Three Months to Graduation: Some Valentine's Day-Inspired Feels

About a month ago, I started my last semester of college--what?!?! Wasn't I a freshman like a month and a half ago? Time flies...

Looking back on my college career, I'm really quite happy with how much I've grown to get where I am right now in my life. I still don't have a for-sure job or a place to live yet, but recently I've learned to trust that good things will happen if you let them. I'm working hard, but I'm not nearly as stressed as I was when I wrote my last blog post a month ago.

I truly believe this last semester will be the best yet. I'm taking four classes, all of which I'm really enjoying. I'm finally in clubs that are more fun than burdensome. I'm singing and speaking Chinese and doing a lot of the things I should have been doing since the day I first stepped foot on this campus. I know what I want to do for my career. I'm more open about who I am and I'm more accepting of who other people are.

I think I've come a long way since the beginning of freshman year, but there are still a few things I want to accomplish before saying goodbye to the place I've called home for four years. Here's an abridged list of things I want to do before I graduate:

1. Eat at different restaurants. There are some restaurants I've discovered that are AMAZING and I keep going back to them, but I would like to branch out a little more. There's one restaurant in particular that people have been telling me to go to for years and I've never managed to make it there. This semester, I'll make it happen.

2. Mix up my "party scene." From the time I turned 21, I got to know most of the bars in the nearest vicinity (even though I don't drink), but I'd like to extend my reach a bit more and check out some of the other areas of the city. It'll be fun to explore some new atmospheres and meet some new people!

3. Land a job in my preferred field. This one is more for my post-grad days, but it's still in the forefront of my mind. That being said, although I have a great job right now, I want something that will challenge me to think in new ways. (I love consumer insights research and strategic planning, so if you now anyone who's hiring, let me know, will ya?)

4. Eat in all the dining halls one last time. Yes, a lot of the things I want to do before I graduate involve food. The dining halls represent much more than their less-than-exquisite cuisines, though. I met wonderful people in those places. I built friendships in those places. I flirted in those places. I embarrassed myself in those places (see what I did there?). I need one last hurrah in the dining halls before I can say goodbye.

5. Utilize more resources on campus. There are a lot of great groups that I've known about for awhile, but never really got involved with. I'd like to change that. I've found the more people I meet, the more I fall in love with this school and this city. The more stories I hear, the more proud I am of my own story as part of a larger one.

I want to leave this campus in love. In love with the people, in love with the places, in love with the little things and the silly memories. I want to leave loving who I was, who I am, and who I will be. I am so lucky to have received a fantastic education, but I am even more lucky to have learned how to really love. That love is one thing I will take with me wherever I go.

Writing in the Present

I had some trouble figuring out what to write for this post. I've been quite stressed about future stuff (finding a job, finding a place to live, etc.), but also about stuff from my past, like some of the choices I made to get me to this point. I wrote an entire blog post that I ended up deleting because it was just too depressing. Stressed writing, while therapeutic, is no fun to read. So I thought I'd take this opportunity to exercise my positivity muscles by "writing in the present".

It's so important to occasionally take some time to recognize the beauty of the here and now. Dwelling on the past or future too much does no one any good. By writing in the present, I'm going to be mindful of what's going on around me and appreciate the good things happening in my life at this very moment.

I'm sitting on my couch, listening to the thrum of the radiator behind me. It's gotten very cold lately, and I can see the snow making patterns on the rooftops outside. Some of the snow is making a t-rex shape (rad!) but the rest of it is just pretty swirly. It's been a quiet evening since I have the apartment to myself. I've been browsing the web and sending snapchats to friends as I hum songs from Into the Woods, which I saw recently with my parents.

Obviously, nothing all that groundbreaking is happening right now. I'm actually starting to get a little sleepy. I always do my best writing when I just begin to feel tired. There's something about being half awake that brings out my creativity. I've come up with some crazy ideas in the shower and designed whole clothing lines while waking up from a nap. But that's all in the past.

I just looked out my window. It's so peaceful outside. A lot of buildings are still covered in Christmas lights. The snow is blowing, making patterns where it was once soft and untouched. It feels good to cozy up inside and look out at the world.

I hope to have a healthy mind, body, and spirit for the coming year. I downloaded a yoga app on my phone (yes you read that right) and it's felt really good! I'm a little sore right now, but I like being able to hold my balance a little better than I used to, and I like feeling a little stronger. It's very calming as well. Moving in the present has very similar effects to writing in the present. It's a good way to stay mindful and centered.

I never thought I'd be a yoga person, but here I am writing "mindful and centered" in a serious sentence! I would recommend that everyone find something that makes them feel calm and more connected. It doesn't have to be yoga or writing; it can be taking a walk or baking or calling your mom. As long as you're taking a moment to realize that you're having a moment, you're doing something good for you. Isn't that what 2015 should be about?

(P.S. If you're interested, check out the FitStar Yoga App for iPhone and iPad.)

Girl Power

This post goes out to all the ladies in my life.

As the first semester of senior year is about to end, a lot of us are struggling to finish strong. With futures looming before us, we’ve had a lot of sleepless nights and caffeine-filled days dedicated to job interviews, grad school applications, group projects, part-time jobs, breakups, makeups, celebrations, and mental health days. We’ve laughed until our sides hurt and cried into our pillows. We’ve been angry and frustrated and fed up with it all. And through it all, we’ve been together.

It’s hard to figure out what you want to be. It’s taken me almost four years and I’m still not 100% sure it’ll stick. But it’s a lot harder to figure out who you want to be.

There are women in my life who are passionate activists, who fight tooth and nail for a better world. I am inspired (and occasionally a little scared) by them.

There are women in my life who wear their hearts on their sleeves, who feel deeply and express themselves in beautiful and terrible ways. I envy them.

There are women in my life who are fearlessly independent, who will go to new places and face challenges without batting an eye. I look up to them.

There are women in my life who are honest and loyal, who are always up for a chat and will tell you what you need to hear (even when you don’t want to hear it). I am thankful for them.

The best thing about being a woman is the camaraderie you have with all the other women in the world. We support each other, build one another up, laugh, cry, defend, protect. We do silly things and sometimes make mistakes. We are human. And together, we are fierce.

Knowing the women I know has helped shape the person I am and the person I want to be. They have helped me realize that I am an activist and an artist, an adventurer and a friend. And when I’m not those things, I know there are women out there who can be them for me.

Thanks to my girls for all you’ve taught me this semester. I cried while I wrote this. And I'm kind of proud of that.

The Perfectionist and the Sloth

This is my first time since starting this blog that I went longer than a month without posting. October was busy, with group projects, birthday celebrations, Halloween preparations, and networking events. I could have posted about the conference I went to early in the month, the PR+Social Media Summit. I listened to a ton of speakers and learned a lot about being a more effective communicator. I even ate lunch with one of the keynote speakers, Augie Ray, and talked about marketing, social media, careers, etc. But I didn't post about that.

I could have written about applying for a teaching job in China and getting turned down. I could have talked about how discouraging that was for me, but also how it opened up new possibilities for me. I've rearranged some things so that my eggs aren't all in one basket. I'm a lot less stressed in a weird way, even though I have a lot less certainty and a lot more work to do. But I didn't post about that, either.

Instead, I kept silent. I did my homework and marathoned a few (or more than a few) episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and turned 22 and spent time with my friends. I never consciously told myself I wouldn't post in October, but I'm kind of glad I didn't. It wasn't necessarily that I needed a break, but I did need a change in routine. I have a tendency to want rigid structure, but once I have it, I need to break free. This little disruption freaked me out at first, but now, even as I write, I realize how healthy it was.

The older I get, the more things I become involved in, the more I come to understand that life is not lived on a strict schedule. It's lived in those moments between the meetings and the classes. It's lived on the bus, in the coffee shop, walking down the street. I live in those seconds when I don't think about what I need to do or what someone else wants me to do. I live when I am just content in my own skin.

I recognize that responsibilities are important, and I've never been one to shirk them. I never will be. I love working toward a goal and meeting deadlines. I love the little adrenaline rush you get when you finish that project you've been working on so diligently. I love being there for people and having them count on me. But I also love breaking the rules sometimes. I love putting my necklace on backwards and sleeping in late.

I can be the rule follower and the rule breaker. I can be the perfectionist and the sloth. I can be stressed out and carefree. I can be all these things and more because life is too short not to be.

Maybe Advertising Isn't So Bad...

This is my senior year of college, and the anticipation of graduating has got me thinking about my future career and what I really want. I haven't been thrilled with public relations (my major) lately. In fact, I'm starting to lean toward advertising. When I came to college, I wanted to go into a field where I'd need to think creatively and really get to know people in order to communicate in the best way possible. I still want that. I just think that goal can be better achieved through advertising.

Don't worry. I'm not changing my major or anything. Luckily, PR and advertising degrees are pretty compatible. Plus, some of the best advertisers are those who come from different backgrounds. I really think the career for me is advertising research or account planning. It combines my passions for psychology and communication, and wraps it all in a dynamic environment with the opportunity to make a real difference. Advertising is powerful and if I don't like the way it's being done now, maybe it's time I stood up and did something to change it.

The classes I've been taking this semester have been really inspiring in this regard. For the rest of this post, I'd like to share something I wrote for my International Ad/PR class about advertising in Sweden. I'm always looking to expand my knowledge of the world and its various cultures (I mean, I'll be teaching English in China after I graduate!), so this class has already been valuable to me. I'm so excited to use my remaining time in school to prepare me for what I hope will be a worthwhile future.

Mirror Mirror: Sweden is the Fairest of All

Last week, I saw a presentation by Hedvig Hagwall Bruckner, a copywriter at King, a small independent advertising agency based in Sweden. Her insights into Swedish culture and advertising were fascinating. The country’s love of equality permeates almost every aspect of its advertising. Since advertising reflects (and even shapes) culture, the advertisements produced by King speak to the broader cultural climate of Sweden and may even be propelling it into the future at this very moment.

Because equality is such a high ideal in Sweden, many tactics that other countries use in advertising are not effective with Swedish consumers. For example, celebrity endorsement is widely used in America, but rarely used in Sweden because the people there do not hold authority in high regard. Celebrities can be used in a humorous way, as long as they are not perceived as having a higher status than other people.

Equality and a lack of fear of authority lend themselves to another important practice in Swedish advertising: breaking taboos. It seems that Swedish ads push each other to include more controversial characters or concepts (without going so far as to become offensive—sexism is a big no-no, for example). They keep a light-hearted tone while addressing issues like LGBTQ+ rights, feminism and the empowerment of people with disabilities, to name a few.

With innovative ads like ICA’s 300+ episode “soap opera” and Com Hem’s Judit and Judit series, Swedish advertisers have created a mirror to reflect some of the most prominent aspects and values of their culture. And as a small country, Sweden’s values are particularly solid. It is not as easy to segment demographic groups in Sweden as it is in, say, China or the U.S. Therefore, ads must speak to the concepts that everyone in Sweden holds dear, such as humor, feminine attitudes, togetherness, fairness and, of course, equality.

Learning from Hedvig really opened my eyes to how great advertising can be. Looking at it from an American perspective, I see a lot of disconnects between my culture’s values and my culture’s advertisements, where those holes do not seem to exist in Sweden. I have a lot of respect for a country that practices what it preaches, and Sweden seems to do just that. Perhaps I should start packing my bags!

Don’t get me wrong; I think American advertising has come a long way. Seeing ads like the Cheerios commercial featuring a biracial family or the Honey Maid “This Is Wholesome” campaign gives me a lot of hope for the future. However, it seems like Swedish ads are leagues ahead in the social responsibility department. It’s interesting because equality is a common value to both America and Sweden, but their ads (and the reactions to those ads) are very different. What is the explanation?

As I alluded to before, there is a disconnect between what America practices and what it preaches. Equality and freedom are concepts included in everything from the Constitution to the arguments of political pundits on major television networks, but American ads tend to lean toward concepts like sexism and racial stereotypes. Many times, they don’t include certain groups of people at all. Americans say they value equality, but there is an undercurrent in the culture that disrupts its flow into advertising.

In Sweden, that undercurrent doesn’t exist. The values they share are ingrained their culture and are reflected in their advertising. They break taboos because it is a part of who they are (and, it turns out, it’s a pretty good business strategy).

To create awesome ads is to take the awesome parts of a culture and make them even more awesome. It means reflecting the culture, but also pushing it forward to create something even better. Sweden is getting it right, but even Swedish advertisers can continue to push the envelope. American advertisers can produce great work, too. The key is for advertisers to realize the power that they wield, and to use it for the betterment of the larger society.

When looking at our own cultures, what do we see in the mirror? Who really is the fairest one of all?

Liz Meets World

I just got back from my trip to Italy and Ireland, and while I'm pretty jet-lagged, I want to share some highlights. I could write about exploring the Italian alps, eating authentic gelato, climbing the tallest cliffs in Europe, or helping my dad navigate the narrow and winding Irish roads; I could post hundreds of pictures of gorgeous landscapes, details of foreign plants, or selfies in front of various historical and natural settings; but instead, I'd like to describe my experiences through a more human lens. One of the best things about traveling to a different country is getting to know a different culture, and a country's culture is expressed by the people who live there. To describe my journey, I need to describe the people I met along the way, because they flavored the places and events with a sweet realness that lets me know it wasn't all just a dream.

The Japanese Tourists asked me to take their picture shortly after I arrived in Alleghe, Italy. After navigating the Madrid airport using half-remembered high school Spanish and trying to communicate with Italians using the only three Italian words I knew, it was nice to know I wasn't the only tourist in town. Interacting with the Japanese group made me realize that communication goes beyond words (although I was upset that I didn't know how to say "You're welcome" in Japanese).

My New Family welcomed me and my existing family with open arms. Even though we didn't speak the same language, my sister's new husband's relatives treated me like one of their own. From learning some Italian words to swapping stories via hand motions to shouting "Viva gli sposi!" as the guests rang a cowbell, my sister's wedding was a true melding of families. I'm so thankful for all the translating, planning, and patience it took to bring us together.

The Italian Fisherman barely spoke any English, but somehow managed to point my parents and me to the right path that went around the town lake. When he passed us on the road in his car a few minutes later, he offered us a ride (which we politely refused, since we wanted to stretch our legs). We were complete strangers, but he wanted to help us just the same. I was extremely moved by his act of kindness.

The Woman from Barcelona loved Ireland. We met her outside the caves of Maghera, where she told us how beautiful she thought everything was. "Why would anyone go anywhere else?" she would ask, marveling at the scenery before her. We happened to see her again a few days later in a different town, where she told us about a beautiful little place that we might enjoy because we like "crazy things". That place was Maghery, which boasted fascinating historical sites and spectacular views. Ireland was this woman's passion, and she never steered us wrong!

The Boat Captain was a classic Irishman, born and raised by the sea. Although a little rough around the edges, he was a happy-go-lucky sort of fellow, even when he had to take us fishing one evening in the rain. He knew everything: where the fish were, where the currents would take us, where my mom should be placed so she wouldn't fall overboard. He, along with his friend and the two young men who fished with us, turned that gloomy day into one of the most exciting fishing trips I've ever been on.

The Librarian spoke with a British accent and helped my mom and I start our search for our family history. We didn't know what to expect when we entered the library in Letterkenny to inquire about Edward and Annie Coyle, my great-great grandparents, but we came away with some good clues and leads to find out more, thanks to the librarian who saw the importance in uncovering one's past and helped us get closer to reaching our goals.

The Professor was a charming man we enlisted for help in learning more about the history of the Ardara area. After a few failed attempts at getting the answers to all my dad's questions, we went to the house next to the grocery store and knocked on the door. A grocery store employee told us the man would probably be in his garden and went back to get him for us. The professor came out, red-cheeked and white-haired, and actually bid us come into his home to sit and chat for a bit. He had never met us before, but he was as hospitable as if his own family were calling on him. Later that day, we paid him another visit and he showed us his garden. My dad still didn't get all the answers he wanted, but it was worth it to meet such a welcoming person.

The Tour Guides were a couple who had been living in Ardara for a little over two years, but were originally from Dublin. They led a walk around the town to talk about Irish history and some of the main attractions of the area. It had been raining that morning, however, and my parents and I were the only ones who joined their walk. It was an absolute blast! We all got to know each other and learned from each other. They pointed us to an ancient monolith just outside town, and we told them a bit about America. After that, it was as if we were old friends, waving to one another as we drove by.

And last, but certainly not least...

Our Hosts were some of the hardest working people I've ever met. In addition to running a bed and breakfast and working other jobs, they are raising four children under the age of nine. After spending ten days eating their home-cooked breakfasts, asking every question we could think of, and playing "Monkey in the Middle" with the kids, we felt like part of the family. It's one thing to have someone point you in the direction of a good scenic spot; it's another to have someone ask how your day went afterwards, to laugh with you, to really get to know you. I could not have asked for a better place to stay, or better people to stay with. I miss the kids already! Spunky, quiet, mischievous, and sweet: they were the cherry on top of the cake.

There are so many other people who made this trip amazing, but it's too hard to write about them all. A big thank you goes to my parents, for being great travel companions and making this trip possible for me. I feel so honored to have crossed paths with so many kind, warm people from across the globe. It makes the world seem a little less big and scary. You can find home anywhere, as long as you can exchange a smile with whomever you meet.

And don't worry, I'll be posting my photos to Facebook soon!

Pre-Europe Excitement

In less than 24 hours, I will be on my way to Italy for my sister's wedding! I can't believe it's happening: my first trip outside of the United States. I'll get to explore Italy and Ireland for a couple weeks. I'm incredibly lucky!

I haven't traveled on a plane since I flew to Washington, D.C. to see President Obama's inauguration in 2009. Five and a half years later, I feel as excited as I did back then! Airports are annoying, but there's something about being in the air that makes me feel alive and whole. I want to embrace every part of this trip, both journey and destination.

I have been suffering from severe wanderlust for about a year, probably because of all the stories I've heard from my friends who have studied abroad. I've taken classes about different cultures as well, adding fuel to the fire. To be able to see a new part of the world at this time in my life is an indescribable blessing. I'm actually having trouble putting into words how much this trip means to me.

The experience of traveling is exciting in itself, but I am also looking forward to the family aspect of the trip. A wedding brings people together in a way nothing else can. In Italy, I'll get to spend time with some of my own relatives that I haven't seen in quite awhile, and I'll also get to witness two families merging as my sister and her awesome fiance start their life together. In Ireland, I'll be going to the county where my great-great grandparents lived. I can't wait to walk where they walked. What's more, I get to do it all with my parents, which means it's sure to be an adventure!

These are the moments when life happens, and I intend to live it fully. I hope to come back with lots of pictures, some fun memories, and maybe a new perspective. With all the possibilities ahead of me, it'll be a wonder if I can sleep tonight!