They Call Me a Working (Wo)man

Now that I've had a few days to recover from a whirlwind of finals, last days in London, flying home, and extreme jet lag, I've started thinking about my plans for the summer. With a bit of disappointing results after a full-blown internship hunt, I've decided to take the summer to work and get my things in order. And let's be honest, studying abroad in London really did a number to my wee little bank account. Let's not even talk about it.

Anyway, I'm more than excited to be starting at the cafe again. Yes, I'm that girl who legitimately wished she could go to work while she was abroad. I know, I have a problem, I've been told. But hey, there's nothing wrong with absolutely loving your job. Plus, who couldn't love a job where you make coffee all day? Am I right? Even better still, I'll be working full-time hours...a thrilling proposition for someone who has dreams of opening her own coffee shop someday. That's another topic in and of itself, though.

For now though, I've got some really exciting ventures to juggle around. With classes out and finals done, I'm psyched to really get into my thesis/Capstone research. Growing up in a family chock full of teachers and educational administrators, I've always valued the importance of a good education. For the longest time, I wanted nothing more than to be an art teacher (after all, my high school art teacher helped to shape the outcome of my life so far). For many unfortunate reasons, I decided against that career path my freshman year of college. But hey, I'm absolutely in love with what I do now and have absolutely no regrets.

Even as an interior design student, I've kept this interest in education alive and well. (Check out the amazing project I was lucky enough to take part in here). Naturally, when choosing my topic for my senior thesis, I wanted to focus on how we can improve the quality of education through the creative arts. I've started reading up on "right-brained" thinking, as well as current educational systems and theories and I've got to say, I'm pumped. And of course, I can't wait to share what I'm gathering from it all with you...but alas, we'll save that for another post, another time.

On top of thesis research, my amazing boss has given me the wonderful opportunity to do design work for the newest, upcoming location for the coffee shop I work at (see why I'm obsessed here). Upon my arrival back in the states, I found out that we'd be opening a kiosk/shop in Hancock International Airport in Syracuse, NY. While the new location is opening up this coming week, I'll be working on the design for the merchandise section of the shop. It's absolutely thrilling to be able to know that my design for the space will soon be seen by jet setters from all across the country. Needless to say, I'm extremely lucky and absolutely elated to have such a great opportunity.

Speaking of jet setting, I'll soon be up in the air one more time. Just as soon as I arrived in the states, I'll be heading out again to Santa Maria de Jesus, Guatemala. After the quickest four months of my life, I'm finally going to see the school five classmates and I did design work for last semester. I'm still in awe of the fact that we're even going, but the closer it gets to departure, the more I look forward to seeing the school, the country, and most importantly, the children using the building.

Until next time!