What I Wanna Be When I Grow Up

This is the question everyone starts asking when you reach the ripe age of 21... and sooner really. Isn't it a little nerve-wracking and completely crazy that at such a young age I'm supposed to have decided what I'm going to dedicate my life and time to for the next 40 years? The thought of that used to be a big issue for me. It became one of my worst fears that I was going to pick the wrong thing and ruin my life, stuck doing something I'm horrible at or have a horrible time at. But then I had the big epiphany:

I don't have to do one thing for the rest of my life.

"That's wrong. That's just insane and too hopeful to be true," I told myself. "Don't be delusional." Growing up as the daughter of CPAs, believing that you could do more than one thing in your career life was as absurd as believing in Santa Claus (which I did until I was in 5th grade by the way. Irrelevant? Oh sorry.)

Eventually I started to question what was so crazy about it. Nothing, nothing at all. So I started to list all the things I want to be when I grow up and found that it would be very plausible for me to have multiple careers at different times in my life, especially because
so many of them relate to each other. I thought I'd share that list with you today!

1. Art Director at an Advertising Agency

As many of you know, I'm currently in this line of work as an intern and absolutely in love with my job. This may or may not be what I want to do forever, but I do know it's where I want to start.

2. Freelance Graphic Designer

This is one of those jobs that clearly interlinks with my first dream job. Many people actually are Art Directors and freelancers at the same time.

3. Author

I want to write a book. I've wanted to write my own book since I was in the fourth grade and wanted to be a famous author like J.K. Rowling (my role model at the time and also my role model still today). I consider myself a storyteller and hope that someday I can have a story published.

4. Dress Designer

What girl hasn't wanted to design a clothing line? Okay, so maybe I won't be the next Oscar de la Renta in my lifetime, but Elsie from A Beautiful Mess was able to bring her dress line to life through her small business. So why couldn't I?

5. Photographer

I always love photos, even as a kid. At that point I really just loved being in them to be honest, but just shows I have been very emotionally attached to photos since I was little. I'd love to photograph some weddings or even just senior portraits for a living sometime in my life.

6. Magazine Design

Clearly lots of my dreams involve different design jobs. Very related and very possible to have more than one at different points.

7. Greeting Card Writer

Weird. I know. But I just feel like it would be a fun challenge to try and come up with a multitude of greeting cards every day and get paid for it!

8. Business Owner

I don't know if this means starting something from scratch necessarily or if it will come in the form of buying into a business I believe in. There are a lot of ways to go about making this idea a reality.

9. Blogger

I'd say that this dream is a work in progress! I'd love for my little corner of the internet to someday become a bigger part of my life.

This is just the short list of jobs I think I would love the most. The hopes I just can't shake. I could never pick just one. And luckily I don't have to. What jobs are on your dream list? Do any of you had more than one career already? I'd love to hear about your dreams in the comments! love, lindsay

Goal: Change Their Lives

I know that this isn't my typical "goal" feature, but today I feel led to blog about something that many people, including myself, have only recently started to hear about: Joseph Kony. If you haven't already seen the Kony 2012 campaign and video from Invisible Children watch it right now. Yes, it is a half hour long, BUT it will open your eyes to the rest of the world.

The things these child soldiers have gone through are unimaginable. It absolutely makes my heart ache to know that many of them have had not only their family stolen from them, but their innocence. Their childhood. Their lives.

What can we do? Who do we send? How can we improve these children's lives?

I'm working on a project at my internship with an amazing non-profit, Exile International, that has a plan for what to do. Has people to send. Has already started to give these children better lives.

Exile is working to heal these kids through art therapy. They send trained counselors to work with former child soldiers in orphanages and train local counselors to continue this therapy throughout the year. Through this these children aren't just survivors, they're becoming leaders for peace in their own communities. If you have anything at all to spare or know someone who might be interested in this cause, please check out their website and send it to your friends. The website shows ways that you can have your hand in the healing process. Even the smallest donations are seen as extremely gracious. I hope that you'll truly consider this dear friends and readers! love, lindsay

Goal: Make Exercise a Part of My Life

The title of this goal may seem silly to a lot of people (especially you health nuts out there), but it means something to me. I can honestly say I truly despise working out. Yes, some days are better than others and I go through phases where I like it more than usual, but at the end of the day I will never want to work out if I can choose to do something else. If I want to stay healthy, especially now that I'm getting older, I need to accept that exercise is just a part of life. Here are the ways I plan on working towards this goal.

1. I need to learn to understand that exercise is not a form of punishment. When my mom asks me to join her for yoga I need to work harder not to take it as her wanting to punish me, because exercise is just a necessary task. Exercise shouldn't be used to punish yourself either. If you screwed up on your diet, that's okay just get back on it right away. Don't use working out as a way of punishing yourself for this mistake.

2. I will create a somewhat consistent exercise routine. If I don't have a schedule to adhere to, I may never make it to the gym. I will start by picking one day of the week that will always be "gym day." After I see that I can adjust to that commitment I can pick two "gym days," and as long as I can commit to what I have already planned keep adding "gym days" until I feel like I am working out enough to reach my goals.

3. I plan to find what exercise works for me. Every body works in a unique way, and an exercise routine that makes your friend feel good and/or lose weight, may not do the same for you. I'll be experimenting this summer to find what way of working out really makes me tick.



What are your favorite ways to get in your exercise? love, lindsay

Goal: Make Better First Impressions

Tuesday of this week I started my new job! I'm a creative intern at an advertising agency and I'm so excited about it, but it also means I'm making multiple first impressions every day! It's not that I think I normally make a bad first impression, but I'm the type who can be quiet and shy when I first meet someone. In a big agency being quiet and shy and also make you look weak and forgettable. I was browsing through www.Digg.com when I came across this study on first impressions. In short it reinforces how strong first impressions actually are. They can be so strong that any action to counteract that first impression will often just be seen as an "exception to the rule" rather than the truth and it takes multiple occasions in different contexts to prove you aren't your first impression. So how am I going to improve the first impressions I give?

1. Take risks. This is something that I often find I don't do right away. The only way I have a chance at making stronger first impressions is to take the risk of saying whatever comes to my mind rather than overanalyzing what the other person will think of it.

2. Speak up. I need to work on asking more questions and giving longer answers, otherwise I'm making the other person do all the work in getting to know me. And no one wants to be the only person making the effort.

3. Be interested in them. Showing an interest in them will hopefully give them a much more favorable impression of you. If they think you care about them, they're bound to care more about you. But remember to be genuinely interested, people can tell the difference.

4. Find a common interest. Finding a common interest immediately could help to warm things up immediately. If they're interested in something that you are you create an instant bond with the person.

5. Be completely honest and completely genuine. Sometimes putting on your polite face for a first impression can have the opposite effect intended. You don't want to be impolite, but avoid being over the top if you're not always over the top. Don't be so quiet if you aren't always so quiet. All in all be who you are and have good manners. People respect those who are being true to themselves and trust in them much more than if they suspect you're not being you.

So wish me the best of luck in attempting to carry out this goal over the next week or two, hopefully soon I can write a post about my internship! love, lindsay

Goal: Make Old Friendships Last

Where would we all be in life without our friends? Friends are the ones who make our lives worth the while and seem to be able to handle our problems when we can't. One of my personal goals is to constantly seek the kind of friendships that will last. I also make it a goal to keep up with friends from the past that I want to stay in my life. My best friend from high school will be coming to visit me for Memorial weekend. I'm so excited to have girl time by the pool with her and catch up over drinks now that we're both 21! Also, I'm really hoping we make time for some photo adventures! She was my photography partner-in-crime during high school, serving as my model for so many photo-shoots, I'm really excited to maybe get out and use my camera again.

Lexx and I became friends when we were about 15 years old, but the past 3 years of our friendship have been spent going to colleges in different states. So how do you not just maintain a friendship from a  distance, but keep it active and strong? Here are a few things that have helped Lexxi and I over the past few years.

1. Communicate. Communicate. COMMUNICATE. As cheesy and typical as this piece of advice sounds, it is the absolute key to make a friendship survive. With technology like Skype and texting it should be the easiest thing in the world, but sometimes we take for granted that we have the ability to communicate with a friend almost constantly. Use your resources and keep asking them about their life! If they want the friendship to last they'll return the favor and ask you too.

2. Still go to your long distance friends for advice. Sometimes when your friend is far away, they don't completely understand a situation you may be in. Maybe they don't know the people, place, or attitude of the new place you live, so it starts to seem silly to ask them for advice. It's not! An outsider's opinion sometimes can be 100 times better than the opinions of those who are too close to see the situation. So don't ever be afraid to call up your friend and ask them for their two cents!

3. Make solid plans to visit in advance. If you don't sit down with them over Skype and set a solid weekend to visit, chances are it will never happen. You just find yourself saying, "You should come visit soon!" or "I really want to come see you some time!" In these situations, 'sometime' and 'soon' may never come. It just takes 15 minutes to pick an exact date, so do it! Plus, it gives you something to look forward to and something fun to talk about.

4. Send each other mail. Everyone loves getting mail. Whether it's a letter or a package, real mail is just something so personal as compared to the text messages and emails of today's communication world. Maybe you send each other post cards or the doodles you drew in class that made you think of them, but in the end a friend always appreciates the time taken to send them a little piece of you!

5. Be patient. Everyone is busy sometimes, and some of us are just busy all the time! Sometimes when we aren't busy it's hard to remember that our far away friends may be. They're on different schedules than us and have different needs to meet, which can make it hard to keep communication and plans in sync. Just remember not to get frustrated! Your friend probably wants to talk to you too, but if they're too busy they just can't. Be patient with them and they'll be patient with you when you're end of things gets a little crazy.

Lexx and I wish you a very happy Memorial Day Weekend and hope you have fun with some great friends! love, lindsay