So unfortunately, I had to leave my internship due to a lack of funding. I don’t blame my company; they are a start-up trying to make their business work and costs needed to be cut. I am extremely grateful for the opportunity I was given because it helped establish my portfolio and expand my skills. I learned so much about social media and added skills to my resume that I didn’t even know existed.
So whats the moral of this story? I am a writer for hire! So hire me! Links to my professional and academic work are under the professional work tab and my resume has its own section too. If you like what you see, email or call me!
Author: Sarah Mitroff
Finding My Glamorous Self
Growing up, I never really struggled with body image. I was a very skinny child, preteen, and teen. Looking back at pictures, it is shocking how skinny I was. Never having to worry about my figure, I ate whatever I wanted. For years and years I rarely thought about if the food I was eating was fattening or high in calories.
That changed after I turned 21. Hormone changes, stress, and growing out of puberty changed my body figure and left me confused. I started gaining weight that I couldn’t get off; something that had never happened to me before.
At first, gaining this weight was fine. Actually it was more than just fine: it was great. I had always been teetering between being a “underweight” and “normal” BMI. Slowly I started to naturally fill out my figure and become curvy instead of stick-skinny. When I reached an ideal weight and body shape, I was happy. However, problems arose when I kept gaining weight past my “ideal”.
Right now I am healthy and well within my normal BMI range. However I still struggle with my body image. There are times where I think I look just fine, and times where I feel like I should be exercising and eating much better. Like many other women, I have days where I am happy with my body and days where I am just not.
Today, I decided to feel great about my body. The sun was out today in San Francisco and I got one of my favorite magazines in the mail. The beach was calling my name, so I decided to walk the 4 blocks to the ocean to lay out on the sand and read. I slipped on my new navy maxi dress, put a cute flower clip in my hair, and loaded up my beach bag with a blanket. It was such a lovely day; I laid out in the sun and watched the waves crash into the beach. I was surrounded by kite flyers, surfers, sun bathers, people walking their dogs in the surf and many other happy people.
Something amazing happened when I was laying on the beach: I felt glamorous. My maxi dress and curly hair swayed in wind, my pink toenails dug into the sand and I was so incredibly happy. I felt like someone right out of the magazine I was reading: well put together, stylish and beautiful.
It was such an amazing experience to sit on the beach and feel glamorous. I believe that every woman needs to have that same experience every day. So often, women are cruel to themselves. They criticize every part of their bodies; pointing out every perceived flaw in the mirror.
My advice to anyone out there who feels down about themselves: find what makes you feel glamorous. It doesn’t matter who you are, there is something that makes you feel like a million dollars. If it happens to be something material-a skirt, top, or necklace- then wear it! If it is a feature of your body, then play it up!
For me, glamour comes from embracing my curly hair and wearing clothes that I feel look great on me. Take it from someone who struggles with body image like any other women: find your own glamour and celebrate it.
Fisherman’s Wharf
Yesterday I have the pleasure of playing tourist with my friend Lauren. We decided to head to Fisherman’s Wharf to see what the tourists see.
We were blessed with amazing weather; sunny skies with a high of about 78°. Anyone who lives in San Francisco knows that this is a rarity. As we traveled on the Market and Wharves F street car, I had the chance to catch glimpses of the famous landmarks of San Francisco; Coit Tower, the Ferry Building, and Alcatraz. Looking out onto the Bay, you could see clear across to Berkeley, Sausalito, even Richmond. I began to appreciate my city more and more.
We rode the street car to Pier 39, the mecca of commercialized tourist attractions in Fisherman’s Wharf. Walking around Pier 39, the view of the Bay was spectacular. It felt like every cold, foggy and miserable day I’d experienced in San Francisco was melting away into a distant memory.
Lauren and I continued to wander through the Wharf, taking in the sights, sounds and the food! We made our way to the Musee Mecanique, an arcade of old-fashioned coin operated games. The arcade used to be at the Cliff House, at Land’s End in San Francisco, where I had visited it in my youth. It was very nostalgic to be there, knowing that my parents had played on those same games as a young couple when they lived in the City.
As the day went on, we visited more tourist spots; Ghiradelli Square, Hooters, and the souvenir shops. We took in the commercialized tourist attractions, right alongside the more historic landmarks.
Our last stop on our adventure was the famous Buena Vista Cafe, home of the Irish coffee. This bar had been on my list of places to go while living in the City, so I was happy to be able to visit it. We ordered Irish coffees (which were delicious) and admired the view of the Bay from the bar. At this point, it was early evening and we could see the fog slowly creeping in through the Golden Gate. It was a reminder that San Francisco’s true nature is to be foggy, even on the days we get warm and sunny weather.
To finish our adventure we took a cable car home. Out of all the passengers on the car, it is safe to say we were the only locals. The cable car couldn’t take us further than Washington St near Chinatown, so we walked the rest of the way down Powell. We began to enter our San Francisco reality, leaving our tourist day behind.
We eventually worked our way to a friend’s house near San Francisco State, the neighborhood where we spend so much of our time. We both remarked that this area of SF seemed worlds away from Fisherman’s Wharf; that it as if we had spent the day in a whole other city.
Our adventure to Fisherman’s Wharf to play tourist for the day renewed my love of San Francisco. As a local, the city can quickly become a frustrating, hectic place. The allure of the City can quickly become tarnished by terrible traffic, MUNI breakdowns, and cold, damp weather. Sometimes it is necessary for locals to move away from the unsavory parts of the City and see what the tourists see.
Thousands of tourists flood San Francisco every year; my trip to Fisherman’s Wharf helped me understand why.
Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
So today was a crazy weather day in San Francisco, we had a tornado just north of SF and a water spout (water tornado) just off Ocean Beach, just a few blocks from my apartment!
I stayed put today with the exception of going to class for an hour this morning at 9am.
When the weather is awful I tend to just stay home and bake. That’s exactly what I did today and I made Chocolate Chip Banana Bread, my latest obsession.
I have been making the recipe over the last several weeks because it is so delicious. I eat it for breakfast, as a snack or as dessert. Because I believe in sharing great recipes, below is the recipe. I originally got this recipe off the Internet and I modified it to my liking. Enjoy!
Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 to 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder (amount depends on your liking, optional but its a great addition)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 bananas, mashed (1 cup mashed banana)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup chocolate chips
1/4 to 1/2 chopped walnuts, or pecans (again amount and type of nut will depend on your liking, this can also be omitted completely if you don’t like nuts)
PREPARATION
Pre-heat the oven to 350°F .
Grease and flour a 8 1/2-inch x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan (or use baking spray, such as Baker’s Joy brand).
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, sugar, baking soda, salt and cinnamon powder. Add chocolate chips and walnuts or pecans.
In a separate medium bowl mix together the oil, bananas and eggs until well combined.
Pour wet mixture into bowl with dry ingredients. Using a large rubber spatula, fold wet mixture into dry mixture, being careful to not over-mix (combine wet and dry mixtures until dry ingredients are JUST incorporated). Pour into the prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, between 60-80 minutes. Cool the loaf in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out and cool completely, right side up.
This banana bread will keep for about 5-6 days stored at room temperate in an air tight container. In my apartment it really only lasts for 4 days because its that delicious.
If you are looking for more recipes, check out my food blog; The Petite Gourmet.
Tsunami
Its just after 1 am on March 11, 2011 and I am awake keeping tabs on the earthquake and tsunami situation from Japan. Everything that is happening is so sad and scary. San Francisco is currently under a Tsunami Warning, meaning that a Tsunami is imminent. My boyfriend and I live about 4 and a half blocks from the beach, so naturally we are quite concerned. It is likely that we will be just fine and won’t be too affected by the tsunami, but one can never be too careful.
I feel for everyone in Japan who has been affected by this disaster. My thoughts and prayers go out to all around the world affected by the earthquake and tsunami.
I will try to get sleep tonight, staying up all night won’t do me much good.
Good night, good luck, and be safe.
Sarah Mitroff 