Coffee & Honeycomb: college student

Showing posts with label college student. Show all posts

BABY STEPS (MARCH)

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

I haven't shared a "baby steps" post in awhile, and although we are already half-way through March, I wanted to take a beat to share how I can be more intentional for the rest of the month. Life was so busy with job interviews, trips, presentations; and today I finally had a huge chunk of time to myself to just be. It was GRAND. I took my time cooking a meal, and took even longer to eat it. I (finally) cleaned my room so that the floor was visible, and rearranged some furniture. New vibes. Now here I am sharing March's baby steps. Ya ready? :)

This is March's baby steps:

( photo source )

NEW SERIES | I have two series ideas in the works, and I want to implement one of them this month! They are both completely inspired and aligned to my blog name, coffee & honeycomb, each in different ways. (: I'm so excited to share them with you. The first one is "coffee in photos" which I actually posted on recently, but I thought it would be fun to share fun photos of coffee each week! The second series idea is actually a guest post series, which I will announce in the near future. Meanwhile, if you happen to find any crisp coffee photos, please send them my way. (:

ETSY | I plan on opening an Etsy shop! Nothing too fancy, just digital downloads of graphics/prints.

INVITATION | I will be designing a wedding invitation! My friend's older sister, as well as my mentor, is getting married this summer and asked if I'd be up for the job. :) I excitingly agreed. I've never designed a wedding invitation, so this will be a fun but scary venture for me.

2 WATER, 1 COFFEE | This is a step towards healthiness. I drink way too much coffee, and not enough water. So I have decided to start a new habit of drinking two cups of water for every cup of coffee I drink! That way, I don't have to forgo my coffee habits. Win, win?

BIG NEWS | I have big news... I want to muster up the boldness to share it with y'all this month.

LENT | It is the season of lent. :) What am I giving up? Television. I know my tv habits can be excessive at times, especially when I want to turn my brain off or hide away from problems, so for forty days, I want to be intentional with turning off the tv and turning in more towards the word. I am excited for what is in store for my soul, time, and relationship with the Lord as I do this! *Confession: I did watch an episode of Grey's Anatomy last night because I had a free hour to do and felt at peace with doing it. For me, lent is less about just meeting a goal and more about depending more on Jesus instead of tv. I want lent to be steps toward life transformation, and I never think cutting off something completely is always healthy, so if I can watch an episode of tv here and there without turning it into a full on marathon, I think that's okay. :) I'll share again if my thoughts change on this.

What are your thoughts on the lenten season? What does your March look like? :)

HELLO, HELLO.

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

I'm alive! :)
Happy (belated) Valentine's Day, friends!

I hope my dear friends Ellyse, Ella, Megan, Amy, and Kiki kept you company while I was away! Weren't they great? If you aren't already, find some time to make your way over to their blog cause they are constantly spitting out good stuff. And then, press that follow button—you won't regret it. (;

New York was an absolute BLAST and I can't wait to share the entirety of it with you guys, but right now I'm just trying to catch up on my school work, relationships, sleep, and not to mention tv shows. (House of Cards 2 came out last week. Anyone else on that yet?) But I promise I'll be here reeeal soon. Thank you everyone for your sweet words + prayers throughout my trip! I appreciated every single one, for real. Updates to come on my job search status!

Til then, hope you all have yourselves a WONDERFUL hump day! It's warm (well, 30-degrees-kinda-warm) and sunny where I am (sup, chicago), and I've started my day with morning prayer + Caribou coffee + inbox sorting. My kinda morning! :)

MONDAY'S MEMO: HELLO NYC!

Monday, February 10, 2014

The week has finally arrived and I'm heading up to NYC for the AAF's Most Promising Minority Student Conference. It's going to be one amazing, chaotic, and life-changing week. A jam-packed itinerary is planned for every day of the week, and one of them is strictly reserved for interviews. Yes, eight hours of interviewing. Fifty (!!!) companies from around the country, and from all sorts of disciplines, will be there (Like CNN, Conde Naste, Razorfish, and Leo Burnett, just to name a few...) It's time to pull out the big guns. So far, I've revised, revised, and revised my resume, printed out 50+ copies, and ordered business cards.

I'm still doing some interview prep + researching. If you're curious on exactly HOW to interview prep, here are some things I do:
- Research the company: annual reports, CEOs, recruiters, etc.
- Research the industry landscape: healthy, climate, trends, etc.
- Research the work the company has been cranking out.
- Research common interview questions and type up answers
- Prepare stories and experiences to highlight (in the form of STAR: situation, task, action, result)
- Prepare questions to ask.
- Prepare a 30-second thank you speech.

The internet is a beautiful thing for times like this. :)

So with all this madness going on, I won't be able to really dedicate time into blogging as I'd like to! :( I will be MIA for the week; however, I am leaving you in good hands! :) I asked some of my favorite blog friends to join Coffee & Honeycomb while I'm gone, and they have graciously accepted. These are some truly WONDERFUL ladies and I'm so excited for you to meet them. So keep checking back here during the week and be ready for new faces and new content.

*Follow me to NYC by following me on Instagram (@jkfacee) if you aren't already! :)

BURNING THE MIDNIGHT OIL.

Thursday, February 6, 2014

This is the third consecutive night I've stayed up past 3 a.m. but I can't even complain because it makes me feel alive (cliche?). I've never felt so invested and attracted to a project before and it feels stinking good.

If you follow me on any of my social media platforms, then you probably know what this is regarding. (I also apologize for the overload of updates, hehe. But I hope it does nothing but brighten your day.) Once the #TENDAYSOFLOVE initiative launched, I went in full throttle. I believe whole-heartedly in this project and am pouring 100% of myself into it. From planning to designing all the visuals to reaching out to potential partners and overseeing executions, I would be lying if it I said it wasn't time-consuming... It has literally been taking chunks and chunks out of my day, not to mention brain power... but I want to give it my best. My thoughts just naturally start drifting in that space now. No room for half-butting.

My classes are on the back burner right now, but PTL that I am only a part-time student this semester and have the time to do something like this! I am even considering taking all of my classes for credit only so that I can focus on more individual ventures without worrying about it affecting my GPA. We'll see about that—I'm still not sure if that is the smartest decision. A majority of my classes are core major classes, so the content is interesting and something I should be learning anyway.

I am seriously living and breathing these quotes right now.
I hope one day this means something to you, too.

#TENDAYSOFLOVE.

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

I haven't shared too much on More Love Letters after this post, but I wanted to update you all regarding this really exciting Valentine's Day campaign we started this week. It would also mean the world if you joined in on the fun! I know many of you are like me and you live for this kind of stuff... you know, any opportunity to create, to write, to inspire, you relish it. Am I right? if so, this is definitely for you...

WHAT IT IS:
In the spirit of Valentine's Day, this year, we want to count down the days with intentional love lettering to the people all around us.

This is the "Ten Days of Love" Challenge.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE:
- Refer to the daily prompt (see photo above) to discover the letter recipient of the day. (We want to make sure we cover everyone with love!)
- Grab your boldest pen of choice, a colorful pad of stationary, and your best handwriting.
- Start writing—use the list as inspiration and write to the name who immediately comes to mind. You can make this letter long, short, personal, or anonymous, whatever you wish. This letter is completely yours, we won’t tell you how to love!
- When you’re done, give the letter to the recipient. We know, we know—this is the scary part. But you can do it. We believe in you and we are right there with you. Let’s be bold together and fill the world around us with more love. This world needs more love letters.
- Lastly, this is the fun part. Share your letter with us. Take a photo (it can be of the actual letter, you writing it, the pens you used, etc.) and post it on your Facebook and tag UIUC Campus Cursive OR you can message it directly to us and we will post it anonymously. *Include the hashtag #TenDaysofLove and like our FB page, too!
- Share this movement with your friends! :) Share the link, like our page, grab your friends and make it a letter writing party! You could be part of a movement.

This is day one. I'll be posting daily gifs as inspiration and friendly reminders! :0

If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me an email or check out our Facebook page here!

MONDAY'S MEMO: I'M AN AD MAN

Monday, February 3, 2014

Right now, I'm shifting into "student mode" and trying to absorb as much information as I can... Not just from my classes, but from every avenue, as well. I'm reading through Forbes, AdWeek, This Week, and "Lean in" daily. I'm trying to be a student of advertising, not merely an advertising student.

As a second semester senior, my graduation date is creeping up very quickly (May 17th). I'm currently job searching, networking, browsing industries, etc., and I want to be as informed about the advertising industry as I can.

In the same way we shared how blogging is a culture and language you must practice, so is your trade. The more I fill my brain with the trends, jargon, methods of my trade (advertising), the more organically I can speak about it at career fairs, emails, professional conversations, etc.

I take my career kind of seriously. And not in the intense-feministic kinda way, (but if that's your thing, you go, girl) but more so in the way that I'm really passionate about my professional growth, my professional impact, and my professional trade. I want to be in an industry and specifically a company I believe in and respect, I want to be effective as I can in the role I am. So this job searching is not only looking through places and applying, but it's also an internal search, too.

This "search" has been taking up a lot of my mind lately, so I want to share about it here with you guys—my slow, painful, and exciting journey into becoming a contributing citizen of society. (yikes.) This whole semester is a process as I find myself as a professional, as well as find the perfect company where I can dive in and get my feet wet. What does that even look like? Will I be able to identify it right away? If I find the perfect place, will they find me to be the perfect candidate? That sort of thing...

Each monday I want to share with you the update of how my job search is going, what I'm learning, and some tips for you as you search for your own career path, internship, career, etc. Nothing formal or anything—again, this is just my "journey." I'm just going to be writing as someone who's in the same shoes as you and intentionally trying to develop a more professional voice. (Speaking of intentionality, if you want to find a blog all about intentional living, you must check Jess Lively out. She is the queen of living with intention.

So, if this is a topic that interests you, please tune in every Monday and we'll explore different topics/segments related to professionalism/job searching/etc. If this is not really your thing, no worries, come back other days of the week to find the usual content (lifestyle posts, inspiration, photos, etc.)

This week, instead of extending a tip, I kind of just want to (quickly) talk about where I am right now...

What you guys don't know is that last semester I received my first rejection email. And I cant fully describe it to you but my world seemed to collapse. I was defeated and heart broken and confused. Maybe I was also a bit dramatic, but getting that rejection email is never any fun—especially when you thought that prospect seemed perfect for you. Anyway, I don't want to delve too much into this because I'm going to have a separate post on getting rejected later, but that was just where I was towards the end of last semester. I didn't feel like an all-star and my pride was hurt. From then to now, though, things have changed... I was named one of the "Most Promising Minority Students" of 2014, I used the rejection as a learning opportunity and stepped up my game, and I kept trying to learn...

I'm leaving for New York one week from today for an Advertising convention/award ceremony, and I have (so far) two second-round interviews lined up for the week I am there. I'm not going to disclose company names just yet, but I can share the cities they are in! One is an advertising agency in Oregon and the other is a client-side office in Minneapolis. I actually thought I did TERRIBLE in one of the phone interviews and was feeling bummed about it, but today I received an email that I had passed to second round. (PTL! I know that definitely was not me.) Both of these companies are companies I really, really respect and would be more than honored to work for—I'm even honored to just be considered a candidate! The only thing is that they are both out of state. Yikes. So moving forward either way will make for a huge life adjustment.

Other news, I have two Chicago advertising agency prospects I am in the middle of interviewing for right now... These are also really great and reputable agencies, but I'm not sure I'm in love with them, you know? I don't know if the line of work I would be doing there would really fulfill and inspire me daily. I don't know if that's naive for me to think that way, though. I've been really, really fortunate to have positive internship experiences, so I only have high hopes for a full-time position, too! But everyone always says that working is not fun...

Regardless, I'm trying to put my best foot forward, embrace every opportunity with an open mind, and keep a positive attitude. :) Keep you posted!

Find more posts on professional development here.

THIS WORLD NEEDS TO SEE YOUR PASSION.

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

I love to create.

I love it, I love it.

Whether it be in the form of scrapbooking, writing, crafting, cooking, making home movies, taking photos (or Instagramming them), whatever! There is an indescribable joy that fills my BONES throughout the process. Do you feel me?

I don't think that says something significant about me, though, I think it says something about Him! When I turn to scripture, I see that God's first role recorded was as a creator.

"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." Genesis 1:1

Since I am made in His image, I believe my desire to create is a reflection of who He is. When I think about that, I want to create all the more. (: Creating feels purposeful. I bet you, too, have a passion that was so intricately and intentionally planted in your heart as a gift from our God. I bet you, too, reflect a glimpse of Him each time you unfold it. Allow yourself to unfold it.

I love to surround myself around those who are passionate about the work they do, because it takes courage and dedication—it's also contagious. It's inspiring and moving and beautiful to see people do the work they love. It's like that's what they were made to do, and it gives me the courage to keep pursuing the things I feel like I was made to do, too.

Can you believe that our God created each of us with such unique talents, gifts, and interests? He is definitely a creative one.

Do you know your passion? I hope you do, and if you don't, I hope you discover it one day real soon. When you do, I hope you have the boldness to unleash it, hone it, and share it with the world. This world needs to see your passion.

MY LAST FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

GOALS:
- Go to all my classes.
- Cook more meals.
- Assist a professor with their research.
- Do yoga in the morning.
- Drink more water and less coffee.
- Unplug.
- Throw out ten things ( a month ).
- Bring life to Campus Cursive.
- Do a project... And actually finish it.
- Eat clean.
- Serve my roommates.
- Pray for my small group.

This my LAST semester as an undergraduate student—and that fact both excites me and terrifies me.

It's exciting because it's a limited space to try new, spontaneous, and irresponsible things before I enter real world. On the other hand, it's terrifying because it's an empty space that feels like it must be filled with only important, impressive, and monumental things. And when I get too terrified of not being impressive enough or spontaneous enough, I turn to a completely different outlook, apathy. I can also say that since it's my last semester, nothing really matters. I can sleep in, skip class, and just coast.

So before I hurt myself trying to wrap my brain around what that semester means, I want to fully and wholly and daily surrender this semester before God, with both the big and the small things. If I surrender this semester to God, I gain hope and go from, "I don't know if I can do this," to "God, I'm so excited to see how you are going to do this," because I know "nothing is impossible with God" (Luke 1:37).

Amen? Lez do this ish.

IT'S BEEN AWHILE...

Monday, November 25, 2013

But I'm back! :)
I didn't mean to be on such a long hiatus, but I was thrown right into the lions' den once I arrived to Champaign. It was a whirlwind of a week. There were nonstop exams, papers, and church events which made everything really hectic, but I was also in a weird state of mind. I think it was a combination of senioritis plus winter slumps (is that a thing? that's how i felt), so everything took twice as long to finish than it should have.
But Colorado was wonderful. Post graduate plans are kind of fuzzy for me and everything is up in the air. A lot of doors are sort of open for me right now and I'm not sure what the next step is, but visiting Colorado for the weekend really opened my eyes to relocating and leaving Illinois. I'll keep ya updated. Here is a glimpse of Colorado:

THE THANKFUL PROJECT DAY 4 : AN EXPERIENCE

Monday, November 4, 2013

I'm linking up with Kenzie @ Chasing Happy this month to participate in THE THANKFUL PROJECT.

Never heard of it? Taken from Kenzie:

"The Thankful Project will be 28 days of intentional gratitude and community. Each day, we'll write a post in response to a gratitude prompt (see the list of prompts by date below)... The motivation behind The Thankful Project is this: an attitude of thankfulness can help us push through and overcome just about anything..."

Isn't that great? I love that Kenzie thought of this and is sharing it with the rest of blogland. I missed the first three days, but I am just going to jump right in to day four. Today's prompt is an experience.

One experience that I am thankful for is living in Verona, Italy for four months.

I studied abroad in Italy in the spring semester of my junior year (January 2013 - May 2013.) It's been less than a year since it happened, but it feels like such a long time ago. Once in awhile I'll come across an old photo or even a scenery in a movie, and I'll immediately recognize the location and feel a wave of nostalgia. The memories will suddenly resurface and feel so vivid, taking me back to the different conversations, smells, emotions, and feelings. Wow, it is still so surreal.

Studying abroad in Italy was probably one of the best decisions I made in college and that semester will always hold a special place in my heart. :) It was a time I learned a lot about myself, about this world, about God, and building relationships with people different from you. I feel so fortunate that I had the chance to go and that my parents were supportive and helpful to make that happen.

Rather than try to condense the greatness of Europe with a few words, you can find photos of all the places I went here! They're all directed from my wordpress so it takes awhile to load, but I think I'm planning on making a "city guide" for Europe sometime soon.

But yes, if you are in college and have the opportunity and means to study abroad, do it. Please do yourself a favor and do it — even if it's only for a break and not a full semester. You'll see so much beauty, taste and smell such different flavors, and witness cultures and lifestyles you didn't know existed. And you will fall in love with all of it.

*Find my European adventures here.
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* Share what you're thankful for and link up your posts here.

COFFEE DATE / 01

Monday, November 4, 2013

I recently started following Allison Lehman @ Be Up & Doing and she has this new series titled, "let's get coffee." The intent is to get to know her readers better, so she poses a few random, light-hearted questions that readers can respond to in the comment section.

Essentially, it's a virtual coffee date.

I read that and thought, "why didn't I think of that? I love it — it's perfect for my blog." I do love it and it is perfect. Coffee is kind of a big deal around here at Coffee & Honeycomb. It's more than a brewed beverage, it's near and dear to my heart — which I discuss here earlier in this post.

Coffee dates have been good to me, and so I wanted to bring it here with you. I promise I make a great coffee date. Would you join me?

How it works: Answer any (or all) of the questions in the comment section below.

THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS:
1. Since this is a coffee date and all, what's your typical drink order?
2. Are there any TV shows you're hooked on right now?
3. What are you most looking forward to this fall season?
4. Do you have a blog? Post the link, I'd love to follow you.

MY ANSWERS:
1. My drink order changes frequently, but right now I'm trying to stay away from carbs so I would order a grande sugar-free breve latte. (It's not that gross, I promise!)
2. Right now I'm watching: Grey's Anatomy, Rules of Engagement, Modern Family, Parks and Recreation, Vampire Diaries, and The Office re-runs. (I know, I watch a lot of television. Do you watch any of these? If so, let's talk.)
3. Not gonna lie, I'm looking forward to thanksgiving break. I'm gonna sleep in everyday. But I also enjoy quality time with friends and family, fall tradition, and Starbucks red cups.
4. If you're not following me, you can do so here @ bloglovin!

That was fun. :) Looking forward to hearing your responses. I can't wait!

XO.

DAY ONE : THE GREATEST LOVE

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Welcome to the first of "31 DAYS OF BELOVEDNESS."
(I talked about it a bit here.)

There are just some things, or more specifically, truths, I want more of in my life. Things I want to learn, understand, soak, and this month it's about our belovedness. I'm not here to educate or preach, I'm here to walk and wrestle and chew — and I invite you into the process.

This is day one.

I wanted to start the series just by acknowledging who we are, children of God, and praising the only one who can give us that identity.

The song is "TIl I see you" by Hillsong. An involuntary groan comes out when I listen to these lyrics. It is the current echo of my heart:

The greatest love that anyone could ever know
That overcame the cross and grave to find my soul
And 'til I see You face to face and grace amazing takes me home
I'll trust in You

With all I am I'll live to see Your kingdom come
And in my heart I pray You'd let Your will be done
And 'til I see You face to face and grace amazing takes me home
I'll trust in You

I will live to love You
I will live to bring You praise
I will live a child in awe of You

You are the voice that calls the universe to be
You are the whisper in my heart that speaks to me
And 'til I see You face to face and grace amazing takes me home
I'll trust in you

You alone are God of all
You alone are worthy Lord

And with all I am my soul will bless Your name
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Ps. Happy October 1st! Swing by to IN ITS TIME to see my blog featured for her monthly button swap. Show her some love while you're there. (: She's one sweet, sweet lady.

LIFE LATELY | SCHOOL IS BACK IN SESSION

Monday, September 16, 2013

THESE DAYS

receiving a wonderful and encouraging email regarding More Love Letters
playing an intense game of cards with the small group
saturday afternoon picnic with grilling, frisbee, and casual football
journaling out in the quad every moment I get
starting work at Espresso Royale again
celebrating birthdays
frolicking around in this beautiful fall weather
dinner with the roommates at OoriJip
cuddling in bed with Shauna Niequist's book "Bread and wine"
starting a new Netflix series "Rules of Engagement"

FAVORITE LINKS

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FRIDAY AFTERNOONS

Sunday, September 15, 2013

A friend and I met up for dessert this past Friday, and we decided on a cute bakery located a little off campus called Cream & Flutter. Cream & Flutter is one of the places that just exudes so much CUTENESS that you can't help but smile while you're in there. With the aroma of fresh cupcakes in the oven, and a variety of macarons, sweek sparkling drinks, and colorful handmade decorations, I could stay there forever. Ambience is key. :)

In previous years, a lot of us didn't have cars on campus so visits were rare and all the more special. We would plan a few days ahead if we wanted to go, so anticipation would build up throughout the week. It was always such a treat to spend an afternoon venturing downtown, ending with creamy desserts and several photo opps. My boyfriend also had an internship nearby last year, and he would surprise me with macarons and leave them in my dorm room while I was out. Only sweet memories are associated with that place. :) No pun intended.

This Friday was my first time visiting since the school year had started, and it was even cuter than I remembered. Prices also were more expensive than I remember, but whatever. Again, ambience is key.

SNEAK PEEK : THE CLOSET

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Closet organization is always tricky — especially when the size of the closet is not ideal. However, the smaller the closet, the more crucial good organization is. I thought I'd give a mini tour of what my closet entails to (hopefully) give you any kind of inspiration as you plan out yours.

Welcome to the closet.

^ Tops, in the order of dark to white, from long sleeve to tank.

^ Everyday makeup. White/gold storage from the Target dollar section.

^ Close up of knits.

^ Purses and day dresses.

^ My makeshift vanity area.

^ Shelves organized and separated by knits, breezy skirts, colored jeans, and regular denim.

^ The daily necessities. / Most reached for pieces on display.

^ Empty frames I plan on putting up sometime in the near future.

^ Fresh flowers from the bf and a simple white frame from Ikea.

SNEAK PEEK: MY WORKSPACE

Thursday, September 5, 2013

My room still isn't fully ready yet, but my desk came in over the weekend so I wanted to share a snippet of my new work space — as is. :) I put the desk right next to the window to maximize as much sunlight. Natural light is the best, you know.

I haven't added wall art yet, so that it is still a work in progress.
Feel free to send any inspo my way!