Blog Post #4: Social Media Week

        Hello everyone! As you are all aware, we just had social media week, which seems very fitting for our society and culture today. Our generation, younger generations and even the attempting older generations are being run by their fascination for social media. While there are both pros and cons for social media, there is no denying that it has made a huge impact on our world today.
        Our generation already seems to know the basic insight behind social media, but there is still a lot to learn.  It is important for one to know how to go about using social media for professional, business means to help build networks, make a good impression and get an edge on the competition. For this social media week project, I first started out with Linkedln. I soon found out it was more difficult for me to figure out than I imagined (keep in mind, I have a very good grasp on social media and the web!). I decided to switch to Twitter, because I already had one and I knew every in and out to the site. Because I am a performing arts (and soon to be journalism/communications as well) major, I already had a lot of connections or people I follow who were related to my field of study, mainly because they are actors. Ten connections I have on twitter are Theatre Kid Problems (it's funny, but everything they tweet is so relatable to me!), Skylar Astin, Larry Peterson (a writer for my local newspaper back home), CNN News, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Anna Kendrick, TMZ, Elvis Duran (because I'm interested in radio/broadcasting), Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth.
       I found the articles for the assignment to be very interesting, and very true as well! I related to the "How Twitter Can Benefit You In College" the most. It mentions that you could meet people from your school, and that's how I met a lot of people from ISU! It also mentions that Twitter provides news the fastest, which I find to be very true. If something is going on, that's the first place I find out information about it. I know I'll sound like a half-witted hermit, but Twitter is where I found out about the recent government shutdown! I also found the "8 Reasons Why Twitter Can Boost Your Happiness" quite accurate as well. Whenever I don't feel my best, I always go to Twitter to take my mind off things. I also love getting the random thoughts out of my head and out there on Twitter. It's even better when I get retweets and favorites, I'm basically a celebrity for that moment. :)
      Just remember to play it cool on social media, and don't post anything you wouldn't want your future employers, children or your sweet ol' grandma to see! Happy posting everyone! :)

Blog Post #3: My Goals/Bucket List

     Hey Teal Team! As you all know, our current blog post is over our bucket lists, which I'm so excited for! I love having a bucket list and I've already completed many of my goals throughout my short 18 years! Though on this post and on my powerpoint for Thursday I only include a few of my goals, my bucket list is quite lengthy!
     There are several things I hope to accomplish here at ISU (I mean, it IS college! This is when you need to get out and live!). Here's a few things on my ISU bucket list:

• Be in an ISU theatre production. This one seems obvious, as I am a performing arts major! I have my fingers crossed that I'll get a main lead, but the competition here is not like it was in high school! 
• Graduate with a bachelor's degree in both performing arts and journalism. Acting is my passion, but I hope to have journalism to fall back on! 
• Attend VEISHEA. Okay, this is seems like a must for all ISU students. It's like a giant party with 33,000 of your friends! :)
• Attend an ISU football game where they actually win the game. I was born and raised a cyclone and I support the team no matter what...but I mean, they're not giving us a very exciting season so far. 
• Study abroad. This is what I'm most excited for! I've dreamed of traveling around the world for years! My top choices are England, Australia, and Ireland. It'd be amazing to experience the college life in another country! (Plus, I'm a sucker for accents... hello cute foreign boys!)

   There's plenty of goals that I want to accomplish outside of ISU as well! Some of these goals are extremely important and others may be seen as unnecessary to other people, but I hope to accomplish every one of them! Here's some of the goals on my life bucket list:

• Meet someone famous. Okay, I've technically already done this already (some chick on the Today show, stood by Matt Lauer, saw the back of Nicolas Cage's head which I think should count!, Catelynn and Tyler from Teen Mom). I'd really like to meet the celebrities I admire most! My top person to meet is Paul McCartney. I LOVE The Beatles and I would literally cry if I met him. My others are Ed Sheeran (my second love, behind Paul), the boys of One Direction, and Ellen! 
• Marry the love of my life. The typical sappy girl response for her bucket list. I think everyone really wants this though! You want to be with someone who can make you happy for the rest of your life!
• Start a family. This won't be until way in the future, considering I can barely take care of just myself at the moment! I hope to have 3 kids...and pets. Lots of pets!
• Be in a Broadway show. I've had this dream since I was a kid. It's the biggest aspiration of mine, and it's what I really want to do with my life. It's a long shot but hey, dreams don't work unless you do, and I'm willing to do whatever it takes!
• Attend a Patriots game. The Pats are my team. Enough said.
• Volunteer in a third world country and make a difference. One of the most rewarding things you can do with your life is to make a difference in the lives of those in need. I would love to help those who need it the most and truly change someone's life for the better. 

    These are just a few of my bucket list goals. I tried to narrow it down for you all (I have an entire board of pinterest for my bucket list :) ) I hope you learned a little more about me and I can't wait to read everyone else's goals! Have a great week! :)

Blog Post #2: What I Learned About Myself Through MBTI

   Hello again, fellow Hixsons! Time for another blog post! Before we got our MBTI, I thought I was an ESFJ/ENFJ. My results show that I actually am an ENFJ! I know myself better than I though! :) Being a ENFJ, I focus my attention/get my energy by extraversion, take in information with intuition, make decisions with feelings, and deal with the world by judging. I didn't really surprise myself too much looking at my results, but looking at the values made me realize that the MBTI is pretty accurate! Some examples of my values are having a positive, enthusiastic view of life and working on several projects at once, which I found to be very true!
   Knowing myself and my MBTI type, I would have to say my strengths are being extremely outgoing and caring, and I try to see the best in people. I think these skills help me in leadership positions and with making friends/maintaining relationships. Just like all the other personality types, mine definitely has its weak points! I feel like the areas/situations that would be difficult for my ENFJ personality would be in a very unorganized situation where I don't know what is going on, or being around people who are not accepting of me or others. I personally think some of my weaknesses are being too caring, and people tend to take advantage of that. I'm also very sensitive and have terrible self-esteem, which is usually common for ENFJ personalities.
   Knowing my type will definitely give me some insight on ways to make my transition into college and my first year great! I've already made so many friends because of my outgoing personality, and I hope to make even more this year! I am very organized and goal-oriented, so I think that will definitely come in handy with projects and assignments.
   I can't wait to read all your blogs and learn all about your MBTI and personalities! I think this is all fascinating, and I hope I'm not the only one! :) Hope everyone has a great rest of their week! I will see you all Thursday!

Blog Post #1: A Time When I Was At My Best

    Hello there, fellow Hixsons! Welcome to my first blog of the semester! As you all know, the first topic covers the time I was at my best in my life. As Hixson scholars, we all are aware that we have each had struggles and challenges throughout our young lives. Even though we have had these troubles, we have all had a time, or multiples times, where we felt reassured that everything would be okay. This time in my life would be my senior year of high school.

    Though I have had many great times in my life, I chose my senior year because that is when I truly recovered from everything I had once been subjected to and I really began to find out who I was and who I could be. Senior year was by far one of the most stressful, busiest times of my life, but it was also the most rewarding. I was nominated onto homecoming court, alongside my beautiful best friend (who was our homecoming queen!). I did winterguard, which was the most time consuming, yet funnest activity I was involved in! I went to my first ISU football game, MCed a pep rally and I also went to prom with one of my best friends! I dressed up in a nun outfit with two other friends and sang today's hit songs in opera, in front of my entire high school. I went to New York City and Washington DC on a class trip and I got to lay a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Solider, see a Broadway show, and be on national television! The most rewarding moments however, was when I received all my letters for scholarships and my acceptance to ISU. I found out my first year was completely covered, and that all my hard work and long hours finally paid off. 

    So although I have struggled, stressed and felt like giving up, I realized that life is too short for that. You're suppose to learn new things, get involved and have fun! My senior year taught me that if you keep trying and truly believe in yourself, that good things will happen. And that, my friends, was the time that I was at my best.