Job Hunting

As some of you may know, I went to Bakersfield a couple weekend ago to visit my best friend. While I was there I realized that i desperately need a job. My best friend works at a salon and lets just say I was shocked by how much her paycheck was! This inspired me to open my laptop and do a little job searching when I got home. 

I have always thought it would be awesome to work at Starbucks.. and no not just because I'm a "typical white girl" haha (although I'm not going to lie, I do love those pumpkin spice and peppermint mocha lattes. Starbucks just seems to be a great work environment and they also offer so many employee benefits. So I logged on to Starbucks.com and made a profile. Before I knew it I found myself applying to all of the local Starbucks. Now at the end of the application, they notify you that even though you have applied to several Starbucks locations, it doesn't mean they are currently looking for employees. After I read that, I was a bit discouraged because I had just spent over an hour answering several questions and filling out information. I closed my laptop and decided I would continue my job search tomorrow.

The next morning, I was walking out of class when I checked my phone and noticed a missed call and voicemail. I had about five minutes before my next class so I decided to listen to it, and guess who it was?! The manager of one of the Starbucks I applied too! I was ecstatic! After class I called the manager back and we set up an interview for a couple days later.

As you can imagine I was very excited that I got a call back but I was also beginning to get very nervous about the interview! Over the next couple of days I did some research on Starbucks mission statement and the background of the company. I also practiced interview questions with my family and friends. (My personal development teacher would be very proud!) Before I knew it, it was Thursday afternoon and I was on my way to the interview!

When I got there the line was out the door, so the manager asked if I would wait just a couple of minutes until the line died down. I agree and sat anxiously waiting for her. When she finally took a seat across from me I felt relieved, at this point I just wanted the interview to be over, as I sat there debating my interview answers for about fifteen minutes. After the first question though, I felt much more relaxed! The manager was a very personable and laid back person, so naturally I felt relaxed as well. At the end of the interview so told me she was very impressed with my interview skills and actually offered me the job right on the spot! I was beyond happy! 

My advice to you: If you have a job interview, do your research! She was very impressed and surprised that I knew so much about the Starbucks Corporation. I would also advice you to practice you interview and make sure you feel comfortable with your answers! That really helped me to relax once one interview had begun!

Best of luck in your job searches and interview processes! And come visit your new Starbucks Barista! :)

Registering for classes

Registering for classes ranks up there with one of the more stressful parts of college. This past week the anticipation has been killing me. For those of you who aren't familiar with how college class registration goes-you are assigned a specific date and time to register. Registration is done in blocks so your friends could get to register two weeks before you do... Which is why I have been stressing out. There are only so many classes available for each offered course.. and of course I was assigned one of the last registration dates. English and math classes are by far the hardest courses to get into. I have been checking back on the website to monitor the classes and very time I check back more and more classes are full.

...So I had to come up with a game plan for tomorrow. My registration time is 1:00 pm tomorrow.. which is also worst case scenario because many people have registration at 8:00 am tomorrow. OH well. Anyways I am planning on logging on around 12:50 and monitoring the classes. Tonight I made three possible schedules that would work for me.. Which is going to be very helpful. I wrote down the CRN number to each course I hope to enroll in so that I can just type in the number right when I get to the website. The reason I am telling you all of this is to give you ideas for when it comes time for your registration! Always register as soon as you can. Putting it off could land you quite a few years at a city college because you wouldn't be getting all of the nessecary courses done in the most efficient time manor.

Best of luck to everyone in the process of registering...

May the odds be ever in your favor.

What you need to know about social media in college

Social Media is one of the most 'famous' way of communication and connection these days .

With the exaggerated use of social networking, complications and consequences are bound to occur. Yes, social media is supposed to be a fun and interesting way connect with friends–however, it can be tempting adopt bad habits through social media and may ultimately result in many consequences.

College students: remember, it is not out of the ordinary for future employers to ask for or look up your social media accounts!

Here are a few tips that I came across while researching social media sites for my personal development class project:

 1. Photos: 

Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are all great ways to connect with friends and family. However, these networking sites are also prone to inappropriate images. These inappropriate pictures are things future employers definitely do not want to see on your profile-these are the things that could contribute to you getting the job vs. being looked over for your lack of professionalism.

2. Would your mom be okay with your posts?
Social Media is very informal, but that shouldn't give anyone the impression that it is okay to display inappropriate things online. My motto for this would be-not to post anything that you wouldn’t want your mom to see. You may laugh, but this could be a real lifesaver down the road.  If you wouldn’t want to show your mom your posts, why would you risk a potential employer possibly seeing something that could put your future employment at risk?

3. Spellcheck
Proofread your work. Avoid your grammatical errors. If you want to be taken seriously, edit your work seriously. Spell check is not always reliable: Just because it isn’t detecting any spelling errors doesn’t mean there aren’t any grammatical errors. Be wary of misusing words like “there” and “their,” and “your” and “you’re.” If future employers do look at your profile on a social media site and see many grammatical errors, it may cause them to overlook you.

4. Be nice
Do not attack people on social media or write extremely negative posts, especially about your boss and your company-even thug you may not think your employer checks social media, they most likely do. People have been fired because of posts they had on social media.

5. Be awesome at LinkedIn
Make a LinkedIn profile and actually use it. LinkedIn can connect you with people in the field you may want to work in someday. LinkedIn can help you connect with others in the profession you may want to pursue someday. Most importantly, employers love to see that you have an online presence and a professional one at that. 

6. Watch your language
Refrain from inappropriate language on your social media sites. Employers will question whether you can communicate in a professional manner. Employers and companies want to be represented properly; don’t give them a reason to overlook you.

7. It's all about your bio
Social media networks like Twitter and Instagram display a little bio when someone clicks on your profile. Choose what you say in your bio wisely- it gives you another opportunity to display your personality. 

8. Internet is forever
Once something is out on the Internet, it is there forever. Yes, you may press 'delete' when you realize you post something you shouldn’t have, but it doesn’t change the fact that it is out there. You are unaware of how many people saw your questionable post before you removed it–and we all know about that handy-dandy operation that is on many smart phones, screen shot. It only takes one second for someone to screen shot anything they have seen on their smart phone. 

JUST REMEMBER: ALWAYS THINK BEFORE YOU POST!

Traditions

Lately I have been missing my family a lot. Not only am I excited to go home for both Thanksgiving and winter break, but I am also excited to carry out the many traditions that I have over the holidays with my family.

On thanksgiving, my family and I all wake up in the morning, flip on the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and begin cooking. We all participate in the cooking events. My dad is usually in charge of the turkey and stuffing because, in all reality my mom, sister and I want nothing to do with all of that raw meat. My mom usually helps with the veggies  and crescent rolls, my sister likes making the potatoes and I love making the dessert, pumpkin pie! Yum! My personal favorite thing to eat on Thanksgiving is the cranberry sauce-yes I know that is very strange.. haha. After dinner we usually head to the movie theater to watch a christmas movie to begin the christmas spirit. This year, since my family lives in Minnesota and is closer to my extended family, we are going to have a few more people than just my immediate family-I am excited for the minor change in tradition!

Our Christmas traditions start a bit sooner than December 25th. Usually within the first couple of weeks of December we begin decorating the house with all of the classic christmas decor such as wreaths and lights. Although I won't be in town for the decorating this year, I know I will come home to a beautifully Christmas-y house. About a week before Christmas we head to the tree farm to pick out a Christmas tree for the living room. For the past six years we did this in about 40 degree California weather and we still complained about it being cold. Im not so sure how this part of our tradition is going to go this year, being that it's most likely going to be below zero and snowing in Minnesota.. but what great memories! We have the tree tied on top of the car and we head home. (After my dad tries to pull in the garage with the tree on top of the car still, as he usually does, forgetting its up there-creating some more memories and laughter) :) We put the tree on the stand and spend the rest of the night decorating it and drinking hot cocoa. Christmas Eve: On Christmas Eve we always attend a Christmas church service and then go to dinner. After dinner we get to open one present-usually christmas pajamas-and off to bed we go. The next morning we circle up around the tree and distribute presents-at this point my sister and I usually get in a fight because she is terrified of opening up gifts in front of people so she tries to hide.... but once we coax her into opening the gifts everything is fine! After presents and pictures my dad usually makes a pancake or crepe breakfast and we spend the rest of the day hanging out with the family and enjoying all of our gifts!

Traditions bring you closer together. The actual traditions aren't the real important things, but it's why you make these certain things a tradition that matter. Traditions are a trigger, a reason to get together. They get you in the right mind set and help you focus on the good things, the things that truly matter. You reminisce on traditions, they bring back memories and times of laughter. Without traditions life would not be as fulfilled.

Home

This weekend I went back to Bakersfield (where I moved here from) to visit my best friend, Parris. Before this weekend, I hadn't been back to Bakersfield since I moved to Santa Barbara three months ago. It was so great seeing my best friend again! Reunited and it feels so good! We kind of lost touch over the summer because we were both very busy and were each going through some things of our own, but of course we still remained friends. When I went back this weekend it was just like old times! We ate out at my favorite Bakersfield restaurants, got our nails done, went shopping, went in her jacuzzi, went on a bike ride and of course, we had to do some partying... haha.We shared so many laughs and reminisced on so many memories and it has really brought to my attentions that Parris will be a life long best friend. No matter where our paths take us, I know that we will always have a special place in our hearts for each other.

This weekend also brought another thing to my attention. When I was driving into Bakersfield, it felt like I was going home. I basically grew up in Bakersfield for the majority of my teenage years. However, as I've said in previous blogs, my parents and sister no longer live in bakersfield. They now live in Minnesota because of a job transfer. Moving on, today as I was driving back into Santa Barbara I caught myself saying, "It will be nice to go home and relax tonight before class tomorrow". Now I am sitting here thinking to myself, and I have come to the conclusion that I am one of the luckiest girls in the world. Why? Because I have three amazing places to call home, each with amazing people. How many people get to say the have a home at the beach, a home with the best family in the world, and another home with their very best friend and her awesome family? Not many. I am very blessed, and very thankful for the great life I have!

"Home is where your heart is"

Thank you again Winders family for having me this weekend!

~Until next time

Why I would recommend SBCC

As the semester comes to a close, I thought I'd share a few things that makes Santa Barbara City College better than any other city college around, in personal opinion.

As most of you may know, SBCC was rated #1 city college in the U.S. last year. My experience here at SBCC has only confirmed that statement. For starters, i believe SBCC has the best view compared to any college out there. I mean what other college has their football stadium almost directly on the beach? Not to mention the miraculous view that you get while watching a football game. If you have a break in between classes the beach is always kindly inviting you to go soak up some sun or study in the sand.

Another thing that I absolutely love about SBCC is the professors. They are all (at least from my experience so far) so dedicated and willing to help. I have had to miss a few days this semester for various reasons, but all of my professors have been very helpful and accommodating with make up work, ect. All of my professors, thus far, have also been very willing to set up one-on-one appointments to help me set up a study guide for a test, or help me if I am struggling in a subject. In high school, I can honestly say that I did not receive the proper help that I needed to succeed, but here at SBCC I can say the complete opposite. Every professor here, seems to want to be here and is very encouraging to each and every student!

The last thing I want to add is that even though SBCC is a city college/community college, it has far exceeded my expectations. I never feel like I am at a little community college. SBCC offers so much more than I have ever seen offered at any other city college. Maybe going to a university isn't right for you at the moment, but you also don't want to be stuck in your town going to a community college, SBCC is definitely the happy medium. SBCC offers a few choices of dorm style living, and the campus is far from the typical city college campus!

I highly recommend this college, it has helped me grow in so many ways and I have only been here for one semester! I can't wait to see what else is to come here at Santa Barbara City College!

24 things I wish I knew in high school

Earlier today I was looking back at my high school experience. I thought of all the great times I had through out those four years, but I also thought of all the things that I let bug me that have no significance to my life today.

24 Things I Wish I Realized in High School:

1. That zit on your cheek-it seriously does not matter
2. Skipping class one time will not ruin your life, nor your GPA
3. The boy your trying so hard to impress will mean nothing to you in a year
4. Bring coffee to school
5. Bring a snack too, who cares if people can hear you eating in class
6. Being popular isn't something that will ever define who you are
7. Appreciate your teachers and accept the help they offer you
8. Doing or not doing drugs doesn't make you cooler than anyone else
9. Same goes for drinking
10. Participate in school events
11. Wear sweatpants everyday
12. Or...wear a dress everyday
13. Wear what ever makes you feel comfortable
14. Talk to the kid sitting alone; it may not change your life, but it may drastically change theirs
15. Utilize the library
16. Don't wait 20 minutes to text someone back just to seem cool
17. Tell your friend how much you love them
18. Cherish your FREE textbooks
19. That fight you had with your mom really isn't that big of a deal
20. Don't let your desire for a romantic relationship hold you back from creating strong friendships
21. Help the confused freshman; remember how much you would have appreciated that help.
22. Its okay to cry
23. Its okay to have a bad day 
24. Remember that life does go on

I think its important to go back and realize that all these minor complications we faced throughout are high school years really do seem silly now. Acknowledging these things can really help us make the best of our college years by moving on from them and not returning to these "mini crisis-end of the world" habits! To make the most out of college we can't sweat the small irrelevant things. We should only focus on what we desire to accomplish in these four years, because from what I'm told, these four years go by even quicker than high school did. So keep that in mind :) 

Dating Violence

Recently in my English class, we were asked to write a research paper-the prompt: Choose a topic that interests you and.. well.. research it and begin your paper. My initial thought was oh great, this is going to be difficult, considering there isn't really any guidelines as to what the professor is looking for. However, I ended up googling research paper topics and "Domestic Violence" really stood out to me. I needed to narrow the topic down a bit, so I decided to be more specific and retitle my paper, "Teenage Dating Violence". I thought this would be a great topic to research because I believe that dating violence is a growing concern, especially with all of the new technology and social networking. In addition, teenage dating violence is sometimes over looked, which can prove to have a very dangerous outcome.

Throughout researching Teenage dating violence, I learned many things I had not know about domestic violence. One of the scariest things I found out, was that many dating violence situations start out like any "normal" relationship. Dating violence has a common pattern between the perpetrator and the victim. There are three stages to dating violence-the tension phase, the violence phase and the honeymoon phase. During the tension phase, the victim might realize that the potential perpetrator is showing signs of being overly possessive, or lashing out frequently in anger. The violence phase can consist of physical, emotional, or sexual abuse. Ending the cycle is the honeymoon phase where the perpetrator will apologize excessively and in turn the victim will give in and forgive him or her. This is dating violence is labeled as a cycle, because it can occur many times before someone realizes that the relationship may be unhealthy.

The reason I decided to share this is because many people, especially us college kids, don't know how to recognize if a relationship is unhealthy. Most dating violence begins with name calling and continuos put downs, followed by extreme possessiveness, ultimately ending in physical violence of some sort. Being able to distinguish what is healthy behavior versus unhealthy behavior in regards to your significant other is critical in preventing dating violence.

If you are experiencing an type of dating violence, you can call the dating violence helpline at
1-800-799-7233