travailler

Dad used to always make us call our homework "funwork". He was very big on making learning an important factor in our lives. In fact, I always thought it was fun until I felt like I didn't fit in for feeling that way. Even then, I guess I still enjoyed it, I just tried not to. Even when it got hard and sometimes tedious, I valued "funwork" time and reaped its rewards.
Now that I am all done with classes, I would like to say a giant weight has been lifted. However, I feel more like there is a hole. I wouldn't go as far as to say I feel this hole in my heart, but I would say that it just feels like something is missing. Or was, at least, until I found the perfect balance of jobs.
Firstly, I found myself a job at Express during the holiday season last year. I took that job with me as a transfer when I moved to New York. I enjoy working there because of the people. Not just the employees (who are indeed great fun) but also because of the customers. It's like being approached with a walking talking word problem. They don't always have as much math as school required but it takes time and effort to find a solution. I never realized how eager a sales associate can/would/should be to help out until I became one.
Not only is it a challenge and a learning experience but it can be entertaining as well. Some people seem to be shopping for the first time ever. Some people seem to just want a friend for part of the day. You get to be like a loaner or replacement friend for those who are out shopping on their own.
Okay, maybe I lied. I guess my internship at Donna Ricco did come first. I applied and interviewed for this during the summer last year. And I started Donna Ricco's internship before I started my transfer shifts here in the city. Inspiration is important for anyone who wants to feel like more than just a Sim (being played by some other bored, software driven creature). This internship helps me find inspiration every day. If for no other reason, it is at least an excuse to leave my apartment every week day.
Most days still, it is much more than that. Surrounding myself with so much creativity, so much design, so many fabrics and so many other fashion-related items, can be overwhelming and absolutely stimulative to my design senses.
Sometimes I wish I was better at drawing/sketching just so that I could show how greatly I am inspired by this internship. Even on the days that seem to drag, where I'm plopped at my desk for almost the entire seven hours, I still get to look around and listen in. The key for me here is to learn not just about the business but also about the people. Being down to earth is something I admire about Donna and her team. When problems arise, it's never "not my fault". It is, however, "how do we fix these?" or "how do we keep this from happening again?"
Also, I must admit I am a sucker for any company that tries to stick out by being the leader of it's pack by way of the consumer. This can range from the way a sales associate approaches you to the way the packaging speaks to you. Which brings me to job number three (although I think we stopped counting since the first/second bit got blurred). BUBBA GUMP! Talk about a company with excellent energy AND product!
Aren't themed restaurants the best?! If you enjoyed your visit, you should know that everyone you met there enjoyed it as well. This seriously is a great place to work. I may not be placed with the highest of credibility for admitting this, since I have only worked there one training shift so far but it's amazing.
Each station has to go through a multi-step training process which gets you familiar with the products throughout the entire store. I guarantee that if you have a question, anyone with a Bubba Gump tee, hat/visor and name tag will be more than absolutely ecstatic to answer it or, at the very least, help you find the answer.

inspiration

I don't know if this has already been "discovered" by someone yet, but I find that those who are truly great at what they do are those who have suffered a great deal. For some reason, a crooked childhood, a near death experience, a loved one's death... they are all perfectly great inspirations. Maybe it's because it forces the person to think longer, harder, and deeper about life and their supposed purpose.

What are any of us here for, really? What are you here for?

Before this gets too deep for anyone, let me remind you that yes, I do ask a lot of questions. I know, I am the writer. I should be the one informing not the one inquiring. But these are, more or less, hypothetical questions. I plan to share my opinion and thoughts, where they apply, but I want to make you think. Good classes, the ones you really learn things in, don't just give you information. Good classes, good people, the ones you really learn things from, ask questions. They make you think. Good classes and people engage you not just during, but for at least a while, if not forever, after. There will be no quiz. Not about RL. But these are key points that I'm brushing on. Maybe you can make time to think of them when you're in the shower.

Have you suffered something that should/could make you great? If yes, have you really? Or are you just being dramatic? If you really have, did you use that driving force or did you try to bury it? Sometimes people bury it because they don't want others to know what happened to them. Sometimes people exploit their problems to make them seem more meaningful and moving. Rarely, but most importantly, people keep these problems honest and relevant for as long as they can and help others to cope with similar situations. Or help others learn. Or help others heal. And in this process, they create something beautiful.

Can one be inspired and/or inspiring without such an epiphenomenon? I would like to believe that no one wishes upon themselves a great tragedy in order to be inspired. So, how would the rest of us, un-bothered nothings find inspiration? Can a person truly be inspired by the beauty of life as it is? If you stop to smell the roses, do you think to appreciate that you can: 1.stop 2.smell 3.find roses??? And if so, is that even enough? I feel as though this is what gets you called naive.When you can finally take the world and view it as something beautiful, you are all of a sudden missing out on reality. Why do we have to strive so hard to be happy but at the same time focus on everything that is wrong with the world? Is it enough to appreciate the good times, or do we never rest until everyone is happy? Newsflash: ce n'est pas possible

call me Bella

This is hardly a love story. But I hope you love it. I want it to inspire. There are so many blogs out there and I have hardly a clue what they're all about. I just know that I want this one to make sense and have purpose. I wish for someone to benefit. Words are so easily tossed around and often forgotten. I'm not expecting these words to forever be remembered but know that they are not coming easily. And they are not being tossed.
I am the kind of person who won't say something if I can't word it the way I want. This blog is not going through five stages of editing but each post will be carefully thought out. Words should not be wasted.

Not even in a blog.

Here is how I see it: Life is a struggle of purpose and beauty. If you fail to serve a purpose, you should at least be beautiful. Which is easier?

I love "would you rather"s. So here is one that I would like to share: Would you rather wake up and know that you're beautiful and see beauty when you look in the mirror but know that the rest of the world sees something more along the lines of ugly OR wake up and see ugly but know that the rest of the world thinks you are beautiful?