"You're going to be a 'Party Planning- Weather Girl' when you grow up"

The title of this post was the prediction of a family friend, given to me when I was about ten years old. It was New Year's Eve and I was running around my house decorating, setting up food, and writing a schedule of games and activities to bring in the new year. I took my party planning job very seriously back then- way more seriously than any ten-year-old ever should. Aside from being a party planning prodigy at ten, I also was dead set on becoming a Weather Channel meteorologist, hence this family friend's career prediction. For as far back as I can remember, I was always glued to the Weather Channel and family members were always calling me to get the forecast (and I may or may not have went to 'Weather Camp' at Penn State when I was 13...so embarrassing!). Everything changed for me when I was a senior in high school- I realized that math and science were not my favorite subjects in the world and that I needed to be in a field were I could be creative and interact with people.

Sitting here now as a PR and political science major, it's funny to think back to my former aspirations. I still run into people who ask me, "When are we going to see you on TV?" or "You're still going to school for meteorology, right?". When I tell them what my major is, it gets even better. Reactions like, "Oh, that's nice. What is public relations?" or "What in the world can you do with that major?" are very common.

Although the switch from meteorology to PR seems like a strange jump, I like to think there are a few similarities between the two. The public relies heavily on both meteorologists and PR people to receive important information every day. They both also consist of a lot of behind-the-scenes work that sometimes goes unrecognized. Meteorologists aren't  just paid to look pretty on camera, they research and analyze everything that goes into their forecast. A PR person's role also gets confused by most people- they aren't party hopping BFFs to celebrities who don't have a brain. Most PR jobs aren't glamourous at all. It's writing, research, and strategic planning that make for good results. The biggest and most obvious similarity between meteorologists and PR pros are the horrible reputations that both have. Meteorologists are easy to hate- they say there's no chance of rain for your wedding day and it pours. Who are you angry at? The weatherman! PR pros have horrible nicknames- flacks, spin doctors, etc.  Both meteorologists and PR people seem untrustworthy and the public has no problem having a strong distaste for them.

So I didn't become the 'party planning weather girl' that I was destined to be. But you can garauntee that if I ever have to plan an event for a client in the future, I'll be sure to check the weather forecast well in advance and plan accordingly.