Monday, April 30, 2012

Jackie Jardine: Thrift Store Academic


Book learnin' from a thrift shoppin' blogger.

Last week I was surprised to check my email and find a rather interesting request from a former professor of mine. Professor Atkins, a man I respect as both a mentor and a published writer, wanted me to be a guest speaker for his Editorial Writing class at Arcadia University. Since following Let's Go Thrifting through my Linkedin account, Professor Atkins was intrigued by my work and wanted his students to hear my experience and advice as a blogger. 

While at first I was flattered at being considered an expert in blogging, flattery was soon replaced with anxiety. What if these students have no interest in what I have to say? What if I'm bombarded with technical questions to which I have no answers? What if I stutter or fall flat on my face or forget to zip the fly on my pants? 

I soon put all that that aside and decided to share some of my experiences in blogging...and thrifting.  After making the journey to Glenside, PA and stepping into Boyer Hall, I took my place behind the podium and gave my first guest lecture as a professional blogger. I discussed the initial idea for Let's Go Thrifting, some of the problems I've encountered along the way and my plans for the future. I also shared some tips of the trade and discussed the need for a knowledge of social media as aspiring journalists. And to my surprise, I was greeted by students who were not just eager to learn about the blogging process as a journalistic tool, but eager to learn about my particular expertise...in thrifting! 

While I did obviously go into my specialized interest of thrift shopping as the topic of my blog, I tried to keep the lecture as something of a broader-based info session on blogging in general. And this was for two reasons:

  1. I didn't want to bore what I thought would be a disinterested student body who couldn't care less about my penchant for finding the peculiar at the thrift store.
  2. I was invited as a guest speaker on blogging for journalism students, not as a speaker on thrifting for potential shoppers.

But there were questions on blogging and thrifting alike. How often do you go thrifting? You were at the new Impact Thrift Store!? How does the thrift pricing policy work?


I was so excited at the opportunity to discuss thrifting with the students, before I knew it, class was over. And after the lecture, I was met with a warm applause, I was asked for specific help on some of the students' blogs and I even handed out a few business cards. I guess that makes me something of an expert. Who knew that documenting creepy clowns and strange vintage books could accredit me as a guest lecturer at Arcadia University and as a correspondent for the Impact Thrift Store opening in just these last few weeks? Exciting things are on the horizon for Let's Go Thrifting! And I'm so glad all of you can be a part of it. Thanks for reading, commenting and sharing in my firsthand observations on wacky secondhand finds. 

Blog on and stay thrifty! 
~ Jackie J. 

2 comments:

Serena said...

I think this is awesome!! I would feel so honored. There's nothing I like more than to babble (but babble COHERENTLY!) about my passion for blogging and thrift diving and this...and that...and the list could go on! :)

Found you from a comment you made on The Glam Thrift's FB page :)

If you don't mind, maybe you could check out my blog, too! I go thrift diving (as I call it, lol) for mostly home goods, like furniture and what-not, but also toys and, really, ANYTHING that looks good and may or may not need a nice pretty coat of PAINT! :)

Serena
Thrift Diving
www.ThriftDiving.com

Jackie Jardine said...

Hi there, Serena. Thanks for reading!

I was honored. And I did babble on, believe me, lol. But the students seemed to enjoy it. They got really into it when I brought a visual aid...a creepy clown doll that I bought for 90 cents which is earning me a photo byline in a book being published this summer.

I actually just read your article on thrifting tips. Interesting stuff! I'll be taking a peek at Thrift Diving momentarily. It's always nice to meet likeminded die-hard thrifters.

<3 Jackie @ Let's Go Thrifting!