9/22

Humans on Mars

The world as we know it is constantly changing. In Bill Bryson’s A Short History of nearly everything, he puts human history into perspective by comparing it to 24 hours on a clock. With the beginning of the earth being the first midnight and the current moment being the next midnight, modern humans only started existing at 11:59. Can you believe that? Our race’s progress happened so rapidly, and the next phase in our evolution is becoming a multi-planetary species. We have quickly destroyed our planet with misuse of our oceans, chemical abuse of the ozone layer, war, diseases, and more. Scientists of companies like SpaceX and Relativity Space plan to begin our mission past the moon sooner rather than later, for the sake of earth and humankind.

Earth’s Demise

On June 23rd, 1988, global warming was decreed as a national issue by the US Senate. The greenhouse effect began to be taught in schools, and everyone made an effort to do the small things that help, such as public transportation/bikes and recycling. However, humans have become too reliant on plastics made in factories that pump out chemical smoke as well as fossil fuels that run their electricity and cars. Therefore, while individuals try to save our planet by not littering out their car windows, it truly makes no difference when major companies are too focused on making money rather than transitioning into cleaner ways of producing their products. It truly all comes down to the big companies (foreign oil and gas producers, like Aramco) to stop global warming. If something isn’t done about air pollution, scientists predict that the ocean will have risen 25 ft. and almost all animals and their habitats will be wiped out by the year 3000, leading to global famine and more than half our population dissipating.

We further the damage to our planet with sins of human nature beyond greed. War and pestilence at the human hand that has surfaced in the last 100 years are guaranteed to quicken the earth’s demise. Atomic bombs, first invented in Germany in 1938, have become a worldwide phenomenon. Nearly every sizeable country has access to them, and the U.S. and Russia have played with threats regarding them for years. The Japanese in WW2 and the U.S. in the Vietnam War are prime examples of horror beyond atomic bombs, using biological warfare to rehabilitate massive groups all at once. With these weapons at anyone’s disposal and the constantly tense political climate, despite the UN’s ban on both items, the fear of humankind being wiped out during the next war is not unfounded.

The Space Race, Part Two

Elon Musk has become a household name for his celebrity status, controversial marriages, social media presence, and big fat bank account. He’s become so wealthy by being a tech mastermind! He sold his software Zip2 to Compaq Computers and used the millions from that to become CEO of his car company, Tesla, co-found PayPal, and begin SpaceX. SpaceX is a massive collection of scientists whose current mission is to find a way to enable life on Mars by the end of 2022. Here is a link to the website where more information is laid out for the public view. The plan is to get to Mars in 6 months and 22 days in a vehicle called The Starship, with all of the logistics worked out and the overall goal being to reduce space exploration costs and enable colonization of Mars. Other companies, like Relativity Space and Impulse in California, are also trying to get to Mars, with plans for the year 2024.

The China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology also has a plan to have a team on Mars by 2033 to test colonization, and the UAE (United Arab Emirates) has a plan for a city on Mars by the year 2117. It’s reminiscent of the Space Race between the USSR and USA in the 60s! America advanced first. The future of life as we know it is at the tip of science’s tongue. The whole world has recognized the importance of colonizing our closest habitable planet, and now it’s a beautiful era of scientific competition to see who will accomplish the goal first.

Life On Mars

Mars has 38% of Earth’s gravity, meaning we would be able to lift heavy objects and walk relatively the same. Its atmosphere is primarily CO2 with nitrogen, argon, and a few other trace items, meaning plant growth is fully plausible. Lastly, a day on Mars is 24 hours and 38 minutes, remarkably close to a day on Earth, meaning the way we measure time will stay about the same. Life on Mars is a way to start over, to have a place for people to go when the air on our home planet has become toxic and starvation/malnutrition has become the standard. When all hope is lost for our beautiful blue planet, there is a saving grace waiting in our future. With this marvelous second chance at the continuation of humankind post-earth, we will be more united and peaceful as a planet, and life will be unimaginable from today’s point of view.

If more people spent time looking into the Mars Missions around the world and the future of our environment, we could accelerate our already rapid scientific progression as well as save our planet before it’s too late. I encourage anyone reading this to educate themselves and become one of the creative minds looking forward to saving our future! 

 

9/22

Kala Sol Massage and Wellness

My mom has run Kala Sol Massage and Wellness for 20 years. I’ve watched this company grow since before I can remember, so I’m about as knowledgeable on it as the CEO herself! Thousands of people have come to her since 2002 for her technique, quality, accommodations, and more. If there was anything that could soothe your aches and pains, it would be Kala Sol.

The Bare Bones of Kala Sol

My mother began her training in 2002. She spent a year getting her massage therapy license, then trained for six months in Hawaii learning Lomi Lomi. She spent years doing Lomi at several spas, before mastering Swedish, athletic, deep tissue massage, and reflexology at the Healing Arts and Massage school in Raleigh, NC. While working at Massage Envy, one of the biggest massage companies in the US, where they fully dehumanize their employees, she realized there was a need for an alternative kind of massage. Thus, she created her own business called using a combination of all the different techniques she had learned.

After years of owning her own business, at the time called “A Touch of Aloha '', she went back to Hawaii and became educated in the spiritual nature of massage therapy. She studied shamanic practices, meditations, reiki, and many other kinds of energetic healing. She incorporated it into her business with a pre and post massage meditation. She also began to meticulously pick frequencies to play during the massage that open the chakras and flow your energy through your body in a healing pattern.  To top it all off, she uses crystals and feng shui to create a clean energetic atmosphere. When she combined these practices with her already extensive knowledge of massage, her business gained an ‘it’ factor and really began to gain traction.

The Price of Relief

One of the best things about Kala Sol Massage is the prices. At massage envy, a 90-minute massage is $150, and the standard for most small massage therapy offices in Raleigh is 200 for 90 minutes. All that, plus a tip, can become pricier than it’s worth. At Kala Sol, it’s 1$30 for a 90-minute massage, plus all the other amenities. Plus, she often travels to massage conventions and festivals where she has massive discounts on her booth! An experience with her is a steal that nobody has or will regret.

Kala Sol has such a large variety of offers in each appointment, it would take 5 people to do the job of one Kala Sol employee. In 90 minutes, the massage focuses on relaxation, like Lomi, as well as reflexology, done by doctors in physical therapy. She does the work of a spiritual healer, a reiki master, and in the past few years she has added a spa installation that includes an Epsom salt and lavender bath (that is drawn for you during your massage), a shower, and a sauna. With all these amenities, you truly could not find a better deal anywhere else, Kala Sol is a once-in-a-lifetime offer.

Everybody Hurts…

The majority of America is made up by the working class. Blue collared people who break their backs all day doing the labor that keeps this country running. The other most popular kind of work since COVID-19 is the kind of work that has you hunched over in front of screens all day, inevitably giving you terrible neck and shoulder pain. Everyone needs a massage in their life, there’s no one who wants to carry on every day with pain and unnecessary weight or tension holding them down. While everyone may need a massage, there is a shortage of massage therapists in our country, and especially a shortage of ones that really know what they’re doing, have trained with professional doctors, and have 20 years of practice. The CEO of Kala Sol Massage and Wellness is an exception to the norm, and there are very few masseuses out there with her level of education, technique, and dedication to giving you the best experience possible. 
People have flown in from all over the country to see her, you can check her chamber of commerce reviews here and her ratings on “the best pros in town” here! If you need someone to soothe your aches and pains, you now know exactly where to go. 

9/22

A Day In The Life Of A Nantucket Employee

I worked at Nantucket Grill for nearly two years. It was my first ‘adult’ job, and I always prided myself on how well I did in my extracurriculars, so at age 16 I decided to put a little more on my plate. I worked four days a week, from 3-11pm, hosting the majority of the time but picking up a lot of the server’s tasks when we got busy. I would spend a lot of time taking orders and answering questions on the phone, seating parties, aesthetically plating food from the kitchen, double checking orders, ringing people up, scheduling reservations, getting drinks and appetizers, bussing tables, scrubbing toilets, and more. After establishing relationships with all of my coworkers/managers there was a general consensus that I would do the artsy jobs around the restaurant too, drawing up the specials boards around the restaurant with chalk, using calligraphy on the glowing board in the bar. Opening and closing the restaurant was always a joy for me because those were the times when I would get to do my art around the restaurant and spend the most quality time with my team! This job made me so happy and provided me with so many skills and expectations I still carry today. 

Beginning My Shift 
Nantucket was a high-scale restaurant, and as the first face you see upon walking in it is important that you look professional and approachable. I would always put on my best clothes for work, and looking my best always made it easy to feel motivated and high-energy during my shift. I would show up 15 minutes early every day to make sure I had time to gather myself before each shift and all this preparation showed in my quality of work. When opening, I would set out all the menus and aesthetically arrange the tables, then do a walk around to make sure everything was clean, organized, and ready for the day. Then, towards the end of my Nantucket career, I was allowed to cover the special menus with calligraphy and artwork, which taught me that any career I had in the future must require a creative outlet. The feeling of beautifying my place of work was unmatched, and the reason I will appreciate the job experience forever.

As soon as I turned on the ‘open’ sign and opened the doors, a permanent smile found itself on my face. I would chat with every customer, engaging them in conversation, answering their questions, then upselling them on their meals. Forming personal connections with the customers from the beginning to end of my shift always left me feeling fulfilled at the end of the day, as an extrovert my battery always felt charged after leaving the restaurant and I always was excited at the beginning of my next shift.

Throughout The Day
I would spend the beginning of the shift typically on the phone taking to-go orders, answering questions, or scheduling reservations. As the pace picked up later in the day, I would spend more time seating people, running food for servers, bussing tables, and making sure the seating chart was organized. If the seating chart was unorganized, the staff and customers alike would get irritable and lash out, and at times when this would happen I developed a wonderful skill for de-escalation. There was a time where one server was given five tables in a row and her customers kept coming up to my desk and asking why they hadn’t seen her in so long, and I organized a small team of us to cover for her and get everything back on track.

There were a lot of times when I would train new hosts, and it was always enjoyable for me (as was the free meal that came with it). I would first teach them how to correctly plate food and have them focus on that for a shift, while watching how to operate the phones/tablets/seating chart. The next shift I would teach them about operating the drawer and how to speak with people on the phone or upon arrival, passing on my wisdom on professional decorum in the restaurant. The last training shift I would follow them as they would show me everything they’ve learned, giving them small bits of feedback before officially wrapping up the training.

One of the most important tips I would give my trainees is knowing when to give up with a customer and get a manager. For example, there was one day that a man came in and ordered a ton of food and drinks at the bar, dropped a $100 bill on the table, then left for about 30 minutes. When he came back he started yelling at me and the bartender about “taking his money” and we gave him the $100 back, but told him he still needed to pay. I spent a small amount of time trying to reason with him before quickly going to get the manager, and it’s a good thing that I did because when I came back he was throwing handfuls of change at the bartender! It’s always good to be able to read a room and be able to admit when a situation needs more than your manpower.

My closing work of counting the drawer, scrubbing toilets, sweeping, mopping, wiping down boards, and windexing every clear surface in the restaurant wasn’t the most fun. However, it was worth it to be able to do my art on the schedule for the next day and make everyone a little happier. I spent a lot of days taking the opening and closing shifts from my coworkers for the chance to do my art in the restaurant and it made my reputation at work something I’m truly proud of.

My Change In Viewpoint 
After working at the restaurant for that period of time I can safely say that my point of view on food service has changed forever. I am now someone who stacks my plates and trash at the end of a meal, tips as much as my wallet will allow, and shows true appreciation to the servers that manage to have energy or a smile after all they go through. I’m so thankful for the experience to be a part of such a wonderful team, and the chance to gain such valuable skills for my career going forward. The structure of my team and schedule were perfect and something that has given me high expectations for my future! Serving and hosting put a lot of money in my pocket and skill sets in my docket, I would encourage anyone to go down the same path I did.

9/22

How To Put On A Show

I spent three years studying technical theater, co-directing, and assisting stage managers before I was allowed to do it on my own. After gaining my title of ‘stage manager’ I managed and directed 20 different productions in four years. I put my all into my job, and it showed in the marvelous experience had by everyone involved in our beautiful performances. It was hard work and there are lots of tedious steps to take to get to the end goal, but by the end of this blog you’ll know how to take those steps flawlessly. 
Prelude
I began almost every new-show journey by the director’s desk. He was my tech-theater teacher, and since he knew I would stage manage every WTC production, I was the first to know about what show we had gotten the rights to. He would tell me the name of the show and I would make posters to hang as our casting call, as well as send out messages to everyone on Remind/email, and write announcements for the morning/afternoons. I would sit at auditions, helping him cast the show and assess the dynamics of our cast. After casting, I would map out the show’s schedule based on the attendance polls I took at auditions, organize our tech crews, download all the tracks for the cast to practice, and print everyone’s scripts. Then, the director would go over my work and we would discuss budgets and if we were/weren’t to hire professionals for certain aspects of the shows.

During this preparation phase organization was essential. I had three different physical binders for cast notes, tech notes, and scheduling/paperwork that I carried with me to every rehearsal, plus keeping my computer full of projects I was working on for shows, all easily accessible at any moment. If I had been any less organized I would’ve been insanely overwhelmed and done terribly in my position, but my determination to create something incredible for my peers and to satiate my creative brain kept me focused. I also had to organize a strict schedule to take care of my school work during any break I had, while also maintaining a job outside of it all. With a few different calendars and lots of hard work, I was able to come out with a wonderful reputation at my job, school, and theater for my diligence and capability.

As Everything Comes Together
After posting the cast list, the preparation was finished and the rehearsal experience began. I would hand out the scripts and everyone would begin to learn about the role they would transform into in the next four months. The director would teach them to sing, the dance teacher would choreograph, and all the while I wrote down every detail they would say. In between taking detailed notes and constantly videoing their progress, I would design and sketch sets, props, and scene changes. While they practiced I would program all the lights and soundtrack into our light/sound boards and collect all our props. Later in the process, I would reinforce all their blocking, lines, and choreography with my endless notes and give them the feedback they needed to perfect it all. They received this transformative feedback in the form of videos in a frequently updated google drive, personal texts, or email exchanges, and I feel as if these conversations were the most important part of the process.  Towards the end of the rehearsal period I would sit down with the hired costumes manager and sketch costumes with her, and while my tech crew and I built the set up from the ground, she would import all the costumes from other schools and online sources.

The later stages of rehearsals, after the costumes, after the set is built, and after everyone thinks they’ve got it all down, is the time when you truly need to have a firm hand as a stage manager. Giving the members of your team confidence in their abilities but also reminding them that they’re not flawless is mandatory to a good show. This is the time when I had to get my authoritative voice out and remind everyone how hard we’ve worked and the importance of self-discipline all the way through a project. If you’re able to keep everyone cautious of mistakes but still in high spirits after everything but the shows have been completed, you’ll know you’ve done your job well.

Drawing to An End 
After months of rehearsals, there comes the time they call “hell week”. As stage manager, you spend that week training all your lighting/sound/running crew people. Plus, whispering into a headset, asking everyone at the four other headset stations  if they’re SURE everything is okay and they know what to do. Everything is put together, and you’re running the show the last few times before it goes up in front of hundreds of people, and everyone is beyond anxious.Then before you know it the shows are happening and everyone is working as hard as their bodies will allow.

Looking back, it’s a long and difficult process. Starting with finding people to participate, then auditions, then organizing huge groups, then managing every rehearsal while managing the tech crew, taking a million notes from the director all the while, and finally overviewing the shows while making sure everyone is happy and knows what to do. It all takes a long time, and the feeling of relief when it’s all done is unmatched!

Seeing the team I’d grown to love with such amazing energy and talent during shows is what kept me going year after year, and I wouldn’t trade the memories for the world. There’s a lot that goes into creating a beautiful product, but in the end, if you follow my guide, you’ll do just fine!

8/22

Behind The Scenes

Working in operations is like being the stage manager of a play.

I first heard this analogy from Director of Operations at Praxis, Sara Morrison, and as a very experienced stage manager I couldn’t agree more. Operations involve financing, accounting, human resources, system administration, tech support, and more! However, what you’re involved in greatly differs from company to company.

In this line of work being organized and paying attention to detail is the most important part of the job. In the beginning stages of the company people in operations roles spend a lot of time with people in decision making roles like CEO, CFO, and COO of the company. All of these factors of operations are parallels to my experiences as a stage manager, and I’ll tellshow you exactly how.

Jack Of All Trades
The saying goes “Jack of all trades, master of none.” but as a stage manager I had to not only have a hand in every aspect of the show (sounds, lights, sets, costumes, makeup, props, choreography, acting, running crew, and sometimes stage combat) but be able to train people to do them. I only gained my role by showing the school’s director that I was capable of teaching massive groups to meet and rise above my level of capability, all while understanding one another so our cast could function like a well oiled machine.

As someone in operations, you need to be capable of understanding every role and able to teach people in each role how to do their job in the most efficient way possible, giving them points of view from every other member of their company. Both stage managing and operations are all about efficiency, and the best way to have an efficient team is everyone knowing exactly what they need to do as their part in an overall bigger picture.

Attention To Detail
You can completely describe stage management in the few words “attention to detail”. Every rehearsal I wrote down each actor’s blocking, which lines they needed to work on and why, every set/costume/light change, and every note my director gave each individual person. I wrote exclusively details down, filling several binders with specifics down to the inflection of the words in each line and degree of platform rotation. At the end of each rehearsal, I sent my notes out to the people they pertained to, and without organizational skills I would’ve been completely overwhelmed.

Similarly with operations, without extreme organization and attention to detail, you’ll act as a massive detriment to the efficiency of your team and leave people confused and slowed down. Both roles require a strong “Type A” personality and critical thinking is essential. 
Getting Started
In the first few weeks of every show I’ve stage managed, I spend countless hours at every rehearsal just sitting beside the director with my assistant SM just talking about the big decisions. Who to cast, what kind of set, our budgets for everything, who’s interested in tech, and lots more. I would spend my time brainstorming a lot, but the director was the only one who could really call the shots.

While a company is starting up, operations spend a lot of time with the faces of the company deciding on so many different aspects of functionality and what kind of people need to fill each kind of role, while brainstorming constantly on efficiency tactics, just like I did.

The Big Picture
In both operations and stage managing, you’re both working behind the scenes towards a beautiful end product. In theater the actors are like a company’s marketers and salespeople, the director is like the CEO/COO/CFO, and the tech crew is like your IT and customer success workers. You’re all trying to work together to be the most efficient and successful team you can be, strategically organized by your operations team, or stage manager.

8/22

How To Be A Master Marketer

   Marketing is one of the most sought after professions in the business world. It requires putting yourself out there to the fullest extent during networking, pitches, and interviews. When you think of marketing, you probably picture a bunch of people sitting at a round table, throwing out ideas about the next commercial they’ll put on cable TV,  when in reality it is so much more. In this post, I’ll tell you how exactly to become a master of marketing. 
Social Media Presence
   In this day and age, social media rules nearly everyone’s lives. It’s the first thing they look at in the morning and the last thing they see before sleeping at night, children and adults alike. Companies that are able to keep relevance on social media are proven to have far more success and popularity than companies that don’t have a real presence. Doing things like posting regularly on social media, reaching out to potential sponsors and clients through social media, and being able to track the analytics of your posts, demographics, followers, and more through social media helps create a high functioning business with great marketing.

Knowing Your Demographic
   If you’re able to pinpoint a specific group of people you know need your product, really try to get in the mindset of those kinds of folks. What social media they consume the most, the kinds of ads they’d respond the best to (for example, informative vs funny), and the kinds of places they’d go to see your advertisements. Your company and customers will deeply benefit from this mutual understanding between you two.

Tech Abilities
   Almost all of marketing is done on a website/online, so being able to use the programs that track how your company is doing (like Google Analytics which tracks your growth/decline from the moment you put it on the website) is mandatory. Being able to code is extremely helpful if you’re interested in marketing, it will help when it comes to installing customer success widgets and beautifying your website. It’s also important that you have someone tech savvy helping your business relevance on search engines, at least putting you on the first page. 
Copywriting
   Copyrighting is really important in marketing because without it, even if you have the best idea to show off your company, someone could easily steal that idea and your business could go completely unnoticed. You have to figure out what makes your company different from all the other ones, then own it! You can’t let anyone steal your credit in the vicious, competitive world of marketing.

In Conclusion…
   Marketing is a tricky field to navigate! However, if you truly plant your feet in the ground and remain determined to troubleshoot until your business is off the ground, as well as develop/practice your marketing skills, everyone will want to become your clientele! 
 

8/22

My Work as a Saleswoman!

  While working at my favorite restaurant, Nantucket Grill, my official title was “hostess” and later on “server”. In the job description it said I would have tasks like leading customers to a table, rolling silverware, cleaning, taking orders, and other typical jobs that one has in a restaurant. However, I quickly realized that half of the job was people asking if the food was good, what they should get, and what my personal favorites were. In one case, there was a man that came to the host stand, said he was dissatisfied, and asked why he shouldn’t throw his food away right then and there. In my research of sales I’ve found that a lot of my actions in my food service job have paralleled those of a sales representative’s.

SETTING UP THE SALE

  When people would walk into the restaurant, it was my job to show them the biggest smile they had ever seen and ask them how they had been doing that day. I’ve heard nearly every salesperson say that the trick to selling a product is to sell yourself first. That was my biggest task as a host at Nantucket. If I wanted any semblance of a tip at that job I would have to make that customer think I was worth their time. Typically, I would do so by inquiring about their evening, immediately finding something about their outfit or appearance to compliment, then striking conversation off that before seating them at their table. After their dinner the nicest folks would drop a few dollars in our tip jar as I bid them farewell from the host stand.

SCORING THE SALE

  A lot of the people that would come into the restaurant were doordashers and ubereats drivers, and as they would sit there and wait for their orders to come out I would chat with them from the host stand. After initial introductions, the first thing they would typically say is “Wow, this food looks pretty good!” to which I would respond “It absolutely is! Our best sellers are the Surf and Turf and the Strawberry Shortcake, but my personal go-to is the kabobs.” and our conversation would run from there.  As a person I am very extroverted and love to connect with people, any time and any place! I conversed with every person who waited in our lobby for more than a minute for the whole year and a half that I worked as a hostess, and sold tons of food to people who initially were just stopping by.

MY FUTURE IN SALES

  To be in sales, you have to be persuasive, willing to reach out to others, willing to do work outside of your required work, and be able to handle rejection! Those are all qualities that I’ve practiced and perfected, and I have the inner toughness and sunshiny disposition of a true saleswoman!

8/22

Here are my trials and tribulations in customer success!

     Before my first “real” job, I worked extremely hard for six years in my school’s theater program as the PR (Public Relations) officer for the honors society. I was in charge of marketing our shows by putting up signs in front of local businesses, designing posters, playbills, and even T-Shirts. I controlled all of our social media (twitter, instagram, and tumblr) and wrote the announcements we would do in the mornings and afternoons. I did everything I could to get our program’s shows and events on everyone's mind, and while some people were absolutely not interested and I faced a good amount of self-esteem blows from their backlash, our seats were always full. While doing PR, I was stage managing, and acting when I couldn’t manage, so I had a hand in every aspect of our theater “business”, which is very similar to a customer success job. 

    My first job as a working teenager was at Nantucket Grill as a hostess, where I was the first happy face you would see while walking into the restaurant. It was a medium-to-high end restaurant with a lot of regulars, so I was always meant to be friendly and mild-mannered at all times. This job came easily to me, I’m naturally an extrovert and generally happy so I had a wonderful time talking to the customers! I was used to people yelling at me in the theater and saying that I sucked all the time so angry customers couldn’t make a dent in my mood if they tried. Plus, the take-out tasks were a lot easier than trying to control a room full of 50 teenagers trying to scream their Sound of Music louder than the others, and honestly I was just thankful for the quietness of the restaurant.  When I began serving, the job was a lot more interactive with the customers and I loved being able to really chat with the regulars and be busy on my feet making people happy!

7/22 Entry 01

The first blog post of many!

Hi! This is my first blog post on a blog dedicated to the amazing projects I’ll be doing through the Praxis program! I’m so excited to get started, Praxis has been a dream for me since I found out about it.

 During the first semester of my senior year I spent so much time looking into how I planned to follow up my high school education, and all the possibilities that I found wore my nerves to shreds. A four year university was a huge commitment and my family was absolutely not in a financial state to cover me, and while I pondered if I wanted to live my life in debt, nearly until retirement, my guts found themselves in permanent knots. Both of my parents had dropped out of college, my dad going to military route to become a nuclear engineer and my mom becoming a massage therapist. At my age they had all the same struggles I did, leaving me to think if I would end up on the same drop-out path as them. 

Community college didn’t seem like a terrible route, but it still felt like too vague of a path to lead me to the life of retirement-by-40 that I daydream about. Towards the middle of my senior year I had decided the career I dreamed of needed to involve a team with other people that wanted market a product that was important to everyone, and I decided to go to community college for a business degree, while getting my real estate license on the side. The idea seemed solid, but anyone who knew me knew I was far too creative and had far too artistic of a mind to end up as a real estate agent for the rest of my life, thus the search (partially conducted by my father) for more college alternatives carried on. 

Through his research we found Praxis, a place where I could learn to be the most professional, employable, and valuable version of myself. Through this program I seemingly manifested from my own thoughts and daydreams, I would be able to find tons of companies looking to hire a creative mind like mine, companies finding new ways to market items that people need, and a community for progressive minded people that would support my future. Plus, with the money I made from hosting and serving at the seafood restaurant I’d been working at, I’d be able to cover the cost all on my own without putting myself in debt until my forties! The 12% acceptance rate daunted me, but I swallowed my nerves and immediately applied, scoring a phone call with the COO himself a few weeks later.

 I was working in the school library when the time rolled around for my interviews, and I remember getting special permission from two of my teacher/librarian/friends to sit in their back office while I talked to Cameron, Mitchell, and Jackie. I assumed in the first interview they were there to tell me “Praxis is for only for geniuses or bad asses, you are far too bold assuming you’re in the top 12%”, and I was so nervous beforehand I thought I was going to throw up on the zoom loading screen. However, after a few minutes on the call I realized that joining this program meant sharing a community with people just like me, and as I realized I was right where I belonged the nerves just melted away! During rehearsal for our school musical a couple weeks later I got the email saying I could attend, and I jumped out of my seat in excitement and disbelief (the jump quickly being followed by a glare from our director) and texted my dad about a billion exclamation points with a screenshot of my inbox. Flash forward a few months, here I am getting a start on all the incredible things I’m about to begin doing, and I could not be more excited. Sweet, beautiful August 1st simply cannot come fast enough.