Write Here, Write Now

So I recently found out that I got an internship for the summer with Jacksonville Magazine! I was so excited, I really wanted to do my senior internship with a magazine because my dream is to one day work for a magazine. And every great communications student knows that the only way to get anywhere in this business is by working your butt off from the bottom, specifically as an intern. So I will be starting that mid-May and then hopefully graduating July 30th. I cannot wait to graduate and start working, I know that sounds weird but when you've been in college for five years you tend to get burnt out. Plus, I'll be doing what I love and so I can't think of anything more fun than writing and getting paid for it.

Today my Magazine Feature Writing teacher gave my class some really good advice. He said there are two things you need to worry about when looking for a job, first, make sure it is something that you love doing and would do for free if you had to, and second, make sure it's something you're good at. I think this is great advice because in today's economy it is so easy to go for the job that will pay well but it's usually the one you dread getting up to go to.

Here are some of my published clips.

1. This is a story that I did about the Mandarin Adoption Center for the Florida Times-Union. I talked about how the economy is affecting animal adoptions and what they are doing to combat this. To read the entire story click here.

2.This is another story that I wrote for the Florida Times-Union website. It is also about how animals are affected by the economy and how many are being abandoned (and yes those are my puppies in the pic). To read more of this article click here.

3. Last semester I took a class called Applied Journalism. It was honestly one of the best classes I ever took if not the best! And one of the projects we did was called the Hope Fund, and our class joined up with the Florida Times-Union and HandsOn Jacksonville, a volunteer organization, and our class wrote stories for the Florida Times-Union about families that needed either money or some type of support and we helped raise money for the families through writing these stories. My teacher approached me during this time and asked if I would write the first story that would run in the TU (it was a huge honor) and of course I agreed. For this article I got the chance to interview the sweetest lady about her struggles with a disability and how our organization helped her last year. To read more about her struggles and how she overcame them click here.

4. I also was able to interview another family for the Hope Fund, along with another guy from my class. We got to talk to a family of refugees from Africa about how they finally got the chance to come here and what it was like living there. One of the coolest things was that they didn't speak any English so we had to have a translator. So much fun! To read this story click here.

 

 

5. In my free time I am also writing for a website called examiner.com (if you've never been there then definitely check it out). I am the Jacksonville Budget Fashion Examiner, which means that I write alot of articles about how to dress like your favorite celebrity on a budget or I give you the trends and how to wear them. Click here to look at some of my articles, I think you'll really enjoy them!

6. I was able to meet and interview a local singer named Katie Grace Helow who is extremely talented, and if you haven't heard her music you have to check her out on myspace. Instead of writing a traditional article, however, I was able to turn the interview into a podcast that was published on the Folio Weekly's website. The Folio Weekly is a Jacksonville based paper. Here is the link for that.


7. Just recently I visited St. Claire Evans Academy Elementary School and listened to a man named Brett Dilingham, who is a world-renowned storyteller and I was able to sit down with him and interview him as well as record his performance. And I put the story together in a soundslides presentation. Watch this here.

8. I just found out that the article I wrote for Central Florida Tails Magazine is now available online. The article is about Sherri Audette who started the group FOJA. To read the article check here.

9. I have been interning with Jacksonville Magazine and I have written a lot of stories (most of which have yet to come out) but our July issue just came out and is now available online (with my articles in it) here.

This is what I have so far but be sure to check back as I am constantly adding new articles as I write them.

She's got the Write Style: Rachel Bilson

I want to start featuring celebrities and style icons that influence me and my style. So for my first post I immediately thought of Rachel Bilson! Since I first started following her style on the O.C. I have been a huge fan. And when I realized she had great style not just on the show I knew I had found style inspiration. I personally think she has great style and I love the way she can make any trend work for her. She is petite like me and so I know alot of the trends she rocks will work for smaller people.

When I was going through her pictures I could immediately pick out the main pieces to her wardrobe, but still, she manages to dress in a way that makes it almost impossible to say that she has a certain type of style. One minute she dresses boho, the next she's girly, you just never know with her. And that's one of the reasons why I think she has the Write style.

Below I came up with some of the key elements that make up an outfit by Rachel Bilson.

First, her everyday style. I love looking at candid shots of Rachel because no matter what she's doing she always looks good. I pinpointed her style to three key parts. Blazers, boots and of course, wayfarers.

• Rachel seems to love wearing blazers and that is evident in a lot of her pictures. She rocks black ones, gray ones, even pink. I love the structured look of blazers because even worn with jeans and a t-shirt you can look like you're headed to a meeting or just hanging out with friends.
• Another piece of clothing Rachel routinely wears are boots. She seems to have hundred of pairs. Knee high boots, ankle boots, booties. You name it, she's worn it. I also like wearing boots (when it's not too hot here in Florida) because they work with almost anything. You can pair them with dresses and skirts, skinny jeans, wideleg jeans, even leggings! So if you don't have a pair I recommend everyone own at least one pair of boots.
• The last piece to Rachel's wardrobe, but probably the most important, is sunglasses. Wayfarers to be exact. Rarely do you find an outdoor picture of Rachel without her signature sunnies. After seeing Rachel look so chic in them I immediately went out and bought a pair and now I can't live without them. They make any outfit glamorous. And wearing them gives any outfit that "celebrity hiding from the paparrazzi" look. If you don't believe me, try them. I promise you will not be disappointed.

Next, I looked at Rachel's event style. Specifically what she would wear to an event or party. I noticed that, again while she does try different things, her main go-to style was either dresses or skirts with heels. Perhaps it is because of her small size, I know that I wear dresses when I want to look taller because a good mini dress can make your legs look like a models! Below are some pictures that I pulled of Rachel's event style.

So what do you think? Do you agree that she has the Write Style? Drop me a line and let me know!

Lots of love,

The Write Review: Alice in Wonderland

This past week I went with a friend to see the movie Alice in Wonderland. Everyone I know was telling me how great it was and how I had to see it. But after watching the previews for it I wasn't so impressed. I mean, it's a Tim Burton movie so I knew it would be outlandish, and of course I love Johnny Depp (who doesn't) but did I really want to see it? Not so much. So she finally talked me into going and I have to admit it was good. I wasn't in love with it but it was entertaining.
Something I did love about the movie was the costumes! I immediately fell in love with the blues, reds and whites that danced across the scene. Alice's dress that she wears once she shrinks for the first time, pure magic! The costume designer for that movie deserves a standing ovation. Well, because I'm a dork and I love coming up with outfit ideas for you, I came up with some ideas based on each of my favorite characters in the movie. I hope you like them.
First, I have Alice. No list of great outfits from the movie would be complete without her. Because Alice wears alot of blue in the movie I chose a couple blue dresses that I felt represent her style. I paired each of them with flats and if you really want to capture her style pair the outfit with some blue gloves like she wore in the beginning of the movie. Lastly, give your hair the iconic bouncing curls that Alice sports and you're set!

Next, I took the look of the White Queen. I thought Anne Hathaway was hilarious as the queen and of course I couldn't help but drool over her white ball gown, that somehow managed to stay clean the entire movie! First, I started with a white dress. I wanted a dress that represented her style but could also be worn in real life as well. Because as much as I love the outfits in the movie, I would never be brave enough to wear them in real life. Anyway, I paired the dress with white patterned tights and white flats. And of course I finished off the look with the queen's signature red lipstick.

Next, on my list is the red queen. No Tim Burton movie would be complete without his better half and I also thought she did a believable job as the red queen. And while her outfits didn't hit me the way Alice's did, I still thought her style went well with the character she was playing. For her look I took a simple red dress and paired it with all thing hearts. A heart headband, heart tights, and heart earrings. I put simple heels with this outfit because I didn't want to go too over the top but if you think you can pull off more hearts then by all means please do.

My last outfit idea comes from...who else the Mad Hatter! He is so outlandish and crazy and his outfit in the movie just amplifies that. Still, I found his style refreshingly original. Of course when I came up with an outfit idea I had to tone it down but I still tried to incorporate his style in there. To start, I paired a maroon colored blazer with black harem pants (I know not exactly what he wore but, remember, I wanted something  that could be worn everyday). Next I added a cream shirt with ruffles and of course his signiture top hat. I found almost the exact replica of the hat her wears in the movie but if you're not that brave you can try just the black one. I also added an eccentric bowtie to the outfit but if you think that is too much you can go for the bib necklace, which is really popular right now.

Okay there you go, hope you enjoyed and I hope you got some inspriation for the week. Oh and by the way does anyone know why a raven is like a writing desk lol.



Lots of love,

The Write Style: Concert outfits

So I recently attended a concert in town for Matt kearney and Ingrid Michaelson. It was so great! I initially went because I am such a Matt fan but Ingrid blew me away! Her music is amazing and she knows how to put on a show, if you find out she's coming toyour town I definitely recommend seeing her. I went with my two best friends Lauren and Abby and we had a blast. Plus, as a bonus the girl who opened for them Cara Salimando gave away free CDs and we each scored one. Now, I've been playing it non-stop in my car since.
Well I'm posting this not just to tell you what great singers they were but also to give you otfit ideas for the next time you find yourself looking for a concert otufit to wear. The concert was a little different from ones I've normally been to (and I've been to a lot) because this was more of a sit-down concert, instead of one where you stand the whole time. So for this post I came up with several different outfit ideas that could be worn to all different types of concerts. And the best part is all of the clothes in this post come from Forever21, a store that I love!! Enjoy!

This is for a rock concert

This is more for a sit-down concert.

This is for an outdoor concert

Hope you enjoy and if you have any comments or questions shoot me a line, I'll try to get back to you as soon as possible!

Lots of love,