This is one of those projects that has been months in the making, but I finally got it together and cut together a few of my favorite recent moments in sports reporting.  What I realized is that I covered more basketball than I thought and that adding baseball to the reporting mix was a fun challenge! I was also excited to use some footage from various projects and appearances I've had on Fox Sports Southwest this past year. I would love to know your thoughts so please send over a note! I also have a few more videos I'm working on and am excited to share soon.

To quote the great Dr. Seuss, "Congratulations! Today is your day. You're off to Great Places! You're off and away!"

Ah, college graduation. A day of endings and of new beginnings. Some of you will cross that stage with your 5-to-10 year plan already filed away. Others may have big dreams but no sense of how to achieve them.

When I graduated from college 8 years ago, I was simultaneously excited and petrified. But through the kindness of those wiser - and through many mistakes that I made on my own - I began to slowly figure things out. I don't think we'll ever know everything, but I want to pass along a few of the things I've learned.

• BE NICE. TO EVERYONE.  This is self explanatory and also the most important thing worth mentioning. Your accolades and accomplishments won't impress anyone if you're not nice. Treat everyone with kindness. From the most celebrated executive to the person who cleans your office. Just be nice. Bonus: remember your manners. Thank people who go out of their way to help you. Let people know that you appreciate them. A hand written thank you card can go a long way. If 77-year old Bill Snyder (who is an actual legend) can write notes on the regular, so can you.
• DON'T BE ENTITLED. The number one knock against millennials is the entitlement of the generation. Don't fuel the fire by going into a job and thinking that you're better than anyone or anything, ESPECIALLY at the beginning of  your career. Acknowledge that you don't know everything (because none of us do). Listen. Learn. Rinse and repeat. In my first job, I literally spent an afternoon picking up dead bugs off the floor in an non air conditioned gym in the middle of Chicago in the summer. I've picked up gallons of coffee and dozens of bagels to bring to set. I've driven to high school football games in the middle of nowhere on many a Friday night. I've worked almost every single New Years Eve since I graduated from college. But in those moments, your character is developed - and let me tell you, it's an opportunity to impress people. In sports, many young people reach out for advice or for recommendations or internships. The people who lead the pack are the ones who are willing to do the grunt work. Someone once told me that you're only at the beginning of your career once. You should enjoy every moment, even the ones that test your patience, because one day, you'll look back on those days and marvel "look how far I've come."
• THE INTERNET IS FOREVER. I am #blessed that Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and the like did not exist when I was in college. But Class of 2017, it exists now - and like it or not, what you put on social media and on the internet in general WILL leave an impression on future employers. I've looked up potential intern applicants on social media ... and then tossed their resumes in the NO file because of how they represented themselves online. I'm not the only one. Don't be that person who doesn't land their dream job because of something stupid you've said on Twitter.
• NEVER STOP LEARNING. My mom once told me, "remember, you are your own CEO." This advice is something that I freely pass along to others. In your life, you may work for one company. You may work for 30 companies. You may one day work for yourself. Regardless, you should take every opportunity you can to better yourself, whether it's an online class, a master's degree, or even a YouTube tutorial. The worst thing you can do in your career, and in your life, really, is to remain stagnant. The world and technology are constantly changing. There is always going to be someone younger than you who is eager and coming for your job. And apparently, we're soon going to have to worry about robots making humankind obsolete. So what do we do? We learn. Every intelligent person I know has done something to better themselves since graduating. Maybe you actually don't like your job. Maybe you're not sure what you want to do next. But if you have the mindset that you are the CEO of the FIRST NAME LAST NAME corporation, you begin to see opportunities pop up all over the place, and those opportunities can help you take your next step.
• GOOGLE BEFORE YOU ASK. The first thing my brother told me as I prepared to start my career was to never ask a question to which I could find the answer myself. And the good news is, we have a tool to make this really easy: Google. By all means, ask your questions. You should always be learning (see bullet point above). But if it's something that a quick Google search can answer for you, then, for the love of everything, please just find the answer yourself.
  
• TRIPLE CHECK YOUR RESUME FOR GRAMMATICAL ERRORS. I was once asked in an interview about my biggest pet peeve. It was a question for which I hadn't prepared, but without hesitation, I blurted out "bad grammar." It is 2017. Spell check exists on your computer, your iPhone, your iPad, your Microsoft Surface, your Kindle Fire, and any other device you could own. Spell check is your friend. Grammar is your friend. Consistency is your friend. Do yourself a favor and check your resume, cover letter, and any other materials you may be sending to a prospective employer for any and all grammatical errors ... and then check it again.
• BE UNCOMFORTABLE. Since I graduated in 2009, I've lived in four different cities - New York, Los Angeles, Austin, and now, Fort Worth. I've become really good at moving. I know firsthand how hard it is to make friends in a new city. But the experiences - both really wonderful and really difficult - have shaped me into the person I am today. Allowing myself the opportunity to become uncomfortable has shaped me into a tougher and more empathetic person. It has broadened my career opportunities and taught me things I would have never learned if I had just played it safe. It has humanized me, and it has led me to some of the best friendships in my life. Every person I know who has done the same - really left their comfort zone, even if just for a short while - is better because of those experiences. Be brave. Say yes to new opportunities. Be okay with being uncomfortable.

 College graduate, I am so excited for you. Your next adventure is beginning and it can take you anywhere you want to go. Take chances, make mistakes, and be grateful and willing to learn every single day. Dream big but be patient. There's no shortcut.

Be humble, be kind, and remember that the world does not owe you anything, but that everything is possible if you work hard. Congratulations on this milestone ... and welcome to the real world.

I vividly remember being 18 years old and interviewed for our high school senior video. The question: where do you see yourself in 10 years? I looked straight into the camera and said I would be living in Los Angeles and acting (I mean, I was a theater major), would have no kids, and would still be best friends with my high school BFF, Rachel.

Funnily enough, I was sort of right. I don't have kids, Rachel was my maid of honor, and I did live in Los Angeles for two years. And though I never actually pursued acting, I did work in television. I had all of these preconceived notions about what my adult life should look like, but what I failed to recognize at the time were all the in-between moments, the growing pains that must occur on the path to success.

Almost 12  years later, I'm just a few days away from turning 30. Though I can honestly say my anxiety levels of hitting the big three zero are pretty low, I'm also human. I'm guilty of comparing myself to other people based on their levels of success. It's hard to see someone in their early twenties become super successful - especially in your own field of work - and not wonder why you have fallen behind the curve. Age sometimes seems as if it is a measuring stick for success. Like if you haven't hit it big by 30 (or 40, or 50, etc), you never will.  In the awesome but also horrible world of social media, it's almost impossible not to size yourself up alongside everyone else with more: more followers, more money, more exposure, and in turn, more "success." Everyone makes their lives look perfect on the internet. I know it, you know it, we all know it. Yet there's still that small feeling inside that tells you "you may be good, but that person is better." So how do we, especially females, shut up that voice?

For each of us, it's different. For me, there are days when I feel like I can accomplish literally anything and then also days when one tiny thing can make me feel like the world's biggest failure. But what I try to continue to remind myself is to never be afraid to try something new, to be willing to see where the adventure leads. I left college having no idea what I wanted to do with my life. If you told me I'd be working in sports, I would have laughed at you. But opportunities presented themselves and I worked as hard as I could to learn, learn, learn. My parents always told me that the most important aspect of a job is that it presents you with an opportunity to learn. I've taken that advice and used it in every step I've had along the way. I’ve had to do grunt work, from logging hours of tape to taping boxes (the tape gun is my worst enemy) to even picking up dead bugs on set. But I’ve also gotten to do some pretty awesome things, including accomplishing my goal of doing television this past year.  Am I where I want to be long term? No. But at least I can be proud of the steps I've made along the way.

Recently, I've had many high school and college students reach out for work advice. And aside from telling them to make sure their resumes have no grammatical errors (no, seriously -- proofreading is your friend), the number one thing I want to convey is that you should be willing to do the work that other people don't want to do. That's how you set yourself apart. In the sports media world, everybody wants to be in front of the camera. But it's the people who are excited for the chance to just hold the camera who leave the right sort of impression. Never think a job is beneath you. And always, always be nice.

So as I say goodbye to my twenties, I am grateful for the all of the in-between moments - many bad, many great - that have helped shape both me and my work ethic over the past ten years.  I'm grateful for the people who have presented me, and continue to present me, with learning experiences. I'm grateful for the friends and family who have taught me to celebrate all successes, no matter how small. And I continue to encourage anyone who is reading this to remember that the first step is always the hardest but hard work (and a little luck!) will never fail you.

The past few months have been a whirlwind -- planning a wedding is no joke! -- but now that we have gotten married, honeymooned, and settled back into the routine of life, I have finally been able to take a step back and appreciate the amazingness of it all.

I never realized how big of a production throwing a wedding was until we started to plan, and a huge part of the success of it all lies with your vendors. I am so lucky to have worked with so many wonderful humans and I wanted to give them the praise they all deserve. If you are planning a wedding in the Austin or Central Texas area and are looking for vendors, from venue to florist to band, then look no further. I cannot recommend these folks more:

• VENUE - LONE OAK BARN: I cannot say enough good things about Shelli and M'Kensie Aday and our experience at the Lone Oak Barn. From the moment I toured the venue and met the two of them, I knew it was where I wanted to have my wedding. They answered so many questions, let us come to the venue multiple times, and were invaluable on the day of the wedding. The LOB is gorgeous and made for the most amazing pictures.

Again, cannot recommend these vendors enough. It's amazing to look through photos and see that exactly what we hoped for was executed beautifully because of the work of all of these wonderful people. (and thanks, mom and dad, for throwing one great wedding!)