If you have read my other most recent post, you will know that I just published a portfolio website and since then, I have been updating it and changing it as I get more and more feedback.  As it happens, the other day I had coffee with a professor and she spent some time with me on it and when we finished going through it, she asked if I wouldn't mind speaking to her journalism portfolio class about online portfolio designing.  I was so honored!  So, per her request, that is what I accomplished this morning and I decided to add it to my "To-Done" list. Not many undergrad students get the opportunity to guest-speak for another class so I figured it to be a really good one to mention.

Overall, it went very smoothly with the class.  The information seemed well-recieved and I was even able to answer a few questions about the creator that I used.  They were attentive and some of them even signed up for the same site that I used while I was talking about it.  What a positive, productive way to begin my day! :)

Guest-lecture for an undergraduate class? CHECK!

UPDATE: I have been asked to go to another classroom to share my experience with online portfolio building next week!

This post is a little late this week as I have been insanely busy lately but maybe this will help explain why.  In class the other day, we had a speaker from Bradley's career center come talk to us about LinkedIn, a professional/resume networking site.  Since then, I have been feverishly updating it; asking for and adding recommendations, updating my information, and finding useful groups to join.  After I did all of that, I updated my Twitter and began exploring new corners of what I can really use it for productively.  Next, I updated my Facebook and finally adopted Timeline (it's still growing on me, but so far I'm okay with it).  I also updated this site and changed the background and edited the "About Me" a little too (taa daa.)

So, the final thing I needed to get done was to design and publish a portfolio webpage and I am happy to report that as of Friday morning, it is finished!   The link is below this post and there is a screen shot above, but I am super happy with the way it turned out and I look forward to continuing to update and change it as my life and career progresses.  I used Wix and it was super easy to design with and it was totally free.  I had a vision of what I wanted a template they had to look like for my own use and this is exactly what I had in mind.  I guess the next step is to buy my own domain name and link the page to it, but for now I am taking a slight break to catch up on homework and apply to more jobs.

Design a portfolio website? CHECK!

Feel free to check it out: Portfolio

I have never been one to celebrate heritage that isn't mine, but St. Patty's Day seems to be the exception for everyone else and so I decided to jump on board and make it one more thing to add to my "To Done" list.  This Saturday while I was up north at my hometown, I joined my family and some neighbors at a bar in Wisconsin to see a local band that we knew the lead singer of and do it up right for the holiday.  It turned out to be an absolute blast! Before we left, we even had Corn Beef Ruben sandwiches just to make it official.  The bar itself was a new experience since I had never even heard of it before.  The band was also a new experience for me, mainly because of the style of music they played.  But overall, this being my first St. Paddy's Day as a legal adult, I'm just glad I finally got to celebrate it with everyone!

Go out on St. Pattys Day? CHECK! 

I don't usually give in to trends or popular fashion movements. So when I began noticing people wearing colored jeans, I thought I would never buy a pair. However, a time comes in everyone's life when they just have to admit when something is purely awesome looking on them and that is exactly what I did this weekend.

Basically what happened is my old roommate, who works for GAP, wanted to see what we had in the store in Peoria while she was visiting as compared to the store that she works at and my current roommate and I tagged along.  Well, we ended up trying on clothing and subsequently bought a few things with her discount.  Yes, among the things I got, was a pair of rose-colored skinny jeans.  Am I now obsessed with colored jeans? Not quite yet. Would I buy another? Sure.  I was surprised when she urged me to try a pair and they looked pretty good.  

So, to all of my readers, I encourage you to try something you don't think you will like (even if it is as a joke) because you may end up like me and find a new thing you love. :)

Buy a pair of colored jeans? CHECK! 

This weekend held a lot of firsts for me so I decided to make this post a little more of a "list" than a journal entry.  But to preface it all, I'd like to announce that my best friend came to visit my family and I to celebrate my "21.5" birthday.  No matter what we were planning on doing, we were definitely set up for a good time.   

• Get a manicure AND pedicure at my favorite salon?  CHECK!

• Do a bar crawl downtown Grayslake?  CHECK!

• Have a real afternoon tea with my Grandmother?  CHECK!  (This was how we know we are officially "adults"- Thanks Grandma!)  :)

• Stay at a fancy hotel off Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago? CHECK!

• Go out on Rush Street? CHECK! 

• Try a Gyro? CHECK!

As you can see, we kept ourselves very busy but we had a great time doing all of it.  However, the point of this post is that it has been a while since I felt this excited about so many small accomplishments in any period of time.  I hope everyone can have the same feeling and I definitely wish every weekend was this productive for my "To Done" list! 

Remember that video game you had on one of those "ancient" systems that you were OBSESSED with and felt compelled to beat back in the good old 90's?  Well, I had a lot of those, especially because I have an older brother who introduced me to all of the systems as they came out.  However, there was one game that I had never been able to complete and thought I never would.... but this weekend, I FINALLY BEAT IT!!!! Yes, I am officially a master at the old Playstation2 game, Gauntlet: Dark Legacy.  :)

My roommate and I spent a total of 15 hours on this game this semester (I know this because the game feels the need to tell you exactly how much time you wasted when you finish it) and now we can finally go back to our normal lives.  I can't tell you how accomplished I feel though, because this was always a favorite game growing up but I apparently lacked the small motor skills and ability to figure my way through all of its winding levels back in the day.  When she brought it to our house at school from her parent's house, I just knew we were going to finally finish it.  I'm (pathetically) very proud of our gamer skills!

Conquer the Evil Skorn in Gauntlet: Dark Legacy for PS2?   CHECK!!!

As a graduating senior at Bradley, I have found that the closer to my final day in school I get, the more terrified I am of it.  Lately, when it comes to talking about leaving friends behind, making final arrangements in my apartment, or simply realizing that I need to start bringing things home to make the final move-out easier, I am becoming quite the procrastinator.  However, more and more people are asking me what I will be doing when I leave and that is where the true anxiety has begun to set in...  

Over the weekend I decided to sit down and begin applying for jobs.  I updated my resume and even put together a few writing samples and projects into a digital portfolio to send in.  When I finished that, I went ahead and applied for a REAL "big girl" job! I am so nervous to hear back and I know that I will have to apply to 100 more by the end of this semester in order to have some direction when I leave school, but I feel so grown up already! :)

Its an intimidating world and with jobs being scarce, I have been trying to get creative on what I should apply to and how I should go about doing it.  But overall, I am satisfied with my progress thus far and am very optimistic about where my life could take me! Sooo....

Apply for my first real (career-oriented) job?  CHECK!!!