Mis últimos tres meses han sido increíbles.
Gracias por amigos nuevos.
Gracias por comida y postres buenas.
Gracias por los tres meses de descanso y disfrute.
Gracias por abrir mi mente.
Gracias por enseñarme a amar.
Gracias por todo.
Nunca te olvidaré.
I am appalled by the amount of college students I have come across lately that have never held a job before.
You know the type : They have Mommy and Daddies platinum credit card and are constantly complaining about how hard life is for them. They can’t wash their own clothes. They don’t know how to pump gas. They don’t how to pay rent. They call their parents at the slightest sign of distress.
*Sigh*
I wish I was making this up. If there is anything that I’m thankful for in life, it’s my ability to be completely self-sufficent. From age 15, I’ve held numerous jobs and have bought my own things. In the past, I’ve :
Worked at a plant nursery digging holes. (Yes, it was that glamorous)
Worked at McDonald’s asking “Would you like fries with that?”
Worked at Albertson’s as a courtesy clerk (aka Alberton’s bitch)
Worked at Pita Pit mopping bathrooms.
Worked at a Lavender farm chopping down stuff in a field.
Worked in a Thai Restaurant with a crazy boss.
Worked in another Thai Restaurant with an equally crazy boss.
Worked in my college dorms making sandwiches and washing dishes.
And this is only half.
Yes. Most of these jobs sucked. Actually wait, ALL of these jobs sucked. Even though miserable jobs, when I reminse about my work history, I wouldn’t trade these experiences for anything. Why?
1.) You Learn How To Work Fast - Run! Grab fries! Go mop the floors! Go make an ice cream cone! Take out the trash! Go! Go! Go! When I worked at McDonald’s, I was in the best shape of my life (ironically). The entire shift consisted of running back and forth putting orders together as fast as you could. From the outside, working at the Golden Arches seems like a picnic. On the inside, it’s a chaotic mess. Working at McDonald’s taught me how to work fast on my feet, deal with irate customers, and practice my customer service ability.
2.) You Learn The Value of a Dollar – There is nothing more gratifying than your first paycheck. You put in the hours, you pushed those Albertson’s carts, and you mopped bathrooms for hours – FINALLY - the reward. Working a minimum wage paying job is the best way to learn how to appreciate money.
3.) You Appreciate People- Learning to deal with various types of people is an art that can’t be throurougly taught within the walls of a school. You have to practice. During my time spent at all of these jobs, I’ve had to deal with customers that were lovely, to customers straight from hell. During my time spent at McDonald’s I remember one cashier getting so frustrated with a customer that he threw the headset into their car yelling “TAKE YOUR OWN DAMN ORDER!”. Fortunately, I was not this cashier. In life, there are times you must bite your tongue, smile, and say “have a nice day!”. McDonald’s taught me this.
4.) You Learn What Not To Do – Some of the businesses I have worked for have been complete train wrecks. They have no systems in order for doing things, their signage is falling apart, and the owner has no clue how to run a business. Lucky you! When you start your own business or become manager – you’ll be miles ahead of the game. By paying attention to what works and what doesn’t work within a start-up can help so much with your own projects. Learn from mistakes on someone else’s dollar.
5.) Co-Worker Relations – I’m not sure what is worse – dealing with irrational customers or dealing with lazy employees. At every single job I have ever had there is always this one guy. You know him. He sucks up to the manager. Calls in late. Doesn’t do what he’s supposed to do. Over, and over again. Learning how to deal with these types of situations are things you’ll have to deal with throughout life. Why not learn it at 15 instead of 25?
From french fries to working in the fields, holding a crappy job can teach more than any standardized type of education. What kinds of crappy jobs have you held?
Sleep.
If someone could create a drug to no longer need it, I would be first in line.
Sadly, this is not possible. Sleep is time consuming and often proves difficult to get an efficient amount. The past few weeks, I have been on a ridiculous sleep schedule; sleeping 2-6 hours per night for two weeks.
Why? Because I’m busy dammit and sleep is a waste of time I don’t have.
False.
This week, I went to the doctor because I have been feeling tired for more or less the past year. Since I workout everyday and generally eat well, I thought there might have been something wrong. You know what was the problem?
I wasn’t sleeping enough. When feeling tired, who knew sleeping would make you less tired? 
In retrospect, I’m really not sure why I even wondered into the doctors office searching for a solution other than just sleeping. I think I was looking for magic pills – sadly, there were none.
What I learned about sleep this week :
1.) You cannot bank up hours of sleep – For some reason, I’ve always thought that if you just slept A TON on the weekends, you could skimp during the week. False. The doctor told me otherwise. You have to sleep regularly and efficiently in order to function properly.
2.) Not sleeping makes you fat – This is incredibly unfair in my opinion. The doctor told me that if you don’t sleep, your body hoards calories and makes you put on pounds. *sigh*
3.) You should be sleeping 8-9 hours per night. For the average 20 something year old, apparently you’re supposed to be sleeping this much. I had always though 7 hours was sufficient . Wrong.
4.) If you don’t sleep you’ll break down – Just trust me on this one. It won’t be fun!
So.. how much do YOU sleep?
Frustration.
This word encapsulates how I’m feeling about my college experience right now. This week, I started yet another quarter of my post secondary education. Walking into one of my classes for the quarter I hear the statement below:
“This is not a class for debate.”
How can you learn anything without the ability to question what is being presented? Yes, I can memorize facts and statistics and reiterate them verbatim on a test. In fact, I can do this quite well. What I am unable to comprehend is how this will improve my analytic skills and decision making ability. Learning stems from the contrary of options – how is learning possible without the allowance of debate?
Education is a PRODUCT. What blows my mind, is that most students fail to recognize this. Students are paying for the “product” they are being given. Not only are students paying – but they are paying A TON. The sad part is that most fail to question the product or fail to raise their voice when they feel the product is inadequate. Why is this? If you didn’t like a pair of shoes you would return them. Why can’t you do this with education?
During my previous quarter, I tried to question a test with a professor. I was met with the following :
“Thousands of other students have taken this test and they haven’t had a problem with it.”
My response? “That’s because thousands of other students have failed to question anything.”
Why does standardized education not allow questioning of the norm? Isn’t that what education is all about?
*sigh*
Now for those of you thinking “Stop complaining, education is not a right Arianna!”
I realize this.
Education is NOT a right. I’m a paying customer – what’s wrong with wanting my money’s worth?
Over the past few months, I’ve been working on a new business called Continuing Minds teaching individuals and businesses how to use social media effectively through in person workshops. Last night, we made King5 News with our Introduction to Facebook class! Whohoo! Pretty big milestone for us. 
Since we began, we’ve had our ups and downs and it’s been a great learning experience. So far, my biggest takeaway has been:
YOU NEED A PLAN DAMMIT!
Going into the project, I would tell my team things like “Pfff, I don’t need a plan!” “Let’s just stop talking and do it!” Usually, I do things on a whim, make snap decisions, and I do most things without planning. My group told me I needed a plan.
Guess who was wrong?
*Raises hand* You DO need a plan!
Why do you need a plan? Here are 3 reasons:
1.) Plans save you time! While the idea of becoming an overnight millionaire sounds appealing, it is most likely not going to happen. Old fashion hard word and knocking on doors is how it’s done! Turns out, knocking on doors doesn’t work well without a planned out strategy. Without a plan, you’ll waste countless hours knocking on the wrong doors.
2.) Plans help you become a more effective marketer Know your customers! This is easier said than done. If you don’t plan out who your business is going to market to, you’ll do a terrible job of reaching the people who will benefit the most from your service. Marketing takes time, research, and patience. Fully understanding your customers will allow you to serve them better ultimately leading to a better business overall. A marketing plan can help with this!
3.) Plans are good for your sanity! Most of the time, I run around much like a chicken without a head. If you have no plan, you can literally run around aimlessly for days, weeks, and even months. Plans keep you focused. Plans outline goals. Plans get you results!
So…what’s your plan?
I’m having a bit of an ethical dilemma today.
Without going into the details, I’ve got myself into a sticky situation that results in either :
Conformity
or
Non-Conformity
With conformity comes acceptance. With non-conformity comes problems, headaches, and unnecessary stress.
When is it worth the battle to not conform? Does it make sense to stand your grounds if only for a moral victory?
To quote my friend Mr. Kennedy :
“Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.” – John F. Kennedy
Is he right?
Is it worth risking your reputation to stand up for what you believe in? At what point should you consider fighting a lost cause?
I have no effing idea. Maybe you know?
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKL254Y_jtc&feature=player_embedded]
My favorite ad of the Super Bowl was without a doubt Chrysler’s ad featuring Eminem. The ad gave me the chills as it defined Chrysler in a new light and verified that a city like Detroit could make a luxury car. “It’s the hottest fires that make the hardest steel.” Not only did Chrysler play on the emotions of viewers but it re-branded Chrysler cars as “Imported from Detroit”. Genius.
Read the script below :
Narrator : I got a question for you.
What does this city know about luxury, hm?
What does a town that’s been to hell and back know about the finer things in life?
Well I’ll tell you.
More than most.
You see, it’s the hottest fires that make the hardest steel.
Add hard work and conviction.
And a know how that runs generations deep in every last one of us.
That’s who we are.
That’s our story.
Now it’s probably not the one you’ve been reading in the papers.
The one being written by folks who have never even been here.
Don’t know what we’re capable of.
Because when it comes to luxury, it’s as much about where it’s from as who it’s for.
Now we’re from America – but this isn’t New York City, or the Windy City, or Sin City, and we’re certainly no one’s Emerald City.
Eminem : This is the motor city – and this is what we do.
Whoa.
What are you thoughts?
