With Valentine’s Day just over a week ago, it reminded me how important relationships are in our lives. Whether your relationships are professional, romantic, or even just friendships … they are each important in their own way. Sometimes though, it is difficult to make time for everyone you want to fit into your life. That is when you need to examine your priorities to find out what matters most to you.
To begin, professional relationships are those that you make at events like the UW-Stevens Point Alumni Speed Networking event which I will attend this upcoming Tuesday. Many of the professional relationships that I have made led me to the variety of jobs that I have acquired. Recently, after contacting a past employer to request a sponsorship for our Boys & Girls Club’s annual Wine & Cheese event, they donated a large sum of money to sponsor our event. The surprise was that they had never been a supporter of our organization before. Needless to say, we were elated to receive such a generous donation. Many times, you must be willing to step out of your comfort zone to reach out to those around you. Networking is one of the most important things you could do to benefit your future career. You never know where these connections may lead you.
As for friendships, I have learned that as I grow closer to graduation, I realize how much I am going to miss the friendships that I have created while here at school. So to make the most of the time we have left, my roommates and I planned a fun night together where we were required to drop everything to spend time with each other. This night even included a fun photo shoot! Even though we all live in the same house, we hardly see each other besides a quick hello in the morning or good night before heading off to bed, so this was the perfect event to gather us all together in one place.
Finally, always look for a reason to celebrate relationships in your life. For my roommate’s birthday, we surprised her by inviting all our closest friends to show up at our apartment. They sang happy birthday to her, which put a huge smile on her face. This reminded me how important it is to show those around you how much you care because life is short. It will be gone before you know it, so don’t let it slip from your fingers. Celebrate and be thankful for all of those relationships that you have in your life.
-Brittany
Brittany Melby is a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point majoring in business administration and interior architecture.