Transferable Passion

I have recently come to the realization that there are certain phases of passion in your life. When your very young, you are passionate about learning and growing. Then comes friends, boys, family, sports, etc. At each moment of time in your life, there is something that you should probably be focusing on. During your junior and senior year of high school you should stop focusing so much of your time on boys and friends and start focusing on college and taking steps to get there. As I continue through life, I am sure I will transfer my passion multiple times from my career to marriage to babies to 401Ks. 

When getting to college, I became really passionate about my involvements, i.e. my sorority. During these past 3 years, I have been so passionate about this that I didn't even realize that I may have been missing opportunities in my career and social life, two things that will benefit me, even after college. After a recent disappointing moment, okay I was devastated, I had the biggest epiphany - that I was no longer supposed to be so passionate about my organization but rather on searching for an internship and securing a career.

So I realized that I was actually never really devastated about that moment, but I was more afraid of what was to come. Since I did not know what college could be without being so consumed by my sorority, I was afraid about what I would do without taking the lead there. I turned my disappointment into proactivity and have found that by taking a back seat in my sorority, I have much more exciting things to looks forward to.

Disclaimer: Being a part of my sorority and holding multiple positions has impacted my life in indescribable ways. I feel that I am a much better version of myself and my involvement there has actually prompted my epiphany. I could never thank my sorority enough.

Winter Whites

For the longest time, wearing white shoes and pants past labor day were considered major fashion faux pas. It was not until a couple years ago that all white was finally seen on the runways of Dolce & Gabbana, Valentino and Roland Mouret.  Fashion gurus around the world took the runway fashion and made it their own on the street. Of course, I do not consider myself a fashion guru, I literally just buy what looks comfortable, is easy to wash, and may resemble something I saw on Pinterest. But this past Tuesday, I dared to rock the all white look. I went for plain white jeans, a cream sweater, orange belt, nude shoes, and gold jewelry. I was considering adding a statement necklace but realized that white's beauty is in it's blandness. 

So be bold by being bland this winter.

Thank you Note Etiquette

Marshalls has a great selection of inexpensive but super cute cards. These are more fun and meant for personal thank yous. You may want to opt for something more minimal when sending professional notes.

In this technology age, we are all driven to laziness, and might I add dullness, when it comes to thanking those that have done wonderful things for us. As the world grows, people become busier and have much more important things to do than to help others. Therefore, when a person goes out of their way to help you, even if they do so unintentionally, it is  a l w a y s  best to thank them, and what better way to do so than by surprising them with an actual card. Crazy idea, right? Who sends actual thank you cards anymore? Successful and extremely well liked people, that's who.

So I have compiled a couple of dos and do nots when sending thank you notes. However, I can never stress enough that the most important aspect is to be genuine and professional, when necessary. 

Disclaimer: Since most people may feel weird and fake just writing a thank you card, fake it till you make it. The more you write, the more comfortable you will feel. Try starting off with writing thank yous to people who you are not professional dependent on like friends, family, or well known teachers. It is up to you to send them, but they will ultimately give you good practice in expressing your true feelings without going overboard.

Please Do (within 24 hours of service or gift)

1. Always greet the person by their name 

2. Thank them for their gift or service that benefitted you.

3. Explain how you were affected by the service or how you plan to use the gift.

4. Explain what they mean to you or why you are thankful for them. If you do not know them very well say something along the lines of "I'm thinking of you, and hope you're doing well."

5. Thank them, again. 

6. Close with sincerely, love, best, etc. and then sign your name.

For the Love of God, Please Do Not

1. Write 18 paragraphs about how much you adore them.

2. Ask for another service or gift.

3. Put emphasis by repeating letters or punctuations, i.e. Thank you sooo much. You are awesome!!! However, if you cannot think of a word off the top of your head, do not find a 15 letter synonym that you never knew existed to replace it. It is much better to be true to yourself and your vocabulary.

4. Write in stream of consciousness or be extremely casual (Hey! So I was just thinking about you and decided to write a thank you letter because you are awesome. I don't really know what else to say. Bye!).

5. Address more than one person. -> Each letter should be specific to just one individual.

6. Send gifts to professionals. It can be overwhelming, offensive, and sometimes counter productive.

It is one of my New Years' goals to send more Thank You notes and so I am beginning with thanking those that have helped me throughout the year. I am breaking the general rule of sending the note no more than 24 hours after, BUT better late than never?