As I mentioned last week, I’m participating in a fun survey as a way to let my readers get to know me a little better. Each week I will answer four questions.

This week’s question is Four jobs I have had. Most of my jobs have been administrative, which is one reason I decided that it was time to graduate school; I was having a hard time moving up. So anyway, here are my last four jobs.

Graduate Assistant: As my current job, I’m a graduate research assistant for one of my favorite professors in my MPH program. This mostly consists of helping my professor with research, literature reviews, data entry, etc. One of my favorite tasks has been going to the state department of public health and reviewing every county’s community health assessment to find out what issues are considered a  priority in each individual county. It was  very interesting to see how each area prioritized health issues like cancer, diabetes, and obesity.

Communications Assistant: For three years I was the administrative assistant for the communications department of an international nonprofit organization that worked for women’s health and rights. It was my most favorite job by far because I learned so much about an area I’m incredibly passionate about.  This is where I had difficulties advancing because I didn’t have an advanced degree so I decided to go to graduate school to get my Master of Public Health so I could continue my career trajectory in women’s health.

Administrative Assistant: Prior to working for a nonprofit, I worked in community mental health. My Bachelor’s degree is in Psychology which is an incredibly broad field. This was something I both loved and hated. I loved it because I could do just about anything. I hate it because I could do just about anything! I decided after undergrad that I would work for a while to get an idea of where I wanted to go next, and that’s how I ended up as the admin assistant for a specialized program working with high-functioning adults with mental illness. It was a great learning experience because I found out that I didn’t want to be a Psychologist/Psychiatrist as I had originally thought.

Health Center Assistant: My very first job out of undergrad was working in a women’s health clinic, checking in/out patients, doing patient work-ups (i.e. blood pressure, height, weight, etc.), and my favorite (yet least utilized) duty was discussing birth control options with patients. I was only at this job for a few months because they asked me to learn how to draw blood and administer shots and I just wasn’t comfortable with that. I didn’t go to nursing school for a reason!

What jobs have you had? Have you ever felt stuck, and what did you do to overcome it?

The lovely Brynn of BrynnAsh has taken me back to my middle school/early high schools days by participating in a weekly survey on her blog. I say this takes me back because I grew up in a time way before social media and email was *THE* way to communicate with friends, so my girlfriends and I would always chain email each other with completed surveys that always asked the same questions and we always gave the same responses but, for some reason, it was the most fun thing ever. (Tweens, amirite?!) So, anyway, I liked her idea and have decided to participate… for old times’ sake, if you will. As she noted in her post, other bloggers have answered all of the questions at once, but I’ll follow her lead and answer one or two each Friday for the next couple of weeks. It feels like a good way to get to know me a little better.

And if you’re not reading Brynn’s blog, then you’re really missing out. Get over there and read it; she’s pretty awesome!

Selfie!

So, the first Friday Four question is: Four names that people call me, other than my real name:

Nikki. S0, I know that’s technically by name BUT I often go by my middle name, Nicole, at school and work and there are very few people that ever call me by my first name.  My friends and family have called me Nikki from day one, but it’s not the name on my birth certificate so it counts 😉

Snickerdoodles. This was my high school softball nickname and I loved it. During games, it was often shortened to Snickers (like the candy bar – even though I didn’t eat snicker doodle cookies or snickers candy bars very often) and I even have an old jersey with “SNICKER” across the back.  That nickname went away after high school, though, so it probably doesn’t really count being on this list.

Crewsinator. This is a newer nickname that my friend from my school program calls me. Interestingly, she and I are from the same hometown and went to the same high school, but we’re 5 years apart so we never knew each other back then. We connected in our MPH program and I love this girl; she’s so much like myself that it’s almost scary! Anyway, she calls me Crewsinator as a play on my last name and the terminator because I’m tough as shit. True story.

Mrs. Castillo. I’m including this one because it’s how some of our older family members address letters/cards/etc. to me, even though I didn’t change my last name when Nick and I got married. I don’t know who Nikki Castillo is, but she doesn’t live in my house!

Do you have any cool or fun nicknames that you go by?

I don’t consider myself to be very artistic or creative. In fact, I was a very late to use Instagram because I didn’t feel creative enough to use it, but sometimes I surprise myself and take photos that turn out kind of nice. These are the best/my favorite Instagram photos that I took last year. Not only are these somewhat artistic, but most of them just give you a little glimpse into my life. Some of them I may have already posted so I apologize if you’re seeing them again but I do hope you enjoy!

Snow falling outside of my kitchen window.

Snow in the back yard.

The perfect Valentine’s date night includes ice cream.

Wild onions in the spring time.

Coffee!

Enjoying a sunny day in the hammock.

A beautiful night out.

Flowers on the beach.

My furbabies.

I really enjoy exploring old, beautiful, and peaceful cemeteries.

My gifts reflect my lifestyle: cooking, clothes, reading, and coffee!

Nick made me a sign for my birthday!

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5  / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11/ 12 / 13 / 14 / 15

Happy 30th Birthday to me! I can’t believe I’ve finally hit the big 3-0, but here it is. I don’t really feel that much older, and I just asked Nick the other night what he thought it meant to “feel like an adult.” We still haven’t figured it out yet 😉 On the agenda today is fun birthday activities like manicures/pedicures, some shopping, and a fancy dinner tonight. I can’t wait!

I’ve been blogging long enough now that I can participate in a year in review so I decided to do it on my birthday, which just happens to be the last day of the year. So, most people would choose their favorite outfit from each month, but I decided to choose my favorites based on either how much I liked it or how often I wore it (which are often positively correlated). Looking back, I see that I wore rolled denim and scarves a lot, which tells me that I’ve learned how to do casual pretty well. In May, I will graduate from grad school, rejoin the workforce (*fingers crossed* that it won’t take too long), and can show my very-neglected pencil skirts some love! Until then, here are my 15 favorite outfits from this year.

Original Post 1: It was one of the coldest days we experienced in NC.

Original post 2: The secret to wearing maxis in the winter is ankle boots!

Original post 3: Figuring out how to dress casually as a graduate student.

Original post 4: What I wore on the first day of my summer internship.

Original post 5: The perfect backyard barbeque outfit.

Original post 6: Wearing sweaters in the summer because of office air conditioning.

Original post 7: I’m hoping utility vests never go out of style.

Original post 8: Sunday Brunch after my best friend’s wedding.

Original post 9: A short girl wears a midi skirt and it actually looks good!

Original post 10: Loving the plum/turquoise combo in my new favorite outfit.

Original post 11: I love wearing Halloween colors together, and I got a TON of compliments on this blazer.

Original post 12 : This outfit has all of my autumn favorites: the colors, the stripes, and leopard print.

Original post 13: Date night outfit that got the most wear while watching a movie on my couch!

Original Post 14: The outfit that made me look like I stepped straight off of a Pinterest board.

Original post 15: Holiday sequins that are perfect for any holiday or New Year’s Eve party.

I’m looking forward to 2015. I hope everyone has a happy New Year full of love and fun and whatever else you desire!

Linking up with The Pleated Poppy

Nick’s coworkers had a holiday party earlier this month, and this is what I wore. With the sequins and the coated denim (that kind of look like leather pants) this outfit would be perfect for New Year’s Eve, or as I like to call it, MY BIRTHDAY! 🙂 For the past few years, I’ve hosted a birthday party for NYE/my birthday. I haven’t decided what I’m going to wear for this year’s party but this outfit is definitely on the list.

Here’s the almost-blooper: I don’t know that I really consider it a blooper because I smile like this all the time! It’s just my face 😉

Blazer: Banana Republic | Sequin Tank: Old Navy | Coated Denim Jeans: Banana Republic | Shoes: Christian Siriano for Payless | Earrings: Old Navy | Clutch: really old, I have no idea where I got it!

Linking up with Walking in Memphis in High Heels | InDUFFinitely Me