When one door closes

mapWell, here I sit on my last night in my apartment in California. On my last night alone as a single person. Wow, what a weird thing to say. My last night living alone, hopefully forever.

I have this weird urge to cry, not because I’m sad, but because I sort of have graduation goggles. You know, like when you were finishing up high school, getting ready to graduate and you completely forget that you were picked on, beat up, or ignored completely every day for four straight years. My California experience has made me a richer, more well-rounded person. The naive little Midwestern girl has now be exposed to the real world, and I have made it through to the other side.

I moved out here for a lot of reasons, and I can’t help but think it was absolutely the right decision. I am coming out of this a better employee in a job that I enjoy so much. I have found so many strengths and turn weaknesses into things of the past. I have become  a reality show producer, an event planner, a photo editor. I have been involved in so many wonderful things over the past two years with Prep2Prep. I have dedicated my life to the brand. I love this company, I just know that something great is going to happen for us.

For years now I have worked like a dog. My career has always been number one. I am so excited to finally have a reason to make work number 2. Prep2Prep is allowing me the opportunity to do what I love, what I am good at, and take care of my family at the same time. I have sacrificed two years with my puppy dogs, and now, I get to work from home and stay with them all day long.

There is a lot going on, and I still have to make it through three days of work and a 24 hour road trip halfway across the United State, but moving out of my apartment is taking one step closer to my dream. The days to come will be so special, and I can’t wait for new challenges both personally and professionally.

Keep Moving Forward…

State of the Jennifer Address

I’ve been working a lot lately, and by a lot and I mean from approximately 4:30 AM to, well, the current time, which is 8:22 PM. Days have been long but productive in the world of Prep2Prep and the future of this business is very bright at this point. I’m excited to be a part of this organization and to be at the bottom working to build the company to what someday will hopefully be an empire in the world of  high school sports. But this job is definitely taking a toll on my sanity. I’m gonna have days when I completely feel like I’m losing my mind, then there are days like today. I can’t take it sometimes though. I can’t take the loneliness of the job, as I am by myself a lot of the day. I know hard work pays off. Sometimes it just takes a long time.

Someday I’ll be the Vice President of Marketing or the CMO if that’s possible position. I just want to know that people appreciate the hard work that we put in on a daily basis. There are days when it seems like no one does and days when we can’t get information up quick enough. They need the content. They appreciate all the hard work that has gone into make the stories, photos, video content, and special features great. I have amazing bosses that have given me an amazing opportunity in this position I still consider myself a kid but they treat me like an adult who has a strong mind and great creative ideas. I never thought that I would be not only taken seriously, but in a position where I have such creative control over an entity like Prep2Prep.

California’s amazing place I understand why people came looking for a better life, because I did the same. My world is definitely different on the West Coast than it was in the Midwest. I love every minute of it, but it is still extremely taxing. My job in Kansas last year was so incredibly stressful.  But this job is a different kind of stressful.

I miss a lot of things out here. My family is number one, my dog is included in that. I miss her every single day. I know she would love California, going to the beach, taking walks around the nice neighborhood I live in, and being with her mom 24/7. She’s such a sweet dog, and I hope to have her out here sometime soon. While I am able to telecommute, I’m hoping that I am only out here for approximately one more year and then can move wherever I would like, possibly back to Kansas, down to Florida, or even back to Ohio. But the best part of that is I can be anywhere and do what I love and that is work for Prep2Prep. I’m in such a great position right now and so thankful for everything that has been brought to me over the past nine months I’m so excited to continue this journey with Prep2Prep and continue to grow at what I do so well.