September 6, 2012
I never really knew how “cool” or “glamorous” it was being from and living in Miami before coming to college. But after the summer I just had, I think I finally understand the hype around my hometown.
This past summer I had the opportunity to write for the Miami lifestyle blog GLAM Life Blog (GLAM stands for Go Live a Marvelous Life– clever!). I loved the blog’s positive vibe and its underlying message: telling other people to achieve more in their lives.
My main role with the blog was to write about events in pop culture that seemed provocative and interesting, but also to interview various people who are living glamorously. One of the interviews that stood out most to me was with Julissa Bermudez and Adrienne Bailon.
These two women have a show on the Style Network called “Empire Girls” and, prior to becoming reality TV stars, they both had their own claims to fame. Bermudez was the first Latina VJ on BET’s music countdown show “106 & Park” and more recently has been seen as the host of the “Jersey Shore” reunions on MTV. Bailon was a member of the girl groups 3LW and the Cheetah Girls, although she is now pursuing a solo musical career.
These women never compromised their careers for anything. I love that they want to “have it all” (a successful career, love life and brand) and will not settle for less.
Besides interviewing cool people and attending exciting events like Fashion Week Miami Beach, I learned the importance of having big dreams. What everyone I interviewed has in common is an aspiration for greatness. The only limit that exists on how great people can become is the one they place upon themselves.
It was not until one of my last interviews of the summer that I acknowledged some of my own self-imposed limits. I interviewed Mara Schiavocampo, who is a correspondent of the “Today Show” on NBC and has been featured in countless magazines and even on “Oprah.”
Speaking with Mara solidified my desire to become a broadcast journalist even more because of her sheer willpower. A word of advice she gave me was to never give up. She said that would only happen if I accepted challenges and never allowed them to defeat me.
As a woman of color journalist, Mara has already faced many of the challenges I probably will in the future. Although obstacles will get in my way, knowing that other women have made strides for future generations of journalists means a lot to me. I need to try as hard as they did, or even harder, to make a name for myself.
My summer was honestly a blast and gave me the boost I needed to return to College Hill with a positively glamorous outlook on the future. Who knows? Maybe I’ll inspire a few others to live glamorous lives in the process.