Throughout your mid-to-late 20s, your circle of friends may start to shrink. Don’t be alarmed. It’s as normal as  having to buy bigger bras when your old ones no longer fit. Trying on new bras can be uncomfortable and awkward at first, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing. ‘Cause after all, look at the amazing, huge bajungas you’ve gained — and the new brassieres to go along with ‘em!

Pictured: Eris LaMorte (Nicholas Sinatra)

If you’re wondering who is going to be the next Queen crowned (well, one day, at least) on RuPaul’s Drag Race, just look to the left. Introducing Eris LaMorte (born Nicholas Charles Sinatra), my fabulous drag queen friend who holds nothing back but loves unconditionally. I thought it would be a great idea if Eris shared a few of her witticisms with you. Write them on index cards and take them with you everywhere to remember who’s boss! Chances are, if you ask her to walk a mile in your shoes, she probably already has.

Photo credit: shadesofreverie

Most of the time, people mean well when they give you their opinion. But it doesn’t mean you have to take their advice. Actually, sometimes, when you do take their advice, you may wind up feeling even unhappier and emptier than if you screwed things up by listening to nobody but yourself. It’s all based on how you view the situation and how in tune you are with what you want. Sometimes we do need guidance and sometimes people have great advice to give. But this isn’t always the case. You must use your intuition and your own brilliance to realize a few things:

Photo credit: Danielle Holly Travali

Do you speed through sex, conversations, and meals? Do you pound the pavement as fast as you pound glasses of wine on a Friday night? Are you always in a hurry to keep up with friends and trends? If so, it’s time to think about slowing it down. Take time to stop and savor your life before you wake up to a nightmare!

Photo credit: Daehyun Park

So many of us go through life biting our tongues because we’re afraid of what people will do, think or say when we’re completely honest about how we feel and who we are. We lie not only to others, but mostly to ourselves. If you’re a “hold everything in” type of person, now’s the time to get comfortable with who you are and let it hang out.

Photo credit: Flickr User “epSos.de”

Oh, lovey. So, you want to do something exciting with your life! Congrats! You want to accomplish something awesome and make a difference in the world. Maybe it’s a new job you’re looking for–or a talent you’d like to sharpen and develop further. Okay, so what’s stopping you? Whip out your crayons and start drawing out the life you desire…and don’t be afraid to color outside the lines.

Before you get mad at me and tell me to shut up, let me explain the method to the madness. Because LORD knows I’m a social media maven who has been addicted to Facebook since it was for colleges only.

But…let’s face it: the Internet is an effing circus. There. I said it. From people bickering within the thread commentaries of a YouTube video or blog post to citizen journalist know-it-alls who gratuitously bash politicians, celebrities and people in the news without getting their facts straight, it’s no wonder we’re becoming an insanely depressed society that runs on tankfuls of drama. And yet we’re addicted to it.

And we’re ADDICTED to Facebook. Or as I like to call it, Fakebook. This, like many social networking platforms, may help you reconnect with your high school friends and share cat memes (I’m extremely guilty of this), but it can also create enemies over the dumbest minutiae. Just watch how many “friends” you lose during a presidential election campaign or football game if you so much as post a status about who you’re rooting for.

Don’t get me wrong; I log onto Facebook more often than I’d like (a.k.a. I refresh the page multiple times in an hour when I have nothing better to do). But sometimes, I need to take a little social media hiatus. Why? Because a) my eyes hurt from staring at the computer screen,  b) I crave human contact and c) My MacBook is currently broken.

Also, I get really sick of Facebook for a number of reasons. For one, people tend to easily say in our Facebook statuses what they wouldn’t normally be able to say to a person’s face. A little alcohol on a Saturday night doesn’t hurt, either. And today’s human beings seem to hold grudges in real life based on drunken or enraged Facebook rants which often are in no way related to how a person thinks or feels in real (or sober) life. It’s all a big fat facade. And there’s nothing any of us can do about it except to not take it seriously.

Photo credit: Terence Jones

I’ve always been an advocate of positive thinking, but sometimes, it really annoys me when people say “believe in yourself,” “follow your dreams” and “shoot for the moon.” These cliches make me roll my eyes and gag. What do people really MEAN when they talk about following your dreams and believing in yourself?

Photo credit: Flickr User pablogrb

When you read the phrase “shedding your skin,” do you think of microdermabrasion or weight loss? Well, that’s not what I’m talking about. Surprised? Good.

Photo credit: Glen Bowman

Although I was raised Italian-Catholic, I’m really not religious anymore. I’m just not into organized religion and I will never be again. Why? Because I’m very much an individual. I like to call myself spiritual — I have faith in a Higher Power that’s neither male nor female, but possesses both masculine and feminine energies. I believe there are nuggets of wisdom in all religions and that no single religion is better or more accurate than the others.

Pictured: Marc David                           Photo Credit: Marc David

Please take a few minutes to read the following online discussion I had with Marc David, a truly wonderful and inspiring human being who founded the Institute for the Psychology of Eating. His teachings have absolutely changed…and saved…my life. I have never met him in person, but if I did, I would run up to him and give him the biggest hug ever.

“Women in our culture are infected with a deep sense of: I’m not good enough, pretty enough, skinny enough, lovable enough. These toxic beliefs are way worse than any junk food we put into our bodies.” - Marc David, Founder of the Institute for the Psychology of Eating