Hello all!! I know it’s been a while since I have been on here, and to be honest, it’s because I honestly have had no clue what to write about! I’ve also been pretty busy since school started, but that’s a terrible excuse so I’ll just admit that I was lazy and had writer’s block. ANYWHO, I’ve come up with an idea to combat this issue! Every month, I will make a list of my Fab Five, that way I’ll have at least one post for the month, and hopefully some inspiration will follow suit. The Fab Five will just be a list of five things I am currently obsessing over, anything big or exciting in my life, or just things that I think are interesting and fun. I have a feeling I’m going to really enjoy these monthly entries, and I hope y’all like reading them, too!
1. The Skimm
I’ve been subscribed to the Skimm for almost a year now, and I fall more in love every day! Founded by former NBC employees Danielle Weisberg and Carly Zakin, it’s an e-newsletter, sent every weekday morning. The newsletter outlines important and breaking news for the day, from politics, to Hollywood, to sports. The newsletters are formatted to be current and is targeted towards younger audiences, so it’s actually fun to read and stay up to date on current events. They’re super short and sweet so even busy students and young grads can read it during morning commutes or during quick coffee breaks. I’ve even got a few of my friends to sign up, and they’ve told their friends about it, too! Now it’s your turn: visit the site and subscribe– you won’t regret it!
2. Study Abroad!
Over the summer, I thought long and hard about if/when I wanted to study abroad. I have a chronic case of wanderlust, and I’d been told by advisors, friends, and professors that every college student should study abroad, if at all possible. I know that I need an internship next summer, and I can’t miss sorority recruitment during the fall, so the only conclusion was that if I go, it’d have to be during this coming Winter semester. Once I decided when I wanted to go, I knew that wherever I chose would have to be somewhat warm- which is not difficult, compared to Michigan (even Alaska had warmer weather than us last year). After making pro/con lists and doing a little research, I decided on Rome, Italy. Some of my sorority sisters had studied at John Cabot University last summer, and raved about how great it is, and my school has a partnership program with them, so it was a perfect fit. As soon as I got back to school, I visited the study abroad office, and met with an advisor. We went over the costs and other information, as well as our checklist to make sure I do everything right. So far, I’ve applied and been accepted to the program!! My next move is to apply to John Cabot, and propose the whole trip to my parents…PowerPoint and everything. Fingers crossed everything else goes smoothly!
3. Back to School
I’m into my second “real” week of school, excluding Syllabus Week, and I’m happy to announce that so far, it’s been smooth sailing. With school starting up again, it mean clubs and organizations are gearing up for the semester and year, so that adds a little pressure. Sorority recruitment is next weekend, so we’re meeting almost every night to prepare. The first PRSSA meeting for the semester was tonight, and I’m so excited to be back! I didn’t get to do as much as I wanted last year, but hopefully I’ll get to go to more agency tours, mixers, and Twitter chats! I signed up for the Blogging/Content Creation committee, so maybe that’ll help get my gears turning on what to blog about here! Oh, and one more big change: I added a Political Science minor! I am flirting with the idea of law school after graduation, and I also thought it is important to have another specialty that I could use in my PR career, so I took up a poli-sci minor. So far, I’m in classes with mostly freshmen, but it’s fun to watch them squirm nervously during their first few weeks of college. I am loving the rest of my classes as well, and I have a feeling this is going to be a great semester- and year!
4. If You Have to Cry, Go Outside
Kelly Cutrone is QUEEN. I’ve watched her on The Hills, watched her show Kell On Earth, follow her on Twitter, and basically worship her- so naturally, my next course of action is to read her books, “If You Have to Cry, Go Outside: And Other Things Your Mother Never Told You” and “Normal Gets You Nowhere.” My library at home didn’t have either of them, so I am considering asking my mom for her Kindle account. Any other PR books I should read? I’ve been slacking in the reading department, so any recommendations would be great, PR-related or not!
5. Apps for the PR Professional
…that’s what I Googled the other day, as I thought to myself that I don’t do enough reading to keep up with important news. As I mentioned in #1, I read The Skimm every morning, but as a PR student/professional, citizen of the country and world, as well as a person who considers herself cultured and intellectual, I think it’s important to read from multiple sources and grasp a deeper understanding of important issues. As I scrolled along the results page, I found three apps that sounded user-friendly and like something I might actually use. Those were Flipboard, Zite, and Pulse. Of course they’re all different apps, but they are similar in that you can identify subjects you’re interested in, as well as tell the app which articles you liked and which ones you didn’t like. They offer all different subjects and sources, so you have tons of options to choose from! These apps come in super handy during bus rides, sitting in class before the professor comes, or if I’m just bored and laying in bed. They also are helpful in my Political Science and News in Society classes, when my professors ask us about important events in the news. Yes, I’m one of those kids that takes pride in their participation grade! Do you have any of these apps, and do you like them? What other news sources or apps should I check out?
There we have it: our first monthly Fab Five list! What do you think? Share your Fab Five in the comments!
The Social Butterfly 