Hello friend! The cold has really been rocking my (fuzzy) socks lately, but hope you’re doing ok and staying joyful!!
It’s pretty crazy to think I’m reaching my 9-month mark of being a post-grad - there’s been so much movement in my life, and it’s inspired both happy and sad emotions. Simultaneously, this chapter has shown me that it’s through the movement of life that we truly get to see how generous and faithful God is towards us.
HOW I BECAME A PUBLICIST
As you probably read in my bio, I am currently a publicist at Small Girls PR! Public Relations was really never an option I had considered, but like everyone else, I was forced to pivot when COVID-19 hit. Winter break of my senior year, I found myself at a loss of what to do. I had originally planned on going into fashion show production, but the events industry had been hit pretty hard by the pandemic for obvious reasons.
I soon spiraled into a hole filled with “I don’t know’s,” and to be 100% transparent, it sucked. ESPECIALLY because I’m a Type A and Type 1. I hated not knowing where to even begin looking and it frustrated me to know that I didn’t have an itemized list detailing the exact steps I needed to take to get me from point A to point B. All these negative emotions, combined with rejections + ghostings from companies, led me to doubt my capabilities and I was truly convinced that no one wanted to hire me.
Call it what you will - fate, happenstance, the stars aligning (I call it God), but SGPR and I crossed paths on a newly launched recruiting site that I had decided to try out for funzies. My interest was piqued. Initially, it was their IG aesthetic that attracted me - they seemed like such a trendy, fun, “in the know,” agency, and I vibed with it. But as I was digging deeper, I was able to see the passion + respect all the employees had for this agency as well as for each other, and I suddenly began craving this seemingly healthy work environment.
I immediately applied to their fellowship program, and was over-the-moon when I was invited to interview! From there, I slowly but surely made my way through the application process, which included a 1x1 interview, a take-home project, and a panel interview. I’m not gonna dive into the deets, but the whole process lasted an agonizing 4 months during which I experienced so many ups and downs. So when I got the call that I had been accepted, it felt, quite literally, like the best day of my life. I breathed a HUGE sigh of relief and blubbered on about how happy I was to the recruiter over the phone, lol.
A qt welcome pack from SGPR!!!
My very first day on the job!! I remember feeling soooo incredibly nervous when I took this pic.
SGPR has the cutest swag fosho!!!
My first IRL outing with Tiger Squad! Look how adorbs everyone is.
HOW I MOVED TO NYC
After my summer fellowship with SGPR ended, I was offered a full-time role as an Account Coordinator! Consequently, that opened a door for me to move to NYC!! New York is one of those places that so many people dream of living in, but it always seems so aspirational - I had always been afraid of letting myself hope there’d be a future for me in the city. So to be offered this chance meant everything to me. Of course, moving meant I had to find an apartment, and in NYC’s Aug-Oct rental market, it honestly felt like fighting a losing battle.
Ok now here comes the crazy part - I didn’t even have to look too hard to find my dream apartment!! I had just listed out my must-haves and nice-to-haves, and had just downloaded Street Easy, and had just started praying when I was forwarded an opening by my friend. Her acquaintance was backing out of her lease and was looking for a subleaser to take over. I decided to take a look, not really thinking it would go anywhere, and was shocked to see that the unit had everything on both my must-have and nice-to-have list. The timing, the location, the conditions- everything was so perfect that my parents and I believed it had to be God’s answer to my prayers.
I had to make a quick decision so after praying about it a bit more, I decided to just apply for it, and if it fell through, that would be God’s way of closing that door (quite literally). The apt ended up being a co-op (which means a longer application process/more requirements to meet) but hallelujah praise God, I made it all the way through and was accepted!!
First snap with my cutie lil corner of NYC!! <3
Night view of Manhattan from LIC :0
High line - a spot I frequented when the weather was still nice outside :’)
NYC during Christmastime is truly unlike anything I’ve ever seen.
LOL I turn on tourist-mode when my friends come to town. The sunset this day was especially beautiful as we walked across the Brooklyn bridge because it had just rained.
My UES neighborhood is my fave - it’s filled with families, babies, and dogs so it’s very wholesome. Couldn’t ask for anything better.
NOW HERE WE ARE
A common theme that runs through both my job-hunting and apartment-hunting processes, is how these opportunities worked out and ended up being exactly what I needed, even though they weren’t in my OG plans. I had no intention of pursuing PR, yet God brought SGPR into my life, which is a miracle in itself if you think about the chances of one person and one agency’s compatibility among the countless others out there. Same with my apt- everything was perfectly provided for by God, I just had to follow.
I’m now working at an agency I love, with co-workers + friends I adore. It also taps into my gifts while allowing me to grow creatively and affording me great work-life balance, giving me everything I could ever dream of in terms of a fresh-outta-college career. I’m also living in a safe + wholesome neighborhood with the cutest apt in Manhattan and I get to enjoy the city every single day. How crazy is that?!?
It’s also crazy to think that God had this mapped out already long ago. I went from having no clue what I wanted/needed, to being at a place in my life where I’m so content and happy. And that to me demonstrates that God knows what I need and want. I love that He is a God who delights in our joy, and even though it’s practically impossible for humans to be happy 100% of the time, He is faithful and will always give us what we need. He is farsighted in a way we’ll never understand, so it’s important we trust Him, even when it feels so freaking hard. Trust me, I’ve been there + I still find myself there all the time.
I acknowledge and relate to the fact that it’s difficult, and even abstract, to trust God a lotta times, but I hope the events that have transpired in the recent life of this anxious-as-heck Type A gal gives you hope + encouragement that God DOES have your best interests in mind. Because WHERE GOD GUIDES, HE PROVIDES!! :D
xx, jolene