This Semester Was So "Fetch"

It's hard to believe that this semester is almost at a close! I'm excited for new beginnings, holiday festivities, and for a break from school work... but I'm not so excited about having to say my goodbyes and start all over next semester. The good thing about a new year is a new outlook. A new chance to fix our mistakes and set new goals for ourselves.

A big new year's resolution of mine is going to involve civic engagement. I'm so excited to finally declare my platform (once I decide what to make it, that is, haha). To take a look at my volunteer hours from this past semester (in an entertaining way I promise), you should watch the video that Lesley, Jessica, Rebecca, and I made. It's called" Mean Girls: LaFayette style." Sadly, it was too big of a file (20 minutes long) to load on Youtube, but I can show it to you if you ask! But until then...

See you next semester! :)
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

I Wanna Be a "Millionaire" So Freakin' Bad

Forum Date: Monday, November 26, 2012

Dr. Barry Morris, the current city council person for Florence was our speaker during the last forum. There are 6 people on our city council and the mayor makes person #7. Dr. Morris worked in UNA's Economic Department. He has dedicated his service to his family and to the public/city of Flo-town.

"Love your neighbors. Love yourself."
That opening quote was my favorite part of Dr. Morris's entire speech. He explained that sometimes we forget that if we aren't mentally and physically strong ourselves, we can't be expected to help other people.

I appreciated that Dr. Morris was one of the few speakers that was real with us. He discussed the importance of budgeting (something that I have got to work on) and gave us a website to help us: www.MINT.com. Hearing him talk about budgeting made the future and becoming a "big girl" suddenly became very real. I loved the worksheet he gave us titled "How to be a millionaire without winning the lottery." It was really educational and made me want to go out and save my money. If I actually had any money to my name, that is.

When I was younger, I was assigned a project in which I had to decide what I would spend my money on if I had a million dollars. Did I decide to buy a fancy car? No. Did I plan to travel around the world? Nope. I, Emily Alves, decided to open a zoo. Funny, and quite unrealistic, I know. If given that same amount of money today, however, I think that we all know what I would use it for.

If I was a millionaire, this is what I would do:
1. I suppose I would be partially practical and save part of it. Be responsible. Yadda, yadda, yadda.
2. Can you say SHOPPING!? I would be doing some serious retail therapy. I can't even imagine being able to walk into Free People and actually buying some of their clothes. Gosh.
3. Donate to charity. The hard part about this step would be to decide which organization to give some money to. For me, that's why picking a platform for my civic engagement is so hard.

Another adult concept that Dr. Morris filled us in on was that it is "better to give than recieve." Civic clubs are built on that concept.

The History of Tom Osbourne

Forum Date: Monday, November 19, 2012

Tom Osbourne, the guest speaker from this past class, worked for 34 years in UNA's Department of History. He was also ordained a deacon 10 years ago into the Episcopal Church of America. He talked to us about his work in the prisons with Kairos (a prison ministry) and the Help Center, an organization that was formed in 1984. The Help Center is run by volunteers, people just like us, who offer assistance to those who need it (whether it is in the form of clothes, food, or ultility and medical bills).

"I thought I would do this to help them, but it was a great blessing for me," Tom explained. This concept is kind-of hard to grasp at first (especially since it may seem like he's being selfish). I don't want to re-hash things that I have already said in previous blogs, but, once again, there's nothing wrong with helping others out of the goodness of your heart and getting that warm, fuzzy feeling at the same time.

Something that Tom said towards the end of his speech really stuck with me. "The reason it works is because they pour love on them... they've lived with hardship all their lives and they get all the love." If only everyone poured love on the world and its people. There's entirely too much hate. I'll admit that I'm not always the most optimistic person, and that's something that I need to work on. Here Are 15 Things That Make Me Happy:
1. Glitter, my favorite color
2. Happy go-lucky music. Bring on the 90's and 80's flashbacks.
3. Random 2 AM Waffle House runs
4. Watching romantic comedies
5. Laughing... laughing a lot. The kind of laughter that makes my stomach hurt.
6. Bubble baths
7. The smell of magazines
8. Painted nails
9. Retail therapy
10. Running
11. Babies. Babies. Babies. Babies.
12. Oversized t-shirts
13. Freshly fallen snow
14. Being around my family and friends
15. Life. Life makes me happy :)

 Make brownies, not war.

iBlog

Forum Date: Monday, November 12, 2012

In an effort to avoid boring and loosing what little followers I have, this blog post is going to be a tad different. The blogs I've done in the past have been the same-old, same-old: Just me re-hashing whatever words of wisdom our speakers have told us and somehow connecting it to my college lifestyle. As a result, I have a serious case of writer's block from being stuck in such a repetitive rut. I may have to be quarantined.

Today I will, instead, dedicate my post to... other blogs. Call it what you may (blasphemy, genius), but I give you, on this lovely Friday morning, THE LIST.

John Rusevlyan, a local real estate agent, who serves as the immediate past president of the Florence Rotary Club was our speaker this past Monday. He grew up in Arlington, Virginia and graduated with a business degree from Longwood College (that went division one, just like UNA is trying to do) in 1987. He moved here to Florence in 1993 (with no job, mind you) and worked in the financial investment industry from 1994 to 1999.

One of the first questions that he asked us was:
Where are you going?
That question could involve several different topics: Travel, your present destination, the future. I suppose the interpretation is up for debate. Whatever the meaning, John wanted to spark some thought. I immediately thought of my major and one of my personal goals that goes along with it. Someday, I want to start a successful fashion blog. One of my inspirations is... drumroll please...
1. http://www.eatsleepwear.com/
Blog Description: My name is Kimberly and I am a graphic designer, fashion blogger, and cupcake enthusiast. This is my style blog.
My Thoughts: I admire people who have a God-given talent for fashion. We all know those people who can pull off any outfit, let their clothes reflect their personalitites, and stand out no matter what the setting. For me, I sometimes feel like I have to force myself to pick out a matching outfit. I'm still guilty of committing those fashion faux-pas and standing in front of my closet for hours on end, undecisive. I'm hoping that, in the future, these things will come to me and that I will be known for doing something that I love.
Snapshots:

 

Another thing that John talked to us about was the object of rotary:
1. The development of acquintance as an opportunity for service.
2. High ethical standards in business and professions (i.e. are you going to do the job you said you were going to do).
3. The application of the ideal of service in each Rotarian's personal, business, and community life... be consistent.
4. The advancement of international understanding, goodwill, and peace through a world of fellowship of business and proffessional persons united in the ideal of service.
It makes me happy to see people who are able to have happy families and find time to make the world a better place through civic engagement. One lady who does a wonderful job of balancing the two also happens to write a blog. Feast your eyes.
2. http://www.ohjoy.blogs.com/
Blog Description:
My Thoughts: My favorite thing about this blog is the fact that the author has some purpose behind her posts. After Hurricane Sandy hit, Joy made a blog titled "For a Cause." She added some clothes and accessories to her shop in which all proceeds went to the Red Cross for Hurricane Sandy relief. What a genius idea to have an online yard sale!
Snapshots:

 

 

 



The following is my personal favorite. It really nothing to do with the speaker... I just love little children and have grown to love this family. Enjoy.

3. http://www.tazaandhusband.com/
Blog Description: She has lots of freckles. He wears lots of bow ties. Welcome to our little blog.
After meeting in New York City on the corner of 65th & Broadway while attending school (him, Columbia. her, Juilliard.) We became best friends, then fell in love and then were married in the summer of 2007.  We began this little blog a few months later as a way to share bits and pieces of our little newly wed life in NYC with family and friends.
My Thoughts: Precious moments, like the ones shown in the pictures below, make me happy beyond belief. They remind me, that in a crazy world, there still exists some good.
Snapshots:

 

 

"A Change Would Do You Good"

Forum Date: Monday, November 5, 2012

CHANGE. That word pretty much sums up what occured last Monday and goes along with the rest of my life recently. We were supposed to listen to Elizabeth Moore, a lady who works at the Red Cross, but she was unable to attend due to Hurricane Sandy keeping her on a tight schedule.

Last forum served as sort of a "check-up" on everyone's volunteer hours to date. I'm pretty sure after Vince called on the first "victim" to talk about his or her civic engagement, all the other students tried their best to blend in and become flies on the wall. Although there were a select few who had already completed all their volunteer hours for the semester (props to them), Vince seemed a little worried about the rest. He wants to make sure that we all look for volunteer opportunities that have some connection to us and that we understand the whole point of this whole civic engagement project. Instead of just viewing our 10 hours as another thing on our to-do list, he wants to encourage volunteering that isn't mandatory.

While I think it's definitely important to put an emphasis on the importance of investing in other people besides ourselves, sometimes we need to be a little selfish to maintain a balance. If someone were to overcommit themselves by trying to handle too many things (like school, extracurricular activities, work, family, friends, volunteering, social life, and religion), where does the focus go? It's better to make a few commitments. In my opinion, one of our top priorities, at this point in our lives, should be our future. Point blank. If not that, then why are we even at UNA? It's vital to look at the big picture: If we get good grades in school and learn new things, we can keep our scholarships, graduate, and, hopefully, find a job. When we bite off more we can chew by trying to be involved in everything, however, we push school aside to make more room and things start to crumble.

Right now, I'll admit that I need to work on my planning. Procrastination has always been a skill of mine that also doubles as a curse. I'm trying to overcome that, so that I can manage my life better and have more time to do things like volunteer.

Confessions of a Shopaholic

Forum Date: Monday, October 29, 2012

As I've said before, I am ecstatic about my newly declared major (as of last semester): fashion merchandising. When people ask me why I went from being an undecided major in the Arts and Science field to something completely opposite, I tell them this:

I have always been determined to pick a career that wouldn't seem like work. My hope for the future is that I will get to work hard doing something that I love. Because I have always loved writing, clothes, reading magazines, and designing yearbook spreads, I put them all together and came up a solution. My dream job is working for a fashion magazine in New York.

In my fashion classes that I started taking this semester, I have learned so much about textiles, advertising, designers, you name it. One of the designers that my teacher is currently obsessed with is Billy Reid, a famous man whose corporate headquarters happens to be located in downtown Florence... only a few minutes from UNA. I'm sure you can imagine my excitement when an employee of Billy Reid came to speak to us during the last forum. Bradley Dean, who works for Billy Reid, wears many hats when it comes to his job. He is Billy Reid's digital design director, photographer, social media coordinator, graphic art designer, and creative director. That's a mouthful. He graduated from UNA (Roar Lions) with an art major and an entrepreneurship minor.

In addition to being involved in his work life, Bradley makes sure to save time for civic engagement as well. He said that what he does in volunteering helps him with his work and personal life because it makes him a better leader. Although he has learned leadership skills from working at Billy Reid, he also has a better understanding of how to follow. His example is this video:

 

Even though that video is a funny and entertaining way to explain how to follow and spread change, the topic it covers is important. It can be useful to all of us, especially when volunteering. Although volunteering with Billy Reid doesn't fit under my civic engagement plan, it does go along with my major! :) Billy Reid is looking for college students willing to help pick cotton not far from UNA that will be used to make clothes. How cool would that be to put on my resume? I might have to look into this opportunity.

 

I'm going to leave you with some words of wisdom from Mr. Bradley. "No matter where you go in life, don't forget you're a part of something bigger; you DO have a say. It takes being civically engaged on some level to make change."

Chew on that food for thought.

Not Your Mother's Junior League

Forum Date: Monday, October 22, 2012

During today's forum, I learned about an organization I haven't heard much of. In fact, my only recollection of any mention of this group was in the book, The Help by Kathryn Stockett. I also learned a little more about where I would and would not like to volunteer in the future. Allow me to explain.

Our speaker, Leslie Tomlinson, is a part of the association of Junior Leagues International, Inc. which works with women to build better communities. She is currently a sustaining member of the Junior League of the Shoals. According to her, its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable. She informed us that Junior Leagues in general:
- Develop the potential of women
- Improve communities by addressing the most critical needs of a community
- Promote volunteerism
- Provide networking and social opportunities

All of the above are great characteristics for a civic engagement organization to have; however, as Leslie continued talking, she gave me the impression that the organization's priorities are out of order. The "social" portion of the Junior League seemed to be stressed and publicized more than anything else. I appreciated that she went ahead and warned us about the stereotypes that exist involving Junior Leagues (like it being an adult sorority); however, her rebuttal was not very convincing. The Junior League is exclusive to its participants because of the strict rules required to join as a member and volunteer, yet the organization pushes for more volunteers. In order to be a member of the Junior League you must:
- Be a female
- Be at least 24 years of age (none of us in forum even meet this requirement)
- Complete at least 60 hours of civic engagement a year (none of which can be used for a different organization)
- Attend the weekly meetings

I feel like you should be able to volunteer no matter what the purpose behind your volunteering. Even though there might be slightly selfish motivations pushing you to volunteer (like using your hours for a class), that is perfectly okay. You are still doing good things nonetheless; your motivations don't change the outcome of your civic engagement. I also don't quite understand the minimum age requirement (what special ability comes at age 24?). I think that the maturity and responsibility level of a person should be judged, not their age. Although I won't be volunteering with the Junior League anytime soon, I certainly appreciate what that organization does to help the Shoals community and empower women.

So I don't seem like such a "negative Nancy," let me tell you about what I did agree with. When Leslie told us that we have to love an organization to stay with it, I couldn't help but nod my head. That's why she stuck with the Junior League; she saw progress even through the hard times when it seemed like an exclusive club. Even though I feel that the League still has a while to go, they have improved over the years. A few years ago, you could be rejected simply because of your race. That's both unethical and unfair to society... everyone has an important part in positively improving a community. The book I mentioned earlier, The Help, couldn't phrase it better: “You is kind. You is smart. You is important.” Now go change the world. And read The Help while you're at it.