Let’s Talk About Springtime

I don’t know about you, but I love spring. I love it when the cold air starts drifting away, and the warm air melts everything that was frozen. The ground softens and the light changes to a warmer ambience. I begin to look outside and see the squirrels unburrowing themselves from their winter nests, and beginning to gather nuts again. Their cute little fuzzy tails flopping in the breeze as they hop around with that squirrley glee. I even love looking at all the ants coming out from the ground gathering this and that. But, I think my favorite part about it is when the trees start budding again. When this happens, I know that the leaves are coming soon and it means impending summer. I live in New England and I love all the seasons, but I can definitely say that winter is my least favorite. 

The leaves just unfolded themselves here and it has put a permanent smile on my face. I have terrible allergies, but I still love the look and feel of the new warmth of springtime. I love the fact that I can finally go outside in the cool, crisp breeze of the morning and take a jog without freezing to the bone. The sunrise makes me feel like there is new hope and new things to happen. I feel like a child again in the springtime, when the bees are buzzing around my ears, munching away at the pollen in the newly risen flowers. There is nothing quite like walking outside in a t-shirt and feeling the most ultimate comfort. 

The springtime also brings me pure joy and it brings motivation. I know many people who suffer from seasonal depression and springtime seems to bring the joy out in them as well. It really is a happy time for me and I wanted to share my joy with all of you. 

What is everyone going to do this spring?

Any big, exciting plans? Please… I’d love to hear! 

Not Everyone Will Be Your Friend, Find Ones That Will Be

Exactly what I was thinking

Talin Orfali Ghazarian

Out of everything I have been through in my life, and trying to make sense of who are my true friends or not and among everything else, It is a hard thing to for some to make sense of it all. In life you will encounter so many different types of people and you will meet all sorts of people, but not everyone will be your friend. You just talk to people, not knowing their name or where they come from. It happens in spontaneous moments when your out in public, when you are traveling and people in school, work, or other places. Some people come into your life for a few minutes, you will meet and talk to someone for an hour or half an hour or whatever the case maybe, and then you part your ways. Its happened to me a lot and it is pretty cool that…

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Remember a Time When Genuine People Existed?

I am sitting here at work, thinking about the last time I actually made a real friend. It has been longer than I can even begin to contemplate. There are so many things that turn me off to people these days. People are so engrossed in their electronics that they forget what it is like to have true companionship in life.

I was three years old when I first walked into Stepping Stones Daycare. It was terrifying for me. I had no idea what to expect or who to expect. But then, right off the bat, I met the girl that would quickly become the best friend I would ever have in my life. It was so simple. We were just two little girls going to daycare together. We didn’t have to say much, we just knew that we were undoubtedly friends. Throughout the years, I had friends come and go, but she never left my side. Even in hard times, we were always there for eachother. Once we got out of high school, she went away to college and I stayed for community college. Through the four years that followed, we still remained close. Even today, after she decided that moving to Boston was the best decision for her, we still love each other dearly and remain the best of friends.

This is the one and only example I have of someone remaining my friend for 19 years. Almost 2 decades. I’m not really asking for someone to dedicate that amount of time to me, but what I am asking is for the people who claim to be my friend to shove it. It always turns out the same. When I’m having a good day and want to talk, they might be there. When I have a bad day and need someone to talk to, which is rare, they are NEVER there. This is mind boggling to me. I know I am unique, I know I am different, but why is it so difficult to find  someone these days that actually gives a shit? I put in all my effort to be ignored.

Don’t get me wrong, I have my boyfriend who I love dearly and to the ends of the earth, but that doesn’t count. No. I’m talking about friends.

I’m not trying to be selfish here, but it’s true. The new trend these days is to ignore. Oh, don’t want to talk today? I think I’ll ignore you rather than actually tell you I don’t feel like talking. Where are all the genuine friends out there? Where have they gone.

Let me ask you something, how many genuine friends do you have? Where did you find them?

I would like to try and find myself one other friend to build a true friendship with from scratch. Someone who I am there for in hard times and someone that is there for me in hard times.

So, for those of you out there that have a ton of friends, please give me your expert advise on friendship.

Blogging is like yoga…

What a wonderful comparison.

Attempting to Gain Work Experience Without a Degree

Have you ever wondered how to gain work experience while going to school? I am currently attempting to travel down this road. I have been going to school for my bachelor’s degree in communications, but I kept thinking to myself, how in the world am I going to get the marketing experience I need without the degree? Then it hit me, try to move to a new position in the company I already work for!

When I first started here, I was in the position of “order entry.” This wasn’t exactly the position I was hoping to have while I was going to school for communications. I was in this position for a few months before a position titled “lead generation specialist” opened up in the marketing department. My initial thought was ‘how exciting!’ When the worldwide marketing manager sent me the job description, it was a little intimidating. It was a brand new position within the company and the lucky fella or gal that landed it needed to have a college degree and also, needed to make the position a successful one.

Well, I thought to myself, there can’t be any harm in at least trying to get the job. So, I applied for it. Next thing I knew I was getting interviewed by upper management so that they could test my critical selling skills. After the interview, I was unbelievably nervous. But then by some miracle, I got an email telling me that they were offering me the job. WOW!

So, I have been in this position for about a month and all of a sudden, the marketing communications specialist job opens up. OH MY GOODNESS. This is exactly what I was hoping for. But here’s a dilemma, I’ve only been in my position for a month and now I want to move again. But here is my philosophy. Live day by day, moment by moment. IF an opportunity presents itself, don’t hesitate, just ask. There is no harm in trying. And, if you don’t at least try, then chances are you are going to highly regret the decision to be shy.

So, I pushed all my stress and body shaking anxiety aside and brought my manager in for a one on one to inquire about the job. And guess what? I landed a writing project and an interview for tomorrow. THAT my friends is called ambition and initiative, and THAT is what you need to succeed in your workplace.

The moral of the story is this, if you want to improve yourself, but don’t have the degree to prove your skills to another employer, try moving up in the company you already work for!

Here are some ideas:

1. Keep an eye out for internal openings. Chances are your company will post them internally first before posting them on third party websites.

2. If you are up against multiple external candidates, think about this: you have a distinct advantage over them. Why? Because you probably know the company and its product or service like the back of your hand. Use this to your advantage.

3. If you want to move up in your company and you are going to school for the position you want, management will not only consider you, but chances are they will offer to pay for your part of your degree as well!

Ambition, initiative, and motivation will get you everywhere in life.

Life is short, don’t pass up an opportunity because it is intimidating. At least put in the effort to nail it and if you do, your company will most likely put in a decent effort to train you. They obviously saw something in you that they didn’t see in everyone else.

Raising a Bonsai Tree

I recently bought a Juniper Bonsai Tree and I am really looking forward to raising it and keeping it healthy for many years to come. 

Some interesting facts about the Juniper Bonsai: 1. Apparently Juniper Bonsais are the easiest species of bonsai for a beginner to raise because of their hardiness in comparison to the other species of bonsai. 2. Juniper bonsais can be grown indoors and out as long as they get their desired sunlight. 3. The Juniper Bonsai requires at least 2 hours of preferably morning sunlight.

I bought some conifer bonsai soil and some specialty bonsai fertilizer. I’m hoping this does the trick in the new 8″ pot that I bought for it. 

So far it has enjoyed being in my front yard which is loaded with morning sunlight and afternoon shade. Me and my boyfriend have decided to name the tree Confucius. I will post some pictures to show my starting point with it and to show the steady growth that will hopefully happen. 

 

Deciding to Get Back Into Social Media

Social Media got you down? Decided to get rid of your facebook or twitter account to focus on your life? I did it. It was wonderful. But now I have decided to get back in there! I’ll tell you why you should too. 

When I intially decided to get off of social media, I was lost. I had no idea where my life was going or what I was doing. I was attending University of Connecticut for Environmental Science and I was doing very poorly. I didn’t have a lot of friends, and I was getting poor grades. I was spending a very significant amount of time on Facebook, complaining about school and about life. I would spend hours looking at other people’s lives wondering how they were living so wonderfully and I was doing so poorly. One day, shortly after my stepfather passed away, I decided that I was going to disconnect myself from all the stress and anxiety that was social media. I took the mouse and I clicked “deactivate account.” Then it asked if I was sure, and I said, “Yes. I’m sure.” Then it told me who was going to miss me, or miss stalking my page. Finally, I deactivated my account. It was like pure liberation radiating from within. I had finally cut the cord. Turned out the lights on social media. I told myself that I would never go back. 

It was then that I decided to embark on my life, finally. I no longer had to worry about people’s statuses ruining my day. Looking at all those successful people always just brought me down. Why couldn’t I be successful? I could! I just didn’t realize it until after.

I decided to drop out of UCONN. It was a really tough decision, but in the end, I don’t regret it for a second. I was able to find University of Phoenix. Some people think it is a diploma mill, but I disagree highly. It allowed me to go to school and work full time. Speaking of work…

I was working at Target at the time and I hated it. I mean, I liked the job. I just hated it. Those of you who have worked retail know exactly what I’m talking about. I wanted a better job. Without being completely glued to the computer screen constantly, I was able to focus on job hunting. I applied anywhere and everywhere until I finally got a call from another retail company offering me a supervisor position. I said, “This is it. This is my chance.” So I took it. Turns out, I hated that too. So I kept applying. Finally, I got a call from a temp agency and they placed me with the company I’m with today. I work with an amazing company called QuickLabel Systems who have given me multiple opportunities and saw the true potential that I posess. Mind you, I was still not on Social Media at the time I started. I was doing order entry and I had no reason to be. When I moved into my new position in the marketing department, I decided that for professional purposes it would be best to have an online presence of myself. 

I am approaching this with supreme caution though, because social media has actually been associated with “social media anxiety disorder.” Believe it or not, I think this is what I was expriencing when I decided to disconnect. I have read numerous articles on this and written a paper on it. People’s unrealistically happy statuses can actually cause other people’s depression! But, in order to conquer that depression and anxiety, you just have to be strong and present yourself in a positive manner online. This will ensure that you have that ambitious online presence that people desire to read about! Social media is engrained in society today, and to think that you could ever completely get away from it is just unrealistic thinking. It is everywhere we turn, and we can choose to embrace it and make it our own, or hide from the world.

Now think!! What do you want to talk about to the world today?!?