Last weekend I attended the North Carolina Festivals and Events Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, which included education sessions, an exhibit hall, showcases and networking opportunities for college students and professionals in the events study/field. Conferees attended sessions and college students had the opportunity to participate in large group, speed-mock interviews.

When I found out about the interviews, I began to panic. I've never been great with highlighting myself and I crumble under pressure, which, in this case, one needed to think quickly and be able to come up with on-the-spot answers. However, I knew that job interviewing was in my near future and that practicing could only help my interviewing skills improve.

The format was set-up where there were five large tables that sat eight students, and five mock-interviewers the circulated around with eight minutes each to ask one or more interview questions. They chose who spoke first by quickly pointing to a random person at the table (thankfully I was never chosen first), and then they would bounce from each person at random.

The interviews were designed to help us learn how to think fast on our feet and give examples of real work experiences. There were some basic questions, such as "why should I hire you for this position" to more difficult questions such as "what makes you tick?" Each question required a moment of thought. If you were the unlucky person chosen to answer first, a rapid answer appropriate to that question.

For our last rotation, the mock interviewer, Julie Beck, asked all of us what our life mantra was. The first thing that came to my mind was, "What is a mantra?"

A mantra is kind of like a catchphrase or quote you live by, or a saying that motivates you. I immediately began picturing the quotes I'd recently seen on my Pinterest, Tumblr and Instagram feeds, but I wanted my answer to be genuine.

I finally thought back to my room. I have a wooden board with clips hanging on the wall where I hang important papers such as letters, flyer posters and reminders to keep them in front of my face when I'm at my desk. Written on that board is "Dreams don't work unless you do."

I would say that this quote is my mantra because I work hard to reach my goals and work diligently through problems. I believe that if I told my close friends this was my mantra, they would agree; I realize that I have to work for what I want.

While not everyone knows what a mantra is, I believe that everyone is motivated by something. Whether it's passion, love, happiness, or money, people are motivated by what they want, and I happen to be motivated by my aspirations.

I think that everyone should have some form of a mantra to motivate them to achieve whatever they desire. It could be anything as simple as "just keep swimming" to something more specific, but having a mantra can push us when we lack motivation and humble us when we thrive.