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I still have a year before this happens. But my life sure feels like this right now.

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What are you proud of?

I am applying for jobs. I found this amazing job that I would love to apply for and I have hit a road block. They ask you to answer one question when you email them with your resume. 

That you tell them something that you've done recently that you are proud of. 

I HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO ANSWER THIS QUESTION. 

I honestly feel like it’s impossible that I haven’t done anything in the last year that I am extremely proud of. 

Last year I ran and completed a half marathon, which I am extremely proud of but think it just happened to long ago to talk about. I have also done some really cool things at work, that I guess have never been done before. But I am not extremely proud of. This presents my dilemma. 

This also reminds me of how, I have completely messed up every interview I’ve been on in the last two months. I just can’t get overly excited about what I do at work, mostly because I don’t find it very challenging. The worst part is, I talk to other people and their like “Oh my gosh, you did all that! And I am normally just like “Yeah, should it have been difficult?” 

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Watching my Younger Sister Graduate

Let me back track about two years. I graduated from a wonderful university. Towson was a great place for me in a lot of ways. It was also a terrible place for me. I had great internships and friends and worked my butt off to have a social life and maintain a decent gpa. I thought things were amazing, and I was having a great time. 

I think started looking for jobs after I graduated. It literally felt impossible, BECAUSE I decided it was a good idea to move back to my home state of New Jersey and work in the biggest and best city in the world: New York City (yes, I’m biased, I don’t care). 

Eventually I found a job, that I hated. It abruptly ended four months later. I’ve already talked about my unemployment issues. ANYWAY. Just last week my sister graduated from Arizona State University. 

Just the name alone makes people say, “Oh!”. Where as when I say Towson, people are like “Where is that”? She also graduated from the best school for her major in the country. So yeah, I was feeling pretty down about my life choices. 

Then to make it worse, I had never seen so many decorated graduates in my life. Sure I knew people graduated with latin honors, from the honors college etc. But these 2015 graduates were unbelievable, and most of them had jobs already lined up to start right away. Jealous, me? YES. 

I have a huge problem just chit-chatting with people. I am not really good at small talk, unless I know you - then I’ll talk your ear off. But in interviews, basically, I choke. And I’m jealous of my sister and all these graduates because they seem so much better at talking in general. And I am 99% sure it definitely helped that they went to ASU. 

Anyway, now that I have expressed my extreme jealousy. I am still looking for a new job (aka. funemployment ends when you have no more money). And Congrats to the ASU 2015 grads, and all the grads of 2015. Good Luck where I am having trouble, finding a job or traveling the world. 

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Today is the day Marty McFly goes to the future!

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Minor Freak-Outs and thoughts

Minor Freak-Out: I told all you pretty people that I lost my favorite water bottle somewhere... turns out it was sitting behind my lamp. IN PLAIN SIGHT. Probably because I was thinking this is an excellent place to keep a water bottle while not in use. Welp, I found it and needless to say, I feel really dumb. 

In other news, do you ever just wait for your roommates to get home thinking “Yes I’ll finally have people to talk to”, “I can stop talking to myself out loud now”! Well I feel like the last few weeks with my roommates has been so strained... 

It seems like if I’m not the one initiating conversation it doesn't happen. Or they might just talk to each other or something. To wrap up, I feel very lonely surrounded by people.

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Water Bottles and Nooks

So as you have probably guessed I have been lacking in my online presence.  I was doing very well, posting a couple of days a week. But my most recent job had very strict website restrictions which made it difficult to write during work. Which is obviously what I enjoy doing during my lunch break, to help me unwind. It was unfortunate to say the least because I could write stuff in Word and then come on here while at home and just copy and paste, but it just wasn’t the same. So I stopped. 

Well I have been unemployed again, about 5 weeks now. It has been rough and terrible. I have (self bragging) a freaking awesome resume, and I am very proud of it. I have put a lot of work into it. But I get very nervous and flustered during interviews. I put all of this pressure on myself, knowing that my money is running out - and I still have to pay rent, loans and manage to feed myself. Not to mention wanting to go out with friends and have a good time. 

Let me just tell you, being unemployed while it’s beautiful outside is the WORST. Last year, I was unemployed during the summer - that was even worse because my apartment doesn't have central air conditioning. It’s all window units, and there are none in our living room. 

Anyway, back to the title. I have been attempting to work out more with all of this free time - it’s not working so well, but I attempt. And I have been going on interviews, and trying to meet up with old bosses, and things to make connections - something I am even worse at than interviewing. 

Well since last week, I have managed to misplace/lose both my water bottle and my Nook. I love both of these things so much, it’s unreal the love I have for inanimate objects. I think I have also managed to keep/hold on to/ NOT LOSE these things for over 3 years! As most of you probably know this is an accomplishment in and of itself, but I wanted to keep my streak going! Also because I have a Nook Simple Touch with I am fairly certain they don’t make anymore - so I can’t easily replace it. And I have been trying to find a back-up water bottle since I got this one with no luck. 

So this rant was just to share with everyone that 1. my life is a mess of awful interviews and awkward interactions and 2. lost dearly beloved inanimate objects. 

Until next time.  

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theSkimm is the daily e-mail newsletter that gives you everything you need to start your day. We do the reading for you - across subject lines and party lines - and break it down with fresh editorial content.

I went on a job interview a few weeks ago. I was asked in this multi-person interview if I was reading and up-to-date on the news. If I knew what had happened in the news yesterday, or even this morning. 

I felt so dumb. I couldn't say that I had been keeping up with the news, I rarely read anything that wasn't AdWeek or Ad Age. World news had never really interested me much. Local news seemed to always be about someone dying, some illness or a lost person.  Why would people willingly want to be listening to all of the terrible things that happen in the world. Wouldn't you rather, be in a peaceful bubble?

Obviously I couldn't have been more wrong. It's important to find out what is happening in the world, because well, it affects you everyday. Even if the news story is happening in another country. It affects you, where ever you are. 

Now, I am guilty of not having the time to read every single news article that comes out everyday. Now this is when I present you with the best news source that has ever been created, that my friend introduced me to. TheSkimm. It is absolutely AH-MAZING. It gives me just enough information to keep me interested, and breaks down each news story so it's easy to understand. And they will normally link to other longer articles, if you want to read more about a specific topic. 

Now, I can officially say that I enjoy knowing what's happening in the world. Before I started reading TheSkimm I would feel lost in conversation a lot, not really understanding what some people were talking about. But now, I have at my disposal an arsenal of quick facts to interject into a conversation and from there can give my opinion on other topics. 

I'm giving a BIG thank you, to my friend that introduced me to TheSkimm. And an even BIGGER thank you to TheSkimm, for doing all the hard work and sending out my version of the news everyday. Easy, bite-sized pieces of news that you can bring into any conversation "around the water cooler". 

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Post Grad: Year 1

Just over a year ago, I graduated from college and this is just a testament to how insane the past year of my life has been. Some serious ups, and some serious downs. Here is the overview of life: 

May 2013: Graduated from Towson University  June - July 2013: In Towson, lounging the summer away at my apartment complex pool and country club job. August 2013: Moved back into my parents house October 2013: Got my first big-girl (temp - didn't know what this meant at the time) job.  Middle of January 2014: Signed lease to move in to brand new apartments.  End of January 2014: Budget cuts, contracts ending. Current status - Unemployed.  Middle of March 2014: Moved into new apartment. Current status - still unemployed.  End of March 2014: THE DROUGHT IT OVER. I GOT A REAL-BIG-GIRL-JOB. AND IT'S FULL TIME.  Middle of June 2014: That glorious time of full-time employment ends with further budget cuts. Current status - Unemployed again...  Middle of July 2014: Freelance/Contracting with the same company that laid me off 6 weeks before...  22 September 2014: More budget cuts, and the freelance/contract job at that previous company has now completely come to an end.  23 September 2014: I get the good news that I will be starting a new temp job at a great new company on September 29. 

The roller coaster that has been my life for the past year, has consisted of more lay-offs that a 23 year old should have, more budget cuts than any multiple companies should go through, more stress and paranoia than any one person should have to handle. 

But at this moment with the beginning of my new temp job on the horizon. I feel like I'm gonna make it and all my hard work will pay off, in a big way, exactly how it's supposed to. Because I can believe in myself, and I trust that good things happen to good people.

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What do you want to be known for? 

This is a question I am still trying to answer, and my LinkedIn keeps asking me about. It says to write about something that I know, share my observations and personal experiences.  But what if I just don't know what I want to be known for? If I don't feel that my personal experiences are all that interesting. 

I'm supposed to be mindful of the audience that I'm writing for, keep my conversation focused on professional topics. But what if my mind is all over the place and I don't know which professional topics people want to read about? 

The last piece of advice LinkedIn gives me, is to write often. Which is the only thing I can agree with them on.  That is exactly what I am trying to do here, on my new blog. Attempting to put my thoughts on paper and share them with the world. One entry as a time. 

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The story of Rob Dyrdek goes a little something like this—talented skateboarder quits high school to turn pro at 16, becomes an influential skater and serial entrepreneur, realizes the power of storytelling, and catapults himself into the mainstream as one of the biggest stars in MTV history.

Wow, I just can't believe the amazing-ness of this article. It 100% explains why I want to get into content marketing and why I dedicate so much of my time to building my personal brand. Some of the things Rob Dyrdek said just really stuck with me. 

Storytelling is at the heart of every great idea. That is what I am working on here. I am working on my storytelling. I want to tell you my story. I want to show you why I'm the one worth choosing. 

Hope everyone enjoys Rod's article as much as I did. 

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Take a moment to breathe, and realize you are exactly where you are supposed to be. Things will always work out how they are supposed to, if you are courageous enough to take that next step. 

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Two New Things

I now do two new things that I wasn't doing before. 

1. I now subscribe to theSkimm and love reading it every morning. I also now subscribe to the Huffington Post and enjoy that also.  So overall I meant I now read the news every morning. 

2. I love adding new books to my Nook Book Wish List. I think I have an addiction. So far there are 89 books on my wish list. 

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New Goals

I have new goals. 1. I am going to write something everyday. 2. I am going to share something everyday.

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