Note from the Editor…or rather: Passion from the Editor

Note from the Editor…or rather: Passion from the Editor

I study Glamour, Vogue, Elle, Bazaar…and “The Beat Goes On.”  I scan the sale racks at every department store; I meander through photos, websites, vintage stores, and celebrity media.  What is it that I am looking for?  My passion: FASHION.

Some people like to fish, others enjoy crafts...I enjoy Fashion. I am not one of those people who say they love “fashion” when they really just love to shop and spend money. Of course I love to shop and spend money, but I live and breathe fashion. I love everything about it, really.  I like the mix of prints, the play on patterns, the cut of a shirt, the accessories and color that can make or break an ensemble.

Yeah, I love a lot of things. After all, I am an editor.  I love editing the diverse content we publish here at Olympia Media Group.  I adore writing; it allows me to clear my mind.  As for sports, I have done it all.  I have played basketball, volleyball, golf, tennis, swim team, dive team, soccer, gymnastics, figure skating…(my mom was a busy mom, allowing me to overachieve).  All in all, I am a dancer. My mom taught ballet in our basement, and I started at the age of two.

This is all beside the point though.  We all have passions. We all have dreams.  We all have experience…whether we think it is relative or not. We all have goals…or lack thereof.  I went from activity to activity as a child…meaning I learned to multi-task and prioritize early on in life.  I had to decide what was truly important in my life and what I was truly passionate about.

Now there are passion hobbies, and passion professions.  I am passionate about writing, media, and my career in general.  I am also passionate about dance, health, socializing, cooking, and of course FASHION.  Why live in a world where we have to choose one over the other?  There is no time for that.  Pursue all at once, mix up all your interests, and take and pick what works.  I am not going to lie; I adore getting articles in about fashion. 

What I am saying is: let yourself be passionate about everything you were before you got into the workforce.  Just because you played soccer all through high school and now work in a corporate setting, doesn’t mean you can’t play intramural soccer…or coach a league. Yeah, I get it. We are all busy.  However, if you take a second to think about what is truly important in your life and what is important, you will make time for what you are passionate about.  Bring out the inner you and what makes you happy. Cheers my friend, to another new year with endless opportunities.

XOXO,

K

What You're Not Doing That You Should Be

At the ripe old age of 24, I’m the oldest person on the executive team at Olympia Media Group.  I’m also one of the few people working for this company that has had any prior post-college work experience.  And, what I’ve realized since joining the team last summer is that it would benefit a lot of companies if they took a page from our playbook.  When I say that, do I mean that they should start a company in the middle of an industry that is “dying,” hire a handful of 22-24 year olds to run separate divisions of that company, set up shop in a bagel factory in the middle of a sweltering Indiana summer with no air conditioning, blast mashups and 80’s music throughout the office on a daily basis, throw all political correctness out the window, and allow starting a weekend pre-game at the office because there’s a lot of work to do but also a lot of playing to do?  Kind of, but not exactly.

The reason that we do all of these things isn’t because there’s some overwhelming reason to do them, it’s because there isn’t an overwhelming reason not to do them.  Call it genius, or call it being “kids” that have decided to jump in and then learn how to swim because we’re too impatient to do it the other way around, but we are constantly asking ourselves why we’re doing what we’re doing, and why we aren’t implementing a new idea that we came up with while sitting around a wobbly card table in an old factory.

We constantly ask ourselves “Why? ” and “Why not?” because we know that there are only 2 outcomes: we either confirm that the way we’re doing something is the best way for us to do it, or we deciding that there is a better way to do it, and quickly make that change.  Knowing what I know now, I would venture to guess that most companies don’t ask themselves these questions often enough because they don’t like the answers that they know they’ll come up with.  Companies grow, and companies develop systems and processes, but if they don’t constantly ask themselves why they’re doing things a certain way, how they can do those things better, and most importantly encourage every employee to subscribe to this philosophy, they might grow, slowly… but in this rapidly changing, innovation-driven economy, it’s more than likely that they’re going nowhere, fast.

Jordan Roraus, Regional Sales Manager

A Unique Blend of Form and Function

Innovation is not a suggestion here but to us it's a state of mind.  As a young graduate from Ball State University in 2008, I realize a blank canvas stands in front of me waiting to foreshadow future endeavors with imagination and brilliance.  As I continue to grow with what is projected to be a multi-million dollar company and make a name for myself and my colleagues, I see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Being within a team environment where the average age is around 23, shows that we all have high ambition along with high expectations for one another.  We rely on our colleagues to produce high quality and high quantity work to support our name....and that alone is worth all the hard work and time invested.  Why a unique blend of form & function?  Our team works to get the job done, no matter the circumstances.  But, we also choose to do so, in a well balanced and structured agenda.  

We aren't your average black and white newspaper, we bring color and vibrance to a slowly failing print concept.  We have something to prove and we show it.  Around here we laugh in the face of impossible.  You may hear rumors about print dying, but we are looking to revamp what is already a popular concept.  While dealing with new & existing clientele, you realize how much impact you actually have on there overall appearance.  As a Graphic Artist I want to be able to showoff as much as possible and give clients a look they can be proud of.  

At Olympia Media Group, I have the opportunity to use my wide array of graphic capabilities.    Between designing ads, layouts and illustrating I stay busy yet content with our progress as a team.  This company is growing rapidly and I am excited to be a part of it.  There is always a chance to make an impression....why not do it with The Odyssey?!

"Never let your fear of striking out keep you from playing the game."

Clay Rebber, Designer