Coming Up!

I just wanted to take a moment to think about all of the amazing things happening in the next few weeks. It's hard to believe that we're already at mid-August so what better time than now?

Some amazing opportunities I've got lined up:

• A brand new semester! I'm taking so many cool classes like Celtic archaeology and Gaelic 1. I can't wait to get going on my coursework!
• A new job! I'm back in the financial world, working as a teller for a local credit union. I'm optimistic that this job will lead to some even better opportunities in the future, and I'm glad that I'm back in the kind of environment that I feel most comfortable in.
•  Formal co-chair! Another sister and myself will be planning our fall formal, and let me tell you I'm so excited that I've already started working on it. It's going to be amazing.
• My first semester as an active sister! Last semester was difficult for me, in terms of involvement with my sorority, and I hope they're ready because I intend on making up for lost time! I'm really excited to be 110% more involved in recruitment, sisterhood, and of course formal!
• Some really great ideas for a new venture with my cousin. Still in the beginning stages, and still secret, but definitely exciting.

Sometimes it's good to take a few minutes and appreciate the good things in life, even if they're looming on the horizon.

What are you excited about?

~Megan

Thrifty Challenge

I love shopping. Getting new clothes is one of my favorite things in the world. However, I'm a little tight in the money department, so constant shopping is kind of out of the question.

Enter thrift and resale stores.

The other day I decided it would be great to find some new stuff for my new job (!), so I headed over to Goodwill. I managed to get four tops, two dresses (including one I'll probably wear to fall formal), and a couple of used books all for less than $40. Oh, and a few of those tops were brands like J Crew and Anne Taylor Loft. Talk about a bargain.

I also recently hit up a local resale shop called ReThreads. Since it's in a nice neighborhood, the things that get sold there tend to be brands like J Crew (Okay, I'm obsessed), Gap, Anne Taylor, etc. So I managed to get a pair of beautiful mint J Crew pants for only $16! Oh, and a sweater, two dresses, and a necklace. Total bill? Around $50.

My next adventure will be to Plato's Closet, known for having great brands and on-trend pieces. 

The only things that I refuse to thrift or buy used are bras/underwear, shoes, and socks. The one exception to that is the pair of tights I got at Goodwill - brand new since Target is a huge donor to the location nearest me. 

I think my biggest struggle will be for basics, which I might just break down and get from H&M or Forever 21, just because they're so cheap there. But I'm really trying to do my part in reducing the amount of waste we produce (reuse!), as well as extending my money as far as it can go.

Plus, thrift and resale shopping is kind of an adventure! You never know what you'll find. I once found a (sadly, not my size) Gap trench coat (usually around $150) for $25. There's also the time my cousin found a barely worn pair of black Louboutains at ReThreads for $80 (sadly, not in either one of our sizes). I think I would rethink my no-shoes rule for a pair like that!

~Megan

*PS, there will be some new stuff coming soon, though not on this blog. Hopefully I'll have more information soon, but I promise it's definitely exciting!

Settling Down

At the end of June, I accepted a full time job at a major electronics retailer. I didn't leave my job at the coffee shop.

As a result, I spent the next two months working without a day off, resulting in a nervous breakdown. 

Good rule for life: Don't try to push yourself to work 70+ hours if you know deep down that you can't do that anymore.

Yikes.

Needless to say, I left that job and accepted a new part time job at a credit union. I think I'll be much happier, and I have lots and lots of content planned. It just might not be for this blog. Surprises ahead!

~Megan

Having It All

Lots of people say that they want to "have it all". I'm realizing more and more that everyone's idea of what that phrase means differs from person to person.

So what does having it all look like to me?

I want to be able to make enough money to fully support myself, without help from friends or family. I want to enjoy a lifestyle that includes being able to both buy new clothes and wear them to brunch with my friends. I want to be able to enjoy wine night without having to get to bed by 8 pm in order to open the cafe the next morning at 4:30 am. I want an office job, where I feel productive and organized, and nobody is breathing down my neck constantly about television sales. I want to be able to stop at Starbucks in the morning without putting on a green apron. I want to be able to do all of this and continue (and finish!) my final year of college.

It's kind of a tall order, and finding the time to make it happen is challenging. Right now, I have two jobs, so my work week is a little bit insane these days. 

My biggest endeavor is going to be the art of time management. I need to find time to search for and land an office job that both pays well enough to support me and is flexible enough to allow me to finish school. 

Wish me luck.

~Megan

Storms

The forecast for today includes heavy rain and severe thunderstorms for most of the day.

Thankfully, this is my first day off in a couple of long, hard weeks. Sure, I'd probably rather my day off to be a gorgeous summer day so that I can go to the zoo with my boyfriend, but I'll take stormy weather as a close second.

I love thunderstorms. The heavier and scarier the better. I love when they happen late at night and everyone wakes up and watches the sky flash.

I really should be spending the day catching up on housework, hanging some pictures, and organizing my wardrobe but this weather is just too perfect for more quiet activities.

For instance, I'm listening to jazz (thanks to Songza), cuddling Moon, updating my blog (obviously) and getting ready to settle in with one of the many books waiting to be read on my windowsill.

How do you like to spend a rainy afternoon?

~Megan

Finding A Voice

I've been struggling with this basically since the beginning of this blog. I have a hard time finding the balance between saying too much and too little.

It's hard for me to determine sometimes how much is too much. But then I end up not posting anything, or when I do it winds up being something generic. I've struggled with this a lot on past blogs, sometimes posting WAY too much (some things just don't belong on the internet) and sometimes abandoning blogs altogether because it feels artificial. 

Bear with me, because I'm still finding my footing in the blog world, and I'm still unsure of how "real" I can get before it's all overshare.

But the reality is that life isn't all sunshine and rainbows, and if my blog were nothing but all the great things going on in my life, that would make for some pretty boring reading. Not to mention, inaccurate documentation of my life.

~Megan

Green With...Motivation?

I posted on Facebook a few days ago that I have a problem with "yardsticking".

(Yardsticking: comparing yourself to your friends/acquaintances, especially based on posts to social media)

One of my best friends has a cool new office job.

All of my (female) coworkers at one of my jobs are impossibly thin (and one is a model!). 

Another of my best friends just got a new Prius. 

Former coworkers of mine are traveling, buying cute clothes, etc. 

Some of my sorority sisters get way better grades/internships/jobs than I do.

...And I'm completely jealous. I mean absolutely green with envy. I look at my own life in comparison and I feel physically sick. 

Why don't I have a job that I really love? Why can't I buy a new car? Why am I still overweight and unhappy about it? I wish I could afford to buy new clothes and go on trips! My GPA has slipped an entire point, what's wrong with me? I'm never going to get a better job/internship/scholarship...

You get the idea.

But then one late night (because that's always the time I have really introspective thoughts) I realized that I don't have any of those things because of one person:

Myself.

I don't have a job I love because I'm afraid to do what I need to do to really put myself out there. 

I don't have the body I want because I don't eat a healthy diet and I don't exercise.

I don't have a Prius because I'm still paying off my Hyundai.

I haven't traveled or bought clothes because I don't budget my money wisely (or make enough, but that's a different post...and related to my first point).

My GPA slipped so far because I didn't have or do what was necessary to get good grades (it's hard to study when you legitimately can't afford textbooks...the beginning of the year was rough). I don't apply myself enough.

The only person standing in the way of what I consider successful is myself.

The only person standing in your way is you.

~Megan