Hello to blog viewers, both new and old, and welcome… to Fay’s Summer of Social Media Management! (The name is a work in progress.)
This has long been called “Ms. Jess’s Family Blog,” but for the next month or so I’ll be subbing in for “Ms. Jess,” although the blog is staying within the family. I’m Fay, the daughter of Jess and Ryan. You might recognize me from the slightly dated photo featured on the top of this blog’s page.
In two weeks, it will be exactly eight years from the day that photo was taken–the day we moved to Belize! A lot has happened since then, some of which has been documented on this very blog. Now I’m seventeen, in college, and working my first job at Beaches and Dreams as their new social media manager!
Villain Origin Story
How did this happen? Well, last August I spread my wings and flew away from Belize to begin my first year of college, all the way in Schenectady, New York. Life at Union College was difficult, and required a certain adjustment period: during my first month, I was homesick almost every day. But eventually I adapted to both college and USA life, made some friends, studied hard (or not so hard), and ended up having a great time during my freshman year!
After it was over, I flew back to Belize to spend the summer with my family. I spent a week lazing around at home, then traveled around the United States for two weeks, visiting family and friends. I was prepared to spend the rest of the summer slacking off and recovering from my freshman year, but my plans were halted in their tracks when my parents announced they had a job for me.
Needless to say, I wasn’t too happy to give up my lazy summer. Fortunately, though, I’ve managed to find some fulfillment in my newfound employment. It’s been a week and a half since I officially started my job, and while I’ll admit that a part of me still yearns for what could have been, this job is more exciting than I expected.
At Least I’m Getting Paid
For the first few days, I tried to get a hold of the ropes, both in terms of working in social media, and working a job in general. I went around the resort with my manager, Stanley, who officially introduced me to everyone as Beaches and Dreams’ new social media manager. I studied the official employee handbook. I went through the entire website (including this whole blog!) and examined the social medias of both Beaches and Dreams and our competitors. Then, I attended a meeting with my dad, Ryan, and the head of each department to refine our social media strategy. I still feel a little clueless at the end of all of this, but not quite as clueless as I was at the beginning of it!
Because I joined at the end of the pay cycle, I got my first paycheck right away, which was just as impressive as you might imagine from only one day of work! $35 BZD for seven hours of work–I’m sure my future paychecks will look a little better!
I See The Tour Van In My Dreams
This week, I was assigned to go on so many back-to-back tours that I barely had time to breathe! On Tuesday, I went out from 9 AM to 9 PM, with an 8 AM tour the next day! Today, I’m back in the office, but next week I’ll be back out on as many tours as I can handle. It’s not all bad–I took some great photos and had some amazing conversations with guests–but let’s just say I’m happy to be in the office today!
Signing Off
I’m only a week and a half into this summer job, and I’ve already learned so much. I’m ready to keep working hard and discovering new things about Beaches and Dreams, as well as Belize as a whole. Expect a new blog post from me very soon–I have plenty of things to share from all the tours I’ve been on so far!
Goodbye for now! I’m excited to see what this brand new experience will bring! And if you’re not already following all of the Beaches and Dreams social media accounts, help me avoid getting fired on my second week and go do that!
– Fay
