Welcome to the IME 2016/2017 blog. As the first post of the year there isn't really much to say except that things haven't picked up just yet. So to start things off I thought I would share with all of you avid readers about my own, personal, slightly skewed journey that led me to IME.
When I was in grade 11, my mother suggested that I become an English teacher, and I thought GREAT! An outlet where I could creatively write and read at the SAME TIME all while getting paid! (For all English teacher hopefuls creative writing and reading are not the only components out there FYI). So I applied to the U of L and I was accepted right away. And so began my journey at the University and I lived happily ever after...
...But not actually. My English course was a disaster, and I felt like a failure. This was supposed to be my major, THIS was something that I was supposed to be good at. So I switched my major to music and started taking my GLERs (General Liberal Education Requirements). When the audition for studio came around I completely dropped the ball and wasn't accepted. I felt confused, for the second semester in a row I had failed at something that I was supposed to be good at. So I decided to take the following year off.
On my year off I worked, and worked, and worked. I barely had time for anything and so my personal life took a step back while I focused on paying off the student loans I incurred from my singular year of studies. In January, one of the restaurants I worked at decided to get an Instagram to post pictures of the daily specials. This was something I got involved with right away as an AVID "Instagrammer". Posting and editing photos to entice customers to come and eat with us was something I really enjoyed. As I became more interested, I came to discover that these sorts of activities were related to a career in marketing. So I reapplied to the University of Lethbridge and got accepted once again.
Then it began, I took my first semester and although I struggled and had difficulty with multiple classes, for the first time I actually felt like I wanted to succeed and do well. For the first time since starting university I felt like I belonged to a program that was the right fit for me. In my second semester Mike Madore (the IME program director) came and visited my intro to marketing class and told us all about IME. I thought this was another great opportunity to get out there, get some experience, and give back to the community that I belong to. So naturally I signed up that evening.
So far we've received our groups and the social media assignments, and I could not be more excited to be running this website with my group. Later this week we start our first lecture and that's also pretty thrilling. I guess what I'm trying to say is that you can fail and switch and even screw up and still belong to something as cool, as interesting, as inclusive, and as useful as IME.
So don't worry, we'll keep you updated, but for now I'm going to sign off.
Sincerely,
Eleanor
A slightly confused, slightly disorganized, but VERY passionate marketing major