The Beginning of the End

I’M ALIVE! I swear.

I know I haven’t been updating this blog as much as I have in the previous years, but upon entering senior year, my days have been fully booked from the moment I wake up to the moment I fall asleep. In all honesty, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

ONE MONTH. I repeat, 30 DAYS until my graduation day. I cannot even begin to describe to you all the thoughts that keep entering my head on a daily basis and all the stress/excitement/depression/happiness that has accompanied it. There’s an indescribable feeling to being a senior, especially if you know that getting your MBA/masters is farther down the line. I wake up every morning, counting down the days I have left while pretty much reminiscing on everything I see and everywhere I go. Even though it’s hard to pinpoint which exact Temple moments and experiences have made an impact on my life, I’ve narrowed it down to 5. I apologize in advance for the really sappy posts that will be spamming my blog over the next couple weeks, but I’m pretty much over with the best 4 years of my life. How can I not be sappy?!

1. Becoming a Temple University Owl Ambassador (Tour Guide)

Everyone has that one job or position in college that automatically makes them more outgoing or comfortable at their own school, and for me, this was EXACTLY that. I became a tour guide the March of my freshman year, and after being selected from a very large pool of other student’s, I’ve felt on top of the world. Okay, maybe not to that extent entirely, but I’ve definitely gained so many memories these past 4 years from choosing to have a job that leaves me smiling on a daily basis. I’ve created an unbreakable bond with my other 25 tour guides, and have gained the strength to public speak in any and ALL situations. Speaking in front of large crowds has become natural to me, and getting to do it with some of my friends is just a cherry on top. The fact that I leave parents and potential students happy and excited when choosing the path for their next 4 years of their life is just a small added bonus.

2. Having the biggest sleepover with my best friends every. single. day. 

Everyone is going to tell you that the friends you meet in college are your best friends forever, but coming out of a high school where very few of us stayed in touch, I had less hope in this aspect. However, I thought wrong. From freshman year until now, I was able to create some of the best bonds that I know will be around in my life forever. After meeting 3 amazing girls my freshman year, we’ve lived together from sophomore year until now, and I couldn’t thank them enough for giving me some of the best memories. Constantly having a sleepover with your best friends means impromptu trips for pizza at 2am, netflix-binges all day on Sundays, and even daily midnight life venting sessions. College friendships are the perfect combination between seriousness and laziness.

3. Getting a glimpse into the future through multiple internships

The real world is around the corner, they said. The real world is a scary place, they said.

Well, they were right. Being only a month away from it now, it had always seemed so far away throughout college. You go to class everyday thinking you’ll never REALLY have to use this in the future, only to be left in front of your computer at your first internship being told to analyze data. Yesssss, it happens! But from the data analyzing at Independence Blue Cross to the client meetings I attended at JWT, I’ve learned to grow professionally and intellectually through every internship. If you would have asked me 5 years ago if I would interning in New York for a summer, I would have replied with an OF COURSE, only to have my heart sink and cringe at the thought of being in that city all alone. I did it, however, and I survived it and fell in love with a city that I hope to venture back to someday.

4. Establishing relationships with diverse classmates

Diversity University is the term I’d always hear about Temple before attending it, and it wasn’t until my very first week here where I fully understood where that came from. Tables and tents were set up with every type of ethnic, religious, and cultural club  you could imagine; and believe it or not, I found other Egyptians much like myself (which was almost impossible in my small suburban town)! Through being an international business major as well, I’ve sat next to students of all nationalities and have always made an attempt to understand and hear of their experiences. Learning about other cultures has always been a goal of mine, especially since my culture is also much different than others. I’ve definitely felt like a more well-rounded person over the last couple years because of it.

5. Living in the city

Tons and tons of memories could go under this category, mainly because if you ask about a certain place downtown, I’ll most likely have been there before. Endless amounts of money have been spent exploring different restauraunts and areas and it never seems to let me down. Having downtown Philadelphia right in my backyard has always given me things to do and places to go, which has never left me bored. My favorite spots in Philadelphia change from month to month, so I may possibly detail these places in a later post! If I were to go back and have a second chance at choosing a university, I would have still chose Temple (and i’m not saying that because i’m an ambassador, I swear!). I fully found Philadelphia to be the most accompanying city to live in, and with the perfect mix of hustle and quiet time, the city has left me with memories and moments that I’ll remember forever.

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7 Things I Will Miss About College

So, I totally knew this post would come eventually, and it pains me to even begin to type this. Four years ago from today I was excited at the thought of starting school in a new city, and now i’m unfortunately leaving it all behind. Bittersweet is honestly an understatement when it comes to leaving the best four years of your life behind, but the only thing that pushes me through is knowing that I’ve made memories that will last me a lifetime! So cue the sad music and take a read through some of the best parts of college that i’ll miss:

1. The endless sleepovers with my best friends.

When you get so use to seeing your best friends everyday, you tend to forget how amazing it is to be able to live with them in the first place. To stay up every night until 2am talking and regret it the next morning. To order pizza at midnight and stuff our faces without any judgment. To be able to just barge into each other’s rooms whenever a problem comes up. It’s definitely something I took for granted, and now with only a couple months left and us all taking our separate paths, those moments will be much harder to come by.

2. Meeting people endlessly.

With every semester, new classmates turn into friends and those same new friends turn into best friends. One of the best parts about college is creating bonds with people of the same interests as you. Believe it or not, we ACTUALLY talk about marketing during our small talk in each marketing class. Who would’ve thought I’d find my fellow marketing nerd best friends eventually?

3. Food around every. single. corner.

When will you ever be around all of your favorite food again in your life other than during your college years? My whole day typically revolves around what i’m eating for dinner. No, but seriously. You’ll find that when every single food chain is located on one corner, and tons of trucks filled with every ethnic food you can imagine, it’s kind of find it hard to NOT look forward to it.

4. The memories that happen in the spur of the moment.

11pm and not tired at all? A run to the art museum with your best friends never hurts! 4pm and craving breakfast food? IHOP it is! It’s moment’s like those that I know for sure are going to forever stay in my memories, as it was the unplanned moments that always turned out to be some of the best.

5. FREE STUFF

The word free will become your best friend within the first week of moving into college. Posters you don’t need? Check. Endless pens that you’ll never use? Check. Food? CHECK. Food, yes, food. That will be the best free item you will ever learn to spot out and track down.

6. Being overly active and inspired on a daily basis.

Whether it’s being at work, at a student club meeting, or even sitting in class, college always leaves you inspired and wanting to do more. Penciling things into my busy schedule actually never felt so good.

7. The sense of belonging.

Nothing feels better than wearing cherry & white at any sports even and feeling connected to everyone around me. Despite our differences in hobbies and our futures, for four whole years we were all tied together by this bigger force. School pride became an indescribable sense of belonging somewhere you never thought you’d actually enjoy.

The First of Many Lasts…

The bittersweet thing about being a senior is realizing that in a couple of months, the best 4 years of your life will come to a close. There’s also that awkward feeling that you have with your roommate every time you sense the fact that you’re doing something for the last time.

Homecoming week? Check. Football game? Check. Actually winning that football game? Check.

Two weekends ago was my last Temple football game as an undergraduate, and despite the rainy weather- it was definitely a day I won’t forget! Not because we won the game, or that I got soaked with my best friend by my side, but because I basically spent the whole day reminiscing back to my first football game as a freshman and realizing how much has changed (in a good way of course). Not only was I probably 20 pounds heavier than I am, but I was a mix between a nervous wreck and an eager freshman willing to try everything. I had all 4 years of college ahead of me to look forward to, and now i’m counting down the months on two hands.

Not only is it already almost November, but we’re a couple weeks away from Thanksgiving and the end of the semester! So far my time has been spent between my 6 classes and applying for a post-graduate job. Real world ready? Not just yet, but I’m almost there! As nervous as I am for what’s to come, not knowing what could be waiting for you around the corner is the most exhilarating feeling. I could be in a new town, or a new country! Let’s just say I have some high hopes 🙂 But in all seriousness, that whole idea has made me cherish everything that i’m doing right now. I’m going to try and slow down this year as much as possible and enjoy every last that I’ll come across!

 

Because being bored is overrated.

I guess I can’t fully argue and say that being busy all the time means you live an exhilarating life, because half of the busyness that takes over our lives are things that we have to do, not things that we want to do. But my little piece of advice that I give to anyone complaining about not having enough time off is- just make the most of it!

If I were to look back at my 3 years at Temple, there’s not one thing that I regret doing. Whether it be joining a club, the jobs and positions I held, and even the people I met. As cliche as it sounds, I really wouldn’t be where I am today- even sitting here and blogging for Temple Admissions- if it wasn’t for all of them.

College is literally what you make of it. You can tailor it to take on a designated path, and it’s a path that you’ll ACTUALLY want to be on, and enjoy being on. As I count down my months until graduation (which I won’t freak about just yet), I always remain so thankful at the end of each busy day- because being busy means you’re doing something with your life, right?

The semester is already 5 weeks in and I’ve attended and participated in so many events already that it honestly feels like the whole semester is going to fly by. Two of my main focuses this year so far have been my position as Director of Student Affairs on Temple Student Government and as an Owl Ambassador for the Undergraduate Admissions Office! Coming off of an amazing New York City summer, I knew that I had to make the most of my last year here on campus, and participate and explore Philly as much as possible! I have no idea where i’ll be next year, or what i’ll be doing. So as I’ve endlessly told my roommates almost every single day until they’re now tired of me saying it: take everything one-week at a time! Thankfully, we’ve been definitely doing just that!

I’ve attended restaurant week with my fellow Owl Ambassadors just last week at the restaurant Nineteen in center city. With an amazing skyline as our dinner view, I wouldn’t of spent that night any other way. We’ve also had our first Open House of the semester this past Sunday where we got to give tours to a lot, and I mean A LOT, of perspective students! We had over 4,700 high school juniors and seniors attend this past weekend- all of them looking to attend the school that I now call home, so how could I complain about that?

My Temple Student Government girls and I have also made a volleyball team this semester! Besides suffering a loss yesterday, we definitely had a lot of fun just learning the steps as we went, since none of us actually really played before! So now I’ve added some time in for soccer and volleyball this semester, but do I regret it? Of course not!

There’s definitely not enough time in the day, but I’m making the most out of every second (even if I have to bruise up my arms from a volleyball).

I fully give you permission to stalk my summer:

Seriously, go ahead and take a look at some of my adventures this summer! I figured I’d switch things up a bit and story-tell through photos. Different yet effective, right?

– Brooklyn Heights Move-In:

 

 

 

As mentioned in my previous post, I had the amazing opportunity to intern in NYC this summer with JWT, the World’s largest Marketing & Communication Agency. Moving to NYC was quite the experience, but living in Brooklyn Heights and having this view of Manhattan practically in my backyard was definitely a game changer! 

 

 

 

– Color Run Philly:

 

 

I couldn’t say no to running a 5K with color everywhere! This run has been something I’ve always wanted to do, but just never got around to. So when the opportunity came to make a quick bus ride to Philly for the weekend, you bet I went and made sure to roll around on that pink-colored concrete!

 

 

 

 

– Brb America, Egypt is calling my name!

 

 

 

As I do almost every other summer, I adventured over to the land of the Pyramids for a quick 2 week, family-filled vacation. No I didn’t go riding camels off into the sunset, or hiked up the pyramids of Giza, but I did get to see some of my best friends and family that are always on my mind and in my heart (corny, I know). I started the vacation off in Cairo and made my way to the beaches of Alexandria!

 

 

 

– Saying my New York goodbyes 😦

 

 

 

After my 2 weeks in Egypt, I had my final week of interning at JWT. The day I never thought would come, came, and it was one of the hardest goodbyes I’ve ever had to give. I had to part with a city that stole my heart in a matter of 3 months- but i’ll be back!! 

 

 

 

 

– Quick Atlantic City Beach break!

 

 

 

As every college student does during Labor Day, a quick beach trip was in order. My roommates and I took a quick bus trip over and spent the day on Atlantic City Boardwalk as a final goodbye to an amazing summer!

Hello, NYC & JWT!

Some people say that a woman is deemed to always remember two dates in her life: her birthday and her wedding day. Well, since I haven’t embarked on the whole marriage journey yet, I’m replacing that day with May 2, 2014. What happened on May 2^nd, you ask? I got my offer to intern at JWT New York, one of the top Global Marketing Communications Agencies! You’re probably wondering why such a thing would be forever remembered in the life of Sally, but hey, from a girl who grew up in the suburbia of Philadelphia, where the “cool” thing to do was make a 7-Eleven or Wawa run at 10pm, this was quite the surprise. I would be venturing off into a city that I’ve only ever taken day trips to and beginning to follow my passion for everything advertising, and more importantly, at my dream company- JWT.

I heard of JWT a couple years ago while at a family friend’s house in Cairo, Egypt. How? Vodafone! Vodafone commercials have always given me a customary “at home” feeling when visiting Egypt every summer and turning on the TV. I even used to watch a lot of them with my friends here in the U.S. on YouTube, just to get the Egyptian nostalgia out of our systems (is that weird?). Well anyways, after years of obsessing over almost every single one, I decided to research the company behind them; and with the temperature topping 105 degrees and all of my friends hiding in their air-conditioned houses, researching JWT and staying in seemed like the better option. Ever since that summer, I envisioned working at a global company such as JWT, one where culture and ideas overlap and become the best of friends–because what’s an idea without tailoring it to each culture? That’s where JWT seems to have hit the jackpot for me, and its overall success over the past 150 years shows exactly that.

Now I’m here! It’s my second week so far, and I’ve loved every minute of it. Our 10-week program started off last Monday with orientation where we were taught everything about the company, from JWT’s history, to the function of different departments, to the best places to eat in the city—plus everything else, pretty much! This combination of work and play, especially with meeting all of my 29 other interns, has made this journey perfect so far. I’m interning with dotJWT, the global digital group, and they’ve already jumped on the opportunity of having me here by including me in a lot of their ongoing work and projects! My first project even included me having to research the digital impact on advertising during the World Cup, and for anyone who knows me; soccer is definitely the highlight of my life (well, before Spain lost the other day).

After getting to know the other interns a little more during our volunteer day yesterday at the New York Food Bank, I’m definitely excited to continue learning and growing as a person this summer, both professionally and socially! New York has already begun to shape me into a more motivated person, and JWT has been the main source of that. I’m definitely so thankful for this experience and on top of all of that, I’m living in Brooklyn Heights this summer as well! I can’t wait to see what these next two months have in store.
Stay tuned for more pictures/New York Adventures!

A look back into my favorite events of this year

Last day of classes was today. Last week of finals is next week.

Both mean one thing- my senior year is quickly approaching!

Looking back at this year, I once again couldn’t be more thankful for all the opportunities I have had– everything from the new friends I’ve made, to my current internship at Independence Blue Cross. I’ve definitely had a dose of senioritis without ever technically being a senior yet, but this weather has had my extra happy and excited all the time! Campus itself gets lively and everyone who hibernated the past couple months tends to peak out of sleep comas and ACTUALLY socialize, but that lasted for about 2 weeks unfortunately and now everyone is back in hibernation studying for finals.

But since I’m looking for anything to do but study, I figured I’d give you guys a quick look into some of the events I attended these past couple weeks!

Owl Ambassador Prom

One of the most influential jobs I’ve had here at college definitely has to be working in the Undergraduate Admissions Office as a Tour Guide. I always owe it to the friends I’ve created in that office for making me who I am today, even though we’ve only known each other for 3 years. I’ve become a master of public speaking, and have been more comfortable with myself and my capabilities, especially because i’m surrounded by students who are leaders on campus and go after their dreams-literally. My co-workers have had internships in Chicago, NYC, and have studied abroad all over the world. They’ve definitely pushed my in ways I cannot explain and I was able to celebrate that with them a couple weeks ago at our Prom. We rented out the Benjamin Franklin Yacht on Penns Landing and had a night filled with celebration… on a boat! It was definitely a memborable night with friends I know i’ll have forever & did I forget to mention we were on a boat.. overlooking the city skyline?

Global Women’s Dialogue

One event that I have had an honor of running these past two years is the Global Women’s Dialogue. Along with a couple on-campus organizations, we plan an evening at least once a semester where we bring together different cultures, religions, and women from all over the world and different careers to talk about issues that revolve around being a women. This years theme was the obstacles of women leaders and what it actually means to be a leader. Along with my partner in crime, Ghizlan, we were able to bring over 40 people this time! We divided them all into sub-groups assigned Dialogue leaders in each one to lead the quesitons and get the conversation going. As a leader myself, I found the women in my group to open up in ways I didn’t think would happen. I definitely always learn a lot from this event, and leave feeling very inspired!

International Students Association Grand Ball

One thing Temple University takes pride in is it’s diversity, and this was definitely a deciding factor when I was a shy high school senior trying to pick between colleges. This event pretty much brought students that were all over the world under one roof- for a diverse 3 hours of events and music celebrations. There were over 42 countries represented, and luckily I was one of 3 that brought Egypt to the table! The night was filled with different shows- from salsa dancing to occapella, to belly dancing and a cultural fashion show.

Ron Pope Concert

My favorite non-campus event of this semester, for sure! I got to see one of my favorite artists preform at World Cafe Live! This is a small acoustic-like venue located right near Drexel’s campus and is definitely one of my favorite spots in Philadelphia! They always have tons of small concerts going on, as well as karaoke. As soon as I found out Ron Pope was going I booked tickets right away and dragged some of my closest friends along. I was about 10 FEET AWAY from him the whole night. My life was made.

 

And with a week being left in the semester, I once again couldn’t be more thankful for all these events and many more that I had the privilege of attending! And guess what… I’m taking on a new city this summer.. NEW YORK 🙂 I have finally accepted an internship offer at JWT in Manhattan and will be venturing off and living in the big apple.

So if you’ve taken nothing out of my blog so far it’s that dreams really do come true! *cue Disney music*

& just like that, Spring break is over.

I’d be lieing if I said I didn’t sleep through about 75% of my spring break last week. & I loved every bit of it.

It’s always amazing to go home and catch up with family and old friends, especially when you’ve been stressed out for so long. If you’re a busy person like I am, every bit of free-time is me-time. I spend it relaxing and hanging out with my friends and family, but also with myself. I think the one thing I’ve realized over this year is that I’m not fully an introvert, but i’m also not fully an extrovert- i’m oddly somewhere in between. I love being able to binge-watch One Tree Hill reruns on netflix by myself and would be perfectly content doing that for hours at a time. However, I do love to be out and about exploring with friends and catching up on our lives that seem to transition and change with every break we get to spend at home.

So it’s safe to say that I did a little bit of both, and it was extremly satisfying. Often times us college students get so worked up with our busy lives that we don’t take time to relax and focus on our social lives as well. Being able to struggle both aspects of life has definitely been hard, but i’ve managed to pull it through! I don’t know exactly how, but thankfully I did.

The only scary thing about spring break is that everyone always knows that interview season is just around the corner. All those months I spent applying to internships in the late fall/early winter are now starting to come through with interviews. Summer internships are always the best kind to have because not only are you left with more time to focus on that particular job, but you learn more in the process! Nothing is set in stone for me yet, and I think that’s why I’ve started hating the months of March & April specifically because of the decisions that are always made during that time period, but hey, if it means i’m that much closer to summer– then so be it!

Life isn’t always stressful, because college is filled with event after event. My tour guides and I are having a Tour Guide Prom this Saturday on the Ben Franklin Yacht at Penns Landing! Sounds fancy, huh? Well it’ll be more fancy when I get to show you pictures! So stay tuned to hear more about my wanna-be-fancy life, and don’t stress in the meantime-please? 🙂

My favorite time of the year…

EXPERIENCE TEMPLE DAYS!

Not alot of people get to say that working on Saturdays is actually fun, but for all of us Tour Guides at Temple’s Admissions Office, It’s our favorite part of the year! Whether it’s getting to introduce the school we love to people coming from all over the United States, or even dancing at 7 in the morning, it’s always such a blast.

Over the past three years I’ve had the pleasure of working as an Owl Ambassador, and I think it’s safe to say that I wouldn’t be the person I am today if it wasn’t for applying and being accepted to this job back when I was a freshman. I remember my group interview just like it was yesterday, and how scared I was to take the stage and give only a two minute brief about myself to the over 200 applicants that were in the room. My body was shaking in my seat that day; nervousness was definitely written all over my face that day; but for some odd reason, as soon as my body made it’s way up to the front of the room, I found the perfect words and they seemed to just roll off my tounge. Maybe it was because it was something I wanted really badly? I’ll never know.

It was definitely an opportunity that I took head on and continue to do so until this day. Even though i’m not working as many hours as I had back when I was a freshman and sophmore, I still make sure to find time in my schedule to give at least one tour a week! There’s honestly no better feeling then nailing a tour and having the parents applaude you at the end for a job well done.

Not only has this job helped me with my presentation skills, but it made my personality shift from a girl who was afraid of taking risks, to one that’s willing to go full force when it comes to an opportunity. I was able to not only learn almost every fact about Temple, but take the facts and turn them into my own words and even always add the “sally spin.” Stupid word I know, but I always love being able to throw in jokes here and there no matter how dumb they might be.

Being able to share my love for my school is an indescribable feeling. This past weekend was definitely one of the greatest ETD’s i’ve ever gotten to host because I not only got to dance with some of my closest tour guide friends, but I was able to show visitors our new residence hall, Morgan Hall! In all it’s 27-floor glory I literally had every parent walk out with their jaw dropped because of how modern and amazing the building looks on the inside.

Despite the pressure that’s always thrown on us tour guides to give visitors the best experience, I wouldn’t have begun and finished my college career doing any other job.

Kudos to all my fellow tour guides for another successful Experience Temple Day!

Being busy never tasted so good.

Yes, tasted– because to me, every accomplishment and step forward is like biting into pizza for the first time. Maybe that’s not quite the right metaphor for what i’m trying to describe; but that’s only because what i’m describing can’t really be described in the first place.

Accomplishment.

Often in life we tend to focus on what’s coming next, that we forget to congratulate ourselves for what we’ve done so far. We push ourselves harder (which is great), but seldom do we just take the time to relax and be proud of ourselves. A little pat on the back every now and then doesn’t hurt! We do so much and accomplish so much that we just rush to the next day without actually realizing what it is that we’ve accomplished. It’s not until we’re awarded or congratulated by another person do we begin to realize that we’re making our dreams come true, little by little.

No, I haven’t won any awards this past week, but one thing that’s been on my mind a lot lately is the power of accomplishment; and how everything we accomplish happens because of a past accomplishment. It’s kind of like a spiral staircase that never ends– and even though it’s scary not knowing where it’s going, we should be happy that we keep moving up a level, not down.

With all the amazing people I work with, whether it’s at my internship, my admissions office, or my student governement cabinet, I’m always left feeling a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day. No meeting that I attend is ever left up in the air or un-successful. I guess it’s true that as you get older things begin to take on a more serious role, but to tell you the truth, it’s not all that scary. How scared you are of these accomplishments and steps depends on how comofortable you are with where you stand in life. If you surround yourself with people you love– doing things you love, you won’t realize your accomplishment because they’ll seem like a normal day’s worth of activities; And, hey, that’s not a bad thing!

Accomplishments are what keep us pushing and wanting more. So if everyone were to just take a second and realize how much they’ve done and how far they’ve gone, life would be a little less scary and a lot more happy.