The Graduate

It's that time of year again: Graduation, be it from high school, college, kindergarten, cooking school--it's around the corner. Graduation can be super stressful, hectic, and messy, so I thought I could guide you through the waters of my graduation. That way you might feel more prepared for yours. -Kat

Big news, InnerScoops readers: I write to you for the first time as an official graduate of the University of Southern California!

(Cue fanfare, confetti cannons, sparklers, and my own personalized World of Color production)

Obligatory mirror shot. Sorry for the shaving cream, I share a bathroom with boys. 

Okay okay, so maybe it’s not “big news” to anyone but me, and perhaps Disneyland is not interested in creating an entirely new water spectacular for this momentous occasion, but I think you get my point. On Friday, I walked across the stage to receive my Bachelor’s Degree—or rather, the folder that will eventually hold it—in International Relations, with minors in Cinematic Arts and Spanish. From our 8am call time to McCarthy Quad to the end of my small ceremony at 2pm, it was a LONG day.

USC’s graduation runs in a fashion that I imagine to be similar across all mid- to large-sized universities: one huge commencement ceremony, in which the big name speaker makes an address, and then smaller satellite ceremonies for each college. This year, we were lucky enough to have the amazing Christiane Amanpour deliver our commencement address. I’ll say now, I nearly had a cow (Ed Note: that phrase isn’t used nearly enough anymore, and thus begins my official campaign to reintroduce it into the lexicon) when I found out that Ms. Amanpour would be speaking to us. From my earliest aspirations to grow up to be Rori Gilmore, I have admired this ultimate Madame of international field journalism for her tenacity, bravery, and absolutely fascinating accent; last year wrote a piece on her work for my personal blog. 

Skating past my horribly unsubtle self-promotion, Ms. Amanpour delivered a great address. Particularly entertaining moments: she mentioned that our parents will likely help us with finances post-grad so that we can pursue our passions—at which point the student body erupted in cheers—and implored us to put down our cell phones and connect with people—at which point the parents erupted in equally fervent applause.

There were some obvious moments where Chrissy (we’re BFFs, duh) went off book, but she stayed true to her point: brazenly, passionately, and resolutely go after your dreams, because now is the time to carpe the heck out of your diems. My favorite thing she said, which I promptly tweeted, was that the time after her graduation felt like “a tsunami of possibility and hope.”

WHAT. A. METAPHOR.

The day continued into my satellite ceremony, which happened at the Shrine Auditorium. I have to say, considering it’s the place they used to hold the Oscars, I was underwhelmed by the building. I guess I should say, actually, and in the tradition of 10 Things I Hate About You, I was whelmed; if the place they held us before entering the auditorium was the Green Room for the likes of Clooney, Murray, and Crystal just a decade ago, they must love how bougie the Kodak Theater is!

Our ceremony happened without much fanfare. The Dean spoke, we walked across the stage—I wore a bunch of leis and a glowing necklace, in the tradition of the raves held there that I seriously would NEVER attend—and we sang the alma mater. And then we walked out and it was over. It was all so…anticlimactic.

But I guess that’s how these things go, right? All the pomp and circumstance (see what I did there, with the graduation song? I’m hilarious, I know) surrounding our ritualistic behavior is entirely symbolic, only entrenched in meaning when we assign that meaning. It carries no weight on its own and—oh heavens, let me stop myself before you slam your computers closed. I apologize: the Critical Studies departments at USC have clearly invaded my brain with visions of cultural constructs dancing in my head.

However, there was a moment where I really felt like I graduated. After all the ceremonies and the family pictures and returning my cap and gown, I stopped by the Lyon Center. Lyon, as it is affectionately (sort of) known, is our school gym and my place of employment for the last two years. I won’t say that working there was some eye-opening foray into the professional world, because it was really just a work-study job. But that was the place that I met some really important people in my life, and where I spent a lot of time working and working out in the past, oh, 700 days.

So for people who work at Lyon, there’s this tradition when you graduate. The swim stadium is one of our facilities, and it has one of those crazy-high tiered diving platforms. After graduation, seniors are supposed to jump of the tallest point—10 meters—in their cap and gown. I had chosen not to, because I was supposed to go out to lunch with my family after the ceremonies, so I returned my gown. But our cab was running late, our reservation got pushed back, and I had a spare set of workout clothes in my locker. That’s how I ended up, at 3:30 in the afternoon of my graduation day, standing on the edge of a diving platform in my work uniform and being filmed by my parents.

See, I have this thing about open spaces. A lot of people are claustrophobic, but what gets my heart racing is the idea of depth and expansion without visible end. I don’t see space movies in IMAX—a lesson I learned the hard way after seeing Star Trek—and, though I’m working on SCUBA certification, I have no desire to go night or deep diving. As such, you can see why I may have panicked a little bit. Standing there on that platform, staring about three stories down into a diving well, with my parents pointing two cameras at me, felt like actual graduation. All that symbolic meaning that was supposed to be in flipping my tassel and walking across stage—yeah, I had transferred that into this one moment of jumping off the high dive. This pool was now representative of my adult life, all my fears about what was ahead of me in the unknown, and I had to jump feet first and arms tucked into it to avoid heavy bruising and serious pain. How’s that for symbolism?

I stood for a second, thinking how dumb it was for me to be so scared. Katherine, this is a freaking pool. You used to be a swimmer. Just—

And I jumped.

And I survived.

And I laughed all the way down.

And I think that is a far better ritual for graduation than just walking across a stage.

Getting to Know You, Getting to Know All About You: Julia

Let me paint the scene: It's a cool, mid-March night, and I’m in the middle of interviewing Simply D and Jules for the blog. A little while into the interview, after skirting around my question, I get down to brass tacks, drop the bomb, address the nitty gritty--insert another cliché here, because I could go on forever--and ask the blunt question: “How has the experience been like working with Julia?”

“A roller-coaster,” exclaim Simply D and Jules confidentially in perfect unison, before bursting into loud laughter for a solid minute. Seriously.

So who is Julia? Well, unlike what Katherine initially thought (sorry guys, I get confused until I can match faces to names!--Kat) that is not Jules' full name. The lovely Miss Julia is the online Public Relations Coordinator and Office Manager for INNERMIX P&P and has known Simply D and Jules for over two and a half years. Since she has had the opportunity to see the company grow from such a young age into a forward moving, dynamic entity and grow alongside the both of them, it is no wonder that her relationship with them has evolved beyond merely employer and employee; she’s like a little sister.

Ask Simply D and Jules to tell you about Julia, and they've got stories for days. They can regale you with tails detailing her growth from that of an ambitious college student whose desires for mentorship led her to the Innermix, to a young woman who is continuously seeking to better herself professionally and personally, and will do what it takes to get there.

In the process of figuring out what she wanted to do with her life and allowing herself the time to make mistakes and learn from them, Julia has harnessed her passion for learning about social media marketing and public relations. She turned this personal passion into a well-utilized skill set, a very valuable asset nowadays. Julia has a real, fervent love for what she does and wants to carry all of Innermix to new heights.

“Most people will not know how much work she does behind the scenes. A lot of the things that happen go through her. She has made the effort to understand our brand and how we work and continuously ask how can we improve. She’s got a vision for us and we always love people who have vision,” explains Simply D and Jules.

In a company that emphasizes working as a team and connecting with the people that you work with, it’s not hard to see why she has stayed in such a unique experience. After all, there are no routine days when working with Innermix, no humdrum or monotonous or repetitive tasks just to keep you busy. In fact, team members may find days where of trying to run around and accomplish multiple tasks at once without rest until the wee hours of the morning. And she loves it all.

“I just like being able to be part of something that allows me to develop my ideas and skill set. A lot of companies just want you to work, whereas Innermix is about growing. It’s about being a part of the team instead of just working for the team,” said Julia.

It is this tenacity and this drive for accomplishment that has allowed her to move the company forward in both of the online space and as a staff. By putting the team first, learning how to take criticism well and applying it constructively towards self-improvement, she has developed the ability to bounce back from whatever challenges she meets along the way.

Despite the ups and occasional downs that she's had during this roller-coaster ride, Julia doesn’t hesitate to express a deep gratitude to the opportunities that have come her way and an overall positive outlook on her experience with Innermix.

”Personally, I’m a bit of a dreamer. And because of the way they move forward and inspire me, it makes me want to continue working with them,” she adds with a serene smile.

And it’s these dreams that keep the company and the team moving forward. After all, the driving forces towards success often include dreaming big and dreaming far.


Until next time, 


Tiffany

Stress Management 102: Don't Throw Your Cellphone. It Will Break.

Liked Kat's stress tips? We decided to keep 'em coming! Here are some tips on stress management from the lovely Tiffany. Let's see how she deals when life gets tough.

Do you ever have those days where nothing seems to be going right, despite your efforts to contain the multiple projects that have piled up throughout the day and finish up the errands that are taking longer than expected? Those times when you were looking forward to a relaxing day after completing a major project, only to find out that you did everything incorrectly and must start over? When everything seems to be against you on this unlucky day, where the barista got your coffee order wrong, your coworker blamed you for their mistakes, you messed up on dinner and your friend will be canceling plans for the weekend.

Whether you are a college student or out in the real world, most of us aren’t strangers to situations like these. Sometimes, we just happen to run into really bad days, and in times like those, it can become tempting, and perhaps at times, even relieving, to go Hulk Smash on the closest items that you can get your hands on. This often includes cell phones and pillows.

First and foremost, do not throw your cell phone. You will truly, and I mean, truly regret it after you realize that you have no idea how to put a cell phone back together. As for the pillows, do you really want to be tossing your pillow into the dark and dusty corners of the room? Especially since you don’t really know what’s been crawling around there.

Instead, there are much healthier ways that you can release your stress that doesn’t require the destruction of your electronics or your living room. In fact, these are just a few of the ways I handle my stress after a long, hard and frustrating day:

1.    Exercise – When you engage in physical activity, your body releases endorphins, which in turn, triggers positive and often euphoric feelings post-workout. By improving your body’s stamina and strength, you not only feel good on the outside but also on the inside. You don’t have to pump iron like Arnold Schwarzenegger during his Mr. Universe days. Moderate exercise such as running, biking, swimming and Yoga are all great activities to immerse yourself in, and keeping up a steady weekly routine will greatly improve your physical and mental health, thereby keeping the stress levels lower.

2.    Take a Relaxing Bath – Remember those good old days where your mom filled up a bathtub full of bubble bath? Now’s your excuse to go back to those days! There’s nothing like spending a nice, quiet evening in a tub full of hot water, bubbles and your favorite magazines, where you can just soak away your problems.

3.    Write in a journal – As one of Innermix’s bloggers, it’s no surprise that I like to relieve my stress through writing about it. Reflecting upon the day, what went wrong, what could’ve been better and what to improve on next time is a great way to have a heart-to-heart with yourself and reconvene your thoughts. Allowing yourself to record what you’re feeling will clear your mind and help you figure out what’s really bothering you and what you can do fix it.

4.    Pet your dog, cat, bird, etc. – Did you know that petting your dog could also relieve stress? Spending quality time with your pet can help with releasing stress, because of your pet’s enthusiasm and affection. Now I never owned a dog, but I actually owned a few birds and as strange as this may sound, I actually found relaxation in petting my birds and allowing them to perch on my shoulder. No matter what sort of animal your pet is, there’s nothing like coming home to your furry (or feathery) friend that is happy to see you, after a long and tiring day.

The next time you feel like pulling your hair out and beating your chest like King Kong (just kidding, I don’t know anyone who would do that…heh heh), try to remember that there are healthier and happier methods of dealing with stress. Instead of raging on the outside, you will feel invigorated, relieved and positive on the inside. And really, that’s all you really wanted to begin with.

Will you be trying out any of these tips? Or do you have some stress management tips of your own? Let me know here in the comments!

Until next time,

Tiffany


Loving these stress tips? I know they're sure helping me get through finals! We'd love to hear from you on how you keep everything together, and if you've tried any of our tricks. -Kat