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I’m sure by now you’ve gotten the talk from your parents or professors about how important college is for your future.  They will say things like “apply for internships” or “get involved around campus” so that your future resume is perfected by graduation. They will tell you to try for a leadership position, or to make a portfolio for your future interviews which will consist of sweaty palms with prompted questions, while you wear a suit to impress the questioner.  But as much as they preach to you about your future and how to prepare for it, they never tell you how to travel, be a parent, or simply live your life.  We are put through such rigorous standards of the education system so that we are given the tools to succeed in society and be successful.  But is success measured by money or life experiences? Personally, I’d go with the second, because those are the moments where we learn the most valuable lessons.

However on an application, employers don’t always take those experiences in our college careers into consideration when being compared to the stack of applications to be sorted through.  I was told since my freshman year, “if you want to make it in PR, you need to have three internships by your senior year.” Aka, you need to give your last summers away that are meant for life experiences for a desk and cubicle from Monday to Friday. While these internships are helpful and influential for many, (including myself), there is so much that we are missing out on while crunching numbers into a computer database.

I find myself jealous when I check Facebook at night, seeing friends of mine backpacking through Europe, and my younger siblings laying on the beach with sandcastle’s surrounding them, with not a care in the world.  They are taking in the fresh salty-sea air, and seeing remarkable sights, while I begin to become more and more pale.  We are getting completely different experiences, both influential, but for different reasons.

I have had internships the past two summers and have learned a great deal.  I have conducted interviews, news searches, written articles for the newsletter, learned how to function in a corporate environment, and so on.  I have been lucky enough to work among amazing coworkers and staff, that help guide me toward my dreams of a job in public relations.  But I can’t help but think, was that how people our age are meant to spend their time off? Are we meant to be adults in training during our last glimpses of summer vacation? I’m not sure.  But what I am positive about is that we as a generation need to start regrouping our thoughts on the future, and figure out what we want from it.

Personally, I want to travel and help people through PR.  I know this is a lofty dream, and that it will probably come at a cost of settling down into what is considered a normal adult life, but I want to have memories when I leave this earth rather then money sitting in my bank account.  Wanderlust is something that has always been inside of me, threatening to burst at the thought of a foreign country filled with different cultures and people.  I want to explore places I’ve only dreamed of, and go to concerts and festivals that are filled with people like me, yearning to learn and experience something new, to be enlightened in a different way.  I want to go to bed each night knowing that somehow or someway, I made a change in this enormous world around me, even if just in one person’s life.

Our age group often earns for the unknown.  We as a group are often seen as a challenge to the corporate world due to our tattoos and clothing choices.  We are the newborn hippies of this day an age.  You may be thinking, “this doesn’t apply to me,” and of course you are right, not everyone fits this grouping. But for many people our age, there is an overall extremely large gap between us and our parents, and us and our grandparents.  And more often than not, you hear a story of our generation traveling the world while working small jobs to get us by, or of creating a new app to save lives.  We are pushing the boundaries in every way possible, and although many of our elders would look down upon us for this, it should be celebrated.

We need more hippies in the world, to inspire others to do what completes them. So the next time someone tells you that something “is not a good idea,” simply tell them all the reasons why it is, in fact, great.  Show the people around you that there is always something new to find and create, and it’s up to each up and coming generation to do so.  And with that being said, if there is something you really want to achieve or do during your college career that may not necessarily help you on your application for a future job, still consider doing it.  Because you never know how that one thing, adventure, or idea can change your perspective on life, and the road ahead.  There are so many experiences out there, so the next time you are stressed regarding your future career, remember that there is always another opportunity and choice hidden around the corner.

This is the second post in the 52 weeks of gratitude challenge, and this post is paying gratitude to my significant other and boyfriend, Timmy. It’s hard for me to put into words just how much one other person can influence and impact your life.  This person that started off as a random set up for a date party by a new friend in my sorority was something I never saw turning into something more, (and that’s half because I threw up the entire night).  The moment I met you there was something that was different from other guys I had met.  Your extremely sarcastic, witty personality pulled me in quickly, but after that one night I was convinced I had ruined whatever chance there might have been to get to know you.

Thankfully we both attended the Carolina Cup in Camden, SC and as you would say “hit it off.”  And then from there we slowly began to get to know each other and spend more and more time together, between going to your formals at Myrtle Beach to just hanging out on week nights.  Then summer came, and you stayed at school for the summer and I went home, thinking there was nothing that would ever happen again.  But thankfully I was wrong.

I hate to be sappy but the past year and a half of knowing you has been truly amazing.  As cliché as it might sound, I have never met a person that got me as well as you do.  Having you next to me has been something unique to anything I have ever experienced before.  You have slowly become my best friend and the first person I call when I have the best news, but as well the one I call when I feel like I can’t handle everything going on in my life.  We’ve definitely had our bumps in the road, but after being half way across the country from each other this summer, it has made me realize how truly lucky I am to call you mine.

I want to thank you for all that you do for me.  You have helped me through my anxiety attacks, which we both know aren’t pretty. You have made me laugh endlessly and taught me things about myself as a person. There is nothing I love more then theorizing with you about outer space, or simply just laying next to each other in our apartments in complete silence.  You get me, and all my little quirks, and because of that I couldn’t be more thankful.  There is no one in the entire world I would rather be weird with.

And with that being said, I cannot wait to see where our relationship will take us, especially in two weeks when we are reunited in Denver.  I love you to Jupiter and Back Timmy, thanks for being my person.

This past Friday, life showed me once again to expect the unexpected.  I got a call from my boyfriend explaining that he had been in a severe car accident but not to worry, he only had a concussion and some cuts on his head.  Of course me being the biggest worrywart possible, I couldn’t help but imagine if I had gotten a completely different phone call that day, from the doctor or his mother telling me he hadn’t made it.

And that got me to thinking about how us as a society live our lives.  We are constantly rushing to the next weekend, month, season, planning out our future days ahead of us.  But why do we continue to plan the future when it’s not guaranteed? From a young age, society installs in us that you have to plan for the future; when you’re a teenager you’re planning for college, and as an adult you’re planning for retirement.  But when does that actually give us time to live the life we have created for ourselves? We are all so worried about what the next day will bring, but what if that day doesn’t come? We need to start focusing on our life today, rather than our life two months from now.  Trust me I know that’s easier said than done (because I am always worrying about the future and what it will bring for me), but if we all just follow these ten small steps each and every day, we can begin to truly enjoy the life that is right there starring us in the face today.

1. Never go to bed angry: From a young age, my Aunt has always reminded me of this key piece of advice.  No matter what you do, never go to bed angry.  Imagine that you’re fighting with your best friend or your parents and you say something horrible that you know you shouldn’t have.  You end the night with those awful things you had said to each other, and the next morning you get a text or phone call from someone saying that that person is no longer alive.  Whatever you said the night before will be the last thing you ever say to them, and there is no way to apologize.  Life is so unpredictable and you never want to go to bed upset no matter how hurt you may be, because whatever is said or done could possibly be the last thing you ever experience with that person.  So as hard as it might be at times, (which I definitely struggle with), try to end the conversation on a positive note.  That doesn’t mean you have to say you’re sorry, but remember to always be kind before you drift into your dreams, because you never know what will happen when you wake up.

2. Spend time with the ones that matter: We often get so caught up with life that we forget to cherish the time we have with our close friends and family.  We get busy and tired from the long weeks of school or work and quickly begin to neglect those relationships that mean the most to us.  With that being said, try to make a point to talk those people or see them at least once a week.  A quick phone call can make a huge difference in a person’s day, so always try your best to not be the bear in hibernation in the cold months of the winter.

3. Save your money, but also remember to treat yourself: This is a key lesson we are taught from the moment we get our first allowance as a kid.  “Save your money,” adults often will tell us.  But as we grow and get older, we need to remember that although it is important to look to the future and save the money we earn, we also need to treat ourselves from time to time.  If there’s this red velvet cupcake that you’ve been eyeing in Whole Foods for the past two weeks, or a pair of shoes that you look at online at Urban Outfitters every day at work, just go for it.  You have to remember to reward yourself from time to time, and stop planning for the future paychecks.

4. Learn to accept and love yourself: This is something I struggle with immensely myself.  I’ve learned that there is always going to be times when you hate your body, or feel like you need to loose a couple of pounds, but life is too short to constantly keep comparing yourself to the next person.  With a healthy diet and workout plan, you can live a happy lifestyle.  So don’t guilt yourself at night after you eat half the container of Half Baked Ben & Jerry’s (yum). Each day is different, and you have to keep in mind that the only opinion that matters is yours.

5. Make set goals and strive to actually achieve them: Many of us find ourselves looking to the future, aspiring to live this amazing lifestyle that seems only possible in our dreams.  We continue to imagine what our life would be like if we changed these few small things, but we forget to actually look at the dream as a possible outcome.  You are your own worst enemy, and the only person that is coming between you and your dreams is you (cliché I know). If there is something that you really want, like a job working for a magazine or to get into great shape with a six-pack and all, you need to be push yourself to want to do it.  When you were a kid, you probably were asked what you wanted to be when you grew up.  You might have screamed, “president” or “astronaut” without any hesitation.  Try to think like you did when you were a kid, that the sky is the limit, and nothing is impossible if you really want it.  So write down your goals on a sticky note and hang it in your mirror, so that every morning you remember what you’re working towards.

6. Be spontaneous: Have you ever debated buying a plane ticket the day of and jet setting off to some remote island in the Caribbean? Or what about that cute co-worker that you have been day dreaming about going on a date with for the past month and a half, and deciding to ask him on a date? Whatever it might be, you HAVE to live in the moment.  There is always time to plan out a trip, or what you’re going to do next weekend, but what can be the most fun is just getting up one day and deciding to do something different and new.  It might be scary at the time, but the unplanned moments tend to be some of the best.

7. Wake up looking forward to the day ahead: It’s hard waking up every morning in a pleasant mood, especially when you’re neighbors above you sound like a heard of elephants every time they take a step. Each day when you wake up, try to think of five things you’re thankful for.  These five things will help remind you that each day is a gift, no matter how crappy it may turn out to be.  So try to put that smile on your face each morning and think about all the positive things you have going for you, and I promise you’ll have a better day.

8. Be honest with how you feel: I am awful at this, but we need to be open with others about how we really feel. You never want to regret leaving something unsaid, because more often than not, those few words or thoughts could completely change the outcome of a situation. If you don’t tell people how you really feel about something, it will stay bottled up inside of you until one day you finally explode, releasing all of these emotions that you’ve felt for so long.  Tell the people that you care about that you love them. Tell the person who hurt you why you’re so wounded.  Remember, honesty is the best policy.  But with that being said, this does not mean be hurtful or rude by saying the first thing that comes to mind about a person.  Always be honest, but do so calmly and with respect.

9. Stop comparing your life to someone else’s: This is an important one.  If you continue to live a life where you are always looking at what the next person has, you’re going to extremely miserable.  Everyone has something you don’t, including yourself.  Comparing yourself to other’s just leads to that green monster called jealousy, and we all know the she is one ugly beast.  So the next time you find yourself wishing for someone else’s life, imagine their life from their shoes, and try to see if its really all that it’s cracked up to be.

10. And most importantly, live without regrets: Simply put, life is too short to live with regrets.  We all make mistakes, but think of those mistakes as learning experiences and just small steps in the right direction.  You don’t want your life to end wishing you had done this or that, or wishing you hadn’t.  Just live the best life you can each and every day, and be thankful for the life you have been given.

Whenever I go to a family event or spend a holiday with relatives and close family friends, I always hear the same suffocating question over and over again: “so what are your plans for the future?” The slight notion of the future makes me breakout in hives, and thinking about how I will spend hopefully the next fifty to sixty years of my life scares the crap out of me. But for so many people in our generation we are faced with this question on an almost daily basis.  Between employers, professors, or family there is always someone asking us these daunting questions about how we picture our life in the next 10 years.  And as for my answer to that question, I honestly have no idea.

I know that through having internships the past two summers, a nine to five workday in business causal clothes is not going to cut it for me.  I know I will probably not start off making a lot of money because with a degree in communications there is never a true guarantee that you’ll end up rich (unless you are working for ABC or CNN).  But for me, I have come to the conclusion that as long as I have a few basic things in my life I will be okay.

1. Family and Friends: The most important thing to me is my life is family.  My mother is practically my best friend, and the thought of not being close with my siblings, family members, or close friends in heartbreaking.  Family and friends have always been the center of my existence.  They are the ones that support and love me when I definitely do not make that the easiest task.  They are the ones who I know will be there regardless if I make it big in life, but they are also the ones that I would share my lottery winnings with.  Without them, I would be nothing.

2. Travel: Again, I don’t think I’m cut out to sit in an office day in and day out, working tediously on tasks that are handed to me left and right.  As cliché as it sounds, I want to make a difference, and I don’t know if I’ll be able to do that at my cubicle.  I want to see all that the world has to offer, because I feel like that is the only way you can truly get the most out of life.  I would be perfectly fine living in a hotel for a week, and then jet setting off to the next location the following week.  Now don’t get me wrong, I want to work and make a career for myself, but I’m not sure if that can be done in the office environment.  I often feel restricted and as if I’m missing out on opportunities that are constantly surrounding me.

3. Kids: Yes I want the family. I want to experience having a mini me that has my characteristics and is like looking into a mirror every time they wake up each morning. I want to help mold and shape them just the way my parents did, and make them a better version of myself.  And I want to be taught by them, to become a better person.

4. Purpose: No matter where my life leads me, I want to always have a goal in mind.  I want to achieve, change, do something before I do that makes a difference, even if that difference may be extremely small.  I want to draw, write, create something to help people around me, but as well help myself.  I NEVER want to live a life that is just something to pass the days by with.  I want purpose. I want a goal.

5. Someone to spend it with: As much as I like to believe I am fiercely independent, I want someone to share my life with.  Having someone that understands me on a different level than family and friends, and is always there to call me out on my shit.  I want to spend my life with someone that knows me inside and out, and loves me for who I am, and vice versa.  However, I will never depend on someone to live my life, but having someone to take along the way and experience the endless adventures with would be a great bonus.

All in all, life is your choice, your direction, and you can do with it what you want.  I’ve often thought to myself I could never run a half marathon, but I have no successfully ran two.  I never thought that I could go over nine hours away to school, not knowing a soul on campus, but I did.  The only thing that stands in front of the future is yourself.  I often find myself needing to step back from situations to understand why I feel like my life is going a certain way.  Nine times out of ten it’s because of my own doing.  “You are capable of anything you set your mind to,” my mom has told me countless times growing up, and for the longest time I doubted her. But as much as I hate to admit it, she is so right. I learned in class this year that if you believe something is going to happen a certain, usually it will.  For example, if you believe that you are going to get a bad grade on the test because you know the subject matter is difficult, then you will psych yourself out.  But if you go into the test with positive thoughts and study as much as possible, than you will most likely get a decent grade. So never doubt that you are not possible to control your own future, not matter the circumstances.

As far as my future, I know that I may not be the wealthiest person in terms of money later in life, but I know I will most definitely be the most wealthiest in terms of experiences.

“Creative” has always been one of my favorite descriptive words.  Maybe its because when I picture the word I imagine someone painting a giant portrait on the side walk in NYC, depicting a bottomless ocean which passerby’s must be careful not to fully submerge in.  Or maybe it’s because it makes me think of bold colors, like fuchsia, aquamarine or periwinkle, illuminating the sky like the northern lights. Or maybe it’s just simply because it’s one of the basic words my mother uses to describe me with, to show our contrasting natures in life.  Either way, the word “creative” makes up my existence and fills me with the constant push to want to succeed and explore the world around me.  Creative is in my character.

Since I was younger, I struggled to find my likes and dislikes in the world.  Many of my friends loved science and found the idea of dissecting animals in biology class not only fascinating, but thrilling and exciting.  For me, I tried to stay conscious while ignore the formaldehyde smell that escaped the dead frog’s like fumes from a car.  Other friends loved sports, which yes, I still played, but the thought of a basketball falling through the hoop and concussing my head, appeared far more like a bomb being dropped from the sky than a fun gym-class game.  I danced for eleven years, and for that time period, I believed that to be my muse.  But as I grew older I focused more on the time I was missing spending time with my friends or the fact that I was not invited to be on the “elite team”, rather than the art itself.

It wasn’t until freshman year of college that I found what my real creative side was.  I happened to find my schedule needing one more class to fit into an awkward time slot in the morning for Monday, Wednesday and Friday of the spring semester.  With math and science instantly knocked out, I struggled to find what “filler” class I would take to make up the 15 required hours.  I searched and dug through the timetable of classes in the hope of finding a class that would make it worth getting out of bed in the early mornings of cool Blacksburg weather.  And that’s when I happened upon a class titled “Intro to Creative Writing” offered at 10:10 to 11:00 a.m.  I had always loved to write, even had my pieces entered into competitions in elementary school, but I had never thought about taking a class that was so considered “fun or experimental.”  With only an hour left before registration closed, I added the class to my schedule in hopes that the professor would be somewhat entertaining, (being that it was my only Friday class).  To my surprise, this Friday class that I assumed I would be skipping every now and then due to Thursday nights out, became the class I eagerly looked forward to over the weekends.

The professor was different from most.  On the first day of class in mid January, he showed up ten minutes late, nearly dripping from sweat, with a shaggy head of brown hair and prickly beard that he wore sporadically on his chin.

“Sorry for being late guys. They put us in this old room halfway across campus form my office, so I had to run to get here. But first things first.  All you need to know is that if you show up, talk here and there in class, and turn your work in on time, you’ll get an A.  Oh, and Friday’s just aren’t going to work for me, so if I email you to not come, please don’t show up and do yourself a favor getting an extra hour of sleep.”

I was amused to say the least that this professor was so laid back on the first day of class, but I was even more impressed when he remembered all of our names on the second day of class.  My professor was definitely half of the reason if not more than the reason why I enjoyed the class; his laidback, goofy, and sometimes even disheveled personality made him stand out, but his intelligence and true insight into each type of writing made me want to learn more.

I finished the semester with an A as he had promised on the first day, and a recommendation from him that I should publish my work.  I bashfully smiled saying thank you in response, never imagining that my pieces could someday be read, let alone published.  And although now I still often ignore my mother’s suggestions of “you should write a book” every time we have the “what are you doing with your life” talk, I still consider all the writings I have created and how they could alter someone else’s thoughts.  I am now pursuing a minor in creative writing, and have had countless excellent professors that have taught me about the ways of speech, rhythm, and all that jazz.  But I have also found my expressive side, or creativity I had so long been searching for.

This blog will be dedicated to my work, including my thoughts and daily experiences.  There will be artwork, pictures, and much more along the way, in hopes that I can help someone else spark their creative side that is often hidden inside.