MONICA AGUILAR

I was so inspired by what this woman decided to do! Can you imagine? A retail space that changes on a monthly basis, centered around a theme? Incredible. As the face of American Consumerism changes, brands, companies, etc. are how faced with the task of finding ways to stand above the crowd.

Story has accomplished this. I would go there if I lived closer. And, I would consider buying something too (so long as it was in my price range). What a way to put meaning back into the good old fashioned brick and mortar retail store. And, it’s a good way to get people off their rear end, out of their house, and into an engaging space.

Here are some images courtesy of PSFK (HT to them for inspiring me to blog about this):

Owner, Rachel Shechtman (@rachelshechtman)

As I continue to forge ahead in my career, I continually ask myself, ‘What inspires me the most?’, ‘If I could do anything, what would it be?’. I’m still searching for answers. Either way, I love to read about people who took their strengths and their passions and found a way to have their cake and eat it too.

Since I’ve been home now for about a month, lots of things have changed. I am now pursuing opportunities in my life that are in line with what I’m passionate about. Health. Humanity. The Environment.

I’ve been reaching out to people I know that are in involved in alternative health/healing modalities. All throughout school I kept saying that I wanted to use my degree to help humanity or the environment in some way, shape, or form. I wasn’t sure what that would look like. But, I did know that I wanted to use my creativity in this realm.

As my search continues for opportunities to pursue in this realm, I am confident that I am expanding and growing by going outside of the area I’m most familiar with.

Without growth, there’s no expansion right? 

To me, a Social Media Curator does the following:

“Combining third party content with their own original thinking to create something bigger.”

This video is exciting stuff, folks. Short, but sweet, simple and to the point. Hearing them talk about what I love to do is awesome. For me, searching for content to post is like going on an easter egg hunt. I savor the sweet reward of finding something juicy to share.

It’s true what they say in the beginning of the video, how did I go from googling a vegetable to reading about an abstract painting?

The next thing you know, my browser looks like this:

I also have 2 different feed readers in which I can hardly keep up with all of what’s there. But, one of the things I love about my reader is that it acts as a library. There have been many times when I couldn’t find what I wanted, and instead opted to search through my reader. Voila! Like magic, I now have a reference point from which to begin again.

One of my biggest challenges is, aside from keeping up with everything, making the time to sit down and write for myself. My personal writing seems to ebb and flow. Rather than force myself to come up with something to post on my blog, I find my thoughts are much fuller when I wait til the mood strikes.

On this note, I have officially started my own Pintrest boards. I have to say, it was pretty exciting to watch other people pin away a photo I posted today 19 times!!

Here’s the photo of the day:

Click on image to see more from this artist. Source: My Modern Met

Funny enough, I realize that this post was completely inspired by one of the blogs I follow curated by some dude named Neil Perkin. So, thanks for your post Neil!

Happy curating everyone!

I am.

Ok, so tomorrow I have an interview. Next week? A phone interview.

Here’s what I’m doing to prepare for both:

1. Outfit.

Must have an appropriate outfit. My industry is the Advertising/Communications/Marketing field. I can’t look stodgy, but I also want to show that I have some style (nothing too loud though). So, here’s what I picked out:

2. Research!

I printed out the original job posting and have combed over their websites to see what I could find out about their clients and the agency’s vibe.

Also, while it may seem kind of stalk-ish (I don’t think it is, in school it’s called: Target Audience) see what you can find out about the person you’ll be interviewing with. Have they won an award lately? Worked with an interesting client?

3. Questions?

Yes. Prepare a list of questions. About the job duties, about the company, about the clients.

4. You.

Oh gawd. Talking about you? Yep. So glad I took this class called, ‘Presentation for Planners’. Actually, it applied to just about everyone. It’s all about how you present yourself and knowing what you want to say to other people so they can get to know you better. A little nerve wracking, but worth the preparation.

5. Smile.

Even if you don’t get the position, it was all worth the while. Chance favors the prepared. You’ll be all the more ready for the next opportunity.

Wish me luck!

=D