I am a 22 year old, female who was born and raised outside of Atlanta, Georgia. I am the youngest of two girls and I am often reminded of my being the ‘baby’ of the family and the roles and expectations that entails. I attended the University of Georgia and graduated in 4.5 years with a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences, majoring in Speech Communication. I have moved 7 times within the last 5 years, each of which has been within the city limits of Douglasville, Athens or Atlanta, Ga. I recently started my career in Sales at a fortune 500 company, based out of the Atlanta area, and I am now in a four year training program that will (hopefully) prepare me for a career in Medical IT sales. In the second phase of my program, I am traveling to New Jersey each week (Monday through Thursday) and finally getting the feeling that I am getting out of my roots, my comfort zone and growing up.
I grew up as a prissy girl, always toting around a baby doll, that I probably called “Natalie” (creative, I know) or a Barbie. Although I hated the feeling of sand and dirt, I enjoyed playing sports. I took gymnastics; played soccer, softball, basketball, cheerleading, dance… the list goes on. I was never the greatest at any of these, but also never the worst. I grew up in a two-parent household that still exists today (and believe it or not, they are still happy). I attended public schools where I always did well, but rarely retained any knowledge (I somehow learned very early, how to know just enough to do well on a test and then forget it all soon after). This is one of my greatest regrets.
College was the most important and influential years of my life (thus far). As I transitioned into college, I had a very hard adjustment, the things that were once so easy for me were no longer falling in my lap, it was harder to make friends, I was dirty rushed and black listed. This was the first rejection I had ever experienced that was a personal blow (personality, looks, etc.) rather than a skill I did not possess, like when you aren’t the best at a sport, or the smartest in a class (something that you can work at and improve). I lost my last surviving grandparent, my mother battled breast cancer, I had braces, gained weight and struggled with identity issues (who I was, what I wanted to be, my purpose in life). Despite all of these, many of which are issues that every college student experiences in some form or another, I greatly enjoyed college. The first two years, I enjoyed being on my own, doing what I wanted to do… when I wanted to do it! I tried in class, but just never really got it! Constantly cramming the night before a test and never grasping the concepts nor an effective way to study, yet somehow I still managed to get decent grades. My third year, I began to work, selling advertisements for our college newspaper, where I gained some of my confidence back. I loved to get out on the streets and meet local business owners, to hear how their dreams had come true the day they opened their doors, and to listen to their needs in order to communicate the value of their business to our readers. I learned a lot about myself, business, sales, communication, and friendship. It was an invaluable experience! Year four, I continued working, but dove deep into my major classes. Being turned down from the Journalism, Business, and Consumer Economics programs, I ‘settled’ for Speech Communication (a major that did not require an application process). I will never forget my first class… sitting in Dr. John Murphy’s class as he spoke about rhetoric, providing the class with definitions, theories, and methods, I leaned over to my friend Megan and whispered, “this is so stupid… like we will ever need to know what rhetoric is or how it influences people! That doesn’t have anything to do with this major.” I quickly realized I was completely wrong, and for that I am so thankful! As I continued my classes I found a passion that had not existed before… I enjoyed going to class, learning and even taking tests. The subject matter was wide ranging…dealing with rhetoric in popular culture, images, influential speeches, as well as interpersonal, non-verbal and workplace communication. I had some of the greatest professors, many of which will always have a large impact on my life. They taught me how to look at things differently… how to look at the whole, its parts, then back at the whole and create an analysis from there… not like I had previously always performed analysis by just looking at the whole. This not only changed my learning experience, but also my relationships, and daily interactions.
I have a very close group of girl friends that I talk to nearly everyday. We know basically everything that is going on in one another’s lives… the ups, downs, ins, outs, and also the topics that we each ponder as we forge through our 20s, our first ‘real’ jobs, serious relationships, and learn more about who we are as individuals. We regularly have long, deep conversations about why things are the way they are, the impact this has on ourselves and others, how we think things should be, and what we can/will do to make it happen! Now, you may be reading this and thinking… “duh, that’s the description of any woman and their friends,” and if you aren’t thinking that, you are probably thinking… “do these girls not have anything better to do with their time, than sit and bitch?” Either way, you are right. I believe it is in a woman’s nature to analyze and give deep thought to anything she participates in, but I also feel that this is a skill that can be developed into a much larger thing. I also believe that there are times that I spend too much time ‘bitching’ with my friends, but boy do I feel better when I am done! These are the reasons that I am starting this blog. I want it to be a chance for women, men, young, old to post their random thoughts, experiences, and questions and gain feedback from various points of view… in order to look at the whole (the topic/experience) its parts (others ideas/experiences) and then back at the whole (the original topic/experience) to gain a better understanding on a personal, social, and emotional level.
Ok, so I have given you a long description of myself in an effort to open up to you and give you an idea of who I am. I am hoping you will do the same! As this will probably only start out as a blog for my close friends, I hope that it will spread beyond this initial group so we can truly gain from this experience. I hope that we each learn more about life, its occurances, society, individual beliefs, and ourselves as individuals.
