Unemployed? Put those capable hands to work volunteering

I was laid off November 17th, 2008. 

That short sentence has been one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to say (and type, as it seems). 

At first, it was kind of nice for those two first weeks – sort of like vacation. I rested up, got lots of chores done, caught up with friends I had been neglecting, and in general had a pretty good time. 

Then boredom (and a niggling feeling of depression set in). I began to hit the job search path hard. I’d been walking along it for quite some time as the proverbial writing had been on the wall since October. I searched and searched while applying to countless companies. I signed up with recruiters and temp agencies and really did my best to squelch that seed of depression that had begun to take root. My days were filled with To-Do Lists and check marks and goals. I rode my own back worse than anyone else. I had people telling me to take it easy and I would just shake my head. How could they tell me to take it easy? I was a drain on society, I was UNEMPLOYED. 

The day I filed for unemployment was one of the worst of my life to date, topped only possibly by the deaths of several close family members. It was a necessary step, but it hurt my pride like only those who’ve had to file could understand. Luckily, they let you do it online so I had no long lines or potentially embarrassing scenarios to worry about.

You see, image is very important to me, as I am a public relations person to the core. Building an image, maintaining it, protecting it – for a company, or myself – is key to my everyday functionality. The stigma on the unemployed and those collecting unemployment insurance is such that I felt I had something to be embarrassed about, when in reality, there was nothing of which to be ashamed.

I hit my 23rd birthday just one month after being laid off. This was my worst BIRTHday to date. I hope it remains my worst ever. Going though my birthday, then Christmas and New Years just two weeks later only emphasized what I already knew – my life was NOT where I wanted it to be.  So I jumped up with newly-found energy and interviewed with so many places. I can’t even begin to count how many times I was one of the top two or three applicants but didn’t get the position. I was going up against people with years of experience that I didn’t have, just having graduated from college not even a year ago.

It wasn’t long that my energy began to wane – hearing nothing but how I was great but the position had been filled was more than depressing, it was downright heartbreaking. 

That heartbreak got me thinking about a lot of things and it got me doing a TON of soul searching. After all that looking, I found another source of constant pain for me- Alzheimer’s Disease. Since I was doing nothing but searching for a job and interviewing (and lots of domestic duties at home), I chose to take a big step and volunteer for the Alzheimer’s Association. There I found a purpose – there was suddenly meaning to my days again… I was needed. Most importantly, I was helping people. 

I recommend volunteering to anyone out there with time on their hands (whether through unemployment or sheer happenstance). You may find it not only fills in the gap on your resume rather nicely, but also brings order back to your day by giving you a reason to wake up and go outside. You’ll build valuable contacts, put your life back in perspective, and simply become a better person. Helping others is a core value in a humane society – reach out that idle hand and help someone.

Life lessons learned:

I held an event recently to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Association that taught me a few things I thought I’d share with you all:

1. Time goes really really fast!
2. Just because someone says they’ll do something or will be there… doesn’t always mean they will.
3. You have to take things in stride. Few things in this life are truly worth the aggravation you are willing to give them.
4. Prize wheels are a pain in the butt.
5. Time is valuable. Show people you don’t want to waste their time and they will come in droves.
6. True generosity really knows no bounds.
7. Fun can be had, no matter how small the space, crowd, activity, time, etc.
8. Sometimes, you just have to let go of the control a little bit. That’s what committees are for.
9. Few things live up to the grandeur of your expectations or imagination.
10. Family is one of the few things in this world you can count on.

What would life be without fundraisers?

Just a reminder – we are on a 2 week countdown now for my fundraiser for Alzheimer’s!!!

On September 20, 2008, I will be hosting a “Monte Carlo Night to Remember” in an effort to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Association’s Memory Walk in which my family will be participating.

“A Monte Carlo Night to Remember”
Rockaway Beach Volunteer Fire Department Hall
September 20, 2008
7 pm

Join us for a night of games and charity.
$15 buys 60 chips, which will have no monetary value upon purchase.
Cash prize wheels will be available to play.
Proceeds benefit the Alzheimer’s Association.

Beer, wine and munchies will be provided.

What do you know, college courses have practical application!

On September 20, 2008, I will be hosting a “Monte Carlo Night to Remember” in an effort to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Association’s Memory Walk in which my family will be participating.

Imagine my surprise regarding the planning when I discovered that it’s pretty darn easy to organize, thanks, largely in part, to my coursework at Towson.

Thank you’s go out to many respected professors, but especially Tiffany and Les. Without your guidance - raising money for this cause (which is so near and dear to my heart) would be so much more of an insurmountable task. Thank you for giving me the skills I needed to organize and successfully manage a fundraiser.

“A Monte Carlo Night to Remember”
Rockaway Beach Volunteer Fire Department Hall
September 20, 2008
7 pm

Join us for a night of games and charity.
$15 buys 60 chips, which will have no monetary value upon purchase.
Cash prize wheels will be available to play.
Proceeds benefit the Alzheimer’s Association.

Beer, wine and munchies will be provided.

From the rantings of my dear friend, Diana

My friend Diana recently sent a mass e-mail to everyone regarding our economic situation. I’ll back D up by posting what I believe to be a thorough analysis of what is quickly becoming one of the biggest misunderstandings in history.

 

Diana writes,

“The recent news stories of people waiting for hours to draw their money out of banks reminds me of the great depression.  While reading up on it, I was shocked and rather appalled by how many reporters are throwing around the word “recession” so loosely.  I want to set the record straight.  WE ARE NOT IN A RECESSION!!

 

An economic recession is defined (by investopedia.com) as “A significant decline in activity spread across the economy, lasting longer than a few months. It is visible in industrial production, employment, real income and wholesale-retail trade. The technical indicator of a recession is two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth as measured by a country’s gross domestic product (GDP).”

 

Q1 2007 GDP: .6%

 

Q2 2007 GDP: 3.8%

 

Q3 2007 GDP: 4.9%

 

Q4 2007 GDP: .6%

 

Q1 2008 GDP: 1%

(Source:http://useconomy.about.com/od/economicindicators/a/GDP-statistics.htm)

 

Even if Q2 falls, we would need to see Q3 fall as well in order to be in a recession.  We won’t have those figures until December of 2008 – That’s 6 months away!!!

 

Also, please note that the unemployment rate was 5.5% in June of 2008.  Yes, this is up from 4.6% from June of 2006. However, this isn’t the highest it’s been in the last decade, even the last 5 years.  2002: 5.8%, 2003: 6.0%

(Source:http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat1.pdf)

 

As of right this second, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 11,098. 9/10/01, The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 9,605.  One week later when Wall Street reopened, stocks plummeted over 600 points. Basically, the Stock Market is not plummeting to nowheresville-it’s been lower before and we were okay.

(Source:http://archive.wkbn.com/firstnews/history/2001-09-10/1100pm/xindex.htm)

 

Yes, the US has hit an economic slump, but please, let’s not start jumping out of windows yet.  The media is trying to scare everyone into a frenzy and there is no need for it.  We aren’t even close to being the lowest that we’ve been in the last decade, so everyone take a handfull of chill pills, go to a pool and sip a margarita and breathe.  I’m just trying to set the record straight…”

 

My last post having been about Andrew Cohen and his lack of ability to research and believe anything besides what was spoon-fed to him in ignorance, I figured this might fit in rather well. What the people of this thriving, beautiful, progressive country need to do instead of standing in line to withdraw money is go back to the books, the library or simply their personal computer and do some research on what our country is, what it’s gone through in the past, and find out how to handle the present situation.

 

Rant on, Diana, rant on!

It’s simply amazing how people don’t think before speaking… or writing…

Analyst Andrew Cohen rocked the PR world over the weekend with his rude rant regarding Scott McClellan’s new book “What Happened,” as well as the profession from which Mr. McClellan supposedly sprung.

As my dear friend Uncle Les recently so eloquently wrote in his blog, More With Les, “If you can stand to read it, read it at” The Flak Over Flacks, In the Wake of Scott McClellan’s New Book.

I, like any other Public Relations professional, was indignant and outraged after reading Mr. Cohen’s column. However, after reading through some of Mr. Cohen’s past work, I am no longer as shocked as I was in the beginning by his generalized taunts at our profession. Judging by the tone of some of his work, I am now merely surprised that the topic of Public Relations professionals wasn’t slashed down sooner.

As a member of the Towson University class of 2008, I am just stepping into this profession and it is opinions like Mr. Cohen’s that are making searching for a job increasingly difficult. I am not as angry at Mr. Cohen anymore as much as I am at people who think like him (a population that grows ever larger).

The sad reality is this: People are constantly looking for a cause, something to believe in. Give them a strong opinion (like Mr. Cohen’s) and they’ll gobble it up, take in on and carry it as their torch until something better comes along. This is how we end up with stereotypes and cynical generalizations by people who really should know better.

Unfortunately, some people who do not belong in our profession add weight to these lemmings’ arguments with scandals beyond measure. From Exxon-Valdez to FEMA, there are very public dishonest missteps that catch the public eye and build distrust and skepticism of what is a very concrete and truthful profession. Google “Past PR Scandals.” It’s disgusting.

Why these opinions hurt my and every other graduate’s job search is they appear to be held by business owners and opinion leaders all across the nation. Because PR is such a distrusted profession, it is often the first to go and last to enter the workplace. Mr. Cohen and people like him make our profession DISPOSABLE by attempting to discredit it at every turn.

What’s a PR professional to do? Here we are, a group unlike any other, with written and oral communication skills beyond measure… how do we fight back? What is our response to Mr. Cohen and bigots like him? Surely, this cannot end with one letter of response from the Public Relations Society of America!

What I need is guidance from the seasoned professionals to which I have so humbly added my thoughts in the blogosphere. HOW CAN I HELP? What is it that I can do besides angrily rant away in my blog? I resent Mr. Cohen for defacing what I consider to be an honorable profession – what can I do besides make faces of frustration at CBS.com for letting such trash get published and verbalize much of these same sentiments on More With Les?

Doing something worthwhile with my life…

I recently graduated from Towson – over a week ago, in fact.

Since then, I have been out of the country and back, as well as all over this great state of Maryland, helping set things up for a fabulous shindig going on this weekend at my parents’ house (in honor of my graduation, of course).

In between all this fabulous traveling, I have found myself desperately, almost pathetically searching for meaning in my life. I am no longer solely focused on finding a job (though it would be nice), as much as I am intent on finding a worthwhile cause for which to campaign and volunteer.

I recently found something, buried in my inbox under “family,” the last of the e-mails in a long string that had come in the past week while I was away. My cousin Michele wrote to tell my entire family of a walk for Alzheimer’s Disease in Solomon’s Island on September 20, 2008, put on by the Alzheimer’s Association.

This little e-mail rocked my world.

For those of you who don’t know of my past with Alzheimer’s, just stop by and ask me about it some time. I think the whole story may need to be saved for my own musings… or some later post a couple of months from now when it’s not so fresh in my heart and mind.

In any case, I have found my cause, my meaning of life. I am now the most recent recruit of Team Nelson and I would greatly appreciate your help! Please visit my web site to see how you can help donate to the cause, as well as track my progress in the fight to raise money for Alzheimer’s research.

http://memorywalksomd.kintera.org/angelateamnelson

Thank you for any help of support you can give.

Could this be?

I’m actually done….

It’s a weird feeling and just completely unbelievable, but the schoolwork’s completed and the internship is finished… all that’s left to do is get through finals.

Then it’s on to the real world.