Introducing myself and my journal: New York City Living

About Me:
Hi! I'm Olivia, and I'm a 23 year old woman who has been living in New York City for the past 2 years. I'm originally from a small town in an affluent part of Connecticut, but I moved down south to North Carolina to attend college at Wake Forest University. While I enjoyed my time in the south very much, I ended up missing the northeast - and especially New York City - very, very much! So, I moved back after graduation and have been working in marketing at an international law firm for the past two years. I love this city, and I love that I'm only about an hour away from my family in CT. I live with my best friend, Lizzy, who I've known since high school, and we have a wonderful time enjoying the city together. I have a wonderful, supportive, loving boyfriend named Matthew that I have been dating for a little over a year now. He is an absolutely amazing person, and I am so lucky to have found him.

All in all, I consider myself a very fortunate girl, so I like to spend my free time giving back to those less fortunate as much as I can. I volunteer with Big Brothers Big Sisters, which pairs underpriveleged kids and teenagers with a mentor to give them support and make sure they stay focused on their studies. Sometimes it's easy to forget that, in a city that has so much wealth like New York, there are people living in poverty all around us. I adore Big Brothers Big Sisters because they give support and mentoring to children whose parents aren't able to devote as much as time as they'd like to - working multiple jobs, scraping to get by. Starting in October, I'll also be participating in a wonderful program where I will be an SAT tutor for underpriveleged high school juniors. The SAT test is a huge factor in deciding where you go to college, but studies have consistently shown that the test is biased towards the wealthy, because they can afford test prep that gives them a competitive edge. I just don't think this is AT ALL fair, so I'm excited to be a part of something that takes steps to try to close this gap.

As much as I love my work with Big Brothers Big Sisters, I am yearning to get involved with organizations that are more international in scope as well. After reading the incredible book \"Half the Sky\" by Nicholas Kristoff and Sheryl Wudunn, I was struck by how much work there is to be done in the area of women's rights internationally. I am so grateful to Nick and Sheryl for writing that book and opening my eyes to the injustices occuring every minute around the world. I plan to become a volunteer with an organization that helps women in Africa (I'm especially interested in the Democratic Republic of Congo) this fall.

I am extremely excited to be a part of the World Pulse community, and I look forward to sharing and listening to all of your wonderful stories.

My Passions:
Cooking, Reading, Volunteering, Current Events, Family, My boyfriend, Friends

My Challenges:
Saving enough money for graduate school; getting my voice heard

My Vision for the Future:
I envision a future in which first world countries become more aware of and atturned to the struggles of women in developing countries. We are all sisters and we should all be encouraged to take action and fight injustice!

My Areas of Expertise:
Marketing, Events planning, Fundraising