The Glow Up

Chris Delaney

I've promised myself that this was going to be the year to finally buckle down. I'm a junior, and I’ve settled on a major. I've got focus and determination. The one thing I haven't figured out yet? How to deal with the massive crush I've been harboring on the guy in study carrel six. I don’t know his name, and some of my friends think it’s time for me to move on, but he has this whole sexy, broody, dark eyes and messy hair thing going for him. And yeah, he seems like he could be my polar opposite. The kind of unapproachable, serious type who doesn’t smile much, but I’d like to think he’s all rays of sunshine underneath his stormy expressions and disheveled demeanor. All that intense energy…I dig it. I want to know him.

The rub? I’ll have to find the courage to actually introduce myself.

Aiden Russo

The college experience is supposed to be parties, drinking, and fun with a few classes mixed in. It sounds pretty amazing, right? For me, it turned out to be endless lectures, avalanches of homework, and copious amounts of caffeine. The study carrel might as well be my dorm room. And that guitar under my bed? It's got two years of dust growing on it. But this is the life I have to lead if I’m ever going to help my dad. Pre-med isn’t for the weak.

The problem? Loneliness holds me hostage. If only I could find someone willing to break through my ever-present cloud bank, and remind me what it’s like to have fun again.