Monday, April 12, 2010

"When I Grow Up"


Almost from the time we learn to talk the phrase "when I grow up" is consistantly used. Whether it involves an occupation we hope to obtain, or the kind of person we want to be, it's a phrase that's constantly thought about.

I was in a car for almost 9 hours the other day, which of course means I had a lot of time to think. My brother was in the front seat and something came up about his 16th birthday being within the next month. All I could keep thinking about was how much older and more mature he's become. I'm definitely not ready for that...my mind flashes back to when he was just a few years old and was of course jealous that I was older. I remember him getting really frustrated, looking up at me and saying, "I can't wait until I grow up and be older than you." All I could do was laugh because of course we all know that isn't possible, but as a young child he did not. Oh how the times have changed. I'm so proud of the young man he has become. I know I'll see great things from him in the future.

I also began to think back to my past, such as when my grandmother, before she got sick, used to keep track of my growth on the wall of her pantry. When they had to move out of that house, that was probably the saddest part about it for me. She kept track of mine, my brothers, and cousins growth. It had to be the first thing accomplished when we came to visit. I miss her so much it hurts sometimes. Then my mind flashed to memeories such as those from middle school and high school. It doesn't seem quite so long ago, but it really has been quite some time. I'm proud to say that I'm still great friends with some of the same people that I met in middle and high school. Some people have faded from my life, but then again, that happens with everybody. I guess the true friends are here to stay. I'm truly blessed to have such wonderful friends in my life.

I'll be graduating in 2 years from college (maybe less). I'm going to be involved in an internship this summer and some of my writings are being published as I write this very blog. It's such a great feeling to see my name underneath a headline or caption. I'm proud of all I've accomplished, but sometimes I feel that life is passing me by and that maybe there should be a "pause" button for life every once in a while. I guess all I'm trying to say is that I'm not sure what's waiting for me out there, but I'm hoping I can embrace it and make it my own.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Lucky Me

This past week has been absolutely amazing. Hopefully it's here to stay for a while...I might miss it ;-) I've had a lot of pretty incredible things happen to me lately, such as getting an internship for the summer that I'm super excited about and getting 2 of my pieces published in my college's literary magazine over others that applied. There are of course other things, but they seem small compared to those just mentioned.

I had sort of an 'epiphany' moment yesterday while driving home. This whole week I've been referring to what has been happening as luck, or as a blessing. It has most certainly been an amazing blessing, but as for luck...not so much in my opinion. I've come to the conclusion, that in most situations, not all, but most, that you have to make your own luck. This internship never would have been possible had I not picked up the phone to make that interview with the company; my pieces would have never been published, had I not had the courage to submit them for judging. You see, I almost did neither of those things, but I felt a push in that direction, and couldn't be happier that I did.

I've finally started to learn that if I don't put myself out there more, I'll never get noticed. I think I knew that all along, but I've always been too shy of a person. I guess that's why they say that journalism has a tendency to turn those that are shy into courageous people :)

None of this would have been possible if not for God, and I couldn't be more grateful. Hopefully this is only the start of greater things to come :)

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Growing Up...

I didn't quite realize how long it'd been since I last posted. Things have been going pretty well for me. I've been slacking off a bit in school, seeing as I actually have a social life to speak of. I'm loving college more than I ever thought I would, which is scary, but exciting all at the same time.

Today has been quite an interesting day. I'm not complaining by any means though. This morning I had an interview for a possible internship this summer. I've been putting off calling the company for weeks. I say that I've been really busy, but part of me thinks this is my minds way of telling me I really am growing up and it scares me to death sometimes. I had to skip class to go to said interview, which was fine until I found out I had missed a test in that class...luckily the professor was very understanding and willing to work with me on that.

The interview went GREAT! I now am looking at an internship this summer where I should be writing articles, taking photographs, as well as designing layouts for a magazine :) There might even be some video recording thrown into the mix there somewhere. I'll be willing to try any new branch of journalism to further my career. I've been stuck in this rut for so long of only wanting to write for a newspaper, never really wanting to branch out to public relations or broadcasting, but with the way the media market is rapidly changing, so should my mindset.

After my interview, the boyfriend came to see me at school for lunch. Then, I convinced my professor in my last class of the day to hold class outside, which was so nice. It was fun except for the constant breezes of pollen :-/ Finally after an eventful day of classes, I found a nice surprise of chicken nuggets and macaroni in the cafeteria, which was awesome. Looking forward to a celebratory dinner with the boyfriend tonight. I'm so thankful to have such amazing friends and family who I've been able to share today with. I couldn't be happier! Okay, soo...I would be happier if my school workload wasn't so heavy at the moment, but hey...I'm growing up...it was bound to happen sometime!