I Heart Diane Keaton

“I think that it's very important to express your experience in life. You speak and someone listens to you and they don't judge you... they let you fly with your thoughts. And I think that is so important in kind of guiding you to your own path. Your own way of living your life. You don't want to get stuck...
You want to experience the whole experience of life.”

Check out her recent interview with another idol, Katie Couric: http://bit.ly/buK5M0

Looks like I am going somewhere.

Well, it became official this week. I'm moving to Dallas upon my December graduation and have accepted a full-time position at TRG. I love the company, my team and the work I'll be doing and couldn't be more excited about the opportunity.

Lone Star State, here I come!

Just call me a sponge

It's unbelievable how much I'm learning by living in another state and through my internship.

Dallas is a completely different world. It might seem intuitive, but I continue to learn and appreciate this city more the longer I live here. I feel somewhat disappointed with the number of people I've met so far, but am thankful for the Kansas friends I can cling to. I still have another month before heading back to the home land, and I'm going to make the most of it.

I love going to work every single day. I'm surrounded by incredibly smart, creative and hard working people. I feel so blessed being on the nonprofit/cause branding team because the work we're doing for our clients contributes to something truly meaningful. Every one of our clients is passionate about what they do and the impact they’re making, and we’re helping them make that impact. The main clients I work on are The Dallas Foundation, Dallas Citizens Council, Children’s Medical Center and M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. I have also helped out with many other clients such as Honeywell, American Heart Association, Parkland Hospital, Sub Zero/Wolf and many potential new clients.

Working in an integrated agency is a very unique experience because while I’m working for and on public relations, I sit by a creative director, media planner, print production guy and brand managers. I get to “over hear” what they’re working on and learn how all the pieces make up the giant puzzle of The Richards Group. The culture here is unbelievable and it's amazing how many relationships I've already formed.

P.S. Check out this beautiful new Children's Medical Center advertisement!

(Side note: It's tough updating my blog when I'm already on a computer all day. It's also extremely annoying how many sentences in this post start with the word "I." Thanks for understanding.)

I really like my parents.

Bill and Robin Niederee (my parents dancing on our cruise)

A K-State Pi Phi tradition at our final dinner as undergraduates (senior dinner) is to have funny memories and words of wisdom from our parents read aloud to the entire chapter. It basically creates a huge sob fest, however, is extremely meaningful — especially for the senior class.

I was particularly proud of what my parents wrote and thought my hundreds of followers might benefit from their words of wisdom as well... Enjoy!

I hope never lose your sense of wonder — Always strive for something new and exciting and want to know what else is just around the corner.

Get your fill to eat, but always keep that hunger — You may have succeeded in everything you’ve set your mind to, but continue to set new goals to achieve something great to make a difference.

May you never take one single breath for granted — So breathe in and breathe out, do not stress out and enjoy the moment and everything will work out for the best.

God forbid love never leaves you empty handed — Believe in God and he will never leave you empty handed.

I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean — Remember there is always more to learn in this big wide world we live in; keep learning and giving and sharing your talents with others.

Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens — There are always going to be doors closing, but keep looking for an open door, and be persistent.

Promise me that you’ll give faith a fighting chance — Continue to keep the faith in your dreams and convictions and God will make it happen.

And when you get the chance to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance – Keep dancing through life with a smile on your face and you can make anything happen.

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance — You will never fear the mountains that you love to visit so dearly. They are enormous and tall like the high goals you have set for yourself. Taken one step at a time, you’ll always reach the top.

Never settle for the path of least resistance — There will be challenges in life from many people so keep pushing forward and never take the easy way out.

Living might mean taking chances, but they’re worth taking — There are many unknowns in life if you don’t take an educated chance or leap forward you will never know if you could have met the challenge.

Loving might be a mistake but it’s worth making — Keep searching for that someone who will love you for all your strengths and weaknesses.

Don’t let some hell-bent heart leave you bitter — Love endures all things!

When you come close to selling out reconsider — Be proud of who you are and never let anyone take that away from you. The strength of your convictions make you a role model and an effective leader.

Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance — Take time to appreciate all the good things you may take for granted by looking up at the stars on a clear night in the country.

And when you get the chance to sit out or dance, I hope you dance — DANCE, DANCE, DANCE. We know you’ll dance because you don’t see any other way.

Thanks, Bill and Robin... I couldn't do it without you.

Dallas!

I'm officially moved in and I started my internship with TRG on Wednesday.

My town home is lovely, and located in a really great part of town. I'm subleasing from a Pi Phi who goes to SMU, and absolutely love all the Pi Phi (and Twilight) stuff she has around the house. :)

It was also really exciting leaving my first day of work and knowing that I'm going to have a great experience and really get to delve into the world of public relations.

There are a total of six interns working for Richards Partners, the public relations arm of TRG, but only three of us started this week. The other two interns who've started are pictured with me above. Meg (on the far left) is from Arkansas and goes to Central Arkansas, and Marissa attends Oklahoma State, but is from Dallas. We attended Taste Addison last night, which was similar to a county fair with rides, a concert and tons of vendors.

#BKL

Blue Key Honor Society at K-State (an organization that I am proudly a member of) has truly embraced social media, especially Twitter. We have many hashtags that are used regularly including #bkl (Blue Key Love) and #bkhq (Blue Key Headquarters). Twitter has become a major form of communication for us. Our pub crawl shirts (seen above) clearly displayed our hashtag, and it was interesting how many people in Aggieville had no idea what it meant. If you don't know what a hashtag is, learn about it here. Here are some tweeting examples:

RT @morankelsey: anyone else feeling blue (Get it) after bk banquet? one more year, anyone? #bkl

RT @elischooley: Chillin' in #bkhq with @b_radellis and @pdharner.

A lot more #bkl than i ever thought we'd have. Love you guys.

rt @niederee: "Delta sigma phi is like monsters." -@olivertwist23 #bkl #greekweek

#BKL. Forever.

RT @20pankratz33: Dedication of #BKHQ

Rt @niederee RT @pdharner @lindsaygraber just rocked her BK speech in front of the Staleys and everybody else... #bkl

Blue Key: This evening, it's all about who's hungry. #BKL

Loving the #bkl with Lauren Luhrs, Gov. John Carlin, Robert Lewis, and Bernard Franklin. #bluekey #bkhq

Want to read more? Just search #bkl and #bkhq on Twitter.

These are the girls I call my sisters.

My senior year is finally drawing to a close.

This will become real on Wednesday at our last dinner, senior dinner, at the wonderful house of Pi. If it doesn't then, then it will be when my best friends and house mates graduate next weekend. If it doesn't then, then it will be when I move back in August to finish up and realize there are only a few of us left. I think all of us are feeling a little sad, nostalgic and altogether strange. So here's to my sisters, the people who accept me for me. The people who have been there for me no matter what over the last four years. But you know what the best part is? I know they'll only be a plane ride or short drive or phone call or e-mail or g-chat away. <3


PC '06 at Kelsey's Wedding


Lindsey, me, Merrell and Ros at Nicole's Birthday


Annie, me and Mackinsey at Truckin '08


Me, Ros, Clarissa and Alex at Sunset '09


The girls on my 21st


Pi Barbie Phi Date Party w/ Clarissa


Mile High Music Festival w/ Nicole

Derby Days

The post is dedicated to all the women of the wine and blue out there...

Sigma Chi's Derby Days is one of the highlights of the spring semester for most sorority women. Our chapter tends to get especially competitive during this time. Even though the event sometimes gets a bad rap, I believe it truly brings our chapter together. Derby Days is also the last "hoorah" for the seniors, who will soon become alumnae. Thank you to our former chapter members for making this event so much more than just raising money.

Enjoy these pictures from the past... AND if you're feeling especially spirited, check out this rather embarrassing YouTube video to help you remember your college days and cheer us onto a victory in 2010!

The Peaceable Kingdom

This painting (one of Edward Hick's Peaceable Kingdoms) is also the self-proclaimed nickname of the agency in Dallas I'm interning for this summer — The Richards Group.

I'm extremely excited to jump right in, learn as much as possible and get some true agency experience.

Stan Richards, founder and CEO, recently did an interview that gives some insight to the agency. Check it out here.

I cannot mention my internship without giving a big shout out and THANK YOU to the person who has helped and guided me through my entire internship search process, Miss Erica Snyder. Check out her blog here.

I pretend to be busy.

Friday Afternoon—Saturday Morning:
Wabash Cannonball in Kansas City

Saturday Morning—Afternoon: Fake Saint Patrick's Day

Saturday Night:
Beauty and the Beast in Great Bend America

Sunday Morning—Monday Morning: Blue Key Interviews

K-State Proud 2010

Spring is always extremely busy for college students (that's why they give us spring break, right?). It seems like no matter what, it's hard to stay caught up with classes while there's so many other tempting things that one can partake in.

My main responsibilities for K-State Proud have finally come to a close. As many of you know, I was a co-chair last year and this year I was what I guess you can call the director of communications. My position at the KSU Foundation as a communications writer enabled me to spend all of my working hours coordinating, creating and communicating with our communications department and the campaign planning team to get all of the branding materials necessary for a successful campaign. (Check out this year's awesome leadership, above, with Governor Parkinson who even wore his Proud shirt to the game!)

To learn more about K-State Proud, check out our Web site here.

It was also PBP's sibling's weekend, so Allie (17) joined me in Manhattan for some K-State Proud action as well as bonding time. Sarah (13) had a basketball tournament and was unable to attend. :(

HAPPO Day!

Today is "Help A PR Professional Out Day."

Just ran across this today while reading Ragan's PR Daily and WOW—I love my major. What better way to utilize Twitter to share new job and internship opportunities or let employers know you're searching than using the designated hash tag (#HAPPO) when you tweet?

Click here to learn more.

Kelsey's 21+1

Friday (Feb. 12) Josh and I headed to Kite's to celebrate Kelsey Moran's 21+1 birthday.

It was a great celebration and included many Blue Keyers. Because of this, a new term was coined, SOBK (significant others of Blue Key). SOBKers put up with the many facets of dating/being engaged to/being married to a Blue Key member. This includes, but is not limited to: random late nights working on PLCs; weekend retreats 10 miles from Manhattan; dealing with high-stress, type-A individuals and of course an annoying amount of Blue Key pride.

Because Kelsey's father is running for the United States Senate, some "Moran for Kansas" conversations also took place. To learn more about his stance on issues, click here. If you tweet, use the hashtag, #moranforkansas, to support the campaign.

Here are some more pictures from the evening:

Abandon Kansas

These guys have been fun getting to know during the past few years. I met them through Annie Bachman, Wichita, Kan. native, who's known about them since high school. They've made their way through Manhattan multiple times, including last night when I broke Jeremy's (the lead singer) glasses before they played at Kat House—Eeek! He ended up taping them together, but once they began playing, the other side broke, so it was a lost cause.

The best part about these guys is they want to leave an impact—change the world. They're currently working with Compassion International (www.compassion.com) and even sponsor a child in Ecuador as a band.

Want to learn more about Abandon Kansas? Check them out online here.

P.S. The title track from their new album was the inspiration for the name of my blog. Enjoy the photos below from various AK concerts. (above photo, www.timdoddphotography.com)

doppelgänger

1) Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction

2) Karen from The Office (aka Rashida Jones)

People have told me I look like these people over the years. However, I think I have a "familiar" face because often times people approach me thinking they've met me when they haven't.

If you still can't figure out what it is...

Merriam-Webster Online:

Main Entry: dop·pel·gäng·er
Variant(s): or dop·pel·gang·er \ˈdä-pəl-ˌgaŋ-ər, -ˌgeŋ-, ˌdä-pəl-ˈ\
Function: noun
Etymology: German Doppelgänger, from doppel- double + -gänger goer
Date: 1851

1 : a ghostly counterpart of a living person
2 a : double 2a b : alter ego b c : a person who has the same name as another

Long week, busy weekend.

I've seen this message way too many times on campus and way too many times it's ended with a parking ticket. I guess it's going to a good cause, right?

I captured these photos a week ago during a walk on campus. There is so much to learn with my new camera, but it's fun experimenting.

I'm prepping for one of my final tasks as chapter president, officer training, and a Blue Key filled weekend with our spring retreat — Never a dull moment when you're surrounded by the best and brightest on campus.