And This Is My Dream Job?

April 14, 2015 by astoldoverbrunch in Guest Post, life lessons, Work

By Mackenzie Louise*

Teacher crushes are such a cliché, they’re pretty uninteresting and passé. You wouldn’t think the English department of my small, Christian liberal arts college would nurture such clichés, but I guess Christians are known to relish in the taboo. Something about forbidden fruit.

I was disenchanted as a young grad with my otherwise honorable department. Four months out of college and back in town for a conference, I found myself talking to my (male) mentor and another (male) student about the department’s most recent hire: a young woman, intelligent, insightful, and personable. We were all excited about her arrival to campus, even I who would never take a class with her. I met her during her campus interview the semester before, and I had enjoyed talking to her; I could tell that she would challenge students and engage them personally. I was, frankly, jealous that I’d never be under her tutelage.

"Who's Taking Care of You?" Myself.

March 26, 2015 by Sara Woznicki in Leisure, Life In Your 20's, life lessons, Sara's Column, Tweets and Mascara

I used to shrug when people asked if I was a feminist. Sure, we deserve equal rights. But I'm not in the mood to go on and on about it. High school me thought feminists were the ones on man hunts. Burning bras. Smoking cigs to show we can. Nothing that struck home with me.

Then college happened. We're not getting paid equally. When we're tough, it's because we're a bitch or PMSing, but when a man is, he's a bo$$. That glass ceiling is staring us all in the face, remindng us of our terminal position looming barely one step ahead. We can't take our birth control in public without people getting offended. If we need something done, we either assume the bitch role, or need bat our eye lashes like we're helpless.

Make Healthy Your Standard of Beauty [Sara's Post on Elite Daily]

February 12, 2015 by Sara Woznicki in Leisure, Life In Your 20's, life lessons, Sara's Column, Tweets and Mascara

From time to time, we all feel like we need to do something to make ourselves look beautiful. And sometimes, we take it too far, where it may be considered beautiful, but is also compromising our health.

Can we all join together and realize that what's good for our health should be the real standard of beauty? Read my latest post on Elite Daily with my sentiments on society's standards of beauty here: http://elitedai.ly/1ArwarA

If you like what you read, share the article with someone who you think is healthily beautiful.

Twenty-Something Perspective

September 13, 2014 by Sara Woznicki in Life In Your 20's, life lessons, Sara's Column, Tweets and Mascara, Young Professionalism

A really popular topic for any millennial to cover in a blog is their definition of their twenties. Here's mine: Perspective.

That's what my twenties mean to me.

In high school, my mother (God bless her) would wake up every morning and make me breakfast to eat and a lunch to bring with me. And I would essentially hate her for it.

"Good morning Sara! I made you waffles today."

"Whhhhhhhy must you torment me with words so early in the morning." Then I'd probably shoot some lasers from my eyes at her in between rolling them.

Did I actually hate her? I hated mornings, she was around, so clearly it was her fault.

Ahhhh, but with a bit of perspective, we can clearly see that it was indeed not my mother's fault (or at least as far as I know, she wasn't the cruel, cruel person behind high school starting at 7am) but I took it out on her because she was around.

Sometimes taking a step back and realizing what is causing the grief - and putting things into correct perspective- can make everything a lot easier to handle.

Here's another more recent example. Sometimes work gives me anxiety. Some days, it's just really hard. And I wear my feelings on my sleeve, so everyone knows if I'm not feeling it on any given day. And this one day, a truly wonderful woman put it so easily into perspective, it's something I remind myself when I'm feeling stressed.

"You got a job straight out of college that uses your major at an international development organization. That's a big deal."

When you think of it like that, it's the perfect blend of an accomplishment, and an explanation of why it will be hard from time to time. Attempting to solve poverty is a really difficult goal. Every day isn't going to be perfect.

So while putting things into perspective isn't easy, nor will it always make you feel better, it helps to process the feelings you might be having at a deeper level than just the surface details.

Perspective. That's the biggest lesson the twenties have provided me, and a lesson that I will continue to learn more about, I'm sure.

It Worked for Johnny Cash

October 20, 2013 by Sara Woznicki in Humor, Life In Your 20's, life lessons, Sara's Column, Tweets and Mascara

So lately a topic of conversation has been my style, which is hilarious to me because I have no style. I wear what is closest to me, what is clean, or what seems fitting for the occasion. It has caught me totally off guard that people actually think there is something visually appealing about whatever finds its way onto my body. Here is my best way of explaining what my attire consists of:

All my nice cloths are gifts from my sister (ie dress shirts, skirts, casual shirts, jewelry, scarves, etc.) Basically she has style and buys things for me.
Old sweaters that I have taken from my mom. This includes some from the 70's.
Items from goodwill and pass downs from others.
Cardigans and jeans.
Funny colored pants (hot pink, yellow, maroon, floral)
Black and white everything.
Boots and boat shoes.

Taking the first two bullets, it is safe to say that at least half my outfits were not bought by me, and many were never intended for me. Then I think any "summer" outfit can be made into colder season outfits by throwing a cardigan over it.

I hate taking the time to match things, so sometimes I'll wear a thick sweater from the 70's with boots that look like I could be a biker. When over half your attire comes from external sources, it's really difficult to assemble outfits that actually go coherently, ESPECIALLY with the fact that my sister is a stylish preppy dresser and I pick out clothes based off of how on sale it is.

Lately, I have also been buying black clothes. It didn't start intentionally, but I bought a few pairs of colored pants, so I bought some black tops to go with them. Then it turned into me just buying black clothes because it's easier to match things with black. I got a bit of shit about it lately, but hey, it worked for Johnny Cash, so why can't I do it?

Johnny Cash in black

Anyways, I'm sure if you've made it this far, you're wondering where this post is going. So here it is:

there is no such thing as not having a style.

While I consider my outfits sort of compromises of the least objectionable collection of items, people think it makes me look versatile, professional yet personable, and a modern representation of a working woman. So, even if you think you look crazed some days, someone is going to look at you and think you've got a bit of swagger.

Am I the Reason Chivalry is Dead?

September 16, 2013 by Sara Woznicki in Life In Your 20's, life lessons, Sara's Column, Tweets and Mascara

My bosses sister told me never to date a man that doesn't tell me I'm beautiful everyday. While that sounds lovely, I find it somewhat antiquated advice. If some guy seriously told me I was beautiful everyday, I would probably think he was covering something up or only in it for my looks. My natural inclination would be to be skeptical, which made me wonder if skepticism is the reason that chivalry is dead. In people's version of Prince Charming, the guy is supposed to do all sorts of nice things when they court a lady, and I have realized that when guys actually do those things for me, I respond in all sorts of bizarre ways. For example, when I was climbing out of a high bus, the guy reached his hand back to me to help me down and I decided to grab onto the door handle and let myself down clumsily without touching his hand. Why? Because in my head it seemed less weird and showed that I can climb out of the bus on my own.

This need to prove that I don't need a male hand isn't just an isolated occurrence, I do it somewhat subconsciously all the time. I was carrying in boxes to be mailed and refused the help of a guy who was going to get me a dolly so that I wouldn't have to lug in four boxes weighing approximately 30 pounds each. Nope, I just scurried back and forth before he had time to help.

When a guy offers to pay for my meal, I have a weird internal complex about what it all means and what is expected from me. I lose my sense of self and typically waste the rest of the day trying to figure out their intentions rather than enjoying it.

Don't even get me started on the car door issue. Getting into a car makes sense to let the guy open the door, but a guy once asked me why I rushed out of the car before he could open it. Maybe because I am fully capable of opening my own car door and don't want to wait for you to stroll over to my side to let me out like a child? What am I supposed to do while I'm waiting? The radio is already off. I'll just end up sitting there wondering why I still haven't opened my own door yet.

My hang ups on chivalrous acts are never hidden well either. I make it so awkward that I am positive they will never try it again, which is somewhat nice but a bit disappointing. Even though I can open my own door and pay my own way, maybe it would be nice to let a guy do it for me without creating a scene.

So maybe it's my self-empowerment that killed chivalry and not males failing to reach societal expectations. Or maybe males have failed so many of the previous expectations that chivalry is literally a foreign concept to my generation, and I have no comprehension of what's supposed to happen, so I treat it all with a just amount of skepticism.

Chivalry might be dead, but we still don't know who killed it.

On Being Sorry

September 09, 2013 by Sara Woznicki in Life In Your 20's, life lessons, Sara's Column, Tweets and Mascara, Work, Young Professionalism

I apologize if this opinion piece offends you. Wait, no I don't. I have a right to have opinions, and people have a right to disagree with them, so why do I always apologize for expressing myself? Often at work I know something relevant and do not share with my boss for fear she will disagree, or when I correct her, I apologize. Why? Why should I apologize for having expertise and wanting to help the situation? Do I really need to apologize for being right or having a different but equally important opinion?

I apologize in arguments all the time to make them end, especially in relationships I care about most. Even when I know I am right or giving in, I'll just apologize to make the conflict go away.

I never considered the implications of my over-apologizes until I talked with my slightly older project manager. When you are apologizing, you are admitting a level of guilt. Why do I- and some other women in work- admit guilt in situations just to spare people's emotions? My coworker and I had an insightful dialogue about it, and in the end I realized I need to stop apologizing.

I have opinions and thoughts and do not need to be sorry about it. Just because I am young does not mean my authority in my field is not adequate. Even when I am wrong, I shouldn't have to feel bad about it because people are wrong all the time. As long as I can balance between enforcing my authority and considering people's feelings, I should be able to make a contribution without apologies.

So go out there and have creative differences and work to the best possible outcome in a respectfully unapologetic fashion.