Well, well, well… my internship has come and gone and with that – so has my post-graduate program. 22 and finished a degree as well as a certificate program, leaves me to ponder this very insightful question… what the hell am I going to do now???

Recently I was a good friends +1 at a swanky industry party during TIFF. The two of us, dolled up to the nines, meandered around, cocktail in hand to find the 30somethings wondering – who were these powerhouse 20somethings without crows feet? While I flinched at the thought of mentioning the word “intern” (dun, dun, dunnnn) when asked what I did for a living, I slowly realized that my baby face may give it away. I stood beside my 26 year-old guest list go-getting girlfriend who is a standout at her age and is a complete mover and shaker in the media industry. And right there, while flipping through the glossy pages of LUSH magazine, I realized that being an intern ain’t half bad. We all need to start somewhere, so here is where I started getting my feet wet in the wading pool.

I started this blog to serve two purposes – 1) to fulfill a course requirement, and 2) to pass by time during my internship as I was told there would be a ton of downtime. PRivate PRactice initially was set-up to discuss issues in Public Relations (hence the PR in the title) as well as complete course assignments (see post on getting no satisfaction). What I have slowly learned is that my blog has expanded into a forum of my own personal thoughts as well as a more focused run down of the jumbled ideas in my head. I assumed my teacher would read – she was forced to – and possibly fellow classmates who were procrastinating working on client projects. To my jaw dropping surprise, I have found that many of my friends and family have tuned in to see what I write and leave comments or chat with me about topics that I have been so blunt about. Who knew that my wit and charm would attract so many! Yet, the course is done, and so is the internship…

So where do we go from here? Well first and foremost I am taking a break, not so much from blogging, but just from the PR world in general. Having attended school for 20 years without a break from work or the constant cry of 20 page papers, I am traveling and spending a little time on me. As for this blog, I will most likely continue to write about my feelings on branding and the business of Public Relations, but I will also include more of my personal thoughts just as I have recently. The title of this blog stemmed from a television show in which a woman independently starts a new chapter of her life in the corporate world after a turmoil break-up. Following in those same footsteps, I too have re-discovered a lot about who I am through this chapter which I am about to close. There have been growing pains, and pains resulting from 8:30 am classes; but the pay off has been reminiscent of a certain Britney Spears song – and to that I say let the next chapter begin.

So thank you for reading, and keep reading, because if you don’t… I will be rather disheartened!

In class today there was talk of branding yourself. No, not with a hot piece of metal. Creating a self brand – how do you describe you. While this may seem like an easy task, it is a daunting one that I will need to succumb to on Friday. Now, I will enjoy it once I wrap my head around it but really, this isn’t an easy thing

Describing yourself means admitting to flaws. We all have them, let’s not beat around the bush. Flaws make us who we are, but really, are we going to brand ourselves with all the bad? No. The key is to take those flaws, admit them and see where the have brought you in the number of years you have existed on this pretty planet. From there it should be easy to tell the person who you are, flaws and all, and focus on the goods.

Branding Piece 1: I am a lipstick feminist – no not a stripper – a woman who is a force to be reckoned with but still shaves her legs. Lipstick feminism doesn’t have to be about women who turn what society deems as degrading into empowering. It can also be women who are comfortable with being a head turner both in looks and in intellect.

That’s a piece of my brand, and really branding doesn’t have to be a label. I am not all of a sudden labeled as a lipstick feminist and that’s it. And by the way, it should be changed to Lipgloss Feminism, let’s keep up with the times shall we folks.

Branding Piece 2-1,000: I am reader, a sister, a conversationalist, an event planner, a professional cheerleader, a daughter, a writer, a dancer in both reality and in my underwear, an avid reality show junkie, a watcher of highly well written television programming, a sports enthusiast, an avid snooze pusher, a bop around singing in my car to music listener and so on and so forth. That makes up a brand, the many facets of you.

I guess the difficulty is pin-pointing it for the task at hand. How do you make a brand to be released into the world of PR if you are still defining the ‘you’ your brand is trying to define? As well, I may define myself in a different way than others may – branding me could be another form of judging me. Or better yet, judging others and labeling them in a whole new way.

As communicators we need to look at branding as a work in progress. Products change, and therefore brands change – we are hot commodities too! Our brands will continue to change and thats ok, just as long as we aren’t going under the hot metal, we should all be fine.

As for my brand… still working on a logo.