Hello all! Happy First full week of June! I feel like summer-mode was activated over Memorial Day weekend and it’s only gotten better from there. From summer walks, ice cream, grilling and family time, I have a great feeling about this summer!
Every season, I always like to share a bucket list with goals and ideas I like to accomplish. They range from date ideas, to activities with friends and family and some personal goals too.
I got a lot of things accomplished from my Spring Bucket List, but carried a few things over to my Summer Bucket List.
Here’s a look at my Spring Bucket List and what I accomplished.
Spring Bucket List
Now, that we are leaving the Spring season and entering the summer season, it’s tie for an updated season bucket list.
Here’s a look at my Summer Bucket List:
-Beach and Pool Day
-Farmer’s Market
-Seawolves Game
-Heritage Festivals
-Gardens
-Tend to my own Garden
-Use Kitchen Aid to Try New Recipes
-Grilling
-Picnics
-Night Picnic
-Columbus Zoo
-Family Trip
-Go Someplace New
-Time with Friends Outside
-Summer Sleepover
-Kayak
-Sibling Dates
-Drive-in
-New Place to Hike
-Visit New State
-Run a 5K
-Try New Recipes-Lavender Lemonade
-Ice Cream Dates
-Entertain and Visit Friends
-Meal and read by the Water
-Fruit Picking
-Bonfire
-Amusement Park
That’s a look at my Summer Bucket List. A lot of local, fun, activities that I can do with friends, family and even by myself. I love crossing things off a list and having ideas to do on summer days. My goal for this summer is to soak up as much time as home with my family, siblings, friends and boyfriend.
I hope your week and year is off to a great start! Now, that the holidays have calmed down, I wanted to reflect on my first year as a reporter. I did a recap in the summer about what I have learned 6 months in. You can read all about it here. In the past 6 months, I have learned even more. Every day I continue to grow and learn and get stronger in my skills as a reporter. I try to learn something new, I know not every day will be a slam dunk story, but I always try to take something away from it, whether it is a new editing skill, a better way to write something, or different way to be creative with my storytelling.
It’s always fun getting to share stories that are important to me
I have loved to tell people’s stories in my own hometown. From big to small stories, whether it was an event going on, like a toy distribution for Christmas, talking to local businesses about struggles of the past year, covering historic events like the first Covid-19 vaccines arriving in Erie, following the election, and everything in between. I have travelled to other states, neighboring counties or even just down the street to talk to people about their lives.
I also have got more opportunities at work too. I have been able to fill in and anchor some of our shows. It’s something I have dream about doing for a long time and the fact I am anchoring them and producing them on my own is a huge accomplishment for me. I have covered for different shifts during the holidays, helped out to make sure things go smoothly and worked more on my craft through the year. I also love getting to work on our digital team and learn more about the art of producing and stacking shows, both skills that are helpful for anchoring.
Working the anchor desk on Christmas
When looking back on these past 12 months, I have learned a lot about the job, but some of my best memories are of conversations with co-workers or laughs when I was preparing for a story, from early more shifts, to late nights, working weekends or holidays when no one is there or when it’s all hands on deck. It has been a year of change and excitement. I have truly learned that it’s the people that make any job worthwhile. I am so lucky that I have such great and supportive co-workers and mentors to learn from every day. Especially working long days and hours, it helps to have co-workers that make the days go by fast.
In the middle of a live interview
I have worked long days and shifts, but I covered winter weather, tornado damage, breaking news, things reopening, things shutting down, back to school, new events and opportunities for the community, exciting and happy stories, and ones that break your heart. In the end, I love what I do. I love that I get to find stories and tell them, meet people and get their message out. It’s so special and surreal that I get the chance to give people the news.
Covering the presidential election
It’s also been too fun to have my family and friends watch me and send me pictures of it and supporting me. It’s such a humbling experience that I don’t take for granted.
Getting pictures from friends and family that watch me never gets old.
Overall, I couldn’t have asked for a better first year in news, it truly was a monumental time to get, I can’t wait to learn more and grow and see where I am a year from now.
It’s been an incredible first year, let’s bring on year two!!!
What a semester it has been. It has been a few months of many lasts but some firsts too. Last weekend working, last Founder’s day, last Halloween, last staff meeting, last time ever going to class and being a student. It’s a weird feeling knowing that I will never be a student again. Yet, it’s also exciting that I will be starting a new journey after college.
My semester has consisted of hours studying and writing papers, working long hours, making new friends and taking adventures to get brunch or shopping, applying for jobs and interviewing, maintaining traditions with friends and through school, going through all the lasts and saying goodbye to college. I knew this semester would go by fast but I never thought that I would blink and it would be over. Whenever someone asked me how this semester has been going, I have said the same thing, “it’s been busy”. That has been the honest truth, some weeks I had a full planner and pulling 16 hour days, other weekends were spent doing homework and work since my weeks were so busy. Although, this was my most challenging and busiest semester, I don’t regret a thing. I have loved everything that I have been involved in. I’m truly going to miss my time in college. My college series will conclude next week with a thank you to the place that has impacted me the most.
Now, let’s recap what this semester has been like…
In August, I moved back to school one last time. I went through a few weeks of training for work before classes began.
Last time at training before the year started
My classes schedule kept me very busy and it was by far my most challenging classes, but I learned a lot.
First day of senior year!
I spent Labor Day weekend by seeing the Jonas Brothers in concert which was so fun and a great way to start the year.
Seeing the Jonas Brothers was incredible
September was filled with working most weekends and all the homework. It kept me busy and I was very productive. I spent weekends getting brunch or trying new places with friends.
October brought homecoming, fall break home, and Halloween.
Homecoming with Danielle
It was so much fun to see friends old and new and celebrate fall. I finished my last weekend working which was a huge accomplishment.
I kicked off fall break with a fall festHalloween with Danielle
November brought the end of the semester, Founder’s Day, Light Up Night, and Thanksgiving break, which was much needed.
Last Founder’s DayLight Up Night with Danielle
Following Thanksgiving brought the last week of classes.
Last time being in my room
This last week was filled with last nights of working, presenting portfolios, my last staff meeting, and my last time ever being in class.
My sweet staff planned the best surprise for my last meeting
Now, I am just finishing finals week. I can’t believe how fast my time in college has gone. I have started saying many goodbyes, knowing that I may never see some people who made a huge impact on me ever again. College is a weird thing because for four or (three and a half) years you spend all your time with people who become family to you whether they are friends, professors, advisors, or mentors and then you have to leave and start all over and move on. I’m so lucky to have found a place that makes saying goodbye so hard. On Saturday, I will graduate and although, I am very excited, I will miss this place more than I can describe. The biggest things that I have taken away from this semester is: it’s never too late to make new friends, because they may become your closest ones, never give up, always push yourself even more and it will pay off, and God has a plan, once you surrender yourself to him that’s when things start to happen.
Hi everyone! Happy Tuesday…it’s my LAST, first week of school. These past few weeks have been so busy since I have been back to school, between training, learning, seeing friends, moving into my last college dorm and starting classes, it has been a whirlwind of activities. Am soaking it all up because I know these will be my lasts…last move in weekend, last training, last first day of school. This past Sunday, I took some time to reflect on starting my last semester of college…here’s my thoughts on it…
Senior year…here we GO!
“It’s Sunday, tomorrow is my last first day of school…EVER. It’s weird to think that after tomorrow, I will never have another first day of school. I remember my first day of Kindergarten, high school and college. All big days, and tomorrow is no less a big day.
I have always loved school and going to school. I loved laying out my clothes the night before, buying fresh supplies for the new year, taking the picture outside of our home, and coming home to a special treat from my mom while we shared about our first day. There is just something about the first day that brings me so much JOY and excitement!
I only have one more semester of college. It’s weird to think that by Christmas I will be done with school and being saying goodbye to a place that has been a HUGE part of my life story, a place where I grew, gained confidence, made lifelong friends, and created incredible memories. Thankfully, I still have a few months before I say goodbye and start a new chapter in my life.
So, what does these next few months hold? Lots of classes, homework, reading, studying, working, applying for jobs, spending time with friends, crossing off college bucket lists, doing all the senior things, and celebrating milestones.
This past week, I was at Mass and the priest shared about going all in and immersing yourself in your life and that really resonated with me. These next few months, I am going ALL IN, doing as much as I can, working my hardest, getting involved with my favorite organizations, meeting new friends, stepping out of my comfort zone, and living up my last time as a college student. I have no idea what comes after college, yes, I will be getting a job and working, but it’s exciting to not know where I could end up or what I will be doing. When my friends come back to classes after Christmas, I will be working.
Many people have told me that your years in college will be the best time of your life, and I have to agree, I love the person I have become thanks to the people I met and the opportunities I have done while in college. I have met so many people who have shaped me into the person I am today, and this school will always hold a special place in my heart. I can’t wait to see what these next few months brings…senior year…I’m ALL IN!”
Happy Tuesday and an early happy Fourth of July! The Fourth is one of my favorite summer activities. Not only is it a day for seeing family, eating delicious food, and being outside in the sun, but it’s a day to celebrate our country!
This past week has been such a whirlwind filled with so many wonderful moments and memories that I loved making.
Let’s recap!
On Wednesday to Friday my best friend, Bailey, from college came to visit. This was one of the first times a college friend came to visit me, since I live further away from school. During her visit, we did so many things.
Look who’s here!!!
We started the mini vacay with a drive around my hometown and the happy hour by the bay.
Beautiful weather for her visit!
We then headed to the beach to listen to live music at sunset. After the live music we headed to get some ice cream before heading back to my house for a cook out. We relaxed for the rest of the night and caught up.
Sun setting at the beach
We got up bright and early on Thursday morning and headed out for a morning run. It was great to get a workout in, to start the day.
Hello Morning Run!
We then came back to my house and got ready for a day out in the sun. We got lunch at Sara’s, an iconic diner in my hometown.
Introducing her to Sara’s!
We then went kayaking, which was my first time going out, but so much fun!
After spending time on the water, we went to the beach, we tanned, relaxed, went in the water and even took a nap.
ALL the beach vibes!Beach vibes
After spending all day out in the sun, we went back to my house and relaxed. I just started watching Outlander and am obsessed!
We ate dinner and then went out for the night, which was so much fun!
The bay at night
We eased into Friday by going for a hike and then coming back for breakfast before she had to head back to Pittsburgh.
Hiking before she had to head back to Pittsburgh
I am so thankful for our friendship and her visit. It was so good to be a tourist in my own hometown. We are already planning our next adventure! Much love Bailey!
Thanks for a great visit!!!
After she left on Friday, I quickly had to switch gears since I was going away for the weekend with my high school Madeline to visit our friend Ryan in Buffalo!
REUNITED
We left early Saturday morning and made the journey up to Buffalo.
Buffalo bound
Once we arrived in New York, Ryan gave us a tour of Buffalo, from his college, Canisius, to downtown Buffalo and the canal side. It was so nice to get a look into his world.
Checking out his school
We went to the Terrace for lunch, the food was delicious, and the view was even better.
Lunch with my favorite high school palsBeautiful view
After walking around the city, we relaxed until we went out to dinner at Duff’s and had some of their famous wings. They didn’t disappoint. We hung out and played some games before calling it a night.
Did someone say Buffalo Chicken Wings?!
Before, Madeline and I left Buffalo we got brunch at Pano’s, a delicious place that was in downtown Buffalo. It was delicious and so filling.
I love these people
I was so glad to have made the trip to Buffalo and spend some quality time with my high school friends.
Thanks for being some of my best friends!
These past few days have truly reminded me how lucky I am to have such good, fun, and supportive friends. From high school to college, we all get by with a little help from our friends!
What a semester it has been!!! Not gonna lie, in January, the semester started out as a rocky one. But, I was determined not to let a few bad days change the outlook of my whole semester. Thank goodness, that I didn’t because this semester turned out to be my best semesters yet!!!
Throughout the course of this semester, I truly felt that I came into my own. I found my tribe of friends to lean and gain support and that made all the difference. Without a strong support system both at home and at school, it is very hard to navigate yourself through life.
During the semester, I took on more roles, and wore many hats in these short months. I took on 18 credits, added another work study to the mix, and took on a leadership role in my other job I have at school. Although my job has its stressful and unpredictable moments, I had truly had the best staff and coworkers. We all got along great and were able to have fun as a one big family. When work got tiring or stressful they made the job 100 times better. I am so lucky to have made so many long lasting friends because of this job. Whether it was staff meetings, Sheetz runs or late night adventures we all had the best time together.
Obviously, taking on all these new things felt like a lot and could be a bit overwhelming at some points. Like for example, starting my day at 6:00 am and working through 1:00, yes, I had a few of those days but they were filled with fun memories braided through the stressful moments.
One motto that I used towards the end of the semester was “Live Mas” or “Living my Best Life”, a lot of my close friends were either graduating or moving to different building so during my last few weeks of school, I made sure I went out and did things with my friends to savor our last few days together, whether it was Dairy Queen trips, late night drives, or playing card games while working the late shift, I wouldn’t trade those memories for anything. I’m so glad I found so many wonderful people because of this job and school.
Here we are at one of our first events of the year.
Lastly, something that made this semester so great was working on myself and being my true authentic self. I learned and worked on this a lot with the help of my friend Olivia. We met a year and a half ago because our boss suggested we meet since we are so similar. Every chance we get we thank our boss for introducing us, we immediately hit it off and have been close every since. Not only can we talk about the easy day to day topics, but we often talk about the challenging stuff too. Olivia, is one of the hardest working, caring, driven, and “mom like” people I have ever met. She has been a wonderful mentor but an even better friend to me this past year. She has taught me a lot but the most important thing I have learned is to be my authentic self. Olivia, thank you for making this year the best one yet.
Here is a second picture of her, as we were moving out. I love this quote– a constant reminder of girl power
This has been such a good semester for me both in and out of the classroom. I have excelled in my studies, formed long lasting friendships, made countless memories but most importantly, I lived my best life as my authentic self. Here’s to hopping I grow even more as a person next semester.
Today’s post is going to be a bit more on the serious side. Besides, showing you the latest trends and how to organize areas in your home, I like to be real and honest about what life as a college students is truly like. So, we are getting real about homesickness. What a fun topic for a Tuesday. In all seriousness, let’s get real.
Before I started college, almost two years ago, I was worried about being homesick. Many family and friends had assured me I would be so busy I wouldn’t be able to get homesick, or it would go away after a month, someone had even told me that by Fall break I wouldn’t even want to come home because I would be loving school so much.
They were all wrong.
Yes, I was enjoying school, and I was making friends and I was most certainly busy, but that didn’t change the fact that I was homesick. There would be times when I was lonely, or I craved a homecooked meal or I wished I was back in my own room. But, I didn’t let that stop me from enjoying college life. Christmas rolled around, and I was told that I wouldn’t want to be home for a whole month and I would soon get bored and I would be thrilled when I could go back to school.
Nope, it was still hard going back.
Spring semester brought more hope and more experiences. But I still had my moments of weakness and some tears. Once May rolled around, I was so proud of myself for making it through a full year. I thought, if I could accomplish that I could do anything.
A few months later, Year Two rolled around. It brought new experiences, new friends, new challenges and new beginnings. I didn’t get homesick as much, mostly when I was getting dropped off from being back home from a break. I had gotten used to falling back into my routines at home, it was hard to get adjusted back at school. There were times when I was overwhelmed and stressed and wanted a break from school and just to be home, but I had to push through. That’s the thing about homesickness, you can take a bad situation and make it better.
How can you handle those moments of weakness and homesickness?
Have a good cry (yes, we all need a good cry to let ourselves go and feel all our emotions that we keep buried deep within.)
Take that time to be alone but not too long, make plans to go out with a friend to grab dinner or go to study.
Share how you are feeling. It may be uncomfortable, but who knows you may find someone who feels the same way and doesn’t know who to talk to about it. You can be there to help each other through it.
Homesickness is different for everyone, others don’t have it all, some only have it until their first fall break, but for few like myself, it never goes away. As I close on my second year of college, I still have my moments where I am homesick. I don’t let that dictate my life. I push through the pain, sometimes I cry, sometimes I watch my latest binge show, sometimes a phone call homes helps. But, I carry on, and I keep on living life. As i look back on the past two years, I don’t remember being homesick or sad but rather the joy, the laughter, and the memories that came with friends and family.
Whether you are a first-time college student leaving home for the first time or you are gearing up to start your first job in the new world, we all miss home, it just means you feel so much love from home that it’s hard to be without it.
I love lists! Lists allow me to organize my thoughts and things that need to get done.
Every summer I create a list of things I want to do. Some things are fun and are spent with family and friends. Other things might be things I hope to accomplish or things that need to get done. At the end of this summer, I am happy to say I got almost everything I wanted to accomplish done! That’s doesn’t always happen. Here’s a peak into my summer and everything I got done.
SUMMER TO DO:
Read Five Books (read 7 instead!!) ✅
Blog Twice a Week (if you are reading this now then I must have done it) ✅
Finish The Office (gotta get my Netflix in-it was my second time watching it and I couldn’t get enough) ✅
Finish House of Cards(it took me to long to finish but it was worth it and I can’t wait for next season) ✅
See one friend from college (I didn’t see any friends from college but I will be seeing them soon enough once classes start)❌
See High school friends (yes I did and loved every second we spent together-friends for life) ✅
Spend a Full day at the pool (it may not have happened until the last week of summer but I got it in) ✅
Go out got ice cream at night (I ate way to much ice cream this summer but it was worth it) ✅
Go to White Turkey and Sara’s (one of my last meals at home this summer was spent here) ✅
Go on more walks (my favorite way to relax) ✅
Go to the beach more than once ( I made it twice- does that still count?) ✅
Take it slow-try not to rush all the time (after a whirlwind of a school year I tried to take it slow and that happened maybe 5% of the time. BUT it happened) ✅
See extended family (seeing my cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents truly made my summer. Family over everything) ✅
Take advantage of the free things (go to the zoo, beach) (nothing better than taking advantage of activities in your own backyard) ✅
Host people for dinner at my house (I love having company over and I was happy I could help entertain this summer) ✅
Try something new ( I’m starting a new job this fall so that’s new!!) ✅
Physical Therapy (not something particularly fun but it was necessary and it was so helpful) ✅
Surgery (again, not so fun but I am so glad to have it behind me) ✅
Hit the Gym (I didn’t go as much as I would have liked but I felt so much better when I went) ✅
Do decorations for school (part of my new job and they turned out pretty good) ✅
Internship (I learned a lot and it helped my career-success!!) ✅
Work my summer job (in addition to my internship I’ve been working here for the past 5 years and I love it) ✅
Family Vacation (spending time with family and getting away-nothing better in life) ✅
I got a lot accomplished this summer. Some work, some play. And (almost) everything got crossed off. Another summer in the books. Now it’s time to hit the books. Time for school and fall fashion!
