Week 3 Reading Diary: Homer's Iliad

This week I read the Iliad by Homer, retold by Alfred J. Church.

How the war with Troy began: Helen was the King of Sparta's daughter. She was incredibly beautiful and every man wanted to marry her. After awhile, she married Menelaüs, and he eventually became the King of Sparta after Helen's father died. There was a young prince named Paris who came and stole Helen from the King of Sparta, and the princes of Greece were sent out to get her back for the King, which eventually started the war with Troy.

The Quarrel: After the Greeks took the city of Chryse, they gave different gifts to different chiefs. Agamemnon got Chryseis, the daughter of the priest of Apollo. The priest wanted to buy his daughter back, but Agamemnon refused and enlisted the help of Apollo to get her back. Apollo was angered that the chiefs refused to give Chryseis back, so he spent nine days killing men, dogs and mules in Chryse. Achilles came down from Olympus wanted to kill Agamemnon, but Athene kept him from killing Agamemnon and insisted that he would suffer in other ways and Achilles told him that he was going to suffer in the hands of the Trojans.

The Quarrel cont.: Agamemnon tried to take the Greek's gift to Achilles, and succeeded. Achilles was incredibly upset that she was taken from him, and Thetis (his mother) told him to go visit Zeus and learn of a way to make Agamemnon suffer. This further perpetuated the war. Ulysses took Chryseis back to her father, which lifted the plague from the Greeks.

What Thetis did for her son: Thetis went and visited Zeus to help her son after Agamemnon took away his gifts from the Greeks. This caused a huge problem between Zeus and his wife, Hera, but he still decided to help Achilles. He sent a dream to Agamemnon that made him think he was going to win the war against the Trojans, and convinced him to send the Greeks to battle.

Hector and Andromache: Hector returned from war and requested that his mother make an offering to the gods. Andromache was his wife and he couldn't find her after returning from war.

Hector and Andromache continued: Hector found his wife and she scolded him for continuing to fight the war. Hector still went back to war, and this time Paris followed him.

The Embassy to Achilles: Agamemnon decided he needed Achilles help again, so sent Phoenix, Ajax and Ulysses to talk to him. They had a feast with him and gave him lots of gifts in hopes that he would side with them again.

The Embassy to Achilles cont.: The princes try to convince Achilles to help Agamemnon, but he is obviously really hesitant since Agamemnon did take his gifts from the Geeks. He told the princes that they would never take Troy because Zeus puts too much courage into the people of Troy's hearts.

(Achille's Embassy)

The Deeds and Death of Patroclus and The Deeds and Death of Patroclus cont.: Patroclus is very upset that Achilles won't help the Greeks. Patroclus and Achilles go to fight, and Patroclus killed Sarpēdon.

The Deeds and Death of Patroclus (end): Patroclus decided he wanted to take Troy, and people were upset that he killed Sarpēdon. Apollo urged him to not take Troy, but he ultimately decided to, and Patroclus was eventually killed.

Storybook Topics

There are so many things to do my storybook over! I've actually taken up a lot of interest into Greek
mythology, so I potentially want to do my project over some part of Greco-Roman Mythology.

Gods and Goddesses: I've always had interests in the gods and goddesses of mythology. Zeus, Poseidon, etc. so I think it'd be really interesting to do my storybook over some of these gods and goddesses, especially if I could incorporate the aspect of love into it somewhere. I would really like to learn more about the different gods and goddesses in Greco-Roman Mythology, so this project would be a lot of fun for me.
Research I've Done So Far: I don't know a lot about any of the gods or goddesses, at least not in detail, so this website was really helpful for introducing a lot of the different gods and goddesses and their role in mythology. I learned more about Zeus, who I was familiar with, and also Iris, who I had never heard about before. It was actually really helpful to kind of know the names of all of them and see the different things they did.

(Iris, the goddess of the rainbow)

Women: I feel like we rarely ever hear about women in mythology, so it would be really informative to do my project over the different women and their rules in mythology. I actually haven't learned about any women in mythology besides the different goddesses. I also think it would be a great way to be able to tell people about these women and spread the knowledge that way. 

Research so far: There are so many notable women. I was really surprised by the list I found here, just because I've never heard any of these names before. I learned about Caeneus, who was a woman who was actually transformed into a man in order to fight in the war. I think that there is actually a ton of information over these women, so that could make my project very interesting. 

(Caeneus with Poseidon) 

Constellations: I've always been a huge fan of Astronomy, so the idea of doing my storybook over how the stars and mythology connect is super appealing. I'd love to learn more about how and why the constellations got their names and how it ties back in to mythology. I've heard stories about the big and little dipper, but I'm sure that there are a lot more that I've never even heard of.

Research so far: I actually found a website that lists out all of the major constellations and how they got their names. I'm a Taurus, so I thought it would be fun to briefly look up information about my sign. I learned that when Jupiter fell in love with Europa, he actually took on a bull form (Taurus) and that's how the constellation got it's name. I'll be very interested to read through the rest of the constellations and learn how they got their names. 

(Map of the constellations)

Mythological Creatures: This topic has always been super interesting to me. I love learning about Calypso and other mythological creatures, so this could be a great storybook topic and way to learn about mythological creatures. I don't know of many (I learned a little bit about them in my high school English classes), so I think I would learn a lot by doing my storybook over this topic.

Research so far: There are so many different mythological creatures. I would have a hard time choosing just a couple, but I definitely couldn't do it over all of them. There's also a lot of information about the creatures in general. I read a little bit about Talos on this website. Talos was a giant who guarded the Island of Crete. He actually had him as Europa's protecter while she lived on Crete. He was a huge gold "statue". I liked the little bit I learned about him and his time on the infamous Island of Crete. 

(Talos)

Week 2 Storytelling: Mary's Journey

This story is based on the story of Mary in the bible.

****

Mary’s whole life had been right on track, going perfectly as planned. She and Joseph were engaged; planning on being married in the next few months, and soon after would start their life together as a family. It was all going perfectly, until Gabriel visited her last night and informed her that she would become pregnant with the Son of God. Mary didn’t know what to do. She needed to tell Joseph, of course, but how was she even supposed to begin that conversation? “Hey, I know we’re supposed to get married and all, but I’m actually pregnant with Jesus, the Son of God, you know, the guy who created everything”. She couldn’t even begin to imagine what people would say, since being pregnant out of wedlock wasn’t really the thing to do in her town. What was she supposed to say when people asked questions? Mary decided that she better tell Joseph right away and just get it over with. 

She anxiously waited for Joseph to arrive at her house, trying to figure out the right words to say. When Joseph arrived, Mary immediately felt sick to her stomach, and, before Joseph could even say hi, she blurted out “Gabriel visited me last night and I’m to bear God’s child”. Joseph stood there with a blank look on his face and said “Could you repeat that?”. Mary gulped, and repeated the shocking news. Joseph looked at her for a second in disbelief, turned around, and left. 

Mary wasn’t sure what to do, but knew that she needed to leave. Joseph would probably never speak to her again, considering it’s hard to believe that she’s pregnant with God’s son, and the whole town would be judging her for the next nine months. There’s no way that she was sticking around. Mary packed her valuable belongings and set out to find a new home. She knew she’d most likely be judged in any place she went to, but thought it’d be better than facing people who she had grown up with. She also didn’t want to face Joseph again. She walked out of town, silently saying goodbye to all the people in Nazareth who she loved. Mary walked for what felt like hours and arrived in Sychor. She found an inn and settled in for the night. In Sychor, Mary found a small inn and rented a room for the night. She couldn’t decide if she was going to stay in Sychor or continue her journey, getting farther from Nazareth.

God watched Mary as she left Nazareth, and summoned Gabriel to visit her yet again. He was tasked with getting her to go back home and back to Joseph.

Mary was exhausted from walking and was ready to have a good night's sleep. She was sleeping soundly until, suddenly, Gabriel appeared. “Why have you left Joseph and Nazaret?” he wondered. Mary explained to him how upset Joseph was at the news and how afraid she was to have Jesus. Gabriel listened and responded with “Don’t you think God carefully picked the mother of his child out?” “He knows you can handle this” and instructed her to return to Nazareth. Mary, who up until this point hadn’t even thought about the fact that God had hand chosen her to be Jesus’ mother, agreed to journey back to Nazareth in the morning. She was ready to face any judgments that people may have of her.

After another long day of walking, Mary finally arrived back home. She was greeted by an extremely worried Joseph. Once she explained her reason for leaving, she realized how silly she sounded and was just so happy to be back home. She went on to have Jesus and had an extremely different life than the one she had planned.

(Mary and Jesus)

Author's Note: Mary is arguably the most famous woman in the bible, because we know her as Jesus' mother. She was visited by the angel Gabriel and informed that she was going to carry the son of God. I read about Mary in the "Biblical Women" unit, but it she didn't have an individual section, and it really didn't cover in detail how she felt about being pregnant with God's son. So I thought it'd be interesting to write about Mary's initial reaction to finding out that she was going to have Jesus. I think that it must have been pretty shocking (not that she'd react like she did in this story) and that she might have some crazy thoughts run through her mind and have no idea about what she was supposed to do, even though she does faithfully believe Gabriel and give birth to Jesus. I also read that Joseph initially wanted to break their "engagement" (some claim that engagements weren't a thing in biblical times), since she was pregnant with a child that wasn't his, so I thought it might be fun to kind of expand more into what it was like right after Mary found out and actions that she could have possibly taken simply because she was scared.

Bibliography: The readings covered Mary in three parts Mary and Elizabeth, Mary and Anna and Mary and Martha. 

I also found information on Mary here. 

Week 2: Reading Diary: Bible Women

This post is over the second half of Bible Women. Just like in the first part of the reading, I barely knew any of the women on this list, so I'm interested in reading more about these women.

The Witch of Endor: This is the witch that King Saul, who was no longer worthy in God's eyes went to visit, even though he was the one to outlaw it in the first place. Since he outlawed witchcraft, and knew that the witch would be scared, he had to dress in disguise. He was worried about his upcoming battle with Philistine and wanted to know what she saw for his future. He asked her to make Samuel appear and he eased his worries about the battle.

Bathsheba: I've read about Bathsheba before, but I was really interested in learning more about her. King David, who replaced Saul, was a married man. He saw Bathsheba, however, and fell in love and had a child with her, but their first child didn't survive.

(Esther)

Esther: King Ahasuerus chose Esther to be his new queen after his previous wife had made him angry. Many people liked Esther because she was so kind and she received lots of favors and gifts from the king. She was actually the king's favorite wife.

Esther (continued): There was a plot to kill the Jewish people, and Mordecai asked Esther to represent the king and find peace among the two groups. Esther was only allowed to speak to the king when she was summoned, but hadn't been summoned in a long time. He finally allowed her to speak to him and she requested that he and the Haman join her for a royal feast.

Esther (conclusion): The king and Haman joined Esther for the feast. Esther told the king about how evil Haman was, and he was eventually killed. She became the king's favorite wife once again, and is known as a heroine in the Jewish religion. 

Susannah: Susannah was a woman that the Elders tried to take advantage of and blackmail. When she refused, they requested she be put to death. God knew that Susannah had done nothing wrong and sends a message through Daniel. The elders are found guilty of lying and are put to death. 

Mary and Elizabeth: Mary is the mother of Jesus and Elizabeth is the mother of John the Baptist. Mary was told by Gabriel that she would become pregnant with a son, and his name was to be Jesus. Elizabeth had the Holy Spirit fill her and she and Mary lived together for about three months. 

Mary and Anna: Mary goes to Bethlehem to give birth to Jesus and Anna was an extremely old prophetess who prophesied about Jesus while she was in the temple. 

Herodias: John the Baptist said it wasn't lawful for Herod to have Phillip's wife, and Herodias, angered by this, wanted to kill John. John was eventually killed and the king allowed Herodias to have his head. 

Martha and Mary: These sisters had Jesus visit their home. Their brother had just died and Mary believed that he would have survived had Jesus come to their house earlier. They took him to the tomb and he resurrected Lazarus.

Each of these stories were very good to read. Like I said in the last post, the language made it hard to understand some of it, but it was very interesting to read about how each of these women played a role in the different events throughout the bible. 

Week 2: Reading Diary: Bible Women

The first half of the Bible Women was very interesting to read. I have only heard about a few of them, so I enjoyed reading about all of the different women in biblical times.

Eve: Eve is probably the most well-known biblical woman. She was tempted by the servant to eat the apple and disobeyed God, shattering the perfect world they lived in. She and Adam were forced out of the Garden of Eden and, in God's eyes, corrupted humanity.

Sarah: Sarah was the wife of Abraham and wasn't supposed to have children, but God told her that she would have a son, and she gave birth to Isaac.


(Abraham and three angels)

Hagar: Sarah knew she couldn't have children, and felt that Abraham needed a son, so she told Hagar to bear a son for them. God commanded her to name him Ishmael. Sarah, after conceiving Isaac, casts out Hagar and Ishmael.

Rebekah: Rebekah was Isaac's wife after Sarah died. She was also unable to have children, but God decided that she was to conceive, and she became pregnant with twins. Esau and Jacob.

Rachel: Rachel was Jacob's niece, and when he found her fell in love with her, served for her for seven years, but Laban had him marry both of his daughters, Leah and Rachel, even though he loved Leah more.

Leah: Leah was the wife of Jacob, along with Rachel, but was the only one who could conceive children. She had three sons, Simon, Judah and Levi. Rachel got jealous, demanded that Jacob give her children, but ended up having her handmaid, Bilhah, have a child for them. The son's name was Dan. She then had a one more son, Naphtali. Leah then decided to have more children, since Rachel had more, but had her handmaid have them for her. The son's name was Gad, and the Zilpah, the handmaid, had one more son, Asher. God gave Leah another son, Zebulun, and a daughter, Dinah. God also gave Rachel another son, Joseph.

Potiphar's Wife: Potiphar's wife tried to sleep with Joseph, but he refused. Joseph was still blamed though and taken to prison.

Jephthah's Daughter: She was his only daughter. She told her father that she was going to give her virginity to the mountain. She took a two month long journey with companions to do this. 

Delilah: Samson's wife who bound him before the men came to take him to Gaza to go to prison.

Hannah: Elkanah's wife. She couldn't have children, but had a child that she ended up declaring to the lord.

This unit was interesting to read, but it also was kind of hard to understand since the language used made it a bit difficult to get through. I did enjoy reading more about bible women though! I hadn't heard of any of them besides Eve and Sarah, so the first half of this unit was very interesting!

Tech Tip: Pinterest Board (Pinterest Embedded)

I've embedded my Pinterest board into this post and you can find the my board here. I actually love getting on Pinterest, and have had one since high school. I really enjoy browsing through recipes and decor in my free time. I also use it to find inspiration for creative projects. I'm really excited to use it as a resource for this class!

Learning Challenges: Learn By H.E.A.R.T

I actually really enjoy reading about all of these topics! The video about time measured in jellybeans also really made me think, because I think it's really easy to get in a routine of never using your time for anything worthwhile, like choosing to take a nap or just binge-watch Netflix. The advertisement also kind of opened my eyes to see that procrastinating isn't really the best thing to do at all, because a lot of times you never even achieve your original goal.

As for the Learn By H.E.A.R.T, I think time, health and happiness are all very important to me and things I need to really focus on in the coming year. I've been really bad about making time to take care of myself and eat healthy and workout, which is something I want to be much better at this year. I need to make time to be active and eat healthy and realize the implications that not being healthy might have later in life. It can be hard as a college student to eat healthy and work out, both because of how expensive and time consuming it can be, but there are relatively easy ways to be healthy, so I just need to stop making excuses. I'm really bad about procrastinating, saying I'll work out or start eating healthy "tomorrow, which is a habit I really need to break.

I definitely need to have better time management. I'm extremely bad about procrastinating and waiting until last minute to do homework, study for a test and work on projects. Since I'm busier this semester, I'm really trying to write things down in a calendar and do things way before they're due.

Lastly, happiness is something I really want to work on this semester. I'm currently happy in my life, but I want to make sure I'm doing things that make me happy, whether it be taking time out of each day to read a book or saying no to people when I know I don't want to participate in an activity. I think that it's so easy to just say "yes", simply because I don't want to be the person who's left out or not a part of the group. The problem with that, however, is that I'm not always happy with the activities that we are doing or how much time is spent doing said activities. I want to spend more time doing the hobbies I'm passionate about, rather than just wasting time doing mindless activities.

(This image is a good way to describe how people get sucked into a mundane life) 

I think all of the H.E.A.R.T aspects are incredibly important to growing as people and achieving a life that's rewarding, but it's also hard to keep up with each of them. I really would like to work on growing in each of these areas this semester.

Thoughts On Growth Mindset

I had never heard of Carol Dweck or the growth mindset before, but I think it's a really important concept for people to learn about, and I'm very excited to learn more about this concept this semester. I think that people, and parents, become very comfortable with their children just reaching an end goal rather than setting up continuos goals along the way. It's really important for kids to learn that their efforts and ways of solving a problem, even if it's not how someone would teach the general public to solve a problem, are worthy of praise. They don't need to only have one end point, but have multiple goals and be able to dream big and think about their futures. I personally believe this one of the biggest issues with common core testing. Teachers and students are just focusing on getting good test grades instead of really learning and teaching concepts that could benefit the children in the future. They're focused on a test, because the state has mandated scores determine how good of a student/teacher they are. 

I definitely think I'm guilty of having a fixed mindset and worrying more about the "now" rather than the "yet". There are so many times that I have just been so focused on the end of a class and getting the "A", and trying to find the easiest and quickest ways to finish assignments, not really challenging myself at all. It would definitely help me in my future career if I started implementing more of a growth mindset in school. This semester I want to be much better about not just focusing on getting good grades and really thinking about my approach to problem solving and setting both short-term and long-term goals for myself.

I've learned so much about my learning during my time here at OU. I've learned that I'm an extremely visual learner and do much better when someone shows me how to do something rather than just reading out of a book or being told what to do.  I've also found that I'm very easily distracted while learning. I have to pay extra attention and focus extremely well or I won't grasp concepts well at all.

 

(Stepping Out Of Your Comfort Zone)

My Storybook Favorites

I really enjoyed getting to go through some of the storybooks! Below are three of my favorite that I came across.

My Brothers Grimm: The Diary of the Only Grimm Sister This storybook immediately caught my eye because I loved reading the Brothers Grimm stories while growing up, even though they were sometimes kind of scary. The Grimm Brothers are so popular for their gory fairytales, and you really only think of them as a duo. You never even think that they could have had other family members because you think that it's just the two of them. I love that the introduction talks about Charlotte Grimm and gives a different person's perspective of the brothers and how their stories relate to her life. The design follows the dark theme of the Brothers Grimm stories, which is perfect for setting the scene for some of the gory things Charlotte saw. I really like the navigation of the page, and the colors reminded me that my storybook needs to have a consistent feeling throughout. The design has to match the tone of the storybook.



(screenshot of "My Brothers Grimm" storybook)

The Never-Ending Love Story: Love Across Time and Culture I love the magical feeling of this story. The author did an amazing job at making this storybook feel magical and mysterious and using the proper tone to make the love feel timeless. The design is light and the author uses romantic colors that reflect the tone of the entire storybook. It's so interesting that you learn about each of the souls' lives and see how they come together and fall in love in each life. It's really nice that the tabs split the stories up into each of the different lives rather than just be clumped together under one tab. It all flows very well.



(Screenshot of "The Never-Ending Love Story").

Gossip Girl: The Dirt on Hawaii's Elite As one of "Gossip Girls" biggest fans, I love that this storybook took an extremely popular show and changed it to talk about ancient Hawaiians. The title of this storybook immediately caught my attention, reminding me that the title can be just as important as the content of a storybook. The introduction even follows the typical "Gossip Girl" intro, tying into the show even more. The word "spotted" was used to introduce some of the story plot, just like the show. The colors stick to the glamorous "Gossip Girl" theme and I really liked the different fonts that were used. As previously stated, I think it's important to have every aspect of your storybook match, from the colors to the font to the different tones that you use.

Overview Of My Untextbook Reading Choices

There are so many stories that look good, but for the first week I'm going to read about Bible Women. I'm very interested in learning about the women of the bible, so I think I'll enjoy about this unit. I've learned a little about some of the women, so I think it'll be interesting to go in depth with the stories and descriptions.



(The Garden Of Eden by Lucas Cranach The Elder)

Alice in Wonderland I've always enjoyed the "Alice in Wonderland" stories, so I believe I'm going to really like reading this unit. "Alice in Wonderland" was one of my favorite stories and movies growing up, so it'll be cool to read it as an adult and see if I'm just as interested. I always think it's interesting how different authors take one story that's popular, like "Alice in Wonderland", and make it their own.

Homer's Iliad I remember reading this story in high school, as well as watching a movie over it, so I'm interested in reading it again and trying to see what all I remember about it. I really liked the movie, so I'm hoping that this story will be just as interesting. I also think it would be interesting to watch the movie again and see how it corresponds to the book.

Myths of the Cherokee I'm Choctaw and I'm very interested in Native American myth and folklore in general, so I think this unit will be really interesting. I've never really been able to learn about the Cherokee culture, so this is a great reading opportunity. It's always really cool to hear stories and learn about the traditions, cultures and beliefs that different Native American tribes have. This unit will be extremely interesting. 

Week 1 Storytelling: Doctor Foster's Horrible Day

Doctor Foster went to Glo'ster

In a shower of rain;

He stepped in a puddle, up to his middle, 

And never went there again.

(Traditional Nursery Rhyme) 

***

Doctor Foster just knew he was going to have a great day. He woke up early feeling rested and refreshed, was up in time to get his favorite donuts from the bakery down the street, and didn’t have very many patients in the afternoon, which gave him an hour and a half break, which was extremely rare. Since he had extra time, he even decided he would take a trip to one of his favorite lunch spots in the Gloucester, which would make his day even better. He also didn’t have any patients after 3:00, so he was going to be able to come home early and take his dog to the park, something he hadn’t been able to do since flu and cold season had begun. The sun was shining, the day abnormally warm, and the flowers were in full bloom as he walked to work in the happiest mood.

(Doctor Foster) 

His day began going wrong as soon as he walked into his office. As he was filling up his coffee cup, his secretary frantically ran into him, spilling his coffee everywhere. She apologized, but said she didn’t know what to do because the phone had been ringing off the hook. Everyone had suddenly wanted to be seen immediately. His morning, which was only supposed to be filled with three or four appointments, changed to him seeing eight patients all before noon. He also now had to see patients all afternoon, meaning he was going to have to stay later than 3:00. He still had an hour and a half break, however, so he was still looking forward to being able to go to his lunch spot, which kept him in good spirits.

After a long morning of treating patients, some suffering from the actual flu while others seemed to just have a bad case of allergies, Dr. Foster was finally able to take his lunch break. He was so distracted with thinking about what he was going to get that he didn’t realize how dark the sky had become. He walked about a block from his office and it started pouring rain. Since it had been so warm and sunny earlier, Dr. Foster hadn’t even worn a jacket, let alone remembered an umbrella, and he was instantly soaked. He quickly found the nearest tube entrance, determined to not let this ruin his day.

He enjoyed the quick tube ride, getting in better spirits as the train approached his stop. He couldn’t wait to get his lunch and return to his office, where he could hopefully get through his appointments quickly and still make it home on time to take his dog for a walk.

Dr. Foster finally arrived at his stop and hurriedly ran up the stairs to get to the street. As soon as he reached the last step, he immediately planted his foot into a huge puddle of water, deep enough that it covered the bottom of his pants. To make matters worse, a car was driving by at that moment, hit a puddle, and covered him in water. Dr. Foster immediately turned around, got back on the tube, returned to work and never went to his favorite lunch spot in Gloucester again.

Author's Note: I did some research into the poem's origin, and it actually was created in the 13th century to warn children that puddles that they saw on the roads may be much deeper than they thought. King Edward apparently went to Gloucester and fell off his horse into an incredibly muddy puddle, which made him so embarrassed that he never returned to Gloucester again. I thought this was actually really funny because you hear about the ridiculous things monarchs did simply because they were embarrassed or didn't like something. 

Bibliography: This story is based on the poem "Doctor Foster Went To Gloucester" in The Nursery Rhyme Book edited by Andrew Lang (1897)

I found information on this story at this website. 

Introduction To Future Advertising Professional

My name is Jessica Schaefer and I'm a senior Advertising major with a minor in Spanish from Grapevine, Texas. I really enjoy my major, and my favorite part of advertising is the creative freedom that it allows, even though I've become super critical of any and all advertisements I see now. I've been able to work on some really cool projects through Gaylord. For example, last semester my group did a branding project in our capstone for an actual energy bar client and really put our skills to the test. It was definitely one of the most difficult classes I've taken within my major, but really allowed me to build my advertising skills and learn which fields of advertising that I truly want to work in.  After I graduate in May I hope to work at either an advertising agency in branding, digital media, or media planning, or to work in the branding department in-house somewhere. I'd love to be able to move to LA, Portland or Seattle after starting my career. My dream job would definitely be to work on branding for Nike or for Apple.

I've been a dog person all of my life up until last year when I got my cat, Michael. He's a Russian Blue that I adopted from the shelter and he's a little over a year old. His favorite activities include sitting in the bathtub and attacking people's legs when they least expect it. He also has a very funny pouch that swings when he walks or runs that is the focal point for anyone that comes to see him. He's a handful and extremely playful, but is one of my favorite pets that I've ever had. I'm also super biased, so whenever he actually does something wrong I can't stay mad at him for very long. I actually took him home for Christmas and my dog Buddy became obsessed with him and would follow him around, even though Michael would bat him any chance he got. 

(Personal photo of Michael doing one of his favorite activities, sitting in the bathtub).

I like to think I have a wide variety of hobbies and interests. I really enjoy reading, traveling, writing and photography. Two of my internships over the past year have actually been in copywriting, so it was really cool to be able to combine my hobby with my career. I'm also a huge sports fan and am super excited for this year's basketball season. I also really like doing a variety of outdoor activities. My friends and I enjoy hiking and camping and try to get outside as much as possible.  With traveling, I hope to be able to travel all over the world and eventually start a travel blog. My friends and I are planning all sorts of trips for after graduation, and I actually have a goal of traveling to all 50 states within the next four years, and I'm currently at 26. 

I have a lot of goals for myself, especially for my life after graduation, but I'm really trying to enjoy my last semester of college with my friends. I'm really excited to see what this semester, and year, will bring. 

Hawaii. My favorite place

My family and I have been to Hawaii twice, and I can definitely say that it's my favorite place to visit. We do a lot of hiking, adventuring, and, of course, we spend a lot of lazy days on the beach while there. This past summer we went to Maui, which is a lot different from Honolulu, which we went to back when I was in high school.

(The Beautiful Maui Coast: Wikimedia Commons)

There are so many activities to do in Hawaii, all while submerging yourself in the amazing island culture. We were able to hike the Halekala Volcano, where the sky was clear enough that we could see the Big Island, go on a submarine and see an amazing amount of fish, sharks and even an eel. I had never been in a submarine before, so it definitely was a unique experience.  We also spent a crazy day driving on the road to Hana, which is known for its hairpin turns and amazing views. Besides the land activities,  My sister and I also spent over two hours paddle boarding and were able to see wild sea turtles and enjoy a calm day on the ocean. While all of the different activities were fun, one of my favorite activities was attending a luau and learning about the history and folklore surrounding the island. We learned the important Hawaiian values, the traditional dances, and ate authentic food. I loved seeing all the beautiful outfits and watching the amazing cultural dances. We were able to talk to native Hawaiians and hear why they love their island and why their culture is so important to them. I think learning about different cultures is one of the most interesting, and important, things about traveling to a new place, and really enjoyed being submerged in the culture.

(Personal image of the Maui coast from my vacation to Hawaii in 2015) 

(Personal image of the Halekala Volcano from my vacation to Hawaii in 2015) 

(Personal image from submarine trip during my vacation to Hawaii in 2015) 

Hawaii was one of the prettiest and most adventurous vacations I've ever been on, and I can't wait until I'm able to go back.

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(My cat, Michael. Picture taken by me)

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