Googling Some of My Biggest Questions

I'd like to start off my blog post about questions with, ironically, a question:  With the existence of Google, why would you *ever* have the excuse to have an unanswered question?  No more!  I've decided to take a stand against the un-answered-ness.  My wandering musings will be resolved!  So here's some random questions that have been bouncing around my head lately...
 

Q:  Why do people hate Call Me Maybe?  It's such a good song. 

A:  First, can we pause and reflect on the fact that this song has a Wikipedia page?  Amazing.  As far as hating the song goes, some insight is provided by ever-profound website, teen.com as they outline the stages of loving and hating Call Me Maybe.  Very insightful.

Q:  Why are sheer button-down shirts so trendy right now?  They're ugly...

A:  Wearing sheer clothing is always a bit of a risk; it guarantees you'll be the center of attention."  (More)    Meh, no thanks... I'll find another way.

Q:  Why isn't there a coffee cup that you can eat?

A:  There is. (Evidence)

Q:  Why do people always ask where you go to college?

A:  "Whenever someone asks me what college I went to, I instinctively do this trick where I actually fall asleep with my eyes open. It’s amazing!"  (via Thought Catalog)  Not exactly an answer, but I like it.  Very acceptable.

Q:  Why do hedgehogs cost $200?

A:  Hedgehogs are a fairly new kind of exotic pet - they have only been domesticated for 20 years or so. They also are fairly short-lived. Therefore, the population of domestic hedgehogs is very small compared to other pets that have been available much longer.

The gestation period of a hedgehog is about 35 days, and the mother devotes another 5-6 weeks to the babies before they are weaned. Although this means a female could have 4 litters per year, good breeders will only breed them twice per year in order to let them recuperate from the demands of pregnancy and motherhood. Litters are much smaller than those of rodents (4 babies on average), and females are retired from breeding at 2.5-3 years, which means that each female only has around 20-24 babies over the course of her life. The mortality rate of babies is about 30%, so the actual number of babies that are sold is less than that. Hedgehogs are also unreliable breeders. The chances of pregnancy and the number of babies in a litter tends to decrease during fall and winter.  (Source)


Q:  Why, oh why, did I not study abroad?

A:  I thought I'd miss out on something in Kirksville.  And I could write a blog post about this topic alone, but then I stumbled onto this post from a girl, who seems all-to-similar to me (right down to the trotting to southern France part).  And I realized all hope is not lost.

Q:  Why is Chobani so popular?  Everyone at Target eats Chobani.  All the time.

A:  From a business standpoint, Chobani offered a differentiated product in unique packaging, at a lower price point... and then let its consumer define the brand (according to Fast Company).  From a health/taste perspective, Chobani has a richer taste and higher protein content than other yogurts on the market. 

Q:  On a scale of 1-10, how legit is the website Penguins4Sale?

A:  Yes.

Falling back in love (an open letter to running)...

Dear running,

So I was a little bitter.  And maybe you didn't deserve that.

I realize that my snarky-ness these past few months has gotten us nowhere.  But ever since April 15th, things just haven't been the same.

You hurt me.  Like, really really hurt me.  We set off to travel 26 miles together, and by the end of all that, I had absolutely had enough of you.  Maybe we just weren't meant to be.

So I sort of took some time off.  I mean, we still sorta hung out... but it wasn't with the same ease that once floated over us.  When we did spend time together, it was definitely forced.  And I'll be honest, my motives here revolved around having a nice butt and jeans that fit not too tight.

You were a strain, a pain, something I had to do.

It wasn't you, it was me.

But lately I feel myself softening up, and I think I'm starting to understand what you're all about.  You're not just about lacing up special shoes and putting in a set number of miles... you're about connecting to human instinct and exploring new places (literally and figuratively).

And I understand the whole struggle from your point of view... You, you want to be easy to love, but not so easy that you're taken advantage of.  You want to be pursued and worked towards.  If you gave yourself away so easily, you'd lose your prestige.  Yet you want everyone to love you.  I'm sure that must be tough.

But, on the other hand, you can be such a pill.  After we ran the marathon, I was so upset with you.  It took my body a full month to recover, and my heart three times that amount.

You put me through so much.  But you also gave me so much.

So here I am, wanting you back in my life.  I'm falling back in love with you, and I can't wait to embark on a new journey together.  You and I, we can do anything.  And come October 21st, we'll get to celebrate something beautiful.  Thanks so much for not giving up on me.

Much love,

Sarah

Modern Day Classiness

I'm really sad that nobody has ever asks me who my style icon is.  (And I'm not sure why that should come up in normal conversation, but I have an answer prepared in case if it ever does.)  For those of you still wondering, my all-time style icon is Grace Kelly.

I always liked her, but didn't realize how much I liked her until I was able to visit the Princess Grace museum in Monaco a couple of months ago.

The museum was fascinating, archiving Grace's sense of style.  But this woman was stylish in a way outside of what clothes can portray.  Grace Kelly had remarkable class, displayed by her poise and confidence as a woman.  

Grace was born into privilege, had a beautiful acting career, and then married a prince.  A PRINCE.  Not a bad gig, right?  She could have been a total snob if she wanted to.  But her outward beauty was only out-shined by her kind heart. 

My mom recently told me that I have an old soul.  At first, I immediately dismissed the idea of my soul being saggy and wrinkly.  But, mom knows best, and after some consideration, I have to agree.  I do have an old soul.  I have a soul that yearns for "the good ol' days" where women had "class" and men had "gumption".  These concepts were so prevalent that those living at the time didn't realize what gems they truly had. 

Being classy is beautiful.  And there's nothing else that I'd want to be.  I've found that self-respect and a sense of class will get you through any bad day, any bad situation, or any bad feeling.  

What's considered "classy" today may differ slightly than it did 50 years ago.  But I'm a firm believer in pursuing modern day classiness.  

I spent the duration of my 7 mile run (I decided yesterday that I'm training for another marathon. We'll talk about that later.) trying to figure out a definition of "class".  An hour later... still nothing too substantial definition-wise.  

I think better in bullet points.  So here is some of what I came up with. 

Modern day classiness is...

1. Embracing a positive attitude rooted in reality. 
2. Listening genuinely.
3. Welcoming the world around you with consideration and thoughtfulness. 
4. Loving and respecting yourself. 
5. Avoiding negative talk (complaining, gossip, etc)
6. Being happy for and supportive of other people.
7. Learning and questioning as much as you can.
8. Actively seeking out opportunities for personal growth.  
9. Being brave; but not so brave that you think you don't need God, family, or friends. 
10. Possessing Faith, Trust, Fortitude, and Wisdom (love those Cardinal Key virtues)

It's not just about wearing high heels and pearls.  (Although that doesn't completely hurt...)

Stay fabulous, stay classy. 

The End of a [Blonde] Era

Well, it was fun while it lasted.

And it was a really fun 4 months.  Just to name the highlights...

I got into Cardinal Key:

I turned 21:

I went to London for spring break:

I had several good times with a Huge Group of Girls:

I ran a marathon (I wore a hat, but there's blonde hair under there):

I went to Las Vegas:

I went to France:

And I started an internship with Target in Minneapolis:

...And I did this all with my blonde hair.  But it has come time to part ways.  Like I said, it was a good 4 months.  But it's time to get back to my roots (haha literally).  (Plus, brunettes look great with a good tan, and I've been hitting the lake a lot recently).

So a little background on the blonde... Being of Native American, Irish, and Welsh descent, there was about zero percent chance that my genes would line up to give me naturally blonde hair.

However, growing up in the 90's and 2000's, my two childhood idols were Britney Spears and Elle Woods. Both blondes.  And I wanted to be blonde too.

So a couple of days before my 21st birthday, I decided I was going to make it happen.  I was going to "go blonde".  I remember doing a 12 mile training run in the morning before my hair appointment, and the time literally flew by because I kept thinking about my awesome new blonde hair.  Like, my dream was like, totally coming true!

And yeah, it was fun while it lasted.  I'll always remember these last 4 months as the "blonde era" of my life. 

That being said, I LOVE being a brunette.  And it's good to be back :)

'Murica!  And brunette hair!

Love is Patient

Yesterday I was able to fly back home for my childhood friend, Katelyn's, wedding.  It was a beautiful moment to see the marriage of two people that God had brought together.  

This whole week, love has been on the brain.  One of the most cited verses about love is 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8 (illustrated in the infographic above) .... kind of a tall order, yeah?  While the scripture is inspiring and fulfilling, it is also daunting.  Love is all of those things, all the time?  And you're supposed to love the entire world, like that, all of the time?  That's not always easy.  It's hard to measure up to God's expectations for us, since he has set such an exemplary model of abundant love.  

The only place to start is at the beginning, and to remember that love is indeed patient.

This means several things to me. 

1.  It means that the Lord will be patient with me when I make mistakes.

2.  It means that people who love me will be patient with me as I grow and mature.

3.  It means that I will constantly be reminded of the importance of showing patience towards others, as it is a way that I can show love.  

And lastly, it means that love will approach me when I am patient...  which is such a peaceful feeling.

  

So, I'm Not A Pediatrician, But...

When I was young, I wanted to be a pilot, an actress, and a pediatrician.  (Not just one of those.  All of those.)  By the time I made it to 5th grade, I had decided to settle solely on being a pediatrician.  Then I saw Legally Blonde and decided I wanted to be a lawyer.  But mostly I still wanted to be a pediatrician.  I wanted to help people, especially people in the small variety.  But as I went on through school and discovered my intolerance for blood and other "gross" things, my feelings waned.  And when I had to dissect a mink in A&P my junior year of high school, I gave up all hope of ever becoming a doctor (and instead became a vegetarian for 3 years...)

My interests then led me towards business.  I guess in hindsight, that all makes sense... I played a mean game of Monopoly as a child.  (The only person that would ever beat me was my grandpa, because he wouldn't trade me his railroads.)

So now I'm getting ready to graduate and this summer I'm gaining a taste of the "business world", which is not always known for being particularly kind or in the business of "helping people".  But I'm finding that it can be.  In the last few years especially, several corporations are participating in philanthropic activities.  And they're not just donating money, they're donating useful resources.

It's absolutely a priority that I work for a company who is not just morally sound, but proactive in their communities.  So Target wins another point for being at awesome at doing just that.  Not only does Target donate 5% back into communities (which amounts to almost 4 million dollars a week), but they coordinate community events and improvement projects.

Last summer I participated in Operation Food Search St. Louis:

And last week I kicked off the Target community service for the summer by helping out at a local school that is going through re-structuring:

So yeah, working and making money is cool and all.  But it's really all about it not being all about you.  I don't know what I'll do with the rest of my life, but I hope that I can at least remember that much.  I think it's possible to find opportunities in any occupation to make a difference, and to truly help people.  

But mad props to all the doctors out there.  Srrsly.  

Mini-apple & the Corporate World

This past week and a half has been nothing short of overwhelming.  Moving to a new city, meeting tons of new people, and starting a new 8-5 job.

Back in September, after a previous internship with Target (as an Executive Store Intern) and another round of interviews/tests, I was offered a position for this summer as a Business Analyst Intern at Target Headquarters in Minneapolis, MN.  The whole thing seemed so far away until a couple weeks ago.  It wasn't until I got back from all of my travel adventures that I realized the eminent was finally here, and that I desperately needed to start packing (and schedule gatherings with all of my friends from home one last time).

Last Saturday morning I found myself at the Southwest check-in counter with 5 bags of luggage.  I had packed practically everything that I owned (because I would never want to leave anything behind) and set off for 10 weeks in Minneapolis.

Saturday was filled with un-packing and meeting my new roommates, and Sunday consisted of tours of the city and continuously meeting more people.  This week was dense.  So dense.  There is a lot that I could talk about.  We'll stick to the basics for now:

Living Arrangements
So Target hired about 350 interns, of which 200(ish) are not from the area.  Anyone who isn't from MSP was placed in special Target intern housing, which happens to be these sweet fully-furnished apartments right of the U of M campus.

I'm living in a suite with 3 other girls, in which we share a kitchen and living room area.  Then each of us has their own bedroom and bathroom.  The apartments are pretty nice, there is a fitness room downstairs (which I probably won't use because I'll take advantage of the mild summer and gorgeous Mississippi river trails to run outside as much as possible) and a media room, along with a lot of "common" space.  So basically I'm at college, but I have a job instead of class.  And no papers or homework.  And I'm getting paid.

Transportation
For those of you paying attention, you might have noticed that I said I flew up here.  Despite it only being a 10 hour drive (I realize that's a lot- but completely doable), I opted for the plane ticket instead.  At first I didn't want to even entertain the idea of not having a car all summer but as I thought about it more... I realized that it might be kind of interesting to see what it's like to not own a car.  Ideally, my first couple of years as a "grown up" will be spent living in a city without a car.  (I'm going to spend my first couple of working years setting aside money for my Mini.)

So yes, for the summer, I am the proud owner of a bus pass... which I'll figure out how to use better this week *hopefully*.  As of now, I know how to get to work, the lake, uptown, and the Mall of America.  So I have the basics covered.  The only thing that is a slight pain is grocery retrieval... but I'm finding that you just have to alter your shopping behavior to fit the situation.

Target HQ
Target Headquarters is located in downtown Minneapolis, on Nicollet Mall (which is a large outdoor center of stores, eateries, and corporate locations).  About 15,000 people work in Target's downtown HQ so it is a really exciting atmosphere.  There isn't an anti-picture policy but I didn't want to look like "that" intern taking pictures of everything... so I don't have a lot of photographic proof to show how incredibly awesome the building is.  But it's a fun, fashion-forward atmosphere at HQ.  There's a caf and a Starbucks (with a forever-long but oh-so-worth-it line), an extravagant central meeting location called the Grand Hall, a Target history museum, and of course floors and floors of offices and tons of fun Target things.

I am on the 13th floor working in the Dry-Dairy-Frozen department and I am specializing in frozen foods, particularly healthy stuff like frozen vegetables, veggie burgers, and health conscious single serve meals.  But of course I found some random frozen pizza boxes (sigh... how fun would THAT be).

Internship Structure
Target pretty much has the internship thing down.  It's one of the most structured internships programs out there, and is usually recognized as being a top opportunity for business students.  But with that comes a lot of expectations and hard work, which I'm super excited about!  I love a good challenge ;)  Throughout the internship, orientations and trainings are mixed with personal mentorships, leadership development, group projects, career exploration, job shadowing, and job execution.

My title is "Merchandise Planning Business Analyst Intern"... blank stares, right?  What a MPBA does is basically support the buyer for their department and actually place the product orders at the right time and in the right quantity for each of Target's 1700+ stores.

This first week was training heavy- there are a lot of computer programs to learn, as well as being coached on the Target culture and way of doing things.  After becoming acquainted with the business, MPBA interns embark on an in-depth group project to improve an opportunity that exists within the department.  My project involves improving the efficiency of the supply chain of Lean Cuisine and SmartOnes dinners for "diet season" (the month of January).  I've been paired with 3 other fantastic interns to work on this project, which we will present for our division director during the first week of August.

When we aren't working on our project, we will take on the role of a full-time MPBA by job shadowing, scheduling "coffees" (Target lingo for "Get-to-know-you's"), attending meetings, and learning as much about the business as possible.  It's a great introduction to the role of a full-time employee, which is a definite possibility for next year (so exciting!!).

Fun, Fast, Friendly
Target's culture is fun, fast, and friendly (FFF).  Through this culture, Target aims to the "Best Company Ever" - for its employees, guests, communities, and shareholders.  I think that's a pretty solid mission.  I'll probably address this as the summer goes on, but I'm excited for a lot of the FFF events that Target has prepared for us, including dinners, community service events, baseball games, etc..

But the best part of FFF are the people.  Everyone working for Target this summer is amazing.  I've had such a great time getting know a ton of cool people so far!  Minneapolis is an amazing city with so much to explore.  This weekend, I ventured to Lake Calhoun to lounge "beach"-side and to the Mall of America (I'm going to have to make a couple more trips back there....)

The weekend sure does fly by fast though!  Now that I feel more settled, I'm totally ready for week 2! 

Stay fabulous!