Blog Assignment #6

How I’ve grown, what I’ve learned.

Obviously over this semester, I'd like to think I learned my way around Iowa State and also more about myself and how to study efficiently and effectively.

Coming in this fall, I thought I could probably navigate the campus pretty well. After all, over orientation I had it down. Within the first month, I somehow managed to completely circle Parks Library... looking for Parks Library. Luckily for me, that hasn't happened again. Also thanks to Hixson, I know so much more about the campus' history and urban legends. Pretty neat things to be sharing with my friends and family when they visit. They're impressed with my knowledge. Or at least that's what I tell myself.

Taking the MBIT and other lessons over the semester have also shined a little light on myself and what I'm like. I come from a small high school, and it's been an interesting adjustment. I thought I was super outgoing and making friends came so easily to me, but of course that was in part to knowing the same kids since kindergarten. It takes some time for me to know people and open up. The first few weeks of the seminar were kind of awkward honestly, but things have improved a lot. As surely my social situation will over the next four years.

In high school I had a 4.0 GPA. For the most part, it was somewhat effortless. I didn't ever full out study, and as long as I paid attention in class the tests were cake money. College however is a completely different story. I study - A LOT. More in the first semester than my previous twelve years of school. EVER. And knowing this, I wonder what would have happened in high school had I actually applied myself more rigorously. (...curing the common cold perhaps?) Who's to say. But experiences and discussions in the seminar and recitation have opened my eyes to new and excellent methods.

Blog Assignment #5

What does the Hixson award mean to me?

The driving force behind all of my success is the yearning to not end up like my parents. I love them all to death, and they're at such better places with themselves right now. But the fact that it took them forty years to become this stable is unsettling at best. My parents were married for a year before an unplanned pregnancy resulted in little, baby me. The story goes that they were both cheating on each other in some respects, and only maybe a month after I was born they became separated. My dad stayed in Texas for a while and then drifted off to California. I didn't see my father until I was three or four, and by then my mom had remarried my step-father and they had conceived my sister Jenna. I only saw my father when he was in stable relationships and his girlfriend/wife actually had a place to live. I don't know much of my parents' pasts, but what I do know is shady. For instance, I know my dad experimented with a lot of drugs. I know that my mom's family has a long history of alcholism. My stepfather has never really valued education and only really cares about sports and lectures me about a poor work ethic in jobs that frankly don't interest me. Sometimes it feels like I'm the adult and I have to take care of my parents. Somehow even from a young age I knew that the best way to get out of here was through hard work.

"For many of the great, great successes of the world, the background they came from was their challenge. I'm trying to find those people. They are the ones who will lend the helping hands in the future." -Christina Hixson

Never before have words rang so true to me. I believe in the power of my own will and think it will take me far in life. The Hixson Award means so much to me in so many different ways. It's a chance to succeed, something I've always accepted the challenge of taking. It's an investment - in my own education and future. It's something I will forever be eternally grateful towards Christina Hixson for. And it's something I intend to use to make my family, Miss Hixson, and myself proud of me for.

Blog Assignment #4

For Social Media Week, since I already have a website and outright refuse to get a Twitter, I liked ten businesses related to my field of study. Below are the businesses I liked and the comments I left:

1) Peace Corps
“Hi! I'm a Graphic Design major and I plan on serving the Corps for 6 months-1 year after I graduate. I was just wondering if there were any art related ways I could contribute while abroad, such as teaching art classes to the children?”

2) Walt Disney Animation Studios
“What sort of majors and institutions do your animators hail from? Is there a particular grad school you’d recommend attending?”

3) California Institute of the Arts
“Is there any hope of offering an MFA in Character Animation in the future?”

4) Education Abroad Network: Study Australia, Study New Zealand, Study Asia
“Hi! I'm a pre-Graphic Design major at Iowa State. At the Study Abroad fair, I spoke with a representative about universities in Australia (preferably in the Sydney area) that offer Graphic Design programs. She suggested the University of Technology at Sydney, but I'm having issues finding further information on the website. Any help you could offer would be great!”
“Hiya! Any recommendations for which semester would be better for visiting Australia, Spring or Fall, as for weather and opportunities offered?”

5) College of Design @ Iowa State University
“Hi! I know there's been talk of a Digital Media major next year amongst the students, but I've been wondering what the official word on that was?”
“Hi! Are there going to be portfolio advice nights held next semester?”

6) University of Technology, Sydney
“Hi! I'm a pre-Graphic Design major at Iowa State planning on studying abroad at the University of Technology at Sydney, but I'm having issues finding further information on the website. Any help you could offer would be great!”

7) DreamWorks Animation

8) Pixar Animation Studios
“What sort of majors and institutions do your animators hail from? Is there a particular grad school you’d recommend attending?”

9) Warner Bros. Animation

10) Marvel
“What sort of majors and institutions do your illustrators hail from? Is there a particular grad school you’d recommend attending?”

What surprised me about the Twitter Elevator pitch was the advice about articles relating to your business. Personally, I've always seen social media as just that - social. When I have a job I hope to be passionate about it - but I don't want it to take over my life. I don't have Twitter, but if I did I'd hope it would be filled with things about my friends and family, vacations, and well... my social life. Another thing I found surprising was the recurring theme in most of the articles: that Twitter was a more professional tool than Facebook. I - like most people I assume - have always viewed Twitter as a dumpster full of pointless tweets like "I'm eating a taco." But the articles viewed tweeting as 'building a brand'. One of the articles even had statistics for politicians and athletes, among others, using Twitter. When I really sit down and think about it, I guess that all makes sense. However, I still don't plan on getting Twitter... at least for some time. I spend enough time on Facebook as it is, and at this point I don't believe I have a brand to build.

Blog Assignment #3

I've taken a few Personality Tests in my day; I've been around the block a few times. This time around, I resulted as ENFP: Extraverted, Intuitive, Feeling, and Perceptive. The results described me and curious, creative, and imaginative - some aspects that will definitely help me in my future design career. When I am designing, ‘good’ is never good enough for me. I like to push the limits and be the best at whatever I am doing. I'm also apparently energetic, enthusiastic, and spontaneous - my friends and co-workers from home will definitely attest to that. I am unusually perceptive of people and of what's going on in the world around me. Several weeks ago I took the StrengthsQuest quiz, and it also identified one of my strengths as Empathetic. I pride myself on my ability to read people and put myself in others’ shoes. In high school, I was friends with just about everybody. Peoples’ social and economic backgrounds don’t seem to phase me. I believe this strength will help me in Design when I am interacting with people. Whether it’s my employer or fellow colleagues, I feel like I’ll be able to relate to people and push past our differences to come to a beautiful, cohesive design. MBTI identified me as a person who likes affirmation from others; support others and readily express appreciation. I'm definitely a people pleaser! When somebody told me way back when to treat others as you would like to be treated, I took it to the heart. I believe that people work better when they believe they're valued and wanted. Along with that, came likely to value harmony and goodwill. I am apt to make decisions on the basis of personal values and empathy, and I am often seen by others as friendly, perceptive, persuasive, and versatile.

Many of my results on the quiz were only slight to moderate. For example, I only scored a 3 on Extraversion. I believe the reason for this is the fact that I am so 'versatile'. I tend to act very differently based on the situation. I AM a person who enjoys her alone time for getting work done, but if I was by myself all the time I would drive myself NUTS. While I abhor group projects, I LOVE being around people. Intuition was my highest score at 20. I would agree that I focus more on the future possibilities than the here and now. Which can be helpful, but I should also learn to appreciate the current adventure. I scored a 10 on Feeling. I very much believe it's important to consider feelings when it comes to decisions. Clearly, I would also consider logic and objective attributes but if the decision is offensive I'm not going to support it. And once again, I got a low score of 13 for perceiving. I like deadlines and planning when it comes to projects and schoolwork, but when it comes to my social life and just plain living I like taking on a flexible, spontaneous approach and like to keep my options open. As they say, life is what happens when you're busy making plans.

Go! Diversity Event - Inuit Culture

Inuit Culture of North Canada, 7pm on Sep. 21, Great Hall, Memorial Union
"Nunavut: My Land" by Peter Irniq

Last Wednesday, I made my way to the Memorial Union with my friend and fellow Shelby Co Hixson scholar, Jonna Anderson. I was kind of expecting a lot. After all, I didn't know a whole lot about the Inuit culture aside from the fact that I was pretty sure it was the politically correct term for 'eskimos'.

When Peter Irniq - the speaker - was young his tribe lived in small groups in igloos in the winter and in movable tents during the summer. He was actually born in an igloo in 1941. Out of his five siblings, only he and his sister survived the harsh conditions. It was a society based on hunting, travelled by dog teams, hunted caribou, and had a nature-based religion. When he was about six years old he was taken to a boarding school and not allowed to speak his own Inuit language. All of the students were forced to learn and speak English.

Nowadays, his tribe lives in houses, drive cars, is Christianized, and do the things normal Americans (and Canadians, I suppose, too) do. In less than fifty years, his tribe went from igloos to internet. Young people in his tribe now have a much better opportunity to reach out to the rest of the world. Tourism is becoming a very big part of Nunavut's economy. There's also a very big mining industry in the Arctic.

My favorite part of the presentation was about the Inuit artwork. Inuits, in general, are very great artists according to the speaker. There are many talented carvers of stone and bone. Inuit crafts are in high demand. Arts and crafts promote Inuit culture, environment, and animals. Peter Irniq is in the process of installing artwork in Ames parks. He stated that the purpose of the artwork is the survival of Inuit. He has done over twenty similar pieces in cities like Chicago and Santa Fe. These pieces are called An inuksuk (plural inuksuit), and is a stone landmark or cairn built by human In the old days. There wasn't glue to hold together the stones of the inuksuit in the old days, but the ones being built in Ames will have cement to hold them in place. Its said that if you knock them down, you're destined to have bad luck.

The presentation featured a slideshow of pictures from Nunavut and Peter Irniq's Inuit tribe. I found it very educational, especially under the circumstances that it only lasted an hour. It was one of those few presentations that didn't seem to just drag on, and I really liked it :)

Blog Assignment #2

My Goals/My Bucket List

One thing my childhood definitely prepared me for was dreaming of bigger and better things. I’ve had my fair share of hardship and nightmares, and sometimes the only thing that got me through was the thought of an escape. Okay, that might sound a little dramatic. A better way to put it would be that one thing that always cured my boredom were thoughts of things I could do when I was ‘all growed up’.

A major goal for me would be one day working for Disney Animation Studios: designing characters and making movies. I have always loved drawing and telling stories, and as a child Disney helped shape me into the woman I am today. Because of classic movies such as Cinderella, The Lion King, and The Little Mermaid I learned the value of hard work and determination, being a dependable, good friend, and never taking those you love for granted.

Another dream I have is of traveling the world. My number one destination is Australia. I’d love to learn how to surf on the opposite side of the Pacific Ocean, scuba dive through the Great Barrier Reef, camp in the Outback, eat Australian crocodiles right of the barbe’, and see the Sydney Opera House. I’m already looking into doing a semester abroad in Sydney.

After I graduate, I plan on doing a year’s worth of volunteer work through the Peace Corps. I was in a car accident back in February, and it made me realize that I must be alive for a reason. Rethinking my dreams and goals at the time, it made me realize how selfish I was in most of them. “Me, I...” all recurring themes for things I wanted to do. I had been thinking of joining the Peace Corps before my accident, but afterwards I knew it was a for sure thing. Most likely, I’ll probably end up in Africa. I think I’d like to work with women and children. Obviously, I won’t be able to cure diseases or build houses all by myself but I’d like to do what I can.

And then of course there’s my random goals and dreams that I’m working on. Someday I’d like to own a little fuzzball Chihuahua named Chimichanga. I’d like to skydive, own a Jeep Wrangler, and visit my great grandparent’s homeland of Puerto Rico. Someday I’m going to see Muse (and Weezer again... and again) live in concert, fall in love, and hopefully lead a happy life.

Sometimes when the world got bad I’d dream of a better place. I read once that the more you think about the things you want to do with your life, the more likely it is that you’ll do them. Kind of an obvious statement I guess... But I plan to work hard and never give up on the things that will make me and others happy. As Walt Disney once said, "All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them."

Blog Assignment #1

SLAM! Kelsey dropped a big batch of Skit Books on top of my desk during first hour.

“Alright, we’ve got three weeks until competition. Find one you like- it doesn’t have to be amazing- and we’ll make it work. Ready, break!” With those final words of inspiration, my best friend and I set out on a nearly impossible task. It was junior year and both of us had been ridiculously busy with Student Council, National Honor Society, and School News. In the midst of our hectic schedules, we had unintentionally let our Speech duo piece fall by the wayside. We’d found a few pieces earlier in the year, but between only practicing once in three months and never quite falling in love with the scenario anyway, they weren’t exactly getting us to All State anytime soon.

So there we were: two teenage girls stretching themselves to the very limits with extracurricular commitments. It was the first day back at school from Christmas Break, and we had until January 26th to find a script, memorize it, and perform it for people we’d hate to disappoint.

Every night we scheduled last minute practices with the coach, met at each other’s houses, and recited lines back and forth across the table at lunch. When it came time for competition, our performance soared. Our parents gave us standing ovations, as they were the ones who had witnessed our ridiculous preparation.

SLAM! My body thuds as I collapse onto my futon to write this blog. You’re probably wondering why I consider a point in my life where I literally procrastinated until the last possible second a situation I consider myself at my best. Perhaps it’s just because that year I was having a great time with my best friend in the world and that skit made it to State with 1 ratings across the board. More likely, it’s because I was thriving in all my commitments and the one I personally felt I was lacking in was still successful. I feel like I can literally drive myself crazy with everything I am involved with and still do great in all that I do- as long as I’m passionate about what I’m doing. In college, I don’t plan on over-committing to different clubs, organizations, and activities. But just like when it came to speech my junior year, I’ll be tackling whatever comes my way this first semester head-on.