The past 2 weeks have been so much fun! I have learned a tremendous amount, made really good friends, bonded with the California team, witnessed the power of a conversation, and feel absolutely empowered. I am going to be working on registering students to vote, educating the community on water saving tips, and our lead campaign is getting the city of Irvine to "go solar"! There are a lot of facts that can make things look really bleak, but luckily the organization looks at the positive and finds solutions! I wish things in politics weren't such a long process and we could change things immediately... but that's democracy. And I'm thankful that this country was founded as a democracy.
I just love how life works out sometimes. If you would have told me a month ago that I would be moving to Southern California to be an organizer I would have told you, "Ummm I don't want to live in Southern California and what exactly is an organizer?" It's amazing how everything can change and how you can stumble upon something. I loved my time at Stetson, it was the home I needed after I moved from Louisiana. Transitioning out of it was hard because I did not know what I wanted to do, if what I wanted to do even existed, and hated the thought of leaving my home. But I am ready for this chapter of my life. It is time to move along and experience life! The most growth I've ever had was during the times of transition. I always learn more about myself, gain strength, meet amazing people, and become a better person because of it. I think everyone needs to step outside of their comfort zone and experience a total change at some point in their lives. It may be scary at first, but its a lot of fun and worth it!
I didn't think I would like L.A. but I've learned some cool things about it that make me excited to check it out! The number one thing I'm excited about is that the Ellen DeGeneres show is there! Ahhhhh I wanna be in the crowd one day! Other things I'm excited about are the eclectic, diverse food; Disneyland; Universal; trapeze at Santa Monica pier. It'll be a cool area to explore!
Now I am just waiting on my plane to head to Raleigh for a few days! Get to hang out with the family until Sunday and will then fly to San Francisco from there. I'll be in San Francisco area through the 29th, then in L.A. until Sept. 21st helping start the recruitment drives and work at the University of Southern California. I'll be working 12 hour days most of the time, so it will be really busy! But really exciting! I'm excited to meet some cool students who are eager to join our efforts. The best part about SGA was meeting students who were empowered and ready to make Stetson a better place and helping them realize their potential. I'm so excited to be able to do that for a career!
If you're like me and don't exactly know what an organizer is you can check out this blog about organizing! It is written by a former CALPIRG student who now works for the nonprofit, Cause. I have briefly skimmed it but like this article that is in response to a study about how politics in the US are influenced by the extremely wealthy. If I give off the vibe that I am opposed to be wealthy, I am not. I would like to make money just as much as the next guy, but I don't want to make more than humanly possible to spend in one lifetime. Everyone in this country could be a millionaire yet we have extremely impoverished communities because a tiny fraction of the population holds a majority of the wealth. Watch the documentary "Inequality For All". Most people stay in the social class they are born into because it is hard to get out of it. The American dream is diminishing and that is a tragedy. Anyways! Here's the blog.
Blog on Organizing
I'll write when I'm in California! Hope everyone has a wonderful week!
Love,
Alyssa
Thursday, August 21, 2014
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
The Why
There is a great Ted Talk about the golden circle (I highly recommend watching it, especially if you want to be leader- How Great Leaders Inspire Action). In summary the golden circle idea is that you must first start with "why" not "what". A businesses/movement/person starting with what doesn't inspire any action and there may not even be a why. But if you have a story, a purpose, and start with why you will inspire and it will lead to greater connection with people.
The past few days of training we have been working on developing our story... if we don't know why we are an activist then this may not be the right path for us. In order to inspire people to join a cause you must be connected to it and genuine. So, I've been thinking a lot about what drives me and why I want to work for the Public Interest Network. Since I have someone in my life that doesn't fully understand why I chose this path, I decided I would share my story so that I can help people make sense of why in the world I changed to a minimum wage job way out in California all on a one week notice (and 3 weeks of knowing about the job/research).
Once upon a time in a small Southern town there lived, me. Ever since I was a little girl I was taught that I could do whatever my heart desired, and that I should use my life to help others. There are a lot of things that I think are "wrong" in the world, and I think the solution to many of these inequalities is an effective government. The government should be working in the interest of the people and ensuring that each citizen has equal opportunity to education, jobs, and health, among other things. Today I am sad to say that I believe we do not have an effective government and that the people's voices no longer matter. I think this is a societal problem in general because a majority of people are acting in their own self interest. However, the leaders of this country are suppose to be just that, leaders. Not corporate sell outs that work in government to boost their own self image and wallet. And I apologize for making a generalization because public service is difficult and there will always be criticism, but if you look at the amount of corporate donations to campaigns and the correlation of this to voting patterns (within the House/Congress) this phenomenon is very real. I find that wrong, unnecessary, and infuriating. I live in a single income home, and my dad works extremely hard to provide for our family... we do not have a lot of discretionary income to put towards a campaign we believe in but that should not make our voice any less than someone with money (1 person, 1 vote). Plus, why would we donate if a wealthy special interest pays off our legislator to vote against a policy we believe in anyways? I receive emails about 4 times a day from political parties asking me for money in order to win campaigns because the other party is outspending us 2 to 1... and that's all the email says. Nothing about where the money will go, what the candidates believe, where I can help get involved with the campaigns... just spend the money now so we can even play the politics game against the other person since they have the money. This is NOT a game and I refuse to do nothing to stop it. There are very important issues that affect our health, income, and the planet that are being over looked because of low, mudslinging politics and dirty deals. Lately everyone is in the business of pointing fingers and bickering... But PIRG is in the business of realizing there are more problems than we should tolerate, and more solutions than are utilized. After being with my new trainees and people that have been with PIRG for 5-30 years I see that this organization genuinely cares about educating the public on the issues and providing facts in an ethical manner. Integrity has been brought up on many occasions and is the foundation of this training. This work is definitely not meant for everyone.. it will be long hours but the results will be long term. I have had so many people invest time and love in me to make my world a better place so I want to do that for everyone else. I think I owe it to the people that got me here to help others reach this point in their lives.
Also, I have lived a very privileged life. I have never been wealthy but I have also never been without. Anytime I needed something I had the means to get it. I know how to budget but I don't know how to be frugal or what it means to live pay check to pay check.. and I want to know what that's like. I want to understand how a majority of people in the world live (even though I will still be better off than a majority of people). I'm not saying there is anything bad with having a high paying job, living in a nice house or taking vacations... I'm just saying I want a different perspective. That is something I have wanted to do for a while now. I'm sure I'll call my parents needing something every now and then and I'm fortunate to have their support, but I'm really going to limit it since I've relied heavily on them my entire life and particularly the past 4 years.
Anyways! I think this is a great thing for me and I feel so proud that I am actually living my values instead of talking about them. I am optimistic but I also see the realities of the journey I have embarked on. So that's my story and I'm sticking to it. I hope that you follow your values and allow them to lead your life. Too often we measure success by the amount of your salary and that is not what matters in life.. the number in our bank account is not what we reflect on at the end of our lives and are thankful for (at least I don't think so...).
So I hope you understand my story and that part of it has resonated with you!
Best wishes and much love,
Alyssa
P.S. This week I challenge you to really think about a passion you have that you haven't found time for lately. Take that passion and pledge a certain amount of time each week/month/year to fulfill your passion!
The past few days of training we have been working on developing our story... if we don't know why we are an activist then this may not be the right path for us. In order to inspire people to join a cause you must be connected to it and genuine. So, I've been thinking a lot about what drives me and why I want to work for the Public Interest Network. Since I have someone in my life that doesn't fully understand why I chose this path, I decided I would share my story so that I can help people make sense of why in the world I changed to a minimum wage job way out in California all on a one week notice (and 3 weeks of knowing about the job/research).
Once upon a time in a small Southern town there lived, me. Ever since I was a little girl I was taught that I could do whatever my heart desired, and that I should use my life to help others. There are a lot of things that I think are "wrong" in the world, and I think the solution to many of these inequalities is an effective government. The government should be working in the interest of the people and ensuring that each citizen has equal opportunity to education, jobs, and health, among other things. Today I am sad to say that I believe we do not have an effective government and that the people's voices no longer matter. I think this is a societal problem in general because a majority of people are acting in their own self interest. However, the leaders of this country are suppose to be just that, leaders. Not corporate sell outs that work in government to boost their own self image and wallet. And I apologize for making a generalization because public service is difficult and there will always be criticism, but if you look at the amount of corporate donations to campaigns and the correlation of this to voting patterns (within the House/Congress) this phenomenon is very real. I find that wrong, unnecessary, and infuriating. I live in a single income home, and my dad works extremely hard to provide for our family... we do not have a lot of discretionary income to put towards a campaign we believe in but that should not make our voice any less than someone with money (1 person, 1 vote). Plus, why would we donate if a wealthy special interest pays off our legislator to vote against a policy we believe in anyways? I receive emails about 4 times a day from political parties asking me for money in order to win campaigns because the other party is outspending us 2 to 1... and that's all the email says. Nothing about where the money will go, what the candidates believe, where I can help get involved with the campaigns... just spend the money now so we can even play the politics game against the other person since they have the money. This is NOT a game and I refuse to do nothing to stop it. There are very important issues that affect our health, income, and the planet that are being over looked because of low, mudslinging politics and dirty deals. Lately everyone is in the business of pointing fingers and bickering... But PIRG is in the business of realizing there are more problems than we should tolerate, and more solutions than are utilized. After being with my new trainees and people that have been with PIRG for 5-30 years I see that this organization genuinely cares about educating the public on the issues and providing facts in an ethical manner. Integrity has been brought up on many occasions and is the foundation of this training. This work is definitely not meant for everyone.. it will be long hours but the results will be long term. I have had so many people invest time and love in me to make my world a better place so I want to do that for everyone else. I think I owe it to the people that got me here to help others reach this point in their lives.
Also, I have lived a very privileged life. I have never been wealthy but I have also never been without. Anytime I needed something I had the means to get it. I know how to budget but I don't know how to be frugal or what it means to live pay check to pay check.. and I want to know what that's like. I want to understand how a majority of people in the world live (even though I will still be better off than a majority of people). I'm not saying there is anything bad with having a high paying job, living in a nice house or taking vacations... I'm just saying I want a different perspective. That is something I have wanted to do for a while now. I'm sure I'll call my parents needing something every now and then and I'm fortunate to have their support, but I'm really going to limit it since I've relied heavily on them my entire life and particularly the past 4 years.
Anyways! I think this is a great thing for me and I feel so proud that I am actually living my values instead of talking about them. I am optimistic but I also see the realities of the journey I have embarked on. So that's my story and I'm sticking to it. I hope that you follow your values and allow them to lead your life. Too often we measure success by the amount of your salary and that is not what matters in life.. the number in our bank account is not what we reflect on at the end of our lives and are thankful for (at least I don't think so...).
So I hope you understand my story and that part of it has resonated with you!
Best wishes and much love,
Alyssa
P.S. This week I challenge you to really think about a passion you have that you haven't found time for lately. Take that passion and pledge a certain amount of time each week/month/year to fulfill your passion!
Monday, August 11, 2014
Public Interest Network Training!
I am in Boston for training for my new job and it is going sooooooooo great! I love the way training is laid out, the people I've met, and I am really looking forward to starting my work at UC Irvine!
Everyone is compassionate and on the same page about these huge, profound issues that the public should be made aware of--like climate change, antibiotics in animal feed, water conservation, and bringing campaigns back to the people (and not to corporations).
It is all very exciting! I am really glad and thankful to be here.
I would write more, but I'm exhausted and have more training ahead of me tomorrow!
Wishing you all happiness and contentment,
Alyssa
Everyone is compassionate and on the same page about these huge, profound issues that the public should be made aware of--like climate change, antibiotics in animal feed, water conservation, and bringing campaigns back to the people (and not to corporations).
It is all very exciting! I am really glad and thankful to be here.
I would write more, but I'm exhausted and have more training ahead of me tomorrow!
Wishing you all happiness and contentment,
Alyssa
Monday, August 4, 2014
Long time no talk
Hello everyone,
So it's been almost a month since I've written a post! I've been meaning to write one, but things have been pretty busy. I went to St. Pete again the weekend of July 18. It was a perfect weekend again with Mary. We walked downtown and bought beautiful art. Prepared for the wedding. It was lovely. Then the next weekend I headed to Pensacola for the Bachelorette Party. Of course that was a lot of fun and I enjoyed getting to know Mary's high school friends! She has some amazing women in her life. Everyone was unique but at their core they were genuine which is hard to find. We had a fun time. Sunday I headed to North Carolina. Had an interview with a marketing consulting firm on Monday (it starts with sales then leads to a management role..kind of interesting but I don't really think it's for me). It was a group interview there were 8 of us and I was offered a position. I accepted but think I'm going to have to call back and decline. I would not enjoy that job even though I could make good money doing it. I convinced Mom and Austin to come back to Florida with me so they could help me pack up because today is my last day at Brown & Brown. It's been a good 10 weeks, but since this is not a long-term thing for me and I want to get out of this area my boss and myself felt it better for me to go ahead and resign. It's like I was an intern again this summer, but that's okay. I'm glad I tried it and am appreciative of the professional growth I received while here.
I have also had 3 interviews with U.S. PIRG, which stands for Public Interest Research Group. They work with local, state, and national officials to get the public's voice into the conversation. Their main objective is to get corporations out of our political system. This is a topic I am extremely passionate about and the position I applied for is called a Campus Organizer. I would be working on a college campus organizing volunteers for campaigns (i.e. climate change policies, anti-biotics in animal feed, water conservation, etc.). We would get petitions and endorsements signed as well as educate people on what is going on. Get them interested in the political scene and help them see that change is possible. This is my ideal job and I am so happy I discovered it! I was offered the job, but it is at the University of California Irvine, which is between LA and San Diego. Also, I would have to be in Boston on Saturday (yes... in 5 days) to start training. Since this is a non-profit the starting pay is not very high, and California is very expensive so my parents are nervous about me having enough money to survive. But I don't like the materialistic lifestyle and don't need anything more than a roof over my head and food in my belly. It is rare that you find a job that you're passionate about therefore I do not want to pass it up. I am calling the woman today and if a few questions are answered how I need them to be I will accept the job. That means I will be in Boston by the end of the week and California by the end of the month! It's very exciting!
When I got the call that they were offering me the job I started dancing around in the hallway outside Mary's parent's condo. I was doing leaps while listening to what she had to say. I really appreciate the offer call because she told me why they chose me, what skills I possessed that would be enhanced, what support I would receive in areas that I had not experienced, and what kind of professional/personal growth I would gain. The job in Raleigh was just like, "Yeah we would like to offer you the position. Do you accept?" There wasn't any kind of personalization to it. It is just a job... Whereas US PIRG is the start to a very fulfilling career and significant change. It is only a 1 year commitment through August of next year so if I'm really feeling homesick I can ask to transfer to the East Coast where I could see my family more. Or my dad could look for jobs out West once his contract is up in May. With Christmas in the middle I don't think I'll go long without seeing my family..plus there are cell phones and Skype so I can "see" and hear them whenever.
It is extremely hard to move away from your family and friends but I think this will be a good experience for me.. If I don't do it I think I'll regret it. And I do not want to live thinking, "what would have happened if I took that job... where would I be?" I know that I'll enjoy this job and that it's what I want to do because it's what I did in college on a larger scale and can have a national impact instead of just a Stetson or Volusia County impact. Anyways, we'll see for sure in a few hours when I call back Laura! I'll keep you posted on everything...but you can bet that this will be my choice. It just seems like fate is lining it all up... plus it goes with my sense of adventure!
Until next time,
Alyssa
So it's been almost a month since I've written a post! I've been meaning to write one, but things have been pretty busy. I went to St. Pete again the weekend of July 18. It was a perfect weekend again with Mary. We walked downtown and bought beautiful art. Prepared for the wedding. It was lovely. Then the next weekend I headed to Pensacola for the Bachelorette Party. Of course that was a lot of fun and I enjoyed getting to know Mary's high school friends! She has some amazing women in her life. Everyone was unique but at their core they were genuine which is hard to find. We had a fun time. Sunday I headed to North Carolina. Had an interview with a marketing consulting firm on Monday (it starts with sales then leads to a management role..kind of interesting but I don't really think it's for me). It was a group interview there were 8 of us and I was offered a position. I accepted but think I'm going to have to call back and decline. I would not enjoy that job even though I could make good money doing it. I convinced Mom and Austin to come back to Florida with me so they could help me pack up because today is my last day at Brown & Brown. It's been a good 10 weeks, but since this is not a long-term thing for me and I want to get out of this area my boss and myself felt it better for me to go ahead and resign. It's like I was an intern again this summer, but that's okay. I'm glad I tried it and am appreciative of the professional growth I received while here.
I have also had 3 interviews with U.S. PIRG, which stands for Public Interest Research Group. They work with local, state, and national officials to get the public's voice into the conversation. Their main objective is to get corporations out of our political system. This is a topic I am extremely passionate about and the position I applied for is called a Campus Organizer. I would be working on a college campus organizing volunteers for campaigns (i.e. climate change policies, anti-biotics in animal feed, water conservation, etc.). We would get petitions and endorsements signed as well as educate people on what is going on. Get them interested in the political scene and help them see that change is possible. This is my ideal job and I am so happy I discovered it! I was offered the job, but it is at the University of California Irvine, which is between LA and San Diego. Also, I would have to be in Boston on Saturday (yes... in 5 days) to start training. Since this is a non-profit the starting pay is not very high, and California is very expensive so my parents are nervous about me having enough money to survive. But I don't like the materialistic lifestyle and don't need anything more than a roof over my head and food in my belly. It is rare that you find a job that you're passionate about therefore I do not want to pass it up. I am calling the woman today and if a few questions are answered how I need them to be I will accept the job. That means I will be in Boston by the end of the week and California by the end of the month! It's very exciting!
When I got the call that they were offering me the job I started dancing around in the hallway outside Mary's parent's condo. I was doing leaps while listening to what she had to say. I really appreciate the offer call because she told me why they chose me, what skills I possessed that would be enhanced, what support I would receive in areas that I had not experienced, and what kind of professional/personal growth I would gain. The job in Raleigh was just like, "Yeah we would like to offer you the position. Do you accept?" There wasn't any kind of personalization to it. It is just a job... Whereas US PIRG is the start to a very fulfilling career and significant change. It is only a 1 year commitment through August of next year so if I'm really feeling homesick I can ask to transfer to the East Coast where I could see my family more. Or my dad could look for jobs out West once his contract is up in May. With Christmas in the middle I don't think I'll go long without seeing my family..plus there are cell phones and Skype so I can "see" and hear them whenever.
It is extremely hard to move away from your family and friends but I think this will be a good experience for me.. If I don't do it I think I'll regret it. And I do not want to live thinking, "what would have happened if I took that job... where would I be?" I know that I'll enjoy this job and that it's what I want to do because it's what I did in college on a larger scale and can have a national impact instead of just a Stetson or Volusia County impact. Anyways, we'll see for sure in a few hours when I call back Laura! I'll keep you posted on everything...but you can bet that this will be my choice. It just seems like fate is lining it all up... plus it goes with my sense of adventure!
Until next time,
Alyssa
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