Having talked this week with my friends who Blogged-A-Day-In-May last year, and those who want to join us this year, I am so excited! However, it also made me realize that my last post was about Boston...which I never followed-up. Sigh.
So here is to hoping the 2nd Annual Blog-A-Day will put me back on the blogging wagon. As I have mentioned before, I think I need it in my life. Although this year, I think I am going to theme my month of May. I just need to figure out what that theme will be. I have a couple of days, right?
And maybe I will go back and post about ACPA and Boston one day...maybe.
4/29/10
3/19/10
Professonal Development, Colleagues, and Boston...Oh My!
Tomorrow I head to Boston for the annual ACPA Convention (one of the major national associations for higher education professionals, if you did not know). This will be my fourth year going and third year presenting, which is pretty crazy and awesome. I love this time of year not only because I get to build those presnetation skills, but I get to see my friends and colleagues from across the country. Okay, well, this year I get to see the ones who can still afford to go because of budget cuts. And the added perk is getting to travel to Boston, of course.
My goal is to blog like I did a few months ago for the Women's Leadership Institute. I found it to be a good way to process. However, I know ACPA will likely provide me with less reflection time. But here's to goal setting!
Sidenote: The new "Alice in Wonderland" in IMAX 3D was much better than expected!
My goal is to blog like I did a few months ago for the Women's Leadership Institute. I found it to be a good way to process. However, I know ACPA will likely provide me with less reflection time. But here's to goal setting!
Sidenote: The new "Alice in Wonderland" in IMAX 3D was much better than expected!
3/8/10
Adult Decisions
Maybe my goal of "retroactive blogging" in my last post was a bit too ambitious. Too much seems to be going on now to think backwards. Case in point, my weekend of what I would call adult decisions.
Okay, it was not really a weekend full of them. Really only two. I have to stop here and say that my amazing friend Tara came to visit, and judging by our karaoke experience on Friday, the term "adult" may be a stretch. But I will take the moment here and mention we had a blast, and it was a much needed weekend together.
So what were my adult decisions? One, the week leading up to last weekend forced me to think seriously about my career. Long story short, I applied for a job a while back that I actually ended up taking myself out of the running for on Friday. The experience has made me really sit back and think not only about what I have done and learned in the past two years as a professional but also about where I want to go from here. As evident in my previous post, this is a prominent conversation around here. However, this most recent decision has really made me realize that I need to really think about where I want to go from here. It has also made me even more grateful for some pretty amazing people in my life that I have been able to talk to about it while they face some major decisions of their own.
My second decision may not seem as poignant, but it is one I feel like sharing nonetheless. I finally took out by naval piercing. (insert snarky comments here) I had it done right when I turned 18. It just seemed like the thing to do at the time, but I have never really had a reason to have it. I am not the midriff-bearing type of woman. However, I have had it for so long, it was just part of me. I have talked about permanently removing it for literally years at this point, and I finally did it.
Connection between the decisions: I must be something of an adult to turn down a job, I can take out the naval ring. (This is pretty much what I said to Tara when I did it, too.) Really. I am 26 years old. I have not really felt like it until now I think. Whether I like it or not, it is adult decision time. Although this in no way means I will start acting like an adult in all situations from this point out. Tara and I do plan to revisit the karaoke. ;-)
Sidenote: Shutter Island was not worth the money to see. If you want, rent it, but do not spend the money or two and a half hours at the theater for it. Trust me.
Okay, it was not really a weekend full of them. Really only two. I have to stop here and say that my amazing friend Tara came to visit, and judging by our karaoke experience on Friday, the term "adult" may be a stretch. But I will take the moment here and mention we had a blast, and it was a much needed weekend together.
So what were my adult decisions? One, the week leading up to last weekend forced me to think seriously about my career. Long story short, I applied for a job a while back that I actually ended up taking myself out of the running for on Friday. The experience has made me really sit back and think not only about what I have done and learned in the past two years as a professional but also about where I want to go from here. As evident in my previous post, this is a prominent conversation around here. However, this most recent decision has really made me realize that I need to really think about where I want to go from here. It has also made me even more grateful for some pretty amazing people in my life that I have been able to talk to about it while they face some major decisions of their own.
My second decision may not seem as poignant, but it is one I feel like sharing nonetheless. I finally took out by naval piercing. (insert snarky comments here) I had it done right when I turned 18. It just seemed like the thing to do at the time, but I have never really had a reason to have it. I am not the midriff-bearing type of woman. However, I have had it for so long, it was just part of me. I have talked about permanently removing it for literally years at this point, and I finally did it.
Connection between the decisions: I must be something of an adult to turn down a job, I can take out the naval ring. (This is pretty much what I said to Tara when I did it, too.) Really. I am 26 years old. I have not really felt like it until now I think. Whether I like it or not, it is adult decision time. Although this in no way means I will start acting like an adult in all situations from this point out. Tara and I do plan to revisit the karaoke. ;-)
Sidenote: Shutter Island was not worth the money to see. If you want, rent it, but do not spend the money or two and a half hours at the theater for it. Trust me.
2/15/10
Indefinite
I have had lots of thoughts lately that I should probably get out here. So my goal this week is to retroactively blog. For now, though, I had a conversation today with one of my really good friends and colleagues that got me thinking.
The conversation was not really out of the ordinary for us, at least not compared to recent talks. We have often found ourselves talking about our jobs, what we like, what we don't, what we are getting, what we are not, what are plans are, etc. I think the biggest part of it is venting to someone else going through the same new professional growing pains. I think we also find solace in admitting things that we would not otherwise.
What made today's talk interesting was a revelation we had that I know at least I have not had before. The thing that makes this whole new professional thing scary (for lack of a better term) is that for the first time ever, we do not have a definite ending to where we are. Up until now, we have had and end date to whatever we were doing. Limited contracts, graduation dates, the ends were always in sight. Somehow, I think that made looking to the next step easier.
However, nearing the end of my second year as a professional in higher education, the next step is not so clear. Sure, most of us have generally thought that our first jobs in this field are supposed to generally last around three years-ish, but that is not a definite timeline. Now we are in a position where we have to think about what we think is going to be best for us. That may be staying three years, two years, five years, and then moving up here, moving somewhere else, staying in higher education, finding something new.
Of course we have talked about a number of other factors that have impacted us as of late. We are still learning what it means to work here and in this field. We have created some pretty impactful relationships. We have accomplished change and are hoping to create more...without becoming stuck in the cycle of wanting to make everything better. However, this indefinite timeline really has me thinking that maybe I do need to figure out what might be next.
The conversation was not really out of the ordinary for us, at least not compared to recent talks. We have often found ourselves talking about our jobs, what we like, what we don't, what we are getting, what we are not, what are plans are, etc. I think the biggest part of it is venting to someone else going through the same new professional growing pains. I think we also find solace in admitting things that we would not otherwise.
What made today's talk interesting was a revelation we had that I know at least I have not had before. The thing that makes this whole new professional thing scary (for lack of a better term) is that for the first time ever, we do not have a definite ending to where we are. Up until now, we have had and end date to whatever we were doing. Limited contracts, graduation dates, the ends were always in sight. Somehow, I think that made looking to the next step easier.
However, nearing the end of my second year as a professional in higher education, the next step is not so clear. Sure, most of us have generally thought that our first jobs in this field are supposed to generally last around three years-ish, but that is not a definite timeline. Now we are in a position where we have to think about what we think is going to be best for us. That may be staying three years, two years, five years, and then moving up here, moving somewhere else, staying in higher education, finding something new.
Of course we have talked about a number of other factors that have impacted us as of late. We are still learning what it means to work here and in this field. We have created some pretty impactful relationships. We have accomplished change and are hoping to create more...without becoming stuck in the cycle of wanting to make everything better. However, this indefinite timeline really has me thinking that maybe I do need to figure out what might be next.
2/3/10
The Strength of a Weakness
I am finding (or likely always knew about) the fine line between caring for others and taking care of yourself. The delicate balance of empathy. When do you find the right place (at the right time) where you can sacrifice for others without sacrificing too much of yourself? This is a concept that can influence many areas of life, but I find I really do not stop to think about it until I am too far on one side. More often than not, I find myself over-sacrificing and then berating myself for it. This is when I wonder where that line is. One of my top five strengths on StrenthsQuest (and some version of it on any personality inventory) is empathy. And they always show you the positives and challenges to it. They just are not always that apparent. By no means am I an empathetic martyr, but this is something I think about. Although maybe I do not think about it enough since it continues to happen. Perhaps this is all a little vague for a blog post, but it was a thought I wanted to share.
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