A Year In Review.

2010.

This year has been so many things. A few words when trying to describe it would be: busy, fast, scary, beautiful, horrific, painful, exciting, enlightening, bewildering, challenging, incredible, and unforgettable.

It makes sense that a dramatic person would lead a dramatic life. I like to think that I am dramatic in the “jump in with both feet” sort of way, rather than any other meaning of the word. My life has always been interesting which I am both grateful and at times resentful of, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. The amount of life changes I have experienced this year would have been enough for five years, not one.

The beginning of the year was very similar to the middle and end of last year.  I was in school, in a relationship, busy with school and friends.  I began my internship at the end of January which proved to be an invaluable experience. I met so many wonderful people who helped me learn more than I did in any class about the industry in which I am building my career. The internship finished at the end of April but I continued mentoring with the Front Office Manager through August. I got to experience various elements of the Human Resources department, where my internship took place, and all of the sub-departments of the hotel’s front office.  

This summer was a really difficult time for me. My parents went back to England for three weeks while I took summer classes and my brother was still in school.  This was difficult because I had a lot of class work, on top of making sure Tom was okay and doing well with his. It made me realize how much I really depend on my parents and how fortunate Tom and I are to have them.

In June and July, I took three summer classes (in five weeks).  This is probably the most ridiculous thing I have ever attempted to do and I have never been so emotionally and physically drained.  My relationship ended and I got all four wisdom teeth out so those months were tough as it is, but I pulled through with summer grades of 4 A’s and a B, which I was proud of.

August brought the beginning of the end of my undergraduate career. It never really sank in that this was it, after those 16 weeks, I was done. I would be a college graduate! I was busy with 18 credits, student government, friends and family so the time flew by.  I was looking into grad school and working on getting my work permit and a job after graduation so I could work full time and go to evening classes.  This was all well and fine, until the opportunity with Four Seasons came about.  I could never have dreamed something so incredible could happen to me! I had a really tough year, most of which isn’t fit to blog about, but the year couldn’t have come to an end with more amazing opportunities for me.

This year has been both the best and worst of my life. I have grown and learned so much about myself. I have been stripped down and built up to be stronger than I’ve ever been, and I am finally content with who I am and who I’m mean to be.

I am so very excited to see what 2011 brings. I always make three or four resolutions, but this year I don’t think I’ll make any.  I never keep them anyway, and I feel that it seems a bit silly to put targets and dates on life changes, when if they matter that much, you should be working on them anyway.  This being said, I do plan on making it the best year of my life. And that’s a promise.

One of the best days of my life!

December 14^th, 2010. 4pm. Thomas & Mack.

Graduating from college was definitely and continues to be one of the strangest feelings in the world.  It hasn’t sunk in that I won’t be going back to school next semester, or that when I get home at night I won’t have a paper to write or a online quiz due or project to start (or not start; I procrastinated a lot). It’s probably going to hit me after my first day of work, when I come home and relax and adjust to all my life changes. 

Anyway, I had been counting down 'til Graduation since 2010 started. I knew I was on track to graduate in time, but always pushed myself a little more trying to get ahead of everyone (my competitive streak is relentless, and oftentimes not even really worth it). I'm very stubborn and once I get an idea, nothing's going to stop me and I will work hard for whatever it is. I worked my butt off this year in school, doing 18 credits, an internship, and being a Student Manager for UNLVino Wine Tasting, then did 15 credits in 8 weeks over summer, which was probably the worst summer of my life, for various reasons, and then finished my undergrad studies with another 18 credit semester. Not sure why I decided to do that, but I am Jessica and Jessica does this sort of thing all the time.  

Graduation was at 4pm so naturally I was running around late and unprepared at 2pm, an hour before the graduates were supposed to be in place and ready to go. The whole experience after lining up with our colleges was a bit of a blur. We sat through an incredibly boring (sorry!) ceremony for almost four hours, but the most important part to me, which was when I got to walk across the stage, was over in a matter of seconds. 

I am so thankful for all of the family I had there to support me. I wish some more of my English family could have made it but for health reasons and so on it just wasn't possible. However, I know they were there in spirit which is what really matters. 

After the ceremony we went back to my house and had dinner and celebrated. By the time everyone left, I was absolutely exhausted. So in typical Jessica fashion, instead of going out and going crazy celebrating, I was in sweatpants by 9 pm and went to bed a couple of hours later. And I wouldn't have spent my graduation day with anybody different or in anyway different.

  Here are a few pictures from the day.

My 21st Birthday.

First of all, I would like to apologize for not having updated this blog for a while. I don't think I have ever been so busy as I have been over these past few weeks. With my birthday, finals week, graduation, and moving all creeping up at once, it's been chaos.

For my 21st birthday weekend, I didn't want to plan TOO much as my birthday fell on a Sunday and the following Monday was the start of finals week (I've always had wonderful timing).  On Friday, I went to dinner at Republic Bar & Kitchen with my closest friends which was a great time. Afterward, a few of us went to our friend's birthday party at his house.

On Saturday, my family came over to our house and we had food and drinks. It was really fun and I ate about 1000 cupcakes so all in all it was a good time.  After everyone left, Kim and I went out to our friend Eddie's birthday party and then out to Town Square for when the clock struck midnight. I was so excited and Kim and I sat in her car with a countdown until it was officially 12 a.m. As soon as it turned December 5th, we both screamed with excitement, only to get out the car to see two guys stood near the car who probably thought we were insane.

Our first stop was Blue Martini. Kim bought me a "Fly Me To The Moon" martini which tastes like Skittles. It didn't really taste like Skittles but it was tasty nonetheless. My friend Amy met us there and we sat there for about an hour before we went to Nu Sanctuary, a relatively new spot in Town Square that seems to be really popular. We saw our friend in line who told us he'd been waiting over an hour so it was pretty sweet when Amy, Kim and I were just pulled straight in by the bouncers (I felt so official haha). There we hung out with some more of our friends and before we knew it, it was 4 am. Kim and I took Amy home then went to get some food. I finally got home around 6:30 and was completely exhausted.

On Sunday, I went out to dinner with my parents and my brother. My parents said they would buy me Tiffany's for my present, and I was so excited. We went to the Tiffany & Co. located in the Bellagio and I picked out a beautiful ring with three little diamonds. Then we went to eat at Maggiano's and had a great table next to the windows so we had a pretty view of The Strip.

All in all, I couldn't have asked for a better birthday. It was so nice to spend time with both my family and my friends, and it's definitely a birthday I will never forget.  Below are some pictures from my birthday weekend.

Graduation Photoshoot

My lovely friend, Ali McGhie (www.alimcghie.com) took my graduation pictures. Here are a few!

Starting a Bucket List..

I don't know how much I'll really end up taking notice to this, but here are some things I'd love to do in my lifetime:

1. Swim with dolphins
2. Run half marathon (don’t know if I could manage a full)
3. Visit NYC for New Years
4. Go to Greece, Italy, Switzerland, Ireland (again), Colorado, Alaska, Australia, New Zealand
5. Learn to surf
6. Own horses
7. Learn to play the piano
8. Ride in a hot air balloon
9. Go on a cruise
10. See Niagara Falls
11. Attend Day of the Dead festival in Mexico
12. Take up photography
13. Write a book and have it published
14. Start my own business
15. Become a professor
16. Visit all 50 states
17. Go scuba diving (terrifying)
18. Learn one or more languages
19. Own a beautiful house
20. Own a cabin or a boat, or both

I'll update when more ideas pop up :)

Lists, Lists, Lists

It's becoming more and more apparent that moving is extremely expensive and extremely time-consuming.  It's hard because not only am I moving out of my parent's home for the first time, but I'm moving to an island that is a 5 1/2 hour flight away. I have never had any bills, any laundry (I know this is shameful), any major cleaning to do and I'm realizing how lucky (and spoiled) I've been living at home. It's time for me to grow up and handle different responsibilities. While it's all very exciting, it's also terrifying.  Here's just a snippet of the things I have on my "To-Do List:"

1. Find a place to live (this in itself is really hard because I am not at all familiar with the island, having never been, so I'm unsure as to which areas are nice, safe, and convenient)
2. Talk to moving companies about packing and shipping my belongings
3. Talk to a moving company about the cost to ship my car
4. Take a drug test
5. Get my cat tested for rabies (this was $300...ridiculous)
6. Buy everything new. Living at home I only had my bedroom furniture. Now I have to furnish a bathroom, a kitchen, and a living room as well. Did I mention with no money?
7. Sell some of my belongings I don't want or need to take with me
8. Fill out numerous employment verification forms
9. Get tested for TB
10. Learn how to pump up tire pressure, do laundry, dye my own hair, iron, clean carpet...basically become domesticated

 This is a seriously condensed list of things I need to get done or am in the process of doing. There are many other items on my agenda but quite frankly I can't even remember them all. This is all while some major life-changing events approach: four weeks until graduation, three weeks until the end of my undergraduate career, two weeks to my 21st birthday, one week til Thanksgiving (and more importantly Black Friday - and  yes, this is considered a life-changing event).

I am sooo tired all the time. I need rest! With so many things on my plate right now, I would love nothing more than to slow down. But I just don't have the time.

My New Home

Restaurant inside the resort

Golf Course at the resort

Kailua-Kona beach

One of five pools at the resort

Four Seasons Hualalai

View outside one of the presidential suites

Sunset in Kailua Kona

An Incredible Opportunity.

Nearing graduation in just a few short weeks, I had been wracking my brain with what I was even going to do next with my life.  Should I go right back to school and work on my Masters, should I apply for OPT (12 month work experience for international students) or should I try and do both? I was unsure but had applied for OPT and was waiting on information about graduate school and deciding if I wanted to go back in the spring or the fall of 2011.  

One day I received an email from the Hotel College's mailing list about Four Seasons hiring for their Management Training Program at their resort in Hawaii. Getting into any management training program for new graduates is hugely competitive and several major industry names offer them once or twice a year. This sounded incredible, and while I didn't think for a minute it would actually happen, I decided there would be no harm in sending my cover letter and resume to the Human Resources Director.  After about three days I didn't hear back so I didn't think anything of it. 

 A couple of days later, I got an email asking me to pick a time slot for an interview. I was so excited! Surely they wouldn't interview all the applicants, so I must have made some sort of decent impression from my resume.  I made up a list of interview questions and planned my responses, and had a mini (or major) freakout the evening before my interview.

The day of the interview, I felt a little better about the whole situation.  At the end of the day, I could only try my best and if it didn't work out, there must be something else planned out for me.  However, when I got to the interview and met the recruiters, I was given such a gigantic confidence boost after I realized how well the interview was going. My answers flowed, I was honest and friendly, and really kept my composure. I was so proud of myself for not going all silly and shy!

I emailed the recruiters the next day to thank them for the interview, and we exchanged a few more emails over the next few days.  One week after my interview, one of the recruiters emailed me and asked if he could call and "chat." My heart sank and I was expecting a rejection call, but I gave him a time to call me and waited nervously to hear the letdown. I had been trying so hard not to get my hopes up, but imagining a job at Four Seasons AND it being located in Hawaii was just beyond a dream to me.

The next morning came and I was incredibly nervous. I didn't know how I would handle the rejection, especially since a good few members of  my family knew and I would feel ashamed (not that they would ever be disappointed, but I like to make people proud).  We chatted for a minute or two, and then the magical words came - "We would like to offer you a position with us at the Four Seasons." I could not believe my ears. I laughed and tried incredibly hard not to squeal down the phone into the poor man's ear.  He laughed as he could probably tell how giddy I was and said he would be emailing me the official job offer later that day.

I got off the phone and started crying. I don't think I've ever cried from happiness before as I think that's cheesy and is for girls. But here I was, sobbing and running around the house like a headless chicken (I even started scaring the dogs). I called my parents, neither of them were home, and sort of squawked the news down the phone in between gulping breaths and laughter. 

It's been a couple of weeks now since  I got the job offer and I am still on cloud 9. My life is like a dream now and I couldn't be happier. This is the most incredible opportunity I could ever hope for and I am so thankful for it all.  I am moving to Kailua-Kona, Hawaii early January and will begin my career with the Four Seasons then!