Finals Are Over! (And Have Been For...About a Week).

I thought being out of school would give me more time to do a lot of things--work out, cook more, spend more time with friends, blog more--but that hasn't really been happening. Over the past few days, Michael and I have started working out again, so there is that. I have seen some friends that I didn't see so much over the course of the semester too. That blogging thing though? Ooops. (I won't lie, the majority of my time has been spent watching Once Upon a Time. I'm halfway done with season two.)

Finals are over though, which is a big weight off of my shoulders. I managed a 4.0 GPA this semester (which I've only been able to do one other time over my school career, and that was over this past summer!). My group for PR II got a clean sweep this semester and won every competition over the other group--the client picked our proposal every time!

At this point, I'm waiting for my Wentworth funds to be dispersed so that I can book my hotel and plane ticket for New York City over Spring Break. I cannot wait! I've also researched some other stuff and put together an itinerary to (loosely) follow for the trip. I'm still looking to add more, so if you have any suggestions, let me know!

Lastly, Christmas is in FIVE days. It seems like just yesterday it was Thanksgiving. This month has flew by. I'm basically done Christmas shopping--I might buy a few more small things, but for the most part, I'm finished.

Happy holidays, everyone!

Hard Work and Pixie Dust.

It's been a bit from my last update, but that's because things are going SO AMAZINGLY WELL. Remember when I was upset that my piece didn't get accepted to UNCW's Literary Journal? How about that I wasn't elected for PR Officer for Sigma Tau Delta? Or I didn't get the Business Writer job on campus? Well, I'm going to go ahead and say that these things happened for a reason.

First, I GOT THE WENTWORTH FELLOWSHIP. I am so so so incredibly excited, thankful, thrilled, [insert happy emotion here] that I am going to visit New York City over Spring Break! I'll be there for approximately a week (maybe eight or nine days, depending on the cost of the hotel that I can find on Priceline) and I'll be studying the life and works of JD Salinger, such as his most famous novel The Catcher in the Rye. I could go on and on about this, but I'll save it for increments leading up to my Spring Break. I just can't believe that I'm actually being given this wonderful opportunity! (Ps. Thank you Mr. Charles F. Green III for the funds, the Wentworth Committee for choosing my proposal, and Dr. Noland for being my faculty advisor and guiding me throughout the application process!)

Second, Sigma Induction! There were less people being inducted this semester than the semester that I was inducted, so it was a small ceremony. But this was also the ceremony where I was installed as an officer. Did I want PR? Yes. Am I thrilled to be secretary? YES. I love the other officers--two of whom are good friends of mine--and the organization, so why wouldn't I be excited to represent it in some way? Also, I was not aware that in terms of recognition, it goes President, Vice President, Secretary.

Third, I GOT AN INTERNSHIP! I'll be working with the Cape Fear Community College Foundation and I am so excited to work with such a wonderful organization. It won't begin until January, but I'm excited that I'll be able to get some real, hands-on experience with my career path.

Even though things seemed hard for a moment, things are definitely looking up now. Not to mention, does anyone watch the HBO show Girls?! This song is in the trailer for season four and it is my jam. Such an upbeat, addictive tune. It's also so fitting! I wish someone would've shoved this song in my face two weeks ago.

I hope everyone is having a great week! Only sixteen days of the semester left, we got this!

Learning to Deal with Rejection.

So, as I posted yesterday, today was the day that I ran for Sigma's PR Officer position. Unfortunately, I did not get it. That is in part my mistake--I went first, so I was nervous, as I didn't know what my opponent's speech was going to be. I skipped portions that I wanted to include. I grazed over my experiences as opposed to describing each one with depth. I could've definitely sold myself more, but public speaking has never been my strong point. However, he was also a worthy candidate, obviously, since he won, so I can't beat myself up too much. One girl even said, "Can we vote for both and have them both do the position?" so it was obviously a close race in many people's minds. Better luck next time.

With that said, I was offered the position of secretary, so there is that. And I'm excited for it. Honestly, I was content with either position, but PR aligns with my career goals, hence why I wanted that one. But either way, being an officer for Sigma will definitely help in the future, because who am I to say no to experience?

It is difficult, though. This past week I feel like I've just been given rejection after rejection. My piece wasn't selected for Atlantis. I didn't get the business writer position. Now, I didn't get the officer position that I originally wanted. Hopefully all of this leads to good karma soon.

Oh well. I'm a writer, I better get used to rejection.

I've Been Gone Much Too Long.

It's odd to think of how much spare time I had when I originally started this blog. One or two posts a week? That's no big deal! Or, so I thought. Now, I struggle to get a full nights rest and I miss appointments because I forget or I am busy. Good news is, this week is Writer's Week.

For those of you who do not know what Writer's Week is, it's a week at UNCW in the fall where the Creative Writing department puts on a host of panels and readings and Q&A's. That sort of thing. Well, this semester I am in two Creative Writing classes, so that means those classes are cancelled ALL WEEK. Instead, I have to attend two events for each class and write up a page about them. The good part is that I can choose whichever events I want to attend, which means my schedule is more lenient this week.

Also, my senior seminar/rhetorical theory professor is out of town on Wednesday, so class is cancelled then. Which means, in theory, all of my classes are cancelled on Wednesday.

On a sad note, I did get word that I was NOT selected for the Business Writer job on campus and one of my pieces was also NOT selected for Atlantis. Oh well. Better luck next time.

Tomorrow I have a meeting for Sigma and I'm running for PR Officer. I still need to prepare a speech in which I attempt to persuade people to vote for me. I hate speaking, so I'm hoping it's a small group that attends the meeting tomorrow. Unfortunately that also would mean that there are less people to vote. If I don't get PR Officer, I will probably take the position of Secretary though, so it's something. But seeing as I'm studying PR, that's the position I'm hoping to get. (Plus, I'm missing out on the CSS Panel that I designed the program for to be there, so it'll be quite sad if I don't get it.)

I think I mentioned that I submitted my application for the Wentworth Fellowship. Our applications were due October 20th and we are supposed to receive word of whether we have won or not by Thanksgiving Break. Our break is November 26th, so that's 24 days max before I know.

Anyway, my goal is to let my food I just ate digest a little bit and then work out in some fashion, so I'm going to get to that. I hope everyone has been doing well!

It's Fall Break, Y'all!

Finally. Half way through the semester. A five day weekend (sort of).

This past week was hectic and I apologize for being such a stranger. I never intended on my senior year to be so busy! Between midterms and papers and my Wentworth application and graphic design work and helping my PR professor with odd jobs and everything, I am so drained. On Wednesday I was literally on campus from 11:30 AM-10:30 PM because a group project went weary and I ended up staying with one other girl out of five to finish it up. I guess that's life.

My Wentworth application is due in TEN days. Then we find out before Thanksgiving Break if I get it or not. Fingers crossed!

I'm also considering a small on-campus job, because I am broke and my loan won't go in until January. The other option is a job over Christmas Break as a seasonal position which would be fine and probably work into my schedule better, considering I have to do an internship in the Spring. Speaking of which, event planning internships. Currently looking for an Event Planning/PR internship and that is exhausting as well.

Not to mention, I'm also running for PR Officer for the UNCW chapter of the English Honor's Society, Sigma Tau Delta. I know someone else is running for it (unlike last spring when many positions were unopposed, so if you were interested, you got the position) so it's obvious I may not win...but why not? Plus, it's PR, so it could only help my resume if I were to win (of course, that just adds even more to my plate, but oh well).

Regardless, I get a break right now, so I'm just going to enjoy it (until Tuesday night when I have a paper, a workshop piece, a reading, 150 pages in a book, a response to said book, and more reading due next week).

One Quick Update...

Why do I always wait until midnight to do my homework? It's a good thing I don't have class until either 12:30 or 11:00, because I would be exhausted. I always stay up until like 2:00 am. Sigh.

Tomorrow will be busy. I'll have class from 12:30-4:45. Then, I'll have a networking event from 5:30-7:00 downtown for event planning. I'm nervous. I've never been to one. I have to wear dressy clothes. I have to talk to people. This is a big deal.

After that, I'll have to work on an essay that is due on Thursday, or at least a rough draft. So it's not extremely bad, but still. We're doing peer review and the teacher does check all revisions when we turn them in, so I need to have something decent. I also have another approx. 50 pages left in Wuthering Heights, which I'm currently in a love/hate relationship with. It's definitely not as bad as I anticipated, but it's also just so tedious to read and most of the characters are ridiculous (but aren't they always?). And then we have to write a response on that.

I also asked one of my professors to be my faculty sponsor for Wentworth! He said yes and that he would write me a stunning letter of recommendation. So it's nice to have at least that portion of the application done. Well, the entire thing is done, but it definitely needs some revision.

Like I said...quick update! I really must run along and read some fiction now for my class tomorrow.

Is it a Cold? Or is it Allergies?

Preface: colds, allergies...whatever it is...it's not fun. On Monday I began to feel a bit ill and lo and behold, I was full-blown sick on Tuesday. Luckily it seems to have only lasted a few days. I feel almost completely better now and hopefully when I wake up this morning, I'll feel perfectly normal.

It's been a while. I've been busy. So here's a bit of catching up.

Talk Like a Pirate Day was...last weekend? So naturally, to Mary and I, that means we go to the party store, buy pirate gear, and dress up to get free donuts which ultimately end up costing the same if not more than what it would cost to buy a dozen donuts.

I'm working on my Wentworth proposal and I'm on the last part. After that, I just have to think it over before submitting it. I also asked one of my professor's to be my faculty sponsor for it, which he said maybe because he is taking leave next semester, so he had to talk to the department chair. I'll know for sure if he can or can't next week, that way I have time to ask another professor. But hopefully he can since he's my first choice anyway.

Got three grades back so far this semester and each of them have been A's, so that's looking good.

Supernatural = finished. All caught up. Season ten starts soon so I'll be right on track with everyone else and watching it week by week, so that's exciting.

So now that I'm caught up with that, what show should I watch next?

Sundays are Lazy Days.

Where have I been these past few days? Watching Supernatural...currently in the middle of season eight. I do just really love Misha Collins.

I've also been COOKING. It's taken me a while to get back into cooking because being poor, Michael and I have just been eating whatever cheap frozen dinners we can get our hands on. That, of course, leads to super poor nutrition and overeating because those meals aren't very filling. But lately we've been cooking meals in the crockpot before we go to sleep and then we wake up with lunch waiting for us! Then we eat leftovers for dinner.

So far we've made turkey pumpkin chili, german sausage and lentils, tikka masala, and spaghetti & meatballs. The pumpkin chili was my favorite and definitely something that I'll make again--it's already gone! We've almost finished the german sausage and the spaghetti as well. The tikka masala was a little too spicy for me, so it's up to Michael to finish the rest of that.

We have cowboy casserole in the crockpot right now! It'll finish around 9:30 and then we get to gobble it up and then we'll be making stuffed bell peppers.

This has been working for us because the fact that we have 2-4 choices in the fridge for leftovers at any given time has stopped us from eating out. It's also generally more healthy than most of the freezer meals we buy! So it's a win-win.

One of my professors is out of town this week, so on Mondays and Wednesdays (when I usually have two classes with him back to back), I'll only have one class total! So I go to school at 12:30 and then I'm done by 1:45. It'll be a nice break for once.

I also have a fairly busy week this week! I plan on applying for the Wentworth Fellowship, so I need to start working on that. It's a scholarship-type reward which is only offered to English majors at UNCW. They pick an author, a book, or a genre and come up with a travel proposal. This very kind man donates money every year for these English majors to go and travel. It might not cover all of the expenses, but I believe the rewards are between $750-$1500, which is a pretty good chunk of funding! I've ALWAYS wanted to apply but could never really figure out something that hasn't been done or is unique enough, but after looking through past winners, I think I have figured it out! I will say that my proposal is for New York, where I have never been, but I feel like it is somewhere that I need to go.

I am also volunteering on behalf of the English department/Sigma Tau Delta (the honors English society) for Seahawk Saturday on campus! I'll get to talk to little high schoolers about UNCW and why they should come. I'm excited.

Of course, I also have two reading responses, a final paper, an exam, a final survey for my PR group, and many many many pages of reading due between now and Thursday. So that's fun.

Honestly, though, this has been a very long-winded post so I'm gonna end this for now.

If you guys could travel anywhere to study a book and author, where would you go? Who would it be?

Titles are hard.

Yes, this is my little angel, Leia.

Seriously though, I have plenty of ideas to write about, but absolutely no titles for them. What makes a title so hard? Especially blogging--it's not like a professor is being forced to read my paper. I have to make people want to read it, and the easily way to do this is a title. Yet it's so difficult. Sigh.

This week is a little bit more calm for me this week than last, so that's nice at least. I had two papers due today (one was a rough draft), so it's nice that it's all over (at least for now). I actually accidentally finished the work that was due tomorrow on Sunday (thinking it was due on Monday), so at least I already have that done. Instead, now I can just curl up on the couch and watch Supernatural with my boyfriend and kitty.

My boyfriend and I are almost finished with season six of Supernatural. We stopped for a bit a while back but decided to pick it up again. We're hoping to catch up before season ten starts so we have just under a month until then to finish the next three seasons.

I bought a crock pot today. My old roommate used to have one and I LOVED it and I found one for $15 at Walmart so. It's so nice to just be able to put food in there and leave it be while I'm in class so that it's ready when I come back. I'm actually about to look up some recipes so I can put one in before I leave for class tomorrow, if I find one that I have all the ingredients for.

Do you guys have any good, go-to crock pot recipes?

TGIT (Thank God It's Thursday).

TGIT. My version of TGIF. This semester I have no classes on Fridays, so Thursdays are essentially Friday to me (and every weekend is a three day weekend). The only downside to this is that Monday-Thursday is super busy for me. I'm taking 18 credit hours in order to graduate on time which is 6 classes. So, I have three classes each day and each class happens twice a week.

Today was kind of rough to start with, but it ended wonderfully. In my PR II class (Public Relations II), we had our client interviews today, which I was actually really nervous for but it honestly was not bad at all. The worst part was wearing a pencil skirt, which of course is something that I'll have to do in professional work anyway, so it's better to get used to it now rather than later.

My boyfriend, Michael, and I went to get mexican food when I got out of class. The past few weeks we keep saying, "Okay, TOMORROW we'll eat better" and yet it still hasn't happened. Today was hopefully the last day though because I honestly feel so much better when I work out often and eat healthy (plus I love trying out new recipes). I've also sort of just been lounging around with my kitten some today. Her name is Leia (yes, like Star Wars) and I love her to death. I've had her for almost a month now but she is so incredibly important to me and I've become so attached to her.

Wrightsville Beach: The most beautiful little beach you ever did see.

Afterwards, my friend Mary and I went out and adventured around our little beach town. I'm so lucky to have a friend like her and I really, truly hope that everyone does have someone that they can run to Krispy Kreme and get donuts with at 2 AM because that sort of random friendship is the best kind.

That's about all for this quick, little update. I had planned on doing this earlier today and a more extensive post will probably follow either tomorrow or Saturday, but I really hope everyone has friends, significant others, pets, parents, and other people as dear to them as they are to me. Life would honestly be nowhere as beautiful without them in it.

Little Pieces of Heaven in Wilmington

Some days it's nice to just take a break for a little bit and wander around the town you live. I'm a senior in college so this is now my fourth year living in Wilmington and there are still places that I'm discovering. In fact, I just went to Britt's Donuts for the first time this summer, which many locals may consider blasphemy (Which after trying them, I'll admit it was...yes, they're that good).

Manna, a restaurant in downtown Wilmington.

One of my favorite places in Wilmington is the downtown area. For those of you who don't know anything about Wilmington (or maybe even where it is), it's a beach town in North Carolina and has recently become labeled the "Hollywood East." The biggest movie filmed here to date was probably Iron Man 3, but other movies such as The Conjuring have been filmed here too, as well as the FOX hit television show, Sleepy Hollow.

Coffee from Port City Java, a local coffee shop with multiple locations spread throughout Wilmington.

The downtown Wilmington area is home to more than just star-studded action. Fridays and Saturdays are basically a street party with a wide array of clubs and bars to choose from (p.s. the best one is Goodfellas). Not to mention, there are basically a million places to choose to eat along with quaint, little shops and galleries.

The Pour House, a small tavern below the streets of downtown Wilmington.

One of these days, I'll get around to making a post that centers around the best eateries that downtown Wilmington has to offer, but until then I just wanted to offer a small taste.

Coastal Cupcakes, a speciality bakery.

For those of you who live in Wilmington, what is your favorite part of downtown?

First Things First...

If you've made it to my humble little blog, I'd like to say welcome! I hope you kick up your feet and stay so we can get to know one another.

My name is Makel and I'm a 21-year-old senior at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington. I'm a double major in English (Professional Writing) and Communication Studies with a double minor in Journalism and Creative Writing. If you'd like to learn more about me, feel free to click here!

I've thought a lot about this blog within the past few weeks. What kind of blog do I want to run? What would it look like? Or in other words...what is my brand? (Hey! That's from IMCI! Thanks, Dr. Persuit!) I ended up deciding that I have many hobbies and I wanted my blog to reflect that. Yes, I like going out for dinner, but I also love cooking up low calorie meals at home. I love photography and graphic design, but I also love the simpler pleasures of curling up with a good book, watching a heartwarming film, or revisiting my favorite television shows. I don't want my blog to cater to one thing specifically--I want it to reflect myself. After all, variety is the spice of life.

I use my DSLR to take selfies often and I have zero shame about it.

Of course, I didn't decide to start a blog out of nowhere. There were many reasons that led me here (some obviously more important than others).

Expression: Yes, I have Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, etc. and while all of these forms of social media are great, I wanted somewhere that I could place my thoughts collectively. I am young and I have a lot to say, and I'm sure that some people would like to hear it.

Accountability: If I write it down for the world to see, I'm more likely to live up to it. Doing something for myself is one thing, but doing it for others is a whole different ball game. There are many things I want to do (write more, photograph more, lose more weight, etc.) and if others are pushing me to go harder and further, I'm more likely to do so.

Establishing a persona. If my communication studies classes have taught me anything, it's that image is very important in today's society (and not only for a company, but also for individuals!). I will be graduating from UNCW in May 2015 and after that, I'll be on the hunt for a full-time job. It's never too early to start developing your image (and honestly, I wish I would've started long ago!) and I want mine to be successful, creative, and determined.

So stay for a while! I may still be figuring this blog out, but I'd love for you to experience this journey with me. Hold on tight, we're in for an adventure.