Are you there world? It's me, Sarah.

Well it's been almost a year since I've written on here ((what would my teacher say!)) and soOoOo much has changed in my life since graduation. I did in fact end up getting the Sales Supervisor job at Macy's ((Hooray!!)) and have since moved on to Sales Manager..which means more responsibility which means more pay ( :] ) which also means I'm salary ( :[ ). RTW was lots of fun and I looooved being able to basically play with clothes all day and my associates were fantastic, even though there were some "opportunities" <--- Macy's code for not so good. However, once all the excitement fades you learn quite a bit about retail and all it entails. For those of you who are currently working in retail or are considering a position in the field or wish to study it in school I must say, it is NOT for the faint of heart. Also, to keep your sanity, you have GOT to learn to be able to focus on work and nothing else when you're at work and then once you leave, just turn it off. Leave work at work and personal stuff at home. It's very hard, it's an adjustment to life, and it's not something that will happen overnite. Furthermore, don't be afraid to ask for help. There are many people at your disposal who can help you and give you tips that you may not have thought of.

I do miss RTW ((I'm now in Men's and Fine Jewelry)) because it was fun, fashion forward, and quite honestly I was GOOD at it. Now my job is scary because I'm in different departments of the store that I'm not picking up as quickly, that I'm not as confident in, that I don't immediately know the answers to all the questions. Which is unnerving and frustrating for me. I mean after all, I AM a Stephens Woman and we're supposed to be OUTSTANDING in all we do, right? I just have to remember that I'm good at what I do, I'm smarter and more able than I think I am, and changing my perception will make a world of difference.

I am also getting ready to move into my 1st apartment in August!! :D I won't be alone ((whew)); I'll be moving in with my sister and her current roommate and her ADORABLE cat, Tiger. Which me getting my new apartment means I'm spending money on everything Martha Stewart ((Thanks, Macys!)) to pimp out my place..that I don't even have yet. I honestly won't be spending aLOT of time there since I'm working more and it will only get busier ((can we say Black Friday :S )). But if I can come home and have everything exactly as I want it and just be able to relaaaaax, I will be a very happy girl indeed.

Also, the best news of all, is that I have a new boyfriend. Yaaaaay!<3! But this isn't just any boyfriend..oh no. This is the BEST. He thinks I'm amazing and smart and beautiful and funny..and he's probably right. ;) Every day that I have that is stressful or annoying or just makes me think this is SO not worth it, I just think of him and I'm automatically relaxed, calm, and thankful. Which, if you knew me at all, is a pretty big darn deal. You may be thinking, Ok Sarah, why would you put something about your personal life on a blog that's on professional websites. That's just silly! Well I'll tell you why. Because we all need important people in our lives that make us feel wonderful, that believe we can touch the stars if we want to, that will love us at our absolute worst. THEY are what makes everything worth it. I know that money makes the world go round and we all have to work, but jobs will always be there. Family&friends&significant others won't. Only you can decide what your priorities are. I will do my darndest to be the absolute best [job title] that I can possibly be. But the second I have no personal/social life and do nothing but work, I need to rethink what I'm doing.

Balancing life and work is an ongoing battle that I guarantee noone has perfected. All I'm trying to do is do my job to the best of my ability so it can lead me to my next one, enjoy my family while we're all still here, and enjoy the love of my life as much as I can. Whatever brings you joy is what you should focus on.

Don't take life too seriously, noone ever gets out alive anyway. [: Have an OUTSTANDING day!!

Macy's!!

So since I've graduated from college I've been searching hardcore for a job..I have a spreadsheet of over 25 jobs that I have applied or need to apply to. I was starting to get in panic mode because it's been almost 2 months and I still have no source of income!! Except for my lovely parents of course. (: But at this age, I should be self-sufficient, right?? Yea..that's what I thought too.

So THANKFULLY I received a call about coming in to interview with Macy's. Score!! I knew from researching that particular store that all they had was on-call positions..which quite honestly was fine with me because I could find another part-time job and be good to go. My first interview went fantastic but my interviewer told me she had no full-time positions available. Well, rats. BUT, she tells me, we have a position open for a Sales Supervisor position, basically an assistant manager of a department. Holy c-iz-ow, that's awesome!! But, um, I've never managed anything before. :/ But, I've done similar tasks and I'm a Stephens Woman, so I can handle anything!! :D Besides, if someone thinks, after only speaking with me for a few minutes, that I'm right for the job, then I guess I am. :)

So I then had to have a 2nd interview with the store manager, Rhonda, who is fantastic. It was a very lax interview considering the position and who I was interviewing with. She told me she was a tough person to work for but I've had horrid bosses before and I think she would be a great person to work for. Tough, yes, but for good reason. That interview also went extremely well and she said she would be in contact with me, which could be legit or could mean "don't call us, we'll call you." So I decided to contact her and ask some questions I didn't think of in the interview and also to see if the position had been filled. Thankfully, it had not and it is now down to me and one other girl, and a phone interview on Tuesday will decide my fate. Personally, I think I've got it in the bag, but you never can tell. I don't know who exactly my competition is and how her credentials stack up against mine. What I DO know is that I am going to prepare myself as best I can, show 'em what I got, and make sure my grandmother says a rosary for me. (:

Should this not work out *knock on wood* there are other places I am looking at as well, retail and "office coordinator" positions mostly. It's rather frustrating because the jobs I want and the jobs I went to school for want someone with a Bachelor's degree, but they also want someone with 3 to 5 years experience, which of course I can't get because I haven't worked in that job. I understand cutting costs and promoting within makes sense, but cut us grads a break!!

Where does the time go...

Well it's hard to believe that it's almost July of 2010. I'll be turning 22 in a couple weeks which makes me feel old and young at the same time. It also makes me ponder what I have accomplished in my "lifetime." I definitely feel I have changed as a person in the past couple years, thanks mostly in part to the AMAZING people I met at Stephens College. The first time I went there I thought it was one of the greatest places I've been, especially considering it's still SCHOOL. ;] Listening to alumnae coming back for the 50-year reunion ((WOW!!)) and hearing them say Stephens was still one of the best parts of their lives lets me know that Stephens is a part of me and I am a part of Stephens. So I've gotten an education..which is great. I've had 2 internships, learned what it is I do and do NOT want to do, got some contacts, made some good friends, and found I really was on the right track. Sometimes I feel as though, compared to some people my age, that I haven't accomplished much. I feel like I should be out changing the world, curing a disease, coming up with some invention that will stand the test of time. Although these are all great and admirable things, I think I may have been thinking too large. First off, it shouldn't matter how my best is compared to everyone else's. If it is my personal best, than it's my personal best and I should be proud of that. Also, I may not be able to make a difference to the WHOLE world, but I can make a difference to someone in my immediate world: a friend, family member, colleague, or even a random stranger. I may not be a famous celebrity and be plastered all over magazines, but I would like to think that the people who DO know me think I'm pretty great, which is celebrity enough for me.

So I guess what I'm saying is that people may have hopes and dreams that they think will take them really far, and they just might. But it really is true what they say: "Shoot for the moon, for even if you miss you will land among the stars."

Summer!!

It's summer time..and it's been forever since I've updated my blog. Here is what has happened in the past couple months:

1. Received my Bachelor's degree in Entrepreneurship and Business Management with a minor in Special Event Planning.
2. Began as a volunteer with the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Champaign to assist with the Chocolate Extravaganza.
3. Started reading Gone With the Wind..which I can appreciate WAY more now then when I attempted to read it in High School.
4. Am now watching an obscene amount of television..which means seeing movies I've never had time to see:
Phantom of the Opera
House Bunny
Madame Bovary
Anna Karenina (sp?)
and lots more black and white movies with random titles that make life seem, if only for 2 hours, happy, romantic, and a little bit more serene.

At first I just thought that I would relax for awhile, find a job, and that would be it. But, as they say, you make plans and God laughs. Finding a job has been more difficult than I thought and so I have aLOT more free time than I bargained for. At first, I was upset because everyone else around me had a job. But then I realized I have been given the opportunity to do what I want to do, now that I have the time available and am living with my parents so I don't have a lot of expenses. (: So now I'm choosing to pursue my hobbies, give back to causes important to me, and learn all that I can about things I WANT to learn about instead of things I SHOULD learn about.

So please, if you have any book/movie titles you think I should be aware of..please, let me know.
:D

Quotes!!

I am one of those people who just loves quotes. I'm not real sure why, but sometimes other people can sum up things better than I can or the quotes are just witty and memorable. But either way, quotes from movies, books, and just life in general define my life. So I'm going to share some of my favorites. Some are from books and movies and some are just from my life, which sometimes is far from ordinary..thanks to my random array of friends. (:

"Burnt popcorn is g-ross. Just like boys and warm apple juice."-My niece, 7, wise beyond her years
"Remember this, the woman came out of a man's rib. Not from his feet to be walked on. Not from his head to be superior, but from the side to be equal. Under his arm to be protected, and next to his heart to be loved..."-Aaaaaaw <3
"When it comes down to it, let them think what they want. If they care enough to bother with what I do, then I'm already better than them anyway."-Marilyn Monroe
"If you can make a girl laugh, you can make her do anything."-Marilyn Monroe
"Too much of a good thing can be wonderful"-Mae West
"To err is human, but it feels divine"-Mae West
"Imagination is more important than knowledge"-Albert Einstein
"Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion"-Dolly Parton from Steel Magnolias
"I'd rather have 30 minutes of wonderful than a lifetime of nothing special"-Julia Roberts from Steel Magnolias
"I'm looking for a dare to be great situation."-Say Anything
"You're not a guy. The world is full of guys. Be a man. Don't just be a guy"-Say Anything

Yes Si Oui II

Ok, so to continue on with the "Yes Man."

One of the things the book I talked about last time touches on is positive thinking. If you have positive thoughts over and over then your thought will actually BE. I'm not sure I believe this 100 percent. I mean, yes, if you are going into an unknown situation and you think positively, then it will turn out okay or you will at least be in a good mindset for it. However, it takes more than positive thinking, you also have to have positive doing. If you want your life to go a certain way, then you have to make it so. You can't just sit at home every day and say, "I'm going to a CEO someday," and then just wait for it to happen. Even if you positively think of becoming a CEO, that's not enough. You have to get out there and make it happen. And you also have to understand that these things are not immediate and will not happen over night, which, for impatient people like me, stinks.

I think a big majority of people my age and in my position (in college, soon to graduate) are concerned about what they're going to do "for the rest of their lives." I've had lots of different people tell me that what they're doing now is not what they had originally set out to be. In "The Yes Man," the main character comes across such a situation. A monk he is talking to was not always a monk, and didn't always want to be a monk. He first studied zoology, and then psychology, and then pottery, of all things, and now is in monk-dom. "It's important to have time to figure out what you're going to do. Because there are key points in life, times when one decision will affect the next twenty years of your life. And only then will you have the freedom to make another choice, which could affect the next twenty years." (pg. 289).
Which actually, when you think about it, is quite scary. The choices I'm making now, and the choices I am going to make, are going to affect the rest of my life. If I screw up, does that mean the rest of my life is going to be screwed up too? Or will it just make my path more difficult? If I have a tiny misstep, will the things I want never happen or will I just have to wait longer? And how long do I have to wait anyway..I mean there are some things I've waited for and prepared for my whole life and I haven't gotten them yet and other people who don't even care if they get these things or not are getting them right away! I'm sure this means that since I'm waiting so long I'll be able to appreciate them more when they finally do get here. But, quite frankly, I'd rather just have them now. (:

I just want to throw out a random quote from the book that's pretty self-explanatory: "You may find as you progress down your path to enlightenment, that you receive more help from enlightened beings. Or maybe more help from the people around you. People you wouldn't expect it from. Listen to what they tell you. Sometimes inspiration comes from the strangest places. Even the ordinary can be magical. Be open to it." (pg. 299)

The last point I'd like to touch on is one that I believe everyone has dealt with. It's far more difficult to live with the "what if" then to do something and really regret it. Everyone, at one point or another in their lives, has done something stupid. You've said the wrong thing or done something that you so should not have, but at least you can chalk it up for what it was, learn from it, and move on. But what about the what-ifs? What about the thing(s) you've passed up that could've very well been the best things in the world? The things that could've made your life easier or better, but you decided to be safe and say no? I was in a relationship that I had to end, because of lots of reasons, but it was by far the hardest decision I've ever had to make. People from the outside could see that it was not right for me. But what do they know, right? They haven't lived my life, they don't know him like I do, stuff like that. It was the hardest decision I've ever had to make, because I was essentially cutting a person out of my life I cared for a great deal. I felt like an awful person for doing it. I mean, if I was super-upset the whole time just thinking about then clearly I was making the wrong decision, right? If I didn't want him to not be a part of my life, then I was I doing it? I was seeing short term. I knew that short-term I was going to hurt, a lot. And I did. And even still now when memories come back, it's hard. But I know now (but still not 100 percent) that it was the right decision to make and in the long run, not only will I be better without him but I will find someone better and will want better for me than even I want. At the time, I suppose I didn't think I deserved better, but now I know that I do. Because, after all, I am a F.A.B.U.L.O.U.S. Stephens Woman.
(:♥:)

Yes Si Oui

So I recently read this book called the "Yes Man" (yes, like the movie) by Danny Wallace. It's an amazing read; very inspiring, very funny, and most importantly, honest. You can buy it here (http://www.amazon.com/Yes-Man-Danny-Wallace/dp/1416900667) or just ask me, I'll let you borrow it! (: I thought I would pull some passages from it to share on my blog. The book itself is about saying Yes more and giving everything a chance..being open minded to all the possibilities (good and bad) that life throws at us. I have learned while at Stephens that all kinds of things will happen to you, most of which you never saw coming, and they shape you into who are and who you are going to be and how you react to these things will determine how your life pans out.
No, I don't go out every weekend, because I either have homework or don't have the money and sometimes I just plain ol' do not want to go out. My weeks are hectic and busy and I don't feel like going out and pretending to have a good time around people I barely know, some of which I don't even like! But then I wonder, what am I missing out on? What would fate lead me to if I had gone out? The man in the book goes through a rough break-up and for quite awhile afterwards just wants to stay in and sulk (been there!). But then he begins to wonder, what if I never go out? What if I never have any stories to tell my children and grandchildren? What if I never have children?
"Saying yes more would get me out of this rut. It would rekindle my love for life. It would bring back the old me. The me that had died a little the day I had been dumped. I just needed a little kickstart. A little fun. A chance to live in a completely different way." So, will I say yes to more things? Yes, I think I will. Will I go out all the time, probably not. (Sorry again, VGabs) I do need to be realistic. I know if I do nothing homework-related all weekend then I will be unprepared for the week and be more stressed out instead of less.
Also, the character in the book eventually meets some monks-long story-and learns that every opportunity, good or bad, should be seen as a chance to learn. If something bad happens then sure, it sucks. But now you'll be more prepared for next time, or realize what not do next time. It's kind of like going on a date. Even if it sucks, at least you know what to do or not to do next time, that he's really not for you, and hopefully you'll have a funny story to tell your friends later. And it's not necessarily bad to reflect on these bad times, that's how you learn and how you heal from them. Don't let the past consume you, life's too short for that. "We can learn from just accepting the way we are rather than being attached to the way we'd like to be."

So there's a lot more from this book I would like to post, but that will be next week. (: Right now I have to go to class to learn how to be an awesome event planner (more awesome than I already am now, of course). I hope you enjoyed reading this and will come back to read the next one too!! :D