Hello April! The month we've all been waiting for and a busy month at that. There is a lot in store for me this month as I'm now looking at my calendar and there seems to be a mark on each day for me. It's the first day back to school and while I've had a very relaxing spring break visiting family, painting Bob Ross, and rejuvenating my calamity in the country side, I'm glad to be back in the city. I think everyone gets a bit antsy this time of year with the sun teasing us with rays and a fresh spring start.
01. One of the things that I have been trying to focus on is this blog and creating content that I'm proud of; that isn't the clichè fashion blogger type posts. I have noticed that I am getting more into lifestyle posts, or at least my tags say so, because I connect with this type of writing more. I have also been needing to take my camera out a bit, I've hidden it away out of pure laziness and a lack of motivation to edit all my photos and I just can't use that excuse because I love my camera and the photos I take on it.
02. The winter slum is over and that means I need to revamp the way I present myself. Not for anyone, but me, myself, and I. I got very comfortable wearing sweats and Uggs, but sometimes I wish I had the same fashion motivation to take the extra effort, wake up early, and actually add some things to my morning regime. I would say that my daily regime is very low maintenence, but when I do give myself the time, I feel more productive, confident, and an overall sense of "I can do this today," just because I wore jeans or swiped a coat of mascara on.
03. I don't know if I formally announced, but I will be studying abroad this summer in Europe and this quarter I start my class that coincides with the course. I will be studying international advertising with sixteen other DePaul students who we work with during the quarter. I will be visitng three countries: France, Spain, and The Netherlands for three weeks building my portfolio and conducting team projects while I'm there exploring the culture and gaining a global perspective of the ad industry. This will be my first time leaving the country and I am so excited to be going. I am not sure how I feel about advertising, since my focus is public relations, but having knowledge in both areas will be more than beneficial for my future in the industry.
04. When I'm not focusing on my blog or school work, I have been very involved in two student organizations at DePaul: Her Campus Media and DePaul PRSSA. I believe that I have mentioned these in the past, but recently I got the opportunity to not only edit for Her Campus, but become one of their social media content creators. This quarter I have had a really fun time playing around with designs for our new flyers and media posts—something I've always kind of loved. Her Campus is mainly an online college run magazine for students to openly express themselves, so being a part of the process and seeing all of the work being done is amazing.
PRSSA has also brought me onto their executive board this year and we start our first meetings this quarter. This is something that is really important to me professionally and socially. All of the people and connections I've made have been so worthwhile—we're like a big family. It's amazing to see how much talent there is. I will be recruiting new members into the organization and one of my responsibilities is to handle the fall involvement fair.
05. What's next on the agenda for me is finding an internship to do when I come back this summer. I know it may be a little early to do so, but you can never be too early job searching. I have all the resources I need at school, it's just getting it done and meeting with people to talk more about my options. I really have to tackle the search with an open mind, otherwise I'll be frantically looking for internships next year. I've found that a lot of people luck out on internships because they know a specific person who works for this specific company—it can be very intimidating when everyone around you is a step ahead. So, my goal for this month is to really hone down my search and reach out to my career center to get a head start. Experience is experience, so who knows what might happen?
April is one of those months when everyone is getting back from their exotic spring break vacations (or stay-cations) and turning their heads back to work and getting things done before summer starts. For me, it's a time of busy-busy and opportunity. I just have to keep my mind focused on things I want to work towards without comparing it to others—remaining authentic. I have a lot of promising things ahead of me and it will be important to remember that. What's on your to-do list for April?
My hopes for spring are far much higher than many others, but I think we can all agree that winter has played out for far too long. I'm done wearing the same pair of jeans and chelsea boots for the season. Spring itself just reminds me of sunnier days, birds chirping in the morning, that crisp warmth in the air that hugs you especially when it's about to rain. I just love spring. It's a chance to start anew and many people enjoy this sense of revitalization and get in the mood of sorting out their life after hibernating for so long.
There are many things I want to accomplish and do, and some of those I have put on the back burner until finals are over and I'm on spring break finally, but I also recognize that there are just some things in life we can't constantly "clean" out to make them resolve. As much as I believe that a clean space means a clean mind, life happens. Nonetheless, cleaning and organzing your life out can really be a lot of fun. It's not for everyone, but taking baby steps forward makes all the impact.
01. Let Go
In the wise words of Elsa, "Let it go," and I mean all of it. Whatever you are holding onto from winter just acknowledge its presence in your mind and gratefully forget about it and move on. Sunnier days are ahead and there's no point in chaining yourself to whatever doesn't serve you in this moment forward. Easier said than done, but worth the mental effort.
02. Erase Your Inboxes
I'm one of those people who just always subconsciously deletes old conversations, emails, downloads, photos—everything. If there are too many conversations going on, old messages I want to forget or leave, weird golden retriever memes and old assignments I have building up in my downloads folder, I just take the time to select all and delete. It's a great feeling, especially after a quarter of school and starting with an empty drive is so satisfying.
03. Reinvent Your Wardrobe
Sure you have a lot of staple items that you love wearing and you're okay with, but maybe it's time to part with some old pieces that you say you are going to wear, but don't. I know the Youtube cleaning and reorganizing videos are all the rage, trust me I've gone down that deep binge watching road, so why not think about downsizing your wardrobe? Selling some clothes? Or giving some of those old pieces the love they deserve? Now is the time to get your sh*t together and open your closet.
04. Get Your Hair Done
There's something about a new spring do that really makes a girl feel like she runs the world. Whether it be a new cut, a proper wash (if you really nasty), a new color, a new style, whatever! I've found that I look forward to getting my haircuts more now because I make it its own event. I'm still thinking about what I should get done and I'm maybe swaying a little more golden? Who knows!
05. Clean Out Your Purse
I rarely use a purse anymore, especially during school, but over the course of a month, things can pile up pretty quickly in the depths of our handbags. You don't know what kind of bacteria could be growing! You put your purse everywhere and put everything in it, your purse deserves some extra love. Dump it out and toss those gum wrappers, toothpicks, receipts, three month old candy bar, and whatever else you happen to find in there.
06. Say Yes to One Thing
A great way to refresh your life is to stop saying no to things that make you uncomfortable. It's starting to get warmer, so what's the deal? Your friends want to go out, you need to apply for a new job, book a trip abroad? Bring that positive attitude and commit to those things that make you uneasy, nervous, excited, because honey your life is waiting.
07. Start a Blog
I actually find myself telling people who are uninspired or conflicted about what they should be doing to just start a blog or some form of written expression. You do not need all the bells and whistles, but who knows, maybe starting a blog will reveal something deeply about yourself or you'll become the next popular beauty blogger? Ha. I wish I was. Keep your mind creative and continue to feed it. Blogging has really helped me find my footing and you should, too.
08. Commit to Drinking More Water
I remind myself so much that my body will ultimately thank me later for hydrating it. If you plan on working out more in the spring or just want to feel more energized, try bringing at least one bottle of water with you to school or work. You'll find yourself drinking it just because you have it with you. A simple way to cleanse your body and your mind.
These are just some simple and very doable steps to cleaning out your life, obviously these things won't necessarily make drastic change, but I think that these are great tactics to get you started into springtime and onward. As I finish up my last week of school, I will most likely be taking a blogging break during my final testing week, but will plan to have many things to come as I have the time over spring break to get some sh*t done and published for you guys. What do you do to sort your life out?
As you all may know, stationery has been one of my favorite things to talk about and include in many of my posts: all things postcards, note cards, planners, calendars, the whole lot. Just this past weekend I had an amazing experience with my Public Relations Student Society with my college and attended our regional conference downtown Chicago.
As a way to immerse myself in the professional realm, I’ve been able to have the opportunity to network with some notable PR firms such as Edelman, Ketchum, and Golin, and well established brands like Mars Wrigley, Hyatt, and RXBar. Now this may not be something every college student thinks about, but as someone who loves stationery and written mementos, I wanted to express how important it is to have especially when networking with professionals in the future workplace.
I got the pleasure of working with Basic Invite to create my own personalized stationery to use when I go on future business site visits with my college group. A little background about Basic Invite is that they are a high quality, online stationery company on business cards, thank you notes, wedding invitations, graduation announcements, and all of life’s grand moments. Some of their very recent releases of stationery include graduation commencement invitations, specifically their princess graduation invitations, and graduation party invitations as the graduation season is nearing around the corner. Keep reading for a discount!
Out of all the stationery websites I’ve encountered, Basic Invite is the first to have unlimited color selections, and man was it hard to decide what color palette I was going for, but I’m quite pleased with the pastel blues and pinks I chose—they compliment each other very nicely. They also provide custom samples of their products to make sure the design is exactly the way you like. Basic Invite allows you to have the liberty of uploading your own logo and images, as well.
Business Cards
I always thought that having business cards was only something that really serious business people have. My presumption was that business cards could only be really basic, sophisticated, and lack personality. Well, I was wrong. Many young professionals and college students, especially in public relations, have them. To be honest, I was a little overwhelmed by the idea of having business cards—I mean, I don’t necessarily work for a business.
However, I’ve learned that promoting your own personal brand to other businesses and networking through the use of business cards makes all the difference. Employers will really appreciate the initiative and professionality of someone who knows how to self promote. Basic Invite has an abundance of business cards templates to choose from and you can upload your own logos and images to your styling and personal brand. Here, is the template I used to create mine! I love the two toned chevron print and the black and white photo I was able to add for a bit of a personal touch. They also have metallic foil options, too.
Thank You Notes
Over the past few months of going on professional site visits, I’ve noticed that some people give hand written thank you notes to employers and staff. I think this is really effective in getting your name out there to be remembered and to also be courteous when these professionals are taking time out of their busy work day to share their experiences with you. Handwritten sentiments are also great ways to making closer connections with people since we live in a media focused world.
I designed these simple, yet classic thank you notes on their website and love the vibrancy and quality of the cardstock. You can choose from a huge selection of colors, patterns, and include custom notes and your name on them, too. Feel free to explore Basic Invite’s wide variety of cards. I’m loving the Chicago skyline especially!
Personalized Notecards
It can be really handy to have your own note cards, especially if you’ve established your own brand. Some may say it’s a little extra to have your name on everything, but I think it’s very stylish and who cares? I was very pleased with the note cards I ordered. I was amazed by the selection of stationary on Basic Invite and how they cater to so many events, not just business related. I know that having customized stationery isn’t for everybody, but if you are as obsessed as I am, I would really recommend using Basic Invite for all your stationery needs. Being truly honest, these pieces were delivered in less than five days, the picture quality is great, and the cards are crisp and sturdy.
For college students who are professionally driven or who are looking for ways in which they can amp up their networking skills, acquiring some personalized stationery really makes the difference. It expresses your genuine self, adds character, makes you remembered, and ultimately allows you the freedom of designing and cultivating an authentic personal brand that speaks to you.
If you would like to explore more of Basic Invite, you can connect with their social media: Follow their Instagram and Facebook @basicinvite. Also, since I know it’s hard to spend money as a college student, Basic Invite is currently offering 15% off your purchase with this promo code: 15FF51 applied at checkout.
I recieved monetary compensation for this post.
I recieved monetary compensation for this post.
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