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Sophomore Year is Over

Manda — Mon, 03 May 2010 20:24:54 +0000

As of today, I have officially finished my second year of college¹. It’s been a very interesting year, with extreme highs and lows. On a whole, though, it’s been a good year. I’ve definitely learned a lot academically and even more socially, both friends-wise and relationship-wise. I’ve gained a plethora of work experience and have a much more impressive resume to show for it.

Academically, I’ve taken a full course load both semesters and have excelled in my classes. I’ve now taken classes that have begun to really get at the heart of my studies and I now know for sure that I am choosing the right academic path. I worked really hard fall semester and early spring semester on my scholarship application and was fortunate enough to be chosen to receive it.

Work-wise, I’ve held what might possibly be my favorite position, ever. I also had my first internship, which was a huge learning experience and gave me great insight into the workplace in my field of study. I made some great contacts through both my job and internship, and I am hoping to maintain them throughout the next few years. I also worked at a prominent museum for a brief interim last semester, and that most definitely taught me everything I ever cared to know about standing on my feet for hours on end!

Socially, I think I’ve learned more this year than in any other year of my life. I lost a best friend; I drifted apart from some of my old high school friends. I made a vow to detoxify my life from the “poison” that was in it. I also became so much closer to my core group of friends and met some absolutely fantastic people this year. In a nutshell, I learned who my real friends were and became a stronger person because of it.

There were some great memories from the year, as well as some pretty low ones. Last semester, I had a tendency to focus too much on the negative. (To be fair, the majority of the negative stuff from this year happened in the fall.) But this semester, I’m taking away all of the positives and running with it. These are the memories that will last me for my year abroad; these are the memories that will make me want to come back after being away for so long.

Throughout this entire year, I’ve been so eager for the school year to end so that I can clear off and go abroad next year. Now that it’s ended, though, I find it to be a very bittersweet ending. I am still as excited as ever to go abroad and am beginning to make more extensive and detailed plans for my adventures in Beijing. But there’s a lot I am leaving behind, and I’ll miss so many people. Still, everything will still be here, when I get back, right?

I would say I’ve officially finished sophomore year, but credits-wise, I’m somewhere in the murky area between a junior and a senior.

A Professional Digital Identity

Manda — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 18:56:34 +0000

Last summer, I registered my name as a .com domain. I made a half-hearted attempt at housing my creative writings at that domain, but that quickly ended when school began and I had little time to write and even less desire to deal with an online writing portfolio. I ended up deleting the writing portfolio, but I still retained the domain name.

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about using the domain as an extension of my “professional” identity. You know, so that I’d have my own little niche of the World Wide Web devoted to, well, me as a professional. I’ve been seeing more of these professional-type domains popping up amongst my peers; it seems as though creating and maintaining a professional digital identity is the next big thing in the career world. Even if it isn’t, I don’t think having one would hurt.

I’m not a graphic nor a web design student, so it’s not like I could (or should) use the domain to showcase examples of my digital work and/or expertise. I am a communications student; therefore, I have writing samples and a list of links to articles and/or web pages where I’m quoted or featured. I also have a pretty solid resume. These are all things I could put on the domain. That’s a start, right?

Up Close and Personal (Literally)

Manda — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 13:50:31 +0000

I really don’t understand why some people are so temperamental about giving up personal space during rush hour when commuting via public transport. Yes, it sucks. Yes, no one likes being so close to a stranger that you know whether or not that person used deodorant that day. But if it’s something everyone has to suffer through in order to get from Point A to Point B… what’s the big fuss?

When I was commuting back to campus after I finished interning the other day, rush hour was in full swing on the Metro. Regular rush hour always sucks, but when you combine rush hour with tourist season, it really sucks. One of the women that was in front of me in the line to board the Metro looked around the crowded platform in disgust, rolled her eyes, and said, “I can’t deal with this.” She threw up her arms in a very diva-esque manner and then backed out of the line, disappearing into the crowd. I’d like to know where she went, because unless she went outside to a nearby cafe to sit for an hour and a half with a cup of coffee, it’s not like she had much of a choice about her lack of personal space. Unless she left the Metro stop to get a taxi, I guess.

I don’t particularly enjoy giving up my personal space when commuting during rush hour, but it’s not a big deal. Maybe it’s cause I’m used to Hong Kong public transport, which is always crowded. That doesn’t mean I enjoy being shoved around by others in a mad dash to try and get on an already-packed Metro car (Russian woman who shoved me forward so hard that I almost plowed headfirst into a poor old lady standing in front of me, I’m looking at you), but at least I get that it’s part and parcel of a rush hour commute (diva woman whom I mentioned earlier, that’s directed at you).

At least I make friends every time I commute back and forth during rush hour. Although since today is my last day at my internship, I won’t be making anymore rush hour friends for quite some time!

Snippets of a Glorious Week

Manda — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 14:56:51 +0000

My thoughts are all over the place at the moment, so I’m going to settle with bullet points for this entry.

It has been 70F without a cloud in the sky all week
I have been spending every moment possible outdoors, soaking up the sun. I appreciate this weather so much more after the Snowpocalypse and Snowmageddon. It makes having to stay inside and do work that much harder!
I got accepted to study abroad in Beijing next year
I got my acceptance letter yesterday! I’m going to be in Beijing next school year, baby! Words cannot describe how excited I am for this opportunity of a lifetime. Can it be September already?
Mission Detoxify is going superbly
There’s been some drama among my circle of friends this week, but none of it involves me, either directly or indirectly. Plus, I encountered someone on my list of people to cut out from my life in an effort to rid myself of negatives and I am very proud of the way I handled myself in that situation. I did my best to keep it classy and I definitely succeeded.
I did well on my midterm papers and exams
This week, I received all of the exams and papers I worked so hard on prior to spring break. I am very pleased with all of my grades; all I have to do now is keep them up for the rest of the year.
I have been assigned awesome projects at my internship
I am going to be assisting with the redesign of the website at my internship as well as working on the content and copy. While this project is still in the initial stages, I am very excited to be able to do something very tangible that I will be able to use to “show for” my work.
I spent quality time catching up with friends I missed while away on break
I might allude to all the drama that happens in my group of friends (which, frankly, happens a lot) but they are my friends for a reason. It’s been really nice hanging out with them and catching up this week, especially as the weeks will only get crazier as finals approach.

© Manda for breakthesky.net, 2010. | Permalink | 10 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: china, exams, internship, weather

First Day as an Intern

Manda — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 16:30:51 +0000

Yesterday was my first day as an intern at an international news broadcasting agency. Out of everything I have on my plate this semester, this internship was the thing I was looking forward to the most. It’s the first internship I’ve ever had and it also has the added bonus of having all the qualities of a dream internship for me, so I was a combination of nerves and excitement when my first day to intern rolled around.

I was nervous for nothing, because it was awesome. I know it’s usually a little premature to declare something to be awesome on day one and I am sure there will be days where I get frustrated or overwhelmed but overall, I’m pretty positive that I’m going to love my internship. I get to write press releases that get published on the agency’s website, assist in different language programs, lead tours of the studio, prepare promotional/informational packets, answer incoming calls from the public… the list goes on. It’s very much a hands-on, “real work experience” type of internship because I was reassured on multiple occasions that I will rarely, if ever, have to make photocopies or run errands or fetch my supervisors coffee or do other “grunt work.” That’s fantastic, especially considering that I am only in my second year of college and I’ve never had previous internship experience!

As if all that weren’t awesome enough, I get my own work email and desk/office space and employee/intern ID! Man, between that and my business card, name tag and (shared) email address at my other job, I’m liking my forays into the business/working world!

Second Semester Sophomore

Manda — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 15:44:11 +0000

As I begin to prep for the start of the 2010 spring semester tomorrow, I’ve been thinking a lot about what’s in store for me for the next five months or so. I have a lot lined up and while I actually am excited for all of it, it’s a little overwhelming. Krissy recently told me that she didn’t know how I found the time to sit down. While it was a joke, I think she might have a point…

Classes-wise, I am taking a full course load of five classes. Three are for my major/minor¹, one for a General Education requirement and one as an elective. It’s not going to be a particularly easy semester, especially as I’m starting to get into the heart of both my major and minor, but every single class is one that I want to take. I’m actually interested in all of these subjects, which will make a huge difference when it comes to my motivation towards academics this semester².

In addition to my classes, I am also working this semester. I have an on-campus job as a peer advisor (there are six of us total) in my school’s career center where I hold drop-in hours for students to get their resumes and cover letters critiqued, present in classrooms to promote the career center’s resources and facilitate workshops about all things job search related. It’s an amazing job; I love it. I’m incredibly lucky to be able to work in such a professional environment where I can establish contacts and network with experts while getting paid!

I also landed an internship this semester as the public relations intern for an international news broadcasting agency. I was interviewed for the position last month and was offered the job not even five minutes into my interview, which was a pretty big boost to my self-esteem! I’ll be drafting press releases, communicating with outside media, assisting with event planning and promoting different projects. This internship is what I am most excited for this semester as I want to work in the field of PR on an international scale and I’ll be able to experience just that as an intern at this agency. I’m even hoping I’ll even be able to assist in the Mandarin Chinese or Cantonese programs as I have the language skills to do so, although really, just being able to intern there is a huge boost to my career experience and resume.

I still maintain my web editor position of my school’s literary magazine³ but I’ve quit my museum job. I didn’t have the time for that as well as my internship, and I valued my internship more than my museum gig. I figure I’ve enough on my plate already without working at the museum, as I still have to fit in time to eat, sleep and oh, have a social life…

If I disappear from the blogosphere, you’ll know it’s because I’m insanely busy⁴. It’s going to be an absolutely crazy semester… but I’m hoping it’ll be the best one yet.

I’m a Public Communication student with a minor in the Chinese Language.
Last semester I had to take micro for a GenEd requirement, and I just about died because I discovered that my brain is most certainly not wired for econ.
I’ve been bumped up to Web Editor fromn Assistant Web Editor.
I’m really hoping it won’t come to that, though. That’s part of the reason why the blogging schedule is no more!

Trimming the Fat

Manda — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 13:00:52 +0000

Ever since summer ended and the school year began, I’ve been insanely busy. I have a full course load, a part-time job, a web editor position, and a new job I start in roughly two weeks. This is just everything I have going on in my academic and work life – not that I have a lot going on in my personal and social life save for one major development, but it’s still a lot to handle!

I’ve decided that now is as good a time as any to start cutting down on my responsibilities in life and to begin prioritizing, both online and offline. I’ve always been fairly good at prioritizing, and now I have to look at everything I am currently involved in and try and put them in some sort of priority-oriented list so I can figure out what can stay and what has to go. I want to try and “trim the fat,” so to speak, because if I don’t I’ll be stretched too thin and that’ll only lead to disaster. I like being busy, but I dislike being overly stressed. I already don’t have the time to write¹ or read books of my own choosing, I really only see my friends during mealtimes², and I am barely finding the right amount of time to focus on the aforementioned major development in my personal life!

I’ve made a few decisions as to what to do offline already, such as only remain active in the organizations/clubs that I truly feel passionate about rather than am merely interested in as well as not commit to anything more than I can handle in the future. In terms of my offline life, I’m looking at cutting down what time I spend on message boards. I’m also leaning towards quitting the q*bee as it’s just one more commitment that I know I can’t keep up with.

All of these ideas as to what fat to trim are still mainly ideas at the moment. I’m still working on sorting what is important, what is extra, and what is necessary in my life. There have been a lot of changes in a short amount of time, some of them unexpected, and now I have to adjust my life accordingly. It’s not going to be easy, but I know it must be done.

I have not touched my work-in-progress novel since I left for school in mid-August.
My friends and I are all super busy; we only really have the time to sit down and talk during meals because otherwise we’re too busy doing work.

It Sucks to Be Unemployed

Manda — Tue, 26 May 2009 13:00:13 +0000

Summer vacation started for me a few weeks ago, and as I have no plans to travel this summer, I’ve been searching and applying for summer jobs. I started this process weeks ago, yet I’ve had no success so far. I’m not the only one that hasn’t had success with finding a summer job, all of my friends who are not returning to jobs they had the previous summer or know someone who knows someone are all stuck in this endless search for a summer job¹.

My friends and I have each applied to 10, 12, 15 jobs in our fruitless search for summer employment. It’s not that we’re not a good candidate for typical part time positions in the retail, food, and customer service industries; each one of us are good students with relatively good work experience and strong references. It’s the fact that the summer positions that are available are down by a quarter compared to last summer, and the majority of these positions are being taken by adults that are either already in the workforce or are re-entering it and are able to work full-time and year-round, rather than part-time and only during the summer.

Unless I hear back from one of the many places I applied to and manage to successfully get a job, I guess I’m going to be out of paid employment this summer. This sucks, because not only will I not be able to earn (and save) money this summer, but I’ll also have to search for something else to do. Volunteer work is always an option, as well as continually adding to my Etsy shop, but it would be nice to have a paying job this summer…

I can’t even begin to imagine what the search must be like for someone who is looking for full-time work, particularly for Class of 2009 college graduates!

A Job Promotion

Manda — Tue, 05 May 2009 13:00:54 +0000

At the beginning of April, I applied for a new position in my workplace. During the academic year, I currently work as an office assistant within my university’s career advising office. I love my position, but when I heard that the office was hiring new peer advisors for the 2009-2010 academic year, I decided to take a shot and apply. Not only is it a higher position than that of an office assistant, the skills I would acquire/develop as a peer assistant would look fantastic on my resume and are especially related to my studies as a Public Communication major.

Out of 15 or so applicants, roughly seven were selected for an interview. I was interviewed in mid-April, and feel like I did pretty well. I was nervous, of course, but as I am already familiar with the workplace, I wasn’t as nervous as I could have been. I was poised, gracious, and articulate, and answered all questions honestly and thoughtfully. Of course, after the interview was over, I thought of some better answers to some of the questions, but that always happens. I’ll just have to be better at preparing for an interview in the future!

This application process concluded last Friday, when I was informed that I was offered one of the 5 available peer advising positions. During my week of final exams and packing, the news that I got the job was definitely one of the highlights of last week, if not the definite one. I’ll be getting updates throughout the summer about the rest of the hiring and training process, and then I will be starting my new position in late August, when the 2009-2010 academic year begins.

What I loved most is that the office kept me up to date about my status as an applicant for the peer advising position. I was notified that my application was received, notified when I was selected for an interview, and notified when I was offered the position. The saying “no news is good news” does not work when applying for a job and waiting to hear back from an employer about an application’s status! When I was applying for jobs at the beginning of the 2008-2009 academic year in late August/early September, the majority of the places I applied to either never responded, or responded in late October (at least a full month after I applied, which is crazy as the semester ended the first week of December!). That’s ridiculous, and I am extremely glad that not only did I get the job as a peer advisor, but that my workplace notified me every time I reached the next stage of the application process! Now, if only I could say the same about the places I applied to work at over the summer when applying for summer jobs…

How I Spent My Spring Break

Manda — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 14:00:59 +0000

This past week, I’ve been home for spring break. The majority of my friends weren’t in town this past week, just like how it was during my winter break, because they all have their spring break later this month. So, I managed to keep myself busy this week, albeit with less socializing than I would have preferred.

Applied for summer jobs
I want to get a job this summer as I have no plans to travel, so I filled out and sent off some applications. I’ve no idea if I’ll even hear back from any of the places I applied since the country is in a recession and generally there aren’t job openings anywhere, but it’s worth a try. Hopefully something will work out!
Visited my high school
I think it’s healthy to get back in touch with your roots every now and again, and in this case, it was me going back to my high school to pay a visit. It was a fantastic visit, I saw all of my friends as well as all my old teachers, and caught up with everyone. While I don’t miss everything about high school, I do miss a few things, and it was really good to be back for the day.
Marathoned TV Shows
Since I started going to college, I started watching a lot of TV. I prefer a good TV show over a good movie generally, and I spent a lot of time catching up and/or marathoning TV shows such as Chuck, How I Met Your Mother, and Merlin. The next show on my to-watch list is the UK show Skins.
Spent a lot of time writing my book
I’ve been toying around with a few ideas for my book, mainly making changes to some of the characters, as well as aspects of the plot and various subplots. It’s shaping up fairly nicely though, and I like the direction that it’s going in. I’ve no idea if I’ll have any time at all to write when I go back to school for the second half of this semester, so it’s nice to get some writing in during my time off.
Made an overdue realization about a situation
I alluded to a complicated relationship situation a few weeks ago, and although I thought everything had been all said and done, it turns out that I was wrong. I’m not quite sure what that does to the situation, or where the situation will lead to, but I’ve decided that all I can do is take a step back and let things run its natural course. There’s nothing more I can do, and I’m perfectly fine with that.

© Manda for breakthesky.net, 2009. | Permalink | 6 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: friday five, high school, tv, writing