As a college student, I'm very well aware of the fact that if I want a job right after college, it's important that I start making connections now.
Connections. Connections. Connections.
It's hard to make a name for yourself without knowing anyone. At first, I thought that only celebrities had a tough industry to get into. Between talent scouts, finding gigs, knowing the right people to help you reach the peak of your career, it can get a little overwhelming. But it's the concept for most if not all jobs out there. A lot of has to do with starting small. Whether it's slaving away volunteer hours or getting involved in a conference related to your major. Absolutely everything counts. Which kind of got me thinking...
Taking a look around friends, past friends, and peers through Facebook, it looks like everyone's doing great. A lot of my friends are going abroad this summer or in the fall semester and others have found great internships and volunteer opportunities at big name hospitals and companies. But here's where I'm trying to point out...
I find myself kind of lagging. I don't want to settle for a job at a small name company. Even if it means doing unpaid volunteer work until I graduate at a large company where I know I want to spend the rest of my career in, so be it. I think I get too caught up in trivial things lately when I should spend my time getting answers and meeting new people that I know will help me in the future. I find myself almost down casting my own ideas because I look to others' opinions too often. No road is the same and not everyone has to travel on the same road.
This summer will probably devoted to making connections with new people in my field. I feel like a lot of my peers are making big moves in the city whereas I'm a sitting duck. I have big dreams that I hope to reach and I won't get there if I don't stop listening to the wrong people.
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Sunday, April 27, 2014
My First Hip Hop Workshop
A couple weeks ago, I was able to teach my very own beginner's hip hop workshop.
A little about my dancing background. I've danced for about a year for a formal hip hop group during high school and I had a phase where I was totally into dancing. I choreographed personal pieces, I helped a couple of my friends start their own dance group, and I also learned a lot of my ballroom skills dancing for a friend's cotillion. For senior year, I dropped dancing for reasons I don't honestly remember but I knew I was always looking to get back to it in college.
Unfortunately, the university I chose didn't have a dance group that necessarily suit my style. I tried out for this one hiphop/banghara dance group that has a great reputation on campus, got called back, but didn't return because I knew that I wouldn't be able to commit all my time to it because of my heavy work load at the time. Then I found another "group" that hosted weekly workshops sometimes hosted by famous hip hop dancers and sometimes students. I found some satisfaction knowing that I was at least finding some time to dance. This is when I was invited to host my own workshop.
Preparing for this workshop definitely proved to be harder than I remembered. I had dancer's block and I couldn't find the right song or the right moves to fit what I wanted my workshop to be. I found a friend that helped me kind of get things started which helped a lot. I ended up choreographing to this song:
I crafted the choreography to be friendly to beginner dancers because most of the attendees were my friends that just came out to support me and try things out.
Anyone who danced for even half a year would understand that feeling of not being able to dance. This summer I hope to maybe revisit my dance studio and attend more workshops. With my career steadfastly developing and increasingly taking more and more of my time, I hope to still find ways to keep dancing in my life. Dancing is a way of expression and in its most basic form, it's just plain fun.
A little about my dancing background. I've danced for about a year for a formal hip hop group during high school and I had a phase where I was totally into dancing. I choreographed personal pieces, I helped a couple of my friends start their own dance group, and I also learned a lot of my ballroom skills dancing for a friend's cotillion. For senior year, I dropped dancing for reasons I don't honestly remember but I knew I was always looking to get back to it in college.
Unfortunately, the university I chose didn't have a dance group that necessarily suit my style. I tried out for this one hiphop/banghara dance group that has a great reputation on campus, got called back, but didn't return because I knew that I wouldn't be able to commit all my time to it because of my heavy work load at the time. Then I found another "group" that hosted weekly workshops sometimes hosted by famous hip hop dancers and sometimes students. I found some satisfaction knowing that I was at least finding some time to dance. This is when I was invited to host my own workshop.
Preparing for this workshop definitely proved to be harder than I remembered. I had dancer's block and I couldn't find the right song or the right moves to fit what I wanted my workshop to be. I found a friend that helped me kind of get things started which helped a lot. I ended up choreographing to this song:
Anyone who danced for even half a year would understand that feeling of not being able to dance. This summer I hope to maybe revisit my dance studio and attend more workshops. With my career steadfastly developing and increasingly taking more and more of my time, I hope to still find ways to keep dancing in my life. Dancing is a way of expression and in its most basic form, it's just plain fun.
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Easter Weekend
This past weekend I made a last minute decision to spend Easter at home. Which I'm pretty glad I did but it turned out to be the well worth the trip. It's always a long and rough trip home but I ended up spending a nice relaxing Friday night at home. I can't even begin to explain how much I miss home food.
Saturday was dedicated to a much needed shopping trip which I picked up some spring essentials. I watched Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier which was absolutely AMAZING. I went in without any expectations, hardly seen any of the trailers, and any knowledge about what is supposed to happen next in the comics. Despite Mark's subtle spoilers throughout the movie, I enjoyed it a lot. I don't think you necessarily need to have seen the first captain america, but you should have seen The Avengers in order to have a pretty good understanding of what is happening.
We went to our usual spot after the movie for a simple meal.
Easter Sunday was nothing too special. I ate with my family and spent time together as usual. I don't even know why I was strongly considering not going home this weekend. Any occasion and any time that I can spend with my family should be an opportunity that I should take. I used to think that spending time away from home on holidays wasn't a big deal especially because I'm always seeking freedom that isn't always given to me at home. But especially now that I see how disappointed some of my relatives become when they stop seeing some of my cousins because they're out living their lives, makes me realize that even if I don't go home for myself, I should go home for my family. Because even though I may think that I have plenty of time to spend at home, I know some of my family don't.
Saturday was dedicated to a much needed shopping trip which I picked up some spring essentials. I watched Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier which was absolutely AMAZING. I went in without any expectations, hardly seen any of the trailers, and any knowledge about what is supposed to happen next in the comics. Despite Mark's subtle spoilers throughout the movie, I enjoyed it a lot. I don't think you necessarily need to have seen the first captain america, but you should have seen The Avengers in order to have a pretty good understanding of what is happening.
We went to our usual spot after the movie for a simple meal.
Easter Sunday was nothing too special. I ate with my family and spent time together as usual. I don't even know why I was strongly considering not going home this weekend. Any occasion and any time that I can spend with my family should be an opportunity that I should take. I used to think that spending time away from home on holidays wasn't a big deal especially because I'm always seeking freedom that isn't always given to me at home. But especially now that I see how disappointed some of my relatives become when they stop seeing some of my cousins because they're out living their lives, makes me realize that even if I don't go home for myself, I should go home for my family. Because even though I may think that I have plenty of time to spend at home, I know some of my family don't.
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Nolita//Soho//Washington Square Park Over Spring Break
We then headed over to Washington Square Park near NYU. It was a little bit chilly the day we went but it was a perfect time ago. The sun was setting and everyone there was kind of just sitting down and enjoying the fresh air. We then went to a cute french bakery for some authentic macaroons which I unfortunately didn't get to snag a picture but were absolutely delicious.
Saturday, April 5, 2014
Spring Break Treats
I apologize for my lack of updates. I feel so bad for neglecting my blog after keeping up with it for so long. Anyways, I wanted to share what food I ate during spring break! I love going out to eat but it can clearly get very expensive. More to come!
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