Education: Not the Be All End All

I'm gonna get a little serious on you with this one. I've been having some thoughts recently. Graduating from college, and entering the real world jobless and clueless has me terrified. It's really been making me think about the journey I've taken to get to this point, and it has me wondering if I made the right decisions.

I know they say that every choice you make brings you to be the person you are and that you should never have any regrets, but it's hard for me to agree with that. Looking back, I've made some horrible decisions, and they won't scar me or torment me, but they will follow me for a very long time. And by "they," I'm referring to the insane amount of student loan debt I've racked up to get this Advertising degree I hold so dear. Stupid.

Had I stayed in state instead of going to Alabama my freshman year, I probably wouldn't be in this predicament. My parents saved for me; they worked hard for me so I could avoid this, and I blew it all in one year. It honestly makes me sick to think about, but what's done is done. I wouldn't say that I regret going to Alabama, because I enjoyed it, but seeing where I am now, would I go back and do it the same?

Never.

In high school, they tell you that going to college and getting your education is the most important thing. They make it seem like there is no other way, no other path. You'll be a loser and you will get nowhere if you don't in some way continue your education immediately. And I bought into it.

It's ridiculous. First of all, there are plenty of jobs out there that don't require a degree. And also, I'm pretty sure I read somewhere (great fact checking, Vanessa. Really, TOP NOTCH) that 80% of jobs available to graduates don't actually need a degree. That sounds insane, but I believe it. Whatever happened to on the job training or learning as you go?

I thought I had to go to school. I had to make a decision. I had to decide what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I had to figure it out so I could study it, get a degree, and find a job. But I had NO idea what I wanted to do, so I picked something that I thought I would be interested in. Something that I thought I could do. Something that played up to my strengths and something I wouldn't hate. So I picked Advertising.

The amount of times I changed my mind or thought about doing something else was unimaginable. Off the top of my head, I can remember thinking about studying English, Journalism, Public Relations, Law. Me a lawyer? As if.

But the bottom line is: I had no idea. And I didn't have any idea for a long, long time. Now that I do actually have an idea, it's too late. When I started to have an idea, it was too late. I was so deep into everything, that it would have been completely asinine to drop out of college or change my major or transfer again.

I kept telling myself, "Get the degree. Just get the piece of paper. Don't quit now and have nothing to show for all of this but a mountain of debt. Just get the degree."

So I did. Assuming I pass my classes this semester.

Don't get me wrong, I like my industry. I'm good in my industry. I'm comfortable.

I'm skeptical to say that my passion lies somewhere else - still trying to get a job and all. Also because, like I said, I do like it.

My passion might just be in a slightly different area of my industry. Film. Every year, I put together a movie of our family beach trip, and I love it. I'm not sure why it took me this long to figure it out, but I guess I'm just glad I did.

So, the main point of this post is that we put way too much stock in going to college. I feel like a hypocrite for saying that when I have my shiny new degree (that will probably take about five months for UGA to send me and thirty years to pay off), but I really do believe it. I honestly wish I had just waited until I figured it out, or a least waited a little while to have a better understanding of myself. Five years ago, I graduated from high school, and that person and the person I am now seem like two totally different people. How was 18-year-old me supposed to make a decision about what I wanted to do for the rest of my life? We are putting way too much pressure on 18, 19, 20-year-olds to figure that out.

I just want to say thank you to anyone that has ever been there for me. Anyone that has ever encouraged me. Some of you may not even know it, but I appreciate every one of you. And if you're here reading this, a very, very special thank you, because I know most people won't read this at all.

And thank you to Hailey Devine. I've followed her on Instagram for a while, but I never really knew what she did - she just posted cool photos and video snippets all the time. So one day I decided to go to her blog, and I found out she's a videographer. She gets paid to film and put together movies for people and companies. I didn't even know that was what it was called, but I'm pretty sure that is the coolest job on the face of the planet, and it's something I'd like to do one day.

And finally, thank you to Jana. You probably don't even remember when you told me you thought I should be studying film editing, but I sure do, and it really means a lot.

I may be done with school, but I'm not done learning.

XOXO Ness

Some of My Favorite Commercials

In honor of MY LAST DAY OF CLASS EVER TOMORROW... I decided to post a few of my favorite commercials.

But seriously. How is tomorrow my last day of classes? On the one hand, it feels like it's taken forever to get here, but on the other, where did the time go?!


This one is probably my favorite. The VW laughing commercial.


This one takes me back to high school... A lot of people hated this one, but I loved it! "Oh no! your tire's all flat and junk..."


I love the Mayhem commercials. Hard to pick which one is the best. I also really like the raccoon one.


Google Chrome commercials are so cute. I couldn't pick just one. Dear Sophie!


Parisian Love


Roll Tide. I lived there for a year, and I have to say... This happens. A lot. Like all the time actually. It's not exaggerated at all!


This one's for my uncle! Friends Furever. iPhone, you needa step up your commercials because Androids are usually a lot better!


But I do like the old school iPod commercials! This was posted 9 years ago... Feeling old.


And of course, the best of all time. Like Mike.

So there they are. I'm sure I missed some. I can even think of some right now! But this is a good mix for now.

XOXO Ness

Ice Cream Cone Cake

It's easier than you think, I promise! It wasn't exactly "simple," but if you're looking for a little challenge, this is a good one to take on!

Start by baking two or three, I chose to use three, cakes in round cake pans. Mine were a little bigger than the standard 9 inch ones, but it really doesn't matter what size you choose. Just follow the instructions on the cake mix.

After you've baked them and let them cool for a while, cut the tops off and set them aside. Don't eat it all because you will need it later for the "ice cream" part of the ice cream cone!

I layered chocolate and white cake, putting the chocolate one in the middle. Ice it like you normally would, but make sure you leave a little out.

Now on to the fun part! If you've ever made cake balls, that's all the "ice cream" is. Take the tops you cut off and crumble them finely. I just mooshed it up with a fork, and I used both chocolate and vanilla. Then add a dollop of the icing you saved from before and mix it together. You don't need a food processor or a mixer for this.

After you blend it together well, take the mixture and roll it into an ice cream scoop sized ball, and set aside.

Depending on what kind of icing you use, it might play a factor in what kind of melting chocolate you want. I used white icing, so I used milk chocolate for the "ice cream" part. If you use chocolate frosting, you may want to use white chocolate for dipping.

I used Ghiradelli Dark Chocolate Melting Wafers. You don't need to use a whole lot of them. I think I melted about a cup, maybe a little more and that was plenty. Helpful hint for dipping chocolate: After it's all melted, add in some crisco to thin it out a little to make it easier to work with!

Now for the dipping part... First, make sure you let the dipping chocolate cool for a little while before you pour it on the cake - you don't want your frosting to melt. I actually dunked my big cake ball into the chocolate, and that may have been a mistake. I'm used to dipping bonbons and Oreo truffles, but those are much, much smaller, and they stick together better than this cake ball. I had a hard time, first getting it out of my bowl of melted chocolate. Then I had a hard time getting it off the spoon and onto the cake... I left a rather large thumb indent on the side of it.

SO. I saw another way of doing it that's probably a little simpler. Put some dipping chocolate in the middle of the cake and place the cake ball on top of it. Then pour the melted chocolate on the cake ball to cover it. Yeah, I'm actually positive this would've been easier. Oh well. Another day, another lesson learned the hard way.

After the cake ball is sufficiently covered, dip an ice cream cone into the melting chocolate, and hold it in place on the cake ball for a few seconds to make sure it's stuck in place. Then just flood the rest of the remaining chocolate, and that's it! It looks way more complicated than it is. Promise!

 

My chocolate cake broke... Minor mishap.

Finally invested in one of these guys! I'm not very good with it yet, and, honestly, not event sure what the name of it is, but it's a nice little thing to have!

 Cake tops!

It looks gross...

Really gross.

But I promise it tastes good!

Cake selfie!

And just in case you think my shirt is as awesome as I think it is (and on that humble note), I got it at Kohl's, and I love it. I know it's the All Stars, but I feel like it's missing Carroll... Oh well. The Hawks won their first playoff game last night, and I'm super pumped about it!!

XOXO Ness