Educated Guesses

Tag: books

  • “How to Giggle”: Giggly Guidance for 20-Somethings

    “How to Giggle”: Giggly Guidance for 20-Somethings

    It’s safe to say I’ve been having a giggly summer. I’ve been obsessed with Hannah Berner and Paige DeSorbo’s podcast “Giggly Squad” for about a year, and have recently been diving into their other projects –– even their seasons on “Summer House.”

    Other than listening to their podcast and watching them on reality TV, I was thrilled to read Berner and DeSorbo’s new book: “How to Giggle: A Guide to Taking Life Less Seriously.” While I began reading it because I am a huge fan of both of them, I didn’t realize how much I would relate to the duo’s post-grad struggles. This book is packed with laughs and advice for 20-somethings who are dating, starting a career and taking that next step.

    A Little Admin About “Giggly Squad”

    Berner and DeSorbo met on season 3 of “Summer House,” a Bravo reality show centered around a group sharing a house for the summer in the Hamptons. They instantly connected as the newbies of the house, especially when everyone else was fighting. Throughout their seasons, viewers saw them grow up –– watching as they both experienced ups and downs in their own friendships and relationships.

    While still on the show, the duo started “Giggly Squad” in 2020 as an Instagram livestream during the pandemic. As it grew, it eventually turned into a podcast in October of the same year.

    On “Giggly Squad,” Berner and DeSorbo reflect on their experiences dating, living in New York and building a career.

    Something that I love about “Giggly Squad” is that it sounds like two best friends who never run out of things to talk about. They switch from topic to topic, whether it’s pop culture related, relationship advice, decentering men or just chatting about their cats.

    But, this year, Berner and DeSorbo took over another form of media. On April 15, their book, “How to Giggle: A Guide to Taking Life Less Seriously,” launched. So of course, I had to read it.

    Why I Recommend

    While I won’t spoil anything, I can say that this book is filled with funny stories, unique chapters and just great older sister advice. Throughout the book, they discuss their own journeys to “Giggly Squad,” as well as Berner’s stand-up comedy career and DeSorbo’s fashion influence. They explain times when they learned lessons, had anxiety and practiced being “delulu.”

    As they tell their stories, they talk about their 20s with a lighthearted attitude –– explaining their struggles and mishaps using hilarious language and anecdotes.

    As someone who has just graduated and is trying to get a job in a creative industry, this book gave me so much guidance. Did this book convince me to get a cat once I move out? Yes. But, it also taught me that I need to give myself some grace when it comes to job rejections and trying new things. Navigating this year after college is scary, but it felt nice to read about Berner and DeSorbo’s anxieties in their 20s and how they conquered them.

    If you read “How to Giggle: A Guide to Taking Life Less Seriously,” let me know by emailing me: gingerlyons23@gmail.com!

  • One Last Weekend

    One Last Weekend

    This weekend, I am going back to my college apartment for the last time. My last month of rent has been paid and it’s time to move the rest of my things out. 

    I’ll dismantle my lamp with shelves that used to hold textbooks and college ruled notebooks. I’ll wipe down my bathroom mirror –– where my roommate and I used to write little notes to each other –– with Windex. I’ll take home the dirty toaster that my roommates and I used to make 2 a.m. pieces of toast with. I’ll dismantle our gold bar cart, with shot glasses and open bottles of liquor and leftover seltzer cans.

    I’ll take home all of my bed sheets, pillows and leftover winter clothes. My closet and dresser will sit empty, waiting to be used again in August by somebody else. My walls will be ready for the next college student to decorate them with Command Strips and their own photos. My own Command Strip residue will be all that remains.

    Each piece of me will be packed into my car, leaving the blank canvas of this apartment for someone else to fill in.

    The banner hanging in our living room from graduation will be taken home –– the pomp and circumstance lingering faintly. All the blue and white frosting has been gone for two months now. It’s been two months. Two months of something new and lonely and exciting and terrifying. Two months of being an adult.

    But, this weekend isn’t all sad. I’ll be back with my friends, laughing in the familiar lights of our college bars. I’ll wake up in my apartment this weekend, probably with half of my makeup still on and an urge to rot on the couch with an everything bagel surrounded by my friends. 

    I’ll feel the warmth of State College and its people, and maybe sit on a porch with summer country music blasting loudly. I’ll sit back and embrace that this was once home.

    In an incredibly uncomfortable time, it will be nice to feel a sense of home in the midst of job applications and a whole Google Drive folder full of cover letters.

    Just like the scene in “Gilmore Girls,” when Rory graduates from Chilton and Lorelai says to her, “it’s not so scary anymore.” While Penn State was once a big leap I took at 18, now at 22, I no longer feel the same nerves or doubt. 

    This weekend, I’ll feel joy about what happened here. I’ll smile as I say goodbye, and gently close this chapter –– one that I’ve spent so long writing, scratching through and editing. It is now, officially, finished. And thank god I got so many friends, memories and lessons from writing it.

    Let me know your thoughts, comments and questions by emailing me at gingerlyons23@gmail.com or typing down below.