personal goals on Twitter

One of my favorite blogs is nycprgirls, written by three lovely PR ladies living in New York. They have killer fashion and great PR advice – an unbeatable combination in my opinion!

While catching up on their posts I found one talking about Twitter chats and ways to get involved. These weekly/monthly conversations allow you to hear other ideas and connect with fantastic people across the world.

Another reason I love participating in these chats is the support it gives to your social media presence. Even better, it helps young PR pros (like myself) to learn about new ideas in certain fields and tweet about topics related to our field.

They also help with blog and social media goals. Even though I am still figuring out the blogging world and my writing style, it is great to have weekly and monthly objectives. Like Nate Riggs (one of my favorite mentors) said, you need to think about outcomes rather than goals as a personal blogger.

Personally, I try to blog three times a week and take part in one chat a week. This way I keep my social media presence strong, and even better, consistent.

Here are the chats the ncyprgirls listed – enjoy!

#pr20chat
Tuesday at 8 p.m. EST
A weekly conversation about public relations 2.0 and where PR is heading

#brandchat
Wednesday at 11 a.m. EST
A weekly chat about personal and corporate branding

#u30pro
Thursday at 8 p.m. EST
A community and chat for ambitious PR professionals under 30.

#genychat
Thursdays at 9 p.m. EST
A weekly chat between generations X, Y, and Baby Boomers

#prstudchat
Monthly at 8:30 p.m. EST
A conversation between public relations students, educators and professionals.

Disney Princess & Grandmom

As the second full day of living at home after college comes to an end, I am proud to report progress.

Slow, but progress nonetheless. My dad (possibly) accepted the fact I have too many purses and Father’s Day was a complete success. My mom was much happier I stayed in all day with the family, and I think I will able to figure out a balance between family/friends.

college grad meets extended family

However, there is one small hindrance standing in the way of my smooth transition of moving home before moving to Florida – my grandmother.

Now before anyone jumps to conclusions you need to know the entire back-story.

My dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer about a year and a half ago and immediately started treatment. The news rocked the entire foundation of my family, but it really upset my grandmother. Her health started to fail extremely quickly and she slowly stopped eating. When we realized what was happening my parents immediately moved my grandmom into our home. It was such a quick move there was no time to create a guest room or mother-in-law quarters. Long story short?

She moved into my room. I moved to the couch (during holidays, summer and visits).

Don’t get me wrong, my grandmother is my guardian angel and has been a tremendous help to me my entire life, especially in the recent years when I was an undergrad.

But we are having one small problem, my grandmother feels guilty about it all and with her Alzheimer’s  sometimes her actions hurt my family. She offers to sleep on the couch or floor and let me sleep in my bed.

Not. Happening.

I don’t care if I sleep on the couch. I am 21 years old, and in truth, my parents’ couch is cleaner/more comfy than my bed at college.

And that’s what families do, we take care of one another.

So my family is slightly stuck. How do we make my grandmother feel welcome in our house without constantly making her feel guilty?

The entire dynamic of the family changed. My dad is no longer the child, but the caretaker. She is no longer the grandmom who let me have Pepsi at dinner, but my grandmother who needs constant care. My younger sister and I now know what it is like help her up and down the stairs, remind her about taking her medication and cooking her dinner.

It’s not that hard. Worst part of the matter is my grandmother isn’t allowing us to help her. The stress she puts on herself because she is now in my room isn’t good for her health, and that makes my parents frustrated.

College degree – check
Knowing what to do/handle for family matters – still working on that

J

Grad comes home

Because my arrival date for WDW College Program isn’t till the middle of August I moved back home … and in with my parents. Truthfully, I don’t know how excited I am about my new living situation.

Don’t get me wrong, I have incredible parents. They are very loving and supportive – but they are my parents. I moved into their house, under their roof and with their rules. And we are having a hard time figuring out our new relationship with me back in the house. To them, it is like “high-school” Jessi is moving back home – not the 21-year-old college grad.

Within seven hours of being home my dad already said (lovingly about 50 times) that I have too many clothes, purses, jewelry and “junk”.

Thanks dad.

No many how many times you say it, my clothing and accessories are not going away.

My mom wants to know my summer work schedule and what my plans are for this weekend. I can’t seem to explain to her that I am seeing some old high school friends this weekend, but we don’t have concrete plans. I cannot give her specific times or locations.

O.m.g.

It is so hard to switch gears from living on my own without any rules to moving back into my parents’ home. This means respecting curfews, other sleeping schedules and trying to mesh back in my family’s everyday life.

I only need to survive living at home for about 60 days then I move down to the wonderful world of Disney! I can’t wait for our family vacation and to see my parents and sister before I leave for Florida, but why do I have this apprehension?

Stay tuned for posts from a college grad living at home.

J

Tassel on the right side

“As I reflect on the ceremony, I am struck by the collective power of this group. Though I admit my bias, our students are,
in short, extraordinary. Each student’s story may differ, but all share one theme—a strong desire to do good in the world.” – President Gee reflecting on The Ohio State Class of 2011 and all Ohio State students.

I am officially a college graduate! I finished all my classes, made my parents proud with my grades, crawled with my friends, received my diploma and moved my tassel to the right.

TA-DA! Everything I have worked for these past four years is finished… I graduated!

Wait, so now it’s time for the real world?

I feel that I have all this knowledge and drive, but no map. I want to take everything I have learned from this incredible university and share it with the world.

But now I am packing up my apartment, writing thank you notes, preparing for a short summer job and then off to Disney!

Disney is the chance for me to take hold of my dreams and really reach for the stars. I am prepared to work hard, learn the brand and network as much a possible.

So here I am world – no map, just my ambition.

Besides, worst comes to worst I have my other OSU alum and those who love me around in case I need directions.

Disney Pricess get a reality check

When does a girlfriend overstep boundaries into her boyfriend’s personal life? I feel like I am a child play with matches – and it worries me that I am close to starting a wildfire.

~ Caution – emotional blog below ~

I grew up in a “typical” and very strong family structure. Mandatory family dinners, vacations and game-nights occurred regularly. However, the diversity I experienced in college showed me family comes in all shapes and sizes, the only thing that matters is the love and respect members show one another.

That’s one reason I love what Disney stands for, it encourages families to come together and make memories. Not only that, it allows parents to be kids again and laugh. Seems almost like a strange concept in today’s world.

But sometimes the respect disappears, and when families go through hard times it is easier to lash out in anger rather than admit defeat. Currently, my boyfriend’s parents are in the middle of a divorce/dissolution and things are getting tense. When one parent begins dating again it’s hard to make both sides happy.

The entire situation breaks my heart. And worse, I can’t FIX IT. There is nothing I would love more but to  make everything better – isn’t that one of the roles as a girlfriend? I’m having a hard time not giving advice and simply listening.

When does a girlfriend cross the line of giving advice and meddling? I want my boyfriend to stay close to both his parents, and if accepting his parents’ new relationships is what it takes, then that’s what needs to happen.

I just worry I am pushing him to accept things too quickly.

With graduation only days away I feel that I am officially entering the adult world, but I am still only a child. Throughout these changes and uncertainty, I realize how incredible lucky I am to have so much love around me.

And I hope I can learn how to listen to the people I care about – and learn to keep my advice to myself.

No regrets, just too little time

I don’t regret what I did, I only regret what I didn’t do.

This seems to be the only thing I can say when people ask me about my college  career. My life at Ohio State was incredible – I couldn’t be happier. I feel that OSU was a perfect match for me and I was born to be a buckeye. I bleed scarlet and grey and can’t wait to take O-H-I-O photos around the world. Simply put, I love my school. Every cheered inside The Shoe? Inspiring,

best friends before the Michigan game

Even better than simply loving OSU, I love Columbus. This city comes alive every night and each section around campus has a personality. Not to mention the food and bar scenes ROCK. What other city can you find a modern German village, an artsy Short North, an electric downtown and a vibrant campus? Even if you could find all those pieces, they wouldn’t flow together like they do in Columbus. The Short North offers the Gallery Hop once a month, and a college career isn’t complete without going to Dime-a-Dog night at the Clippers’ stadium and jumping into Mirror Lake on a chilly November night.

To be bored at Ohio State is a challenge. High Street provides food for all taste buds and the South Campus Gateway offers a movie theater, the amazing grilled cheese sandwiches of Gooeyz and a Cold Stone. Make a quick stop at the Union and check out D-Txt. The OSU Student Union offers some tickets for free and some at a discounted price. Personally, I have seen Joel McHale, Michael Ian Black, Tim McGraw, a ballet, sport games and more through the Union. My best friend Holly  (seen to the right) and I have bought Cedar Point, Zoo and COSI tickets at a discounted price. Again, think you can be bored in Columbus?

Brutus!

So I have lifelong friends, great memories, internships and a college degree (well, give me 12 days and I will) and an eternal love  for my buckeyes and Cbus.

So what am I regretting?

I am regretting the unnecessary stress I had over that silly GEC paper, the tickets I didn’t buy, the plans I cancelled to study and everything else I DIDN’T DO. I wish I hadn’t worried so much about that one homework assignment and gone with my roomies to see the OSU baseball game. I regret I didn’t wait in line Thursday at 5 p.m. and get tickets to the Funny Bone comedy club.I wish I would have gathered the courage to job on a COTA bus and traveled to the Short North my freshman and sophomore year.

girls night out in Columbus

Now don’t get me wrong, grades are extremely important and I believe it is a student’s job to preform well in class.  I also joined all the clubs I could, participated in intramural sports and made sure to see my advisors every quarter. Through my scholars group I traveled to Washington D.C. twice and mentored freshman. The Ohio State Equestrian Team introduced me to my best friends and PRSSA strengthen my network and communication skills. Don’t forget BuckeyeThon! How can I not see miracles every day after dancing for 17 hours straight to raise money for Nationwide Children’s Hospital?

But I wish I would have done more.

Everyone tells you these four years fly by in a blink of an eye.

And you want to know something?

They do.