the job search.

Yeah, you heard me, the job search. Myself, along with millions of other graduating college students throughout America are sitting down to our laptops and sending out our resumes to companies near and far hoping to strike a fancy with at least one to hear those words, "You're hired!" Or to at least see them in an email. However all we usually get, or at least all that I usually get is an automated response that says something along the lines of; "Thank you for your interest in Company X. We will review your application and contact you should your qualifications meet our needs." Awesome. Great. I take that as there is a one in a million chance I will ever hear back from you! But I just keep plugging away anyways because what else am I supposed to do? Yes, I can network but I only know so many people that I can reach out to and who knows if they will follow through or even have an opening or anything at all? But I have continued to do that anyways as well.

However, yesterday I was filling out another one of these monotonous applications, submitting my resume and cover letter as usual. but when I progressed to the next page I immediately was taken aback. The company asked me to respond to two questions which were: 'What is one of your accomplishments in PR/Communications that makes you proud?' And 'What inspires you?' I was thinking to myself, wow, for the firs time I am really going to be able to showcase a more personal side of me rather than just my bland resume and cover letter combination.  I was actually excited to respond to the questions; now I know that someone might not ever look at this application either but I still felt elated knowing that I could give them a better vision of who I am and why I would be a fit for their company. So below, I will list the answer to the first question which was 'What is one of your accomplishments in PR/Communications that makes you proud?'

"As a senior at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York, every major is required to take a capstone course. Although it does vary by every major, the Communications department is unique in that you get to cater your capstone project to exactly what you want it to be; whether it be start a blog, plan an event or film a documentary. For my capstone project, I formed a group with two classmates of mine and we started with the idea that we wanted to plan an event for a non-profit organization. We then were able to continue brainstorming and decided that we wanted to help the Alzheimer's Association since myself and one other girl each have family members with the disease and my third group member had interned the previous summer with the Connecticut chapter. It took a lot of hard work but we were able to put on the event in early November at our college. Our aim was to educate people our age about the disease and steps they could take now to prevent it later in life. We received support from local businesses and organizations such as Saint Francis Hospital, Alzheimer's Association Hudson Valley Chapter, Hudson Valley West Coast Swing Dancing and a local yoga instructor. We were able to drive home the idea to our fellow students that you could keep your brain healthy by doing easy activities such as yoga, dancing and simply eating the right types of food.

In addition, since all three of us were both dual concentrations of journalism and public relations, we decided to create a pamphlet that includes six intimate interviews we each conducted with people who either have relatives or close friends with Alzheimer's. It was inspiring for us to be able to conduct these interviews but also to share the pamphlet with our classmates as we did at our event.

Overall the event was a success even though it was small and we had evaluation sheets for students to fill out on their way out. One person wrote "my grandmother has Alzheimer's and I'm so happy you did this so I can learn more about it." That truly hit home for all three of us and really made all our hard work worth it and it has definitely been my proudest moment as a PR/Communications student."

Like I said this has been the one and only bright spot to the job search process so far and I hope to see more like this! In the mean time, anyone want to hire me? ;)

embracing 22.

Yesterday, March 21st, was my birthday and I turned 22. For awhile, I thought 22 seemed old. I mean, everyone tells you that after turning 21, it's pretty much all downhill after that. What other birthday milestones do you have to look forward to? None, really. Just ones that make you feel even older; 30, 40, 50...I don't even want to go past that. But, to be honest (and maybe this is a part of getting older) I know that I am still young and I still have a lot of new and exciting adventures ahead of me. Therefore I'm trying to stay positive and embrace this new age and all of the new things it will bring with it. This also may have to do with the fact that 21 was a solid age/year for me which is why I got the idea to start a tradition and try to think of at least 5-10 things that I loved or was excited about or something positive that happened within the last year to me and post them on this blog once a year around my birthday. So, here's the list for 21:

1) I spent the remainder of my time in London while I was abroad for a semester as a 21-year-old -- Now I know it may seem depressing to some that I didn't have a huge American bash as a newly minted legal drinker but you know what? I still had a really good time going out with my friends there and I wouldn't want it any other way.

2) I finally got to go to Paris -- London was a city that I sort of accidentally fell in love with. I never had had a pre-obsession with it like I did with NYC (see number 3) and Paris. My last name is French, I have a tattoo on the inside of my left wrist in French (vie d'amour which means love life) and I used to study French in middle and high school aka I have an obsession. When I finally booked the trip and left for Paris in early April last year I was elated. I think I teared up a bit when I first laid eyes on the Eiffel Tower. Just being able to be in that city was incredible and like most places I visited when I was abroad I hope to get back there someday soon.

3) I landed my first internship in NYC -- Since I was about 5 years old and knew that NYC existed I immediately became entranced by the lights, noise, the hustle and bustle. Once I went to NYC for the first time at the age of 15 it just fueled my desire for it even more. It was also a big factor in my decision to attend Marist, since I knew I would be at more of an advantage for career/internship opportunities in NYC. Needless to say, when I got my internship with Gita Group for the fall semester of 2010, I was ecstatic.

4) My mom got a job -- Unfortunately my mom became a statistic of the recession and was laid off in March of 2009. After a year of struggle, getting unemployment checks and applying day in and day out to jobs and barely getting any interviews she was finally hired in August of 2010.

5) I landed my second internship in NYC with Glamour magazine -- Sounds unreal right? It still seems unreal to me even though I have been interning here since January. This was one of those opportunities that pretty much fell into my lap through connections at Marist and I jumped at the chance to be here in the PR department. It has been a great learning experience thus far and I look forward to finishing up strong here in May.

6) I was able to visit my family in Texas -- My mom's sister lives out in Austin, TX with her husband, two daughters and their daughter's two kids. My one cousin Kristen had had her son Benjamin in November 2009 and as he was already a year old I was itching to get out there to meet him and of course see everyone else. I had not been to Texas since I had gone with my parents when I was about 12 years old or so. Thanks to my summer jobs, on a spur of the moment decision I booked a ticket for myself to head out there for a week in January and I'm really glad that I did.

7) I entered my senior year of college -- Why am I excited by this? Well I'm kind of half excited about this, some days I am fully excited but most days just half. Like I have said before in previous posts, part of me is going to be sad to leave my life at Marist but the other part of me is super excited to move on. This has truly been the most challenging, rewarding and fun year of my college career so I think it will be the perfect way to end my time at Marist.

8) I learned SO MUCH about myself -- Please bear with me, this is going to get cheesy/corny/lame/all of the above but I really can't say this in a 'cool' way. 21 kind of did a 180 to me and I really snapped out of  my shell. Don't get me wrong I wasn't some super-shy weirdo girl from the age of 1-20 but (and I think this had a lot to do with going abroad) this year really shifted me forward. I feel more comfortable in my own skin than I ever have in my entire life and it feels really good and I hope I can keep up this good attitude/confidence for the rest of my life.

Can't wait to see what 22 will bring!

"The Earth is what we all have in common."

Every now and then, no matter how hard I try, I get a little sad with the state of the world. Especially with the recent and ongoing tragedy that seems to be changing for the worse everyday in Japan, it has certainly burst my optimistic bubble at the moment and it has made me angry, upset, frustrated and any other emotion that goes in that category. My faith in humanity worsens even more so at times like these when I see "articles" on People.com entitled "How should Kate Middleton wear her hair for the Royal Wedding?" Really? At least put a link on your site, "Donate to relief efforts in Japan!" or something along those lines for at least a week or so on your homepage.

Celebrites, are people that I am fascinated with. I wouldn't call it an obsession but I do find myself regularly checking People and E! Online and keeping tabs on who's dating who or who's pregnant, dating, etc. However, with this mess happening overseas I feel like none of them are doing enough. Sure maybe there are some who are donating and not blasting through Twitter or Facebook that they are doing so which is admirable. But it's "celebrities" like the Kardashian sisters (they are like a train wreck to me, so bad I can't stop watching; hence why I follow them all on Twitter) who are pretty much famous for no reason yet blab on and on about "getting ready for a fun photoshoot!" Since you somehow have so much influence on your fans why don't you tweet at LEAST once a day about easy ways people can help relief efforts in Japan? I did see Khloe tweet about it once but how is that enough? Look at other ways. Adam Levine, the lead singer of Maroon 5 said it best in a tweet I saw of his earlier today: "Doesnt a five million dollar prize for the winner of X Factor seem a bit excessive? Couldn't we use that money for...hmm...ANYTHING else?" Another insightful tweet came from whoever commands the Lord Voldemort Twitter account (yes I am a Harry Potter enthusiast) who said it best with: "I'll be yelled at as per usual for this but #prayforJapan? No. If you want to help DO something. They want money, aid & food; not thoughts."

I know too that there are other things that could use celebrites generous donations. There are charities for everything, every type of cancer, disease, cause, you name it. And there should be, don't get me wrong. There are so many issues and problems in the world; Haiti still needs a lot of help in recovering from their massive earthquake. A different set of problems is really rearing its ugly head at the moment in the United States. In my organizational writing class we viewed a 60 Minutes segment on homelessness in America and how 25% of American children are homeless and going to bed hungry at night. In America, which is supposed to be the greatest nation in the world. I mean, I get it, there are going to be problems and sob stories and boundless issues in every country but come on, 25%??

Now, I'm not trying to come off as some holier-than-thou person. I'm not even trying to be a debbie-downer on your day, I promise. I know that life goes on, the world moves on to the next big thing whether it's a tragedy or not. I myself start to get wrapped up in my own little life and forget about the great big world outside my window. Maybe I'm just venting. It just seems that with the recent earthquake/tsunami/nuclear disaster happening to Japan right now has been the icing on the cake for me so to speak and makes me wish I could do so much more to help. Forgive me for sounding preachy, it can just be very daunting at times, especially when thinking about it all at once.

For easy tips on how you can help, follow the link below to Mashable which has 7 easy ways you can help or text REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10 to aid relief efforts.
http://mashable.com/2011/03/13/japan-earthquake-tsunami-help-donate/

*A few moments after posting this, Ryan Seacrest tweeted this:

For each retweet @Bing will give $1 to Japan quake victims up to $100K. More ways to #SupportJapan http://binged.it/fEh7iT ...this is the stuff that I like to see! However, to play the devil's advocate for a moment, as one person already did as a comment to this tweet, shouldn't Bing just donate the money? Why coerce people into "re-tweeting" to get money to a country that so desperately needs our help at the moment?

the boomerang generation.

Yes, unfortunately the boomerang generation sounds exactly like what you think it would be. It is the label that has been given to my generation; the current 20-somethings in America who go off to college and get their degree only to return home soon after for a plethora of reasons. Most of the time it is for obvious reasons, such as the economy, financial woes and the simple fact that a Bachelor's degree no longer packs the same punch as it did with our parent's generation; all of these reasons prove to make a bad mix.

I have to admit that even my plan upon graduation is to move back home and depending on how quickly I can land a job, live at home for a maximum of 2 years and hopefully have saved up enough money by then to move out and really get started on a new phase of life. Unfortunately, that plan rides on a lot of "what-ifs." What if I don't find a job with a salary within 6 months of living at home? What if I have to go work at the mall again so I can pay my phone bill? What if I have to end up living at home for more than 2 years? It makes my head spin thinking of all the ways this could potentially end up.

Numerous articles have cropped up on this topic or it has simply been illustrated such as The New Yorker cover from May 2010 above. The term even has its own Wikipedia page, awesome! (Please note the sarcasm.) There is even a harsh article from the New York Times which instead of looking at this as an unfortunate product of the downturn of the economy chooses to take this angle: "What is it about 20 somethings...Why are so many people in their 20s taking so long to grow up?" Now, I take that a bit offensively. Even though time and time again I find myself saying how "weird" it is when I see high school friends  getting married and having kids already, I know that technically we are at that age where it is ok for that to happen. I mean my own mother got married at 22 to my Dad and she had me by age 24. Personally, I could not fathom getting married at age 22 (I'm a bit more career driven at this stage in my life) but I guess when you meet the right person you just know and you're ready right? But anyways, back to this New York Times article, I find it offensive because moving back in with my parents is not me trying to fend off "growing up." It is actually me facing up to reality and seeing that I do not have anywhere near the amount of money to move out on my own and be financially stable  to pay for rent, utilities, my phone bill and food among other things. I know that I need to live at home and once finding a job I know that I will save a lot of money by living at home and only paying for essentially my phone bill and other random odds and ends.

I ask of you New York Times author, Robin Marantz Henig, how is that refusing to grow up? If facing reality, attempting to make a plan and sticking to it based on all of your options, and making a loose plan for the future isn't growing up then please tell me what is. For now I plan on embracing my boomerang-ness and doing the best with what has been given to me.

living colorfully, the kate spade way.

Kate Spade has been a brand that upon discovering a several years ago, I instantly became in love with. However, I was in high school then and obviously didn't have the money for the merchandise (nor do I now either as a poor college student) but my point is it was mainly geared for young women in their late twenties or older. I remember my friends would wrinkle their nose at me wondering, who is this Kate Spade you speak of?

I have time and time again drooled over their bags, shoes jewelry, etc. but quite recently I have had something entirely new to drool over; their new slogan/ad campaign/social media campaign. Yes, you heard me, whoever decided to kick-start this "living colorfully" campaign, I take my hat off to you. Quite frankly I think it is absolutely genius and it is coming at the perfect time to correlate with spring. They have an amazing Twitter feed as well as a Tumblr and they choose a color for each month. For example March is a striking yellow and February was an inviting hot pink. Also their new ads featuring Bryce Dallas Howard make my heart ache for spring weather and sun dresses like never before. I am so excited that they still have such classic styles that appeal to women of all ages yet they are now infusing it with this fresh young and of course colorful vibe.

The other simple and some may think silly thing that they do, is the positive or quirky messages they have on some of their merchandise. For instance, on one of the bracelets I have pictured below with the beach-y scene on the outside; the inside of the bracelet reads "wish you were here." On the London Calling one the inside reads, "paint the town red." How fabulous is that?? They can even be inspirational such as the inside of my Kate Spade iPod Touch case which reads: "Have Courage." Although I had bought the case a few months back I had never noticed it till a few weeks ago and it quite honestly made my day. It's the little things in life! So, as I said before I am loving this exciting new take on Kate Spade and I cannot wait to see where the brand will go next.

so, here we go.

Ok. I am a journalism student. Communications student really, with a double concentration in journalism and public relations. So I should have a blog right? Right. Well, I did have a blog, but I unfortunately got pretty lazy with it. I did make a Tumblr a few months ago and although I do enjoy that site, I quickly realized it is best for short spurts of ideas, like quotes or photos and not really true blogging. I would get fleeting thoughts every now and then to start fresh and begin a new blog but then negative train would come into town and I would think of things like: "am I really that great of a writer?" "what should I write about?" "does anyone really care about what I have to say?" After that lovely montage of pessimism the thought of blogging would swiftly leave my mind and that was the end of that.

However, after getting the opportunity to hear social media guru Chris Dessi give a talk at my college, Marist, tonight I immediately became inspired. Now, when I say immediately, I mean it. I literally came home, chit-chatted with my house mates for a few moments and quickly came to my room. No offense to Wordpress, but since I had used that blogging platform before I really wanted a brand-spanking new start to this blogging venture and I had heard nothing but good things about Blogspot, so here I am.

Dessi gave me hope in a sense because although he is a social media guru, he discussed blogging as well and said to write about anything and everything, (I don't think he has realized all of the floodgates he opened up there in my mind). Such as writing about your significant other, your parents, best friends, dreams, hopes and passions. Needless to say, yep that's right, his driving words inspired me. Like I said, I was a little too excited  to get back home and begin blogging and I have a good feeling that I will keep up with this; especially as I am about to enter an entire new phase of life.

My graduation date is approaching much too quickly for my liking (May 21st). And I don't really know where I will be headed once I leave the safe bubble that is Marist College. But I want to tell that tale on this blog and I hope that you will stay tuned to see where I go/end up/live/work/love/grow/and most importantly what I learn.