What next?

Everyone expects you to be successful.  I KNOW I will be successful, but what happens when other people's expectations do not match your own?  I love my mother but I am not sure if both of our goals are compatible or if I even know what I would define as success.

Is it money?  Many people believe that money does not buy happiness, but instead leads to a more comfortable and predictable life.  This sounds splendid, but I do not think I want a predictable life.  A lot of money sounds great, but if it is in a boring office setting for 40 hours a week in which you never get to enjoy the spoils of your hard work is it a life worth striving for?  I believe not.  I've been rich (for a college student) and poor several times, and I've found out that I've actually been happier with less money.  I  was making over $400 dollars a week at a tomato packaging plant.  To me this was an ungodly amount of money as it was my first job ever.  However the conditions were horrible and I nearly lost my hand.  I spent the rest of that summer stacking boxes and promised I would never return.  I don't even make $400 a month at my current job, but it has allowed me to devote more of my time and energy to things I do care about such as internships, clubs and spending time with family.

So what do I want to do?  I watched a wonderful video that asked how I would live if money weren't a concern.  It made take a very introspective look at myself and what I really get a buzz from.  After letting this question simmer for a while I've condensed my passion into three things: writing, travel and spontaneity.   Writing has been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember.  From kindergarten to college I have always been gravitate by the art of speaking on paper, and would love to do so for the rest of my life.  Travel is my newest love and it is a flame that is impossible to put out.  My family never had the opportunity travel as we came from a field labor background, but college opened the door to the rest of the world.  I traveled to Europe upon graduation and was blown away from the immensity of the world and all of it's beauty.  I have also traveled to various conferences around the country and am addicted to meeting new people and places.  It is this insatiable thirst of new experiences that drives me to live a life of unpredictability.  Variety is the spice of life, and I feel comfort in chaos.  I function better when handling a million things at once and the more I add to my plate the more efficient and satisfied I feel.

It will be interesting to read this ten years down the road and find out whether I choose to follow the safer, smarter route of becoming a highly paid public relations practitioner or do something daring such as become a world-traveling writer for National Geographic.  Either way, I want to live life to the fullest.

End of the semester

Here it is.  The homestretch.  After a long, difficult and tiring semester the end is near, and as we get closer to summer relaxation it sometimes gets harder and harder to stay productive.  It is the same pain as pushing through the fourth quarter of football games despite the fact that your body is breaking down and close to exhaustion.  The only advice I can give to help finish strong is to remember the importance of the final stretch of school.  Like a sports game you can play great all three quarters but if you give up in the fourth then you lose the game.  Push hard and the end result is the reward.  There is no point in wasting a whole semester because you were to lazy to study or didn't do that last assignment.  Stay busy.  Stay humble.   

President

I have always been worried about my leadership.  I always thought of myself as a doer instead of a leader, but I was recently elected president of PRSSA (Public Relations Student Society of America).  It is hard to tell what others think of you but I am grateful that students from my major had the confidence in me to name me their president.  Although I am a bit worried and nervous for next year I am excited because I have the ability and passion to do well.  I hope that all that I have learned during my past three years pays off.   

When did this happen???

Adulthood hits you hard.  I never realized how uncool and old I was until I yelled at my freshman neighbor for playing his music too loud.  It took me a while to realize what happened but when it did it hit me like a ton of bricks.  It made me wonder in what other ways I have grown older.  I have a job, pay all of my bills, pay for my education, actually look forward to sleeping in, am addicted to coffee and no longer find my favorite childhood comedy, Kung Pow, funny anymore.  I then remembered how clueless I was as a freshman in college.  I remember how scared and vulnerable I felt my first day at Fresno State when I saw my parents drive away after dropping me off.  I had no idea what I was doing at such a big school and had no idea what to expect.  I surely didn't expect to mature as I have.  I am fortunate to have been successful and often have freshman ask me questions.  Although it is strange being one of the older students on campus and one year away from graduation I am grateful for my experience and have learn to come to grips with the fact that I am older.  With age comes wisdom (usually), and in my case I love being able to mentor those who were nervous freshman like I was.

Spring Break!

Not going to lie, all that has been on my mind is spring break.  College students across the country have marked the date down on their calendars for this wonderful week of time off in the middle of a grueling semester.  It is a time to avoid the tests, midterms and hell for a week to gather oneself and return rested and ready to finish the semester.  Many often call college students lazy or party animals for taking a week off but they do not realize the struggles that college students must endure.  Gone are the days of working through college and graduating in four years.  Now students must take out expensive loans, often must take a fifth year do to cuts in classes and must work much harder than ever before due to the few amount of jobs available.  Breaks are healthy and necessary regardless of profession so to all my fellow college students out there enjoy this break, visit family and have FUN!! Because once you come back its business as usual.

Hitting the Spring wall

People tend to do better in college in the Fall semester than in the Spring and if you can't see the reason then look outside your window.  The weather is beautiful, the trees are covered in flowers and it is hard to think of a reason as to why someone would be so cruel and have school when days are so beautiful.  This is when time management comes in.  One must stay focused on the tasks at hand and finish them quickly and diligently in order to enjoy the beautiful days.  I will not lie, it has been hard to focus on tests when I just want to relax on a tropical beach with a pina colada.  This is when the greats separate themselves from the rest.  The work put in during this time makes all the difference, so manage your time wisely in order to enjoy the beautiful weather!

Missing pieces to the puzzle

Not everything in life always goes your way.  Perfection is never achieved, so you must overcome these obstacles thrown in your way and make due with what you have.  These hurdles may come in the form of a physical handicap, a broken home or anything in between.  If one wishes to succeed in life then one must triumph over these obstacles in order to be successful.  Eminem grew up in a home full of drug addicts and an abusive mother, but he used this experience in order to better himself  and change his life.  The late Steve Jobs was homeless at one point and spent his nights in college sleeping on the floor of his friends dormitory and in addition he was adopted, but he did not let his obstacles define him.  Many people often have a victim mentality and refuse to escape their comfort zone.  We can't let a couple missing pieces from the  puzzle blind us from the bigger picture.  In my circumstance I grew up without a father.  It pained me to not have that father figure guide me throughout life, but instead I learned to cope with problems on my own.  I could have chosen to wallow in my own pity but instead I chose to rise above it.  My story, however, has a happy  ending.  Recently my father has started becoming more involved and we have contacted each other three times in person this year alone.  Better late than never.  It seems that the missing piece in my life has been found and my puzzle is complete.