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.

[very little] Sleep till Brooklyn

So this weekend, the VCU Mens Basketball team headed to Brooklyn, New York to play in A10 conference tournament. After 2 days of relentless play, the Rams secured a spot in the conference championship game.
After an interesting turn of events, myself alongside 55 other dedicated Ram fans, got the rare opportunity to take a bus to Brooklyn and support our Rams in the championship game versus St. Louis. At 4am we began the journey and 6 hours later we arrived at the Barclay’s Center (although with the amount of black and gold you saw around the city, one may have mistaken it for the Stu).

As we waited in line outside the center, the New York City ‘HAVOC’ bus made its rounds around the block multiple times as fans stopped to take pictures, and passersby wondered who this school was that had it’s own obnoxiously decorated bus circling the city.

 

Needless to say VCU’s marketing team has been busy.
The Rams will take on 12 seed Akron this Thursday in the round of 64 of the NCAA Tournament. If we make to Texas and/or Atlanta, you bet I’ll be there!

The Madness continues…

This week our Rams head to Brooklyn to compete in the A10 conference tournament. With no guarenteed bid into the NCAA tournament this Sunday, the Rams need to win it all this weekend for a definite spot in the bid dance. It makes me so proud to be a VCU student (soon to be Alum) and see HAVOC take over the world…and by the world I mean New York City.

Our Pep Band, The ‘Peppas’ were seen on the Today Show this morning and even Al Roker was jamming.

I think back to four years ago, telling people I chose to go to VCU, and getting the generic “Oh”. Needless to say, people are a little more enthused about my choice of school. It’s amazing how athletics can make so much of an impact on a university. I was always proud to be a Ram but it is refreshing to see us finally getting the national recognition we deserve as a university.

The Rams take on Saint Joseph’s tonight at 6:30pm est in the tournament Quarterfinals. The winner will compete in the Semifinals on Saturday at 4:oopm.

You don’t wanna go to war with the RAMS!

Okay, I can’t say that I’ve experienced sports at another school, but VCU has the best fans and school spirit in the country. In my totally unbiased opinion 😉

Obligatory blog introduction post

It’s December 17. 8 days until Christmas. 14 days until the New Year. 28 days until I start my last semester of undergrad. 145 days until graduation. It’s time to get serious about the future.

I’ve always been partial to blogging, but recently I’ve been thinking about my experiences during this last year of undergrad and how others may be interested to know what life is like for an almost college graduate, trying to figure out what to do with the future.

I’ve learned lessons like, it’s probably not a good idea to drink more than one cup of coffee an hour, unless I enjoy feeling like my heart is about to beat out of my chest. I’ve also learned that it is possible to successfully complete 7 semesters of college while simultaneously having a job and internship, without ever pulling an all-nighter.

Other things I’ve learned from the dozens of cover letters I’ve written and numerous interviews I’ve been on this year. Like how you may think it’s okay to wear the same dress to an interview that you wore to your friend’s birthday party if you just put a blazer over it. Wrong. Or that it saves time to write one cover letter and just change the employers name for each job. Also wrong.

Throughout this year I’ve also learned to be more realistic about my future. We all (especially PR kids) have big dreams of finishing school, getting that dream job offer in New York or LA and doing what you love. You know, that thing that you say every first day of class when the professor asks each person in the class to go around and say why they chose their major? I’m not saying that dreams don’t come true. I’ve learned to be practical. I’ve lived in this city for the past 4 years of my life, and it finally hit me that Richmond is my home. 5 years ago if you had told me I would be applying for graduate school and jobs in this city I would have laughed and said “yeah right”, but my views have changed! I’ve really learned to love this city and all that it offers young professionals and I may as well get as much out of it as I can before pursuing bigger things.

So anyways, as 2012 comes to a close, my resolution is to blog. And not just say I’m going to blog and be a flake but ACTUALLY blog about experiences and topics that are relevant to my life and others can relate to.

ENJOY! 🙂