Summer and a Sweatshirt

I hope everyone had a fantastic Memorial Day Weekend! The pool finally opened up at my apartments, so I spent all my free time laying out and enjoying the 85 degree weather that we've been having in Lexington lately. All in all, everything is going pretty well. Despite a job, internship, and school, I haven't been very stressed. Though I've been spending most of my free time outside, I'm going to try to dedicate some time each week to post on here.

Poolside on Memorial Day weekend!

So I just need a moment to rave about this job I have. Five days a week from 1-4pm and 6-10pm, I call alumni of the University of Kentucky asking for donations for student scholarships. Yes, it's telemarketing - but for a good cause! Anyway, I was the first new caller to reach $5,000, so I got a free sweatshirt. I was ecstatic! I knew I was doing well, and it was nice to be rewarded for that hard work. Then, over the course of the next two days, I received over $6,000 in donations, bringing my total to over $12,000. I am just so grateful for the success I have had, and that I actually enjoy going to work every day!

21-Day Challenge | Keep Going!

If you are unaware of what the 21-day challenge is, click HERE to read all about it! All caught up? Good. Now, although the 21 days are over (and have been for quite some time now), I have learned a valuable lesson. I did not learn to run twice a day and cut sugar completely out of my diet, though that would be ideal. Heck, I'm sitting here snacking on chocolate as we speak. But I learned how to develop a healthy love for exercising - a love that I have been missing since I was a year-round athlete in high school.

Post-workout cruise through town.

Now that things have settled down a little bit and the semester is over, I have finally found time to get out and enjoy the wonderful weather. It's 80 degrees and sunny almost every day here and I love it! I've found a nice park with a paved loop going around the perimeter that is great for running! I've started drinking tons of water and am trying to cut those unhealthy lattes and specialty Starbucks drinks out of my diet (which is so difficult... Have you tried their new Oprah Chai Tea Latte?! Get it with a pump of vanilla and caramel and you will be in heaven. It tastes like Christmas!).

But doing this has helped me to have more energy throughout the day and more motivation to get things done! So even though the challenge is over, I encourage you to keep going! There are so many benefits that will come out of developing a healthy lifestyle, and it all starts today.

Hello, Kentucky

It's final - I am now settled down in Kentucky, have landed a job at the university, and will be starting my internship next week! Things seem to be slowly falling into place, except for the lack of an apartment, but hopefully that should be taken care of in a few days.

Its odd to be in a completely different place. I have to memorize the road names, how to get to school, and the local lingo. I mean, I didn't even know what brisket or Ale-8 was until I moved down here. And there's a difference between dinner and supper? Who knew.

The real challenge will be balancing my internship, job, and classes - all of which start next week. Good thing my internship only requires 10-12 hours a week. So 10 hours for that, 35 hours for a job, and about 5 hours a week for my online classes... 50 hours a week isn't too bad, right? It seems like a lot, but it still leaves about 8 hours a day for leisure time. Wish me luck!

21-Day Challenge | Week 3

Boy do I have some explaining to do... Remember when I ran that five miles last Sunday? Well I haven't exercised since then. But you can't blame me, I'm right in the midst of finals week, and you know how grueling that can be. However, I did stick to eating well all last week, which was a plus! However, seeing as I have four exams ahead of me, I have allotted myself four days to splurge, because when I'm stressed and need ice cream, I'm willing to indulge if it means I can calm down and continue studying. Today is the last reading day where we don't have classes, and tomorrow is the first day of finals.

Only one of my finals are actually scheduled, and it's tomorrow at 8 am... Wonderful. The rest of my exams are a free for all. The way BYU organizes final exams is that you have a week to take them. When you're ready, you line up at the testing center anywhere from 7 am to 9 pm to go in and take your test. I love this because this allows me to take all four of my exams by Saturday night so that I can fly home sooner. My flight for Seattle leaves early Sunday morning, and I am so excited to be able to spend a week there before heading off to my internship!

Once finals are over, I can promise you that I will start working out and eating better again! But for now, bring on the ice cream, root beer, better cheddar's, and easy cheese.

Thoughtful Thursday | When Opportunities Arise

“Take advantage of every opportunity to practice your communication skills so that when important occasions arise, you will have the gift, the style, the sharpness, the clarity, and the emotions to affect other people.” 

                                                                          –Jim Rohn, entrepreneur and author

I aspire to be one of the greatest journalists of our time. I do not wish for mediocrity. I wish to be the best. In order to accomplish this dream, it is my job to not wait for opportunities to come knocking. It is my job to chase down these opportunities, tackle them, and claim them for myself. I do not care if these occasions are inconvenient or require a little hard work and dedication on my part – it is the experience that will help me achieve my dreams.

As this semester draws to a close, I am forever grateful for the priceless experience I have received while working for the alumni relations department of BYU Magazine, and am ecstatic to see my first story in print by the time the next quarterly magazine is released. But the time has come to take these skills I have learned and build off of them in order to expand my talents. This summer I will be picking up and moving my life. Again. This time, to Kentucky. I will be a social media marketing intern through Bloc Marketing.

At this point, moving another 1,500 miles away doesn’t seem that bad after my recent moves from Washington to Utah and Florida. I am taking claim of an opportunity that I chased down, and will use these newfound talents to further my career in the field of communications. In this internship, I will learn to communicate with audiences more effectively and efficiently. It will definitely be a change from writing for a magazine, where which it is very passive and there is not a whole lot of interaction between me and the reader. Contrarily, this internship will successfully challenge me as I actively interact with audiences in real time.

So my message to you: Chase down those opportunities and take them! Do not worry about what others will think, the inconvenience it may cause, or the hard work it will require. If it brings you one step closer to achieving your dream, do it!