…One Month Later

So, I’m one month into my PR studies, and things are moving right along. It’s amazing how things don’t really seem like work when you’re enjoying them (wish I would have realized this, oh, about 1/2 through my first law school class…). I maybe look at the clock once during my 3-hour Advanced PR class, and usually only because my pre-class latte is finished.

What have I been working on, you ask? I’ve been trying to chat about my assignments on twitter (@casestocampaign), but, in case you aren’t familiar with my tweets, here it is:

• A PPT presentation about the Blackfish movie and SeaWorld’s PR battles;
• A media audit relating to Lululemon’s PR crisis in the news, and how the media is reacting;
• A short paper on Chipotle’s GMO labeling and whether they have an ethical obligation to do so;
• An essay on Arthur Page and the famous PR “Page Principles”;
• Research for a campaign pitch involving frozen fruit bars.

How did I do all of this in just ONE month??

Yeah, I’ve pretty much been racking up the Starbucks stars (and frequenting other indie coffee shops which really are my favorite).

Now that I’m in the thick of things, I am starting to understand that PR is complex and challenging, and that it involves a ton of strategy and thought. Just like being a lawyer. Hmm, I may be on to something…

But seriously, I am so glad to know that this path I’ve stepped foot upon is shaping up to be the right one! Score!

Will report back as I make my way down that path. This is exciting!

Here we Go

Today, things got real.  I got a student i.d.  I also got a syllabus.  A syllabus which informed me that I have to give a powerpoint presentation in exactly 12 days. You see, it’s been a few years since I exuberantly proclaimed that I had studied my last study, essayed my last essay, taken my last test.  I was walking on air.  And then I entered the workforce.

(screeching tires sound).

It all kind of started when I experienced a profound tragedy, a short, unexpected illness and death of a best pal.  A month later I was in Paris, where life is lived joyfully and people don’t stress.  Where they nibble macarons in the park on a work day.  I thought, how rare it is to have a life like that.  How different and unattainable it felt.  The thought crossed my mind that I could just stay and work in the grocery store next to my hotel.  They would hire a j.d., right?

After returning stateside, I had to have a long talk with myself.  I had to find a way to lead a Parisian way of life on a cold Tuesday in Chicago.  I started off by drinking my lattes while sitting down.  In a non-Starbucks cafe.  In a mug.

The wheels started turning.

I took a pretty quick look at my career as a somewhat successful litigator and thought- uggh, we have a problem.

The petty drama.  The stress (95% of which is unwarranted).  The people, so many of whom are vile.  The antiquated way of doing things, the office furniture, the lack of creativity or fashion sense.  I was doomed.  But what about about the things that had made me excited about my job for so many years?  The frantic calls from clients; knowing what to say to them to calm their minds?  Seeing them kill it during a deposition that you prepped them for, or even better, succeeding as a calm and credible witness during the high drama of trial?  I loved fixing.  I loved being the one they turned to.  I had reached a point where I no longed cared about whether I was an attorney, I just liked helping my clients.

Enter stage left: public relations.  Everything I love about the law minus much of what I hated.  I did some googling; made some connections; filled out an application and answered a few questions.  And now I’m here, on the eve of my first PR masters course and on the path to realizing who I am and what I’m about and how to be happy whether I’m in River North or on the River Seine.

I look forward to sharing my experience with anyone who cares to join me.  Let’s do this.