Category: Andrea

Everyone is Born With Passion

posted 30th December 2009    Written by: Andrea    CATEGORY: All Posts, Andrea, Quarterlife Crisis, Season 1, What I've Learned

What is your passion? If you had to write a phrase explaining yours, what would it be?

While spending an amazing family weekend with my mom and sister in NYC, we talked a lot about the past and pondered over the future. I was still trying to come up with a topic for my Personal Statement and I think I may have found it.

I’m going to write about passion.

My passion is to mentor others, just as special people in my life have been a mentor figure for me.

I have this theory that everyone is born with passion. The challenge in life  is to discover that passion, and then really conquer it. I see too many people living passion-less lives. We only get one shot at life so why not try to find our passion in the time we’ve got, right?

If you are having a hard time figuring out your potentials passion try this excercise. Get out a piece of paper and try to fill in the blanks:

Its ok if you aren’t living your passion at this exact moment, just as long as you are aware that YOU have one and there is potential to achieve that dream someday.

It’s a tricky question, isn’t it?

It takes some serious thought. Maybe too much thought for the time you have set aside to read this Stratejoy blog, but think about it later today, tomorrow or over the next few days and see what you come up with. Write it on a little piece of paper and tuck it in your wallet. Go back and look at it from time to time.

Then, share it with me. I told you my passion and I’d love to hear yours.

Everyone is born with passion, what is yours?

photo credit : faithful chant

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Stratejoy: A Visual of Happiness

posted 16th December 2009    Written by: Andrea    CATEGORY: All Posts, Andrea, Quarterlife Crisis, Season 1

I love words. Ask anyone who has known me for more than 5 minutes.

Because of this love, I am obsessed with an awesome technology tool called Wordle. It lets you take tons of words and organize them, customize a font and create an amazing pieces of artwork.

It’s been almost 6 months now that Stratejoy has been publishing blog posts by fabulous QuarterLifers like myself, and I wanted to see what we have been talking about. I took all of our blogposts and submitted the words to Wordle. I was really excited to see what our most popular topics would be!

Take a look at the surprise I found when Wordle created this piece:

worlde.stratejoyWhats the first thing you see?

Wordle: Stratejoy Blog Topics

I see “Always, Think, Happy”

I kinda like that mantra. It reminds of Finding Nemo when the fish Dori repeats, “Just Keep Swimming” to little Nemo. If I just “Always Think Happy” maybe this time of crisis won’t seem so chaotic.

It’s worth a shot!

The main topic of all of our blogs during the past 6 months of crisis has been Happiness. Every form of the word from Happy, to Happiest, to Happiness, to Happier. See a pattern here? I wonder if happiness, and the path to finding what that is, could be the key to life.  Something to think about….

If you look closely you’ll also find  “Living, Grateful, Confidence, Family, Time, Life, Bliss.” All positive words! I’m really proud us gutsy girl bloggers- Way to go! Nice use of words if I do say so myself.

Keep it up, we are all in this together.

Always

Think

Happy

Andrea (new) bio.

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Two Degrees Down, One To Go

posted 9th December 2009    Written by: Andrea    CATEGORY: All Posts, Andrea, Quarterlife Crisis, Season 1

Graduation CapsThat’s what my adviser said as he handed me my Master of Arts diploma in 2007. “Two down, one to go.” It took me a minute to realize what he was talking about, but eventually my blond head understood.

He was giving me the go ahead to pursue my dream of obtaining a Ph.D. He was giving me confidence and his support.

From reading this blog you know I have many goals in life, but this one is a biggie.

Probably one of the biggest right up there next to getting married. They are on par, as far as seriousness and grown-upness goes.

Both are incredibly time consuming, expensive and they both change your name. One day, I could be Dr. Andrea Michnik. (Until I do get married, if and when that happens, and then my name will change AGAIN…. it’s so weird to think about!)

I am applying to become a Ed.D candidate for the Fall of 2010 and so excited at the possibility of going back to school! I’m not insanely book smart, or obsessed with research, but I do love school. A whole lot.  Someday I’d like to teach and help students discover how to get the most out of their college years.

In a few weeks I will take the MAT (instead of the GRE) and prepare my personal statement for my application. I am having some trouble deciding what to write that will express the most about me. I need to impress people I have never met in 800 words or less. I have to convince them that I am thrilled to become a student and that this program is a good match for me.

I want them to know about my quirks, my serious side, my interest in journalism, media and technology. I want them to see that even though I have no formal background in education, I have always acted as a mentor or teaching in some form throughout much of my semi-adult life. I want them to know I am different than most doctoral candidates; I’m not pursing this degree to inflate my ego.

The program I am apply for is under the department of Education, focusing on Curriculum and Instruction. However, like I said, I don’t have a education degree. I’ve never even taken a class on education or instruction. My background is in journalism, media, marketing and public relations.

How do you promote yourself on paper in less that 800 words?

Its a tough challenge and I’m not sure how to go about starting something like this task. I haven’t a clue how to do it. I’ve spent hours one rainy night at Borders looking up ‘Personal Statement’ examples in college prep books. I even started making a list of topics I could write about. It’s hard.

This personal statement could make or break my acceptance into the program. Its very stressful!

As a writer, I want to make sure this piece is perfect and explains who I am and my goals clearly. Every time I try to write it though, my computer screen just stares back at me. I’ve hit a mental road block.

So this is where you, the Stratejoy Tribe, come into play.  I need your help!  Seriously.

What do you do when you don’t know where to begin?

All tips and suggestions are welcome!

Andrea (new) bio.

photo credit : m00by

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This Season I Am Grateful For Opportunity

posted 2nd December 2009    Written by: Andrea    CATEGORY: All Posts, Andrea, Quarterlife Crisis, Season 1

opportunityEvery Thanksgiving holiday, right before dinner,  I make everyone in attendance write on a little slip of paper what they are thankful for that year. It’s a silly little game I like to play, because we put them all in a dish and pass it around reading each one out loud.

The fun part is trying to figure out who wrote what.

Sometimes its really easy, sometimes its really hard. Sometimes they are random things like a favorite food, “Uncle Ken’s Cheesecake” and other times philosophical, ”I’m thankful for the world.”  (Um, that was what I wrote when I was 9, I’m strange, I know.)

This year was especially tough, because my grandmother on my dad’s side recently became very ill. She doesn’t have a disease and she’s not hurt, she’s just getting old. It’s probably one of her last Thanksgivings and I don’t deal well with death. It’s my biggest fear.

I haven’t really had many people close to me pass on, and this is just sad because its happening slowly. I know she’s had an amazing life but I am worried at how her passing will affect other people, especially my dad. I worry about him a lot.

My grandma, Gramma Lou, always talks about the crazy things I do with my life. To be honest, I do most of them because of her and my dad, to prove to them there are so many opportunities out there and it’s not crazy to try and seize them all.

This past year I’ve had so many opportunities; I’m entirely thankful for each and everyone.

I’m not an overly spiritual person, however, the way I pray to whoever is upstairs is by giving thanks. I never “ask” for things, I just say thanks. It is my way of recognizing that I am blessed with opportunity. When I feel like good things have happened to me, I give a nod to the powers that be, who allowed me the chance to have such opportunity.

Life would be very different without opportunity.

Of course, I am always grateful for people, relationships and friendships. I’ve seen in the past year how important people are in a person’s quest for happiness and joy. That is a given, every day of my life. But, this year is special and when I really sat and thought about it, none of it would have been possibly without opportunity.

I am the person I am today because of opportunity.

Andrea (new) bio.

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The Geography of Happiness- Part 2

posted 25th November 2009    Written by: Andrea    CATEGORY: All Posts, Andrea, Quarterlife Crisis, Season 1, Travel, Travel/Adventure

world mapIn my last post I talked about an amazing book I read while traveling on my Eastern Europe Adventure called, The Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places in the World.

I wanted to share some insight and ideas from the book about happiness and the search for the Good Life.

Seemed very appropriate for those of us living through a Quarter Life Crisis, since travel and moving are re-occurring themes.

Excerpts from The Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places in the World

  1. “We create our own happiness and the first step in creating is imagining.”
  2. People who live in Iceland have the right mentality, in that no matter how bleak life seems, things will always work out. I like that theory.
  3. Some cultures are collectivist, while some (like America) are individualistic. Collectivist are happier than individualists cultures. Go figure.
  4. “Happiness and unhappiness are not opposite sides of the coin. They are two different coins.” Think about that the next time you are unhappy.
  5. Happiness is a choice.
  6. “Helping others makes us feel good.”  As humans we are programed to help others, it makes us happy. So maybe if you are unhappy, try helping someone in need.
  7. “People are not likely to be happy if they don’t have control over their lives.”
  8. I think this line was written specifically for me, ” Happy people have no reason to think; they live rather than question living.” Thinking about happiness makes us LESS happy.
  9. “Add up all the pleasurable aspects of your life, then subtract the unpleasant ones. The result is your overall happiness.”
  10. “The worlds happiest nations tend to be the most ethnically homogeneous.”
  11. Americans hate unpredictability, while some cultures thrive off it and are happy because of it.
  12. Love is higher than happiness.
  13. Ambition may sabotage happiness. If you constantly are striving to reach some extraordinary level of happiness, you will strive your entire life.
  14. “America’s current fixation with finding happiness coincides with an era of unprecedented material prosperity.”
  15. We as Americans are less happy than we were 50 years ago. Which is ironic because compared to many countries we have access to different things that could make us happy, where most cultures do not.
  16. Some Americans move because they think it will make them happier, however, people give themselves permission to be different in different geographic regions so moving may not necessarily be the answer.
  17. “We may be fairly happy now but there’s always tomorrow and the prospect of a happier place. We can’t love a place or a person though if we have one foot out the door.”

*Spoiler Alert: If you plan on reading this book DO NOT read the next paragraph!!

In the Epilogue of the book, Weiner summarizes and says: “Money matters, but less than we think and not in the way we think. Family is important. So are friends. Envy is toxic. So is excessive thinking. Beaches are optional. Trust is not. Neither is gratitude.”

I want to know what is your happiest geographic place and why? Are you there right now? Why or why not? What do you think about geography, travel and happiness?

Andrea (new) bio.

photo credit : pearlsofjannah

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