by Madeline Best

Two thousand six hundred and fifty seven pins. Fifteen boards. One girl. As I sit here trying to start my story, I find myself becoming distracted by, you guessed it, Pinterest. Like many other girls at STA, I have an account on the new, popular social media website Pinterest.

Over the past few months, my interest in Pinterest has grown from a fun way to waste time into a full-blown obsession. By my estimation, I spend about a solid hour on Pinterest everyday. Yes, I do realize I have a problem and no, I don’t care. It will start out innocent enough, telling myself I will only “pin” for a few minutes. Next thing I know, I’ve been sitting there for half an hour having already pinned 17 things. But hey, no shame. The way I see it, Pinterest is like a life organizer. That may sound a bit weird, but think about it. I can pin pictures of foods to make, clothes to buy and did I mention, plan my future wedding?

Here are some of my top reasons to use Pinterest:

1. Online shopping: Looking at clothes is probably the main reason I use Pinterest. Not only can I find new clothes for myself, but I can also find ideas for new outfits to wear. Many online fashion bloggers, like my personal favorites Blair Eadie and Sarah Vickers, have taken their websites to Pinterest and made it easier for users to “follow” and “repin” some of their best outfits. Seeing how others express their sense of style helps me find inspiration when I’m having one of those “I have nothing to wear” days. Pinterest also comes in handy during Teresian season because you can easily find hundreds of adorable dresses online from stores and websites you might not have found without the help of Pinterest.
2. Food and fitness: At any given moment on Pinterest, you will see dozens of pictures of amazing looking desserts and recipes to make, but Pinterest also gives users ideas for healthy and equally delicious recipes. Having ideas for healthy foods at the click of a button helps to make better choices when it comes to maintaining a balanced diet. Pinterest also has a “personal trainer” side to itself by letting users pin exercise routines and even ideas for music playlists to keep you upbeat while at the gym.
3. Decorating: Does your room need a makeover? Pinterest had thousands of ideas from how to organize your furniture to creative designs to paint on your walls. My personal favorite? Christmas lights. With multiple ways to hang them around your room, it can be cute and fun all year round. We all know what is coming in the near future, dorm rooms. With fun ideas on how to decorate and keep them as organized as possible, you can make sure your style shines through, even if you are limited to an extremely small space.
4. Humor: If you are ever in a bad mood, just go to Pinterest and look at their humor section and I promise you, you’ll be feeling better in no time. From 90s television jokes to the ever popular quotes of Mean Girls, there is something out there that will make everyone laugh. One of the best things about it? Because Pinterest is updated by people daily, there are always relevant pop-culture jokes about things like celebrities latest tweets or  jokes about last week’s television shows.
5. Planning your future: Yes, I know this might seem a little silly, but it’s never too early to start planning your wedding! Don’t pretend you don’t. I know you guys have boards devoted to your future weddings. I know I do. From dresses to cakes and color schemes, it’s fun to start figuring out what it is you want for that special day in the distant future. How else would I know I want a spring wedding? You are free to be as extravagant as you like and plan whatever it is you want, who’s to say there can’t be weddings in Antarctica?

There are endless possibilities of things to discover on Pinterest and I hope I’ve inspired you all to create your own boards…now go get pinning!