Every blessing You pour out I'll turn back to praise

From elementary education to journalism, my life in this past year has been quite the journey. One year ago I was enrolled in elementary education classes at Ole Miss. I was making lessons plans for Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs for my second grade class. I had no idea what was about to come.

At the end of May 2013 I realized I wasn't going to allow myself anymore to think about my "second life." Why only dream when I could make these dreams my reality?

I switched all my classes to meet the journalism school requirements and planned to visit Oxford to meet with an advisor. I went from learning about early literacy to journalism 101. After I made that jump and trusted in the Lord that this is exactly where I was supposed to be, the blessings kept pouring out.

I applied for and accepted an internship with Hello Perfect and began my journey with them as a contributing writer. I loved all of my fall semester classes in the journalism building and then reached out on a limb to apply for the Teen Vogue Fashion University weekend in October in New York, which I found out about through the founder of Hello Perfect.

Patience. One word I am not good with. Teen Vogue Fashion U was one of the only events I applied for and never thought about again. I didn't over analyze every step or already plan out my trip in my mind. That's why when my acceptance email came I was incredible overjoyed. Through prayers and not planning, the Lord provided for me to attend TVFU along with five of my best friends.

"And so it was, that [she], having waited long and endured patiently, realized and obtained what God had promised" Hebrews 6:15 

It was there that I had no idea how much my life would change. When signing up for my seminars for TVFU I had no idea who DANNIJO was, but they sounded cool. I liked the idea that they were two sisters working together and I like jewelry, so I thought, "Sure I'll sign up for your seminar."

Immediately I was drawn to Danielle and Jodie & I loved everything they said during the seminar. I knew I would fit in with them. Who would have thought that three/four months later I would be accepting an internship with them. How cool is this series of events?! Everything is linked together!

Last week was incredible & I received a "God wink" almost every day. I got offered other internships and interview opportunities, I am a new campus ambassador for Intern Queen, received a few cool emails from people in New York that I'm going to be able to meet, and to top it off, I was published in the Daily Mississippian this morning. Needless to say, I was on cloud nine. I found my head growing a little bigger.

What I needed to be reminded of is that without Jesus, none of these things would have been possible.

The Lord has humbled me through all of these experiences & they have taught me a lot. It is in my nature to want to run around saying, "Hey look who just emailed me back!" or send a tweet broadcasting my internship offers. My life would not be woven together like this without my daily strive (and struggle) to follow Jesus and believe that He has control of my life, not myself.

"...My cups overflows with your blessings" Psalm 23:5

In high school when I thought I was actively pursuing the Lord I thought I made all the decisions. Obviously you can see how wrong that was because I was settling with the idea that I was supposed to be a teacher for the rest of my life. Once I actively began pursuing the Lord and seeing where He led me, I have been overwhelmed with incredible opportunities. Don't get me wrong, every day I stumble and fail, but the Lord is always so faithful.

The glory does not go to me though. The glory goes to God. Without Him, I would never have gotten this far. I would still be student teaching and sulking to my classes. I have to remind myself every day that it is enough that I know these things about myself and to thank God every single second of the day for providing for me and putting these desires in my heart.

This morning, with the Daily Mississippian in my hand and the sun shining on my face, I was remind of the song lyrics, "Every blessing You pour out I'll turn back to praise" from Blessed Be Your Name. Everything clicked and I had to share this experience with all of you. Also, I can't wait to see that Jesus has in store for all of you! It makes me giddy and excited.

Without Jesus none of these things would be possible. I've learned that there is no way I can control my life. I can't make plans because the plans have already been made. Through this I challenge myself to turn every blessing into praise. (see how we came full circle there?)

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us" Ephesians 3:20

Dancing around Journalism

Over the past few days I have been thinking a lot about my new major. I am in the introductory level classes of journalism and am loving every minute of it. When I think about taking the higher level classes, like magazine editing and public relations, I get way too excited. Finally I realized that I have been dancing around this new major for a while now.
When I first entered high school, I did not really know what I wanted to do with my life, but to me it felt like the day would never come when I had to make the decision. All throughout my four years at Centennial High School, I had incredible English teachers who all impacted my life. From this experience, I thought I would want to be an English teacher. I knew I loved to write and I wanted to give back to future students. To me, I felt like I wanted to impact other students lives just like those four English teachers at Centennial had impacted mine.
After graduation and moving to Oxford, Mississippi, I began my major in elementary education. Although my goal in high school was to become a high school English teacher, for some reason I settled with elementary education. In those classes I really did enjoy all my time learning about elementary ed. When I was twelve I began babysitting and still do to this day, and I was even a nanny this summer. Kids loved me and I loved being around kids. I learned a lot through this major like patience and to always have a kind heart.
In the beginning of the summer though, I felt like everyone was doing something with their summer and I was stuck in Franklin, TN babysitting and mainly relaxing. Within the first few weeks into summer I was looking for internships in New York but realized obviously I was way late in the game. I was trying to find way to tweak my elementary education major into being someone's personal assistant. See how that was hard? (by knowing how to teach your kids math, I promise I can help you style a photoshoot...?) Trying not to be discouraged, I looked into switching my major and making my "second life" come true. You can read about that here.
Now that I am a journalism major, I realize that I was dancing around it the whole time. I knew I liked to write and I knew I liked being around people. It is funny how life takes you around your dream in a perfect little path and finally you end up where you are supposed to be. I was dancing around journalism when I envisioned myself as a high school English teacher. I was dancing around journalism when I Googled about a hundred internships a day in May of this year. Now I am no longer dancing around journalism, but I am dancing with it.
God's plan may not reveal itself to you immediately or the way you think it will, but once doors are opened and you learn to trust in the Lord, paths are made clearer. Without relying and trusting in the Lord, I would still be dancing around with no real insight into where I want to go in life. I'm not saying I have it all together and that I know exactly where I will end up in life, but with the guidance of the Lord and His greater plan, I know I will end up exactly where I am supposed to be. It is comforting trusting in Him and knowing He knows what is best for you.
I think that if you are struggling with where you want to go in life or what you want to do and be, give up those worries to the Lord and let Him establish your plans.

I especially like this verse right now because being a Journalism major, I am always working with my hands. Whether I am frantically typing away or writing down thoughts, I want the Lord to strengthen my hands.

Weekend Update

Weekend update while overlooking the ocean, not too shabby:

This iPhone 5 crafted gems case from Neiman Marcus

This tanktop from Lyst.com // Markus Lupfer top in Pink

I always wanted oversized bags, so here is a Steve Madden satchel from Nordstrom

I am in love with wide-leg pants and think these from Anthropologie are so cute

Kelly Oxford is one of the funniest people I follow on Twitter. I haven't read her book yet, but I know without a doubt it's worth reading. If you don't follow her on Twitter, go do it now!

This print from Etsy

This layered maxi dress from Urban Outfitters- love!

I can't wait until I am a business woman and can wear these or these, but for now I will settle with these that I can wear easily in Oxford

TGIF!
(thank God it's Friday or thank God I'm fabulous??)

Major Changes

Check out my blog post!

This week my blog post for Hello Perfect was chosen to be published. It is the first week of writing, and I was thrilled to see that mine was picked! I wrote about my recent major change in hopes to inspire others to follow their dreams. It's all about making the leap of faith and I am here to encourage it! 

It was such a weird feeling seeing my name on a website reading "by: Chandler Clarkson" but I loved it. I am so happy with my internship with Hello Perfect and I can't wait to see where this takes me.

Read all about my "Major Changes" by clicking the link above! 

This new spark inside

My weeks are now full of: perfecting my resume, writing for Exhibit Eight's website & creating their Twitter account, and looking into internships. I don't think I have been this excited about something in a long time. Okay, well I do know when I was this excited, it was when I saw Celine Dion in concert in January.. Ha! Other than that, this spark inside of me has been lit. 

Have you found your passion? Is it new or have you always had it?

While I still stay up late some nights wondering how I so quickly left Education to jump into Journalism, I know this is where I am supposed to be right now. No more comparisons to other people's lives, whether they are studying abroad or have the "perfect" internship, I am here and I am content. I've decided there's no need to compare myself to others because we are all different. No one was created the same, so why does everyone always try to be a replica of someone else? 

I'm guilty of this, I'm not saying I don't think sometimes "Her life is so cool, why isn't that me?" I'm trying to be done with that thought process. If you don't like your major, change it. If you want to apply for that internships in LA, apply for it. If you want to get that tattoo you've always wanted, go get it. If you want to finally apply for that mission trip, apply for it.

There's no need to let the life you want pass you by. Why don't you go out there and grab it? Too many people are settling with what is easy or what society says, but why? 

I know some of my friends joke about how I seem like a feminist. I just think women should not be passive or let life walk over them. I want to empower women so they know anything is possible. Stop looking at people's lives on Instagram and Twitter to compare theirs to yours. You won't get these days back. I love social media, almost too much probably, but if you let it drag you down or if it makes you pity your own life, stop. Sign off. Give it a rest and find your own peace of mind. I wouldn't classify myself as a "feminist" but I do love strong women who influence others positively.

Wouldn't you want to be that role model to others? Like the quote from Steve Martin above, I too think you should "be so good they can't ignore you."

*steps down from soapbox*

How It All Happened

You all thought I was going to be a teacher, right? Then bam, here's my new plan. Journalism major with a specialization in public relations. And imagine people's faces when I tell them. Everyone asks questions like: "What is PR?" or says "Aww, honey I always thought you were going to be a teacher." Well honestly, I always thought I was going to be a teacher too. Then this new idea popped into my head, and I start telling my friends "In my second life I would go to fashion school, intern in New York, then work for a designer & be in charge of their social media or communications, or in charge of their public relations section." Well surprise! My second life is hopefully to become my real one. Why sit and wonder if I could do it, instead of just jumping in?

I didn't want to look back down the road and wonder what would have happened if I followed my crazy dream to do public relations with the high goal of the fashion world.. I'm here to try and make it happen. If fashion doesn't work, hey, there's many more industries I'm interested in. 

Right now where I stand with my new major is anticipation. I am anxiously awaiting my fall classes where I will begin the intro to journalism classes, and then spring semester is when I tackle public relations. I'm also really hoping for an internship over winter break (cough cough, please New York) but I do not want to limit myself to just one city. This Nashville girl might not love the Big Apple. 

So here it is, my new major and new "firsts" and luckily for you, you're here to witness it all play out. 

Here's to a new beginning..

Well, hello! I'm just your average twenty-year-old college student sharing my thoughts on seeing things through my eyes. Some of you might know, I already have another blog. That blog is more personal, pictures and stories detailing random things. But this is here for writing, not photos of my latest weekend with my best friends and more in Oxford. Those will be included in this blog too, yes, but not as often & not as the subject matter. 

I go to the University of Mississippi and recently changed my major to Journalism. I hope to take the classes in order to be specialized in Public Relations. As most girls at Ole Miss, I'm in a sorority, Tri Delta, and love the friendships that have come out of that organization. While some say you're paying for friends, if you're on the inside you know the real side. This side is full of love, incredible friendships and opportunities. There are a lot of stereotypes about Ole Miss, especially with sorority life, and I can't wait to give you all an inside look! I'll also post my writing from classes, for fun, and fingers crossed I can get an internship & share those stories with you too. 

I like to think my ideal job would be working in fashion; public relations specifically. But as I'm discovering this new major maybe my ideas will change. I do know that I love reading fashion blogs, whether it's a social media intern's who works for a well known designer, or an average woman working in New York writing her journey. Maybe I have a future with blogging, maybe it's not even in fashion, and maybe the best has yet to be discovered and the opportunity of a lifetime will present itself. 

I'm not sure yet what this blog is going to look like or what it will include, but here we go!