Step Back and Enjoy

The week before final exams is always stressful.  Group projects are coming to a close, paper deadlines are fast approaching, and my brain is approaching full capacity! On top of it all, a huge snow storm had to come and tempt me with it's beauty and promises.  It is very difficult to study when all you want to do is bundle up, build a snowman, and go sledding.  I am one who has a very long to do list and my priorities seem to become all jumbled with the fresh white blanket that has been laid in front of me.  At this point in time when my stress level seems too high to deal with, I think it is time to step back and enjoy one of my favorite pastimes; playing in the snow!

I also find myself wishing that time would speed up through finals week so we could just fast forward through this stressful time.  Then I realized that I should not wish for time to pass any faster than it already does.  I can't believe that my college career is almost over! These 4 years have been some of the greatest years of my life so far and I do not want to them to be over.  So again I am reminded that life is what it is, so we should all just take a step back and enjoy it.  No matter what happens or what stress may come your way, it is important to enjoy the little things that make this world great and soak them up to shine onto others so they can enjoy them too.

Believe!

 

 This is the season to believe!

Tis the season

I love this time of year! The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas when I love listening to Christmas music, decorating the tree, baking gingerbread cookies with family and friends, and enjoying the cold snowy weather (which is coming I just know it!) This wonderful, jolly time is for peace, happiness, and love.  This time of year should always remind of us the relentless love that Jesus gives us everyday and we should try to live more like him, especially during this holiday season.  It is so easy to get wrapped up in gifts, that the true meaning of Christmas is sometimes forgotten and lost in the hustle and bustle of this busy time of year.

This Advent season, it is my goal to spend less, but give more.  I want to spend less money on unthoughtful, meaningless gifts (you know the ones you buy because you think you have to) and spend more of my time and presence on those things that mean a lot to me and where I have the potential to make a difference.  I want to love more like Jesus and to do this I am going to try to think of those less fortunate than I am and start there.  By donating my time and presence to these people will hopefully make a difference in not only their day, but hopefully their holiday season too. 

Make Everyday a Happy Day

Do you want to know how to make everyday a happy day?  Well, all you have to do is think positivity! Can you imagine the best day you've ever had? Now, imagine if that was everyday of your life? Woah, that's be totally awesome right?

With positivity, you can have that same best day a lot more often and perhaps even everyday.  But one has to make a conscious effort for this to happen.  You can do this by thinking of all of the great things in your life and just be thankful for them.  You can also look at any situation with what I like to call sunshine glasses.  These glasses create a clear, brighter view for your brain to process. Your actions will be different based on the way you view things, so slap those sunshine glasses on and turn your frown upside down.  Today, tomorrow, and the next day will be a happy day if you want it to be one! That's right, you can make everyday a happy day too!

Proud Omicron Delta Kappa Member

Over the weekend I was inducted into the Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Society and I am honored to be recognized amongst other students, faculty, staff, and administration who are passionate about giving back to others and want to make a difference in this world.  The keynote speaker, Barbara Gorski, the Director of Learning Through Service, is someone who I have admired for the four years I have known her.  Her speech touched me deeply as she spoke of her experience with a woman in Mexico while rebuilding an orphanage for the community there.  This woman and her family were very poor and had little food or shelter to offer but insisted on hosting Dr. Gorski in their house during her stay in Mexico. One morning, the woman offered Dr. Gorski two eggs for breakfast when there were only five eggs total for her whole family.  She gave two fifths of her family's food when they had nothing else to a someone they barely knew.  Dr. Gorski was so moved by this act, she simply could not eat the eggs so she took them back to America and blew them out so they could sit on her mantle. These eggs remind her everyday of what that special woman did for her and demonstrates the importance of kindness, selflessness, and courage that should be present in our lives everyday.  She then went on to motivate and encourage us inductees that we have the power to make a difference in others lives with small gestures of friendliness and acts of kindness.  Dr. Gorski gave a plethora of examples that ignited inspiration for me to incorporate these acts into my daily life.  I have decided to pick up five pieces of garbage off of the street everyday, help someone with their groceries at the store and then take their cart so they do not have to return it, and sincerely smile at strangers way more than I already do. I don't know if these few examples will make a difference at all but it is something I feel passionately about and maybe I could inspire someone else one day like Dr. Gorski has inspired me.  As a proud ODK member, I took an oath to uphold the principles Omicron Delta Kappa represents and I desire to stay true to these beliefs.

Jersey Girl

For 8 years of my life, I lived in Sparta, New Jersey.  This was a big part of my life- - middle school and high school years.  I can still remember exactly what the town looks like even though it's been about 4 years since I've been there.  I can still picture my old, brick house on Crystal Rock Road that was on top of Sparta Mountain and the Lake Mowawk boardwalk where I spent most summer nights. After seeing all of the posts and pictures on the news and on social media outlets from my friends of what Hurricane Sandy did to what I consider my hometown, I felt the anxiety building as I saw each picture.  I wanted to make sure everyone was okay and after many prayers and checks on Facebook, I relaxed a little bit.  However, I was still devastated to see the demolished streets where I learned to drive, the tree covered outdoor pool where I spent all of my summers there, and the shredded high school football field where I used to play powder puff with my friends.  My family used to visit the Jersey Shore frequently and we would go for long walks on the beach competing to see who could collect the most seashells.  Now, completely that the area is wiped out, the memories are stronger than ever.  Having family and friends living near by NYC, I was worried about them too.  I am very relieved to see everyone is safe, thank God for Facebook.  Seriously, without power and without their posts I would have no way of knowing their status in relation to the extremity of the storm.  Still praying for all of those who may have lost their loved ones or their houses. 

SAS Brand Ambassador

The Student Advertising Summit is another organization that I am a part of this year.  It is a non-profit that partners with AdFed to host an annual event that has been active for over a decade now. The summit is an all-day event that attracts 100—300 attendees from across the Midwest, including: college students, recent graduates, those in job transitions, freelancers, and professionals.

I am their Brand Ambassador for the University of St. Thomas and so far I have really enjoyed my experience working with these awesome people who are just bubbling over with crazy, creative ideas.  These creative misfits motivated by the pure excitement of their jobs have really inspired me to pursue my inner passion for advertising and marketing further.  Here is a blog post I wrote for our SAS blog about Oreo's imaginative brand, check it out:

OREO:

Oreos are not only milk’s favorite cookie but they are MY favorite cookie too! Yes, Oreos are oh so delicious, but they also make up a playful, imaginative brand that is constantly trying to help everyone in the world celebrate the kid inside.  This is something that I can definitely attest to.  Their ability to connect with many different audiences by focusing on the effect of nostalgia is very effective for Oreo as a brand.

CAMPAIGN:

Their most recent campaign called "Daily Twist" was a 100-day long campaign designed by DraftFCB's creative team.  Each day throughout this campaign, Oreo offered a whimsical, humorous or eye-catching ad to the more than 27.9 million people who like Oreo on Facebook.  Every ad was also displayed on their website, Pinterest and Twitter.  The timely and relevant subjects of these Daily Twist ads included gay pride, Elvis Presley Week, Bastille Day, the Mars rover, Talk Like a Pirate Day, the introduction of the Apple iPhone 5 and the Emmy Awards.

For the execution of the final Daily Twist ad, the brand set up a virtual/pop-up office in Times Square on October 2^nd.  Oreo fans were given the power to decide what the final twist should be via Facebook and Twitter.  The ad was then created live for fans to watch the creativity in the making and follow its progress via social media outlets.

EFFECTIVENESS:

The results say it all.  Oreo has seen a 110% growth in fan interaction per social-media post and has doubled their average reach per post since the “Daily Twist” launch.  At the ripe old age of 100, the Oreo brand seems younger than ever and I think that the initiatives of this campaign reflect their overall brand image effectively.

Because of Oreo’s strong commitment to provide their fans with the value of relevance, in this “Daily Twist” campaign, they have engaged their fan base in memorable conversations via entertainment, utility, inspiration and humor.  As consumers, our need for instant stimulation and gratification has grown to the power of communicating with brands in real time.  Oreo has mastered this aspect of consumer behavior and has not only given their fans power and control, but they have surpassed their expectations of what it means to be the world’s favorite cookie.

Welcome to the Family

Each year, we have traditions that must be carried out.  This past weekend was one of our famous family weekends where we welcome the newcomers to the team in our own special way.  As a swim team who acts more like a giant family of 70, we are very dear with our traditions that bring us closer together.  Our coach Tom, is the leader of the pack and guides us on our journey of 6 long months together.  My past three years on this team have really shaped me into the person I am today and without these traditions, I don't think our family would be the same- if a family at all.  With that said, this year has been very different for me because I am a senior and one of the captains helping lead the pack along side Tom, the other coaches, and the other captains.  I consider this to be an honor and I am very grateful to be considered a role model for the underclassmen to look up to.  Finally, being on the other side of the cheers, speeches, and prayers, while at the same time being the one organizing the traditions for the family, and the one swimmers come to with their comments, complaints, and concerns is a huge role to take on and I am more than happy to do it! I have actually waited my whole swimming career for this time to come, my time to shine and share everything I have learned in this sport over the past 14 years of my life.  After our first two meets, I can already tell that this year will be very special and as Tom would say I am moderately pleased.  I vow to make this year one of my best yet- I want to be the best swimmer, friend, sister, pep pal, cheerer, leader I can be. 

Marketing Intern

I have an internship at a Marketing Agency! I know I can't believe it either.... it's awesome! I have learned more in the last two months than I have in all of my classes! Great people, open relaxed environment, creative collaborative atmosphere - what more could I ask for? I look forward to going to the office everyday so I guess this confirms my choice of major and career path...phew!

I now have a blog! I always wanted one!

Hahaha I am not sure what to post now... I probably should have started this when I was traveling throughout Europe!