7 weeks and counting, people!

This semester is proving to be the busiest and most stressful of the 4 years in college, but also the best. Last semester was busy with my public relations campaign class and its three demanding campaigns, but balancing two internships, a job, a husband, two additional classes, and other life ‘things’ this semester is insane. Let’s not mention the times that I get dragged into PR projects (#trianglepower – Doritos Superbowl commercial) or the time spent helping out my brother-in-law (I freaking hate Audis and tires…), or the time spent on other random projects (like speaking at the library gala). Also, might I add that senioritis is a real thing. I have zero motivation to do anything, and it's a dangerous thing.

See the girl holding the papers in the back? That's me. Day 2 of #trianglepower filming.
Stay tuned to see the actual commercial soon! 

Friends of the Library Gala - October 11, 2014

Date night with the husband a couple of weeks ago

Since August, I’ve spent many nights lying in bed – stressing, worrying, feeling anxious, being excited, – into the wee hours, wondering how I can continue to do my best work in all aspects of my life, even if it is crazy busy. The real world is creeping closer. I’ll be walking away from SUU with one hell of an expensive piece of paper that says I’m able to do Public Relations in just 7 weeks. Uhhhh, whaatttt? (Granted, I don’t actually get my diploma and walk until May, but I’ll be done with school is 32 school days. That number doesn’t include weekends or days off for Thanksgiving.) Can’t I just work in the copy center or in the library for forever? Yeah - because my position in the copy center is a student position, I can only work in there as long as I'm a student at the university. With graduation looming, I'll be out of a job. Where the hell am I supposed to get a job in Cedar Shitty City, Utah in public relations while my husband finishes his degree? It’s the conundrum that’s currently eating at the lining of my stomach in the form of acid from the heartburn I get from anxiety. Go team!

Can I be the first to admit that the thought of life outside of college is kind of intimidating? I can see why students choose to continue getting degrees instead of focusing on getting a job. (This scenario doesn’t apply to those of you that actually need your master’s degrees and beyond to get a great job, by the way.) “Oh, I finished my bachelor’s degree? Let’s go get that master’s. Hot damn, I have my master’s degree now, let’s go get that PhD.  Hey, now I’m a doctor, let’s go get another bachelor’s degree!” It’s easier to hide behind student loans and homework rather than actually face getting a “grown up job” to put your degree (and the $20,000 you spent to get it) to work. I am lucky that I chose a degree that offers me many different paths to choose from. 

My internship at the hospital this semester has confirmed how much I love PR and how badly I want to be a communication specialist at a hospital. I’ve always had a passion for the medical field, for people, for events, and for writing. This job combines all four of those things into one big ball of (stress) happiness. This truly is my dream job! My supervisor has allowed me to take on a lot of responsibility and I've gotten to do a lot of hands-on work. Since I started, I've helped with Valley View's health fair, written tons of patient stories AND have had them published, I've helped with video interviews, and I do whatever my supervisor wants me to do. I can't wait for that letter of recommendation at the end and to continue to have my foot in the door at Intermountain.

After internship selfie - see my cool badge? (:

Some of the patient stories I've written that have been published.

A cute thank you gift from my supervisor. 

My other internship is allowing me to see the aspect of working for a government agency. I like the creativity and freedom that being a PR major allows me to have in most situations. The government takes creativity and freedom and squashes them like bugs with their rules and regulations. Of course there's rules and regulations at the hospital, but not near as crazy as the government. This internship was supposed to be paid, but so far there's been a "lack of funding." There's a lot of outreach work to be done, and unfortunately my supervisor isn't quite as organized nor as experienced in the PR world as my hospital supervisor. It's been more of a baptism by fire situation that I've cried many tears over, but I only have to survive seven more weeks of it.

What was this blog post for? To put my thoughts and feelings out there, I guess. In seven weeks, I'll be on my way out the door of SUU forever, and into the big world. My two internships will be completed, my job will be gone, and classes will be over. I don't know what I'm going to do for a job. I don't know where my PR career is going to take me. I could go in all sorts of directions. As I've mentioned before on this blog, I don't like not having a plan. I like to know what we're doing, where we're going, and what's going to happen. On December 12, I'm a lost cause. What I do know is that I have an amazing, supportive husband who pushes me to do my best and who has been my number one supporter and shoulder to cry on this semester. Trevor Sean, I love you. Here's to finishing up my next crazy 7 weeks, and going on to the next chapter.