Author: Abbi Wilt

The Perfect Interview Drink

| Abbi Wilt

You probably read the title of this post and thought, “What on earth is this girl talking about? Interview drink? What?”

Truth of the matter is that I have actually thought about writing a post on interview drinks many a time, usually in the precise moment that I’m meeting a future employer over coffee or sitting in a reception area when the receptionist offers me something to drink.

I think which drink you choose in your interview really tells a lot about who you are. And, unfortunately, coffee breath could break your interview chances.

Are These Beans Fair Trade?

We all know these people. Maybe we are these people. Dedicated to their favorite roast, never settling for cheap blends. My sister is one of these people. She’s a diehard.

Coffee is a decent interview drink, because you won’t be burping or gulping (hopefully!). But, we must keep in mind that interviews are often in close quarters. And, coffee breath has been the downfall of many suited professionals (I don’t know if that’s exactly true, but I assume it to be the case…).

Coffee breath isn’t easy to get rid of, either. Then, you start feeling self-conscious of your espresso-exhaling, which directly affects the impression of your future employer. “Why is she covering her mouth? Why won’t she make eye contact? Why is she always rummaging through her purse for gum?”

Moral of the story: Don’t sabotage your self-confidence. Coffee is not the best interview drink.

Excuse Me, Do You Have Flavored Perrier?

I have to make a confession – this was me. I am an avid seltzer water consumer. So, when I went in for my interview at the coffee shop (and knowing coffee was not the right choice), I decided to go the sophisticated bottled water route. Perrier is harmless, right? WRONG.

The magic of seltzer water is in those beautiful little luscious bubbles, making you feel like you are enjoying a crisp champagne in the middle of the day and just bein’ a classy lady. But it’s those lil’ bubbles that will TAKE YOU DOWN.

If you haven’t picked up what I’m putting down, let me make it clear for you: Perrier will make you burp. “What’s your greatest strength?” “Burp.” “How could you contribute to this company?” “Burpity Burp.”

If your employer isn’t completely turned off to you by your apparent lack of manners (although we know this isn’t the case, the Perrier made you do it!), they probably won’t be able to understand your answers. Listen, I just don’t want your top-selling quality to be burping the alphabet.

Moral of the story: Skip the Perrier and its devil classy bubbles.

I’d Just Like A Water, Please

If you’re not an adventurous kinda person, I recommend going with plain ol’ water. True, the waiter won’t think much of you, but water is a safe choice.

Unless you’re me, and you drink six glasses in one sitting with a bendy straw.

Don’t slurp it down. Water won’t sabotage your breath or make you burp, but if you consume an obscene amount because you’re nervous and you use the straw as a way to avoid eye contact, I’d pass. Tap water can be your friend, but it also can get everywhere, sweat everywhere, and lead to myriad bathroom breaks.

Moral of the story: Water’s good. I’d avoid cups and straws, but bottled water is one of the safest interview drinks out there.

Hot Tea, Chaps?

I admit, I’m biased. My family has been drinking tea for years, and I grew up on hot cups by the fire. Regardless of my personal attachment, I have come to the conclusion that hot tea is the best interview drink out there. It’s sophisticated,

First of all, tea’s made with water. Remember him? The breath-saving burp-free friend.

Secondly, your interviewer won’t think you’re boring. It’s not just plain water, it’s flavored water that’s warmed up – screams class.

Thirdly, tea is delicious. You can sip pleasantly, nod inquisitively, and discuss that sales pitch you presented in your last company that brought in five new clients.

Fourthly, tea is relatively cheap at coffee shops, and easy to make. You’re not high maintenance. You fit in well. You refill the water cooler. You invite your work friends over for dinner. You’re a good person.

Finally, tea is calming. No more high-strung caffeinated conversations (tea has much less caffeine than coffee), unpleasant stomach cramps, embarrassing burps, or low self-confidence – tea brings a pleasing warmth to the table.

Who knows, maybe they’ll even hire you on the spot.

An Open Letter To Print Media

| Abbi Wilt
Dear Print Media,

As a PR student, the first thing that people tell me is that you’ve already died. Then, I have to tell them that I just saw you this morning, and they get defensive. And this is why, Print Media, I’m here to advocate for you.

You’ve already changed communication. Since the early days of Benjamin Harris’ Publick Occurences, you’ve been rockin’ our world. Instead of having to hear the “facts” from Aunt Nelly, we can read words in print that have (hopefully!) been double checked by people who care about you.

You’ve changed the way we absorb news. We still get magazines, read books, and (shock!) subscribe to papers. Now, we can find this print media on our tablets – reading books and magazines without ever physically flipping a page. Personally, I don’t believe this to be a negative progression. You’re growing and expanding, and embracing a modern world is a difficult transition to make.

Print Media, you’re being revolutionized. Journalists can no longer skim by with questionable facts – we have to fight to make sure we’re getting the truth out there, especially since TV can pick up a story in seconds, and people can watch videos online. We’re loyal, Print Media, because newspaper clippings on refrigerators will never get old, and communities celebrate tradition.

In the next five years, you may find yourself faced with the difficulty that children have grown up with iPads. However, you’ll flourish in knowing that people enjoy the tangible and the credible. Anyone can write a blog, but not everyone can publish articles. Your audience may dwindle slightly, but only to become more targeted. As a communication student, I know that targeting equals better advertising (meaning money)! Plus, you’ve got Sunday cartoons.

Sincerely,

A Girl Who Still Wears Newspaper Hats

The Tale of Two Fishies

| Abbi Wilt

Even in death, we have the assurance of new life, growth, and restoration.

I bought two fish yesterday and named them Chuck and Blair, after my favorite television show. Poor little guys were quite shaken up from being removed from the giant tank with the fake rock stickers, but seemed to be adjusting just fine in their new home. We put them in the living room, gave them some real rocks, and fed them a good home cooked meal. Needless to say, these fish were going to be well taken care of. Matter of fact, we even rapped them some 2Chainz hummed them a tune before bed.

I woke up this morning so excited to greet the new lives in our home. What adventures we’ll have! Oh the places we will go! Horror of horrors, as I rounded the corner to where the dumplings had been swimming merely hours before, I saw them. I saw them laying there. I saw them laying on the bottom of the tank, floating sideways and lifeless. Both of them. “What has happened?!” I proclaimed to all who were awake at 8:00am. I assume that there are a few possible explanations for their deaths.

Scenario 1: One was Romeo, and one was Juliet.

The black fish (whom we had named Chuck) blended so well into the black rocks we had furnished their living space with that poor Blair/Juliet, the orange fish, assumed we had taken her one true love away from her, and had died of heartbreak. When Chuck/Romeo emerged from his unintended hiding spot in the rocks, he killed himself after seeing his one true love floating lifeless.

Scenario 2: The two fish, having lived probably a few weeks at the Walmart, had experienced a minimally dysfunctional lifestyle at the hands of Walmart customers. Being put in a plastic bag was bad enough, but when they had to listen to two college kids rap Birthday Song over and over in the car, they were on the edge of killing themselves. When they then had to watch pitch perfect and witness others eating Funfetti cupcakes without sharing with them, it thrust them over the edge into a deep depression.

Scenario 3: They were faking death in order to devise a Finding Nemo like plan to somehow be whisked away via toilet pipeline to the open sea. They would be the first ones in their family to go so far in life, and all they wanted was to make Eleanor and Cyrus proud.

Scenario 4: Molly fish require fish tank heaters, and their water should be about 80 degrees. The Walmart fish man never told us.

This post is dedicated to the lives and accomplishments of Charles B. Bass and Blair C. Waldorf Bass. May their lives be a reminder that we should always google things before we take lives into our own hands.

That One Time I Did Yoga

| Abbi Wilt

I’m sorry that it has been a few days. I’m pretty sure that I’m the only one who sees this, but for my sake, please accept my apology. I began school this week and needless to say, the amount of work that a professor can fit on one 8 1/2 by 11″ sheet of paper is miraculous. Deep breaths. Also needless to say, I began yoga this week to cope with the stress that I know I will be having soon enough. Deep breaths. And even though she told me to get into “Happy Baby” pose today and the “Plank” almost pushed my muscles over the edge into the abyss of impossible flexibility, I felt very, very relaxed. I believe it’s a good sign when the world melts away and all you have left is yourself, laying on a mat in the middle of the cycling studio, not thinking about how your feet must smell to the man behind you, but rather thinking of yourself on a warm beach. When you can imagine sunshine, coconut oil, ocean spray and strawberries in 30 degree weather, you must be doing something right. So, dear friends, treat yourself to something among the stresses of life that make you imagine you’re on a beach, free of worry, and absorbing the warmth of the sun. Too bad you can’t imagine yourself a tan in January… Until next time.

Relativity

| Abbi Wilt

Everything is relative. It’s never been you alone, because that would be relative to others that aren’t with you. When you feel like something is going wrong – a college student example being a hold on your financial aid or your classes have been dropped – just remember that relative to other problems you could be facing, you are blessed. God will take care of you. So, blessed one, remember that even though your life is relative to others’, their lives are relative to yours as well. So, live a beautiful life and remember that you are never alone.

Be Who You Are

Aside | | Abbi Wilt

Who am I? I am a tea-drinking, bow-knitting, recipe-cooking, sock-sporting, cupcake-icing, blazer-wearing, song-singing, music-making, meringue-baking, poster-hanging, art-painting, color-loving, adventure-seeking sojourner. But, I believe we reinvent ourselves daily with our actions, words, and responses to life situations. It may be a dreary day outside, but choose to be the radiance that comes through the fog.

A few years ago, after traveling across the continent and down to the tip of South America, I came to the very obvious conclusion that, “a smile is the same in every language.” Sounds simple, yes? I never made the connection before – and it’s something that has stuck with me through the years. You don’t have to know someone to portray to them that you are someone who cares enough to share a gesture of kindness. A stranger may speak English but may respond to a different emotional language; these languages are affected by their upbringing, culture, and lives. Be genuinely kind. Don’t let yourself be stopped up with the little things – being cut off in traffic, having a rude encounter at a restaurant, even just waking up with a cold – and choose to smile instead. Be the person you want the world to see.

Welcome To My Blog

Aside | | Abbi Wilt

If there is anything that I have gathered from the past 19 years of my life, it is that everyone we meet truly is fighting their own battle. People are broken, damaged, yearning, and struggling. It is not our job to be the ones to add to their load – but rather to bring hope, love, and color to a world that is turning increasingly grey. For this reason, I vow to only share the positive, beautiful, colorful and cultured revelations of the life I live. I leave the rest for the world to pile on – but may this place be one of peace, hope, and love for you, just as I will feel in writing it. Explore the beauty.