One Year Post-Grad Reflections of a Patient Alumna

So it's officially been a year (and a few days) since I've graduated from college, and it's still hard to believe it's already been that long. A lot's happened in the last 12 months.

I met my favorite gymnast, Nastia Liukin. I went to New York for the first time. I saw my first show on Broadway. I watched a lot of TV shows and movies for the first time. I saw the yearbook that I helped make and lead the creation of come to life and held it in my hands, experiencing the most rewarding feeling. I reunited with my best friend since sixth grade for the first time in four years. I traveled to San Francisco and met relatives I've never met before. I met Chloe Lukasiak from Dance Moms. I went to a club gymnastics meet for the first time. I saw Leslie Odom, Jr. sing live. I went to my first job interview. I got my first job offer. I declined my first job offer.

Like I said, a lot's happened in a year. But notice the absence of "I started my first adult job." That's definitely not what I expected or planned.

College Reflections from a Recent Illini Alumna

I know it's been quite a while since I've last posted on here, but the second semester of my senior year of college was a lot busier than I anticipated.

Now that I've made it and earned my hard-earned degree, I have more time to blog again and would like to begin by celebrating the class of 2017 and reflecting on my time at the University of Illinois.

When I was in middle school, I remember not wanting to go to Illinois because I felt the two and a half hour car ride to Champaign was too long. I didn't want to sit in the car for that long a few times a year to get to school and come home from it.

Now I couldn't imagine spending the last four years anywhere else. I wouldn't want to go anywhere else. U of I became my home away from home, and it still hasn't sunk it that come mid-August, I won't be coming back to campus this fall.

Portland 2016: Sportlandia Part 2

The view of Portland from the top of Wieden + Kennedy's office building

While my trip to Portland was focused on sports media, a few of the places we went to had less of a focus on sports but were still related to sports and sports media.

(Apologies for the lack of photos in this post. These were smaller places so there wasn't always something to photograph.)

Wieden + Kennedy

Wieden + Kennedy is an independent advertising agency. Nike is one of its biggest clients, which is one reason why the Portland office was a stop during the immersion trip.

The second I walked into W + K, I could tell this was no ordinary office building. It wasn’t just a corporate building where people came to everyday from 9-5 to work. Outstanding artwork greeted us right as we stepped in the door. The left wall was adorned with hundreds of portrait photographs, and the back wall listed a bunch of what appeared to be Greek names.

Portland 2016: Sportlandia Part 1

The  view of field and stadium at Providence Park, home of the Portland Timbers and Portland Thorns, while standing on the actual field 

Immediately following the end of the spring academic semester, I joined 23 other University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign students on a trip to Portland, Oregon for an industry immersion course. Basically, we went to Portland to learn more about the sports media industry in conjunction with the course we took during the second half of the semester.

I was in Portland for six full days and got to see a lot of interesting things and learned a lot from our immersion visits. We did quite a bit in a short period of time, so my blogs about my trip to Portland will be split into three: two about the actual sports media visits and one about what I did in my free time.

The blogs about the actual sports media visits will be called "Sportlandia," a play on Portland, the show Portlandia, and the hashtag and group name we used on social media. Part one of Sportlandia will focus on the more sports-focused visits.

Motivation Monday: Keeping Busy with Classes, Clubs, and Internships

Being in college is not easy. It can be rather busy. Of course, there are classes, which every college student experiences. But many add even more on top, like clubs, Greek life, jobs, and internships.

This semester is perhaps my busiest one yet. Although I'm currently only taking four classes, I have a lot of other responsibilities and commitments. I am the writing editor of the University of Illinois' official yearbook, Illio (which is essentially a job); an intern with FloGymnastics as the University of Illinois Correspondent; the secretary of the University of Illinois' To Write Love on Her Arms UChapter; and recently joined the Illinois Sports Business Association. In addition, I just found out last week that I will be adding another class during the second half of the semester as part of a sports media industry immersion trip to Portland.

It certainly looks like a lot to handle, and it is. I don't think I've ever had so much on my plate before. So why do it? Why pile an internship, two clubs, and a job on top of schoolwork? What's the motivation behind it? Isn't there a worry that it's too much to handle?

Of course. Since this is the most I've ever been responsible for, I'm definitely worried. But I'm not going to let that stop me from making connections, getting involved, and best preparing myself for my future, which is what these activities are doing.

Veterans Day 2015: How Journalism Made Me More Grateful

Last semester, during the spring of 2014, I was involved in a a project the local WILL/Illinois Public Media was doing on Vietnam veterans. My entire multimedia reporting class helped WILL interview Vietnam veterans living in downstate Illinois and compile their oral histories. As part of the project, I photographed, filmed, interviewed and recorded sound relating to one veteran and his story, applying the skills I was learning in my multimedia class. (The photos featured here are part of that class and project.)

Fashion Friday: Where to Shop for Clothes on a College Girl's Budget - Part 2

Earlier this month, I posted the first part of this Fashion Friday series. Since I'm a college student who loves clothes, shopping, and fashion, it's not always easy to find cute clothes that are affordable. This is especially true when you're often limited to online shopping or only a few trips to the mall over the course of the school year. So here are some more sites and places that offer inexpensive (but stylish) clothing, perfect for college fashionistas.

I recently discovered this site earlier this year. While they do have rather pricey things, their sale section is a great place to find clothes for casual days to class, nights out with the girls, or date nights and special events.

Tips:

• Use the buttons at the top of the sale section. There are links to items that are just $5, $10, $15, and $20. It's a great tool for anyone trying to get the best deals on cute clothes.
• If you don't get too many emails already, sign up for theirs! They often have sales, like 25% off sitewide or 30% off new arrivals or dresses. Signing up for emails will let you know when those are. Plus, if you sign up for their emails, you get 50% off your first purchase with them!

Some of my favorite pieces from there:

I only have a few things from Tobi at the moment, but I love all of these dresses!

Fashion Friday: Where to Shop for Clothes on a College Girl's Budget - Part 1

As a college student who loves clothes and fashion, I do sometimes struggle with trying to find cute clothes that I can afford. Luckily, there are quite a few stores/websites that offer trendy yet inexpensive clothes.

I've been shopping at these stores for as long as I can remember. My mom goes there all the time, and my sister and I always go with her on her shopping trips. Over the 10-plus years that I've been shopping there, they've had their ups and downs. There were some times I recall their stores not having a lot of stuff I like, but once I entered high school, it was pretty consistent. Of course, certain locations are better than others, but overall, they're great places to find inexpensive but quality clothes.
You can find a lot of jeans and sweaters for around $20, and they also have a great selection of activewear. They usually don't have a lot of Nike, but they do still have some quality stuff. For example, I find New Balance compression shorts there all the time

Tips:

• Try to go to the locations that are near malls. Those locations are more likely to have clothes from the stores at the mall. I often find American Eagle, Hollister, PacSun, and Abercrombie and Fitch clothes at those locations for over 50-percent off what they were in the original store. The clothes from the mall stores they sell may be a few months old, but most of the time, they're still in style and can be worn for the current season.
• Check the clearance and sale racks for clothes from last season or the season that is almost ending. for example, now would be a good time to find some summer clothes at an even cheaper price. This is great if you go to a school where it's usually warm or if you just want to stock up on some summer clothes.

Some of my favorite pieces from there:

What I Learned After Two Years of College

I recently completed my sophomore year of college. That means I am halfway done with my undergraduate education, which I find very hard to believe. It hasn't hit me yet, and it probably won't until I'm halfway done with my junior year.
But since I've experienced two years in college, I've learned quite a few things outside of the lecture hall. Some of these things may apply to you. Some may not. Some of these things may sound a little negative or pessimistic, but that's definitely not my intention. I just want to share what I've learned and experienced to help others, and since everyone's college experience is different, you might not need what I've learned. But reading what others have learned never hurts!

Hallene Gateway at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 

It's not always easy to maintain friendships.

Sure, you may have met someone at the beginning of the year who you think is going to be a pretty good friend, but just like how you drift apart from people you considered friends in high school, you're probably going to drift apart from some of the friends you make in college. 

I think this applies most to people you meet at the beginning of the school year before classes and everything else have began. Making friends at that time gives you time to hang out with that person and get to know them before the chaos of the semester begins. 

But as the semester goes on, you both get busy and involved. If you don't get to see each other often, then it's even harder. It's not like high school where you get to see the same people everyday in class or at lunch. Even if it is easier to go out on weekdays in college, it's not always easy to hang out with the people you want. You both meet new people along the way, possibly people that you connect and mesh more with than each other. 

I'm not trying to be pessimistic. I'm just being realistic. You meet a lot of people in college, but it's not easy to actually maintain friendships with everyone you start to form friendships with. But it never hurts to add these people on Facebook. Follow them on Twitter. Get their phone numbers. Even if you do drift apart after initially becoming friends, you can always go back and contact them if you want to try to become better friends or just need someone else to talk to. They might be able to help you out in the future with connections or a class. You might not be so close to them now, but maybe you'll be able to form a better friendship later on in the year, when classes and everything dies down, or in your collegiate career. But it'll be a lot harder to do that if you don't know how to reach them!