#InternationalWomensDay

March 8, 2016Leave a comment

“To all the ladies in the place with style and grace”
-Notorious B.I.G.

Happy #InternationalWomensDay to all of the women in my life. Seriously, I’m so #blessed to be surrounded by such positive, hardworking, and inspiring ladies.

I’d love to introduce you to some of them :).

Karen Civil & YesJulz

Woah. Talk about boss ladies and motivational women. I’ve been following these two on social media for quite some time now – Karen Civil longer (and have had the pleasure of meeting her a handful of times) and have learned so much from them. Both making moves in their own ways, they have taught me about a strong work ethic, never giving up, following your passions, and asking for what you want. Seriously, I go through most of my days thinking, “What would KC or Julz do?” Karen is more private on social platforms but having heard her speak at women empowerment workshops and brunches, I really find myself connecting with her. She felt there was a bigger world out there for her other than her small New Jersey hometown, so she got offered a job at Beats by Dre (no longer works there) and moved to LA. I believe she’s also in her fourth or fifth year of living out here – I’m entering my fifth :). And not only that, she truly built her brand from the ground up and is just so epic.

As for YesJulz, who I’ve been mentioning a lot lately, she is way more open about her life. It’s nice to see a well-known figure share the ups and downs. She is #NeverNotWorking and her goal of bridging the gap between cool and conscious is definitely something I vibe with. Thank you both.

Drabik, Jilly, Jamie, & MeagO

These are my girls from Westminster College who helped make my four years there so special and wild. While we were all very close in school, I truly feel we are closer now, and we are all over the place. Drabik is about to start that married life in September, and I am honored to be part of her big day. She’s also crushing it in the business world and her sarcastic ways give me life. So flirty. Jilly (get sillayyy) always brightens my day. And I can’t wait to see her in September at Lindsay’s wedding and for another epic life happening ;). MeagO is crushing it in NYC! Seriously, she’s taking the PR world by storm, and I’m so proud you followed your dreams and moved to New York. And it’s an extra bonus when she has to fly out to CA for work and adds on a few extra days to hang with me. And Miss Jamie. I had the honor of being in her wedding in October. I’m inspired by your organizational skills and hard work ethic, and you are truly one of the most thoughtful people I know. And so pumped for you that you got a new job. Exciting stuff all around!

Natalie, Natalie, & Natalie

This is not a joke. I grew up with three lovely ladies named Natalie. I went to preschool and onward with one, 1st grade and onward with another, and then the other Nat came into the picture in the 3rd grade. We all go way back, and it’s honestly like no time has passed at all when we see each other. One is a very successful lawyer who is my boo/BFF, the other is a nurse saving lives in San Francisco, and the other is doing her thing as a mental health therapist in the Burgh. I love these three so much. They are the perfect mix of sarcasm, peppiness, and intelligence.
Hope to see yinz sooner than later!

Mom, Aunt Donna, Grandma, & Aunt Anne

These four women are my life! Without going into essentially another blog post, these ladies have shaped me into who I am today. 100%. From their hard work ethics, kind hearts, loving nature, to hosting a gathering to their talents in the kitchen and more, I can only hope to be a mixture of all four when I grow up! No, I don’t consider myself completely grown up yet. ❤ And PS – I need a group picture!!

My South Babes

I know I’ve highlighted these ladies before in posts, but I can’t say it enough. They have made and are making my time in California SO epic. From inspiring me by their studious ways in grad school at USC to teaching me how to be dedicated to a project or passion to finding the good in everyone to making me laugh so hard I nearly cry to embracing one another for our weirdness (a requirement for this group) and more, I am so so so grateful for all of you. And although now some of you are no longer in CA and one is about to head east, I can’t wait until we are ALL reunited again.

So happy International Women’s Day to all the fierce and fabulous ladies out there.

#NEVERNOTWORKING

March 2, 2016March 2, 2016Leave a comment

I’d like to wish a happy birthday to the Snapchat queen, YesJulz. Real name Julieanna Goddard, Julz has accomplished SO much by the age of 26. Yes, she is only turning 26 today. You may see me tweet to her/about her and I’ve definitely mentioned her in previous posts, but I’d like to give you a handful of reasons of why I look up to her so much and why you should follow her – especially if you rock that #NeverNotWorking mentality, which is what she lives by.

Here’s a little bio first to get yinz caught up to speed:

Real name: Julieanna Goddard

What she goes by: Julz

Social handles: YesJulz – major key alert – follow her on Snap!

Age: 26

Where is she from? Miami – and that’s where she currently lives

What does she do? She runs her own entertainment, marketing, and event company – YesJulz Agency – with a mission of bridging the gap between cool and conscious. The agency is comprised of females only. She’s also known as the Director of Vibes and known for throwing epic ragers that bring the people together.

Life motto: #NeverNotWorking

I probably started following Julz on social media about a year ago, and I look forward to watching her Snaps each night before I go to bed. As I mentioned earlier about the parties she throws, she started a series in January called 1AM Vibes. Well, she hosted her first one in Los Angeles, whch happened to be the start of my birthday weekend. So you know I had to go. I rallied up two girlfriends, we Ubered to downtown LA, and raged all night in a warehouse with Julz and major special guest Wiz Khalifa.

From her adventures with girlfriends to business meetings to inside recording studios to offering advice and more, she is someone I look up to both professionally and personally. You truly see all the ups and downs in her life, which a lot of people are afraid to show – especially the down moments. While she does only employ women, she is a positive influence for both guys and (cozy) gals alike.

She’s all about hard work, supporting one another, and just living life. I dig it. And what’s even cooler? She went on a nationwide search to find people to be part of her Social Media Street Team, or should I say ARMY. Well, I obviously applied, and got chosen to be part of it! There are lots of others involved with this, but I think it’s pretty cool that she wants her followers to be part of her YesJulz team and YesJulz Agency. I’m really grateful for this opportunity and to help spread the positive vibes that Julz is about.

So instead of me continuing to ramble, I suggest you go follow her – Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat. Honestly. You won’t be disappointed. And she is the plug to lots of epic music and up-and-coming artists. Trust me. YesJulz will have you saying YesGoalz.

Happy birthday, Julz!

Kanye, KDot, & Klub Kuche

February 17, 2016February 17, 2016Leave a comment

I promise the title above will make more sense once you’ve read this piece in its entirety.

KANYE | Well now that The Life of Pablo is finally available on Tidal, all is good in the world. JK. Ye has been going on multiple Twitter rants and is now claiming the album will forever be ONLY on Tidal and will never be available for sale. Well he did Tweet it’s on kanywest.com, but still. And I read that the version currently on Tidal isn’t even the finished one. Who knows. But aside from that nonsense, I REALLY LIKE TLOP. I don’t want to get into too much detail about my thoughts on it – want to save that for its own post – but let’s just say, for me, it’s up there with 808s and MBDTF. Each song makes me want to dance. And if you know me, then you know I like it.

Kanye premiered the album on Thursday at a SOLD OUT Madison Square Garden. He also debuted his Yeezy Season 3 fashion collection. I plugged in my headphones at work and live streamed the EXPERIENCE – yes I’m calling it an experience because it was – on my phone. From the first track he played (‘Ultralight Beam’) to the finale, it was one of the best things I’ve heard and seen, musically, in a while. Kanye was SO happy and proud, his family and fellow artists were there supporting him, Anna freaking Wintour was there supporting him, and one of his models even shed a tear while standing as still as a statue on that massive block. What other artist can you say has done that before? Not just selling out MSG for a listening party, but having live streamed the album for his fans to watch from all over the world. Pretty dope if you ask me. Screenshots below.

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KENDRICK | Saturday morning, Parker and I ventured to the city of Compton to watch Mr. Kendrick Lamar receive the key to the city. MAJOR. Aja Brown, the Compton mayor, presented Kendrick with the highly-deserved honor. What does it mean to get the key to the city? I think it’s more symbolic than anything, but it is given to someone the city looks up to, to someone who is making a difference in their hometown, and is an inspiration for all, working to better their city. The crowd wasn’t too big for the ceremony. Real 92.3 was there to supply the music, teachers and city officials spoke before Kendrick, congratulating him, explaining the impact he has on Compton. One of my favorites was seeing Compton’s dance team perform to some of his songs and then into Lil Wayne’s ‘A Milli.’ That was sick.

Read this article and check out dope pictures from Complex’s very own Andres Tardio here.

KLUB KUCHE | On Sunday, two of my roommates, Megan and Rachel, ran in the LA Marathon. Instead of each running the full 26.2, they registered for a charity relay where they each ran 13 miles. Wally and I had to show our support and of course pump up the crowd. We ventured to Santa Monica around mile 22 to dance our pants off. Not actually off, but we did dance a lot. We then got some much needed foods at Wurstkuche in Venice and let’s just say it escalated pretty quickly. Watch the video below to see for yourself. But most importantly, I’m so proud of Meg and Ray Ray for running the marathon! And proud of everyone else too. I know I couldn’t (or even wouldn’t) want to run in a marathon, so props to all. Super inspiring!

The Best Birthday

January 22, 2016January 22, 20161 Comment

Finally! My birthday recap is here. I really think that this year, my 27th birthday, was my favorite by far. I’ve had a lot of epic birthdays from surprise trips on Miss Mandy to droppin’ it low at Greystone Manor. But something about this year was extra special. And seriously none of my birthday celebrations would have happened without the help of my friends.

Let’s do this via a timeline:

WEDNESDAY 1/13
My best from the west arrived in LA! I haven’t seen Bre since last May when she moved back home to Philly, so you know I was too excited to see her.

THURSDAY 1/14
My girlfriend Sydney arrived at Agatay for what would be the start of a pretty raucous evening and weekend. I bought tickets for Syd, Bre, and I to attend YesJulz‘ first-ever LA party. Who is YesJulz? She’s a 25-year-old bo$$ chick who lives in Miami and is #NeverNotWorking. Seriously, that’s her motto, and if you follow her on Snapchat (#YesJulz – you should really follow her if you don’t), you would see she is always making moves and empowering those around her. Definitely one of my inspirations. The party was downtown LA in a warehouse. The three of us were definitely the only sober people in the whole venue. We proceeded to make our way to the very front. I’m talking basically on the stage. I had to see YesJulz up close. Cut to epic DJs, a Hit Boy performance (he’s produced songs for Kanye), followed by a complete surprise guest… Wiz freaking Khalifa. A true #californyinz moment. Please just watch the video below. Words won’t do it justice. And he premiered his new track, ‘Bake Sale,’ with Travi$ Scott, which dropped today!

We made it back home around 2:30am, showered off the smell of sweaty people and booze and went to bed around 3am.

FRIDAY 1/15
My alarm goes off at 6:00am, and I was nearly in tears due to lack of sleep. I think that’s a worse feeling than being hungover. If you’re hungover, you can go grab a spicy chicken sandwich (#6) from Wendy’s and you’re good to go. But if you got just a few hours of sleep and have to be somewhere like WORK… well then you’re sort of screwed. Anyways, I made it to work and was actually quite productive. Plus I took a half day, so I guess I’m just being a little dramatic. Syd, Bre, and I hung out and napped for the remainder of the day into the night. Mac and Wally came over to chill. And then I got the best surprise I could have EVER asked for. Megan came home from dinner, walked into the house, and KYLIE APPEARED.

I started crying! Videos to come. It was truly the best. We popped some champagne and called it a night.

SATURDAY 1/16
Saturday was the big day! What started as a silly thought in my head came to life. I threw myself a Drake themed birthday. A BIG MAJOR HUGE thank you to Bre, Kylie, Sydney, Mac, Megan, and Wally for all of their help in setting up and cleaning! Having all of my favorite people helping me throw a party in honor of my favorite artist was the best feeling. Love yinz! ❤

After I told people I was hosting a Drake themed party and they rolled their eyes and chuckled at me, everyone would ask, well what does a Drake party entail? My answer: Etsy. From cupcake toppers to banners to balloons and even my outfit, they have everything Drake. See to the left.

Shout out to all of the wonderful stores and sellers on Etsy who supplied my Drake party with all of the props and goodies. And my outfit! I would highly recommend these stores for the goods listed below. Quick to deliver and respond should you have any questions or special instructions. Thanks again!

Teenage Sleaze

HelloooHoneyBee
(cupcake topper words only – Bre did the Drake heads)

Oh Shiny Paper Co

GIRLBYE

SUNDAY 1/17
Shout out to Bre for hooking it up once again with four tickets to the Laker game on Sunday against the Houston Rockets! She doesn’t even work there anymore and is still getting us tickets and good seats. Bre, Kylie, Joe, and I ventured to the game – thanks for driving, Joe (and happy half birthday today). Although the Lakers lost, my Snapchat was winning because I witnessed magic between two G.O.A.T.S. See below.

MONDAY 1/18
OMG. If you’re in LA or if you ever visit LA, you must try and secure reservations at Bestia. Located downtown, this was some seriously amazing Italian food. It was pricey but worth every penny. Thank you Parker for hooking it up! We went to celebrate Nick’s birthday. Squaaaaa.

TUESDAY 1/19
My real birthday! I did go to work – womp womp. But Chad made my day extra special and had decorated my entire cube on Friday after I left. It was so very sweet of him – thank you, Chaddy! Now after this whole weekend of partying, I truly wasn’t in the mood to do anything crazy or even leave my couch that night. So Megan, Mac, Joe, and I ordered sushi takeout and did exactly that… didn’t leave the couch. Anne and Freddie also came over with some Prosecco – thank you! My favorite. Check out more pics below from the weekend.

The talented Nick, whose birthday we celebrated on Monday, is going to edit a video of me from the whole weekend. So stay tuned for that. Thanks again, Neek!

Truly from the bottom of my heart, I cannot thank all of my friends and family for making this birthday so special. From Chad decorating my cube to my girls making my silly little Drake party come to life to my mom having ordered from the East Coast two dozen cupcakes for my party and so much more, THANK YOU. And thank you for the gifts (Pelke – that OVO owl card was too thoughtful), messages, letting me play Drake music all day, and accepting my obsession. I am so grateful to have each and every one of you in my life.

Now Drake does have a lyric about being 28, so until next year!

Finding Your Missing Piece

January 22, 20161 Comment

As promised, this post is dedicated to Westminster’s final night of recruitment. I seriously remember this day like it was yesterday. Leigha, Athena, and I made a pact that we weren’t going to tell each other which sorority we would write down on that card in the chapel.

I was down to two parties – Zeta Tau Alpha and Alpha Gamma Delta. During both of those sororities’ final nights, I did go back and forth between the two. However, I think the main reason I considered ZTA was because I had a feeling Athena and Leigha were going to go that way, and I wanted to be with my friends. Those of you going through recruitment, do NOT choose a sorority based on where your friends are going unless you truly believe in your heart that sorority is where you belong. I’m serious. Flipping that AGD card Saturday morning, even though Athena and Leigha went ZTA, was THE best decision I ever made, and we are all still friends today and remained very close during college. Heck, I even lived on the ZTA suite with them in a triple! What did we call that – two carrots and a nut? HA. Back to being serious…

The final night parties were very emotional – on both sides. As a freshman, you question so many things. Where do I belong? What if I make the wrong decision? What if my friends want to be in another sorority? And from the other side, there are just tears. SO many dang tears. Especially if you are a senior! Sometimes I chuckle a little and think how dramatic this all sounds, but those four years in that sorority were truly the best days of my life, so no I don’t think all the crying was uncalled for. 🙂

The parties concluded and we made the dreaded (but exciting!) walk to Wallace Memorial Chapel to make our final decisions. Leigha, Athena, and I sat in different areas staring at this blank card. Athena and I probably turned ours in around the same time. Leigha took a little longer. 🙂 But she eventually turned it in, as well. Seriously after turning in that dang card, I felt like I could breathe and relax again. Trying to fall asleep that night was hard too because all you’re thinking of is… will I get a bid from the sorority I wrote on that card?! Cut to pick-up day – holy smokes – I SO wish we could all go back to that. Leigha and Athena’s dorm floor was called before mine to go on the stage. They both flipped their cards ZTA. Then my hall was called. I think girls thought I would have flipped ZTA just because the three of us were attached at the hip. Well, nope. I flipped AGD, and I am so beyond happy that I did. I think I knew from the beginning I was meant to be an Alpha Gam, but it was still nerve-racking nonetheless.

I think the moment that made me honestly realize AGD was the sorority for me, and I’m not even kidding about this, was one of their informal parties in October my freshman year. It was Halloween themed and one of the sisters, Rhiannon, was dressed in a garbage bag for who the heck knows why, but I thought to myself… these girls can totally be themselves and are here to have fun but are equally just as nice without being too ‘OMG WE’RE SO HAPPY TO HAVE YOU HERE.’ Like okay, you don’t even know me. I just knew I could be my weird self in AGD. And come on, their animal is a squirrel. That ish is funny. And I do really believe in AGD’s purpose: Inspire the Woman. Impact the World.

But any who, those hosting the final night parties tonight, especially you seniors, give your sisters a big hug and take it all in. You’ll be missing it once you graduate! And those of you reading this going through recruitment, please just be true to yourself and follow your heart. The rest will all fall into place.

That is my piece of advice to you, and I wish you the best of luck in finding your missing piece.

Happy #SquirrelAppreciationDay!

January 21, 2016Leave a comment

From my favorite squirrels to yinz!

Alpha Gamma Delta… TREES ARE OUR SHELTA.

That is all. 🙂

Recruitment Week at WC

January 20, 2016Leave a comment

I promise to have a more well written post about this come Friday but seeing current Westminster College (WC) students posting about the start of recruitment week tonight is making me very giddy!

WC, Greek life, and most importantly the girls of Alpha Gamma Delta hold such a very special place in my heart. Yes, these are the friends I “paid” for. -___-

Going through recruitment as a freshman was definitely nerve-racking but at the same time so very exciting. I came out of that week learning a lot about myself and my friends. And from the already in AGD side I learned how to host a party and became comfortable and confident to talk to a large group of girls I had never met before.

People can bash sororities all they want – and yes, there are some chapters at certain schools where my mind is blown by what they do – but the sororities on Westminster’s campus were comprised of some of the best and most loyal, compassionate, and caring girls I’ve ever met. And I’m talking about all sororities. Not just AGD. The philanthropic nature of the five sororities was also unlike any other. Yes, we all had our rivalries, especially during Greek Week, but overall I can only speak highly of Greek life at Westminster College.

I’m keeping this short and sweet so I don’t get too emotional, but I wish all freshmen girls going through recruitment this week the very best of luck. Have fun. Dress nicely. Eat the free food – obviously. And just be yourself. It will make the whole process that much easier when you’re deciding where you belong. And to those girls hosting the parties, same advice to you too. 🙂 Good luck!

PS – The featured image was when Athena (L), Leigha (R), and I (center) were little baby freshmen getting ready for our probably first night of recruitment! #similarinterests

Two more days!

January 14, 2016January 14, 2016Leave a comment

Until my Drake birthday party! I don’t really have any important content for today, but I’m just really excited! The Drake GIF above is pretty much how I feel and am looking today.

EXCITED BECAUSE:

I picked up Bre from the airport last night and haven’t seen her since last May;
Us Purps (where Bre used to live) are all getting dinner tonight. They are the first group of friends I met out here;
I’m going to a YesJulz event late night tonight – her FIRST West Coast event. She’s from Miami. I’ll write a post about her too. Basically she’s the Snapchat queen and is #NeverNotWorking;
More Drake supplies and goodies are arriving for my party;
And yes, my Drake party is on Saturday and all my friends and girlfransssss will be in attendance! ❤

And other exciting things!

Congrats to The Weeknd for being nominated for an Oscar. He really ‘Earned It.’
Straight Outta Compton was also nominated for Best Original Screenplay
Usher announced he’s working on a NEW album called Flawed
And BIG congrats to Kendrick Lamar as he will be receiving the key to his hometown of Compton next month!

Lots of fun and exciting tings (no I’m not spelling it wrong – Drake reference) ahead!

Two Thousand 6IXteen

January 7, 2016January 7, 2016Leave a comment

Happy New Year!

I know this is overdue, but now my post won’t be lost in the mix of everyone else’s New Year posts. 🙂

So on New Year’s Eve during the day, my roommate Megan and I ventured to the beach to reflect on 2015. We talked about our peaks and pits of the year, as well as our funniest moments. That last one was actually a bit difficult because I’m convinced our group of friends have funnier moments than most. Also, the peaks and pits are something that the Kardashians do. Judge me. The peak is your highest moment and the pit would then be your worst. Try it sometime.

I scribbled down my top moments of 2016 in this notebook I was gifted on my 25th birthday (thanks, Jamie!). It has loads of information ranging from blog topics and ideas to things I’ve learned in social media classes and workshops. Rather than me re-typing what I wrote, here are two screenshots of what I wrote down. Don’t mind the chicken scratch. And I know there’s highlights I’m forgetting…

Add to that list seeing The Weeknd with Parker and Syd, Jamie getting married and being in her wedding, winning a Twitter contest to attend Social Media Week LA fo FREE, visiting Drake’s permanent LA flagship store, and closing out my trip home for Christmas by going to a Steelers tailgate with my bro Michael – #af. Again, I know there’s more but this will do.

Last year was filled with seriously SO many activities, concerts, and networking opportunities with the most epic friends (new and old!) and family. I have no idea what’s in store for this year. Well, I do know Drake is going to drop his album – hopefully this month for my birthday – but other than that I’ll just ‘do what I want when I’m poppin” this year (Future lyric).

Now to get started on my 2016 Blessings Jar and Vision Board, courtesy of Karen Civil. Blog post to come on who she is and why I admire her work ethic and positivity.

Wishing yinz all the very best this year!

Serge’s Selections: 2015 Drake Edition

December 30, 20152 Comments

Today’s favorite moments feature none other than Drake. From performances to magazine covers to opening an OVO flagship store in Los Angeles and more, take a look below to see what my favorite Drake moments were in 2015!

Cans of Sprite will be emblazoned with inspirational quotes from hip-hop stars Drake, Nas, Rakim and Notorious BIG in a new campaign from the soda maker. The quotes include “Know yourself, know your worth,” from Drake’s 2015 album and “Cool ’cause I don’t get upset,” from Rakim’s “Microphone Fiend.”