Bonjour!

Hello, and welcome to my blog! I'm Aysha Malik and I'm a Mass Communications major at Shenandoah University. I'm not your conventional, doe-eyed girl. I'm not even currently using Times New Roman for this intro. This is Helvetica. I'm just breaking all the rules.  I'm fiercely driven, sarcastic, to-the-point, and as you can probably tell from my title, I want a career in Public Relations. I know it's a competitive field and there are tons of girls just like me who dream of the glitzy, glamourous life of a publicist. They've probably dreamt about it since they watched Sex in the City for the first time and saw Samantha Jones command the attention of every client/man with her unwavering confidence and swagger. Unfortunately, I was a little late on the jump.


I started college as a music therapy major. I loved it at first, seeing as my entire life up until that point was music and theater. I did not want to be a performer, but I did want a career where I would be surrounded by music. As soon as I got to college, everything changed. My newfound independence basically created a completely new Aysha. I became confident, fearless, and ready to start my life. I changed the way I looked, the way I spoke, and even the way I thought. These changes came naturally with the newfound freedom and new experiences. I was re-invented. Too bad I hated my major. It wasn't bad at first, but I definitely was not cut out to be a music student. It just didn't feel like the new me. I never thought of myself as a singer- I just thought I was someone who sang. The passion was gone, and for me that is a dealbreaker. So, I started my search for a new future...


...and found nothing. I made lists, I asked around- I even Googled! I could not find anything. I mean, you spend a year thinking your life is headed in one direction, and then life flips over, kicks you out of the moving vehicle and you suddenly find yourself in the middle of nowhere. I looked at celebrities like Kim Kardashian and wondered how someone made a business out of something so simple as a few body parts and a last name. I mean, it clearly worked for her! Who's to say it couldn't work for me?


It wasn't until a chance encounter with some old high school friends. We were talking, joking, the usual. Those friends were all aspiring performers and always had dreams of fame and being in the spotlight. I would think about how even in high school, how people's reputations defined them. How their images carried into every clique. How the power of gossip wasn't the worst thing in the world. It wasn't until a few days later where a family member said a simple sentence to me. "Aysha, you would be so good at PR!" The rest (sorry to be so cliche, but it's an intro blog- leave me be!) is history.


I looked into PR, and even through the vague Google descriptions I knew I found my calling. It wasn't like there was a list of traits of a PR girl and I had each one. Nope. What drew me in was the art of spin. I've been spinning stories as long as I can remember. Whether it was to teachers about why I failed a test, my mother about how awful my brother was to me (Sorry, famila) or my friends about the latest gossip in the 5th grade, spin is what I am good at. People are what I'm good at. I am fine with attention, but I have never felt like I was destined to be in the spotlight. However, I love putting other people in that light! I like talking people up and promoting them, in a way, even if its just for a school play casting. Words like image and star power just made sense to me. Frankly, I was never gifted academically but I have always known that I was blessed with fabulous social skills. And now I found a career where I feel all of my natural talents will be used.


Except for this little essay above, I don't want this to be a blog where I ramble about how great I am and tell you all my life story. I'm not going to sit here and convince you all why I'll be a great publicist. Nobody wants to read that. Trust me, no feelings are hurt there! The intro above was just to give you a taste of my writing style and how I think about thinks. A sneak peek, if you will. But, this blog will be my opinions on things I see in the media, random thoughts, ideas, and the like. I'm really excited about my future in PR, and I want to start diving in to it now while I'm still a student. I hope that some of you out there are aspiring PR practitioners as well, and hopefully we can swap stories and ideas. If not, that's cool too. Whatever floats your boat. 


I hope that this blog, if anything, even if you're not into PR as a profession, inspires you. I hope you see something that makes you stop and think. And maybe, if you're someone struggling to decide a major or career it'll spark an idea or thought. I think that a career should be something you enjoy. I think these days, people lack passion for what they do. I have never felt more passionate about anything like this, and it's pretty exciting. I hope that everyone feels the way I do about something. 


I am so excited to start blogging and sharing my thoughts with you all! It's a little scary and brand new for me, but I look forward to talking to some new people and hearing new ideas. I love hearing peoples' thoughts, so don't be a stranger! This blog is completely me. Uncut. Uncensored. No filter. 100% Aysha.


Here we go...


xxx