Hello, My Name is Sarah

Wowsas... it's been quite a long time since I've posted. I am constantly thinking of things in my head I should write down, but apparently I never actually make it to a piece of paper or a computer, seeing as my journal and blog are empty since the beginning of April. It is kind of fitting that the last time I checked in was right around One Day Without Shoes. Because to be honest, that is when my life went from comfortable chaos to complete whirlwind.

RECAP:

Bc of the amazing success of ODWS, things at work really started picking up. I was trusted with a lot more responsibilities, which was totally fine by me. The interns were also in charge of the TOMS 4th Birthday initiative at the beginning of May, where we developed a campaign to challenge people to do One for One acts of kindness. We filmed a viral video to ask people to participate and it got almost 10,000 views! So awesome! Besides our international campaign (no big deal), we hosted a birthday party picnic in a local park for TOMS HQ. It was sooo much fun and was, in my opinion, the moment when we all realized that we were not "just interns," but in fact an integral part of the TOMS family. Check out the recap video:

It will make you smile when you see how amazingly eccentric, hilarious, and awesome everyone who works at TOMS is. This video makes me smile. And these people have made me smile every day for 5 months. Which is why I'm a little misty eyed as I write this, and why I was more than a little misty eyed yesterday on my last day of work.

Like all great things do, the TOMS internship ended for me yesterday after 134 of the best days of my life. I met some amazing people who became my family (including 10 strangers who will forever be my schminterns for life), had incredible experiences that would not have been possible anywhere else, and learned more about myself than I ever expected. I ended my internship on a total high note, having 4 great meetings yesterday with people whom I have come to love and respect, and having finished my work knowing that I gave it my all. I feel so proud of what I accomplished at TOMS, and no matter what happens, that is all I ever really wanted. And in my opinion, that is all that really matters. Doing good work and meeting good people and knowing that at the end of the day, you left nothing unsaid, left nothing undone - except for maybe a couple of small projects, sorry Caitlin! :), and left feeling damn good about how you spent this time in your life.

So what's next? I get this question 1,637,872 times a day and you have no idea how thrilled I would be if I actually knew the answer. So here's what I do know about "what's next"...

- Tonight, I will be going with my roommates (who are now officially my west coast family) to the Braves/Dodgers game at Dodger Stadium. Cannot think of any better way to spend my first weekend of unemployment.

- Monday, I will continue to look for jobs in L.A. I'm in a really great place in my life right now, and I'm not ready to leave. So yes, I am staying out on the west coast. Maybe through the summer, maybe through Christmas, maybe through the year 2014. Stay tuned.

- This summer, I will continue to write for the FYI magazine back home and hopefully babysit as many precious, over-privileged babies as possible in the hopes of being able to pay the bills. I will be visiting Augusta/Atlanta/Charleston the end of June, beginning of July, so if any of you back home feel like helping me ring in the 23rd bday on July 1, you know my number ;)

- I will continue to bug my TOMS family since they are just that, my family. Maybe I'll end up back there (still my #1 dream), or maybe I won't. But either way, this experience has changed me for the better and I am forever grateful to everyone in that Santa Monica warehouse.

So I believe that is all that I have to report. When I know more, so will you. If you know of any positions available in Marketing/Communications/Social Media/anything that pays $$, my personal email is sewalpert@gmail.com and I promise to give you a gigantic hug for any leads you may have. I'll give you a gigantic hug anyway, but a job lead would be nice. Thanks to all for the words of encouragement the last few weeks. While I am sad, I remain very optimistic. I have faith that a lot of great things are in store. I wanted to share a quote from an email my dad sent me yesterday. He has a way of knowing just when I need a pep talk and sending an amazingly encouraging email my way. Yesterday's "you're awesome" email was so great, I shared with my fellow intern David, and this quote both got us through what could have been a super depressing day:

"Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like." — Laozi

Well said, Laozi, well said.

Until later-

S