Panelist Update & Advice

After a bit of a hiatus, with another one soon to follow, I'm here to update on how the panel went. It was a really exciting and fun experience for me. While I don't think I did my best (I get very nervous talking to groups and ramble a bit), I think it went relatively well and that I gave some good advice that people can use.  I also think that it was an excellent experience and I truly hope to get more experiences like it in the future.

I also recently attended my boyfriend's sister's high school graduation. As part of her present, I wrote her a long letter with some advice on what to expect in college. There's some silly advice, but I wanted to make it not-so-preachy. My real letter to her was three pages long (single-spaced...whoops!), but here's an overview of what I wanted her to know.

1. Make sure to maintain relationships that make you feel good and let go of the ones that bring you down. College is the perfect time to weed out those friends who never treated you well but you had to hang out with because your other friends hung out with them. College works for this because you're away from each other for long periods and it's easy to say "oh, I had to spend time with family" when you come home for college breaks (which is true). No need to be harsh or mean, just slowly drift away if necessary. On the other hand, for the friends who make you feel good and treat you well, make sure you keep in touch with them and don't let four years go by in mostly silence. My best friends from home got scant word from me, with occasional visits. Now I regret not keeping in touch as much because it feels like I'm constantly playing catch-up with them. If they're important to you, make time for them.

2. Speaking of making time for people, you're going to be meeting a lot of new people, going to the dining hall with your roommate, walking to class with friends. But you will also be going a lot of places alone sometimes. That's the perfect opportunity to make phone calls to your family and friends to catch up. I didn't do this nearly enough in college, but now I call my parents and best friend while I'm walking the dog. It's a great time to hear from them and see how their doing and tell them about all of the exciting new things you're experiencing. But with walking alone, have constant vigilance. Campuses can feel safe and generally are, but it's best to always be aware of your surroundings. Especially don't walk around alone with headphones in at night!

3. This goes with number two, but it deserves its own category. Call your mom as often as you need to and sometimes more than you want to. While it sometimes got tedious and I had other things to do, my mom and I talked every single night when I was in college. We still talk multiple times a week and text every night. You might not do the same thing, but if you do, know it's normal and no one will make fun of you (or if they do, don't bother with them because they're jerks). I used to be pretty sheepish about it, but the more people I mentioned it to, the more I heard "I do the same thing!" Your mom will always be your biggest supporter and will the one who is always, unconditionally there for you. Your dad too, but there's something really special about mother-daughter relationships.

4. If you get homesick, it is 100%, completely normal. However, don't follow my lead and let yourself wallow in it and not enjoy your time in college (I cried myself to sleep every night first year--don't do that!). It's okay to cry and miss your home and your familiar friends, so when you're feeling down, that's when it's time to reach out to those important to you. Skype is an amazing invention and was made for homesickness. But don't let yourself wallow. Be sad for a night and then get up the next day and do something awesome that reminds you why you're out on your own. Go to a gym class, see a play, even study. Just get away from your room and do something fun for you. If you do that, the homesickness will slowly go away as your new school becomes your home-away-from-home. Homesickness will pop back up sometimes, but it won't overwhelm you.

5. In the spirit of getting involved and doing fun things, go to the school activities fair which usually occurs in the first week or so on campus. Explore different clubs and organizations that interest you. Just sign-up! There's no commitment if it turns out it's not for you, but just exploring something new can be fun. I wish I had done more of this in college, but even if you only find one organization you love like I did, it will make your time in college even more fulfilling.

6. If your school offers free gym classes, take advantage of them. Classes start costing $10+ once you get the real world, so enjoy the free ones while you can. I highly recommend zumba for a really fun, high-paced workout. Or yoga to start good, life-long habits. I find yoga dreadfully boring, but the health benefits are amazing. You're still young, but starting these habits now set you up for a life-time of good health.

7. If you don't want to drink in college, don't. If people judge you for your decision, they're not worth your time anyway. Most people won't care, but there will be some do--again, those people don't matter. If you do decide to drink, be smart about it. Don't go places alone, always use the buddy system. Never leave a friend alone at a party and never be friends with someone who would leave you alone. Sadly, constant vigilance is necessary. I have two stories that promote this idea. One time I went walking alone on the beach after drinking. I stepped on what I thought was a jellyfish (there were a lot during the day). When I got back to the house, everyone was asleep so I crept to the bathroom to get ready for bed. It was then that I smelled poop. Turns out, it wasn't a jellyfish. It was dog (or human?) poop. Moral of the story: don't walk alone when you're drunk. It's always a bad idea.

To be safe at a party, it's probably best to stick with a beer can that you open yourself. Which reminds me, do not EVER drink anything that ends in "bucket." A) You don't know what's in it. B) It was probably made in a trashcan or bathtub--clean or not. C) It generally tastes like fruit juice which means you don't taste the alcohol (and trust me, it will be loaded with different types and vast quantities of alcohol), which means you get shit-faced really quick because you think it's just fruit juice.

8. Take classes that interest you even if they're not in your major (but make sure you plan your classes so you take the correct amount and do all the correct prerequisites!). A course in recent history could teach you a lot about the time your parents and grandparents grew up in. A course in cultural anthropology will teach you about different cultures in the world and why people do what they do based on their customs (one of my favorite classes in college). In college, you'll meet people extremely different from yourself which will be a learning experience in itself. Enjoy listening to their stories because they'll give you a greater appreciation for things that may have never interested you before. With my advice on classes though, keep in mind that you shouldn't just take something because someone tells you that you should. It's up to you what to take, so try to find something that interests you, not just what your roommate, friends, or family want you to.

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Those are my eight pieces of advice. I know there's a lot more to say (like when gossip inevitably happens), but those are personal issues that we all must figure out on our own based on what we think is right at the time. You'll go through ups and downs, but you'll get through them. You're strong and intelligent and have a caring support groups, so remember while college is an adjustment, you're going to be amazing.

School can get overwhelming, the food can get bland and boring, the people on your hall can be annoying, and the same routine can get stale. If you ever need a break from campus, know that friends and family are just a Skype, phone call, or short-drive away. The college years are wonderful and challenging; make sure to enjoy them.

Panelist

Yesterday took an interesting turn! I have never been to a conference before, not even a career fair, but yesterday I was asked to be a panelist in a summit for recent graduates. One of my biggest fears is talking in front of people so the idea of speaking in front of this group (30-35 people...it's not even a big group!) is absolutely terrifying. But I think it will be a really good experience, so I volunteered to help out. Someone dropped out last minute so I have a few days to prepare which just adds to the fun! I had planned on spending my next two nights reading a book for class, but this changes my plans a bit.

The purpose of this panel seems to be to help recent graduates in their job search. I'm going to be asked to talk about where I went after college and where I am now and what steps I took in between. I was worried at first that I wouldn't have a lot to talk about. I only applied for one job and was offered it before graduation. Then when I made my career change, I only applied to two jobs, got one interview, and then got that job. So when it comes to the actual job search, I have very little experience. However, I have a lot of experience in researching for a position and I truly think that's why I have gotten every job I've interviewed for thus far (which is currently four).

I think that's the information that I will focus on in my discussion. I'll discuss the job search process in terms of preparation and try to get the point across that there is no such thing as too much preparation (but it is important to know what to share from your findings and what to keep to yourself).

I know some people don't believe it's possible to prepare for a job interview.  To me, the research process is half the battle for getting called back. You can have all the skills in the world, but if you haven't prepared for your interview and can't show the employer what you know and what you've done, then you've already lost.

When I was looking for a new job, I also did multiple informational interviews with career counselors trying to get a look into the daily life of those jobs. Then when I found a job that matched what I was looking for, I crafted a brand new cover letter and figured out who would be leading the search so I could address my letter to them. I also double-checked my resume to make sure there were no errors nor omissions. Once I got the interview invite, I started preparing anecdotes that showed my skills and personality and could be applied to a variety of questions. I researched the company and the people who worked there to see what kind of problems they might be facing and how I might help those problems if hired.

I think my preparation really helped me know what it was I was looking for which meant I could then make a better impression in interviews because I was only applying to jobs that really interested me. How do you prepare for the job search? I'll update later on how the panel went and what ideas and tips I heard from other people. There will be a Q&A session, so I'm very interested to hear what people come up with.

Savings Plan

As promised in my last post, here is my discussion of savings plans. Pretty much anywhere you read about personal finance, you will see that people recommend breaking goals into short-term (less than five years) or long-term (more than five years). Some also break into medium-term goals (5-10 years), but I think it can sometimes be tricky distinguishing between medium and long when they're both so far away.

As I mentioned before, I love love love spreadsheets. While my budgeting spreadsheet is pretty robust (a different tab for each month, and a different workbook for each year), my savings spreadsheet even makes me laugh at its depth. My goals and savings workbook has eleven tabs in it--eleven! It's actually pretty ridiculous. Each tab has a different variation--what if I saved this much, this month, when would I meet my goal? Or it goes into detail about a specific goal, like paying for graduate school or buying clothes.

My final savings spreadsheet looks like this (with dates and numbers thrown in; not my actual spreadsheet. It's way too big). Also, note, in my spreadsheets, I put the total highlighted in bright yellow so I know that I've completed saving for that goal. 

Dog	Travel	Graduate School	Month
50		350	January 2014
50		350	February
50		350	March
50		350	April
200	50	350	May
	50	350	June
	50	350	July
	50	350	August
	200	350	September
		350	October
		350	November
		3850	December

This just shows how I break everything out. When I was getting ready to buy a dog, I saved up money for a year to make sure I had enough to pay for him, all his vet bills the first year of his life, and any toys or supplies he needs. That way, when I picked him up, all I had to worry about was "omg, I have a puppy now!" and all the fun/stress/tears that involves.

The same goes for graduate school. I have always had a paranoia of becoming poor. Whenever my parents mentioned anything about money, I would pipe up "are we going to lose our house?!" Not that my questions had any basis in reality, but for some reason, I was always scared of not having enough money to get by. So fast-forward to now, at 24, living on my own and making ends meet. I still have that fear except now my big fear is going into debt. I never want to go into debt except for a house mortgage, and maybe a car, but even that I would like to avoid. So, to make going into debt not happen, I have to plan my money very carefully because I have many lofty financial goals and don't have a massive income.

I finished saving for Pinecone (my sweet, goldendoodle. He's almost a year and a half now!), I've saved up enough for travel for now, and I have my emergency savings all squared away (though, some days I think I should have more in my emergency account and then I think about all I want to save for fun, and I just can't do it). So for graduate school, since I don't want to dip into my savings or go into debt, I put a little bit away each month into a separate account so that when my graduate tuition bills come, I can pay for them immediately. This takes a lot of discipline though because sometimes I really just want to go out and buy some new clothes (my closet is finally tipping from mostly high school to mostly college and beyond--woohoo! Wardrobe is finally growing up...).

Speaking of clothes, I also have a 'clothes' tab in my "Savings Plan" spreadsheet. In it, I have what clothes I would like to buy (all color-coordinated so I can do a lot of mix-and-matching instead of buying a ton of stuff and having nothing to wear it with), how much they will likely cost, and when I can afford to buy them. Since most of my money is going toward graduate school right now, it will be a long-process updating my wardrobe. My next big purchase will be jeans since I know I desperately need a pair--seriously, my other two jeans (yes, only two) are wearing very thin. I'm wanting to buy more quality jeans so I've been looking at Lucky Brand which is much more pricey than my usual Kohls jeans, but will a) probably look nicer for casual Fridays at work and b) will probably last longer. For my new wardrobe, I'm looking for more quality over quantity.

Other big parts of my savings plan include a house, a car, and a wedding. All of these things are ridiculously expensive. But by breaking them out into manageable chunks, I'm able to see when I'm likely to reach those goals. These are the long-term goals I mentioned at the beginning of the post--things that I will (hopefully) need 5-10 years down the road, not now (again, too expensive!). I've already started researching what type of car I'd like (hoping hoping hoping my current car lasts at least another six years) so that I'm prepared for what I need to save so that when my car does die (again, hopefully many years down the road), I'm prepared to buy a new one.

Anyway, that's my way of creating savings plans. It may seem tedious and silly, but it really keeps me on track to reach my savings goals and allows me to do the things I want to do. I highly recommend spreadsheets to help get your finances on track, or really, anything on track! Spreadsheets are amazing.

Monthly Finance Breakdown

I believe I've mentioned before that I absolutely love budgeting and talking about savings, investments, and money-management. I think it's a lot of fun, albeit sometimes stressful. 

Last week I watched a webinar by TIAA-CREF for young women professionals. While the information was pretty rudimentary, I was reminded that I really need to start contributing again to my personal Roth IRAs. I've been doing my work 401k, in addition to maxing out my company match plan, but apparently that it not enough according to the webinar, so I'm back to monthly contributions to my Roth IRAs. This means I had to play around with my budget some and I decided to share my monthly breakdown in percentages to those who are interested in learning and talking about budgets.

Here is my monthly breakdown:

Rent: 34%

Education: 19%

Groceries: 14%

Restaurants: 7% 

Utilities: 7%

Extras: 5% (this includes doctor appts, presents, toiletries, clothing, races, entertainment)

Dog: 5%

Roth IRA: 5%

Savings: 3%

Transportation: 1% (I walk a lot)

Some months I have tax refunds in an early month or get some freelance work, so I sometimes change up the percentages based on what I would like to spend money on (usually more on dog, food, savings, or extras). It's actually really nice to see this in percentages, because every month, I balk at how much I pay for utilities (paying for premium cable seems like such a waste, but alas, without it we couldn't watch The League). 

I have all of this information, with actual hard data numbers, on a spreadsheet that I update every few days to include new purchases. Seriously, I love spreadsheets. I find them extremely fun to play with and have many different ones that I fiddle with on a daily basis. Definitely a tad bit OCD and type A, but I enjoy it. It's even gotten me a freelance job, so it's a pretty great hobby.

Next post, I will talk about my savings plans and goals. I have a few and each one is broken out month by month for about the next five to ten years so that I know exactly where I am with each one. In similar news, Trulia just came out with a report that over 50% of millennials are planning to ask their parents for money for their home down payment. That number baffles me, but more on saving goals next time.

I think it's really helpful to start a dialogue about saving because saving money is so incredibly important. Are there any tips or tricks you've learned along the way? Is there a specific money topic you would like addressed? I would love to continue the discussion!

Whole30

My mom recently started doing the Whole30 lifestyle change. She's only on day four, but people say that in weeks two and three, you can really feel a change in your body and energy-levels. Basically, you take out all the big inflammatory food groups (sugar, legumes, dairy, grains) and substitute them with protein, vegetables, and infrequently, fruit. I'm planning to start this too because my diet now mostly consists of beans, which is really not the healthiest thing in the world. Delicious, protein-filled, and hearty, but when your dinner consists of a can of beans, a tortilla, and some cheese, it's probably time to start doing nicer things to your stomach (mine has been rebelling for the past few days after a delectable taco casserole, hence the inspiration to finally start a new lifestyle after decades of stomach anger).

I've started trying to come up with a meal plan for the first week and it's proving to be difficult. When you cut out grains and legumes, you have to buy a ton of animal protein and a variety of vegetables. According to one site, you should be aiming for about one pound of protein and six to eight cups of vegetables a day. A pound of protein! I usually only eat chicken once a week and then subsist on beans the rest of the week. We'll see how this experiment goes!

For my first week, most of my meals are salads. I really need to get more creative if I'm going to make this work because salads get very boring very fast.  I try to grocery shop on the weekends so this meal plan starts on Monday. Here's the plan:

Monday
2 eggs, 1 cup of spinach, 1/2 c cantaloupe
2 c lettuce, 1 c cucumber, 1/2 c tomatoes, 1/4 c almonds
Fish fillet, home-made salsa (1 c tomatoes, 1 c onions, handful cilantro), 1 avocado

Tuesday
Smoothie (nut butter, 1 c fruit, 1 c veggie, 1 c almond milk)
2 c lettuce, 1 c salsa (leftover), 1/2 c hearts of palm, 1/2 avocado home-made mustard vinaigrette
Serving chicken, 1 c salsa, 1/2 avocado

Wednesday
2 eggs, asparagus, lemon, 1/2 c cantaloupe
2 c lettuce, can of tuna, 1/2 c hearts of palm, mustard vinaigrette
Chicken, asparagus, lemon, kale chips (make with garlic and EVOO)

Thursday
2 eggs, 1 c bell peppers
2 c lettuce, can of tuna, 1/2 c hearts of palm, mustard vinaigrette
1 c edamame hummus, 1 c snap peas, 1/2 c bell peppers, 1/2 c carrots

Friday
Non-traditional breakfast: hard-boiled egg, 1 c onions, 1 c tomatoes, 1 c cucumber, vinaigrette
1 c edamame hummus, 1 c bell peppers, 1 c snap peas, 1/2 c carrots

I only plan meals for the work week as weekends tend to get swept up by other things. For that week though, those veggies add up really fast at the grocery store (in terms of cost). I might have to play around with my grocery budget some.

I'm having a hard time thinking of new ways to eat the same old produce. Also, I have issues with eggs which are making up a large portion of my meal plan. I go through phases where I can eat them everyday and then go through phases where they absolutely disgust me. Currently in a disgust phase and yet, guess what I had for lunch?!

Looking back over the week seems like that can't possibly be enough food--I love crackers so much and feel that a meal is incomplete without a crispy crunch or a nice piece of bread, but I will try to persevere! And maybe add some more food to my daily meal plans depending on if it's needed or not. I really don't know. Has anyone done the Whole30 or have any advice on what foods to eat?

For following weeks I will definitely be making a ratatouille. One of my favorite foods is eggplant so I love making dishes with it. My favorites are ratatouille, babaganoush, and eggplant lasagna. Also I like making a pasta sauce with eggplants, but can't eat pasta on this plan, so that's out.

Finding Your Dream Job

I was reading an article today on careerealism.com about finding your dream job. While it's a short article, it got me thinking about finding a dream job and all that entails. It's not so easy as saying "I like this, so therefore it will be a great job." I learned that lesson the hard way. So after reading this article I wanted to answer the three questions it poses for finding a dream job.

What Makes you Really Angry?

The biggest issue that gets me really angry is animal cruelty. It absolutely breaks my heart when I see an animal suffering or see one being neglected. Unfortunately, my anger is often clouded over by my sadness--I feel too much that I literally make myself miserable thinking about these things. My dream as a kid was to become a veterinarian. Upon realizing I would have to take more physics (the bane of my existence), I went towards my other passion, writing. But on top of physics, I realized I would have to put animals down. I know it's necessary for the animal's well-being sometimes, but the idea of doing it personally breaks my heart. I was in the waiting room at the vet one day with my dog and an older woman came in carrying her dog silently crying over it. The vet tech came out and immediately brought her to the back without saying a word. I almost burst into tears in the waiting room just seeing that--I can't imagine actually being the one to do it. A few weeks ago, my parents had to put down our eleven-year-old golden retriever. We got him when I was twelve. I rushed home from work and just barely made it in time to say goodbye to him. The vet came to our house and sedated him before putting him down. I respect so much that she is able to do that and be with a family as they go through one of the hardest life decisions and events, but I know I could never do it. So despite my anger over the pain and abuse, I could never make a career out of it lest I want to be perpetually depressed.

What are the Biggest Personal Challenges You've Overcome?

I'm going to be honest-I really haven't had many personal challenges. I've had a pretty easy, cushy life. Not to say I haven't been sad or lonely or gone through emotional turmoil, but in comparison to some problems in the world, mine are pretty minor in the grand scheme of things. The one thing I could say about this is that I've had multiple people tell me I should go into counseling or be a life coach--so while I haven't dealt with many personal challenges of my own, I have been there for friends going through their own personal challenges and allegedly I give good advice and am good at listening to their concerns. I don't know how this question exactly helps me find a dream job, but it did help me think about my listening skills and words from my friends, so in that sense, it could help.

What  are your Most Exciting Passions?

As I've mentioned on the blog before, my two passions are writing and helping people. Writing about life and thoughts and ideas is something so thrilling to me, and yet, I find myself shying away from it for fear of criticism (hence the blog; it's an attempt to force myself to write regardless of fear). Helping people is my other passion. From doing physical labor to giving directions to a lost student or parent, I truly enjoy helping others. I think this question is the one that will help me find my dream job. My love of writing and helping people will hopefully come together one day to create a nice environment for me to spend eight hours a day, five days a week. That's how work should be--spending those hours doing something you love. If I could figure out how to do that from home a few days a week, then I would be set.

Questions were from http://www.careerealism.com/find-dream-job-clues/#!RZmbc

Path to Career Coaching

I wanted to expand a bit more on my last post about my career plans.

I am currently working toward a Master of Education with a concentration in higher education.  My goal for this is to become qualified to be a career coach.  One of my greatest joys in life in helping others, so after a year and a half working as a book designer, I realized I needed a career that was more interactive.  While my first love is still writing and editing, I wanted to find a career that combined my joy of helping others with my love of editing and writing, while also adding in a bit of teaching, consulting, and one-on-one conversations.  I started looking around and met with a career counselor at my alma mater to take the Strong Interest Inventory.  My top job matches were HR positions, but third on the list was 'career counselor.'  I started doing informational interviews with counselors at my school and realized that this seemed like a perfect career fit.  I applied and was accepted to a career services office to gain experience first-hand.  This has helped solidify my desire to work as a career coach, but I still find myself wavering sometimes, missing my first career in publishing.

But I digress.  Since I am working toward being a career coach, I started thinking about different options available to me.  Some questions I've had to ask myself include: who do I want to work with? what obstacles do they face? what services will I provide to help them overcome their obstacles?  These questions are important because they will help me maintain focus as I work my way through my graduate program.  I want to be able to hone in on what types of jobs I want to apply for and what types of people I want to work with (whether a specific program or a more broad, university-wide student body).

Back to my earlier digression about missing publishing, I have also started thinking of ways to combine these two careers.  Maybe I can write career books after I have some experience in the field?  Or maybe there is a magazine I can work for where I write career and relationship articles?  At this stage in my life, all the doors seem wide open, which is a pretty scary point to be at.  I know the world is my oyster right now, but having so many options open can be a little intimidating at times, especially as a generalist that finds joy in many different things (I had two earlier career options of dietitian and financial planner).  I feel like I need to nail everything down and have it all figured out, but I definitely do not (which as a planner, is an extremely difficult point to be at). 

Hopefully all of these hours spent trying to figure out a career path will benefit me and my clients when I finally become a career coach.  Since I was filled with so much uncertainty at times (and still am sometimes), I feel I will be able to help students come to terms with their own uncertainty and help them realize that just because they don't have it all figured out doesn't mean that they will fail.