It is now (almost) mid-April, and I know that many of you are planning for that moment where you get to say "I made it through college". Yes, graduation is exciting. You made it through 4 years of tests, exams, late night study sessions, projects and rough nights. All of this may lead you to think that you are done with everything from the last four years, that all the information you've crammed into your head is all you need. Well, I am here to tell you the things that you should keep from college, and I am not talking about the two-story beer bong or your childhood teddy bear.

Here is the list of things that I would HIGHLY recommend you hold onto as you venture out to the real world, looking for jobs or going on to grad school or whatever you have planned.

1. Books from the classes that are your major. Sure you can google the hell out of things to 'refresh' yourself before you go to a job, take the GRE/PCAT/ blah-blah-blah, but I always find it much easier to go to my books (filled with tabs and highlights) and look up what I am trying to figure out. It could be a theory, math equation, instrument setups, I usually have them written out from one class or another. And reviewing things like that may come in hand if your applying for a job that wants you to work with something specifically from your background.
2.  Writing Sample, one that has been critiqued, graded and your professors approved of. It can be a lab report, newspaper article, Honors paper, or even your pottery portfolio. Whatever it is, make sure it is something that you would be proud to share, let it show off your rioting talents and make sure that it is your 'best' piece you can show. Jobs, grad schools, and internships/fellowships often ask for one so go ahead and have one ready! 
3. Poster or presentation that you may have done. There have been times in interviews where I have gotten asked to explain some research that is on my Resume. Being that some of it is now 4 years old, I know to refresh myself on it before going in for interviews! 
4. If your planning to go to grad school or maybe even thinking about it, I suggest keeping notes, study guides, homework, and test from your undergrad. There have been countless times that I have gone back to my old notes/test to look at how to do something. Much easier 'recalling' how to do something when you have your actual work in front of you!
5. My last tip is organizing all this shit I just told you to keep. How about making an ultimate college reference binder. Go through and organise/keep anything that may be important in a large binder! Easy to do, a bit time consuming but probably well worth it in the end. 
   
   

1. Have your Resume up-to-date and have people (yes, plural not a person) review it. Having an up-to-date resume will save you time/stress for those moments when you have a short time frame before closing dates on things. It is so helpful for me to have my resume that has been reviewed/corrected/re-reviewed on hand for the instances when a new job opening comes up (early bird gets the 'job'?) or when I find a fellowship with a closing date in a few days. Being prepared and ready for such an important document such as your resume is step one in getting a job/grant/fellowship/whatever you're applying for.


2. Have a list of people that you know would recommend you for positions aka your make a PROFESSIONAL REFERENCES LIST. Applying for things in the real world means having your mom/aunt/third cousin on your list of contacts is not ok. Having your college advisor, your internship mentor, or someone else who you've worked with is who you want to have your references. Make sure to have their name, position title, address, phone number and email handy for when your applying.


3. Have a draft of a Cover Letter for the TYPE of positions your applying for. Having a basic outline to go by will save you tons of time when applying for things. This cover letter will change based on the position/company/fellowship that you are applying for, but the basics of your experience/career goals/ past research are all the same. I currently have cover letters ready for jobs, fellowships, and PhD programs all ready to go all I have to do is tweak each one to where/what I am applying for.


4. Have your college transcripts, even if they are unofficial saved on your computer. There are many times that an application asks for these and having them on my computer already saved has made it so much easier than going through the process every time I go to apply for things.


5.  Plan out a checklist of what is required for the application that includes: documents needed (Resume, Cover Letter, Transcripts, Passport, etc.), Application Due Date, References (do they need a list or do they want an official letter before you apply), Position information that your applying for ( what makes you a 'fit' for this position) and lastly the contact information for who/where you are applying. Knowing all of this will make the stress of multiple applications seem much more manageable because you will know everything that is required without having to look it up over and over again.

Another short trip to this fantastic city, but it was totally worth it. I finally made it there after my mishap with transportation read all about it Getting to Chicago. Taxi Fails and Missing Buses.
  

Once I finally got there I decided to walk to the hotel I was staying at, The Inn of Chicago to be exact. According to my phone GPS, it was supposed to be 30ish minutes. Well, that was wrong...

Yep, 50 minutes away and lucky me I was right by the water. I said screw it though I wanted to see the city and experience it all. I slightly regret that now, but it was fantastic none the less. I finally made it and just in time because I was losing feeling in my legs. That wind chill was no joke, and I was there on a warm day. It was in double digits, and there was no snow storm in the forecast. 

On to the fun stuff, what I actually did besides freezing----

1. Head to a mall, I went the Water Tower Place. It was 7 stories, and I could not turn up an opportunity like that. All I bought was postcards to mail home, but still, if I weren't broke I would have left with a lot more! 

2. Eat at The Purple Pig. Being a party of one got me right in at the bar. I was able to watch all the dishes get made and also watch the two drunk girls next to me flirt with the bartender (who had a ring on!). He played along though, and I in return had free entertainment. After the perky two-some left I then had some fantastic conversations with two other travellers. One with a British accent who lived in Manhattan, but was previously in California. And the other an older man, who came to The Purple Pig everytime he was in town, you know a place is good with that! 

At The Purple Pig, I had a few too many Crown and Cranberry, they didn't have the green stuff to make the oh so fabulous Washington Apples. But the drinks were strong which is just what I wanted.

Then there was the food. It all looked so good, the cheese plates, bone marrow, EVERYTHING!! I had the Eggplant Balls and Meatball Slider. Two small dishes that helped with my liquid diet. 

 Eggplant Balls//Kitchen View and of course drinks! // Meatball slider to die for

3. After leaving The Purple Pig, I knew I had a few too many. It was quick vaca, it's allowed. So I decided to take a taxi to Eataly, a block away from my hotel. I have a love for the Food Channel, cooking shows, anything with food in general. So stopping at this place was a must. 

Via

Hello, the place is run by these people! A few should look familiar to all you foodies out there like: Joe Bastianich, Lidia Bastianich, Mario Batali... After walking around this place, I wish I had room to eat. This place is like a grocery store with places to drink wine, eat dessert and sample the cuisine. AMAZING.

4. Head to the Art Institute of Chicago. My final destination for this trip and the place where the conference was. Not only is the museum fantastic, but it is also right by the BEAN! I was walking to the museum trying to find the correct entrance to go to and walked right by the bean. No one was there, it was 8am, and it was slightly cold, but it was magical. My first time seeing it and I was pretty ecstatic to say I had finally seen it!

The bean// Front of the Art Institute// Another amazing piece of art

Well, there it is what I did in 25 hours in Chicago. I know it wasn't a lot but I'll be back to see more of Chi-town, so no worries with that! 

Have you ever been to Chicago? If so what is on your must-do list?

I have been to Chicago before for a matter of about 24 hours. It was a trip to see my little brother finish the Navy Basic Training which was exhausting but worth it. I even got to meet some of the BFs high school friends that currently live there.

Chicago was the first place that made me fall in love with the idea of living in a big city. We walked to dinner, then a few blocks later we headed to a pretty impressive bar. All of this was within walking distance from the BFs friends apartment.

I was amazed. And I knew that I wanted to come back to Chicago! Lucky me I am now a 3-hour bus ride from the city and got to head up there last week for a 1 Day conference.

To start off, this post have even of you ever taken a Megabus ride? I suggest it if you ever don't feel like driving to a large city that has public transit that you can use. Also, they say there is WiFi, but on my 3-hour trip there was none, so keep that in mind. 

 But on to the real story, let's start from the beginning...

I had a Megabus ticket for Tuesday at 10:45am. Meaning I needed to get downtown by 10:30am for the bus. Luck would have it this trip is the first time for quite a few things.

9:30am called to arrange a pickup and thought all was set up. A taxi should be here within 35-40 minutes is what I was told.

10- I went to sit in front of the museum to wait.

10:10- No Taxi still, I called and asked where it was, it should be on its way I was told. 

10:20-Called again, yet was told it was on its way.

10:30-Called and was told 'No taxi is on its way'. Excuse me & WTF were two thoughts running through my mind. So I asked to speak to a manager, she was extremely friendly, but still, nothing came out of the talk, except that  I should have informed them I needed to go to the bus station then they would have rushed. Didn't know that taxis had priorities on their list for pickups. 

At this point, I was upset that this trip was off to a horrible start. And I was out another $18 for a bus trip to Chicago.

I was determined to make it to the next bus. It left at 2:15pm, and I made sure that I would be there. 

I decided to take the bus, even though Indy has one of the worst public transit systems. After figuring out that a bus would run right by the museum at 12:14pm and would take me 3 blocks from where I needed to be I headed over to the bus stop. Unfortunately, there was a 3-foot pile of snow blocking the bus stop, and I was out there early to make sure I didn't miss it. 

In the end, I made it downtown with enough time to head to Starbucks and find the pickup spot for the Megabus.

I made it to Chicago even after missing my first bus, a horrible taxi experience and my first public transit experience in Indy. So overall it worked out... 

Come back to hear about my 25 hour trip to Chicago including too much to drink, getting lost and finding the Bean and a 6 story mall... That will all be tomorrow!