Old Enough to Know Better; Young Enough Not to Care

I went to Maine this weekend with my cousin Sara and my Aunt Dee. We went up there because my other cousin, Mikey aka Carlton, was graduating from high school. Mikey is heading into the Army so it was nice to be able to see him in case I don't get the chance too before he leaves. It's funny because if you ask me what my favorite memory with Mikey is, it would be the fact that when he was younger, my friend and I wrapped him in a laundry basket with a blanket and stuck him under the Christmas tree with a note starting off "Dear Finders, I am the baby Jesus...". Needless to say, he slept there all night until my Dad and Aunt came home and found him under there. I was never asked to watch him again after that. Probably a good idea on their part. Goes to show that I was still a creative genius back then and nothing has changed.

On the positive side, I weighed myself again on Friday. Down -31 pounds. I have about 12 more to go til I am at my goal weight of 160. I am really excited about that because I am working hard to each much better and try to live a healthier lifestyle. Doing a lot more walking and exercising when I can to help fight the fat. I am tired of looking at pictures of myself and not being happy with what I look like. I have a goal set in my mind and so far, I am on my way to achieving it. I just need to believe that I can do it and I will one day get there. Hopefully sooner than later, but I will get there knowing that I can because I believe in me.

This weekend got me thinking me. I am at that age where sometimes I know what the right thing to do is and what isn't. Usually, it's go home after a long night with my friends because I know I have work the next morning. I am not really a morning person when I haven't slept much. I'm more of a grouch and don't want to be bothered all day. I had a knack of just getting up and going to sleep when I was in high school/college when I was ready. There could still be people sitting on my couch watching tv and I would just up and go. Such a graceful host I am. No wonder why everyone really likes me. I guess it may be the summer though because I stil want to have my fun. I want to go out and party til all hours of the morning and make memories I'll never remember with friends I'll never forget. I guess that is the wild side in me just wanting to escape and be free. I yearn for the days I can be an active social butterfuly in NYC or some other major city networking and being so in love with my life. Just me and the open road ahead onto new adventures.

I think that I am working up to that part of life. I am putting in my time now so that in the future I can make those kinds of fantasies actual realities and when I look back on my life, I won't be mad at the decisions I've made. I'll be glad that I took the chances I did and that I did the fun things that really matter most in life. Money only goes so far. It doesn't buy happiness and it doesn't make you any better of a person. I think that's why I love taking pictures. So that I have something to look back on and to hold on. To know that I am a party boy at heart and I love the nightlife and myself. Maybe a little too much sometimes, but hey, I need to treat myself once in a while.So the angel on my right side is old enough to know better, but the devil on my left, is young enough not to care...

A Healthy Self-Obsession

For those of you who don't know me, I am midly self-obsessed. I have a lot of self-confidence because I have a great job, great friends, I'm looking better, and I am good at mostly everything I do. That may sound conceited, but there is a lot behind it that people don't realize.

To start off, I am a director of public relations and branding for my company. That is a higly prestigious title and the fact that I'm only twenty seven, well that's pretty good. But it doesn't come without a price. I worked my butt off to get to that position. My original position at WorkplaceDiversity.com was just a part-time internet marketing associate. I worked hard to pave my own path and get to where I am today. I have my interns and now we are making our company hit new levels that we haven't hit before. Our SEO has reached a new level and I was so proud of everyone today for their hard work. I work a lot of hours too to help make my position what it is. Whether I am in the office, working off my phone, weekends or holidays, public relations never takes a break. So sometimes, I look self-obsessed on my phone playing on facebook or twitter, but really, I'm making my company money.

I have the best friends in the world. They understand my self-obsession and working hard to get to where I want to be in my personal and professional life. They understand that I sometimes have to break commitments to get my work done and they are cool with it. Mainly because I make up for it by taking them to some crazy concert in Atlantic City or partying at a club in NYC til 5am. I like being that group of people that everyone is jealous of. We have a good time and we aren't afraid to show it when we go out.

I am becoming obsessed with working out. I constantly want to be in the gym and working hard to get in shape. I've lost a decent amount of weight so far and I am really seeing it. I see it in my face the most, as my face isn't round anymore. My arms and legs are really starting to tone up and define themselves which is making me thrilled. My stomach is the problem area right now and I am working hard to get that into shape. I just need to work on eating better. Food is my enemy. If the food is terrible and awful for you, I love it and vise-versa. So to fight that, I am trying to make one or two better choices a day to help fight that. I figure eventually, I will be making the right choices because I want too, not because I have too.

Being good at mostly everything I do takes a lot of work. I am not great at one thing. There are many things that I am good at. And I work hard to constantly get better at them. I self-obsess a little bit over them so that I can be better at it the next time I do it. Whether it's sports, music or anything else, I want to be the best at everything. It's the competitive side of me. I constantly want to be better and work that much harder to achieve it.

I do work hard to be the best at everything I can. Whether it be professional or my personal life, I like being awesome. So maybe a little bit of self-obsession isn't a bad thing. It keeps me on my toes and how I can strive to be better. I'm not gonna lie though, being the center of attention at a party or a bar isn't the worst feeling in the world.

PR, Branding & SMM ...Oh My!

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Brandergy.com, About.Me, LinkedIn, Google+ and the list goes on. There are so many social media sites out there that sometimes my head begins to spin thinking about it. For anyone that isn't involved in social media, you are missing one big market for advertising, public relations, and marketing. I mean, a brand new term called "social media marketing" or SMM for short was created for it. I noticed this today when I was helping an older gentleman aka my dad, learn how to use his new iPhone. He has come into the twenty first century and he is having a blast with it. Things that seem so simple to me like downloading music, finding free apps and just using the internet are second nature to me and it's interesting to see how different it is for him.

For those of you that don't know me, I am a public relations and branding director for an online advertising agency. We help diverse candidates connect with job employers and gain employment. We do a lot with diversity inclusion and focus on all aspects of diversity. We deal with military veterans, handicapped, and the black/latino/asian communities, respectively. My company is called WorkplaceDiversity.com and we are ranked in the top ten diversity inclusion companies in the United States.

My job is all about getting the word out there. What's the fastest, cheapest, and easiest way to get your name out there? Social media. So when it comes to all the websites I listed above, I am on all of them. Making new friends, "liking" people's Facebook status, tweeting, circling and +1-ing all content that I find informative. I write press releases, I've been interviewed, I create backlinking, write blog postings (kind of like this one) and find new ways to get my companies name in everyones mouth. It is a lot of work and a lot of creative thinking to do what I do but I can tell you one thing, I absolutely love it! Since college, this is the first job that I found myself loving. I don't hate myself every morning for having to get up and go to work. I enjoy my time there and I really receive great gratification in doing the work I do. My right my main focus in on veterans coming from from Afghanistan and Iraq and helping them re assimilate back into the workplace society.

The one thing that I always tell veterans that are looking for jobs is that you have to keep up on your networking and branding skills. Your resume needs to highlight all of your qualifications in civilan's terms. Not all employers understand military jargon and that is one of the adjustments that veterans need to make when coming back into the workforce. Learn how to maximize the skills you've learned in the military to be the best team leader for your next job. Explain to your interviewer that you are quick on your feet, you are focused on the task at hand, you work well in groups and always mention that you work well under pressure.

I also tell veterans that social media is one of the best ways to stay involved and find jobs. There are so many groups in all of these social media hotspots that are veteran related. Keep an ongoing twitter and follow different companies that are in the field you are looking to get into. Introduce yourself on LinkedIn but don't always go right in for the kill. Talk a little bit about the company with them. Maybe something interesting that the company has done that you find impressive. Sweet talk them and build a relationship, then find out about job opportunities. Like a bunch of campaigns on Facebook that are relatable to your field and find out all the information you can.

The information I provided above isn't just good for military veterans but for any job seeker really. No one is going to hire you if they don't know anything about you. If you are on a bunch of social media sites actively engaging with people, companies and in groups, you are more likely to find an employer who wants to do business with you. Don't give up all of your information though. No one wants to pay for the milk when they can get it for free. Leave a lasting impression that makes employers want to want you. Social media can really help with that.