Blogging 101.

As a new blogger this past semester, I can honestly say that I have thoroughly enjoyed writing blogs.  In terms of journalistic writing, I really enjoy writing opinion pieces or editorials-- so for me, blogging is a way to expand on this type of writing while also being able to read others opinions.  As far as the blogging goes relative to our journalism class, I feel like the main issue that kept creeping up is the fact that we all don't know how to blog.  If you read blogs of professional writers or journalists, they aren't sob stories or bitchfests--they are a credible way to express your opinion and become educated of others as well.  In saying so, I think that we should have--as a class--gotten a tutorial on 'correct' blogging.  If we all would have correctly blogged, I think that it not only would have benefitted us more in terms of upping our writing abilities & increasing our knowledge, but we all could have potentially had a more positive experience towards blogging.
But like I said, it's safe to say that I have enjoyed blogging and was happy to finally have the push into starting one.  I hope to continue blogging after this class--because I feel that because blogs are becoming a larger part of journalism, it will some day become a useful tool in landing a job. I feel like I might be alone on this one though....

Two and a half weeks....

....that's all we have left. Only two and a half weeks left of classes, then we'll be welcoming summer break with open arms. After a painfully long winter, I highly doubt anyone is going to be frowning to good weather, a three month break from class, vacations, grilling out, etc. What is a scary thought though is I still do not know what I'm doing in these three weeks.  I have yet to find an internship, even after sending out 15+ applications & resumes.  And since I have been so focused on searching for an internship, I have yet to search for jobs. I can't imagine this feeling next year when I will be finally graduating.  After talking to many of my friends who are seniors, they are in the same boat as me, but multiply that same feeling of anxiety by 100.
At a time like this, it's hard not to remember the days of riding my bike around the neighborhood and attending summer themed birthday parties, going door to door asking someone if they can play, or going to soccer games & getting oranges at half time...I'll say it, I miss being a little kid. And as I quickly grow up to the point where I'm almost completely on my own, I only wish I could go back to living a carefree life.
For now, though, I just need to focus on these next three weeks.  On top of the stress of trying to figure out summer plans, I need to maintain most of my focus on finishing final projects & papers, studying for exams....but most importantly of course, WITTFEST!

Stereotypes.

For a class assignment I was required to take a test which measured implicit stereotypes in order to see which kind of people I subconsciously stereotyped.  After taking three of the tests, my results were not concurrent with my true perceptions of people.  For example, one of the tests that I took was to prove that most people have an automatic preference for thin people. Then, the end results of the test will give you a variety of sentences, such as "Your data suggests a moderate automatic preference for Thin People compared to Fat People" (which were my specific results). You can either have a slight, moderate, or severe preference, so what they're telling me is I moderately prefer thin people? That's a pretty big preference. In reality, I don't prefer thin people over fat people and I have proof of this! Part of my dad's side of the family is slightly overweight, yet I don't treat them differently because of this.  I also don't prefer my mom's side of the family because they are more thin.  It is an interesting theory, and a good idea to test people subconsciously, but I feel that various other factors affected my results, such as computer problems, distraction or confusion.  I am curious to see what you guys think, if anyone is up for it take the test and let me know your results. 

You can find an assortment of tests at: https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/demo/selectatest.html

Wanna twat your tweet?

I'm going to follow the trend, and blog about the increasingly popular topic of Twitter. You know it's becoming the next best thing when people are using the Twitter trends (i.e. the # or @ symbol) in the Facebook community or vice versa. #winning.
I started 'tweeting' a couple months ago, though I still don't use it as much as other people.  I honestly don't know how I feel about it, besides the fact that it proves how quickly social networking sites take hold of our generation. We went from our ancestors writing on stone with rocks, then having telegrams being sent via foot or horse, the home phone...now we've added cell phones and the Internet? It's a lot to handle, yet at the same time I couldn't imagine not having it all.
Twitter, for those of you who don't know, is all about letting other people know what you're doing. You tweet what's on your mind, where you're at, or you could even get crazy and 'mention' a friend.  For me it's a way to tell a funny joke that you necessarily don't want to post as a Facebook status.  But more importantly, Twitter is a way to get information.  For example, I'm following CNN--so every big headline pops up on my Twitter timeline, which updates itself every few minutes.  This way if I don't necessarily have time to pick up the newspaper, I'm able to see what's happening around the world via Twitter--who would have imagined!? In a more disturbing way however, you're able to connect with your favorite celebrities....maybe I'm following the entire cast of Jersey shore....but maybe not.
So all in all, Twitter is undeniably out there. Witt students are slowly becoming Twitter fans as more and more students are beginning to create their own account. So the question now is what's going to be the next big thing? It's actually kind of scary to think about--you never know what other crazy geniuses like Zuckerberg are coming up with these days.
For now, go twat your twitter and tweet your twat or whatever it is...

The great debate.

There has been much deliberation over whether or not Wittenberg should continue to require students to complete a 'P' credit (or physical education) while at Witt.  The question doesn't necessarily entail the completion of the physical education requirement, rather whether or not it should be considered a component of the liberal arts education. Regardless, as of now, many students think that it is unfair that varsity athletes "automatically" receive the one 'P' credit that exempts them from having to take a Wittenberg course....which is ridiculous to think.  As an athlete who played on the women's soccer team for one year prior to injuries, the one credit these athletes earn is not even sufficient to the amount of work they put forth.  To earn the general education requirement, all students must participate in a class that meets on average for three hours a week.  Three hours? That's one practice for many athletes. Having 6:30am practices before class, or a practice that doesn't end until 11:00pm is undoubtedly a good reason to earn that one lousy credit to exempt them from taking more time out of their already busy schedules to participate in a pilates or weight training class when they are already physically fit--which is the point of the 'P' credit, correct?

What should also be up for question if Wittenberg does continue to implement the completion of two 'P' credits, is for club sports to receive the same one credit that varsity athletes get.  To inform you, the club sports at Witt consist of rugby, cheerleading, dance team, martial arts, ice hockey, men's volleyball, and a handful of other sports and activities.  Minus a few, the majority of these club sports have at least two scheduled practices a week, if not daily.  Again, if practices are two hours long (which all practices are usually at least two hours) that means that these participants are practicing for at least four hours a week...which is more than the classes. So why don't they receive the credit? Again, the purpose of the 'P' requirement is to help students maintain a healthy and active lifestyle, which students who participate in club sports ARE doing?

Sounds a little unfair to me.....

The April funfest.

Not ever knowing the history of April fools, I googled the 'holiday'.  Here's what I found: when the Gregorian Calendar was introduced in in 1582, New Year's Day was moved to January 1, instead of April 1.  However, since mass-communication was almost nonexistent in 1582, many people either did not receive the news of the calendar change for several years or simply refused to accept the new calendar and continued to celebrate the new year on April 1.  These people who didn't accept it were titled "fools" by the general population, so now it has been passed through history as a day to play innocent pranks on your friends and family.

So this day is kind of funny--it's one day of the year that you're not ostracized for being an asshole. Hearing of the ridiculous things some people to do pull one over on one of their friends is comical, but the distance some people will go to pull these pranks is absurd---how long do you think it took that person to cover the desk with that many post-it notes?
I guess I am just biased on this holiday since I'm an overly gullible person.  Last year my roommate called to inform me that a portion of the science center was on fire. Believed that. She also just called me to tell me it's snowing (being stuck in the basement of student center) I believed that too. I guess even on April fools I will believe anything.
What's your best April fools day prank? I bet I will have fallen for it.

[insert fist pump]

Everyone has a dirty little secret. What's mine? Trash TV.  I'll proudly admit it...I am an avid viewer of MTV. Ya know, the station with all of the ridiculously dumb shows like Jersey Shore, The Real World, or Teen Mom (just to name a few). I have at least one TV show that I watch every night:

Mondays: Skins

Tuesdays: Teen Mom

Wednesdays: The Real World & Million Dollar Listing

Thursdays: Grey's Anatomy & Jersey Shore

Sundays: Kim & Kourtney take Miami & Holly's World

So I'll admit it--I'm a junkie.  Looking at my schedule above is a little disgusting, but after a long day of class & homework, it's my way to unwind. I put on my sweats, jump into bed (as long as all of my work is completed of course), grab a snack and sit back to watch people make a fool of themselves.
I did get some reassurance when I was able to use my unhealthy obsession for a comm presentation in my Media Lit class. I was actually required to watch as many episodes of the Jersey Shore & The Real World so I could later write a paper and give a presentation over what I was watching--I can maybe leave out the fact that what I was studying was the disturbing amount of violence occurring throughout these shows....
But let's look on the bright side--what am I 'learning' from these shows?
1. Don't ever drink an excessive amount of alcohol because I don't want to make myself look like one of the Jersey Shore cast members.
2. Don't get pregnant--I'll just end up in a custody battle with my mother.
3. Don't ever try to maintain a relationship as unhealthy as Ronnie & Sam's.
4. Don't date guys like Kiefer, let alone named Kiefer.

To sum it up, I've learned some valuable life lessons: don't drink, don't have sex, domestic abuse, relationship advice (obviously if you've never watched any of these shows you won't catch my drift...)
All in all, we all have our unhealthy obsessions. What's yours?