You know, it's funny how things can change at the drop of a hat.
I had recently accepted a position with a company I considered a dream company of mine. One that is a well-known and prominent fixture in the publishing world. The position itself was not quite where I wanted to be, but it would have been a foot in the door to possibly where I would want to get to. I wasn't quite sure if it would have been the best role for me, but I wanted to give it a chance, with the understanding that there would have been growth within the company.
When I first began my job search, I immediately jumped at the chance to apply for the position with my former company that stood out and made me excited and hopeful. At the time, it was a position that had not been created yet, and I wasn't sure if it would be. For months, there was no news and while budgets were still being decided upon, as it goes when companies create positions.
Once I knew things were not progressing the way I needed them to for my own personal life, I amped up my job search, my follow-up became persistent to a fault, and my phone was consistently in my hand, applying to every job I could and reaching out to as many contacts as possible. This is where my contact with the 'dream company' came into play. After months of connecting, we finally got to a point to where I was offered a role.
Literally a few days later, my former recruiter with my former company phoned, with the unbelievable offer I had been waiting for. Doing the pros and cons, I came to the difficult decision that my best choice, professionally and personally, was to accept the offer that came from my former company. It offers great work-life balance, the pay makes my life much easier and much more stable, and the job itself does offer a more independent and social aspect that I feel I will really enjoy and do well at.
Throughout my career search, I have come to the realization of the intersection of my interests and goals quite often. Part of me still dreams that one day I will be some phenomenal editor of a publishing house or magazine empire, crafting publications that impact and offers pieces that provoke conversation. And a big part of me is coming to the realization how much I love helping people, communicating with them and making them feel that they can depend on me. I ADORE that feeling. It was one of the most enjoyable parts of my last position, and I loved every time I would be reaffirmed that my work ethic was coming through.
I graduated college barely less than a year ago. I know I am still in the infancy of my career choices, and I have plenty of time to figure it all out. But right now, I'm so excited to tackle this next hurdle. It's quite a curious thing when you go to school for one thing, and once you're out in the professional world, those goals can shift. And that's perfectly ok. You never know what amazing opportunities might happen when you start looking beyond the comfort and limits of your degree. Taking that job that might not necessarily be in the field you went to school for could end up being just as much of a dream, if not, better than what you originally thought it would be.
I hope I'm not the only one who thinks this way! Let me know if anyone out there has had a situation like this!
Friday, March 24, 2017
Thursday, March 16, 2017
filling in the blanks / 002
Since my time being unemployed with a wide-open schedule is coming to an end, I figured why not have some fun and do a post of some good ole fashioned fill in the blanks.
1. Something near and dear to my heart is the desire to do something good, whether it be for a person, an animal, or an organization.
2. A promotion, a beautiful day, or even just because is good cause to celebrate.
3. The most fun I ever had was studying abroad in London for a summer semester, experiencing the places I've always wanted to go and seeing all the art I could have dreamed of seeing in person.
4. True friends are the kind of people who, no matter what's going on, you can call up even if it's been a while and they'll be there for you as if it's been a minute since the last time you spoke, the kind that let you be your messy self and yet still think you're amazing, and definitely the kind of people who you can pour a glass of wine for and share a laugh with always.
5. Something that makes me terribly happy is when I get to spend time traveling and adventuring with Ashley, bonus points if it's a beautiful day and I get to be creative at some point.
6. A good way to spend a sunny day is having a beer with friends outside on a patio somewhere, be it a restaurant with a rooftop deck or a brewery with dogs and cornhole. I advocate for sunny days to be celebration days.
7. My favorite celebratory food is pasta and wine, particularly anything with bubbles. I've been on a rosé kick lately, and I have to say it is a delightful and splendid way to celebrate anything!
8. When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I do is look at my phone. It's awful, I know, but if Ashley isn't awake yet or she's already left for class, I like to catch up on the news and my notifications. When I have work in the morning, however, I usually hit snooze once or twice before hopping up and quickly getting ready for the day.
9. I can hardly wait for my sister's baby shower next month and my wedding in October! It keeps getting closer and closer and while we have a lot of things accomplished, we still have a lot to polish off in terms of contracts. Hopefully within the next month or so, we will have everything signed, sealed, and ready. My sister, on the other hand, is due at the end of May, and I've been a busy bee over here trying to finish making her decorations and presents.
10. The quickest way to my heart is by making me laugh because I feel laughter is absolutely the best medicine. Of course, sharing similar world views is also important, but having someone who can brighten the room with a laugh, good mood or not, is key.
11. A little known fact about me is the fact that I've broken my left thumb before. The day of 2nd grade orientation I stuck my thumb in our faulty dryer (it would still spin if the door was open), looking for a towel for our above-ground pool (we were really cool in the 90's, guys) and my grandmother's Japanese quilt caught my thumb, wrapped around it, and I completely destroyed my nailbed and broke it in three places. I had to have reconstructive surgery on it, including having a pin put in it, I wore a cast for 6 weeks from knuckles to biceps, and then had to undergo PT to regain mobility in my thumb. All because I wanted to grab a towel to go swimming.
12. Something I just couldn't live without is music. I've been to numerous music festivals, plenty of concerts, and I maintain a subscription to Spotify. It speaks to my soul in ways other things just don't do. It's the motivation that gets my creative juices flowing easily. And there is still nothing better than driving somewhere with the windows down and the music way up.
13. Something useful I wish I knew how to do is speak a second language fluently, or have the talent to successfully cook a grilled cheese sandwich without burning it. My timing is awful. As for the language, I took many years of Spanish, and I understand it enough to get me by somewhere, but I'm not fluent in the least.
14. If I had to classify my interior design aesthetic, it would be eclectic with hints of rustic and modern. My brother-in-law made our coffee table, it's stained reclaimed wood with black pipes for the legs, and I adore it so much, I want to design our entire household around it. But I also love IKEA, those clean lines and if it's grey in any way, done. Ultimately, if Joanna Gaines and Jillian Harris could design my house for me, I'd be sold.
15. If I had an extra $100 to spend on whatever I want, I would buy a bottle of rosé, an item or two off my closet wishlist to wear to work, and probably spend the rest at Target buying myself whatever sounds wonderful.
So there you go! I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday and enjoy your St. Patrick's Day weekend! I know I'll be having a cold Guinness tomorrow to celebrate :)
1. Something near and dear to my heart is the desire to do something good, whether it be for a person, an animal, or an organization.
2. A promotion, a beautiful day, or even just because is good cause to celebrate.
3. The most fun I ever had was studying abroad in London for a summer semester, experiencing the places I've always wanted to go and seeing all the art I could have dreamed of seeing in person.
4. True friends are the kind of people who, no matter what's going on, you can call up even if it's been a while and they'll be there for you as if it's been a minute since the last time you spoke, the kind that let you be your messy self and yet still think you're amazing, and definitely the kind of people who you can pour a glass of wine for and share a laugh with always.
5. Something that makes me terribly happy is when I get to spend time traveling and adventuring with Ashley, bonus points if it's a beautiful day and I get to be creative at some point.
6. A good way to spend a sunny day is having a beer with friends outside on a patio somewhere, be it a restaurant with a rooftop deck or a brewery with dogs and cornhole. I advocate for sunny days to be celebration days.
7. My favorite celebratory food is pasta and wine, particularly anything with bubbles. I've been on a rosé kick lately, and I have to say it is a delightful and splendid way to celebrate anything!
8. When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I do is look at my phone. It's awful, I know, but if Ashley isn't awake yet or she's already left for class, I like to catch up on the news and my notifications. When I have work in the morning, however, I usually hit snooze once or twice before hopping up and quickly getting ready for the day.
9. I can hardly wait for my sister's baby shower next month and my wedding in October! It keeps getting closer and closer and while we have a lot of things accomplished, we still have a lot to polish off in terms of contracts. Hopefully within the next month or so, we will have everything signed, sealed, and ready. My sister, on the other hand, is due at the end of May, and I've been a busy bee over here trying to finish making her decorations and presents.
10. The quickest way to my heart is by making me laugh because I feel laughter is absolutely the best medicine. Of course, sharing similar world views is also important, but having someone who can brighten the room with a laugh, good mood or not, is key.
11. A little known fact about me is the fact that I've broken my left thumb before. The day of 2nd grade orientation I stuck my thumb in our faulty dryer (it would still spin if the door was open), looking for a towel for our above-ground pool (we were really cool in the 90's, guys) and my grandmother's Japanese quilt caught my thumb, wrapped around it, and I completely destroyed my nailbed and broke it in three places. I had to have reconstructive surgery on it, including having a pin put in it, I wore a cast for 6 weeks from knuckles to biceps, and then had to undergo PT to regain mobility in my thumb. All because I wanted to grab a towel to go swimming.
12. Something I just couldn't live without is music. I've been to numerous music festivals, plenty of concerts, and I maintain a subscription to Spotify. It speaks to my soul in ways other things just don't do. It's the motivation that gets my creative juices flowing easily. And there is still nothing better than driving somewhere with the windows down and the music way up.
13. Something useful I wish I knew how to do is speak a second language fluently, or have the talent to successfully cook a grilled cheese sandwich without burning it. My timing is awful. As for the language, I took many years of Spanish, and I understand it enough to get me by somewhere, but I'm not fluent in the least.
14. If I had to classify my interior design aesthetic, it would be eclectic with hints of rustic and modern. My brother-in-law made our coffee table, it's stained reclaimed wood with black pipes for the legs, and I adore it so much, I want to design our entire household around it. But I also love IKEA, those clean lines and if it's grey in any way, done. Ultimately, if Joanna Gaines and Jillian Harris could design my house for me, I'd be sold.
15. If I had an extra $100 to spend on whatever I want, I would buy a bottle of rosé, an item or two off my closet wishlist to wear to work, and probably spend the rest at Target buying myself whatever sounds wonderful.
So there you go! I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday and enjoy your St. Patrick's Day weekend! I know I'll be having a cold Guinness tomorrow to celebrate :)
finally, good news
I have to admit, I wasn't sure this day would come entirely, but I had hope it would work out for me.
Throughout my college career, I often was reminded of just how exclusive and uniquely selective my field can be. Never have I been more aware of the phrase, "cannot get a job without experience, but cannot obtain experience without a job," than attempting to job search in the English field. The market is saturated with writers, bloggers, editors, copywriters, and more, and few are eager to take a chance on someone fresh out of college with the right degree but lacking in years of experience. It's been trying.
However, if I have learned anything from this job search here, it has absolutely been the value of connections. Early on in my search, I connected with someone in HR at the company I dreamed to work for. I maintained contact, I followed-up, I was persistent to the point of borderline annoyance. But this all showed my determination to become part of the company. It showed my persistence to show my passion and my skills.
Lo and behold, this position did in fact come through, much to my extreme happiness, and I am now happily employed! And within my field to boot! I cannot describe how wonderful this feeling is to finally feel I have purpose here. I am beyond excited to roll up my sleeves and get to work.
I plan to update some more when I can, so please be on the lookout for more to come!
Throughout my college career, I often was reminded of just how exclusive and uniquely selective my field can be. Never have I been more aware of the phrase, "cannot get a job without experience, but cannot obtain experience without a job," than attempting to job search in the English field. The market is saturated with writers, bloggers, editors, copywriters, and more, and few are eager to take a chance on someone fresh out of college with the right degree but lacking in years of experience. It's been trying.
However, if I have learned anything from this job search here, it has absolutely been the value of connections. Early on in my search, I connected with someone in HR at the company I dreamed to work for. I maintained contact, I followed-up, I was persistent to the point of borderline annoyance. But this all showed my determination to become part of the company. It showed my persistence to show my passion and my skills.
Lo and behold, this position did in fact come through, much to my extreme happiness, and I am now happily employed! And within my field to boot! I cannot describe how wonderful this feeling is to finally feel I have purpose here. I am beyond excited to roll up my sleeves and get to work.
I plan to update some more when I can, so please be on the lookout for more to come!
Monday, February 27, 2017
a new year in a new place
And just like that, it is almost March. It's been an interesting past two months, for sure.
We spent the holidays with our families, soaking up all the time we could with each of them before embarking on the new adventure. We spent the last 5 days before we moved quite literally in a rush. We rushed to spend time with friends and family, we rushed to pack, and we rushed to get everything in order so we could have moving day go off without a hitch. We were lucky enough to have Ashley's mom and her mom's boyfriend to help us drive the truck up and move in every single thing we crammed into the back of that Uhaul. We spent that first night pretty exhausted and thankful for the cocktails Ashley's mom brought along with her.
Following that, Ashley started her classes pretty soon after the move, and I spent my free time unpacking, decorating, and applying to jobs. When you're in a brand new place, it's very easy to get distracted by the little things because you don't have your friends, your job, and your community nearby. It's been an adjustment. I always believed I was the kind of person who, when presented with the opportunity to up and go change my life, I'd embrace it and love every minute of it. I'm sure if I had a position to move to, consistent income to continue funding life with, and friends to hang out with, things would be easier. Much easier.
When I started this blog, my primary focus was to have an area where I could be intensely honest about my thoughts, my feelings, and my life. And I won't stop now. I have to say, moving has been really, really hard. I never realized just how different things would be here. The Raleigh area we live in is suburban, which we like. Does that make us old? Say what you will, but I love being close enough to the city to where we can enjoy it without a problem, but far enough away to where we have parks, less traffic, and it's a bit more quiet. While the area is great and there's lots to do, I miss home. I miss having friends around, I miss the familiar restaurants and places, and I miss being able to have the financial perks that comes with a job.
Speaking of jobs, I'm still working on getting one. Almost all of my potential connections have either unfortunately fallen through or things just haven't worked out the way I wished. I do still have a wonderful connection at a dream company of mine I'm still interviewing with, so I am hoping and praying for a wonderful outcome. It would absolutely help me break into my field and would be a position that I would just adore and excel at. At this point, I'm just ready for some good news. I've reworked my resume so many times the past two months and I've spent countless hours searching, applying, following up, and waiting. This job market is the worst. It is incredibly difficult to get into.
Otherwise, it's pretty quiet over here for us. Ashley's Spring Break starts this weekend, so hopefully we are going to try to get a visit home in, since I'm still unemployed and Ashley finally has a well-deserved break. Her program is really intense, so I'm really excited for her to finally have a little bit of time to sleep in and not have to study every free moment of the day.
While it sounds like things aren't sunshine and butterflies, I do have to say there are some positive things that have been happening. We have finally been able to put the deposit down for our wedding venue, so we can check that huge item off our list. Our wedding is in less than eight months, so it has been such a relief to finally be able to really plan it and pay for it. Also, my sister's baby shower is coming up soon in April, and it has been so much fun to have the time to make her baby shower presents and plan it with my mom. It's going to be great!
I plan on posting some more things soon, hopefully with some great news coming!
We spent the holidays with our families, soaking up all the time we could with each of them before embarking on the new adventure. We spent the last 5 days before we moved quite literally in a rush. We rushed to spend time with friends and family, we rushed to pack, and we rushed to get everything in order so we could have moving day go off without a hitch. We were lucky enough to have Ashley's mom and her mom's boyfriend to help us drive the truck up and move in every single thing we crammed into the back of that Uhaul. We spent that first night pretty exhausted and thankful for the cocktails Ashley's mom brought along with her.
Following that, Ashley started her classes pretty soon after the move, and I spent my free time unpacking, decorating, and applying to jobs. When you're in a brand new place, it's very easy to get distracted by the little things because you don't have your friends, your job, and your community nearby. It's been an adjustment. I always believed I was the kind of person who, when presented with the opportunity to up and go change my life, I'd embrace it and love every minute of it. I'm sure if I had a position to move to, consistent income to continue funding life with, and friends to hang out with, things would be easier. Much easier.
When I started this blog, my primary focus was to have an area where I could be intensely honest about my thoughts, my feelings, and my life. And I won't stop now. I have to say, moving has been really, really hard. I never realized just how different things would be here. The Raleigh area we live in is suburban, which we like. Does that make us old? Say what you will, but I love being close enough to the city to where we can enjoy it without a problem, but far enough away to where we have parks, less traffic, and it's a bit more quiet. While the area is great and there's lots to do, I miss home. I miss having friends around, I miss the familiar restaurants and places, and I miss being able to have the financial perks that comes with a job.
Speaking of jobs, I'm still working on getting one. Almost all of my potential connections have either unfortunately fallen through or things just haven't worked out the way I wished. I do still have a wonderful connection at a dream company of mine I'm still interviewing with, so I am hoping and praying for a wonderful outcome. It would absolutely help me break into my field and would be a position that I would just adore and excel at. At this point, I'm just ready for some good news. I've reworked my resume so many times the past two months and I've spent countless hours searching, applying, following up, and waiting. This job market is the worst. It is incredibly difficult to get into.
Otherwise, it's pretty quiet over here for us. Ashley's Spring Break starts this weekend, so hopefully we are going to try to get a visit home in, since I'm still unemployed and Ashley finally has a well-deserved break. Her program is really intense, so I'm really excited for her to finally have a little bit of time to sleep in and not have to study every free moment of the day.
While it sounds like things aren't sunshine and butterflies, I do have to say there are some positive things that have been happening. We have finally been able to put the deposit down for our wedding venue, so we can check that huge item off our list. Our wedding is in less than eight months, so it has been such a relief to finally be able to really plan it and pay for it. Also, my sister's baby shower is coming up soon in April, and it has been so much fun to have the time to make her baby shower presents and plan it with my mom. It's going to be great!
I plan on posting some more things soon, hopefully with some great news coming!
Monday, December 12, 2016
a word for 2017
hello universe!
I've spent the last week recovering from almost strep throat. I, unfortunately, get sick quite often, far too often for my taste, so it was nice to take some time to recover and get over it. I spent the weekend snuggled up with Ashley, who was also sick, taking Mucinex and antibiotics like candy, drinking Theraflu like water, and sleeping as much as possible. Thankfully, it appears it is finally moving on out, and we can get back to the month ahead.
Tomorrow, I should hopefully have news regarding a new position in North Carolina. I know I am anxious to get that final piece of the puzzle figured out. Once we have all of that figured out, I feel like we can finally steam ahead towards our move, getting everything situated, and worked out for this whole thing. I hate leaving all of this to the last minute, and it's been driving me crazy we don't have everything planned out and scheduled, because we are waiting to hear back about my job. It's hard to plan on spending money on things if we don't know when one of us will get paid next after the move, you know?
But, to move on to the main focus of this post, which actually has to do with our move, is that I have recently figured out what my word for 2017 is going to be. New Year's has always felt like a mixed message; a beginning and an end wrapped up into one, and January always seems to have a certain gloom about it to me, like a depression period post-holiday season. I usually like to look forward to the changing of the new year as an opportunity to start new, try again, and look forward to what's to come. Instead of focusing on resolutions I will probably break anyways, having a word gives me a chance to have something to think on, meditate on, and allow the universe to utilize to do work on me as well. Over on Susannah Conway's blog, you can actually use her week of exercises to find your word if you want to try it out. I highly recommend it, particularly if you are kind of bad at resolutions like me, but still love that idea of having something to look forward to.
So what's my word for 2017?
I've spent the last week recovering from almost strep throat. I, unfortunately, get sick quite often, far too often for my taste, so it was nice to take some time to recover and get over it. I spent the weekend snuggled up with Ashley, who was also sick, taking Mucinex and antibiotics like candy, drinking Theraflu like water, and sleeping as much as possible. Thankfully, it appears it is finally moving on out, and we can get back to the month ahead.
Tomorrow, I should hopefully have news regarding a new position in North Carolina. I know I am anxious to get that final piece of the puzzle figured out. Once we have all of that figured out, I feel like we can finally steam ahead towards our move, getting everything situated, and worked out for this whole thing. I hate leaving all of this to the last minute, and it's been driving me crazy we don't have everything planned out and scheduled, because we are waiting to hear back about my job. It's hard to plan on spending money on things if we don't know when one of us will get paid next after the move, you know?
But, to move on to the main focus of this post, which actually has to do with our move, is that I have recently figured out what my word for 2017 is going to be. New Year's has always felt like a mixed message; a beginning and an end wrapped up into one, and January always seems to have a certain gloom about it to me, like a depression period post-holiday season. I usually like to look forward to the changing of the new year as an opportunity to start new, try again, and look forward to what's to come. Instead of focusing on resolutions I will probably break anyways, having a word gives me a chance to have something to think on, meditate on, and allow the universe to utilize to do work on me as well. Over on Susannah Conway's blog, you can actually use her week of exercises to find your word if you want to try it out. I highly recommend it, particularly if you are kind of bad at resolutions like me, but still love that idea of having something to look forward to.
So what's my word for 2017?
I picked this for my word of the next year simply because it ties into so many other aspects of things I am trying to improve upon in my own life. To me, flow is defined as "to proceed smoothly and readily; to readjust to disruptions and change under stress without cracking." I tend to have a hard time with patience, accepting things for what they are and will be, and letting things go and letting them be. Flow embodies a lot of that to me. It means greeting the next year of big changes with the idea that I can accept what I cannot change, and I can redirect myself around the things I can change. It means not cracking under stress and learning to find new ways to find patience and ease. It means looking at the forks in the road ahead and saying, "I've got this," and not stressing myself out into an anxiety-induced panic over the things I cannot change.
I am hoping this brings patience, balance, and ease to my life in the next year. I know there are quite a few big changes happening for me in 2017, so I am excited to see what it brings. To end, here are a few quotes I am loving that I can utilize for inspiration throughout the new year:
So do you have a word for the new year? Any goals and plans for the next 365 days? I would love to hear about it!