Life After College

I graduated from the University of Maryland in May 2015.  Everything changed after that; there are more responsibilities and deadlines. Syllabuses are not included.
I vividly remembered the ceremony day. The room was full of hopes, dreams and uncertainty. Everyone was laughing and hugging goodbyes, pretending everything is okay. I did not even want to go there because I felt like a failure; I was so unsure of my future. The only reason I went is because of my parents, I do not want to disappoint them.  Most of my friends already received job offers. The post-graduation survey did not help either. One thing I knew for sure, I better started blasting those resumes out cause most of the students there were just as anxious and nervous as I was.

 

Fast forward to the second week of post-graduation, I entered the “jobless crisis” mode. Literally, every job I applied to, I failed their technical interviews. I was so crushed. I tried to study and review all my materials, but my nervousness got the best of me.  At that point, I was so certain that I am going to be a homeless and live with my parents for the rest of my life. My best friend was still looking for jobs back then, but he landed on an engineering job in a matter of 3 weeks. I was so proud of him, but part of me also died a little. (Does it make me a bad person just to be jealous of my best friend? I do not know, I did tell him in a way, but there is more to that, and I do not want to go into depth for this post).

 

After applying to some 70 job applications within a two-months period, I was able to start my career as a technical assistant.  This was not my ideal job, but I was willing to take any opportunity at that point. Thankfully, I was able to meet few incredible people there. They inspire me to become a better person.  “Never compromise your own uniqueness to meet someone else standards, be your own ground, and stand up for yourself”. Company wise, it was a freak show: lots of political agendas and gossips. I am working in a new company for four months now. It is less hectic, people there are respectable, and my teammates are awesome.

 

In term of relationship, I have none. I broke up with my boyfriend after I graduated from college.  I put all my energy into work and work only. (There were few flings, but it did not go anywhere – I wished it would, but it never did). I might blog some relationship experience later on, but I am no expert, I am like an infant.

 

During these times, I have learned few things about myself and my life after college. Family support and faith are the main keys that keep me going. Without these two components, I would not survive. Every rejection letter adds a drop of disappointment in my soul, luckily, I turned to my family for support and encouragement. Believing in something that is larger than myself enables me to view life differently. It makes me feels that hard work does pay off, I just need to stay focused and hone my strengths and skills. Someone will eventually notice it.

 

This past one year and a half is a roller-coaster ride for me. With all of the craziness and loneliness, one thing I know for sure, I would not change a damn thing about my life. I am not saying this just because I am in a better place now than the day I graduated.  All those feelings, experience, lessons, and emotions make me who I am today.  Who knows what the future holds, but I am ready to face it. Enjoy the moment, accept defats, learn from them, and move on. There are the steps that I am still figuring out myself.

 

Stay blessed and Happy Monday –

 

-Being Salty

 

 

 

 

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Thank you – Women’s March

I am so proud of all the people out there today doing the Women’s March . Thank you for showing supports in gender equality. I wish I could join the movement, thanks to my doctor appointment, I am stuck here watching the livestream with teary eyes. Never stop believing you are worth it. Your body, your choices.

Stay blessed and Happy Saturday

-Being Salty

How to stay on top of your schedule

I have a love/hate relationship with time management. Part of me knows that in order to be a responsible adult, I have to understand the art of managing my schedule. Hence why I bought a gazillion planners from Target, which to be honest, is the worst place that you can go too. If people think beauty gurus spend more money on make-up products than Target, I beg to differ. Well probably, not Canadians since Target does not exist there.

 

Anyway, I always feel accomplished when all my to-do lists are checked on my planner. Those moments makes me feel like my day has not been wasted; I contributed something good to myself or others. But here is the thing, sometimes to-do list creates a black hole in my head. It constraints me, it makes me feel like I am too structured, too “in-the-box”. And this is why I sometimes hate planning my day ahead. I want to be opened, vulnerable, and ready to take things as it is.

 

Ok enough of my rumblings, this post is about sharing my tips of how to stay on top of your scheduling game cause it is not fun, but it is mandatory to keep your life in check so here are we go:

1. Make realistic plans
   Yes, my friends, realistic plans are the key. Do not set high expectations on what you can accomplish on a day. I have been there and done that. Trust me, it sure made you feel good, but you will not have enough energy to start the next day. Consistency will lead to good productivity. Always add extra 30 minutes to everything you need to do.  For example, I usually spend 2 hours on grocery shopping every two weeks, but I always block my day for 2:30 hours so that it won’t overlap my other task.  This technique will leave you the room to breath, to enjoy the moments, rather than rushing off to finish the next task on your list. Not all tasks will be completed on time. We need to accept it, and be flexible of when to change it.
2. Review your schedule the evening before
   What is the point of writing on your planner if you never look at it again? Treat your planner (in whatever form it is) as your  second mobile device, check it frequently. I highly recommend that you guys check it the night before so you can get a better understanding of how your day will look like. Depend on how much work you have for tomorrow, this can ruin your evening. I still encourage you to review it; we can not escape those tasks, either we have to do it now or later.

 

 

Ok, that is all I have for today, I hope these two key points can help some of you plan your schedule better. If you have a secretary who keep all your schedules, kudo to you. The rest of you, thank you for reading my post and have an awesome day.

 

Stay Blessed and Happy Wednesday

 

 

-Being Salty

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Starting Over

This whole new year, new me is really screwing me over.
I always want to purse my creative side, but it seems time is never on my side.
I was planning to post at least two blogs per week with somewhat quality contents.
Guess what? I barely made a decent one in two weeks.
Two freaking weeks.
How is that possible?!?! Yep I am just really busy.
My dad visited us last Saturday; he arrived at JFK.
I had to drive to NY, but it is worth it.
Cause I miss him so much, and I would do anything just to see him again.
I love this reconnecting/bounding time I have with him.

But I need more time.
I need more space.
I need more inspirations.

I have one post in mind, but it requires a lot of research.

I do not have enough of time.
I am smiling outside, slowly but surely, I’m having a little mental breakdown now.

I just want to start over.

Stay blessed and Happy Saturday

 

-Being Salty

Goals

The first few weeks of a new year, I always feel fresh, grateful, and mostly hopeful of what to come next, and this year, it is no difference. I am not going to lie, I spent almost half of my day yesterday checking my horoscope. I am a cancerian by the way. There is something exciting about new year, it feels like the start of a new chapter, something from a sketch. I do not have faiths in new year resolutions, but I believe in goals and personal growth. One might argues that resolution and goal are the same entity, but I beg to differ. Goals are specific achievements, while resolutions are permanent changes in your life. Permanent? Yes this is why resolutions and I are not best friends. I love to set goals and achieve them, rather than modifying part of myself permanently. For example, I want to be healthy, but not a gym rat (Does it even make sense?). Accomplishing goals can be a great factor to happiness, but they can easily cause discouragement if those goals are not done before their deadlines.

Below are some of my goals for this year:

1. Finish reading 20 books by the end of 2017
2. Pay off my debt and re-establish my emergency cash flow by the end of 2017
3. Go to Europe this summer again (September)
4. Reach 100 followers on WordPress by the end of 2017
5. Received two professional certifications by the end of August
6. Publish creative contents on YouTube channel (20 videos by the end of 2017).

I hope this list will inspire at least one person to create a personal goal for this year. Remember, you do not have to set up your expectations too high, make goals that are attainable in a long run. Two good keys of achieving your goals: planning and commitment. If you master those two items, you are good to go. I am still learning, and hopefully, I would be able to look at this again, and said “I fucking did all of these”.
Hope everyone have a blast and may 2017 helps your grow to be whoever you want to be.

 

Being Salty