a.m. You can even add a reminder of items to bring to class the next day so you’re uber-prepared. 

2. Prepare your hair

Nobody likes waking up with bedhead, but if you want to save time on a morning shampoo and condition, prepare your locks the night before. Whether that means putting your hair in braids, curlers or straightening it, style your hair so that it can with stand your tossing and turning. Better yet, invest in a silk pillowcase. It will keep your hair healthier while toning down the overnight frizz.

3. Pick out an outfit the night before

We collegiettes can waste tons of time in the morning just deciding what to wear. Check the weather for the next day and lay out your entire outfit, down to the shoes, bra, underwear and jewelry. You can slide right into your clothes in record time without having to think twice — just maybe skip on those ultra-skinny jeans that take five minutes to squeeze into.

4. Pack your bag

This one seems pretty obvious, but often times when pre-packing a backpack — like this adorable HIGH SIERRA one, available at Office Depot and OfficeMax stores or online — there are always a few things you might forget. Run through your schedule the night before, making sure you have all of your home work, gadgets and pens in there. There’s nothing worse than getting to class and realizing you forgot to print out the worksheet.

5. Eat breakfast on the go

Although tons of college students tend to skip out on this “most important meal of the day,” keep your stomach from rumbling in chem lab and pack a granola bar, bag of nuts or to-go cereal in your bag to munch on while you walk to class. If you can’t function without your morning caffeine fix, buy to-go cups and hit start while you’re brushing your teeth so your cup of fuel will be ready for you to sprint out the door.

6. Get to class quickly

Tons of campuses have sneaky routes and shortcuts that will shave minutes off of your trip to class. Explore some different paths to class before deciding which one is the quickest — even if it does mean cutting behind fraternity dumpsters. Throw in a pair of headphones, like the JLab JBuds Metal Earbuds from Office Depot and OfficeMax stores or online, and let your favorite podcast keep you company on your walk.

No matter if you’re looking for a later wake-up time or additional beauty rest, these hacks from Office Depot and OfficeMax stores will help you rest easy. Sweet dreams, collegiettes!

Classes are back in session, the leaves are about to change color and the weather is getting cooler, but don’t let the autumn chill take the sizzle out of your love life! There are tons of amazing date opportunities for the fall months that won’t break the bank. Her Campus presents 15 fun and free date ideas for fall.

1. Make “His and Hers” scarecrows

Making scarecrows isn’t just for farmers with a pesky bird problem, it can be a great way to show off your creativity and bond with your guy. First, raid your closets for a scarecrow wardrobe. No plaid? No problem. Any old outfit will do! Once you pick the outfits, stuff the clothes with hay, old newspapers or leaves until the scarecrows are nice and plump. Then, tie the ends of the sleeves and pant legs with rubber bands or ribbons. Stuff a plastic bag or old pillowcase with leaves for the head and don’t forget to give your scarecrow a face with markers or paint. Add an old hat or some ribbons for hair to complete the dashing duo. Some of our favorite scarecrows were the non-traditional type, like this adorable pair of on a tandem bike. Now you’ll have a perfect scarecrow couple!

2. Bike through the fall foliage

Hop on your bikes to enjoy the crisp autumn air, the beautiful foliage and the sound of crunchy leaves beneath your wheels. Not only is riding your bike a great source of exercise, but you’ll both feel more relaxed and at one with nature as well. Whether you bike through a local park or just around campus, you’re sure to enjoy the scenic ride on this great outdoorsy date.

3. Go on a hayride

Lots of farms have free apple or pumpkin picking hayrides where you just pay for the produce at the end. If you’re not looking to drop the cash for the fruit, sit back, relax and enjoy the hayride together. Afterwards, walk hand-in-hand taking a romantic stroll through the orchards and simply enjoy each other’s company.

4. Visit a haunted house

Face your fears and visit a free haunted house in your area. Link arms and try not to make fun of your guy if he gets more scared than you do! If you can’t find any free haunted houses in your area, consider organizing your own haunted house or volunteering as a “scarer.” Sometimes it can be more fun to be on the other end of the fright!

5. Carve or paint pumpkins

If you have some pumpkins, why not channel some creativity and carve or paint them? There are plenty of free designs for pumpkin carving that are available online. Click here for some great templates! And don’t forget to roast the seeds in the oven for a tasty snack!

6. Midnight bonfire

Use a fire pit to build a romantic bonfire. Roast marshmallows, look at the stars and enjoy each other’s company in the great outdoors. For instructions on building a bonfire, click here. If you’re stuck on campus and don’t have access to a real fire, browse YouTube for a crackling fire video and pop some s’mores in the microwave for a relaxing evening in.

7. Monster movie marathon

Get in the Halloween spirit by checking out Hulu’s scary movie selection and pick some frightening flicks to watch together. Horror movies give you the perfect opportunity to snuggle up close. If the bone-chilling gore becomes too much, you can always turn off the flick and let things heat up between you and your guy.

8. Read ghost stories

Head to your campus library and check out some creepy ghost stories. Cuddle up under a warm blanket and take turns reading the tales aloud to each other. Add candlelight for a romantic yet spooky touch! If you like your scary stories to have a modern flair, read the scary urban legends together by the glow of your laptop.

9. Post-Thanksgiving picnic in the park

Enjoy those Thanksgiving leftovers by planning a romantic lunch in the park with him. Pack some turkey sandwiches and pumpkin pie in a picnic basket and take along a blanket to enjoy your meal amongst the lovely foliage. You can cozy up and give thanks for the wonderful man in your life.

10. Conjure up some treats

Get out the flour, butter and sugar and whip up some delicious desserts. After you’re done baking some Halloween cookies or cupcakes, get creative with the frosting–things will be heating up in no time! Check out these spellbinding recipes:

• Batty Cupcakes
• Halloween Brownie Bites 
• Candy Corn Sugar Cookies 
• Pumpkin Cookies with Brown Butter Icing
• Halloween Blondies
• Candy Corn and Pretzel Bark

11. Visit a fall festival

Lots of towns host free fall festivals complete with live entertainment, food and activities. Check to see if there are any fall festivals in your area. Strolling through a fair arm-in-arm with your guy will make for a great autumn date.

12. Go trick-or-treating

Embrace your inner child and go house-to-house with your guy to score some sweets. If he’s convinced that you’re too old for trick-or-treating, suggest going to a Halloween store or thrift shop to try on some crazy costumes. For extra fun, make it a contest to see who can find the most ridiculous costume–loser has to make dinner for the winner!

13. Get crafty

Scour Pinterest for some fun Halloween crafts you can make with your man. Grab some glitter, markers, construction paper and glue and get those creative juices flowing. Some of our favorite Pinterest crafts include:

• Glitter Webs
• Halloween Button Art
• Ribbon Wreath 
• Paper Cup Spiders
• Halloween Lanterns

14. Volunteer together

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, what’s a better time to do some good? Visit a local animal shelter or soup kitchen and volunteer together. You’ll both feel good about giving back to the community, and seeing your guy play with puppies or donning an apron to serve food to the needy will be enough to melt your heart.

15. Pick your own apples (and cook up recipes)!

What’s more synonymous with fall than the crisp smell of apples in the air? Hop in the car and visit your local orchard and make a day trip out of it. Tour the farm, sip some cider and nibble on some cider donuts (delicious)! Check out some of these other apple recipes to make together!

What fall date ideas do you have? Let us know in a comment below!

People are still reeling over Taylor Swift’s announcement of a new album, Reputation, and intensely analyzing the hidden messages in her music video for “Look What You Made Me Do.” After teasing another new single during ESPN coverage of a college football game, the singer has now dropped the song “Ready For It," which is styled as "...Ready for it?." Swift’s certainly making up for over two years of no new music!

Entertainment Weekly reports that “Ready For It” focuses on the beginning of a new relationship and a person’s knowledge of both sides’ reputations beforehand. The song introduces an intense, rap-like style that is definitely new to Swift, although the chorus is presented a little more lightly than the rest of the song. I don’t know about you, but the refrain actually sounds a bit like “old Taylor” to me!

On Twitter, fans are praising Swift for pulling off another out-of-the-blue reveal and maintaining this new, fiercer persona. Within hours of the song's release, it also took over the top spot on the iTunes best-selling chart, replacing "Look What You Made Me Do."

Of course, it wouldn't be the day a new Swift song is released without the fan theories. ELLE has already published a piece suggesting that "Ready For It" is an ode to her latest relationship with Joe Alwyn. Her lyrics "Knew he was a killer / First time that I saw him" appear to reference photos of Swift leaving a screening for a movie in which Alywn literally played a killer. That's enough sleuthing to convince me that this theory could be true!

With just two months to go until the full release of Reputation, I think we should expect another new song or two in the next few weeks. 

It’s an American custom for an exiting president to leave behind a letter for his successor. Although President Donald Trump has previously acknowledged former President Barack Obama for leaving a message for him on Inauguration Day, the contents of the letter were initially unknown. Now, Obama’s letter has gone public after CNN obtained a copy of his words to Trump. Fair warning: if you were missing Obama before, reading this letter will probably make those feelings worse.

Obama left the new president with four noteworthy pieces of advice, beginning with a reminder that both men have been very fortunate in their lives and basically need to pay it forward. He wrote. "It's up to us to do everything we can [to] build more ladders of success for every child and family that's willing to work hard."

Obama then emphasized how lucky both men are to be American citizens and contribute to the country, albeit temporarily. "American leadership in this world really is indispensable," Obama remarked. "It's up to us...to sustain the international order that's expanded steadily since the end of the Cold War, and upon which our own wealth and safety depend."

"Third, we are just temporary occupants of this office," the message continued. "Regardless of the push and pull of daily politics, it's up for us to leave those instruments of our democracy at least as strong as we found them."

Obama's last tidbit of wisdom is a great reminder of why he and his family often felt so relatable even while in the White House. "Take time, in the rush of events and responsibilities for friends and family," he advised Trump. "They'll get you through the inevitable rough patches."

CNN reports that Trump tried to get in contact with Obama on Inauguration Day after reading the letter, but the outgoing president was already traveling to California and couldn't be reached. A member of Obama's team eventually returned the call, but a Trump staffer simply said the president only wanted to say thank you for his message. Since the missed connection, the two men haven't spoken to or seen each other. However, Obama hasn't held back from commenting on the Trump administration, releasing a full statement about the Senate's new health care bill earlier this year. 

Obama's letter is longer than that of past presidents and, compared to letters from Bill Clinton and the Bushes, has more specific advice. If there's anything his letter proves, it's that Obama is just as classy as people have perceived him to be. Let's hope President Trump will give the letter a reread sometime soon.