Coco Chanel once said, “Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.” This idea captures what I believe to be true about education—we can only truly learn through experience. Ultimately, this means that the classroom acts as a middleman in my learning, keeping me at a distance from reaching my full potential.
While my four years at the University of St. Thomas have proven the phrase, “college is the best years of your life” to be true, I am excited to move on to the real world. After graduation, I will be heading back to my hometown of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, to continue growing my photography business. I am looking forward to taking these next six months to do what I love and spend time with my family at home before starting my next adventure.
In January of 2016, I will embark on a three-month fashion business internship in Florence, Italy. I am thrilled for this opportunity to get hands on experience in a city that plays such a dominant role in the fashion industry. Additionally, interning abroad will make me more culturally aware of the world around me, which is extremely important in order to work effectively in an increasingly global workplace. I could not be more excited to go back to the city that stole my heart a year ago!
After completing the three months interning, I plan on further exploring Europe for a few more weeks making visits to France, Spain and Germany. Everyone always says your early-20s are the best time in your life to travel, so why not actually do that? This is all such a dream come true. When I return back to the states (that is if I don’t fall in love with a beautiful Italian men who wisps me away), I will begin my “big girl” job search. Of course, I have the cliché small town girl dream of someday living in New York City, and I hope I can make this dream a reality!
My time spent with CollegeFashionista may have been short, but it has been such an incredible learning experience. It instilled a new passion for writing within me and helped me grow as a writer. It challenged me to look at clothing and fashion in a new way and capture it through the lens of my camera. It allowed me to meet new people by reaching out to all the awesome Fashionistas/Fashionistos that I wrote about. So thank you CollegeFashionista for this rad opportunity!
I cannot believe that my college graduation is already here. It feels like yesterday I was an anxious freshman moving into the dorms. Now, looking back on the past four years, I could not feel more blessed for the experiences and memories I made that will forever stay close to my heart. I look forward to see what my future holds in fashion!
