Just keep running…

This Saturday I participated in the Ukrops Monument Ave 10k for the first time! It is something that I had been telling myself I wanted to do for a while and I finally plucked up the courage to just sign up for it. So after about 3 months of “training” I was so excited that the day had finally arrived. Collectively, I probably ended up running about 4.5 miles and jogging/walking the rest of the time, and finished in roughly 90 minutes. Keep in mind that I, in no way, consider myself a runner, so the fact that I finished the race without stopping..or dying..is probably one of my greatest accomplishments.

Since this was my first year participating in this historic Richmond event, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. Needless to say I was overly impressed by the entire event, from start to finish. I always forget about the sense of community that the city of Richmond builds around events such as this. For the entire 6.2 miles, there was not a single block without spectators with signs of encouraging words or community partners cheering us on. It was truly motivating and was probably what kept me going throughout the entire race. I was also very impressed to see the amount of people who had traveled from out of town to participate. It is definitely something I plan on doing again in the future.

Side note: I was writing this post when I heard about the horrific explosions near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. My thoughts go out to everyone who was affected by this tragedy. It scares me that this incident was purposeful and all of runners who had put forth so much effort preparing for what should have been an amazing accomplishment were unable to finish the race, or worse suffered distress or injury. Events such as these are supposed to create pride, happiness and sense of community, not fear.

“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.” ― Ernest Hemingway

Graduation is about a month away and I still find myself changing my career goals almost daily. (I know, I know, every one goes through this) I have been thinking a lot about what goals I have set for myself and what I expect for myself in the future. Currently, my short-term career goal is to engulf myself in as many aspects of public relations and communications as possible. I am focusing my short-term goals mostly around the idea that if I dip my toes into as many areas of the media industry as possible, then I will be able to find a niche that I am passionate enough about to create long-term career goals around. Throughout my last two years of college I have set goals for myself to complete internships and shadow as many professionals as possible to learn as much as I can about the field I want to go into before fully entering the real world as a young professional. Improving my ability to network with professionals is also another short-term, and possibly long-term, goal I have for myself. For me, networking is a skill that I don’t think I can ever stop improving upon; especially in an industry where it is so crucial to simply know the right people. Graduate school is starting to present itself as a viable option for me to take. I do want to further my education as much as possible so I do plan to go school and get as much education as I can.

I am still trying to figure out which path is right for me but I’ve realized that there is no “right” path to take and as long as I am moving in the right direction I want to enjoy this journey of realization as much as possible.