#juneprompt

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@the_drawing_room_club #thedrawingroomclub #juneprompt #stilllife @bethanykohrt_artist Pink Paeonies (at Colchester, Essex) https://www.instagram.com/p/CfCDiskIzYq/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[ifyago-blog]

Finally Having Time to Learn!

For most public relations students, summertime means more than just working a simple summer job or lounging poolside. Are you interning? Working as a freelance consultant? Starting a new project? Reading a book or two? What are your summer plans to keep your professional profile in tip-top shape?

My decision to return home and spend time with my family is one most probably consider lazy or distracted. To be honest I wasn’t completely comfortable with the decision at first. After being home for about a month now, I don’t regret the decision at all and know I never will. That said I am currently working a retail job at Anthropologie. Not quite the dream I had for myself post graduation.

I’ll be honest, my decision also included the desire to take a breath and really remind myself to avoid rushing my life. Still, I didn’t want my brain to turn into complete jell-o, so I’ve made sure to keep it active and learning. I never want my brain to get used to a lack of absorbing new information.

Being in PR, my writing skills are my main concern. To keep them working and up to par, I decided to blog about any unique and interesting experiences I have during this time.

Thanks to Duolingo, a language learning app, I am able to learn and practice French for free. I strongly encourage downloading the app and choosing one of the plenty of languages to develop a working vocabulary. I promise this isn’t your high school language class. I have never had so much fun learning a language!

If you haven’t heard of meetup.com and are suffering from post-college loneliness, definitely check it out! The site provides a way for individuals with related interests to form groups for others to join. I am planning on meeting up with a group to practice conversational French and another to go trail biking soon! Again, this is another fantastic way to network with your local community while learning something new.

Finally, I really wanted to freshen up on my world history knowledge during this time of…plenty of time. I received a book called Timelines of History as a graduation gift for this reason. If you like or are interested in history at all, I HIGHLY suggest this book. It’s so helpful in putting events and time periods into perspective in relation to one another. As someone who hopes to work cross-culturally someday, I felt maintaining my knowledge of not only current but past events was the most necessary.

My advice to others amidst this period of my life, internship or not, is to just keep learning. If you have particular career interests, find ways you can set yourself apart by learning related skills. If you really can’t think of anything, I truly believe learning a language can only ever help in your future endeavors. 

I am participating in PRSSA’s “Progressions Writing Prompt” exercise for (June 2014). To learn more, check out this post for details.

[toxiccasey]

You Have A Hollowed Out Heart || June Prompt

New York always had those bitterly cold winters; the ones where if hurt to breathe whenever you went outside. Those were the days that Alessa loved the most. She bundle up in her coat, scarves and gloves and go watch people ice skate and fall in love in Central Park. It was cheesy and a little creepy, but it made Alessa happy. Not to mention it sparked her muse to write. There were countless days she'd go out and just fill her notebooks with short stories and poems, or even just doodle, while strangers laughed and skated around.

This had been one of those days and as Alessa made her way back home, she found herself in one of her rare genuinely happy moods. There was something about today that gave Alessa an extra bounce in her step; a little extra pep. She didn't know what it was until she entered the lobby and the doorman, Albion, was standing behind the front desk waving a packet in the air.

“My darling Alessandra. You have mail from the very prestigious Waxman Literary Agency!”

Letting out an obnoxious squeal, Alessa sprinted across the lobby, nearly tackling Albion in the process. “It's here? Seriously. Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.” Grabbing the envelope, Alessa bounced up and down, earning concerned stares and annoyed glares from the other patrons of the building. Albion simply laughed and shook his head before placing his hands on Alessa's shoulders to stop her bouncing.

“Breathe, love. I've got a feeling, little one. You got it.” A proud smile passed over his features, crinkling his eyes and forehead, and Alessa hugged him quickly.

“Thanks, Al.” Releasing the man, Alessa tore the packet open, quickly reading over the cover letter letting her know if she got the internship or not.

“'Ms. Alessandra Tosto. We are happy to inform you that you have been accepted into the Waxman Literary Agency's summer internship.”

With every word, Alessa's voice rose with excitement and happy tears stung at her eyes. Dropping her head into her hands, Alessa's tried to calm her breathing. She got in. They wanted her. After all of her hard work and late nights killing herself over the application, Alessa got in.

“Good job, love. I knew you'd do it.” Lifting her head, Alessa found herself staring back at Albion's tear filled eyes. He looked like a proud dad; the dad Alessa wished she had.

“You have to tell him, you know.” A groan ripped through Alessa's chest and her head fell back, all happy thoughts replaced with fear and dread.

“You had to ruin it, didn't you Al?”

“Sorry, 'Lessa, but you've got to. He'll be worse if he finds out you're lying.”

He was right and Alessa knew it, but she didn't want to tell her father. There was nothing that man couldn't ruin, including Alessa's life. Still, she would surely get more than her usual verbal slap in the face if she lied.

See, Alessa's father had planned to send Alessa to a law firm one of his friend's worked at to get Alessa started on track to become a lawyer. Despite her protests, Mr. Tosto wouldn't budge and made the plans for Alessa to intern at the law firm. She hoped, now that she'd gotten in, he'd let her go to Waxman's, but it was a long shot and she knew it.

Giving Albion one last hug, Alessa made her way to the elevator and pressed the button to take her up to the penthouse where he father would be sitting at the dining room table with his newspaper, just like he always did. The man was obnoxiously predictable. At least, he was until he got angry, then there was no telling what he would do.

Walking into the dining room, Alessa took a deep breath and threw the packet onto the table in front of her father.

“I got in, Papa. They think I'm good enough to make it. They want me and I want to go. Please, Papa. Let me do this.” The pleading in her voice was a little more prominent than Alessa would have liked, but she wanted this more than she wanted to get out from under her father's scrutiny. This was her dream; what she knew she was born to do. Not everyone could wield words in a way that changed lives and Alessa knew she could become one of those people.

“No. I've already made a deal with Terrance. You're going to the firm. End of discussion, Alessandra. Now, get this out of my face.” The packet flew back at Alessa, sliding across the the glossy wooden table. Clenching her jaw, Alessa took a deep breath through her nose, blinking back tears and trying to keep her anger in check. “Your little infatuation with writing needs to end, Alessa. You need a real dream, like being a lawyer. Stop acting like a child.”

And that was all it took for Alessa to lose control. Slamming her hands onto the table, Alessa shook the glass that held her father's scotch, nearly knocking it off the table. “This is a real dream, Papa! Per favore, capire! This is the only thing I'm honest to God good at! And it's the only thing I truly love. I feel...alive when I write. I'm empowered and happy and it brings me and so many other people joy! Talk to my Composition professors, per favore Papa! They can tell you! I'm good! Read some of the stuff I have! I can do this! I know I can! Please, just...give me a chance!”

Clearly Alessa's outburst didn't go over well. Her father's face turned the same color as his bright red tie and you'd think he was going through withdrawals with how badly he was shaking. Alessa quickly shrunk back as her father pushed away from the table knocking the chair he was sitting in back and clamoring to the floor loudly.

“Alessandra Marea Tosto!” His voice boomed through the house, causing her mother to pop her head in and tell him to quiet down or else the neighbors would hear. Alessa shot her a pleading look, silently asking for help, but she simply stared at her blankly before returning to the kitchen. Gee, thanks Mom.

“You will not speak to me like that. I don't care what your professors say and I do not care how 'good' these idiots think you are. You are my daughter I will not let you chase after these silly little notions in your head. Your words are nothing and will do nothing for you or anyone else. They're just that; words! They can't do anything. Lawyers, they can do things! You're going to be a lawyer! Do you hear me?! I'm done talking about this, Alessandra. You will do as you're told or so help me God you will not see another book in your sad, pathetic little life! The only reason you're going to be successful is because I made it so! Do as your told or else you're no longer apart of this family and you can go live on the street with the rest of your starving artist friends! I don't need that kind of trash in my house or my family!”

Alessa watched him as he stalked off, ripping up her acceptance letter as he went. As the pieces of the letter fell to the floor, tears started to fall down her cheeks and her breathing started to shallow. Alessa'd always known her father was ruthless, but never in her life did she imagine him taking away the one thing she knew she couldn't live without. But this...this hurt more than Alessa ever imagined it would. It was like she couldn't breathe.

Before she knew it, her mother was in her face and asking if she was alright. Clearly she was not. Pushing past her mother, the one person who could save her from all this but chose not to, Alessa ran to her room, locking the door. Curling up on her bed, Alessa's body shook as she sobbed until her voice was raspy and weak. The ache in her chest let her know that every dream she'd ever had was shattered and so was her heart. The pain radiated to her toes rendering her motionless on her bed. Her future was gone. All chances of getting away from this hell that she lived in was gone. She was stuck, drowning. She was hopeless.