Author: Emily Lakehomer

It’s summertime, which means popsicles, summer ales and flip-flops. Summer also means heat stroke, dehydration and exhaustion run rampant.

The world is a big place. As long as there have been people walking around, we’ve been exploring and procreating to further our society. Now we’re halfway through 2013, and our population is well into the billions.

For the last two years, I’ve been really lucky in terms of friendships. When I first moved to Portland, I was lucky enough to run into a really amazing young woman who also happens to be an engineering major. She and I are now best friends and share a cute little apartment in Southeast Portland.

So it’s finally June. The end is nigh. Lots of people are graduating and getting ready to leave school forever, or continue on with grad school, or jobs, or travel…you get the point. But let’s face the facts: When we go, we’ve got six months to prepare for a lifetime of paying off our student loans.

The first film I vividly recall watching is the original Star Wars. Every Sunday as a kid I’d come home from church and watch it with my parents. At some point they introduced me to the sequel, The Empire Strikes Back. I was enthralled with the film up until the scene where Darth Vader cuts Luke’s hand off. If that tidbit is a spoiler for anyone, I apologize (but also, it’s 2013 and if you haven’t seen Star Wars then you should reevaluate your life).

By now I think it’s safe to say that nearly every Portland State student knows the school’s stance on sustainability. Portland is one of the greenest cities in the country, so it makes sense that the state’s largest public university values green living as well.

Last Mother’s Day, multiple advocate groups for paid maternity leave traveled to Salem’s Capitol building with a message to legislators: Make Oregon more mom-friendly.

Early last month, news parody overlord The Onion was hacked. OK, that’s a little dramatic. What really happened was that “America’s Finest News Source,” notorious for its sometimes over the top, sometimes subtle, satire had its Twitter account hacked by the Syrian Electronic Army.

The news has been reporting that the economy is slowly on the mend. Unemployment is apparently lower than it’s been since 2008. Lots of good, positive things are happening all over. Generally awesome, yeah? Yeah.

There was a time when I hated wearing makeup. I didn’t enjoy the hassle of applying and then reapplying layers of foundation, bronzer, eyeliner and mascara. I still hate the idea of doing that over and over again, but last year I discovered eyebrow filler and, well, I’ve never been the same.

If you use social media in any way, chances are you’ve probably noticed a particular recent trend: The Great Gatsby. Now, as much as I’d like to write one, this isn’t an expose of Baz Luhrmann’s film adaptation of the great American novel. Or a commentary on why some people shouldn’t discount the film just because they say, “It was my favorite book in high school. I am so special for reading it in high school, you can’t possibly understand.”