The Pilot

Hello everyone! Welcome to my first blog post, the pilot episode! Thank you for taking the time to view my website and read my content!

I think it would be helpful if you knew me a little bit better! Below are 20 facts about me!

• My name is Christen JOY Smith. My middle name serves as a reminder that I must look at the brighter things in life.

• I am a Las Vegas native. Being surrounded by hotels my whole life has influenced my career path. Right now I am studying at the UNLV Honors College. I am double majoring in Marketing and Hospitality with a concentration in Restaurant Management. In addition, I'm minoring in Global Entrepreneurship. I'm excited to discuss my adventures in college at a later time.

• I auditioned for MasterChef Junior when I was 13 years old. I have always loved to cook and bake. Creating sweet treats is one of the ways I show love to the people I love. This is one of the reasons why I am studying Hospitality and concentrating on Restaurant Management.

• In high school, I suffered from severe acne. My Instagram is a place to promote skin positivity and self-love. I have found that the beauty industry is not skin positive. Cellulite, acne, eczema, and several other skin conditions are rarely seen in model shoots. I want to promote that all skin is beautiful.

• I was a DECA kid in high school. I fell in love with marketing by being a marketing officer for my chapter and the state association. I realized that I wanted to implement marketing into my future career. That's why I'm not only studying Hospitality but Marketing as well.

• My birthday is on New Year's Eve. I fit the Las Vegas scene because I was born on the best day of the year.

• My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving because I love the focus on bonding with family and friends.

• My music taste is literally all over the place. If you saw my music library, it doesn't match my face. I love almost every genre of music and I'm not too picky about who has the aux in the car.

• I own a guinea pig named Lily. She is the sweetest creature on the planet. Most people don't know that guinea pigs purr and give kisses...or maybe Lily is just special.

• My favorite season is Fall, but not because of the weather. I love when pumpkins are in grocery stores. I love to make pumpkin pie from scratch.

• I've never been out of the United States. I would love to travel abroad soon!

• I love to hike. Las Vegas has several hiking trails in Red Rock Canyon and Mt. Charleston. I also love going to national parks.

• I'm hoping to get my yoga teacher certification within the next few years. I've been a yogi for the past 6 years.

• My favorite non-fiction book is "Setting the Table" by Daniel Meyer. The author teaches the concept of enlightened hospitality which is key for my career and the development of service management skills.

• My favorite children's book is "Confectionately Yours" by Lisa Papademetriou. It's technically a series. I absolutely adore the plot and the addition of baking recipes throughout the chapters.

• My favorite food is squash. If you read fact #7, you know that pumpkins and squash are my all-time favorites.

• I am an only child. My friends have become my sisters and brothers.

• I love to paint and craft. I have won a few coloring competitions and scrapbooking competitions.

• I'm so thankful for the smile I have today! After 10 years of braces, retainers, and Invisalign, I'm so in love with the results!

• I am in the process of teaching myself guitar. My dad is an incredible baritone singer and musician. I would love to work on my talent and be like him.

There is me in a nutshell! I can't wait for future blog posts to come! Stay JOYful everybody!

With Joy,

Christen