Name: Abbey Bonadies
Hometown: Grew up in Westfield, NJ and then moved to New Albany, OH!
Year you graduated: 2015
Where did you go to school? Miami of Ohio!
What did you study? Business Marketing and Professional Writing
Briefly describe what your college experience was like: The easiest way to describe it would be “work hard, play hard” – at Miami, I think my classmates and I mastered the art of really killing it in academics but never skipping a beat when it came to our social lives.
Where are you living now? The greatest city in the world with nothing coming in a close second – N.Y.C.
What are you doing with your post grad time? Other than my new job at Popsugar, I’ve really been getting back into the groove with dance/trying to get myself to become a “worker-outer” – I also attempted to teach myself how to cook, but that didn’t end so well, so I think I’ll stick to spending time with my friends.
What did your post-grad path to your current job look like? Did you start right away? Take some time off? Unlike the majority of the people I went to college with, I actually didn’t have a job when I graduated and I think that was a blessing in disguise. I spent almost all of my senior year so fixated on reaching out to people at companies I thought I wanted to work at for jobs I thought I wanted to have – and ended up in a totally different industry, exactly where I belonged. After graduating, I spent about 3 days at home before picking up and moving to NYC on a mission to get my first job – I spent a few weeks pounding the pavement to get into the fashion industry – coffee meetings, interviews, online applications, you name it. I ended up getting invited to an event through a connection and met someone who a few weeks later became my first boss at a job at Rolling Stone that never crossed my mind and I loved every second.
(covers from my first + my last)
What does a normal weekday look like for you? They definitely vary but they always start with a shot of apple cider vinegar and a cup of warm lemon water, and they always end with a bite of chocolate and Family Feud. In between, it’s a mix of work, workout classes and poke bowls with friends and/or getting my boyfriend to watch shows that I like 🙂
How about the weekend? Weekend days usually start with an everything bagel with scallion cream cheese and a Snapple from the deli near my apartment or brunch with the Chicas – then either some drinks or shopping then going out downtown at night and enjoying some vodka sodas (lemon and a lime) with the squad!
What has been the hardest adjustment for you going from college to post-grad life? Learning a new way to learn – our whole early life is spent learning by books and by lessons from parents – post-grad has taught me that learning can come in all shapes and sizes and can come in the most unexpected ways.
What has been the best part? Also learning a new way to learn – it’s been the best years of my life trying different things, meeting different people, not following what I thought the rules were, making new kinds of rules… learning what it means to really be me!
What helped you land your current position? Hard work and CONNECTIONS! I can’t stress enough how important it is to utilize every connection you have to get your foot in the door at places you are interested in. My mom always told me to have “backpack people” – people you meet throughout your life and your career that you know are good eggs, successful and driven, people who you know may be able to help and receive help from in return. My first job and my current job were both through the help of two of my backpack people 🙂
Knowing what you do now, what advice would you give your college self? RE-FREAKING-LAX. As much fun as I had, I was (and still semi-am) a worry wart. I think I would’ve benefited from knowing that everything isn’t always a straight-and-narrow path and that bumps/blips actually make for a better next step.
In 5 years you hope to be: Still living my life to the fullest every day with new accomplishments and new successes, new friends and new hobbies, but having it all still rooted in the person I’ve always been and am still becoming!
Current binge show: GRACE AND FRANKIE! Bow down to queen Jane Fonda.
Favorite way to unwind: I, of course, love a good couch-facemask-Bachelor episode night – but I think my favorite way to unwind is to be around people I love who make me laugh – it “gives me life” for lack of a better #trendy phrase.
Favorite song right now: If you know me you know I can’t just pick one so… Stir Fry by Migos (my loves), Just for Us by Francis and the Lights and OF COURSE Filthy by JT.
Cause/issue that’s moving you: The SeriousFun Children’s Network has my heart – it’s a network of camps across the country that help children with illnesses see beyond their medical conditions and experience all life has to offer like the rest of us lucky ones get to!
Something good you read for pleasure lately (can be a book, an article, an Instagram caption, etc.): it’s a tie between the packaging on my new Glossier skin Solution and POPSUGAR’s 2018 trend report.
Morning drink order: Grande iced chai latte with almond milk.
Current favorite social media account you follow: GARY JANETTI – the king of royal family hilarity.
3 things you can’t leave home without: besides my phone which is too obvious… my aquaphor, sunglasses (no matter what the weather), and listerine strips a.k.a my favorite things in the world.
Thanks so much Abbey!
