Busy, Busy, Busy Bee!

Things are really picking up at work!

Which is super weird, since that is the exact opposite of what everyone was expecting!

I do the marketing and design for a Real Estate company and, as I'm sure you can assume, not many people typically move during the Fall/Winter months.
Well, not so this year, it seems!

We have had SO many new listings and closed listings I just cannot keep up with it all!

I'm designing new brochures, flyers, and postcards like a mad woman!
At least I'm keeping busy!

I also have recently been added to the blog for our company, so that's exciting!
Right now, I'm just blogging about our new listings, but maybe someday soon I'll be able to contribute some actual content!

I am also still in the works of developing a remastered social media marketing plan, so that's pretty exciting!

I know some of you out there have got to be into marketing, or at least social media, so any tips would be extremely helpful!
I learned a lot in my coursework and internships, but there's no reason to not look for a different insight into it!

 

Working Woman

Okay, so I know what you all probably think of when you hear that, but I'm not that kind of Working Woman.

I'm just a woman.
Who works.
A lot!

Now that I'm working my real job and my host job at Mellow Mushroom, I'm working 60 hours a week! Woah!
I actually love it, though. For multiple reasons.

A) I'm making BANK. It's pretty fabulous. I still have to budget, but not nearly as much as I did before. Puppy? HERE I COME.

B) I'm back on a schedule. Before, I had pretty regular hours at Mellow, but I only worked 25 hours a week. That left me with entirely too much time; I was going insane.

But now, I'm working a lot. And I'm doing things that I actually LIKE!
It's so weird getting paid to do things that you enjoy; I'm not used to it!

And now, I'm able to buy the things I want, too!
Guys, it has been SO long since I've been able to do that!

I just got an adorable Kate Spade wallet and, as I've mentioned plenty in this and recent posts, I CAN GET A PUPPY! Not quite yet. But before the end of the year, you can bet that I will be getting all of the puppy snuggles. (And not just from Snickers!)

I also just completely rearranged my room, so I'm looking into getting some new furniture!! I'm preparing myself for the IKEA trip of a lifetime!
(You can also bet that there will be a post on this ASAP!)

All of these wonderful changes are happening for me right now and I just cannot contain my excitement!!
Does anyone else have any exciting news they'd like to share?? I'd love to hear about it, people!

Moving Upward

I am SO excited to start my full-time job this coming Monday!!!
I'll be doing marketing and design for a realty firm in Charlotte!

This is by no means my dream job, but it's definitely a starting place and I absolutely love the people and the culture of the firm, so I know I will enjoy it!! I CANNOT WAIT!!

I am going to try to stay at Mellow Mushroom, as well, just to make some money on the side. I also love it there, and I would hate to leave all of my fabulous coworkers that I am just starting to get close to.

All I can say is that it is definitely going to be an adventure!!

And, hopefully coming along for this adventure will be a puppy!! (Just so you know, when I say puppy I mean dog. I don't care if it is 10 weeks old or 10 years old. It's a puppy.)

I've applied to adopt a puppy from the Carolina Poodle Rescue and hopefully I will have a phone call today that decides whether or not I can! I'm hoping to bring him home some time in September, if I get the okay from the rescue!! EEEEE! So excited.

Basically, there are a lot of changes going on in my life right now and they are all super exciting and I just cannot wait to see where I go from here!!

Life is Hard

I don't think there has ever been a more true statement.

It's not like I'm just realizing this, of course; I've known for quite some time. It's just that some times you let that realization slip into the back of your mind until something brings it to the front again.

Like finals. My last finals.
It's a little terrifying and preparing for them is completely taking over my life.

I'm taking 21 hours this semester (WHY??), so I have finals for 7 classes.
SEVEN.
Thank God they're not all actual exams, but still.
I have papers, presentations, projects, exams, on top of trying to find a big-girl job, working at my internship, and completing activities for Chi Omega and my other organizations.

It's a lot to handle, and it hit me just how much this all has been affecting me when I took the time to look at my room this morning.

It is a MESS. Honestly, it looks like my room exploded.
Which is a big deal, because I HATE MESSES! If everything is not in its place, I almost have a panic attack. And I wish I was kidding.

I have dirty clothes all over the place, bags just piled on the floor, my shoes are strewn across the room, and I have clean towels in my hamper that I haven't even considered folding.

My life has just been so busy and stressful lately that I let my room get this bad, and now it's making me even more stressed and I know I have to take time out of my day to clean this. If I don't, it'll kill me.

But when will I have the time? Everything is due this week and next! I just don't know how I'm going to make enough time to get my room clean enough for me to handle it, but I also know that if I don't I won't be able to focus on anything that I do!!

Does anyone have any suggestions for managing my time for cleaning, working, and doing school work?
Because that would be a GREAT help. And I'd probably love you forever.

Who The Hell Invented Group Projects?

Honest Question.
Who said, "Let's stick these random students together for the most important project of their semester even though they are complete strangers?"

We all know there's always at least that one group member who doesn't contribute anything at all.

But when you have 5 group projects in one semester that "at least one" turn out to be a bigger pain in the ass than usual. (If you were wondering, I have approximately 8 members spread throughout those 5 groups that do absolutely nothing.)

It really has been a test for me, but it's taught when I should and shouldn't rely on others and basically how to take control of an out-of-control group.

1. Identify a Leader.
   Honestly, this should be the first thing you do. But don't just pick anyone, okay? You need to make sure that the leader you choose can get their shit together under any and all circumstances. But also make sure they're not too invested in other things. (I've been picked as the group leader for 3 of those groups, and that has been some special kind of hell.)
   
   
2. Set Guidelines. 
   As soon as you have a leader, make sure everyone knows what is to be done and who exactly is doing it. That way if something doesn't get done, you know exactly where to look. If you're all just free throwing and everyone is doing a little bit of everything, it's hard to hold someone accountable when something goes wrong, and even harder to fix it.
   
   
3. Set Checkpoints.
   This kind of ties to the guidelines, but I felt it was important enough to warrant its own list item: set strict checkpoints. Don't say, "Have something for the project by halfway through the semester." Specify. Tell your group that they had better have parts X, Y, and Z done by February 22 or shit will go down. Mention peer evaluations (if your professor does them). Believe me, when someone realizes that their grade is actually at stake, they will step up to the plate and perform.
   
   
4. Talk to Your Group.
   Whether you're the group leader or not, communication is key to the success of any group project. It doesn't help if the only common communication between you and the rest of your group is the one leader; everyone needs to be involved. You need to talk to your group to set up meetings, establish additional guidelines, change checkpoints, etc. There is so much stuff that can be corrected and changed so simply if you just talk to each other.
   
   
5. Don't Stress.
   It seems like an obvious one, but for me it's the most important. I have to remember that as long as I am on top of my game and doing everything that I am supposed to be doing, it will all turn out okay in the end. This semester in my Marketing Strategy class, my group has been working with an especially horrific client that hardly responds to any form of communication and then complains that we aren't doing what they, "want." But I've done what I was assigned and tried my best to keep my team on track, and now that we're nearing the end of the semester our professor only has positive things to say about our progress (still haven't heard from the client, though. Oh well.)

I'm not sure if that's helpful to anyone but me, but it has legitimately saved my ass this semester. I would probably be hiding under my bed if I hadn't figured out what I needed to do to not only get my act together, but to get my group together. 

Sure, it's a struggle. But it's my last semester of college; the struggle just keeps coming in a variety different ways from here on out. 

Forgot to Mention....

This totally should have been my first post, but with everything going on I got a little ahead of myself.
I mean, come on, I barely have a month before I graduate college. That's intimidating.

But let's get back on track here, guys.

I started this blog as just a place I could share my experiences and thoughts, etc. It may stray from that time to time based on what's going on in my life, but you know, shit happens some times.

But something that's really bothering me about it right now is the way it looks. Like I said in my first post, I'm getting a degree in Marketing and Design; the look of this blog just does not cut it on any level.

So over the next week or so I'm probably going to be making some intense layout changes (I'm not even sure what they are, yet!) I still don't even know if I'm going to be using my own brand to inspire the design or creating a whole new one.

I hope I can make a fabulously minimalist, yet interesting design for this blog.

I guess we shall see when it happens!

35 Days

That's how long I have until I graduate from Winthrop University with my Undergraduate Degree.
(Let's be real: this is probably going to be my only degree; I don't think my sanity or my wallet can handle any more school.)

I will be receiving a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration with a Concentration in Marketing and a minor in Visual Design Studies.
Sound intense? It was at first. But now all of the blood, sweat, and tears I put into all of my schoolwork seem like absolutely nothing. Because I'm entering the real world now. There will be no professors with an abundance of advice to call on when I'm stressed; no last minute emails telling my professors I'm "sick" and won't be able to make it to class; no strolling in to class looking like a hobo and not being judged for it because it's a Monday. All of that will be over,

In 35 Days.
THIRTY. FIVE. DAYS.

I'm not gonna lie, I am nowhere near as prepared as I should be. I don't even have a job yet. Not from lack of trying, of course; apparently all of these companies don't think I'm quite as fabulous as I do. And let's not even talk about how I am going to pay back this plethora of student loans once I graduate if I can't find a job. Shit's about to get real.
Because now I'm going to have to make sure I don't sleep through an alarm (or 4). And that professional wardrobe I told myself to buy a year ago? Yeah, I still don't have it and I actually need it now. It's time for me to buckle down, because the real world is speeding my way and I am nowhere near prepared enough to jump on.

And so it begins.