Stephanie Verni's Blog, page 63

Sharing Something Sweet: A Reward That Comes From Teaching

Yesterday, I popped onto my Instagram feed to take a peek at what was going on when I came across this:

The Instagram post was written by a former student who was also one of the co-presidents of our public relations club that I advise and someone I mentored during her college years. During that time and afterwards, we became friends.

I am always so touched when someone takes the time to write something heartwarming like this. It’s the best reward one can get from being a teacher.

I am full of gratitude, and it brought a tear to my eye. It means the world to me.

Thank you so much, Rachel, for your very kind words, and for allowing me to share this on my blog. And I’m so proud of the journey you’ve taken into the world of higher education where you are now making a big difference in the lives of students, too.

xx |

Stephanie Verni is the author of Baseball Girl, Beneath the Mimosa Tree, and the co-author of Event Planning: Communicating Theory and Practice.

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Filed under: On Life Tagged: Baseball Girl, gratitude, rewards, students, Teachers, Teaching, thankfulness, writing, writing fiction

Don’t Put Limitations on Yourself: Inspiration to Achieve the Goals You Set for Yourself

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Writer and director James Cameron (Titantic, Avatar, and the Terminator) says it best at the end of his Ted Talk on Ted.com:

Don’t put limitations on yourself; other people will do that for you.

I typically show this Ted Talk to my university feature writing students each fall after they read a piece about the iconic director. We discuss the profile article, the writing style, the use of feature techniques, and then we talk about James Cameron—as he is portrayed in the article.

You see, when you read an article about someone, it’s from that one person’s perspective. And sometimes, he or she doesn’t get all the details, facts, and nuances correct from that interview process. Nevertheless, we walk away with a portrait of James Cameron that seems rather different from the Cameron we see in the Ted Talk. (Hence, the reason why I tend to show it in class—to see two perspectives.)

But what Cameron says at the end, that we shouldn’t put limitations on ourselves because other people do that for us, is so very true. The world is competitive, and sometimes all we need to do is focus on our goals and make plans to achieve them. As soon as we begin to doubt ourselves or decide that we cannot do something, we’ve limited ourselves.

For example, this strategy doesn’t just apply to professional goals. It can apply to personal goals…little goals that you set for yourself such as improving your exercise routine, bettering your eating habits, or losing weight altogether are fully within your own control. For me it was all three. For a while now, I’ve battled weight issues as I’ve watched it go up and down, and finally, I decided to do something about it. The bottom line is this: prior to this summer, I didn’t take the time to make it a priority in my life. I put others first. I put work first. I put writing first. I compromised my own health because I didn’t think it was important enough and I thought it couldn’t be done.

If I can do it, you can too.

As of this writing, I have lost 20 pounds this summer, and I continue to work at it. When the semester begins, I won’t stop the practices I’ve put into place that are working because it’s important to me now and I’m reaching goals. I still have more to go, and the drive to succeed has now exceeded the limitations I put on myself.

The same is true for any goal you want to accomplish. Another example I can share with you is writing my third novel, a passion I have had since I was a teenager. I wanted to complete the writing of it this summer, and the draft is done. I have moved on to the editing phase and hope to publish this contemporary romance/women’s fiction novel in the fall.

I’m sharing all of this because I know you can do it, too.

Don’t put limitations on yourself.

You owe it to yourself to set goals and achieve exactly what you want to achieve.

Editing my novel…outside in the sun.

xx |

Stephanie Verni is the author of Baseball Girl, Beneath the Mimosa Tree, and the co-author of Event Planning: Communicating Theory and Practice.

Filed under: On Life Tagged: achieving goals, don't put limitations on yourself, goals, inspiration, James Cameron, novel writing, Setting goals, Ted Talk, weight loss, winning, you can do it

A Little Fairy Magic … and Imagination

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Mystical fairies looking after us, guiding us, keeping watch over us—it’s not a bad idea, really. We could all use a fairy godmother or godfather every once in a while. Think about how many of us wish Harry was real and there was a place called Hogwarts; why not want to cling to the idea of fantasy? Sometimes the fantastical life is far more interesting and engaging than real life. At least, I think so sometimes, which is why I make up characters and stories and plot lines and write fiction. It’s just so much more fun to believe, I think. My husband and father think the idea of ghosts are just ridiculous, but I say…why not believe in them? And if you refuse to believe in them in real life, at least humor them in fiction.

The little fairy garden my daughter and I created a few months back is thriving. We put plants in the container, and they have taken off. I had to clip them back today because they were growing all over the space. And in this minute, magical, mystical, marvelous, mysterious fairy garden, you never know what happens when we turn our backs, or why the frog leaped off the lily pad. Who knows what they get up to in the middle of the night in there?

That, my friends, is called having an imagination. It’s called being creative. Do you think J.K. Rowling could have invented that amazing Harry Potter series had she not had one? Do you think Steve Jobs would have built the empire he built without utilizing his imagination and creativity? What would Einstein have done without his unique ability to think creatively in any situation? Would any author write if he or she were lacking in imagination? Would songwriters succeed if they didn’t listen to the music that came to them as they created it?

I encourage my daughter to have an imagination, whether it comes in the form of this little fairy garden we grow or in the articles and stories and music I encourage her to write.

Using your imagination…inside and outside the garden…is an important key to life.

 

xx |

Stephanie Verni is the author of Baseball Girl, Beneath the Mimosa Tree, and the co-author of Event Planning: Communicating Theory and Practice.

Filed under: On Life Tagged: Albert Einstein, Creativity, dream big, fairies, Fairy Garden, fairy godmother, immagination, J.K. Rowling, mystical fairies, Steve Jobs

Reconnecting with My Passion for Fashion

Getting a little crazy with color as I try to withdraw from so much black in my wardrobe. This dress is from Boden.

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Ever since I was a teenager, I’ve loved fashion. About 10 years ago now, I loved it so much, I decided to become a certified fashion consultant. At the time, I taught one communication course at Stevenson University as an adjunct professor. My children were small, and it was something that got me out of the house one morning on the weekend.

I enrolled in a weekend-long intensive course in Virginia and became a local version of “Stacy London” of What Not to Wear fame. I would help women, mostly young moms who were returning to work, rebuild their professional wardrobes. I went in people’s closets and dissected their clothes, and then built a shopping list for them. And then, we would shop together.

It was fun for a while, but when it became work, I began to dislike it. My passion wasn’t fun anymore. Fortunately, a full-time position opened at Stevenson for a communication faculty member, and I was lucky enough to get the job. I put my fashion consulting days behind me after a couple of years. However, the tips I learned about dressing my own body type, along with other body types, helps me as I select clothes that best work for my curvy, petite stature.

While I may have burned out a little, I’m back to rebuilding my closet bit by bit, as I have mentioned in some earlier posts. It’s been fun to rekindle my love for clothes, shoes, bags, and jewelry.

While I may be a professor and a writer, I will readily admit to being a bit obsessed with staying fashionable and trendy. I may have another big birthday looming, but I’m more determined than ever to start the school year out on a super-stylish note.

I may not be Forever 21, but this dress is.

 

Date night dress: Nordstrom
Dress: Boden
Skirt and Blouse: Loft
Filed under: On Life Tagged: clothes shopping, Fashion, fashion consultant, fashionable, passion for fashion, petite frame, professor, Stevenson University, stylish, trendy

How ‘Call The Midwife’ Helps Us Better Understand Female Friendships

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PBS offers a lot of great programming, and I’ve been delighted with several shows that have become my favorites, from Downton Abbey to Mr. Selfridge to Grantchester; the writing, sets, plot lines, and characters keep me coming back. One show that is a must-see for women is Call the Midwife, now in its 5th season, that focuses on the nuns and midwives of Poplar, East London, and their struggles and triumphs. The show is based on the memoir by Jennifer Worth.

I’ve said it from the beginning: the thing I like best about the show is it focuses on  women’s friendships, the sincerity of them, and what makes and sustains them. The relationships highlight the support and love the women offer each other; the pure acceptance of each other and their mistakes, failures, and successes; and the notion that women are not afraid to go out on a limb and let the other know that love means acceptance of who you are as a person.

Friendships between women sometimes come easily. At other times, friendships are tested. This show proves that the underlying success of friendships is the withholding of judgment. Tender, honest, loving relationships between women are constantly evolving; and whether that evolution proves to strengthen a friendship or nullify one, the lessons we learn from Call the Midwife help us understand that it’s often a misjudgment that can kill a friendship.

Unless you have actually walked in your friend’s shoes or know the full scope and complete background of someone’s life, you honestly have no idea what her situation is—for better or for worse. That’s my takeaway from the show. More love, less judgment. It seems to work in fiction. If we examine the friendships portrayed on the show carefully, maybe those lessons have a chance to resonate in real life.

xx |

Stephanie Verni is the author of Baseball Girl, Beneath the Mimosa Tree, and the co-author of Event Planning: Communicating Theory and Practice.

 

Filed under: On Life Tagged: acceptance, Call the MIdwife, female friendships, fiction, judgment, love, PBS, women, women and friendship

What It Feels Like to Finish Writing a Novel

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Well, friends, I’m coming down the home stretch. By next week, my novel will be written, if it does not happen sooner than that. People have asked me this question: what does it feel like to finish a novel?

As this will be the third one I have published, it feels a little like saying goodbye.

What I mean by that is you live and breathe the characters and their situations for so long, that when you’re done writing their story, their story is over, and you have to say farewell.

The creative process of actually building and telling the story is my absolute favorite part of novel writing. Rewriting, reworking, and all the marketing are certainly not my favorite aspects. As you develop your work of fiction, you are permitted to live vicariously through your characters and the plot; you imagine their paths, conversations, and hardships, and you allow them to develop and change for your reader. There is never a point in my writing when I don’t think about the reader. The reader is always at the forefront of my mind with regard to this craft. I never want to disappoint, and if I do, I promise you, it is not intentional.

As I begin to write the final two chapters of this book, knowing full well how it will proceed and how it will end, a sense of melancholy comes along with it.

I’m still on track for a September delivery, and I intend to keep my promise.

And so, in the end, when people ask me what it feels like to finish a novel, I can only respond this way: it feels as if another part of you is set free, which is wonderful, but it also feels a great deal like saying goodbye to something you love.

xx |

Stephanie Verni is the author of Baseball Girl, Beneath the Mimosa Tree, and the co-author of Event Planning: Communicating Theory and Practice.

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Filed under: On Life Tagged: authors, Creative Writing, developing your novel, fiction, novel writing, saying goodbye, writers, writing, writing as a craft, writing fiction

Summer is Great, But Autumn is My Favorite

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I’ve already begun to look at the fall fashion trends, and two days ago I bought two new pairs of boots at the outlets in Queenstown, Maryland. Don’t get me wrong—I’m not wishing summer away or anything, but Fall has always been my favorite season.

As someone who is not a huge fan of humidity, I look forward to the autumn air that’s cool and crisp in the mornings. I love watching the leaves change colors. And, I love the look of fall clothing. Boots are my absolute favorite. I pretty much wear them from October 1 all the way through April (especially last year when April, and even May, were stunningly cool).

Elle magazine has posted its take on the Fall 2016 trends, which I’ve linked to here. Simply click to see what that publication is predicting. Some of it looks pretty fantastic—and romantic.

Some of my favorite fashion inspiration photos are below, and my singular goal again this year is to diversify my bland fall and winter wardrobe and add more color to it. Care to join me?

Photo credit: blog.boden.com

Photo credit: Bodenusa.com
Photo credit: Anthropologie.com
Filed under: On Life Tagged: Anthropologie, autumn, Boden, fall air, Fall Fashion, Fashion, humidity, wardrobe with color

Back at Camden Yards, Pangs of Nostalgia and Thankfulness

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This morning I took a ride to Camden Yards. It was surreal—like going back in time to the commute I did for many years from 1992 through 1998 when I was a full-time employee of the ballclub. (Prior to that, beginning in 1985, I commuted to old Memorial Stadium). I had to pick up something from our friend Mark at the Orioles offices for my son’s birthday. On my drive in, as I am often capable of doing, I became nostalgic remembering old times. I also got to thinking about how that job of working for the Orioles completely transformed my life. And I don’t write that lightly. It seriously did transform my life as I’ve written about several times before here on the blog.

What it also did was to inform my current job—that of professor of business communication at Stevenson University. Being able to talk about my experiences working in several different departments, including public relations, community relations, publishing, and Orioles productions gave me such a foundation of knowledge, that today, when I am in the classroom, I still use work experiences to illustrate points we learn in the textbooks we read. That added working knowledge I bring to the table helps me be a better teacher. Additionally, since I love to tell stories, it also gives me a lot of fodder; and trust me, I don’t hold back. Sharing the good experiences along with the bad helps my students understand concepts and theories they are studying. And finally, that job working in baseball also helped inform my writing of Baseball Girl, the fictional novel I published last year about life working in professional baseball, which of course, was loosely based on my own life and experiences working in the sport.

My year working for The Baltimore Sun was not an easy one, but I certainly learned a lot from it. The two years following that when I owned and operated my own consulting business taught me even more about responsibility and ownership and making the client happy. And many of those clients I worked with because I had connections to them from my days at the Orioles.

I don’t know if it’s because there’s been a lot of turmoil in the world and country lately or because I see a lot of vitriolic hate and vehement opinions on world and political events on Facebook (of which I will take no part in; you will never see me talk politics either here on the blog or on my Facebook page, because, truthfully, no one wants my opinion, and likewise, I don’t care to hear anyone else’s either), but I woke up feeling nothing but thankful this morning. I’ve been very fortunate in my life. I’ve worked hard to make a difference in each career in which I’ve had the opportunity to engage. My work experiences have helped inform my teaching, and I’ll forever be grateful for those teachable moments that help me provide my own teachable moments to our wonderful students.

And that’s today’s bit of Monday Morning Nostalgia, brought to you by a sentimental, sappy fool.[image error]

xx |

Stephanie Verni is the author of Baseball Girl, Beneath the Mimosa Tree, and the co-author of Event Planning: Communicating Theory and Practice.

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Filed under: On Life Tagged: Baltimore Orioles, Baseball, Baseball Girl, Major League Baseball, Nostalgia, novel writing, Orioles, Orioles Park at Camden Yards, Stevenson University, Teaching, teaching experiences, work experiences, working in baseball, writing about baseball

Why We Love “Follow Your Dream” Stories

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Last night, while on vacation in Hilton Head, our waiter, Michael, still with a heavy accent originally from Queens, NY, told us how he came to live on the island. “I was working in construction, and in 1991, Hilton Head was booming. After vacationing here, I packed up my stuff, moved, and did pretty well here. And, I’m still here all these years later.”

We all love these types of stories—stories of people who just decide to follow their dream. A former student of mine, Jen, just recently decided to make a move to Florida. She got a job and has left Maryland for the Sunshine State. Another former student of mine, Shane, packed up his car, Steve, and headed for California. You have to give them credit. They can visualize what they want to do and where they want to be.

We admire these types of people who just follow an impulse, dream, idea and just do it. So often we say, “When this happens, I’ll do it…” or “When I get older,” but really, the time is now, as these folks have proven is the case.

I remember reading a story in a magazine years ago about a husband and wife who were both important, high-earning Wall Street executives. They both quit their jobs, moved to a sea town in New Jersey, and opened a small store. This story has always stuck with me; they found a cute house, fixed it up, and lived happily ever after in their small town.

When you consider the rat-race of life sometimes, simplifying seems quite appealing. But the ultimate endeavor for us all is to follow our dreams, even if some people may not see or understand our own personal goals and how they relate to our dreams. If we’re lucky, like the couple I mentioned above, our dreams may coincide.

We love “follow your dreams” stories because we all wish we had the courage or the means to do it. They are our dreams, after all.

 

 

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Filed under: On Life Tagged: courage, do what you love, Dreams, follow your dreams, follow your dreams stories, follow your heart, go for it

Savannah in Pictures

Savannah City Hall

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Let’s get the first thing out of the way: Yes, Savannah in June and July is H-O-T. To my fellow Marylanders: the humidity in our area ain’t nothing compared to the humidity in the South. It blows ours away. If your hair is anything like mine, you can count on it being out of control during a summer tour of Savannah, Georgia. In fact, one hair stylist, upon seeing the condition of my hair, recommended that I get a Brazilian blowout.

Speaking of tours, we thoroughly enjoyed our two-hour walking tour with Savannah Dan. He’s theatrical and full of knowledge about the history of his city. You’ll learn all about the squares, the ghosts of Savannah, and why The Olde Pink House is pink (yes, there’s a story there). We enjoyed a tour of the Owens-Thomas House with a lovely docent from the U.K.

Savannah Dan

The highlight of our daughter’s visit to Savannah was playing the piano in the piano bar at The Olde Pink House. In between the pianist’s sets, my daughter was invited to play the piano—and she received a big applause from the crowd and lots of encouragement from the musicians in the place. It was a real thrill for her, and one she won’t soon forget.

As far as the food goes, you will not be disappointed. Savannah was ranked one of the Top 17 cities for food by Zagat in 2015. You won’t want to miss out on some good old fashioned cheesy shrimp and grits, and Leopold’s Ice Cream was ranked in the Top 5 in the world by the Tribune Media Service.

The streets are charming, as you will see in my photographs. If you enjoy touring tree-lined streets with Spanish moss, a beautiful, historic waterfront, and picturesque park squares filled with American history, Savannah just may be your next destination.

I’ll stop writing now and just show you SAVANNAH IN PICTURES.

 

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Filed under: On Life Tagged: Cities of America, Georgia, Leopold's Ice Cream, old South, Savannah, Savannah Dan, southern charm, southern city, southern living, The Olde Pink House, The Owens-Thomas House, travel, Travel writing