Throughout my blogging experience for this class I learned a lot about how the media can actually influence my opinions and how I feel on a certain day. I was not aware of how often I was in contact with the media, or that it could cause me to sway in certain directions regarding certain topics.
For example, I never realized how many quick little Yahoo stories I read each day when I log in to check my email just because their title catches my eye. The first day I blogged an entry it was over a story on Taylor Swift and I only read it because her name was in the title. Once I read it I was actually upset about the material and found myself disappointed in her. Before this project I was unaware that a short story posted online would have the power to make me feel differently about someone. I also never really realized how often I am exposed to the media. In class we talked about pervasiveness, and how the media is everywhere, but I never understood it until I was asked to account for being exposed to media myself. Whether I’m checking my email, turning on the TV, scrolling through Twitter, or listening to Pandora and hearing random advertisments, I am always exposed. At first I thought of media exposure as reading the newspaper or watching the news, but now I realize that media is seen is many ways other than just those formats. Before leaving for class this morning I turned on the news to see what was going on today. I watched a brief news report over a woman who lost her left leg in an amputation yesterday.
She was one of the 260 people injured during the bombing that occurred during the Boston Marathon last year. Since then she has had 17 different surgeries to try to heal her leg, but all of them were unsuccessful and she finally decided to have it removed. She has been posting about the surgeries and experience over social media sites and many people have been following her on her journey. The most admirable thing about the story was how positive she was throughout the whole experience. I feel like when people experience tragedies they can either be destroyed by them or come out much stronger. She even got a pedicure before her last surgery and called it “the Last Supper.” In my opinion, people who undergo tragedies and come out a more positive person are definitely people to look up to. I heard a story on the news today covering a topic I’d never heard of before. They call it “uncoupling.” Apparently, it is not the same thing as divorce and instead of signing a piece of paper declaring a separation of marriage, the couple instead hands back their wedding rings and continues life as normal after conducting a ceremony.
The story I heard on the news was about a couple living in San Francisco who actually performed their “uncoupling” ceremony in front of their eleven year old son and other family members. This ceremony releases them from marriage without divorce. The couple is going to continue living under the same roof in order to raise their son. They believe this is the best way to make one another happy and not upset their son by declaring a divorce. This new method is beginning to become popular in the state of California and is beginning to spread across the country. I think it’s strange that the couple is going to continue living under the same roof, but if they truly believe that is what’s best for their son then I think that’s admirable. My parent’s got a divorce when I was Jonah’s age (the son of the couple) and I didn’t have many problems adjusting. I actually enjoyed life more after the divorce because both of my parents were happier. Personally, I feel like “uncoupling” won’t prevent different types of problems from arising within the family, but I do understand that divorce can be expensive too. I feel like it really must depend on the couple and what they are specifically going through and feeling to make the decision to “uncouple.” Today as I read the Travel section of the Washington Post, I came across an interesting article about Vanuatu, written by A. Odysseus Patrick, which is an island located in the archipelago in the South Pacific. A family of four decided to take a vacation from Vanuatu from their home in Sydney, Australia because they assumed it would be a relaxing trip.
On the trip they came across a variety of obstacles, such as seeing their friend’s three-year-old escape from the child center, touring a crater with hot lava flowing right beside them, and being expected to climb huge trees as if it was like taking the stairs. So basically not the ideal vacation you usually read about in the travel section and fantasize about being able to experience yourself. However, I found the article to be very fascinating and it almost made Vanuatu a place I am even more interested to visit. Obviously going on little adventures have heightened danger with the lack of safety guidelines and free range to see whatever you chose to see, but I also believe that could make the experience more fun. Just getting to walk as close or far as you want, without humans having already built over everything, and being so close with nature sounds like an incredible opportunity. Then again, I enjoy dangerous places and learning about things through experience rather than pictures and textbooks. Whenever I read the NY Times I always flip to the same section first, which would be the science section. That might not strange because I am an AD/Pr major and I absolutely hate studying science with my entire being, but something about science has always fascinated me. Today when I was looking through the space and cosmos section I read an article published about Triton, Neptune’s largest moon.
The article, written by Dennis Overbye, talks all about how the Voyager 2 spacecraft had passed by this moon back in 1989 and scientist’s discovered this moon might actually be related to Pluto. This moon actually rotates backwards in comparison to all of Neptune’s other moons, providing evidence that the moon cannot be made out of the same gases. Scientists want to learn more about this so in 2015 the New Horizons probe will be sent back out to collect more data. I am interested in what the data will yield and how the moon, if related to Pluto, ended up rotating around Neptune instead. This information could really help advance what we know about space today and yield even more information so we can discover even more tomorrow. Today, as I was reading the news on Yahoo before checking my emails, I came across an article that caught my attention about Taylor Swift. I have been a huge Taylor Swift fan since she recorded her first album, so when I see something with her name I’m drawn to it.
The article, written by David Bauder, discusses how Swift made the decision to drop all of her music from being posted onto Spotify. If you are unsure what Spotify is, it is a popular music-streaming site that is currently being used by over 40 million listeners. It can be accessed both on computers via the website as well as cell phones in the form of an app. I use the site Spotify to download my music over iTunes because it is free and I can easily add music without having to attach my phone to my computer to download new songs. Being a college student with a tight budget the fact that music can be accessed with no charge and it’s completely legal is a huge advantage, however, without Swift’s songs being available anymore I might be forced to switch back. At first Taylor had all of her music published on this site except for her newest album, 1989, but now it has all been taken down. When I heard this I felt like she just wanted her fans to go out and buy the new album so that she could break another record for how many albums she could sell in a week. However, as I continued reading the story it claimed that she believes she isn’t being paid enough from Spotify to have the rights to give out her music without any price. I totally understand where she is coming from and can respect this, but at the same time it’s disappointing to hear. I am still a huge Swift fan, and I own all of the CD’s she has ever published anyways, it’s just a burden to have to go onto an entirely different site to obtain only her music, whereas every other artist I enjoy can still be found on Spotify. Having control over my life is something that’s always been important to me. I don’t like change and I don’t like not knowing. However, these are two things, which are constants in life. Life is literally always changing, and we never know what’s just around the corner. I feel like this week was a huge wake up call for me, letting me know that trying to settle into college and clinging to unfulfilling constants isn’t going to bring me the peace I’m trying to find, as well as getting my head away from my own desires and recognizing life is about so much more than just myself.
On Wednesday I walked into class and was told by the director of the math department that my algebra professor committed suicide over the weekend. This guy was great, he was really funny and shared a mutual hatred over mathlabsplus (this is something that every college math student will understand.) I’ve only been in the class for 4 weeks, but it was still devastating to all of the students in the class. You honestly never know what people around you are going through. Whether it’s a teacher, classmate, or friend, we all only see what they decide to show us. I just felt like I was so focused on getting my life started at Arkansas I haven’t even taken the time to really care about others, I just keep putting my needs in front of everyone else. Life is tough and everyone has their own agendas, but taking the time to smile at a stranger, hold the door open for someone, or pay for a friend’s coffee can have the power to change someone’s entire day. We all need to be there for each other, living compassionately about everything and everyone, and I feel like the world will be filled with so much more joy. My prayers go out to my teacher’s family, he was seriously one of the smartest guys I’ve ever met, and he always took the extra step to show us how to solve problems and made some great puns. Then, today, one of my roommates collapsed and blacked out in front of me as I was attempting to study for an upcoming test, resulting in me calling 911 for the first time in my life. Thank God she’s okay, and the EMT and ambulance came in record timing, but it was such a crazy event. Like you never know what could happen to anyone, at anytime. One minute she was talking to me, and the next she was on the ground with no memory of what had just happened. It was actually pretty scary, and luckily my other roommate was there to help as I talked to the operator, but I felt like it was another unforeseen event that shook me up and put me back in my place. Sometimes I like to think I know everything (it’s been that way since I was little) and I like to have control over everything that happens in my life, when in reality I have absolutely no say. However, I have recently realized that this isn’t a bad thing either. When I was reading earlier this week I came across a verse that perfectly related to exactly what I’ve been struggling with: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.” –Proverbs 3:5 Instead of trying to take control of my life I have to submit to Him and trust what He thinks is best for me. I don’t get to know all the answers, and that’s all apart of the trusting process. Easier said than done…. It’s for sure something I’m going to be working on now as I head into a new week with 3 upcoming tests (also first ever college tests) and a very full schedule. Life doesn’t make sense all the time and we can’t try and go back and figure out every little detail, sometimes you just have to accept it. As I take on this stress-filled week, I’m going to try to reflect on more than just what I have to get done. Taking note of others around me, and trying to maintain a positive attitude. XOXO, Em If you look up the definition for the word happy in the dictionary it will read, “feeling or showing pleasure or contentment.” Happiness is something that everyone wants, and contentment is something everyone desires. I don’t believe there is a specific way to measure the amount of ‘happiness’ a person contains, but I do believe comparison can result in a flawed idea that some people are ‘happier’ than others.
Theodore Roosevelt once said, “Comparison is the thief of joy.” I honestly don’t think that could be any more accurate. I know I get caught up in comparing myself to others, sometimes without ever knowing who they truly are. I noticed one of the main things that caused me to constantly measure myself up to others was largely due to the way I looked at social media sites. Do you ever scroll down your Instagram feed and see pictures of people who look like they have the absolute coolest lives? For example, I remember always seeing pictures of this one girl and thinking to myself, “wow, she is seriously the happiest person I’ve ever seen.” First of all, I literally know nothing about this girl except that she’s been on some pretty sick vacations and she has a dog. I literally don’t know anything about her personality, hobbies, or beliefs, and I have claimed I have wanted to be her. Can we take a moment to reflect how messed up that is?? (I am still super jealous she’s been to Italy though) In society today, I believe we set unrealistic standards for happiness based off of inaccurate stories told by social media. When I see things on the web, I interpret them differently than the way they actually are. I’ve realized I need to step back and understand pictures, posts, and everything else that happens online is so unimportant in the big scheme of things and can tell a very different tale than you’d expect. Always keep in mind things that have been posted on the internet are edited versions of ourselves made to look a specific way in order to develop a specific image. Comparison is dangerous in more than one ways. When comparing yourself to someone, you either put yourself down without reason or build yourself up in ways that are superficial and unhealthy. In order to grow as a person we need to stop examining other people’s lives from the outside and reflect on our own. This way we will stop devaluing our own lives and placing our joy in the hands of lies told by the Internet. Next time your scrolling down your newsfeed, home page, or timeline on whatever site you may be checking out I hope you can remember that there’s more to the story than the picture and your worth a lot more than that anyways. Try to place your happiness in something unable to be controlled by people and you might find your life to be a lot more joyful too. XOXO, Em P.S. hope y'all have a great week! I have only been at the University of Arkansas for about a month, and I have already learned college is nothing like I expected it to be. There were 7 things in particular that stood out to me that I have learned here so far:
1.) Homesickness is a real thing. If you're anything like me and talked to your parents/siblings at all back at home I guarantee you'll miss them. Being on your own is great, don't get me wrong, but not having that same support system around for your first big test and first cold is killer. (not literally, colds go away if you take care of yourself!!) I try to throw out a text to my mom everyday and talk on the phone at least once a week, and I've already planned my first trip back home. (SHOUT OUT TO MOM AND DAD- I KNOW Y'ALL ARE READING THIS!!) 2.) Remembering to eat is hard??? I never expected that to ever come out of my mouth, I freaking love food. But in all honesty, with classes scattered throughout the day, and trying to study and get lab minutes complete too, you can lose track of time. I sometimes find it's five o'clock and I'll I've had is my morning cup of coffee before my morning class. Now, I set aside a certain time everyday to make sure I get meals in. If you're anything like me and you don't eat you get HANGRY. (hungry + angry) ((very tragic combination)) So get ready to make a schedule for yourself so you can stay healthy and take on the craziness that is freshman year. 3.) Homework doesn't end. I am a 'get it done' kind of girl. I have an essay, I write it all in one sitting and I'm done. I have math homework, I plug in my headphones and don't get up until they are all complete. Now let me tell you, there is NO possible way for that to happen in college. You have assigned reading each night, on top of homework assignments and projects. Even if you think you're done with homework, I promise that you're not. There is always something to be studied, memorized, or written. You have to accept the fact that you can't do it all, you just have to do it all over time. Pace yourself and do parts everyday and do NOT wait until the last minute. 4.) Jesus is ALIVE :-) I was so worried that with what the stereotypical college looks like I would instantly lose myself and go crazy. (All my friends said I would turn wild) However, that wasn't the case. There are amazing college bible studies and groups to join here. I really enjoy Stumo and I've attended two different churches since moving here. Being Catholic, the Catholic church is obviously my favorite. :') My roommates also do a great job of keeping me grounded and we have even had a spontaneous worship session in our suite already. My boyfriend and I have also read scripture together, we are doing a little Bible study and try to read once a week. It's easy to fall behind with everything going on, but with the groups here, as well as my friends, it's not too difficult to keep priorities straight and to stay close with the Lord. 5.) The library is my safe haven. I never went to our school's library in high school, I always studied in my room. But with basketball boys next door SCREAMING at their video games it can get pretty hard to focus. I found a spot I go to at least once a day, plug in my headphones, and hit the books. Or the computer. Whatever it takes I suppose. I like having a place set aside to go just because it makes things more relaxed. And my special spot is also by a window so I get to people-watch occasionally. :-) 6.) Roommates become sisters the same way sorority sisters become sisters. I knew only one of my roommates coming here, I live in a suite, so I have three total. I wasn't sure what they would be like, I let my friend pick them out and get all that set up. After going through sorority recruitment with one of the girls I didn't know, Amanda, we were immediate friends. We both pledged different sororities, but I still consider her a sister. :') I honestly thought I would just hang out with my high school friends that came to college with me, but that isn't the case at all. From walmart runs, to farmers market adventures, to nights in the library, I spend a lot of time with my roommates. I'm so fortunate with the way things worked out because these girls are awesome. 7.) I still have no idea what I want to do with my life. I thought as soon as I got here something would pop up and I would instantly know. But no... Still undecided. However, I realize now that that is perfectly okay. Every older student I know has changed their major at least once, and some are still undecided too. The older girls in my sorority (ZETA TAU ALPHA ROCKS) all also help put me at ease when I stress about that. You just have to look at the bigger picture and realize you aren't in control of your life anyways, so you should just go with the flow and do the best you can everyday. I'm really fascinated in my Psych class and I love giving advice, so maybe something along those lines? Obviously still super uncertain. :') So to sum it up college is different than I imagined, but a 'good-way' different. Classes are harder, days seem shorter, but they are still filled with lots of adventures and laughs. I would say I picked the right college for sure and I'm thankful to be here. XOXO, Em (ALSO SHOUTS TO MY BROTHERS- I MISS YALL) |
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