It’s me again. This week has been crazy and exhausting, yet invigoratingly addicting. Weird combination, but when you love what you do, you live off the chaos of it, and that pretty much sums up the life of a PR and ad girl. Well, not really. I graduate in May (THANK GOD.) from the University of Texas at Arlington, and I am just busting at the seams with excitement. I’m fully well aware that I still don’t know anything quite yet about the industry, but who really does? PR and ad is such a fast-paced industry that you’ve either got to keep up or you’ll be left in the dust. Outside of school, I’m currently working somewhere that I actually love. Like, seriously. My dating life is non-existent because of this place, not for the bad reasons, but for the good ones, at least in my opinion. I’m in love with my job. I finally got my foot in the door in the industry, and I can’t get enough of it. It truly is like I’m in a relationship with my job, may not be the healthiest of relationships, but it works for me. It makes me happy, laugh sometimes, a few tears here and there, but that’s what it’s like with most 20-something year old guys, right? So, close enough in my book.
You’re probably wondering, “Well, where do you work then? Tell us already!!!” I work at BCB Live, “the safest station in the nation!” Yeah, I know it’s cheesy, but you get used to it after writing hundreds of emails with that in it. I started out as an intern back in February of 2021, but in May, I became the Talent/Marketing Coordinator! I still can’t help but smile when I write this. It’s like I finally got my star on the walk of fame. Let me give you more context though, so you know this place is actually legit. BCB Live is a broadcasting station specializing in creating a safety culture within the transportation industry. Our main audience is C-suite executives in the trucking industry, but I have still met my fair share of drivers, and let me tell you, they’re pretty cool. This job definitely changed my perspective of what it means to be a truck driver, and I can even call some of them my friends now.
Before I continue rambling on about my job, let me finish telling you the rest of where I’m at in school right now. I’m double majoring in PR & Advertising, and why did I decide to torture myself with the double work of a double major? God will only know, but I do feel pretty cool saying it, and I’m actually really happy that I chose this career path. I also created my own website, which is basically my virtual resume showing all my skills, experiences, and creative work all in one place. I felt it was time to create a place on the internet where people could find the professional side of me. Since taking the upper-level courses for each major and working out in the field, I feel a sigh of relief that I know I chose the right career path for me.
Now, there’s only so much you can say about school. We all know the truth, school is school, and it’s a glorious moment when you finally get out of there. Like I said earlier, I must like torture. I’ve extended my sentence from prison…I meant school…don’t know where that came from. What I mean is after I graduate with my double major, I will be going to graduate school to either get a Master’s in Business Administration with a concentration in marketing, or I will get a Master’s of Art in Communication, and not sure what my concentration in that would be yet. The truth is, it’s not really torture, I’m choosing to do this to better myself, give myself more opportunities as a female, and to educate myself more about the industry. Although the process is pretty painful at some points, I know the feeling of walking across that stage with my Master’s degree will be all worth it in the end.
After I graduate from prison…school…sorry again, I don’t know where that came from, I plan to look for managerial positions in the PR and ad industry. Not really sure where my Master’s degree will take me, but I hope it takes me far, along with my amazing personality and rockin’ resume, I’ll pretty much be the whole package. Hopefully this will be just the trick to cover up my chronic anxiety, sleepless nights, and my low self-esteem, as it seems like it would be the perfect fit anywhere! Not really. I truly put my whole heart in anything I do, and although my career should not be my everything, I know I’ll always give it my all and leave nothing behind. I also never want money to be the incentive of why I work somewhere. My happiness will always have to be most important to me, above all else. The thought of getting paid something to do what I love, seems like enough to me.
Forget the school, forget the money, forget the basic career plan. If I could do anything with a future in PR and ad, I’d want to start my own event planning business. Why? I LOVE events. I love making people have the most special day possible, a day that they’ll never forget. I love the creative process that goes into event planning. Every detail counts, and I’ll count them all to make sure everything is perfect. Putting a smile on someone’s face is the best form of payment I could ever receive in this industry, but a big fat check wouldn’t hurt, too… I even take cash or card. But honestly, payment isn’t always in monetary value. What I’m trying to say is that down the road, if all of my ducks are in a row, which they never really are, this is what I’d want to do, and I really think I’d be good at it. My passion shows in my work. Not trying to brag, but I really do put my all in it, and I think that’s why I follow through all the way in any project I tackle, or any event I could throw. My passion is people, and without people, an event would not be an event.
I can make all the plans that I want, but the truth is, I can’t predict the future. All I can do now is work hard at my job and get through graduation, the rest will follow. Learning to let go and let life do its thing is all I can do. I’m just going to do my best, maybe sip a marg here and there in between work and school, and just see how it all plays out.