This is by far my favorite picture in the entire world. Every time I see it I can’t stop giggling and smiling. Can you find me?

Once I had Aiden I marked the years by his age. In 2005 I was pregnant. In 2006 I had a one year old. I watched as he aged and I allowed his age to mark the year before me. His age distinguished one year from the next and one phase from the last.

Something happened in the past couple of years and things began to change. Last year, I quit my job, started working from home, moved to a city an hour away, said goodbye as friends moved away. I met new people, traveled, wrote, managed a website and grew. Everything changed.

There was nothing to mark the year by except that it was the year that everything changed.

But then this year began and everything changed once more. I bought a house, graduated college, landed my dream job, was featured in national publications. I signed with a book agent, let go of toxic friendships, strengthened friendships that had begun to weaken, and met new people. I traveled around the country, fell in love with politics, I changed. And I had a four-year old.

Once again, this was the year that everything changed.

It makes me wonder what I will be looking back at next year. If everything will change once more and I will find myself in yet another place in life. It makes me want to cling on to where I am but it also makes me not want to hold on too tightly. I am curious when the day will come when things stop changing. When I can mark my years with songs and parties or the age of my child or the place that I live.

I crave simplicity.

I remember picturing in my mind a page turning, a chapter ending.

Yes, I just turned my childhood into a country song.

Sigh.

The point is I remember endings in my life. I don’t remember the beginnings. I am not sure exactly what happened next. Beginnings are hazy and middles are boring…

But ends?

Ends I memorize. The feeling of an end. The motions of an end. The nostalgia of an end. I trace my fingers along the lines as they close. I turn the page slowly listening to the sound of the paper creasing.  Whether endings are good or bad, they are hard for me.

Did I mention I am graduating college on Saturday?

This is a time of celebration. A time of relief. I can feel the stress beginning to roll off of my shoulders.

I have made it.

I have made it.

Still, I can’t help but seeing this as a goodbye.

School started last week. I spend my afternoons learning to folk dance, studying American Philosophy, and Philosophy of Religion, and trying to figure out what Philosophical topic I will dive into for twenty pages.

Twenty. Pages.

Aiden started a new school. It is very structured and regular. He brings his back pack and does really grown up things like show and tell. He is turning into a little child. He is having problems listening. Which I think is supposed to make me worry. But it doesn’t. It makes my heart well up knowing that my child is more like me than I ever imagined. I never listened.

Shoot, I still don’t listen.

I have been reading alot of blogs and sitting home and pondering on ideas that are impossible to answer.

Pondering on ideas that are nearly impossible to think or speak. Ideas that go somewhat like:

We have a tendency to not enjoy that there are incredibly wealthy people in the world. Is this because we are jealous? or Is this because we know that the happiness they are seeking are only mere pleasures? As humans do we have a innate desire for happiness throughout humanity that is expressed in problematic ways.

I am not even sure that thought made sense. But it was running around in my brain all day yesterday so I thought I would throw it out there.

Last night I met up with my peace and justice group from school. We hadn’t met all summer and made plans for the coming year. Lots of exciting ideas and trips floating around. We went downtown and listened to jazz and drank draft beer from large mugs.  I was with my people.

We all need our people.

So there it is. My modge podge of stories. Reasons why I wasn’t here. Life is happening. And I am going to let it.

A lot.

I started my life out as an army brat moving from place to place faster than we could get settled. Eventually we ended up in a small town in the mid-west. The same small town that my mother and father grew up in. The same small town that my grandparents lived in. This small town filled with history and memories and family.

We lived in apartments and shuffled around a lot. There was no chance of painting my bedroom or settling myself. My mothers key phrase was “this is temporary.” I made her stop saying it the day I graduated highschool. Most of my childhood was one temporary situation to another.

And you know what?

I hate change.

I can’t even put into words how emotionally distraught I get from the smallest of changes.

So, when I had Aiden the one thing that I most wanted to give to him was stability.

So far that has been hard. Being a college student is anything but stable.

I graduate college in December. I have started a new job that  I love. I am in a transition in my life from college to career. Many of my friends are getting married and some are having babies. Things are changing and so far? I am doing ok.

I had to make a decision about what I would do when I finished college. Currently, I am living an hour away from the town we started out in. The town that I grew up in. The town Aidens father grew up in. The town Aiden will be raised in.

So, we started looking. Peeking into different houses. Toying with the idea that I could OWN something. Dancing with  the idea that stability could be a reality in our lives. And realizing that very soon we would have a routine that didn’t include shuffling around depending on my semester schedule.

Then, we found the perfect house.

Sure, it needs a little work. But there is a yard and an office. There is a back porch and a big kitchen. There is room for memories to grow. I can’t explain to you how excited I am. How much I am looking forward too. How much comfort the idea of being somewhere for good gives me.

*sigh*

I am happy.

So there we are. One more thing crossed off of the list.

Read more…

This post has some really good points about how “Gen-Y” is doing in the career field and how it is effecting America. I do have to say there are some harsh criticisms going around about the “Gen-Y” generation. Watching this generation first hand and seeing how many of their minds work I will say that many assumptions are true.

However, rather than blaming and debating how much this generation is messing up America lets start educating them differently.

College students are told to go to college and they will leave with a fantastic job. This happens for some, yes, but many it does not. The sense of entitlement didn’t come out of nowhere. It came from parents, coaches, and advisers. It came from a long line of false hopes. Secondly, one point that is never stressed enough is finding a career that fits right for you. Do you know how many times I was told to go to nursing school? It was a fast track. You go to school and leave with a salary. I can’t stand blood and faint during emergencies. However, the fast track has always been romanticized.

Lets look at where these assumptions start and work from there.

*sigh*

Those days of guzzling coffee and working from home everyday are over. I am now wrapped in three layers of clothing walking running through campus.

In the past week I have had a gazillion ideas for blog posts. Seriously, SO many things happened and I thought I should write about that! But, guess what? I am tired. Most of my writing consists of emails, research papers, and business plans.

So, really quick like, here is a few things I wanted to write about this week.

-I made a list of things I wanted to accomplish this year. It is quite long and I am little scared to publish it.

-I had the opportunity to listen to 30 college freshman tell the class what the meaning of life was to them. Let me tell you, I am enlightened…and quite frankly a little scared for my future.

-I would never suggest anyone become a philosophy text book author. Word of advice. 90% of philosophy professors despise text books. You won’t make any money.

-I met with a lovely woman yesterday and I am applying to grad school. Just a masters program. JUST an extra two years…right?

-I will be at Blissdom next week. I am practice being less publicly akward…wish me luck.

-Oh, and if you didn’t notice I re-did my website!

Last note for today. Life is good. It is just busy.

(and by acquire I mean Twitter stalking–leaving these poor people with no choice but  to address me)

Last week I had a lovely conversation about where I am headed in the future. She was a pleasure to speak to and gave me some great advice. One of the things that she suggested I do is get some experience in Traditional Media.

I have been stuck on this idea for the rest of the week. I had always planned on using my digital media background and simply building upon it. Is this to naive? Is it essential to have both traditional and digital experience? Is it better to choose an area or niche and carve a defined place for yourself?

I know that many people are working their way into digital media. I realize that the number of people working to get into the field will continue to grow. So maybe traditional media is the way to go?

I would love to hear your thoughts.

5. Title doesn’t matter.

I have never worked in the corporate world. DeVries really was my first taste at what it might be like.  I had a notion coming in that title and superiority would be a large factor in working with colleagues. I came in as an intern which is  the smallest title that you could have. This title, however, did not change the way that people spoke to me. I had Senior colleagues asking me for ideas and opinions. They did not only ask me but listened and guided and advised. I always felt as though I was an equal. If this is the way corporate world really works I am ready to take it on!

4. Digital Media is consistently a part of conversation.

Everywhere you look people are discussing Digital Media. The ways in which brands can get involved and the latest news in blogging. DeVries takes a special interest in Digital Media. They are continually finding new ways to get involved in the Digital Media space.  I found that most of my colleagues at DeVries were on Twitter. Some were blogging and many were attending digital media conferences in hopes of meeting new people and learning more about the space. As you may know, DeVries even sponsored the 140 conference supplying attendees with Wi-Fi. (It is obvious they get what is important).

*I have included a list of great DeVries employees for you to follow!

3. Team work is essential.

I will make a confession here. I have alot of trouble working on teams. I like to be in charge and control what is happening on a project. However, I never found working on a team at DeVries hard. I worked on one major project that included a large team. It was so organized and ran so smoothly that I did not have the usual anxieties that often come with team work. Each member had their job and their responsibilities. It was all very organized and helped me to see that working on a team is not always bad.

2. New Ideas are Always Appreciated

I have another confession here. I am quite opinionated and always full of ideas. Often times I hold my opinions back in fear of offending someone. That was not an option working at DeVries. Colleagues wanted to hear my ideas. They asked for my opinions and listened to them. These people love new ideas.

1. They Care about bloggers.

I am normally a member of the blogging world more so than public relations. I have many friends that are bloggers and I am continually making connections online. There is this assumption made by bloggers than PR people just don’t understand them. I cannot tell you how un-true this idea is at DeVries. Many of the people that I worked closely had strong relationships with blogger. Many even considered themselves friends with bloggers. They have conversations via Twitter and often meet up at social media events. Some even spoke on the phone with bloggers just to see how they were doing. They are consistently looking for new ways to work with bloggers. Not because blogging is the new big thing but because they adore so many so of you.

As Promised Twitter Names For You:

@ssmirnov

@joncronin

@lpearson

@laurenpavlick

@alymazz

@bevinorourke

@lpesin

@AmySho

@oneillmolly

@QueenBee24

@JennWeldon

@lizaweiner

@lmckinley

@ashleyzink

@katiebest

@KathyCash

@EileenMoore