Guess who is moving to London?

BIG HINT: Me :)

I got offered a job working for a small Online Media company and I am so excited to move to London. My cousin is going to introduce me to her friend and we are going to find an apartment/flat close by to her. My mom and I are leaving on Saturday night and will arrive on Sunday morning.

I will write my first blog post of my London life after my first day of work, which will be on November 17th.

See you guys on the other side of the pond! :)

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PowerLight A Village

Everyday, over 400 million Indians across 72,000 villages live their lives in absolute darkness post sunset. With no access to electricity, many of them struggle to lead normal lives in the dark.

This Diwali, Garnier Men’s PowerLight A Village initiative aims to solve their problem by providing them with simple solar powered equipment.

Contribute to the cause on Facebook: http://bit.ly/GMenPLAV

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Best Shows of the 90's (Not just on Nickelodeon)

We all know that the 90's were the best. I would say that the 80's were probably rockin', but I was born in 1991, so I wouldn't know! But here's a compilation of the top 20 shows that were completely awesome that were not JUST on Nickelodeon.

1. Daria (1997)

2. Fresh Prince of Bel Air (1990)

3. Rugrats (1991)

4. Bill Nye, the Science Guy (1993)

5. Friends (1994)

6. Doug (1996)

7. Saved By The Bell (1989 (yeah I know, but by one year?))

8. Boy Meets World (1993)

9. Powerpuff Girls (1998)

10. Dexter's Laboratory (1996)

11. Buffy, the Vampire Slayer (1997)

12. Are You Afraid of the Dark (1991)

13. Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996)

14. Blossom (1991)

15. Wishbone (1995)

16. Full House (1987 (I know cheat #2))

17. Sister Sister (1994)

18. Sailor Moon (1995)

19. The Cosby Show (1984 (cheat #3))

20. Hey Arnold (1996)

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Why everyone should have a good sense of humour

One of my favorite shows on TV is GirlCode, which is a spinoff of GuyCode (but so much better). The reason why I like this show so much is because 99.9% of the time, the girls (and sometimes guys) are all spot on. And the awesome part about it is that they are all wonderfully sarcastic and everyone finds it humorous.

I think it is important for everyone to have a sense of humour. My "darker" side of humor is being sarcastically "mean" to where the person knows that I am joking but can be like "ha ha you're such a b***h, but I love you".  So, here's a list of reasons why you should have a good sense of humour:

1. BECAUSE IF YOU DON'T, YOU'RE TAKING LIFE WAY TO SERIOUSLY

Come on, be realistic. You know you laughed when you were little when your Uncle Bob said "got your nose!"...or you cried because you really thought he got your nose. Life is too short for you not to laugh at certain jokes. I understand that some of them may go too far, but most of the time I'm sure your friends and family don't take their jokes that seriously. One of my favourite TV shows when I was younger was Daria. She is dark, sarcastic and doesn't take s**t from anyone. She is the perfect example of why people should have a good sense of humour. Another good example is the spoof YouTube videos that Saturday Night Live, Buzzfeed, FunnyOrDie, and many other channel create. Those videos, most of the time, aren't meant to be taken seriously. Yet, hundreds of people feel the need to comment and say "this was completely unnecessary and not funny at all". I applaud you for using your "Freedom of Speech", but if you don't find it funny, keep your opinion to yourself, there is no need to spread hatred or bad opinions. The rest of us loved the video and would like to put a good review for the video.

2. LAUGHING WILL HELP YOU LIVE LONGER

Although there are only suspicions of this, some researchers have stated that laughing can help you live a longer, happier life. I would think happier because you are laughing, it would be a shame if it made you sadder. I read an article last year on Psychology.com called "Does Humor Make You Live Longer?" Studies showed that laughing helps reduct blood pressure, dull pain and even burns calories (maybe that's why I'm so skinny har har har). But really, just think about it. Some of the greatest comedians in the world live a long life Take for example the amazing Bill Cosby (bless him for being so funny). Bill Cosby is 77 years old, yet he makes an effort to go to many functions and events. Comedians live longer because they seem to enjoy life more. They know that if they took life too seriously they would be working an office job that meant nothing to them. I'm not saying if you're funny drop everything and go become a comedian, that's a hard business to please. But make sure that whatever you're doing in life it isn't sucking the fun or "funny" out of you.

3. BECAUSE SOME OF THE GREATEST BUSINESSES CAME ABOUT

Don't tell me you've never read an article on Buzzfeed or Reddit. Or watched a YouTube video from FunnyOrDie. These magnificent businesses came about because people believed that great humour should only be shared. I will say, not all the articles and videos posted to these sites are humorous, but most of them are able to crack me up. I mean, watch this Buzzfeed video and tell me you didn't laugh:

So really, the point of this post was to tell you: LAUGH A LITTLE. You may feel bad for laughing at some jokes, but in the end you'll get over it. I don't think comedians like Bill Maher or Jon Stewart would have gotten very far if they had said "oh, well, I shouldn't make jokes at this because it could hurt someone's feelings". So laugh a little, joke around, post a funny video. It's your life, LIVE IT.

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#FixIt

I recently read a wonderful article on LinkedIn about the thoughts of hunger. Here is the article: 

The one thing I'd fix? That’s simple, for me. I’d help people gain a better understanding of global hunger.

Notice I didn’t say solve global hunger. Obviously, that’s the ultimate goal. But I think the precondition is understanding. If we could create that, we’d get a lot further toward solving the hunger itself.

You might object: Don’t people already know about global hunger? Don’t they know there are millions of people whose lives are diminished or even devastated by hunger in places like Africa and Asia?

My answer is yes and no.

Yes, in the sense that most of us are at least vaguely aware of the statistics. But how many have any real understanding of the problem?

I know that until I’d traveled in the developing world, I had never seen a seriously malnourished person, unless it was someone suffering from a severe illness. I know I’d never seen a person die from a virus or an infection that any well-nourished person would fight off without even noticing. I know I’d never heard a hungry child cry herself to sleep or seen – except in a photo — a boy with the distended belly of malnourishment.

So hunger isn’t real and immediate to us. It’s a hazy abstraction. Yet hunger afflicts somewhere between 800 million and 1 billion people on the planet — almost one out of seven. And over the next 35 years, the global population will swell by about 2 billion more — with almost all of that growth taking place in the places where hunger already exists today.

We even have hunger here in the United States. The scale of the problem is mind-boggling. Yet how many of us really grasp that either?

Hunger, unfortunately, is not cinematic. It doesn’t hurtle out of the air in a terrifying plunge or explode in a fireball (airplane crashes now usually account for less than 1,000 deaths per year). It doesn’t involve an attack by a frightening beast like a shark (less than a dozen deaths worldwide per year) or direct violence of any kind. It’s mostly silent and invisible: a series of pangs, an ache, spread across about a billion stomachs.

It’s easily misunderstood too. Some people think it’s inevitable: “The poor have always been with us.” In the developed world, we’ve come to be fatalistic about hunger in the developing world.

That fatalism is misplaced. In the late 1960s, a respected population biologist, Paul Ehrlich, famously predicted the imminent starvation of hundreds of millions of people on the Indian subcontinent. But thanks in great measure to Dr. Norman Borlaug, the Green Revolution averted that catastrophe.

In fact, today, hundreds of millions of people in China and India and other Asian and Latin American countries have emerged into the middle class in the last decades, and even more will do so over the next 35 years. They now have money to buy good food. And according to a recent McKinsey report, Africa already has more middle-class consumers than India, which has a larger population.

Very few things in this world are inevitable; we only think they are. We can conquer the hunger problem and achieve global food security. We already have many of the tools and an understanding of what’s needed:

• Increased farmer yields through the use of advanced breeding, biotechnology and methods of precision farming that can boost crops’ productivity, in part by increasing their resilience to diseases and a changing climate.
• Dramatic reductions in crop loss and food waste through improved methods for harvest, transportation and storage.
• Adoption of better balanced diets that include more fresh fruits and vegetables

But for all this to happen, our leaders and above all the public itself must care – deeply and viscerally. And the precondition for that is understanding.

That’s what I’d fix.

My favorite quote from this article is: "Very few things in this world are inevitable; we only think they are". The truth is, people believe that if they help a cause, they have done the greatest good of humanity, whether or not they understand what they are actually doing. Research is key to understanding anything that has to do with understanding certain causes. It isn't only in the organization that you have to understand, but it is also everything that surrounds the organization. Take for example trafficking. There are two major types of trafficking: drug trafficking and human trafficking. Both are extremely serious, but it is important to know the difference between them before you say "I am against trafficking" (of course it's good if you're against both, but you have to make sure you know what you're going against). 

It's also true in the sense that until some of of us witness things like hunger or poverty, we won't realize how bad things are. The media, unfortunately, does not hype up enough about some of these problems, so we never take notice to them. However, taking an interest in some of these issues can lead to significant changes. My friend Gabriel and I are creating an organization which will allow us to donate clothing to children and adults in South Africa. We chose South Africa because Gabriel has volunteered there for the past 2 summers and knows organizations who would love to help us. In the future, once our organization takes off (hopefully), we want to spread out further to places like India, Indonesia, the Middle East, and many more places. Although this process will take some time, I am committed to making an impact.

So take an interest in a cause, don't just donate money. Volunteer at an organization or start something up at your university. It doesn't matter if it is big or small, you are making an impact, you are spreading the word. When you make something important, everyone else will follow.

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It's been a while

I know, it's been a long time since I have been on my blog. Been quite busy lately with my part time job as a Marketing Intern for Simon Property Group, finishing up my last course for school (long story), and applying for jobs in London. But I wanted to write a post today about something that has bugged me for sometime.

GPA. This one mark that is made permanent on a piece a paper most of the time determines whether you'll get that high paying, valuable job you've always dreamed of. It seems more and more companies are deeming it the most important aspect of hiring compared to the skills that a candidate has. I recently read an interesting LinkedIn post titled "When Your GPA Doesn't Matter" by Andy Yeo and it really impacted me. Although I will say he is right when he says don't knock yourself down and fail because you feel you're better than school, but don't think that your GPA and degree are the only things that will get you far in life.

"The truth is, your theoretical knowledge is not your most 
valuable asset - your hunger to make a difference and bring a creative and innovative perspective to the table is."

Stole this quote from his article, but it is definitely well said. For me, I've had a lot of experience in the marketing world, ranging from sales jobs (which were my beginning positions) to marketing assistant to event planning. Although some jobs were short term because of location, I gained so much knowledge and experience from each position that will help me in my future positions. To be honest, these jobs gave me more knowledge of what the real world offers than my courses did. I will admit it, I wasn't the grandest in University. When I entered UTSA, I wanted to do Biology and follow in my brother's footsteps and do something incredible in science. But let's be real, Universities make it extremely difficult for students to even stay in the majors like biology or engineering. I completely understand though. In order to make it into a field like that you have to be tough and ready for challenges. Unfortunately, that was not the case for me. I struggled. I struggled A LOT. I ignored the advice from people to switch to business because I was hard headed and wanted to push myself into a career that wasn't for me. Don't get me wrong, I love science, but it wasn't a career path that I was meant to walk on. Although I went down a deep, dark path, I found light at the end of my tunnel. I pulled myself up, switched to the business school, and I will be getting my degree at the end of this month. 

But what some businesses don't understand is that the reflection of grades may not be because of lack of interest or failure to study. I studied my tail off to get good grades when I was both a business major and biology major. Every semester that I did with my business major I was either taking 18+ credit hours and/or working. My Fall 2013 semester at UTSA consisted of me taking 18 credit hours and joining various organizations and Spring 2014 consisted of working a 12 hour week, founding an organization, and completing 19 credit hours of school. Trust me when I say I was not disappointed when I received all B's in my upper level division marketing courses. And yes, I did get a couple of C's while I was doing my business courses. I'm not the greatest test taker. I get confused and nervous about multiple choice exams because all the answer choices sound right. I give kudos to those who are great at taking those exams. But if you gave me a piece of paper and told me to write down what I learned from the course, I could probably write you an essay. 

I've failed many times in my life. In high school, university, even personal events. But take this quote "Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end. Failure is something we can avoid only by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing." With failure comes success. From failure, I was able to realize I have a passion for event planning. I've planned events ranging from resume workshops to my most recent event Vogue Fashion Week. From failure, I've become more experienced with graphic design and hope to one day start my own business in promotional design work and wedding invitations. From failure, I was able to start this blog and express my interests and opinions in the one way I truly love: writing. 

Successful people like Mark Zuckerberg, David Ogilvy, Rachael Ray, Walt Disney, and many more either dropped out of college or never attended. They all knew that they had skills and knowledge in them that a 4.00 GPA couldn't match up to. I'm not saying don't attend University, it's an amazing experience where you'll meet great people and take interesting courses. But don't ever sell yourself short because you received a D or an F on an exam or your GPA is/was below a 3.00. You have it in yourself to do great things. As Andy Yeo put:

"At the end of the day, how well you do in school is only a black and white score on a piece of paper - what will count the most is the passion you have for what you do."

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Another job hunt "rant"

Recently, I have been applying for jobs that are located in London. I haven't told many of my friends just yet because I am waiting for an actual offer to pop up. However, this is an exciting opportunity for me to get out into the real world and be in a "new" place (although, London isn't THAT new to me). London is a beautiful city, everyone I have talked to that lives there has said they still have so many things they want to do there. Plus, it's so easy to get to places within Europe, so I can finally visit all the countries I want to.
So far, I've had two interviews for a trainee Recruitment Consultant position and I feel that the company likes me. The only problem I know they have is when I will be able to fly over to the UK to start. My timeline (being realistic) is to get there around mid October/early November. However, I am willing to work something out with them to get there as early as possible, earliest being beginning of October. They are understanding in the sense that I will need time to get my stuff together and leave.

I guess I'm writing this post to give advice for those who want to move out the country or even to another state:

1. If you plan to move to another country, make sure you have the RIGHT to work in that country. Lucky for me, I have dual citizenship here in the US and in the UK. No company is going to just hire you because of your qualifications only. They want to make sure you have taken all steps in being able to get on a plane and get to work when they say they want you. I'm not sure the steps to take to get a working visa, but that's why Google is there!

2. Moving to another country or even another state can be quite scary. You may not know anyone or this may be the first time you'll be traveling on your own. I promise you, it's not as scary as you think. If you are like me, 23, fresh out of college, now is the time to get up and get out. There is no point sitting around pondering whether or not it is a good idea. You can always come back to your home and start again, but you won't always get the chance to get out and start a new life.

3. Yes, you will miss you family and friends, but I promise you they won't want to hold you back from what you really want. My mum and dad love me and they are excited I am taking this big step to move to London (because they basically met and grew up there). I know they are pretty sad that I will be the last child leaving the nest and I will not be a 3 1/2 hour drive away anymore, they are completely happy that I will finally be happy. My friends have gone nuts because now they have a place to stay if they ever decide to come to London! It's a big step and I recommend for those who want to do it take about a year or two and think about whether this is what YOU want. You may regret it if you decide to just get up and leave. Fortunately for me, this has been a big dream of mine and it might actually come true soon!

This is really the 3 big pieces of advice I can give. I'll give more updates once I know my job status (but I am keeping positive that I will get this one!). Will write again soon!

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OH, hey London!

Hey everyone! Sorry I have not been able to update on anything, but I am finally in London! Back home and it feels SO good. I can't wait to upload photos onto here and show you all the places I am going to go to!

Will update later this week! :)

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Update on my Creative Resume!

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Surfs Up

One of my favorite posters I've made. Not only because of the font I used, but because I love surfing, the ocean, and anything to do with the beach. :) Didn't take me very long to make (super simple), but it's definitely my favorite!

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Designing a T-Shirt

UPDATED SHIRT

So, for some reason the actual saved file is too big so I had to screen shot the shirt. I'm so excited to be able to design the next Campus Recreation employee shirt, it's a big honor. Hopefully they'll be able to do the actual pocket and not just an "image" of a pocket on the shirt. I still need to incorporate our mascot, the roadrunner, into the pocket or shirt some how. But I do love the way it has turned on.

UPDATE: changed up the pattern colors and now the roadrunner looks a lot better. Had to change the font because it was too "feminine" before. Now, it is a more neutral font. Still wanted to include the pattern in the word "UTSA". AH EXCITEMENT!

Sucks that I am leaving University for the real world at the end of July :(, but they said I will still get a shirt if they like it! So I'm going to rock that wherever I get a job (which will hopefully be with Fleishman Hillard as a Creative Intern!!! Still crossing my fingers for a first interview..)

Whoever reads my blog, you are more then welcome to write your opinion down. My boss helped out and gave me some great critiques and advice. So, I would love to hear from anyone else too. Critiques are not meant to be a punishment or to hurt feelings, they are there to help. Learned that from being on the debate team and from my job. 

I love designing!!

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There's no place like London

In 20 days I will be flying out to London, England. I have missed England so much and all my family and friends that live there. Want to know a fun fact? I am a British citizen, been one since I was wee baby. I will be in London from July 25th-August 18th. My cousin is getting married and I am so excited for her because I have not seen my Dad's side of the family for 3 years. I am also going to see one of my best friends that lives there. Another fun fact: her mom is my mom's best friend! They have known each other since they were in school together in India.
I can't wait to share all the experiences and photographs on this blog whenever I go! :)

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What's on the side of the Chipotle bag?

It's not unusual to find stories or writing on the side of bags. However, it is unusual when the story is something that makes you think. Chipotle did just that to me one Wednesday night. While digging into my delicious steak bowl, I looked at my bag and saw a story on the side of it. Of course, I brushed it off thinking that it was just some same-old Chipotle story about how they use fresh ingredients and they are awesome (which they are!). But then, I glanced at the title and decided to read it over:

A Two-Minute Case for Optimism
By Steven Pinker

It's easy to get discouraged by the ceaseless news of violence, poverty, and disease. But the news presents a distorted view of the world. News is about things that happen, not things that don't happen. You never see a TV crew reporting that a country isn't at war; or that a city hasn't had a mass shooting that day, or that millions of 80 year-olds are alive and well.

The only way to appreciate the state of the world is to count. How many incidents of violence, or starvation, or disease are there as a proportion of the number of people in the world? And the only way to know whether things are getting better or worse is to compare those numbers at different times: over the centuries and decades, do the trend lines go up or down?

As it happens, the numbers tell a surprisingly happy story. Violent crime has fallen by half since 1992, and fiftyfold since the Middle Ages. Over the past 60 years the number of wars and number of people killed in wars have plummeted. Worldwide, fewer babies die, more children go to school, more people live in democracies, more can afford simple luxuries, fewer get sick, and more live to old age.

"Better" does not mean "perfect." Too many people still live in misery and die prematurely, and new challenges, such as climate change, comfort us. But measuring the progress we've made in the past emboldens us to strive for more in the future. Problems that look hopeless may not be; human ingenuity can chip away at them. We will never have a perfect world, but it's not romantic or naive to work towards a better one.

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Wedding Invites

So, my Aunt asked me to make a Mehndi invite for my cousin's wedding and I think I did a really good job! I might start an invite website :P. Not bad for my first time, helps that I know how to use fonts together well!

Crossed out certain information so it wasn't public where it is or where they live! Have to keep my cousin's wedding a private event.

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Why on earth would you want to work for an Advertising Agency?!

That's a question I get from some of the people I end up telling when they ask, "what do you want to do now that you graduated?" A lot of individuals believe that advertising agencies "corrupt" the consumers into believing that they need to buy a product. To me, the point of advertising is to let the consumers know that you this is the product that is being sold, let them understand the basics of what it is used/good for, and hope that in the end, they'll want to know more about it and if they like it, let them buy it out of their own free will.

I remember when I was in an interview, and the interviewer asked me "What do you believe Advertising is?", I didn't know what to say. After taking my advertising course, I realized what Advertising is. Advertising is the start of a dream. It is the the one step that lies between your product and the publicity of your product. It is an idea that someone came up with to introduce whatever is being sold to the world, in hopes that everyone will see what they see. I know it sounds kind of cheesy in some sorts, but to me, that is what Advertising is. People who are passionate about helping others with finding what they want or need.  

In a letter Bill Bernbach wrote to Gray Advertising, he stated "I don’t want academicians. I don’t want scientists. I don’t want people who do the right things. I want people who do inspiring things." Bill Bernbach, one of the greatest advertisers of his time, was a motivated and passionate man. Just to give you some insight on how brilliant this man was, here are a few quotes (copied from buildingpharmabrands.com) that have inspired many:

1. The most powerful element in advertising is the truth.
2. Forget words like hard sell and soft sell. That will only confuse you. Just be sure your advertising is saying something with substance, something that will inform and serve the consumer, and be sure you’re saying like it’s never been said before.
3. Advertising doesn’t create a product advantage. It can only convey it.
4. In advertising not to be different is virtually suicidal.
5. It is insight into human nature that is the key to communicator’s skill. For whereas the writer is concerned with what he puts into his writings, the communicator is concerned with what the reader gets out of it. He therefore, becomes a student of how people read or listen.
6. Our job is to sell our client’s merchandise…not ourselves. Our job is to kill the cleverness that makes us shine instead of the product. Our job is to simplify, to tear away the unrelated, to pluck out the weeds that are smothering the product message.
7. If you stand for something, you will always find some people for you and some against you. If you stand for nothing, you will find nobody against you, and nobody for you.
8. The truth isn’t the truth until people believe you and they can’t believe you if they don’t know what you’re saying, and they can’t know what you’re saying if they don’t listen to you, and they won’t listen to you if you’re not interesting, and you won’t be interesting unless you say things imaginatively, originally, and freshly.

I know that is more than a "few", but there were 20 and it was hard to just pick 3. But, you get my point, right? Advertising is a hard business. It takes creative, innovative, and down right awesome people to work for great companies like Wieden + Kennedy, Ogilvy, Leo Burnett, Moroch, and CP + B. 

And that is why I would want to work for one of those companies. Advertising is more than just putting commercials together and making the clients happy. It's making sure that the vision of the company is let out into the world for everyone to see. Donald Draper from Mad Men was very passionate about what I am talking about. He had vision and he wanted his clients to know that they needed to have it as well.

Recently, I applied for an advertising firm called Moroch Partners. The headquarters is based in Dallas, but I applied for the Accounts Coordinator position in St Louis. I know, I keep applying for jobs in St Louis, but for some reason, those are the only legitimate "entry level" jobs that seem to pop up whenever I look. Their #1 client is Mcdonalds, who they have been with for 30+ years. Other clients include, but are not limited too: Vision Works, Columbia Pictures, Make a Wish Foundation, Walt Disney Pictures, Coca Cola (my roommates favorite), and a lot more. To be able to work for a company like this one would be a dream come true. I am a very hard worker and a very determined person. When I see something that I want, I work my way to get it. I want Moroch Partners to see that I am a motivated and passionate individual who is not one to disappoint. Being a quick learner, I can get tasks done quicker than most. So, I am crossing my fingers that this advertising agency will see that I am the perfect fit for their company!

To end this post, I will leave you all with a quote: 

"Advertising is fundamentally persuasion and persuasion happens to be not a science, but an art."

- William Bernbach

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You have no sense of fashion...

Meryl Streep has always been a huge idol for me. She's smart, sensible, humorous, and drop dead gorgeous. Don't understand how she was written up as "worst dressed" ever. She's a classic woman!

Watch this video and later tonight I'll emphasize more about why I love her and what she says! 

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Jobs on jobs on jobs

Applying for jobs is a real drainer. I'm so washed out from clicking the apply button and writing cover letters. However, there has been good news!

1. I had an interview for a Marketing firm in San Antonio for an Entry Level Marketing/Sales position that can build up into management. I'm all for it, I don't really know what I want to do within marketing yet, so it may be a great experience for me. I may or may not have a second interview on Friday, so I'm crossing my fingers for it. I got a second interview for Thursday!! I'm pretty excited because this isn't some part time job, it's a REAL job. I'll update on this post on Thursday for what happens! :)
Update on this. It was a "sales job", so it technically wasn't a real job. One thing that frustrates me about companies now-a-days is that they throw titles around like nothing. An Account Manager, the job I applied for, isn't someone who goes out and does Retailing Sales at Walmart trying to get people to know you have good prices for Direct TV. An Account Manager is one who maintains the company's existing relationships with a client or group of clients, so that they will continue using the company for business (Yes I quoted this from Wikipedia, sue me). But I'm not fretting over this, I'm very happy that I got to go through the interview process and learn more about how to answer questions. Good experiences, bad jobs. :(

2. I have a phone interview for another Marketing firm, but it's in St Louis as an Account Manager. Lord knows that I'm going to fight for this job like no other. My goal is to get to Chicago, and St. Louis is pretty close (around 5 hours). Although I do know someone really well in St Louis, so it would be nice to have one friend there! I found a cute little apartment as well that is pretty cheap, around $850!! Hopefully, if I can land a second interview and an offer, I will earn around $45K, which I can at least survive off of until I move up. CROSS YOUR FINGERS FOR THIS, because I will most likely take the offer if they give one to me.

Okay update on this job. So STL Executives is apparently a scam company and I'm not going to take any of their offers. However, I did find a couple of companies/advertising firms in Chicago, St. Louis, Michigan, and Boston that are entry level jobs such as Accounts Coordinator and Market Research, so I've applied to those! I'm more than qualified for those jobs, so hopefully one of the companies will look at me and like me!

3. I don't think it's unreasonable for me to not want to live in Texas anymore. As much as I love it here (I will always be a Texas gal at heart), I need to branch out to somewhere new. Like I tell everyone, "I'd rather be some what struggling somewhere else than live at home and be rich". Richness doesn't just come from money, it comes from experiences and from the people you meet. It's nice knowing that I have someone in St Louis that I know, but that's good enough for me. I don't need a million friends in a city to be happy, I'm quiet content being on my own. After rooming with Myra and Meisha, I don't think I could ever have roommates again, or ones that would understand me like them. But, I'm still hoping for a Chicago job, although it is more expensive than St Louis, it's the city I'm bound to live in. It's calling my name!!!!

But I will keep you all updated on the job search! And if I land one, you'll see an all CAPS post about it! :)

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My leadership paper

This is my leadership paper I submitted for my Management Strategy course.

            “He who has never learned to obey cannot be a good commander”. None other then Aristotle, a great man who is well known for his philosophical thoughts and visions, spoke these famous words. When an individual becomes a great leader, many love to say, you were born to be a leader! Unfortunately, I’d have to disagree with those words. No one is “born” to be a leader, you learn to become one, as Aristotle so slyly puts into his quote. You learn from individuals who have great influence on you, individuals who will have the most impact on your present, as well as your future.  For me, there are many people in my life that have inspired, motivated, and pushed me to become the person I am today.

            When I was younger, I was a follower. I tended to do as the group did, follow instructions exactly, basically I was a goody-two-shoes. I didn’t really have what it took to be anything more than a sheep following the herder. As I grew older though, I started breaking away from the norm. In high school, I decided to move away from my user-abuser friends and join the debate team, leading to one of the best choices I ever made. From there, I made friends that changed the way I viewed life. I met a guy (who truthfully I talked to because I thought he was outrageously handsome) who helped me transition into the belief that I should always put what I want first and put others second as needed. I made girlfriends that, even though we don’t see each other often, when we do, it’s like we were back in high school cracking jokes and acting like fools. Some things that debate did teach me though was that achievements are not always handed to those who work hard, failure is an option, although it isn’t one that you want, and that even if you are sick as a dog, you still go in front of that judge, apologize for any throat clearing or sniffles, and speak your heart out.

            But the time before University is a time I truly don’t like reminiscing over. So, jumping to University, which ended up being a tornado filled with happiness, craziness, madness, depression, and achievement. I entered University as a biology major, planning on doing something in the pre-whatever I would like area. It was exciting being a freshman, being somewhere new, where only a few people from high school knew who you were truly were, but others just saw a fresh face. To give you some background on why I chose Biology: my brother is in the PhD program at Yale University, studying in Chemistry. My mom’s side consists of doctors, researchers, grad students, businessmen, basically the whole shebang of successful people. Being a follower, I wanted to be just like my brother and the science side of my family, so I picked biology (like an idiot).  This was also the year I met the two friends that became like sisters to me. Myra, who has been my roommate since day one of University and Meisha, who became my roommate my junior year. I knew both of them since middle school and high school, but I didn’t get to truly know them until I lived with them. Truthfully, they are the only two people that know me. When I say know me, I mean they have seen me go through my worst moments, my break downs, break ups, deaths, pretty much anything you can think of they have probably seen. One of those moments included when I got dismissed from UTSA. Yes, I said it, I was dismissed from UTSA because my grades were not up to par and I failed out. During my junior year of University, I started dropping my responsibilities and paid more attention to having fun. Of course I had a boyfriend and of course, I ended up putting him before anything (which was the main reason why we ended up not working out). I would make countless trips to Austin to see him, go out and spend money like it was falling out of trees, and enjoy life like I had no worries in the world. That was until I got the notice at the end of Spring 2012 that I had been dismissed.  I can’t remember my initial reaction, but I am pretty sure my body went ice cold and my heart stopped for a good minute or two. I did all the research on how I could get back into University and took two summer courses at Northwest Vista. But of course I ended up slacking even more than I did during spring semester, I mean, it was summer! I ended up getting a C and D in the courses I took, ending me at a 1.98 for the semester. I remember having to tell my parents about everything and how angry and disappointed they were in me. I don’t think I have ever cried so much in my entire life until that moment. Losing my parents trust and having them tell me how disappointed they were was the worst feeling I have ever felt. My mom and I were on non-talking terms, my dad didn’t know what to tell me, and my brother just told me things would all be okay. I convinced my parents that I could talk to the dean of the University and persuade her to put me back in on probation and strict terms.  I didn’t eat, I didn’t sleep, and I lost all the weight I could have ever gained from college because of how anxious I was. After my brother’s gradation in Saratoga Springs, my mom and I drove from Houston to San Antonio to meet the Dean. She was beyond friendly and understanding of the situation. However, she wouldn’t break the rules just because of my convincing arguments. She told me to continue my education by going to community college, passing those classes, and applying for Spring 2013.  I begged my mom not to take me back to Houston and after much crying and pleading, we drove to Northwest Vista and applied for three courses: Accounting 1, Calculus for Business, and Macroeconomics. That was the moment I decided to stop following and to start listening. No one believed I could do Biology, not because I wasn’t smart enough, but because it wasn’t something my family saw me doing in my future. My parents would constantly tell me that I would be great in marketing or business, but I would always brush aside their “nagging” and push forward into the sinkhole that I was slowly drowning in. It’s weird that now I don’t feel as embarrassed to say that I was dismissed. Maybe it’s because it feels good to know I was able to climb up that rugged mountain, reach the top, and scream “I MADE IT” (I’m still waiting to actually do this in real life). I went from Northwest Vista (with all A’s) to UTSA, passed every semester, which was something I was never able to achieve in my previous semesters, and graduated with a BBA in Marketing. The lesson I learned from this is that sometimes failing is okay. To become a better person, as well a good leader, you also need to listen to those around you who are looking out for your best interests. Being at your weakest sometimes will help you be at your strongest.   

            But the struggle led me to meeting some pretty inspiring people, one of them being my professor, Richard Utecht, also known as The Bear. When I first took his once a week, 3-hour course, I thought he was going to a piece of cake (like rate my professor stated). Boy, was I completely wrong. His exams were extremely hard, his I.C.E.’s (in class exams) were always a surprise, and his lectures were extremely long (but that was because we only met once a week).  I was the quiet student, hardly talked, and never wanted to be called on. And surprisingly (at that time I found it surprising), he knew that I was that way just by looking at me. I ended up getting a C in that class because I didn’t take it a seriously as I should have. So, of course being the pusher that I am, I decided to take him for Advertising, and that was probably the best decision I ever made. I knew I what I had to do to succeed in the class, how to study for his ICE’s and exams, but I never expected to form any sort of friendship with him. Every Tuesday and Thursday, my friends Maddie, Adam, and I would go up to his office an hour before class started and converse about anything that was on our mind. I don’t think I have ever enjoyed going to class early until that moment. Now, I am his TA, grading papers for the classes that I previously took. It’s weird that I actually love going and sitting in his course and watching the students listen to him lecture. I also enjoy relearning everything that I was taught because you can never hear enough of the things you enjoy (which would be Advertising). What makes me enjoy being around Dr. Utecht is the fact that he interacts well with students. He isn’t harsh with his words, he doesn’t brush off student’s problems, but he is stern and is very good at reading people who are “suck-ups” and try to make friendships for an easy grade. Dr. Utecht has inspired me to reach further into my education and go into the PhD program later on so I can become a professor. Never in my 19 years in school have I ever thought of becoming a professor because I have no patience when it comes to teaching. However, his teaching style is so unique that it makes me want to be able to teach students everything that I have learned. But without this man’s help, I would have never thought of joining the American Marketing Association (AMA). I had decided to go to the meeting because he had recommended it and said that they were looking for officers. At this point, AMA was trying to build itself back up from the previous leaders. I didn’t expect to get an officer position as soon as I offered to be one, but it was a good thing I did. Being Vice President of Careers wasn’t the greatest job to have, but it was a job that educated me on how to keep in contact with clients and businesses and how to be professional when meeting them. Not only did this organization help me build up great leadership skills, it also helped me make friends. Weird, a 23 year old who has been in University for 5 years needs help on how to make friends. However, when I was Biology major, I wasn’t very into hanging out with new people nor was into meeting new people. Everyone seemed to have his or her own little “clique” and I just didn’t fit in. After I joined AMA, I found it was nice to finally meet people who didn’t want to just hang out with their own friends and they actually wanted to hang out with me. Not going to lie, I did brush off hanging out with them because I was semi stuck on being my “biology major”, introverted self. But now, one of them is a really good friend of mine and a couple of others are super fun to hang out with.

            To go back to Aristotle’s quote, everything I have learned from the people I have hung out with, the experiences I have had, the courses I have taken, have all taught me how to become a leader. I was never “born” to be one, but I knew that I could be one. Every project or group presentation I have had to do, I have always taken charge to make sure everything goes as planned. Recently, I read a book called #GIRLBOSS by Sophia Amoruso. This woman started out a colleges drop out, who sold clothes on eBay, while trying to survive on part-time jobs. She is now the Founder and CEO of a million dollar company called Nasty Gal. Her book was the story of my life (except I went to college and experienced what she did).  Most of my life I have been into the fashion world, wrapping myself around the trends and reading any type of article that dealt with whatever I was interested in. To give you an idea of how much I loved it, when trying on my first pair of shoes, my mom said I refused to take them off. When they tried to take them off my feet, I started to cry, and so they had to check them out while I was still wearing them. Every time I would get something new, I would always show it off to people and say, “Look at my new outfit/shoes/whatever”! Sadly, at one point, I ended up giving up on my goal of getting into the fashion industry because I was not getting any experience due to UTSA not offering anything within design, apart from interior. I have never bought an outfit from Nasty Gal (due to being poor as hell), but I was always inspired by the outfits that were put together on Ms. Amoruso’s website. Her novel has inspired me to continue on with my goal and push forward. To get experience, you need to work for it. My goal is to be able to work for Nasty Gal, from the bottom of course, and get to the top and maybe work for a company like Vogue or Fashion magazine, where I will be able to write and design for them.

            To become a leader, you have to learn from everything including your experiences and from the people you meet. From my experiences from hitting rock bottom to getting to where I want to be (for now), I can say that I am finally learning what it means to become a leader. Although I have a long way to go until the moment I can officially say, “I am a true leader”, I am excited to experience anything that gets me to that stage.

“A leader does not deserve the name unless he is willing occasionally to stand alone.”

–Henry A. Kissinger.

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