tiff of the 'burbs. *

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I want to be domesticated, a humanitarian, a foodie, a fashionista, & a world-traveler. In the meantime, I'm a 24 year old grad student in beautiful Southern California. I'm from the cookie-cutter suburbs, but have recently relocated to Los Angeles. Here are my thoughts & adventures! Twitter: @tiffanyjam

Themed by Monique Tendencia.

∞ 7	I graduated on Wednesday. It still feels surreal. Since then, I’ve spent the last three days lounging, eating junk food, and taking naps. I also had an extra strong margarita last night. Looking back on the past two years, I honestly feel like I’ve been immersed in so much information, a lot more than I can possibly retain. Program evaluations, challenging budgeting problems, policy analysis (my favorite), and many papers later…I’ve reached the end of my academic career. At least, that’s what I think (I don’t even want to think of writing anything close to a dissertation right now). The best thing I’ve learned, however, is that I do belong in the public sector & getting my MPA was the best academic decision I’ve ever made. I remember the day after I submitted my forms to withdraw from law school, I hopped on my laptop and started looking into graduate programs (crazy, I know). I knew I wanted to go back to school, but had no idea what I wanted to do yet. Public Policy, Social Work…I didn’t know what the nuts Public Administration was until that day. Long story short, I’m happy to be where I am today. Shoutout to my family, friends (IRL and on Tumblr!), and boyfriend for keeping me at least somewhat sane & supporting me along my journey. Another special thank you goes out to all the baristas that have kept me caffeinated & for letting me camp out in your coffee shops for hours at a time—don’t think this is over, I still work from home!
∞ 2	Q: Hey! I am wondering what kind of classes you had to take for Public Administration. What kind of work came along with it: a lot of government/politic classes? What is your main focus? I am really intrigued by the major! from cocoabird A: In my MPA program, I’ve taken various courses that relate to public administration, but not all the classes were specifically for government. Some classes were more theory-based than others (organizational theory, leadership strategies & skills, public human resources, etc.) , which were more skills-based (public budget & finance, research methods, policy analysis, etc.). I write a lot of papers, read quite a bit…and honestly, I do a lot of doable busy work (lol). I chose not to have a specific focus/emphasis in my program, mostly because I wasn’t 100% sure of what I wanted to do with my degree after I graduate. Luckily, I found my niche during my internship & have decided to focus on working with health nonprofit management. What I really love about Public Administration is that it’s really diverse for the public sector (nonprofit and government)!
∞ 15	At 24, I’m where I’m supposed to be. In high school, if you asked me what I’d be like in my mid-twenties, I probably would’ve said the following: Established career In love—married or engaged Living in the city on my own (LA, SF, or NY) Self-sufficient Yeeaaah, not exactly where I’m at now. As of this moment, I am: Interning with no pay Single (which is fine, by the way) Living in the city…at my grandpa’s house Swimming in enough student debt to purchase a mid-range luxury car Being in your mid-twenties, for lack of a better word, is weird. On one hand, I have friends who are engaged/married, buying homes, having babies…doing “adult things”. On the other hand, I have friends who are out partying every weekend, single & not looking to settle down anytime soon, with no real drive. Of course, there are plenty of combinations and “in-betweeners”. I carpool to school on some nights with one of my close girl friends from my graduate program. We both have the same concerns with where we stand in life and our conversation tonight made me think. And it also made me laugh. Here we were complaining about where we aren’t in life (no engagement rings—she at least has a boyfriend, no certain career path, and living at home), while coming home from night classes that we chose to submit ourselves to multiple nights a week on top of our jobs/internships and personal lives in order to get masters degrees. We chose this. It’s nights like this that I find it necessary to reassure myself that there isn’t always a concrete timeline for full-blown adulthood to begin. It’s also nights like this that I find it necessary to remind myself that God has a plan for me and I that I need to trust Him, even when the path seems foggy and sometimes bleak. I will say that moving to Los Angeles was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made in my 20s thus far. I have learned so much about myself, my relationships, and the career path I want to make for myself through my internship. I’ve been able to reconnect with good friends and make some new ones. Social life is great. I’ve gone on dates and have been treated right to the point of me actually feeling spoiled (no offense to the guys I’ve dated in the past that read this, lol). I’ve met several individuals in my field that have shown me that this career path is doable at different coalition meetings. I may not have expected life to turn out this way, but I trust that I will be pushed and pulled in the right directions until everything starts to make sense.
∞ 6	One more year. I’m having my “oh sht, I’m going to graduate this year” moment. A familiar feeling, except now it’s more like “oh sht, I’m going to graduate and will never go to school again and OMG now I really need to find a job. plz hire me!”. This week, my supervisor & I are going to meet to discuss some “personal strategic planning”, focusing on my career objectives and overall goals I want to meet at a professional level. She told me she wants me to think B-I-G and think about my “dream job”. It’s been a while since I really sat down and reflected on these things. To be honest, I can’t come up with one title for my “dream job”. I ultimately would like to have a job like hers, but I know that won’t come overnight. Where does a person with a masters and hardly any work experience go? I’m afraid to know the answer. With a graduate program as broad as Public Administration, there are so many options, which I guess is both a blessing and a curse for people that can be indecisive as I can be. I L-O-V-E being in my 20s, but this pre-quarter life crisis is overwhelming at times. P.S. What I really want to say to my supervisor is “I CAN HAS YOUR JOB?!” (Executive Director of a health nonprofit)
∞	I know it’s summer vacation & I shouldn’t be talking about school for at least a couple months, but I just got my official letter from CSULB stating that I have been advanced to candidacy for my masters program! This means that my future coursework has been approved by the university and that all my prerequisites have been fulfilled. The game plan: Fall 2011: 3 Classes—Budget and Finance, Negotiating Dynamic Strategies & Skills, Leadership Skills & Strategies Spring 2012: Directed Research (5 case studies), Internship, Graduate. Somewhat bad news: I found out that I took a class I didn’t really need last semester. And it was my hardest class -____- Well, at least it counts as an elective? An unnecessary and difficult elective, but still…that’s annoying. I should probably feel a sense of accomplishment, but the fact that I hated that class so much and wasted so much gas/money/time driving to school on weekends makes me want to shank a beez. On a more positive note, I did make good friends in that class, so that’s some consolation.
∞	Humbled. I’ve never been good with rejection, whether it comes from the opposite sex, jobs, anything. Maybe it’s insecure middle school Tiffany that lingers around from time to time, but I get easily butthurt. Or maybe I’m just human. I also tend to be competitive and I hate losing, which probably plays a part in why I don’t play competitive sports anymore (lol). I know I’m not always going to be the best at everything I do, but I try to be above average. But, as needed, sometimes I get smacked in the face with humble pie. After two interviews with an organization, I got a rejection email from an internship I really wanted. It was part-time, flexible, paid, a full year, and in a prestigious medical center in Los Angeles. It stated that “[they] have decided to move forward with other candidates whose qualifications more closely match the position”. Well, that blows. Tomorrow, I’m officially starting my other (unpaid) summer internship with the American Academy of Pediatrics. Don’t get me wrong, I’m thankful that I actually landed one in the first place, especially because even unpaid positions are hard to get these days. And so the job hunt continues…
∞ 953	I got my first B in grad school… But I also got an A in MICROECONOMICS OF PUBLIC POLICY A.K.A. THE HARDEST CLASS OF MY ENTIRE SEMESTER!!!! So…I’ll take that B. Meh. (via lolslater)
∞	To new adventures & chasing your dreams. Yesterday, I was offered a summer internship position with the American Academy of Pediatrics! I’ll be working on the advocacy side of the organization, working closely with Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) and the Los Angeles Healthcare Provider Alliance for Children (LA-HPAC). The position is unpaid, but I get to work remotely (from home) and get compensation for any mileage I put in. I also have an interview with another medical center in LA next week for an internship that can last for the entire school year, so I’m hoping/praying that also falls into place, because I need some money to help pay for school/extra things. The important thing is to strive towards a goal which is not immediately visible. That goal is not the concern of the mind, but of the spirit. -Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Today, one of my closest girl friends is leaving for the Philippines to attend medical school. We sent her off at a going-away party last night. I’m not going to get super sentimental or emo (haha, please), but I will say that the feeling is bittersweet. On one hand, the person I spent almost every single day hanging out with for a year is moving 16 hours away (I’m not sure how we suddenly got super close either). On the other hand, I’m really happy that she’s doing something so great to pursue her dreams of becoming a doctor, even if that means sacrificing the comfort of being near her close family and friends. I don’t know about any of you guys, but I probably wouldn’t be able to do it myself. One half of knowing what you want is knowing what you must give up before you get it. -Sidney Howard One step at a time.
∞ 3	1 year down :) My first year of grad school has come to a close!! My, how time flies. A year ago, I was jobless, living at home, and doing absolutely nothing productive with my life. Now, I am jobless, living at home, and studying (well, actually not anymore…so, hire me!). HA. I’m really blessed and thankful that I got through this school year successfully. I’m also very thankful that I found a program that feels right for me & my future career. I think it’s funny that I started off my undergrad thinking I wanted to be a doctor or PA, then instead decided on law school, let that go, and am now back to wanting a career in the health field, just more on the administrative/policy side. I’m completing 9 units in the Fall, an internship, and my spring semester will be dedicated to my senior case studies (5 separate cases instead of one giant thesis—thank GOD). So, technically I’m more than halfway done. Hard work and prayer really pay off. Praise God!
∞	It’s okay to not know what you’re going to do after graduation. If there’s one piece of advice I’d give to the present and future generations it would be to stay proactive and passionate. First and foremost, think about your strengths and things that interest you. Work on refining those talents and try out different things that allow you to use them. It’s okay to try things and find out they’re not your niche. It’s also okay to try other things and fail. This is part of the process. Pick up an internship, do some job-shadowing, look into your options. Don’t just do something because it’s something you’re good at. If it’s not satisfying, change your attitude or change your job. Whatever you do, you need to stay proactive and passionate. I really believe that is the key to the beginnings of a happy and successful life.