NYC for the summer

 A few weeks ago I found out, dreams really do come true! 

With that said, I am so excited to announce, that I will be heading out to New York City this Friday to start my summer of interning in SOHO. If you know me, you know I have always dreamed of living in New York. Something about a big city and bright lights excites me. The fast pace city is perfect to keep up with my over-the-top personality. I love exploring new places and meeting new people and really, where better to do that than in New York City?! 

I will be working in SOHO for 10 weeks at a company that I believe in and am so excited to work for. Everyone has always told me, “if you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere”. I can’t wait to explore the city I get to live in for the summer and hopefully, for many years to come after graduation.

On that note, I would love to hear all about the great restaurants or fun things to do in the city if you have been or live there. My apartment is in the East Village and my job is located in SOHO, so fun or quick restaurants around there would be a big help! 

I hope you will all subscribe to my site and follow along on this summer of adventure in New York City! 

10 lessons I’ve learned in 21 years

I have finally made it! After months of waiting and all of my friends being 21, my birthday has finally come and I could not be more excited. To celebrate this milestone and my birthday month quickly coming to an end (yes, I celebrate the whole month), I decided to write about 10 lessons I have learned in my 21 years on this earth.

1. Don’t wish to grow older, time is precious and it comes and goes faster than you think.
2. Enjoy where you are and who you are with, every thing and every one seems to change so fast and you can’t get it back.
3. Family really is everything. No matter how far you travel or how many mistakes you make, they will always be there to back you up, no matter what.
4. Take time to see the ones you love. My family is spread out throughout the United States from Orange County, California to Southern Florida. Nothing is better than getting off that airplane and having my three and four year old cousins run up and give me the biggest hug. It makes the travel all worth it. Get a good book and hit the road!
5. Quality over quantity. I cannot emphasize this one enough. It is probably one of the biggest and hardest lessons for me to learn and I am still working on it. Great friends who care and love you are so much better than having a ton of friends who just text or call you when they need something. You are important and your friends should value your time and friendship and you should value them as well.
6. Don’t sweat the small stuff. At the time, not being invited to a gathering or not getting the internship you wanted may seem like the biggest deal in the world, but don’t worry. You are probably better off without it because something even better is in the works. You just need to breathe and keep going. The world is not ending. Get up and make yourself a better person.
7. You probably won’t have your life together and that’s okay. At 21, how are we suppose to know what we want to do till we are 65 or 70? That is more time to be doing one thing than we have been alive and that is a lot of pressure. Don’t worry, this is the time to try things and figure out what works and what doesn’t. Apply for internships and shadow as many people as you can. This is the best way to get an idea if a job is right for you or not.
8. Don’t let the fear of failure stop you from trying something. At one point in your life, you are going to fail and that is fine. It is how you pick yourself back up and learn from it that matters. Make the most of every opportunity and give it your all. Odds are, you are going to be just fine.
9. Travel. Whether it is to a different state or different country, do it. In my short 21 years of life, I have traveled to 14 different countries and they have been some the best experiences I have ever and probably will ever have. Having the opportunity to not just learn about other countries, but experience and immerse myself into them has been amazing. Traveling isn’t just fun, it makes you a better person. I know I am because of it.
10. Take time to grow your friendships. Life is lonely without friends. Everyone gets busy and it is easy to get into a routine and forget to reach out to people, but do it. Take time to have lunch with friends or hang by the pool. Ask them questions, see how they are doing, what is new in their life. These are the friendships you have to fall back on when everything else disappears. Make sure these relationships are strong, show your friends you really do care for them.

I have loved the past 21 years and cannot wait to see where the next 21 take me! 

The end is here

Now that the semester is over, this post is a reflection of my time in PR pubs and where I am now. I go through a few questions that made me reflect on my time in PR pubs. I hope you enjoy!

Mr Paradise GIF- found here

How was the course format?

The course format was great! I felt it allowed each of us to find our own way and become our own person through different creative applications. We were not forced to do it one way, we were free to find our own way. I really enjoyed that freedom and I feel that contributed to my growth a lot.

How was journaling every week?

Writing is my passion and I find words to be a great release for me. So obviously, I really enjoyed journaling every week. It was also a great reflection tool each week to sit down and really think about the process I went through to come out with the finished product.

What will happen to your site?

I had this blog site before this class and I will continue to use it after, but in a different way. I will continue to blog about my life and travels. I find blogging to be fun and an easy way to keep up with people and their lives. I also enjoy reading blogs on different subjects that interest me.

How did you grow as a creative?

My growth during this class was insane. I started with basically zero experience, so there was nothing but growth the entire semester.  During the first week of class, I couldn’t even find the desktop, let alone how to navigate adobe suite. I am really proud of how much I grew during this time and I can’t wait to see how I continue to grow.

The end is near

Completed, finished, done. The last assignment of PR Pubs has been finished and turned in. Now it is time to reflect on all the wonderful and horrible things that I experienced this semester in PR Pubs.

Dancing GIF- found here

Looking back on my blog posts at the beginning, I was clearly nervous and not sure how I would be at the graphic design side of PR. I had zero confidence in myself to be able to do this type of work and really, I didn’t want to do this side of PR. I have always been more interested in the writing, public speaking and social media side of PR.

As the semester went on, my confidence grew and I realized that I could do it and that I also really did enjoy working with the new applications that we used. I tend to not enjoy things as much when I can’t figure something out quickly because I normally can. PR Pubs was not one of those things and so it took me a while to enjoy it.

I believe the turning point for me during the semester was when we used Canva because that was a site I had used before and I finally felt comfortable in the class. From that point on, my outlook on the class changed and I began to come in more confident about my projects and I began to like the completed projects.

Hulu GIF- found here

My favorite project that I did was the video interview with Erin. I was really proud of how it turned out and I really enjoyed the process of making it. I felt confident the whole time and saw myself grow through that project. Here is the link if you haven’t seen it yet.

Overall, I felt I grew a lot through this class. This was the first time I have ever used Adobe suite applications. I now have a better understanding of them and can do the basics of each application we used. I feel more confident in my design abilities and am excited to see where I go in the future and how these new skills will benefit me.

Here is my final PR Pubs project to show you a timeline of this semester in PR Pubs through emojis:

 

A completed client launch

Wow, what a whirlwind, but a great success! I have just completed my client launch and it was a huge success. For this client launch, I had to launch a social media campaign for my client, TallulahBelle’s, that I have been working with all semester. Luckily for me, the store already had a Facebook and Twitter page with a large following. You can visit the Facebook page here.

For this client launch, I used five of the assignments that we did in class including the short video and fact sheet. All semester I had really focused on the relocation of TallulahBelle’s and how important shopping local is. I faced a minor obstacle when my client wanted me to focus my posts on Mother’s day, graduation and her upcoming event. With this in mind, I easily found a way to incorporate shopping local and how TallulahBelle’s had relocated, while focusing on the upcoming events.

I also focused on what made TallulahBelle’s special and how they were different from your typical art gallery. I found these types of personal posts to be the most successful during the campaign. I got close to a thousand views when I posted about the artists featured at TallulahBelle’s, the background of TallulahBelle’s and how shopping local was important. I thought this was very exciting and I tried to incorporate this kind of thing into all of my posts.

All in all, the client launch was a success!

TV GIF- found here

The final product is here

Finally, I have completed the video! It has been a long time coming, but I am so glad that it is done. During the process, I experienced some obstacles, but overall I enjoyed the process from creating the video to editing it.

Primark GIF- found here

Some obstacles faced were realizing that the video had to be under three minutes and of course mine was over that. This caused me to have to delete an entire section that I thought was important and that wrapped up the entire video. Another obstacle was figuring out all the editing functions that went into making a video, but overall I think it went well.

I really enjoyed the process and how it turned out. It was so fun getting to know more about a classmate that I probably wouldn’t have talked with because she sits on the other side of the room. We had a good time filming and making b-roll. The editing process was not as difficult once I got the hang of it. Although I have to say, I am so happy to have completed this project.

Happy GIF- found here

Overall, I really enjoyed the process and I have provided the link to the interview if you would like to watch it! Enjoy! https://youtu.be/oFJR9QSUCe4

 

The video saga continues

I know you all are on the edge of your seat wondering how my video project is going and not to ruin the surprise, but it is going very well. It is not done yet, but I am well on my way to finishing by next Thursday, which is the due date. Thankfully it has been moved back due to the long process it takes to cut and edit a video.

Excited GIF- Found here

The editing is coming along and I am really happy with it. I have completed the length and more that it needs to be. The whole interview is based off of her high schools years and focuses mainly on her time in show choir. I start the video off with her dancing through the hallway and then the interview starts. I felt like the dancing was a light hearted way to start off the interview, but it was also a way to secretly give the viewer an inside to what the interview was about.

Throughout the interview, while she is talking, the b-roll is mainly her scrolling through her Facebook feed of photos from show choir and her friends. It is also her showing her high school show choir performance. This b-roll footage gives viewers a nostalgic feel about going back to their past and reliving it through her talking about her high school days, I hope this gives them a connection to the interview.

Dancing GIF- Found here

At random points during the interview and between questions, the music turns up and it cuts to her dancing through the halls again. I feel that this gives the interview a fun and light hearted feel, which is what I am going for. I love how the video is turning out and how fun and free it is. I hope the finished product is even better and turns out how I hope and imagine it will. To hear more about my video saga read my previous two blog posts on the start of the process and the post interview.

Finally excited

The time has come to start the video process and the interview piece is completed. I am actually so excited to put it all together because I have this vision in my head and I really hope I can manage to make it a reality.

My interview partner and I met today at 6 pm to do our interviews because I fly home for Easter tomorrow and will not be in class. I think this actually worked better for us because it was at a time of day that Gaylord college was quieter and therefore background noise will not be as big of a problem.

Interview GIF- Found here

We had a great time filming each other and asking questions. I was not quite sure how I was going to feel during the interview because I am not a huge fan of being put on the spot. But, we had a great time and the questions were super easy to answer and it really felt natural, kind of like a conversation. My questions were mainly about my childhood and my mom, which are easy topics to talk about. I mean come on, who doesn’t love talking about themselves?!

The questions  I asked during her interview were about high school and experiences and lessons learned from high school. It was a really cool experience to kind of truly meet the person that day and just jump right into a semi deep conversation about their life and who they are. I actually really enjoyed it.

For the Broll, we had a blast filming it. We tried to get as artsy as we could and really dig to find our creativity. Since the questions really had nothing to do with OU and college life, we decided to do an over-the-shoulder shot while scrolling through pictures, mine of my mom and I and her of her high school days. I also had her dance down the hall way for a good time.

Happy GIF- Found here

I am now excited to start the editing process and hopefully make my idea come to life! Fingers crossed.

It’s go time

There is one month left of the semester and that means it is crunch time. Everyone starts to work in over drive to finish all assignments, get grades in and prepare for finals. Oh, what an exciting time. Really, the only exciting part of it is that summer is close.

Since the last post, we have been working on client pieces like informational news release, media advisory, media release, short video and an email pitch. I have focused all of my assignments around the relocation of TallulahBelle’s to Downtown Overland Park. I did this to have a central focus for the overall campaign and then differ each specific assignment slightly. I felt that if I had a focus then the overall campaign would come together better. I chose the relocation because it is the biggest thing going on with TallulahBelle’s right now and it is a huge change that customers and potential customers need to know about.

These assignments have been a challenge because TallulahBelle’s is in Kansas City and I am at school in Norman, Oklahoma. With the distance, we have had to email quite a bit to get information and have my mom go to the store to video for the short video assignment. She did a great job and followed my instructions, but I am a perfectionist so it is hard to not be there to oversee it while it is all going on .

I will use these lessons in my future work by providing coworkers detailed instructions when I can not be there to oversee a project. I will also have to trust my coworkers will do a great job. These lessons will come in handy a lot because in the working world there is a lot of team collaboration and work.

Getting into the video vibes

Croom, our fierce-less leader is back!! Thankfully, and now everything is more clear on what to do, how to do it and when it is due.

Yay GIF- found here

Since this week was a little hectic, I will give you all the inside scoop into the video assignment that will be coming. To prepare for this video, we watched a TED talk about StoryCorps and how it has impacted people’s lives and he shared a few of the interviews. This video assignment we are doing is based off of StoryCorps and the interview format it follows.

Now the main difference between StoryCorps and how we will be conducting the video, besides the level of professionalism, is in StoryCorps interviews, they are between two people who know and love each other and ours will be between two classmates who do not necessarily know each other.

Interview GIF- Found here

What concerns me about this type of format is how in-depth can these interviews really be if the interviewer knows little to nothing about the interviewee and therefore can not lead the conversation to be more meaningful by already knowing the surface level of the person. I feel these interviews will be more basic and on subjects of everyday life or a piece of ones childhood.

I am excited to start the process and to begin interviewing my person because I am interested on how the conversation will go since it is meant to more raw and real, but most people tend to build a wall or close themselves off a little bit until they get to know a person.

Cheers to another week in PR pubs and the beginning of a new video experience.

Leonardo Dicaprio GIF- Found here