K. Bustamante

"Books are the best of things, well used; abused, amongst the worst. What is the right use? What is..."

Tue, 17 Jul 2012 16:24:46 -0400

“Books are the best of things, well used; abused, amongst the worst. What is the right use? What is the one end which all means go to effect? They are for nothing but to inspire.”

- Ralph Waldo Emerson, The American Scholar

"The most important things are the hardest to say. They are the things you get ashamed of, because..."

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 12:43:32 -0400

““The most important things are the hardest to say. They are the things you get ashamed of, because words diminish them — words shrink things that seemed limitless when they were in your head to no more than living size when they’re brought out. But it’s more than that, isn’t it? The most important things lie too close to wherever your secret heart is buried, like landmarks to a treasure your enemies would love to steal away. And you may make revelations that cost you dearly only to have people look at you in a funny way, not understanding what you’ve said at all, or why you thought it was so important that you almost cried while you were saying it. That’s the worst, I think. When the secret stays locked within not for want of a tellar but for want of an understanding ear.””

- ― Stephen King, Different Seasons

"I want to take pictures and I want to text and tweet and Instagram. I can do two things at once. I..."

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 22:55:53 -0400

“I want to take pictures and I want to text and tweet and Instagram. I can do two things at once. I can snap a photo, shoot a minute-long video, send out a tweet or two and still thoroughly enjoy the night. I’m conscious of others around me, I turn the brightness on my phone as dim as it can go, and never shoot video longer than a minute. The idea of being at a club or a public event, standing around and not being able to silently share seems almost old fashioned to me.”

- Put Down The Camera And Watch The Show…Really?
Love this.

"If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple..."

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 12:41:42 -0400

“If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.”

- Stephen King

An Intern’s Guide to Cramming for Finals

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 13:26:00 -0400

It’s the end of the semester and you realize that you aren’t entirely sure what your professor’s name is. You check out your syllabus and lo-and-behold your worst fears are confirmed:

It’s finals week.

As your heart starts racing your mind is trying to grasp the fact that you have 10,000 chapters to read in three days.

We won’t mention the fact that you should have been reading the chapters all along or the fact that you could have tried to go to a few more classes- there is a dilemma at hand and it is time for a plan.

I suppose now would be a good time to crack open that book. You know, that heavy textbook that has been serving as a leg stand to even out the beer pong table?

Before killing yourself trying to pull an all-nighter to read all the chapters that the final is on, breathe and come up with a plan of attack.

Go through the syllabus and figure out what chapters your missing. Some teachers sporadically assign chapters while some go through the whole book.

Ask around and see if the teacher was gracious enough to create a study guide. This will be a huge time saver for you.

Flip through the chapters you need to catch up on and see if you can catch the general gist of what you need to know. The time for details has come and gone. The best thing you can do now is try to gain some sort of general understanding.

Here are a few more things your probably doing that you shouldn’t be:

Pulling an all-nighter: Sleep is good. It helps you remember and it helps you focus, so make sure that you don’t take for granted the benefits sleep can offer.

Eating junk food: Eat good food! If your diet consists of ramen noodles and red bull, chances are your starving your brain! Eat good carbs, control your caffeine intake and make sure that you don’t skip breakfast.

Getting distracted: Clear your desk or workspace of clutter and resist every urge to hit up Facebook. If you have roommates, let them know that you are studying so that they don’t bother you.

The good news is that you are not alone. We have all been in this situation and your university is well aware of your conundrum. Take advantage of the resources for cramming test preparation that your school offers. These can include a student union that is open 24/7, free coffee and breakfast offered, midnight snacks passed around and auditoriums that get converted into study central. Don’t forget to exercise good study habits in the future to help avoid the end-of-semester mini meltdown.

Remember: this week will be over soon. This week will not define you. This week only happens once a semester. Good luck and in the words of Effie Trinket, “may the odds be ever in your favor!”

To all the interns out there finishing up their Spring...

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 16:26:38 -0400

To all the interns out there finishing up their Spring internships!

"To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody..."

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 14:18:52 -0400

“To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.”

- E.E. Cummings

"The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter -..."

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 12:24:17 -0400

“The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter - it’s the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.”

- Mark Twain

Check out my latest blog post for Massey Communications. Enjoy!

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 12:21:46 -0400

Check out my latest blog post for Massey Communications. Enjoy!

Book People Unite PSA shows all the characters we love.

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 14:18:08 -0400

Book People Unite PSA shows all the characters we love.

Photo

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 10:57:26 -0400

The Killer Commute

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 12:11:54 -0400

Browse more infographics.

5 Tips for excelling at PR internships: via PR Daily

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 09:38:34 -0400

5 Tips for excelling at PR internships: via PR Daily

Remember that life's a great balancing act...

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 20:50:21 -0400

Last semester, I found myself juggling two internships, school, a full time job, family life, friends and a relationship. This probably sounds like a lot of you out there, constantly having to juggle your time. Somewhere between sleep deprivation and pulling out my hair, I realized I had to stop and refocus. My relationship took a swan dive, my friends and family became concerned and school became more of an after thought rather than a priority.

What went wrong?

I was spreading myself far too thin. It was time to seriously reprioritize my life.

The funny thing about everything crumbling down around you is the ability to be able to start from scratch again. It’s this weird feeling of relief among chaos.

Being productive means being able to juggle different hats with finesse and, in my case, stilettos. Juggling becomes much easier when you try to create balance.

Guess what my fellow interns and students?

Balance is your new best friend.

The first thing I did was take the advice of a good friend of mine. She said I should ask myself this: if you had to pick four things to devote your time to, and only four things, which would you pick? This, without saying, is easier said than done. I had to let go of things that I cared for. But I realized that I wasn’t giving the extra “things” the attention and time they deserved because I had no energy and frankly, no extra time. So, while it was painful, it was instantly gratifying to be able to let go. Then, it was time for a plan.

Time management is a skill that every aspiring professional has to learn. As good as a plan is, you have to be ready to be flexible. The best advice I could give is to get a planner. Be sure to make time for yourself. That’s important. Give yourself time to sleep and time to recover. Make plans with friends and family or the people who you’re closest to. They can be really big stress relievers. Try to fit in exercise time. It’s amazing what a good run can do for your confidence, your stress and your overall look on life.

Remember, the world turns for those who are willing to adapt. Give yourself time to devote wholly to one thing. Focus on that and then change gears. Organization is a key player in time management.

All this hard work will surely pay off for us in the future. In the mean time, we have to do our best to stay on track and just make it through college. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Take it from Dr. Seuss, life’s a great balancing act.

"Substitute “damn” every time you’re inclined to write “very;” your..."

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 20:05:15 -0400

“Substitute “damn” every time you’re inclined to write “very;” your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.”

- Mark Twain

brought to you from explore-blog: Coffee by the numbers.

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 16:37:26 -0400

brought to you from explore-blog:

Coffee by the numbers.

Take heed- job interview do's and don'ts

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 11:34:26 -0400

Take heed- job interview do's and don'ts

Disney said "keep moving forward"...

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 12:05:04 -0400

The other day I saw a single bird flying against the wind. It was flying so hard that the wind wasn’t moving him backwards, but he wasn’t moving forward either. He was flapping his wings so hard that he actually looked like he was immobile, fixed somehow in the sky-just hanging there, stuck. But this bird was determined to get to where he needed to go.

I admire him.

Sometimes as a student and as an intern you might feel like you are at a standstill. Remember that things are constantly moving and changing and the world favors those who are fluid. Always follow through and don’t give up. This will all be worth it at the end, so have a little faith in yourself and remember that the winds might pick up, but they always die down eventually.

Is it time to close the book on open letters?

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 11:46:36 -0400

Is it time to close the book on open letters? :

npr:

An Open Letter … About Open Letters by Linton Weeks

We tweet the most private thought or deed on Twitter, plaster it on a Facebook wall, upload it to YouTube. In this era of total openness — open criticism, open primaries and open relationships — is it time to close the book on open letters?

Job searching tips from Bloomberg

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 01:51:00 -0400

Job searching tips from Bloomberg