iNSPiRATiON

Thursday evening, I happened to check my e-mail and was notified that People Magazine's Jessica Herndon would be coming to my school to speak.

I grabbed my little red notebook {full of notes I've jotted down from encounters with fashion greats like Phillip Lim, Rachel Roy, Amy Astley & many more from my trip to Teen Vogue's "Fashion University" event this past Fall} along with an ink pen and rushed onto campus.

Jessica discussed her journey as a journalist and how she came to her esteemed position as a music writer for People magazine. As a former UC Riverside student, the bay area native knew that Los Angeles was the place to be to pursue her interest in entertainment. To get a jump start on her career aspirations, Jessica has interned & worked at various places, like that of MTV and Riverside's own Black Voice News. After finally landing at People Magazine, Jessica has covered countless concerts, attended a variety of listening parties, and is the red carpet go-to-girl for shows like MTV's VMAs, the Grammys, and the American Music Awards. She has interviewed some of my favorite celebs of the entertainment world like Victoria & David Beckham, Beyonce, Jay-Z, Chris Brown, Ne-yo, Will & Jada, Rihanna, Mary J. Blige, Keyshia Cole, and LL Cool J. The list of her accomplishments and celeb encounters goes on and on and on! lol

Jessica was a HUGE help to me in really putting into perspective where I want to be in the future and she exemplifies that at the dull, boring, and uneventful world of UC Riverside, there is hope beyond the belltower! :)

{I can kick myself for not bringing my camera with me to snap a flick of Jessica & myself, buuuut I didn't :/ }