My high school experience was unique in the fact that I went to an all girls, Catholic college-prep school. High school for me was a turbulent time as I fought to discover my identity and keep up with the high expectations of my high school curriculum. Going to an all girls school really guided me to focus and to come up with a plan with how I wanted to achieve my goal of attending a college of my choice. My entire expectation of high school was to determine what I needed to do to make myself an extremely viable candidate for college. I needed to keep my grades up and I needed to commit to a leadership role and extracurricular activities. It is with this in mind that I fond my interest in volleyball and dance in which I participated in for the remainder of my time at Oakknoll. Involvement in activities and leadership roles really instilled in me the value of working hard and balance.

College was a new experience in many different ways. I was officially on my own, learning to live independently from home, and balancing my college curriculum, work life, and social life. The one mistake that I made with my college experience is not stopping to really figure out my passions and where I wanted to go in life instead of just meeting expectations. I started college and I went right into what I was comfortable doing by just finding things to do on campus and keeping myself busy. I followed my interests but I didn’t visualize my future and what I needed to do to meet the goal of what I wanted to be in life. I did not realize this mistake until it was my senior year and I was at a crossroads in deciding my life after college. I took time to myself and fully realized that I wanted to really pursue my passions and become an entrepreneur.

In this moment, I looked at the bigger picture and comprehended that if I just visualized my future and the steps I needed to take to live out my passions I could have started even in high school. Every step I took and every opportunity I had I could have used to position myself towards fulfilling my dreams. I was literally going through the motions until I figured out that other people are not in control of my life but that I am in control of my life. I had to wake up, look within, visualize, set my goals, and complete my goals. Many people get stuck in the motions and the world teaches you the straight way to meeting success includes going to high school, going to college, and finding a job. I propose that instead of going through the motions to stop and look at whether that life aligns with your passions and what you need to do to realize your goals and potential.

Know your worth

The first step to being able to sell your personal brand or what you have to offer is to know your worth. Currently, it has been about a year since I have graduated from college and am now grappling with balancing the responsibilities of my adult life. I think one of the first lessons that you learn out of college is exactly how you can package yourself and your brand to attain a job. Job-hunting is really a process of trial and error. It involves fine-tuning your resumes, cover letters, and expanding your networking skills to effectively communicate your personal brand and what you have to offer out of college. The next important component of this process is to understand your value and never sell yourself short.

Knowing Your Worth in Job and Internship Search

It is easy to sell yourself short if you do not do the research to discover exactly how much value is placed in your skills. If research is not done to discover how much companies invest in your skills it is easy to accept an offer lower than what you deserve. Tools that are beneficial in discovering your worth are as simple as Google or even glassdoor.com. If you are on the hunt for a job or internship position in a specific skill set or field you will begin to recognize a pattern in the entry-level positions and titles that you are seeking. Simply, search the position or title that occurs frequently in your search and discover the highest hourly rate or salary for the specific positions. Next, you need to look at your personal finances and figure out exactly how much you need to live the life that you want to live. Write down a list of your expenses, budget for how much you want to save and figure out your magic number.

This magic number will help you to determine what jobs are worth your time and effort to live the life that you aspire to live. Once you get a general idea of your range and your magic number then you can do further research. Glassdoor is not the only resource but it is a great resource I recommend to get an estimate on how much a specific company is offering for a position or internship. Job applications will ask for salary expectations and it is important to go into the process knowing your salary expectations. In this instance, it is important to keep in mind a number higher than your magic number within the range the company offers for the position to leave room for negotiation.

A year after graduation and a year into my adult life have come with a few learning hurdles and insight. A key factor into my continual search for knowledge and self-improvement is my establishments of tools that provide me with information on how I can continue to improve myself. These tools have also enabled me to stay focused and not get sidetracked by the success of others in my life or on social media. Grounding yourself and surrounding yourself in motivation and inspiration is a key way to stay focused on your entrepreneurial or life goals. Podcasts have been an essential aspect of my self-growth by providing me with topics and aspects of my life to focus on and hone to become a better person. Podcasts are also a good way to gain insight on pop culture, news and insight into people who have succeeded in a field you would like to reach.

Here are 5 podcasts that I recommend:

The Friend Zone: The Friend Zone Podcast is hosted by Francheska Ramsey aka Hey Fran Hey, Dustin Ross, and Assante and it gives a refreshing look into personal wellness. The opening of the show sets the tone as an inside look into “mental health, mental wealth, and mental hygiene, because who in the hell wants a musty brain?”. Segments of the show include responding to listener’s feedback on social media, the wellness segment, the TV Land segment, the music man segment, the listener letter segment, and the black business shout out segment. The podcast provides the perfect mix of fun and insight into your personal growth and if you’re into music a great way to discover new music. Black-owned businesses are also recognized on each episode to encourage community support. Listen here.

The Mattie James Show: The Mattie James Show is hosted by Mattie James who is a style blogger based in Atlanta. Her blog mattiejames.com is a great resource for style, beauty, and lifestyle tips. The Mattie James show as an extension of her brand provides further insight into her experiences blogging, branding and handling a business, as well as answering listener questions. Listen here.

Therapy for Black Girls: Therapy For Black Girls is hosted by Dr. Joy Harden Bradford who is a licensed psychologist in the state of Georgia. Her specialties include working with black women in both individual and couples counseling. Therapy for Black Girls is an extension of her expertise where she creates a space for black women and girls to talk about mental health issues and personal development. Listen here.

Switch, Pivot or Quit: Switch, Pivot or Quit is a women’s empowerment podcast hosted by Ahyiana Angel. Angel’s name is befitting as she uses her experiences as a creator of a jewelry line, author, and publicist to offer encouragement to women looking to make a switch up in their life. Switch, Pivot or quit creates a space where women that want more in their life can gain insight in how to make personal and professional changes. Listen here.

Heart + Hustle: Heart + Hustle is hosted by Angelica Yarde and Charisma Moran. Angelica Yarde is the editor and designer of Studio 404, which is a design blog. In 2014, she launched paper shop Studio 404 that includes greeting cards, note cards and prints. She also co-owns a branding strategy studio with her husband in Florida. Charisma also comes with expertise as the owner of 725 Creative, which is a social media, and branding firm that specializes in working with creative and non-profits. Angelia and Charisma fit their title as hustlers, creatives and entrepreneurs because it is with their skill and experiences that they can provide an inside look into business and relationships with their podcast Heart + Hustle. Listen here.

Hashtags + Stilettos: Hashtags and Stilettos is hosted by Sakita Holley who is the founder and CEO of House of Success. House of Success is a NY based lifestyle PR Firm. Over the years, Sakita has fine-tuned her expertise in the PR world and has created Hashtags + Stilettos to inspire others to reach the same level of success. The podcast provides valuable inside knowledge on business, lifestyle, PR knowledge and features interviews from entrepreneurs. This podcast is for the go-getter with a plan and Hashtags and Stilettos will help guide your plan. Listen here.

 

Curl Fest, which was held on July 15th in Prospect Park, was the epitome of black excellence and black beauty. As soon as I entered Prospect Park there was an instant feeling of home with all the beauty represented. Black women and men of all shapes and sizes made sure that their outfits were right and their curls were primped and shining to perfection.

All around and encompassing the festival were hair exhibits from all of your favorite brands which included Shea moisture, Iman Cosmetics, Tropic Isle Living, Crème of Naure, Mielle Organics, ORS Olive Oil, Phyto Specific, Clairol, Alikay Naturals, Jamaican Black Castor Oil, DeNatural, Palmers, Curls and much more.

Along with exhibits, there were great food trucks with an array of options that included delicacies from Jamaica, Nigeria, and Mexico. In the center of Curl Fest there were dance-offs and the DJ pumped music for the crown. It was an all out celebration of life, beauty, and art.

The celebration definitely encompassed and even surpassed the mission of the curly girl collective, which is to create innovative experiences that harness the energy of the natural hair movement. The inspirational bosses that inspired the Curly Girl Collective movement include media maven Charisse who is the External Relations Specialist, Melody who is the design guru and Creative Director, Tracy who is the Marketing Consultant, Simone who is the Service Systems Analyst and Gia who is the Creative Marketer. It only took an idea and the collaboration of women putting their skill sets together and uplifting each other to create a movement.

What change can you inspire in the world by just embracing your passion and using your skills? What will be your impact and your movement? I think that more women should work with each other and uplift each other and this can only inspire more magic in the world. Collectively, the end product is apparent and we see the vision of this movement. However, what kind of trials are you willing to persevere through to make your own movement?