Mid...Uh Pre-Mid-Life Crisis.

As most of you know, I am studying Hotel Administration at University right now. I am studying how to manage hotels and how to work in the hospitality industry in general.

Now over winter break, I was working in the sales office of a gorgeous boutique hotel on Capitol Hill in DC.It was a really great opportunity and I learned a lot. So every day, I took the metro into the city, and I had about 2 hours on the train each day to think/read/do whatever. One day, I had a paralyzing crisis. I realized that I wanted nothing to do with hotels. Or sales. Or anything. I realized that I find the whole hotel industry very fake and shallow. Everyone acts as though what they are doing is the most important thing in the world when really, we're just selling hotel rooms. We aren't saving lives or anything! The crisis was paralyzing because I have worked my whole life until now to enter the hospitality industry, so I kind of wouldn't know what to do if I left the hotel school.

So I was having this thought process, and naturally, the first thing I did was call my mom. haha. After talking to her, and calming down, I realized that I do not need to switch my major, hate hotels, or do anything drastic. I realized that I can use the skills I am learning in the hotel school to do what I want to do. I also realized that I didn't really hate sales that much, I guess I was just having a bad day. I realized that hotels, though they don't really help the public (in the wise words of my roommate, if I enter hotels, I will be "helping the people who can pay me"), they are a necessity. People will always need hotels, and it is possible to run a hotel without being fake and shallow (I hope!) 

The next question was, well if not hotels, what do I want to do? First thought that came to mind (no lie): I would love to have J.J.'s job on Criminal Minds. (If you do not know what I am talking about, go watch an old episode of Criminal Minds. NOW.) So then I did a bunch of research and self-reflection. I thought a lot. And this is what I came up with:

1. My life is too selfish
2. I want to help more people than just the ones who can pay me
3. I really would like to help children 
4. I want to do something in community service (if not long term, then at least for a summer or something)
5. I need to appreciate everything I have more. 
6. I am very self-centered. Even this blog post (and most of mine), are about me.
7. I want to write

So since I am a planner, I like to have a plan of action. I now knew what I wanted. I wanted to use my hotel/business/communication/writing skills to help people. Then the idea came to me. I would love to do Public Relations for a non-profit. Most importantly, anything I do, I want to write. And out rolled the applications. Mission accomplished.

Cool thing for today: 

Watch from 8:35 - 8:43. This is what JJ does. She is PR person for the team. She is the liaison between the media and the victims families, she puts together the cases, and she coordinates things for the team.

-T