Today I turn 19 years old! Very cool I know; it sounds so much older than 18 (so much younger than 20 though!). I had an amazing day filled with presents (thank you mom, dad and sister), exercise, meals with wonderful people, and a hilarious play; all of my favorite things and a wonderful day! Low-key birthdays with fun people are always amazing. So, thank you everyone for making today great!

Although I love birthdays, there are some things that maybe aren't the best. One thing is being sung happy birthday to. Does anyone actually like this tradition? For me, I never know really what to do: do I smile, do I laugh, do I look at everyone? It's just an uncomfortable time for the person who is supposed to enjoy the act. Next is opening presents in front of others. Another uncomfortable thing for me, the birthday girl. I usually love the presents and even if I didn't necessarily want/need them, I love the thought just as much, but my reactions never give my emotions justice and I just feel like my present givers are cheated. I promise everyone though, I love your present and the thought and just don't squeal and jump like others do. Just not my personality. Other things that aren't too kind to birthday boys or girls: punches for however many years you are turning, throwing birthday parties (for the younger generations, but nonetheless an event where you must spend tons of money to entertain people on YOUR birthday), turning another year older (bad for most people but luckily not too bad for my age group), and others. Thankfully I have been treated to wonderful birthdays by my loved ones and usually get spoiled, pampered, and made to feel like a queen, but for other unlucky souls it may be different. So, spare birthday boys and girls and give them a break on their one day of the year. They might return the favor when you're birthday rolls around.

A friendly reminder for us all...

...to be grateful for what we have!

Tasty Possibilities

I was really trying to avoid blogging about cooking - yes, Julie Powell you are DEFINITELY to blame - but I just love food so much I couldn't resist. Lately I've been watching a lot of the Food Network/Travel Channel (I take after my dad), and I just love the shows like Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives; Man vs. Food; and Food Wars. All of these shows travel around the country to little restaurants, bakeries, or cafes that are famous for their food. Today I watched an episode that featured Voodoo Donuts owned and operated by two guys who started off with a little bit of money and a dream. Now their little shop is thriving and people love their donuts that have an absurd amount of combinations like Triple Chocolate Penetration: a chocolate cake donut dipped in chocolate frosting and sprinkled with Cocoa Puffs, or the Memphis Mafia: a huge glazed donut covered with chocolate chips, banana, and peanut butter. How cool would it be to come up with creative combinations like that with delicious ingredients??

I think it would be the coolest thing ever to open my own restaurant, and, after I make my millions with a few sound investments (a sound life plan if I do say so myself), I am going to open a restaurant and be perfectly content. That's the plan at least. Opening a restaurant is a ton of work (so I've heard), but the people who do it just seem so happy and take pride in who and what they serve. It would be so cool to become famous in the neighborhood as the "best this" or "best that." Because a bakery is on the top of my list, I've secretly been saving good recipes that I've come across the past few years, and I have quite the collection. So, you're hearing it here first folks, my future bakery is going to be famous. If I find out how to cook, find wealthy investors, a perfect location, and a big customer base. Shouldn't be too hard right?

Key to Success

(I thought this picture was clever, considering the title (:)

In the spirit of my last post and with my general excitement in picking classes, thinking about careers, and dreaming about my future, today I'm talking about reading personalities and profitable skills. Sounds boring, yes, but it isn't trust me. I was talking to one of my friends yesterday and we started talking about how you don't have to be a genius to get a ton of money in this world, you just need certain skills. If you are sociable and able to make connections with people, get a big client base or network yourself correctly, you'll go far. It's a little unfair that it works out that way, but that's the way it is unless you're a Bill Gates genius who can revolutionize the world with a new product/technology. Since I have not thought of an ingenious invention yet (my brain is searching for ideas daily though don't you worry), it looks like I need to work on my people skills. Starting off as a shy, awkward girl who slumped down at the restaurant table when a group of waiters sang happy birthday to me attracting the eyes of the entire restaurant and drawing much too much attention (honestly family did you really have to put me through that torture??), I was slightly disadvantaged but have no fear, I'm making strides! Once I realized people aren't judging me and that I should just be comfortable with me and do my thing, it all went down hill from there. Ellen Degeneres talks about this in one of her stand-up skits (which you should DEFINITELY watch because it is absolutely hilarious! Ellen Degeneres: Here and Now, check it out on YouTube) where she says that people are so busy worrying about what everyone else is thinking that they have no time to think about and judge others. Totally true.

Other skills that are important to have are financial skills. These are the most under-taught skills! I got a financial aid packet that I had to fill out the other day and I took one look at it and couldn't decipher any of the acronyms or big words that stand for various forms and other things. Are we supposed to just know these things? Thank goodness we have dads to just hand these things over to and get them back magically filled out. And I haven't even begun to think about paying taxes, starting a 401k, choosing a mortgage, paying bills...mind boggling. That's how people get into trouble financially. They don't understand these things well enough and buy things on credit thinking everything will just work itself out and make risky decisions and just ruin themselves. If you master the system though and know how it works, you can be well off without too much work. And that's why I'm going into Finance! Well, not completely, but heck money doesn't hurt now does it?

Personality

Personalities have really interested me lately. Being a typical college student who is trying to find her way in life, solidify her interests, and choose what she wants to do with her life (why do we have to make so many decisions while we're so young??), I love hearing about personality tests that will help me find my way and make decisions for me. Maybe not the best way to go, but hey why not? For my Business Ethics class, our professor had us all take a personality test on the first day of class and I loved it. It was based on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) found here. It gives everyone an acronym that stands for their personality type, I am a ISTJ personality, and you can type those letters into Google and it will give you a long description about your personality and it is DEAD on. I found out so much about myself just by seeing my personality laid out in front of me and it was awesome. The test also tells you what things your personality type needs to improve upon and what you're good at and should exploit. What is probably the coolest thing about the test, especially for someone my age and why my professor had us take it, is that it tells you what career paths you will be most happy in. My professor is a big shot business guy who has a million jobs one of which is leading people to their ideal jobs. The first thing he always does is have them take a personality test because some people are just not meant to be in certain jobs even if their skills say otherwise. The test is just really beneficial and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about themselves.

If people are comfortable with themselves and know who they are and like where they are, they can truly feel self-fulfillment. This is one of the lessons my professor taught me and I've really taken it to heart. I've always been good at math, but I don't think doing math all day would be a good environment for me even if I could make a lot of money doing it. Money is definitely important, but not the most important thing and what you want to do is find a balance between a good salary and happiness in your work. It is very rare that you will wake up in the morning and say "Yea, I get to go to work today!" (as my dad always reminds me), but you should not be miserable and so it is important to find a place where you belong. Finding out more about your personality just may be the key to that.

P.S. I believe you have to pay for the other test that I linked to, so here's another one that I haven't tried personally but that also uses the Myers-Briggs model and might be helpful. http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp