Sunday, October 31, 2010

The Vikings Suck.

It has been a VERY long weekend.  Being 20 years old, of course I celebrated Halloween.  It's actually one of my favorite holidays to celebrate, beings when you're a girl you get to dress up as whatever you want to, wear your clothes however you want to, and as much of them as you would like.  Taking advantage of the fact that I was going to be with my boyfriend and all of his friends, I decided that I would be a french maid.  And yes, the weekend was a huge success.  I was at the University of Minnesota for the weekend, which is totally against anything I would have chosen for myself (I would have picked being in Iowa City celebrating the Hawkeye's domination over Michigan State), buuuuut, I handled it by drinking too much keg beer and U.V. Blue throughout the weekend. 

...Enough about my holiday - I still have not heard back from ABC Airlines.  I'm not sure how long it usually takes for airlines to go through an application, but I was informed it could be anywhere from 7 days to 2 weeks, which is fine by me.  I'm still preparing myself for the reality of having a "grown-up job", which absolutely terrifies me!  In all seriousness, the reality of actually having to deal with a real job/career really makes me nervous, because that is exactly the thing that a person prepares for their whole life.  My high school, the amount of college that I had, and travel school has ALL prepared me for this, so in return, I've promised myself that I will not disappoint.  I do know that I can do this, and I do know that I'm going to be very successful in whatever I do - it's just the reality that I've finally gotten to that point.

I have really appreciated the advice I've gotten from people, actually, when I saw that I had comments from people that I didn't even know, it made my whole day - I didn't know that I would get a response from an audience so soon, so thank you sooo much! :)  I will keep EVERYONE updated  for when I finally hear back from the airline.  I hope everyone has had a safe and happy halloween weekend!!

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

School, School, & More School

After making my first entry yesterday, I have been thinking a lot about how I haven't included much about my education from the Travel Academy.  Right now, I'm on my 6th week and 3rd day of classes, with only 3 weeks and two days left.  Yes - I have a countdown! :)  Graduation is November 19, and I am really looking forward to having my parents come down and watch me graduate with all of my class mates. 

I have learned SO much from the Travel Academy, that I believe will help me so much with the interview and training process of becoming a flight attendant.  I mean, I don't really know for sure, because I've had no real experience with the whole "interview process" with the travel industry or anything, but from what I have heard from previous graduates, the information that we have been equipped with has really helped. 

Unlike most of the students in my class, I actually have taken a liking to Worldspan, which is a Global Distribution System - used to book air, car rentals, hotel, cruises, etc...anything that involves travel that needs to be purchased.  Granted, I'll probably never use the thing, but at least I can be successful with it in class, right?  Before the class even STARTED we also had to learn the majority of the airline city codes in the United States, which was a huge pain, because most of them make absolutely no sense with the city they correspond with.  It is a learned trait, though, because I am constantly catching myself naming the city code after seeing a major city on the television, or even anywhere it is mentioned.  We have also lately been working on airline terminology, which is not only boring, but time consuming.  The instructors, though, somehow find a way to spice it up a bit once in a while.  The one thing in the class that I have been struggling with is the public speaking aspect of the travel industry.  I can't stress enough how much I hate getting up and speaking in front of a group of people, even my classmates who I have known for six weeks.  If anyoneeee out there is reading this - if you know a cure for public speaking nerves, I am MORE than willing to take some constructive criticism or any advice that you have for me! 

Another big part of coming to this school is the apartment living.  The school arranged for us apartments and whatnot to live in with our classmates, and I won't say it's been a struggle for the majority of us, but it is definitely something that we have had to get used to.  It is kind of it's own little Real World.  Lets say, Real World:Travel Academy.  It's that dramatic.  I'm not going to rant and rave about it, but I'll just clarify that it's the main reason for my countdown.  I am luckily living and rooming with my best friend from New York that I met here, Matthew.  He's the kind of person that will make you smile whenever you need it.  But enough about the roomie thing - I'm done for now. 



A picture of my fellow classmates and I.
If you were wondering, I am in the back left -
The blonde with the brown long sleeve shirt :)
 

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Another New Beginning

Well, here it is - my first blog, and also my first day of waiting.  I applied for an airline today, and for professional reasons, I am not going to include the airline in my blog, ever.  I will just refer to it as "ABC Airlines".  I am going to tell you that it is probably the most nerve-racking thing that I've done since I've gotten to school, considering I have been really picky and choosy about which airlines I have wanted to apply for.  Before I get started on that, let me give you some back ground information.

My name is Melissa, and I am currently attending the Travel Academy in Bloomington, Minnessota.  If anyone is interested in the travel industry, this would be an EXCELLENT school to go to.  It really prepares you for what you are going to be facing in the travel industry, and the teachers and staff are amazing. 


I am 20 years old, and graduated from high school in 2008.  I did the whole college thing - made amazing friends and amazing memories, but all in all - just wasn't my thing.  So that is why I am here, sitting in the clubhouse of my very own apartment, writing a blog about what it is like to live my life, and to pursue my dreams.

As I said, I have just applied for an airline that is actually located here in Minneapolis.  I don't want to leave here mainly because I love the atmosphere of this town.  I've done my research about ABC Airlines, and I really looking forward to the potential to be able to actually sit down with someone and learn more.  There isn't much more I can say about it, because even I don't know much yet - but I definitely will keep up with the posts.

If anyone who is reading has any advice for me, or any words for encouragement, I would loveee to hear them - I'll take as much as I can get :)