What a Long Strange Trip It’s Been

Photo by Allyson Paynter

I started this blog in February 2008. I was taking the year off due to sickness. In my buckets of free time, I worked on this project, in hopes of making myself feel more prepared for college. I started college that September.

I’ve always referred to my college as College X, located in City X. Well, if you really want to know, I took Journalism at Holland College in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. At the end of the two year program, I knew I didn’t want to work in a newspaper office. News reporting is way too stressful for me and there were only a few times I actually cared about the subject matter of the story I was working so hard to get right.

So, I went back to school for one more year in September 2010 to take Interactive Multimedia, again at Holland College. My tiny class consisted of 7 students and one amazing instructor. It was one of the best, busiest years of my life. I graduated with an average of 91.5% and knew it was a better field for me almost immediately. Before graduation, I had my business registered. I am now a freelance web and graphic designer.

Hopefully some day I’ll have a studio outside of my apartment but for now, Athena Studios is a one-woman show with lots of stuff to do.

(The lovely photo above is me on the night of my graduation.)

So. What now? I think it’s time I stop blogging on Kill Jill Goes to College for good. Not that this blog has been alive for a long time. But I’m done with college. My life has changed so much since I started this blog. For one, I love color! I’m not a little emo kid anymore (although I still worship Death Cab For Cutie). I lived in a lovely old house for the first semester this year and was evicted (the owner sold the house 6 months into our lease). I moved into an apartment, believing it to be a temporary arrangement- and now, on Monday, I’m signing a lease on that apartment for a year. Yay!

Below are a few words of wisdom I learned, all on my own:

• If your part-time job is effecting your school work and if you can at all afford to quit, let it go. It isn’t worth it.
• Use your student ID to get discounts on as many things as you can, while you can.
• Keep your friends from past years at school. There are reasons you became friends in the first place. Don’t forget about them, just because you don’t see them very often.
• Start networking while you’re still in school. To be honest, I do most of my best networking on Twitter. And last, but not least…
• Don’t let the idea of a long distance relationship scare you off. You might just miss out on something amazing. (That’s right, kids. Kill Jill found her Kill Jack.)

That’s all for me, ladies and gents. Always say please and thank-you, wash behind your ears and be kind to one another.

Kill Jill… out!