Making your Michigan Difference

At Michigan, we are among the brightest and most ambitious crazy college students in the country... "the Leaders and the Best," right?

Well, personally, my freshman year was tough.  I felt overwhelmed, not smart enough, and like I didn't fit into this exciting college world.  I just felt that I wasn't making the most of my Michigan experience in comparison to others.  I mean, what should we be doing here on campus?  Where do our personal, social, and educational lives thrive, balance, or intersect?  Well, I quickly learned that everyone's experience of "the Michigan Difference" is in fact different, and that is what's special about it.

At Michigan, (solely focusing on campus involvement for the sake of this post) there are so many clubs, jobs, events, games, concerts, gatherings, panels, and shows to attend to not only to bulk up our resumes or network with peers and professionals, but to keep us busy, open our minds, and gain value from (phew, run-on sentence!).  Plus, the posting wall is always plastered, sidewalk chalk (except for during Winter... and Fall and Spring snow) is always doodled, mass emails are always sent, and professors are always holding office hours.

Personally, now into my sophomore year, I am happy to say I (kinda) got out of my bubble and have better explored the opportunities that Michigan, and college in general, offers.  This year I gained a campus job, attended career fairs where I landed a campus internship, reached out to a guest speaker earning me a job shadow position, participated in a Kinesiology photo-shoot :), and volunteered to talk to prospective students for Campus Day events all from simply checking flyers, answering emails, and interacting with professors and advisers (and of course, applying myself and following through).

~ Below are a few clearer pictures of some of the vague descriptions I gave above.

Although I am shy and can get overwhelmed by the great things other students are doing, discouraged because I might not be having as much excitement as someone else, or unsure about what my future may hold, I realize that everyone does Michigan different.  I am happy engaging, exploring, and embracing what my "Michigan Difference" is.  These campus experiences I am making at Michigan are both connections that reflect well on my resume but also memories I will hold with me and be proud of (cheeeeesy, I know, but thanks Michigan! *tear*).

Thinking in perspective, as a sophomore I only have 2 summers and 4 semesters left until I am "on my own"... I need to make the most of my Michigan experience while it is here for me, and I encourage you all to do the same!  Go Blue!

Yeah man, it was so fun! We… hang on, let me answer this text

It’s incredible how a little electronic thing can change a person’s entire life. Cell phones play a tremendous role in the lives of just about every college student nowadays, yet they are so easy to slip under the radar when people wonder why they’re behind on their work, feeling tired or just plain uneasy. Phones keeps us connected while we’re far, entertained when we’re bored, can make us happy at times, or irritate the heck out of anyone when it won’t load that darn YouTube video. Don’t get me wrong though, phones are great! But has today’s youth taken it too far?

We use our phones every chance we get. We take them out of our pockets before we even know what we’re going to do with them, and regardless of the situation, we always find a way for them to keep us busy. Phones can help us do a million things everyday (if we had the time), but I wonder, what are the effects of so much cell phone use?

I've come to find that for all the applications that have been made for phones, the hundreds of hours it took to design for convenience and efficiency, and its ability to connect me to anyone nearly anywhere at any time, my phone is holding me back.

So often do I find myself putting in my headphones in when walking around campus that I take away my ability to reflect on my day and my thoughts, instead filling this time with music I really don’t like that much. Too many times have I been so tired after finishing all my work that all I want to do is sleep, but Netflix on my phone has taken the length of one…two…three episodes away from my sleeping time. Repeatedly I have had the chance to simply do nothing and relax, but scrolling through Facebook or reading my email eats up that time too.

It may sound cliché, but my phone has taken a degree of freedom away from me that nothing else could. Even as I write this, I am unable to escape my phone! (Mainly because I’m writing about it though…). It seems that phones have become such an important part of daily life that it is actually harder not to use or have one that not having or using one.

To be honest, I’m not sure how to end this post. I understand how my phone affects me, both positively and negatively (lots negatives really), but it is still hard to envision myself truly putting it down and getting away from it. I suppose moderation is the right answer, though after reading what I have written even I would concluded that my phone sounds more like an addiction than a something to help me.

Regardless of what it is, I will end with a question. Do we control our phones, or are they in control of us, and are they really an invention that has lead to people living better, more comfortable lives? Maybe someday this answer will be clearer and we will understand truly how phones, the internet, Netflix, etc. have/will change us, but until then, I guess its time to take out those headphones while walking and ponder some deep thoughts.

The Search for Home

It's that time of year: the search for the world's best internship season. The season where all of Michigan's most eligible Business and Biology majors alike flock to the Career Center to hear about the most coveted summer internships and upcoming job opportunities or, more realistically, have already applied to a stack of these internships and are anxiously waiting to hear back about their summer's status. Now, I haven't lived a full life yet seeing that I've only recently entered adulthood. However, if there is one thing that high school taught me, it's that good things tend to happen when you least expect them to. In this case, sometimes finding the most rewarding and worthwhile internship isn't really about finding the most prestigious one, it's about finding the right one. Many times, this means discovering things you weren't initially looking for. 

Let's reflect on this concept through the eyes of my favorite bear, Pooh: 

"Well," said Pooh, "we keep looking for Home and not finding it, so I thought that if we looked for this Pit, we'd be sure not to find it, which would be a Good Thing, because then we might find something that we weren't looking for, which might be what we were looking for, really."
                                                                                 -Pooh Bear, The Tao of Pooh

The gist of Pooh's wisdom is simple: sometimes plans…initial tracks, just don't work out. But that doesn't mean life doesn't. Sometimes you will come across things that you weren't initially looking for, but become what you really need. The entirety of the Michigan campus is currently scrambling to snatch the greatest internships out there, yet not everyone will get to cheers to snagging the glamorous internship at Bain or Vogue at Skeeps this Thursday night. But that doesn't mean everyone else is lost. Sometimes the greatest experiences in the world are born of capitalizing on the opportunities we are handed as opposed to fighting for the ones that maybe, just maybe, weren't meant to be. This isn't to encourage laziness or a lack of determination, it's just to encourage acceptance of imperfection and an appreciation for imperfect and altered plans. 

Example: I didn't always want to go to Michigan. I didn't even know what Michigan was until my junior year of high school. I always had another plan for myself…pretty much since exiting the womb. I spent a large portion of my high school career fighting for the school I thought I always wanted. I was relentlessly looking for Home, but time and time again kept coming back to the Pit. As soon as I stopped looking for Home, I found "what I was looking for, really": Michigan. In the end, I could have chosen to follow my plan…but I chose a new path for myself. This example may seem slightly vague, but the moral of the story is: the Pit can be Home. More importantly, the Pit is a Good Thing, "something that we weren't looking for" but "what we were looking for, really." I was never looking for Michigan, but it's undoubtedly the place I always needed. 

So, I encourage everyone reading this post to do one thing: pay homage to everyone's favorite bear and stop searching for Home. Even if the internship or the job of your dreams doesn't immediately come to you, remember that there's probably a reason for that…it's probably not what you are really looking for…really. Trust that the bear knows what he's talking about and you'll find what you need. Pooh's wisdom has yet to let me down. 

"So, why do you want this job?"

With summer fast approaching, I've had interview after interview for various internships and jobs. Since I'm no stranger to the interview process, I don't usually get nervous. Just be yourself, be confident, and be humble while still showcasing your skills. Reminding myself of these things makes interviewing almost fun. The in-class interview activity we did really got me thinking though: what will I say to stand out when employers ask why I am interested in that position?

The honest answer is that I simply need a job. I need to be making money, I want my resume to look good, and I need something to do all summer. But of course, you can't say those things to an interviewer. That's when I realized that I really need to examine why I am applying to the types of jobs that I am and how I can convey those reasons to an employer.

Evaluating what you're interested in and where your heart is (yeah, its sounds cliche, but take it from someone who spent three years chasing after internships and jobs that would appeal to law schools, only to end up with a complete change of heart and a BA in History that is essentially useless) plays a huge role in this process. Listening to yourself and taking the time to consider what it is about certain jobs and internships that appeals to you can have a huge impact on the outcome of your interview.

I recently ran into an opportunity to show off my change of heart at an interview for a position at a summer camp. When asked, "Why do you want this job?" I was able to answer more thoughtfully than I would have, prior to considering in which areas I am interested and in which ways do I want to be impactful. I came up with something along the lines of, "I want to create a positive environment for campers, one which fosters creativity and curiosity, and campers are encouraged to discover their flu potential."

So take the time to consider what tugs at your heartstrings the most, what gets you most excited, and how these things can be crafted into a genuinely heartfelt response. It will reflect on your face if you're truly enthusiastic, so find out what it is that gets you enthusiastic!

Be Yourself

On my first day of college, I had no idea what to expect. A piece of me wanted to be a doctor, another wanted to be a musician, another wanted to travel to the moon, and another thought college was a waste of time and money. Essentially, my indecisiveness was setting me up for a long road of confusion. It's okay though, I'm still on that road and it's helped me understand myself more than ever. By having a go-with-the-flow attitude throughout college, I have come across different academic situations that I would've never imagined myself in. Basically, for the past year and a half, I've taken classes that range from exploring the cosmos to understanding the thought process of a linguist. While I thoroughly enjoy the knowledge I've gained from these courses, they haven't exactly put me on path to solidifying a career after college. Am I mad about it? No. If I could go back to my first day of college, would I take these classes again? Of course. How does this relate to my blog post? Here's how.

At the beginning of this semester, we were required to create a professional resume. This specific task alone required me to think about my work experiences, skills, and academic accomplishments that define me. Since you all now know my past year and a half at Michigan involved a lot of experimenting and trying to figure out my place, I really had no idea what to put on my resume. After spending hours on end brainstorming different topics to cover, I was lost. How was I supposed to create a piece of paper that represents me even though I didn't even understand who I was? My frustration was obvious and my roommate recommended I watch David Brooks' Ted Talk titled "Should you live for your resume... or your eulogy?" You can watch it here. Brooks helped me realize  I was searching for someone I desired to be (creating a resume that didn't represent me) rather than who I actually was. This allowed me to create a resume that properly represents my college career accomplishments without having to lie or exaggerate.

Basically I'm saying that even though you may find yourself in different situations that don't benefit your future, you should use those situations to learn and grow. In my case, I decided to take different classes that appealed to me in the moment instead of my future, and in turn allowed me to still be myself and not force growth. With risk comes reward and no matter the outcome, you live and learn.

Networking, Networking Everywhere!

If I learned anything from the LinkedIn portion of this class, it's that networking can happen anywhere and anytime.

I even noticed it on my latest trip to Salt Lake City with the Michigan Men's Glee Club:

A little backstory here: I am a member of the Michigan Men's Glee Club, the second oldest glee club in the country (20 years older than the football team here). We were selected to participate in the national American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) conference in Salt Lake City. Over 250 choirs applied to this program, but only the top 15 choirs in the country were selected.

Performing at the Mormon Tabernacle

The conference is designed to represent not only performances from each of the accepted choirs and professionals from around the world, but also to have special talks and workshops designed for choir directors, students, or even composers to learn new skills and network with other participants. I even heard that one program allowed new composers to network with current directors in an effort to spurn new works designed for particular choirs. Even musicians aren't immune to networking!

Networking is huge, since you'll never know when any random events can lead to something larger in the future. One prime example was two years ago at the Michigan-Ohio State basketball game...

If you don't know me, you should probably understand that I am one of the biggest basketball fans ever, particularly in regards to Michigan basketball. My family has had season tickets to the Men's team home games for over 38 years(!), so I grew up idolizing the players. In addition, I've actually held an unofficial role with the basketball team: over 10 years ago, I began finding articles in the newspapers (i.e. Detroit Free Press, Ann Arbor News), cutting them out, and giving them to the players featured in each article. Since most of the players aren't from around here, this is a way to send articles home to their parents, so that they can then put them on the fridge (clichéd celebration).

Anyway, two years ago, ESPN The Magazine decided to run the One Day, One Game issue solely on the Michigan-Ohio State basketball game. One section profiled Michigan "Super Fans," and as a result of my article clipping, I was selected to participate. Unfortunately, the game started at 9:00 PM on a school night, so I couldn't go. Thankfully, we were able to work out an arrangement with the magazine to do the photo shoot four hours before the game so then I could leave to go home.

You're probably thinking, who cares? Well, since I couldn't go, my father took the three remaining tickets and gave them to three people at work: One worked for Comerica and was an OSU alum. The next was the President of the bank and an avid OSU fan. The last one was the new Retail Manager at the bank that started working that day, and he was a Michigan fan. A month later, when the issue was actually released, my father told me that the new Retail Manager had overheard about my photo shoot and had bought a copy of the article. I hadn't even met him, and he was already interested by my story.

To bring a long story to its end, I decided to apply for an internship at that bank that summer, and when I arrived for my interview, I was shocked to see that my interviewer (and future boss) was none other than the Retail Manager who went to the basketball game.

My point is: every story that you create can have a purpose, and every person that you meet can become a vital part of your future. It's up to you to determine what you do with your connections.

My Mug Shot

Thanks for reading! Hopefully this was an interesting story and not a complete waste of your time. Either way, if you'd like to take 7 minutes out of your day to watch part of the glee club's performance at the Mormon Tabernacle, please go to http://youtu.be/n2_XwvTNdo8. Hope you like it!

Go Blue Forever.

To Share or Not To Share:

As up and coming worker bees in the professional world, we college students find ourselves at a crossroads: to share or not to share. Many of us find ourselves engrossed in the world of social media, feeling the pressure to share every photo, moment, idea, or status that defines and captures our everyday lives.

The network of social media sites has allowed us to document our lives from the very beginning. Social media is a whole new medium for remembering our lives—dating back to the good old awkward middle school years. However, I find myself constantly struggling to decide whether I am going to want all of my photos on Facebook or Instagram to hang over me forever. It does not seem like the world of social media is leaving anytime soon, and sometimes I wonder what it will be like 25 years from now when my children start friending me on Facebook (granted I turn out to be a ‘cool’ mom) and are able to find everything about my life starting from when I was their age. This sounds like my worst nightmare.

This seems daunting to think about. So my question still remains: to share or not to share.

I find myself living by this rule as a way to ensure that my coworkers, when I start a new job, or my kids, won’t have anything embarrassing to use against me.

Ask yourself this question next time you are stuck deciding whether you should upload that next picture or status: “Am I going to be proud of my children, boss, and coworkers seeing this, and will this even matter 20 years from now? If the answer is ‘no’, don’ t upload it.

Having some mystery online can actually be a great thing.  Now I know that FOMO is very real for our generation, and the fear of not having the best pictures from spring break online can be a little nerve racking now. But I think the point of sharing online should be, most importantly, to remember all of the best memories from the past.

Last semester, I downloaded the app, Timehop, which basically hacks into all of your social media accounts and graciously reminds you everyday what embarrassing tweet or photo from that date you uploaded from the years before. To give you a great example, as I am writing this, Timehop has surfaced the tweet that I uploaded three years ago, which states: “@SydneyJ go Leap Day! Wear blue/yellow and see #LeapDay Williams #30Rock.”

Who is “#LeapDayWilliams” and why am I challenging people to see what happens if they wear blue and yellow (great colors by the way)? This tweet neither makes any sense nor is it something I find worth remembering. Was it worth sharing? No. Will I want my boss to see this? No, he will be utterly confused. And what about my kids? They’ll probably unfriend me on Facebook—there goes my ‘cool mom’ status.

My point is, that mystery can be a great thing in the professional world. If you are applying to a job and your boss goes onto your twitter and sees that you are tweeting random irrelevant nonsense you might not seem like a credible (or sane) employee to hire. Sure life comes with its #LeapDayWilliams moments but not every piece needs to be sent out to every one of your friends and or acquaintances.  

Remember that the pictures, tweets and statuses, you post now could bite you in the butt in the long run. So remain a little mysterious and don’t be afraid to live in the present without snap storying every minute of it.

Good Luck,

Amanda