Have you ever found yourself navigating a long list of “To-Dos” and you wonder about how to prioritize your time? Schoolwork, my service fraternity, my social life, work, the boyfriend and god knows what else are challenging me right now. I’m thankful for this blog because it’s been able to give me an outlet that settles my thoughts and allows me to pause from everything else.
As always, stay tuned for more.
So I’ve always been a dedicated Columbia Sportswear consumer and by dedicated, I mean I pretty much vowed to never buy Patagonia, North Face or really any other outdoor clothing brand. I’ve always been extremely happy with Columbia’s clothing and have never had a problem finding things that I need or items that are simply on my wish list.
Because of this love for one specific brand, I’ve limited my buying options and was okay with it for the most part. I never found a need to read into other brands unless they were hanging in the outdoor store that I work at in Colorado (Never Summer Mountain Products). Patagonia wasn’t a brand we carried so I wasn’t too invested in learning about the company further.
Recently, for my class blog, I looked closer at the Patagonia brand and reflected on its response to President Trump’s order to decrease the size of two protected national monuments in Utah back in early December. Essentially the president decided that the lands could be used differently and decreased the two areas from a combined total of 3.25 million acres to under 1.25 million acres. For more specifics, I suggest reading this CNN article.
Patagonia’s response to the announcement was monumental (see what I did there?) If you visited its website on December 4th you would have been greeted by this screen:
What an inspirational PR move. After doing some research for my post, I found out that Patagonia is dedicated to nature conservancy so much that 10% of its profits are filtered into the conservation of the natural environment that the company’s consumers value so much.
I was presently surprised by the company’s dedication and am thinking about expanding my Columbia heavy wardrobe and adding a Patagonia piece or two. I will still remain a dedicated Columbia consumer because my love for its products will remain strong, but I foresee a Patagonia fleece pullover in my future.
If you want to read my full post about Patagonia’s response, check out my other blog.
I’ve already mentioned in a previous post that I am in a PR class that is all writing all the time. Part of that writing is blog posts, so instead of having those take over my personal blog (here). I created another site where I’ll post twice a week for my class. If I find the post worthy of this blog I will put it here as well.
My first post had to come from an article that my professor posted on her blog and we had to link it back to our own blog’s theme. Mine, of course, follows my passion for the outdoors and the PR world within the outdoor recreation industry. It’s going to be a challenge, but I’m very excited for it.
It’s only the end of week three for me, but the workload has finally hit. I have writing assignments and midterms that have deadlines fast approaching. My planner is full but I thankfully have some fun events sprinkled here and there to keep my sanity.
As always, stay tuned for more.
Photo courtesy of Lukas Blazek – Unsplash.com
Every class seems to have a unique way of starting the term. My Strategic Public Relations Communication class, which is a writing class for Public Relations majors, started with a poem assignment. Poems are not a common writing piece for a PR professional, so it was a bit challenging. The outline of the poem came from George Ella Lyon’s “Where I’m From” Poem. I found that I actually enjoyed writing the poem and well I thought I’d share the final product.
The best part about college is that awesome break between fall and spring where you get an entire month away from school. No classes, no work, no worries right? Yes, but no. For me, my break was extra work, stressing about what comes after graduation and dealing with family. Though there were many ups and downs, I enjoyed my time back in Colorado and it reaffirmed my decision to return there after graduation. I’m a mountain girl at heart and I can’t wait to go back in June.
One of the best parts of being home was seeing my mother’s puppy, Nash. He’s a border collie, blue heeler, Australian shepherd six-month-old ball of energy. He keeps us all active and was a joy to have at home. I think having an animal in the family balances the household. He sometimes can be a pain in the ass, but he’s a lover at heart and in the end, he always put a smile on my face.
Of course, another plus side of being home was Christmas. My mom and I have always had this mentality to relax and do nothing but enjoy the day and that’s exactly what we did. I was thankful this Christmas to not only get more than I expected but to also give my mom gifts that she wasn’t expecting. (I even made her cry). I received a new camera lens which was super exciting because I’m trying to get more into photography because who wouldn’t want to capture all the beauty in this world. Callie here is the first picture I took with my new Nikon 50mm lens. I thought it turned out pretty well and I’m sure there will be plenty more pictures to come, so stay tuned.
Though there were fun elements of my break, there’s always the holiday family drama. Who doesn’t have family drama though? It’s the holidays after all. With divorced parents, it’s always a challenge balancing time between the two. It all ended well, for the most part, so I’d say it was a successful break.
Thankfully all the work and stress was balanced with short hikes, ski days and hanging out with friends. I found it enjoyable in the end and that’s all that matters. Plus, who wouldn’t want to live in this beautiful place?
