Tuesday, October 2, 2012

New Town: New Life: New Goals


After four years, three dorm rooms, two apartments and countless memories, it finally happened: college graduation. I’ve only had a few postgrad freak-outs and holy-crap-where-am-I-going-with-my-life-moments, but so far I’ve survived. I’ve been given the opportunity to intern at a PR agency in Dallas (and I’m loving it!). So I packed up my little Ford escape, and my dog and I moved to the big D. With the new apartment, new job, new clothes and new life, I have decided it’s a perfect time for some New Year resolutions. And maybe if I get them written down, I’ll be more inclined to remember them...

As in PR (or any business really) good goals need to be quantifiable somehow. In the past I’ve always made general goals like “try new things” or “be more confident.” Well who knows if I’ve succeeded or failed at those?! So it’s time to make some real, down-to-business, attainable and effective goals for my life, both in short and long term. On New Years Eve, (which is also my birthday!) I want to be able to see what I have accomplished.

So, here they are.  

Get published. I love writing. I love PR. I love food, traveling, running, trying new things... and the list goes on. When I think about it, writing helps me really discover what I love and what I’m passionate about. With past internships and a journalism background, I believe I have the writing skills and ideas to get published, whether it be a guest blog post or online publication, my goal is to have another published article by the end of the year.  

Attend my first Baylor Homecoming as an alumna. With all my Baylor pride and being a former intern at the Baylor Alumni Association, this may sound obvious, but attending homecoming hasn’t been high on my list of priorities. Time goes by so fast, I can’t believe it’s already October (man, a lot can happen in a year)! But I love Baylor football, I love to sic ‘em, and my little sister got me a ticket to pigskin, so I’m in! I’m so happy that my little sister is going to Baylor and we had one year there together. Who gets to go to the gym and have weekly On the Boarder dinners with their little sister in college? I did! She’s always been there for me and I just hope I haven’t been too crazy of a role model.

Reach above 110 connections on LinkedIn. Now here’s a clear, quantifiable goal. After the first few weeks at my new PR internship, I’ve seen how important networking is, and I’ve actually attended a few networking events with my boss and co-workers. LinkedIn is the Facebook of the professional world; it’s how you keep track of old and new business contacts without the fear of loosing business cards or forgetting classmates. My bosses are great at what they do and are extremely well connected – they have over 500 contacts on LinkedIn! I love social media, but if one area is lacking, it’s my LinkedIn account. Well that’s about to change. I’m ready to network and get my LinkedIn on. Connect with me!

Read at least five biographies. Okay, I don’t know if it was graduating from college and finally having the time to read, or the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy, but I’ve started hitting up iBooks and Barnes and Noble. And my favorite genre of books: biographies. I love reading about people and their life journey. Yeah, I could read Twilight or The Hunger Games (which I’m probably the only person in America who hasn’t) but I would much rather read about living, non-vampire people overcoming hard times and reaching success. People are just fascinating. I’ve already read Marilyn Monroe’s bio and I’m currently enjoying Rob Lowe’s “Stories I Only Tell My Friends.” He’s not just a pretty face in Hollywood; he’s a great writer! Hm, I’m thinking of reading George Bush’s bio next… Any more suggestions? 

And my last goal for the rest of 2012 is to have a completely carefree, spontaneous moment. I love making plans. Plans are clear, safe and functional. But I’m turning 23 at the end of this year (OMG #postgradfreakout), and I need to make something spontaneous happen. I don’t know what yet – because that would be planning and hence, not spontaneous – but it’s going to be something great, I know it.  

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