Dylan's Dish

Guys! I got a summer internship in Chicago!

This summer I will be working with Mental Health America of Illinois in downtown Chicago! I will be their event coordinating intern. I will work directly for the programs director and my main project will be a jazz festival in july!

Mental Health America’s mission is “Mental Health America of Illinois (MHAI) is dedicated to promoting mental health, working for the prevention of mental illnesses and improving care and treatment for persons suffering from mental and emotional disorders.” Personally having mental health affect my family, I think I will be very passionate about my job. 

Unfortunately this is not a paid internship, but I really do not care because it is my dream internship in my dream city! For me it is more about the experience and the connections I will be making over the corse of this.

I love Chicago so much and I plan on living there after graduation. It only makes sense for me to take this internship in the city that I want to live in.

Laughter is a universal language. We all know how to speak laughter. There is something about laughing that just makes you feel good.

SIUE brought Jessimae, a comedian from the MTV show Girl Code, to campus for a stand up comedy show. Going into the Meridian Ball room I wasn’t expecting anything great from her. I did not know who she was, and I had barley watched Girl Code.

I have never laughed that hard in my life! She was so funny! The entire room was filled with with the beautiful sound of laughter. She talked about her family, NYC, and the funniest part was when someone had their baby in the room! So funny!

When Jessimae was walking though the audience she spotted me and said “Well look at you with your low cut neck line, showing off your chest hair. Your a cute little beef cake.” Now if anyone would ever call me a “beef cake” I would normally be offended, but I took it as a compliment.

I loved that night and I honestly will not forget that time here at SIUE

I dyed my hair!

All my life I have had red hair. It was a boring red though. It wasn’t like that beautiful brown red, or that bright orange red. It was just dull.

Ever sense I was about 16 I have wanted to dye my hair a different color but never had the courage to actually do it. Everyone in my life was telling me “Don’t dye your hair you have such a beautiful color”. The problem was I never thought my hair was beautiful…I liked that it was red but I just thought that it was dull. (and Dylan Boyer is not dull).

Finally one day at school I dyed my hair a really beautiful dark red color and I could not be happier. I feel like that song by Lady Gaga “Hair” I could not be more free.

Not having these voices telling me that I can’t do something really makes me feel more of myself. It is amazing that being away from home can do so much for you. Coming to SIUE was the best choice of my life. I am free, I am me!

I know it is not a dramatic difference but it looks great! Shout-Out to my friend Tre who did it for me!

I GOT THE JOB EVERYONE!

I am so excited to start my new job as a Resident Assistant for Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. I could not be more proud of myself! In fact they were so impressed with my application and my interview they wanted me to start this semester! (talk about stressful).

I had to move all my stuff from the 500 side to the 400 side! Thankfully I had some amazing friends help me out the weekend I moved! I had three full car loads (Too much!)   Finally I got all my stuff in my new apartment and started organizing and decorating my room.

Also I had to go to Walmart and get a bunch of food (only healthy food) and a few cleaning supplies. It always is a joy to go to Walmart…said no one ever.

This apartment is SOOOOO much cleaner than my last one! My roommate is amazing! we clean our dishes. We wipe the counters after we are done cooking.  We clean the place once a week. It just nice to live in a place were I don’t feel like I’m going to get sick from breathing the air.

For my new job I had to go door to door introducing myself to all my residents. I made some delicious red velvet cupcakes with a butter cream frosting. They were mouth watering. Unfortunately less than half my rooms opened their doors.

The left over cupcakes I gave to my fellow Resident Assistants at my first staff meeting. The meeting was so much fun and everyone seemed very nice! I feel confident if I need help though this process I can go to any of them.

I have this nervous and excited feeling! I am so excited to make door decors this week! Let’s hope this all goes well!

So recently I have been watching Scandal on Netflix and I feel that sometimes I am Olivia Pope. I help people all the time, I fix them and I do what what needs to be done no matter the cost.

Lately I feel pressure on me to help my close friends on the daily. I love being that support system for them. Just like Olivia, it sometimes is hard for me to get some sleep because I just keep thinking of all the tasks I need to take care of.

My good friend gave me a great idea of making a board with three different sections “need to do” “In process” and “Completed”. I’ll be making my own board like that and have every project I’m working on. Wether that be work, school or personal goals.

Even though I may feel like I am kind of like Olivia Pope, I am not quite there. I need to perfect my skills. Practice makes perfect. (even though my boyfriend thinks I am a controlling bitch sometimes.) I am only doing my job.

I am learning my boundaries and knowing when enough is enough. I cannot wait to get into the PR field. I may not be doing what Pope does I know I will be great at my job just like how she is perfect at hers!

 

Life is not about finding yourself, It is about creating yourself.

As an upcoming public relations professional I truly believe that your brand and image is vital to your success. Having that sense of “self” and understanding who you are is an excellent tool when applying for jobs.

Over the past few years I have found it hard finding myself. Who am I? Why am I here? What am I doing? Last year was one of my hardest years so far. I gained a lot of weight and because of that I had a lot of body shame issues. I had no balance in life between school life and social life. I was staying up late in the night and sleeping in till the after noon.

2014 is going to be the beginning of a new life for me. This is not a New Year resolution, this is a life change for me. I have started working out every day, and eating extremely well. When I say I eat well it does not mean that I starve myself, it means I make sure that what I put into my body is good for my body. Does that mean that I never drink a soda every now and then? Absolutely not, I love myself a Coke every now and then. What I will not be doing is sitting watching Netflix  and just eating the entire can of Pringles. I am going to be very hard on myself to make sure I am being healthy so I can feel positive about my self.

I am searching for that balance in my life between school and social life. Last year I felt like all I did was say “no” to my friends and would say home and work on my homework. I need to plan more accordingly this year. I am going to get assignments completed in a more timely fashion rather than waiting for the last minute. Less stress and more success!