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The Year I Discovered The Truth About New Year’s Eve

Melanie Abrahams — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 20:21:40 +0000

You’d better believe I was wearing one of these! | Source: Shutterstock

I was 19, and I knew this New Year’s Eve was going to be epic. My friend said she could get us into this 21 and over club, and I got the shortest, tightest, shiniest dress that I could find to wear for the big night. I knew something amazing was going to happen. Like, we’d meet someone famous and fall in love and suddenly end up being whisked off to Paris on their private jet. I mean, anything can happen at a Hollywood night club, right? Especially when you’re wearing the dress I was going to wear.

My hopes were more than high. I spent more than two hours getting ready, practicing my coolest dance moves and imagining what I’d say when that super dreamalicious guy approached me on the dance floor. Finally, we parked the car and wobbled into the club in our not-fitting-quite-right (but super chic, or so we thought) heels.

Were there a lot of people there? Yes. But were any of them . . . fabulous? Nope. It was just all the same people we’d seen at other clubs, wearing slightly more ridiculous looking outfits, and trying way to desperately to hit on everybody. After about 30 minutes of complete disbelief, my friend and I decided to ditch the idea of meeting anyone cool and started acting way goofy on the dance floor. We had an amazing time that night, but really only after we gave up our totally unreal New Year’s Eve expectations.

The thing is that December 31st really is just like any other day. Of course you can have an awesomely fun time, but I think you’re more likely to have a night to remember if you’re not expecting to. You know what I mean?

Do you think there’s too much pressure on New Year’s Eve? Tell us in the comments!

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Naked Pictures Can Kind Of Screw You Up

Melanie Abrahams — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 15:20:41 +0000

Don’t get pressured into it, girl! | Source: Shutterstock

Years ago, I used to help direct photo shoots for a teen magazine based in Los Angeles. It was a ton of fun to help suggest props or different poses for the models, the guy models were always super cute, and there was always amazingly yummy food to eat! I almost always knew everyone working on the set, but this one time, we hired a new photographer.

He was young and cute and seemed to really like talking to me during breaks when the models were putting on different outfits. He kept complimenting me on my hair and other things, but when you live near Hollywood, you kind of get used to people saying things just to be nice and learn to not take any of it too seriously. But near the end of shoot, he said he’d love to take pictures of me one day. That was flattering. I was used to helping hire the models–and now he wanted me to be one?! Holy cow.

It didn’t take long for the 19-year-old me to say “Hell yeah!,” but then this photographer told me he wanted to shoot naked pictures of me. Naked pictures?! Like without my clothes? Gulp. At first I almost turned him down flat–I knew taking naked pictures was a bad idea–but then I thought about the fact that he seemed to know a lot of people that I knew and trusted in the industry, and so I kept making excuses for why this must be okay . . . even though my gut was telling me it was all wrong.

We exchanged numbers and said we’d set up a date to do the photo shoot, but by the time I drove home, I knew I’d never actually take my clothes off for this dude. He did call–over and over for about a week, but I never called him back, and I feel good about that to this day. I mean, why was he calling so many times? Why was he so desperate to photograph me? Weren’t there other girls–real models, even–who he could photograph? Looking back, I feel like I seriously dodged a bullet.

Kate never wanted to take topless pics! | Source: Lia Toby/WENN.com

I hadn’t thought about all of that in a long time until I read what Supermodel Kate Moss told Vanity Fair about her topless modeling days back in the ’90s. Kate said she never wanted to take naked pictures: “But they were like ‘If you don’t do it, then we’re not going to book you again.’ So I’d lock myself in the toilet and cry and then come out and do it. I never felt very comfortable about it.”

And as for those super sexy Calvin Klein ads she was in with Marky Mark when she was 17 or 18, she says, “It didn’t feel like me at all. I felt really bad about straddling this buff guy. I didn’t like it. I couldn’t get out of bed for two weeks. I thought I was going to die.”

Freaky stuff, and just really sad. Girls, of course you can and should do what you want with your bodies (providing it’s legal and it’s really what you want to do!), but please, please, please listen to your instincts and say no to things and people that make you uncomfortable–whether it’s a professional photographer or some creepo stranger online. No matter what someone else promises you, your own self-worth and happiness are worth much more. I can promise you that.

Would you ever take naked pictures or topless pictures? Have you? Do you understand how some girls who do take these pictures aren’t “easy,” but just afraid to say no? Let’s talk about it in the comments!

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How To Deal With Sucking At School

Gurl — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 21:00:56 +0000

Grades! SAT scores! Getting into the right college! It’s enough to make any student totally stressed. And when you’re not academically inclined, the stress can be totally overwhelming and make you just want to give up. Here at Gurl, we never think giving up on school is the right choice. So, we asked Meg to come up with five ways to deal when you totally suck at school.

Are you worried about sucking at school? Do you feel a ton of pressure to get good grades? Let me know what’s going on in the comments!

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