an RA forever

I enjoyed being a resident adviser in college.

As each year passes, I find that it was much more than enjoyment. I loved that job.

One of my first residents graduated this month. I saw her about two months ago and she already has an absolutely wonderful job lined up. Graduating a semester early, she's the first resident I'm seeing enter the "real world." I didn't know that that would resonate with me, but it certainly is. As I sent her a message congratulating her, all these memories of her as a freshman came flooding into my mind. I was very fortunate enough to spend more time with her during undergrad in other student activities. I feel like I really got to watch her grow up and blossom from an amazing girl to an outstanding woman.

I feel so blessed to have had such a job that allowed me to meet so many people. I loved connecting to all my residents and learning about their aspirations - and it's just an even more wonderful thing to see them come full circle, to see them fulfilling their dreams.

After I graduated I wondered if I missed out on something in the college experience. I was an RA all four years, always lived on campus in the residence halls. Thinking about it now (7 months after graduation) I can't imagine my undergrad any other way. Each of my communities had a distinctly different personality and to think what my life would be like without meeting and interacting with those 40, 50, or 60 students that year - I just can't. I now, more than ever, cherish those years I had with the young, brilliant minds. And luckily, it's a gift that keeps giving as I see them graduate and move on.

"Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts. And we are never, ever the same." - Unknown

xoxo erikah

candlelogra

I really love the look of candle wax and how it melts onto different things.

I originally started this as an art project. For that reason, I didn't photo-document my steps, so I apologize for that now!

The final product cost me $3.20! We had the wood in our backyard. I picked out one I liked then drove nails we had on hand into the wood, pointy part up. I held a lighter to the tip of the nails to make the candles slide onto the nail easily. After that, it was just a matter of letting the candle melt. I did use a lighter to speed up the process and make sure the wax on the bottom melted well enough to hide the nails (with the exception of the orange candle, which you can probably tell.. I accidentally hit it with something and it cracked up the side, so I replaced it.)

I really liked the autumn colors of the candle and my mom actually ended up liking it so she's putting it in the house somewhere with her autumn decor (which we can still get away with because we live in Texas - woot fall-like winters!)

I will probably do this with different candles for my room in the future! I love the natural feeling it has.

xoxo erikah

not your typical craft project...

There is this hilariously cute, somewhat odd, YouTube video that my friend absolutely loves. It's called Marcel the Shell with Shoes on (WATCH IT!)

Marcel is such a precious little character that I couldn't help but want to remake him and gift him to my friend who adores him.

Introducing my version of Marcel:

The shoes were made out of white and pink polymer clay (I know they could be better...) It was my first time working with the clay, so hopefully next time it will be better. I just bought a bag of shells from Hobby Lobby and picked the one that looked most like him, and the lettuce looking part behind his eye is just neon green tissue paper.

Super simple and I thought he turned out too cute!

xoxo erikah

earring stud frame

So I love slash am addicted to stud earrings. Unfortunately, I'm also not the best at organizing them, often losing an earring, losing a back to one, or breaking them. I really wanted to make a holder that I liked the style of and that would help me stay organized - so this is what I made!

This is a bulletin board-style frame I bought at Hobby Lobby (originally $14.99, bought it on 50% off sale.) I was originally going to use a picture frame but they were about double the price, so I opted for this instead.

It originally had a back like this:

I took the screws out and essentially left it barebacked. I hot glued the cushion-y part in place, so that the backing was secure when I put the earrings on it.

Mine looks like this on the back:

I made two stands out of thick foam posterboard & spray painted them black with spray paint we had on hand. Originally I had did this because my intentions were to poke my earrings through the cushion & cardboard and then secure the back with my earring posts... however, it did not go over like this. I just couldn't manage to get the earrings through the backing even though it was thinner than when I bought it. If you can do that, then you could probably do this step and make it look prettier (I get excited easily when crafting and therefore rush the process - a downfall, I know.) If you're like me and can't quite get it, then I'm sure you can skip this step entirely and just leave the original back frame on.

Since I couldn't push my earrings all the way through, they're definitely stuck into the cushion enough that they won't budge, and I just put all my posts in an old organizer I had.

Anyhow, I like the way it turned out. I really like that I can leave it out and will hopefully not lose many earrings now!

Very simple craft today :)

Sewing with Erikah

Today I tried my hand at sewing a quilt... or rather something quilt-ish.
I bought the materials for this project back in May, and after sewing two patches I realized why I never started the darn thing.

So as nightmares of every other sewing project I had done came rushing back, I just put my head down and determined to finish it. And boy did I finish it.

If you close your eyes, open them suddenly for one second, then close them again, my blanket looks alright. Focus any longer than that, and every painful thing about its structure/design/whathaveyou will basically leap out of the picture and take your eyes from you.

Anyhow, I present the final product.

The yellow is actually the back side, I folded it over just so you could see.
Confession number one: I completely love minky fabric. It is the softest thing ever created in the worlddd and I don't think it should be just for babies because it is so. freaking. comfy.
Confession number two: No matter how bad it turned out, I still like it a lot. I love the flowers & stripes especially (I lovelovelove stripes.)
Confession number three: This wasn't my first time at the rodeo...

Back in May, when I bought the fabric, I bought fabric to make my mom a quilt/blanket/something that keeps you warm thing. I was on a time crunch because she was coming to visit me, so I hurriedly made it. That adventure with sewing made me so frustrated that I couldn't manage to pick up my own quilting project again until now. I thought hers looked okay, told myself I would spend so much time on my own that it would *basically* be immaculate. Womp wompppp.
Anyhow, here is her blanket:


WHAT I'VE LEARNED ABOUT SEWING:
- my sewing will get better if I can be more patient. Meaning, there is no hope for me. I'd have to be the dalai lama if I ever want a really good quilt.
- there will be many store bought costumes in my future childrens' lives.
- I don't know how I passed geometry: I can't cut squares, I can't sew straight lines.
- I will even watch a Cowboys game if it means I can use it as an excuse to take a break from sewing.

Will I sew again?
Tune in next time to find out.

desktinny :)

I love crafting with ever fiber of my being. With my time off, I am looking to craft like a master (one can only hope, right?)

My first real endeavor are these:


I have dubbed them Desktinny (sing) or Desktinnies (pl). I made them for my little, Alecks (right), and my grand-little, Kait (left). When I gave them to the girls I filled them with scrapbook paper with inspirational quotes on them, just a little something to read every day, but afterwards or alternatively they could be filled with office supplies, candy... really anything you'd like.

I look forward to making more, they're rather fun to make! If anybody wants one, just let me know!

I'm sure you'll see many more of my crafting endeavors in weeks to come. :)

oh the places I'll go: If only I knew what to choose!

Today's dilemma: what do I want to pursue under the umbrella of student affairs/higher ed.

Maybe not so much a dilemma, since I don't have to choose now, but I feel like the sooner I realize the better off I'll be.

Reslife. Having been an RA for 3 years of my undergrad, it is something that I naturally lean to pursuing. I am *hoping* to get a graduate apprenticeship in this area, I just don't know if it something I could do long term? I miss it terribly, but it seems like such a stressful job that I don't know if I could handle it for a long time. So much respect to those who do! Sometimes it seems like a job that's hard to get away from, although that may be only if I go down the Center Coordinator route. For sure need to look into my other options under the Housing umbrella :)

Student Life. I don't know that I was ever "heavily" involved in Student Life, but anything I was a part of , I definitely loved with all my heart. If I could do Camp Crimson until I'm 83, I would. If I could work with Sooner Scandals until I'm 96, I would. My biggest fear about going this route is I don't know if I'm right for it. Sure, I love it a lot, but I don't know that my personality suits the area well... I'd be afraid of falling short in comparison to those who are much more involved I suppose.

Maybe somewhere else entirely! I think I would enjoy working for the journalism college/department on a campus (I find it hard to pull myself away from how much I love media, advertising, PR). I know I would probably love working in recruitment or another job where I could work with freshmen.

All I know is I love college, I love sharing my enthusiasm with others and making them love college like I do. Hopefully no matter what I fall into, I'll always have the chance of doing that. <3

where in the world...

I think I'm finally wanting to grow up (of all things!)

I am beyond excited to get back to grad school and pursue a wonderful career.
I am beyond excited to think of all the opportunities available to me, and to have the confidence to pursue them!
I'm excited for internships, graduate assistantships, traveling to other schools and learning.

Visited my alma mater this weekend and realized how much I love being on campus - how much I miss it.
I went to a friend's apartment (a fellow former RA) and I realized how I've never had that much independence. I think I've spent a lot of time living for others. This isn't to say I mind it, I enjoy helping others and trying to make people happy, but I am finally focusing a lot more on my life.

Though the "plan" is to go to graduate school the next two years, I'm already looking into after that. I am investigating schools I would like to work for and what route within the university realm I am really wanting to take. I really want to get out of Texas and Oklahoma and branch out. I am currently looking at colleges/universities in Oregon, Washington, Utah, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Illinois, Indiana, and maybe Pennsylvania. Phew! I just really want something new.

I am trying to look into possible internships I could do in the summer at a campus in one of those states. I'm not really sure what exists out there, but I would absolutely love to spend a summer doing an awesome internship at a school in those locations! Just thinking about it has me so happy, haha.

If you have any feedback as to summer internships I could pursue during grad school or any advice on which schools to look into, feel free to let me know!

“I am not afraid of tomorrow, for I have seen yesterday and I love today.” - William Allen White

must'a been an awful storm...

I know, I know. I have been gone for so long!
Well I've been here the whole time, just focusing on other personal things than my career.

I have started working more with my interest in photography and I had a two week long trip to New Mexico. I had hoped to visit the campus during my time, but unfortunately didn't get the chance to.

I feel that things are kind of settling down, getting into a schedule, and now I can focus more on my career aspirations. I have been working on my application to apply for grad school (yay!) and I have been thinking a lot about what I would like to accomplish in the next year.

Currently with my downtime, I think I'd like to perhaps find a virtual internship? I can't seem to find much work in Waxahachie, but I'd like to find more things to work on to occupy my time. I'd also like to find an internship right now or in the spring time because I think I'd like to actually work next summer to start saving some money up.

I think that's about it for me right now :)

I hope to update at least once a week, more often if I find anything of interest.

xoxo e

calm before the storm!

The title is a little allusion to this recent Texas weather, as well as a nod to what is to come of my blog.

Going to work on giving the blog a little facelift today design-wise, and learning what to write about. I am giving up on having this blog focused on one thing because if anything, this blog is me - and I am a lot more than one thing!

Get excited for crafting news & project pictures, music blurbs, inspirational posts, possibly film reviews.. and still some thoughts on higher education, public relations, and my other career interests.

xoxo e

Where do I begin?

I spent time today looking into schools across the nation to try to come up with some idea of where I would like to go after I get my master's degree (I know I am jumping ahead of the gun seeing as I haven't even applied, much less got accepted, to graduate school)... but I digress.

My current thoughts are that I would like to stay away from Texas and Oklahoma so that I may experience something different. I am also avoiding the general tornado alley area considering I think I've been plagued enough with them my past four years, and I'm not too keen on California because of earthquakes. Random, I know, but I don't particularly want to live in natural disaster-prone areas.

Other than that, I am not sure what I want! What should I even be looking for in a school I am considering working at? For anybody who teaches in the university atmosphere, what brought you to the school you are working at? I really love the University of Oklahoma, but I just don't know that is in the cards for me to stay put. If it is though, I'll be much obliged. Back to what I was saying, I am just not sure what to look for - at this point I don't know that I'm entirely sure even what I want to do in the realm of higher education. I really think I would enjoy anything where my job primarily involved dealing with new students because I love their enthusiasm. Even more so I love students who aren't enthusiastic because getting them to that point just feels that much better. I am heavily weighing out my GA options in hopes that they may help me discover what I love the most. I'd love to work with student life, but am also highly interested in the leadership and volunteer graduate assistantship. I also think it would be fun to work with housing again because I don't truthfully know if I can ever give up my attachment to residence life!

As far as universities go, I think I would like to work at another state university since it's what I am most used to, but am also interested in working with the Art Institutes. A lot of research needs to happen in the days to come though. I'm hoping to find universities I might like so that I can pursue an internship with them between my years of graduate school and build a rapport with them.

As for what else is to come in the year.. a JOB! I am searching for a job as we speak and have found two that I need to fill out the applications for this week and hopefully I will get one of them, or at some point soon another job. The two I am looking at are in the education field (one at the local high school and the other at the university in town).

Guess I'll go work on those applications now, but I will blog again soon :) !

Outlook

I can't believe the last time I posted was a month ago! Holy sheesh!

Well, in that month's time I have finished up my summer job at OU. Summer camps was a good run. I am now out of school and taking a year off at home. I plan to look for work in September, hopefully finding work in one of the local school systems (either high school or collegiate) so that I may work an environment that I may work in permanently in the future.

I will apply for graduate school in January, to start my master's degree in Higher Education in the fall of 2011. Before then I hope to accomplish:

- learning more about the education field. I have started to follow great education and leadership twitter accounts and hope to familiarize myself with blogs and forums that discuss education.

- working on my design skills. I no longer have access to a mac, but I hope to learn a lot through online tutorials. I love love love design and I hope to learn as much as I can! I think every great communicator should at least understand the world of design.

- having fun with the extra time I have to enjoy my interests. I have picked photography back up (http://www.flickr.com/photos/scarletoak if you're interested) and am spending a lot of time on www.hitrecord.org - a collaborative art website. I have fallen back in love with creating and am glad I have the time to spend on things that bring me so much happiness.

- hopefully dabble in the PR real world a little. I didn't get my degree for nothing! :)

I am open to advice, insight, or feedback about any of the above.

I also hope to blog more in the future about my endeavors, honorbright.
Life is good.

xoxo e

first part of the journey.

I used to be a huge 'plan' creator, and then came to the conclusion that life is meant to be unplanned.
Then I was lost. Haha.

So I have returned to creating plans, but just allowing them to be more open to change.

The Two Year Plan
-Fall 2010: Return to my hometown of Waxahachie, Texas, and try to get a job with WISD, Navarro Community College, or Southwestern Assemblies of God University. If that doesn't pan out, hopefully a job that will allow me to use my public relations degree.
-Summer 2011: Internship. To be discussed in the latter part of this entry.
-Fall 2011: Graduate school at the University of Oklahoma, aiming for a master's degree in Adult and Higher Education.

I plan to commit to Adult and Higher Ed because I love the college atmosphere and don't really want to leave it behind. I think it is broad enough that I can find a specialization of something I enjoy and work in that element on a college campus.

I am most excited about an internship! I've actually never had an internship before. I am most worried about my graduate status at that point - I know many companies/organizations like interns who can work for course credit, but I will be out of school at that time, so hopefully that won't count against me.

What I'm interested in/internships I have looked into:
Paste Magazine, Fueled by Ramen record label, Saddle Creek record label, Urban Outfitters (and their fellow brands), Paramount Vantage, and miscellaneous other ones. I love film and music, would enjoy tourism, or especially some social project (think Truth campaign). I also have recently fallen back in love with dance ♥. I would love to become a drill team director for a high school, but know that that is a long shot considering I haven't danced since high school and I only danced in high school, but it is something I love with all of my heart. I would love to get an internship with ADTS (American Drill/Drill Team) or something similar.

The other thing I would like most in an internship is where it is located! I am looking for one outside of the southern-midwest region. I would love to go to Seattle, Denver, Portland, Boston, Nashville, Raleigh.. who knows.

I just want to experience something different.
Something new.
I am the only person who can take control of my life and I'm determined to make the best of it!

erikah meets the world.

In a little over a month I will graduate and officially be done with my time here at the University of Oklahoma.

What's on the horizon?

I am not entirely sure.

I felt like my life was going to fall apart, but know that I am in power of keeping it together and I control my future. I can't just let it go by the wayside anymore and I can't expect things to just come to me (you think I would have learned this long ago.)

I've come to the realization that I don't think I want to completely saturate myself and work in the music industry, but I would love for my future career to involve music in some way, shape, or form. I have also opened myself up to many other career options, so it is going to be interesting to see what happens. Right now I think it would be interesting to work for a non-profit organization, beauty pageants, tourism.. probably other things as well. I will actually be very excited to just work on almost anything where I can perhaps do promotions or something. While this is all very 'scary' to think about growing up, it's amazing at the same time.

Within the past day my plans for the near future have changed. I hope to stay in Norman, Okla. for the summertime and work a summer camp position while also volunteering with OU's Lindsey + Asp Student PR/Advertising Agency and am also looking into summer virtual internships. My options come fall are to return home and find something there, or, if God allows, I am hoping to get an internship for a semester's time. I never thought about doing graduate school, but occurred to me today if I can score internships to last me until Fall 2011, perhaps I could just start graduate school then. So now doors are opened to look at grad schools, but I just am not sure yet what to major in. I am actually very divided on that subject, but I hope to find a school to where I can GA in someway.

Just trying to stay positive :) I know that it will take plenty of time, but I hope to find the job of my dreams through hard work and dedication to the process.

if you want to know.

so this is my new blog.

after this first post, it will be about music, for the most part, but today I have bigger news than any record release.

this is the story of my hair loss.

in second grade my hair started to fall out and after multiple tests at the doctors office, it turned out I had something called alopecia areata. It's an autoimmune disease. Basically, my immune system attacks my hair follicles and then my hair falls out. Like I said, I've had it since second grade, it's just kind of an ongoing thing. The cause of the disease is still for the most part unknown - some say it's hereditary (not in my case though), some say it's environmental (stress + other contributors), and there are various other "reasons". There isn't one cure for it, some things work for people and others don't... I've used numerous shampoos, taken vitamins, steroid injections, and nothing seems to work permanently. My hair loss has always fluctuated, sometimes worse in certain seasons or weather, but there never has been a real science as to why it would grow back sometimes and fall out others.

Why am I writing this post?

Well, few people actually ask me about it. To be frank, it makes me feel awkward when they do because sometimes I honestly forget I have it (no matter how obvious it is). At the same time, I'd rather people ask because a lot of times they think it's something worse than just an autoimmune disease. It just makes me more uncomfortable knowing people are talking about it.

Anyways, the second reason I'm writing this post is this - my hair has gotten extremely bad this past couple of months. I don't know why. I can't fix it and it is truly annoying having to wear a ball cap every day (what girl likes doing that?)... so today I got a wig.

It's weird. I'm not quite used to it... but I like it. My dad had always urged me to take the leap, but I didn't think I was strong enough. I still don't know that I am, but we'll see.

You may be wondering why I chose to address this in a post the whole world will see. Well it's kind of obvious that I got one, so unlike before, I'd rather take the time to address the issue rather than ignore it. Also, like I said I know people were curious, so I thought I'd take the time to tell people about the disease :) . I'm trying to be more comfortable with the condition I have.

So there you have it! Ask any questions you want. Thank you all friends who are supportive :) I appreciate youuuu

xoxo e

me, now :) . Oh and I switched to clear contacts!