I kick myself everyday for letting my blog slip onto the back-burner. This past September, I've started my three year Public Relations diploma program at Humber College, which has been, needless to say, incredibly busy. From excessive readings, assignments, to tests, and midterms galore, I haven't had a chance for my leisure writing!
So far, this program has been great, especially when you put it in comparison with Guelph. I've made tons of friends, the material is so very interesting, it's in Toronto (huge plus) and, to top it all off, I'm doing so well! Combined, it's a recipe for success, and I couldn't be more thrilled.
Right now, we're focusing on grammar, spelling, and punctuation (parts of speech, commas and semicolons, and sentence elements) in my College Writing Skills class, and one of our first assignments of the year was an autobiography. The angle we were to take was to position ourselves as PR practitioners and tell a bit about ourselves, past experiences, ambitions and objectives for the future. I got 100% on this assignment, and I am pretty damn proud of myself for that, so I thought I would share it with those of you who were curious enough to read it:
Indulging in Creativity with a Divine Passion for Writing
I’ve resisted working in Public Relations all of my life. My mother had a stack of news releases waiting for her to approve when we returned from the hospital the day after my birth. I’ve heard about brand building, reputation management, strategic initiatives, crusty or cooperative media contacts, visionary clients and clients who don’t get PR at all… since day one.
My mother leads a big Public Relations agency in Toronto, and I’ve had the chance to work there for three summers in a row. To be honest, I did not enjoy it there at all. Maybe that was because I was an unappreciative teenager, or because I never thought I’d follow in my mother’s footsteps. Because of past experiences and personal interests, I know now that this is the profession I belong in.
I’ve always enjoyed expressing myself through writing - from poems to short stories, non-fiction, and newspaper articles. After an incredible and stimulating three-week student exchange to Tokyo, Japan, at the young age of 14, I decided to write a short book. I filled it with my wonderful experiences in the form of poems, e-mails I, had sent to friends and family, short anecdotes, and summaries of each place I visited and every kind of food I tasted. Parts of it were sent back to the school I was studying at in Tokyo, while the rest went into a scrapbook I made about my trip. This was a great accomplishment for me and encouraged me to stay on the writing train.
My strong interest in writing led me to a creative writing course in my final year of high school. Through this course, I improved my writing greatly, and had the chance to have two poems published in the Montreal Jewish Public Library’s edition of First Fruits.
Through my high school years, I wrote for my high school newspaper, wrote articles for my mother’s company website, as well as started a restaurant critique blog to channel my excess creative energy.
I would really love to have a career in which I could put my love for writing and creativity to good use. After two years of studying at the University of Guelph, in Sociology, a program of very little interest to me, I did a great deal of research to find a program that best suited my interests. Low and behold, Public Relations seemed to be that program!
My dream has always been to be the food editor for Toronto Life magazine, but now, after learning more about the field of Public Relations, I’ve discovered that I would also love to work in PR. Perhaps falling into my mother’s footsteps wouldn’t be so bad after all.
Happy Canadian Thanksgiving, everyone!
StheF
