Tag: pgl

A big part of my job is customer service and with that is a lot of talking on the phone and interacting with people. The office opens at 8:30 in the morning and by 9am I am already dealing with town emergencies and handling situations. This month we have had one of our properties broken into, the beach vandalized and alarms going off in buildings causing the police to come to my office to the rescue. That is a lot of chaos before finishing my first cup of coffee in the morning!

Some days I am very chipper on the phone but when it comes to Friday I am exhausted and my patience is depleted. Being nice is just part of my personality. It always has been. There are times when people call my office very upset and need someone to blame. I have been yelled at for leaves on the ground, ugly electrical wires hanging in the street, and for the lack of parking in a square mile town. It is a lot of concerns and being yelled at to just grin and bare it. But no matter how I complain I always take it like a good sport and answer the phone happy as always.

By using my own connections and networking I am working on a very cool project with my job that involves fundraising. Working for a nonprofit ~*fundraising*~ is like a magic word that brings joy to all involved. I was CC’d on a few emails of having my name, contact info, and agenda forwarding to different people higher up in the company. Which is amazing when I kept getting emails of my name being forwarded! But I noticed something that took away this deserved excitement. I was introduced as a “Very sweet, nice young lady trying to do good for her job…”. Is that how I am viewed to others? Do more experienced people in their field only see me as nice and sweet? I do not want to be nice and sweet when I am negotiating a deal or contract. I want to look ambitious and like a powerful businesswoman that I went to school for.

For the first time, my personality which, I have always viewed as my charm, is actually more of a fault and hurtful in my career. There is no solution to fixing my personality but I hope to see my work presence being more powerful than a sweet young lady one day.

   It was impossible to be on social media in December without seeing a Buzzfeed post or college student complaining about finals. While my friends who are still in school were complaining about the lack of sleep, amount of schoolwork and juggling it all it actually made me miss school. I had missed college before of course but I knew that being an adult and working had a lot to offer in different ways. I miss the social life and the friends I had but I also enjoy going to bed at 9pm every night and watching Netflix with my cat on a Saturday night. I have stopped wearing real clothes on the weekend and food shopping at Wegmans on Friday night is the highlight of my week.

But when I saw people in the library studying I really missed school. I will be the first to admit it that I am a very big nerd. I loved reading and writing papers. The library was my favorite spot on campus that gave me so much inner peace. With a cup of coffee from Starbucks in my hand I knew that I could conquer the world… or a fifteen page research paper due the next day. It is not until you have to say goodbye to something do you realize how much you miss it.

I know that I am not done with school forever. I am taking time off to save up some money, gain some independence (financially and residential) and figure out what my zip code will be for the next few years. I know the next step is my masters but I have goals of getting my PhD or going to law school. All of these options require a nice pretty check to pay for them so some time off is necessary for now to save some money.

Finals weeks was always my favorite because it was just an exam a day and I had all day to go at my own pace, goofing off with friends and everyone was delusional together with the lack of sleep.
 For now I sit at my work desk and stare longingly out the window and wish I could walk from Mandeville to Merion or even grab a coffee at Starbucks. I hated the long walks everywhere on campus but now I long to go on a walk and run into friends like I once.  I miss school and cannot wait to go back.

   This year has had its ups and downs. This year we had a relaxing weekend with family as a priority. We spent all day cooking as a family. Each person in charge of making a dish and competing who could make a better one. The kitchen looked more like an episode of Master Chef than a traditional family dinner. It was a great day to have our family together and with the people we care about.

Days like this one make me so thankful for family. Even though dinner took hours to cook I wish every day could be as special and fun as that one.

I wish this holiday was focused more on gathering instead of giving. The family gathered together in the kitchen was a blessing.

In one month I turn 23 and there are so many accomplishments and signs of growing up that occurred in my life the last year. My time as a 22 year old had so many rights of passage into becoming an adult looking back I can’t believe I was able to accomplish so much in just one year!

•  I finished two big senior projects, my senior thesis and management consulting proposal which took years and hours to complete but now I have these awesome projects with my name on them.
• I did a small accomplishment like graduating from college. NBD. An addict so accomplishment was walking across the stage and not tripping as I accepting my diploma. I feel like a deserve a reward for just that accomplishment!!
• I got my first adult job right after graduation. I have always worked since the young age of fourteen but now it’s nice to see that big pay check go into my bank account every two weeks. I never thought I would come back to my hometown and especially never say myself working for my town at all but this is a very cool and exciting adventure. I know it’s temporary but I am learning so much here. I get the artistic freedom and my ideas are respected. There are few people who can say they enjoy their first job right out of college.
• My most recent accomplishment is buying my first car all on my own. The car is signed and purchased in my own name after I did all of the research. Adding another expense for myself was even paying for my own car insurance. But a car was something I have wanted and needed for a long time for splurging for a nice, updated, and tech friendly car was worth it.

I have one more month of being 22 so I can’t wait to see what else is going to happen.

Okay so I recently did an adult thing. It is one of those things that involves a lot of paperwork and negotiating but is completely worth it in the end!  I had to choose dream college or car in high school and decided to go to my dream school in the city. It is not a decision I regret at all but I always wished that I had a car of my own. It was always a pain in the butt to ask friends and parents for rides or arrange car pooling.

It is really exciting to make a big purchase all on my own. Obvi my parents came with me but this is entirely all in my own name. This is definitely a big milestone in my life. I am so excited!! I mean look how cute it is! I am literally in love.