I forgot!!!!
My books came in the mail yesterday!!! Can't wait to get them and I will be reading up a storm.
A few more people just agreed to help me out. Score!!! I'm going to be doing lots of online stuff tomorrow and will be conducting a few interviews this weekend! I'm also still working on that darned paper. Gosh, my attention span is as short as I am!
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
I called her on the phone...
Haha, I'm actually going to be seeing Say Anything in exactly a week!
But anyways...
I spent two hours today making phone calls asking people for interviews or write ups.
So far I have 10 people who are willing to help me out. I made over 40 phone calls...
This is going to be a PAIN. But definitely worth it.
Next, I'm going to be asking the same thing
of people on the TWLOHA street team website, completely connecting the online community aspect of it together.
I went to the REOlds Museum yesterday with my parents. I took a million pictures and my dad was a super nerd about the whole thing and it was fun. I'm having a bit of trouble writing the paper for the extra credit though.
MY. HEAD. HURTS.
But anyways...
I spent two hours today making phone calls asking people for interviews or write ups.
So far I have 10 people who are willing to help me out. I made over 40 phone calls...
This is going to be a PAIN. But definitely worth it.
Next, I'm going to be asking the same thing
of people on the TWLOHA street team website, completely connecting the online community aspect of it together.
I went to the REOlds Museum yesterday with my parents. I took a million pictures and my dad was a super nerd about the whole thing and it was fun. I'm having a bit of trouble writing the paper for the extra credit though.
MY. HEAD. HURTS.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
your story matters.
I am EXTREMELY excited about all the interviews I'm going to be doing!!!!!!
I realized that I have to focus more on the story aspect of TWLOHA than the actual organization itself. My project cannot be solely a report on TWLOHA. If you guys wanted to know about the organization all you would have to do is go to the website and look for yourselves. My contribution will be telling as many people's stories as possible. Like TWLOHA advocates: "your story matters" and I am going to promote exactly that.
HOW:
I am going to tell my own story.
(I can't expect others to do something I wouldn't do myself.)
I am going to interview people via recorder or video to tell their stories.
(Their 'stories' may be about themselves directly or about a loved one and how it affected them.)
I am going to ask people to send me their stories via print.
(Both people I'll 'meet' through TWLOHA that I may never actually meet in person (hitting hard on the premise of the online community) and others that I do know personally, but may not want to be directly interviewed)
I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS YOU HAVE NO IDEA!!!!!!!!! YAY LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I realized that I have to focus more on the story aspect of TWLOHA than the actual organization itself. My project cannot be solely a report on TWLOHA. If you guys wanted to know about the organization all you would have to do is go to the website and look for yourselves. My contribution will be telling as many people's stories as possible. Like TWLOHA advocates: "your story matters" and I am going to promote exactly that.
HOW:
I am going to tell my own story.
(I can't expect others to do something I wouldn't do myself.)
I am going to interview people via recorder or video to tell their stories.
(Their 'stories' may be about themselves directly or about a loved one and how it affected them.)
I am going to ask people to send me their stories via print.
(Both people I'll 'meet' through TWLOHA that I may never actually meet in person (hitting hard on the premise of the online community) and others that I do know personally, but may not want to be directly interviewed)
I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS YOU HAVE NO IDEA!!!!!!!!! YAY LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Proposal
I figured since I took the time to write it, I might as well post my proposal as well. If you actually manage to read through the whole thing, tell me what you think! Comments are greatly appreciated!!
To Write Love On Her Arms is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping those “who are struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide”. What started off as a Myspace page, quickly accelerated into an utter phenomenon of an online community of support. I, myself, have relied on online support groups and personally know of their strong effects. I want to show how an online community is just as real as the one in your backyard.
I realize my topic is rather broad, so to help narrow it down I will divide my website into categories. The ones I have come up with so far are: the disease, the community, the hope. In ‘the disease’ category I will focus on the types of self-harm that people often put themselves through and why; being informed is extremely important, ignorance does not make a problem disappear. In ‘the community’ category I will talk specifically about TWLOHA and how it has become a cultural phenomenon of online community and support. I will show how disheartened individuals came together armed with an unbelievable ferocity, courage and support for each other, when most had never actually met in person. They were transformed through the telling of one girl’s story and were inspired to tell their own. They were nurtured by each others’ kind words while coming together on a simple Myspace page as well as through music, literature, and kind words, into a thriving community of hopefuls. I will also incorporate any hardships or ridicule that TWOLHA has encountered over the years to avoid biases. In ‘the hope’ category I will tell stories of recovery from my interviews and incorporate pictures and video as well as provide information on how to get help or get involved.
I plan to create a website using the web service www.freewebs.com. The domain will probably be www.freewebs.com/thetwlohaproject or something of the like. On the website, I will upload (or at the very least link to) sound bytes of interviews I’ve conducted with advisors at the MSU Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) as well as other advisors at the MSU Counseling Center. Additionally, I plan on interviewing those who have been severely affected by depression, whether it be directly themselves or through losing a loved one to suicide. Finally, I plan on interviewing as many of the TWLOHA staff and interns that will be willing to talk to me. (Believe me, I can be quite persuasive!) I have joined the TWOLHA street team and am currently completing many “orders” that will progress my rank forward and increase my chances of directly communicating with the main staff, perhaps even founder, Jamie Tworkowski. I will upload pictures I’ve taken relating with my topic. Additionally, I plan on using other medias such as mind maps, google maps, google charts, and the like to express information I’ve acquired for my topic visually.
Also, I am planning on applying to start a TWLOHA Uchapter here at Michigan State. CMU and U of M already have chapters started so I think that MSU should, too! I also may talk with or interview members of those university chapters and perhaps the people who first started them. I plan to document this as well.
As you can see, this is something I am very passionate about. I’ve talked with my journalism professors and they approve and feel this has the potential to be an incredible project and are willing to help me out if I need. If this does not currently meet your expectations, I am willing to do anything and everything until it does.
To Write Love On Her Arms is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping those “who are struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide”. What started off as a Myspace page, quickly accelerated into an utter phenomenon of an online community of support. I, myself, have relied on online support groups and personally know of their strong effects. I want to show how an online community is just as real as the one in your backyard.
I realize my topic is rather broad, so to help narrow it down I will divide my website into categories. The ones I have come up with so far are: the disease, the community, the hope. In ‘the disease’ category I will focus on the types of self-harm that people often put themselves through and why; being informed is extremely important, ignorance does not make a problem disappear. In ‘the community’ category I will talk specifically about TWLOHA and how it has become a cultural phenomenon of online community and support. I will show how disheartened individuals came together armed with an unbelievable ferocity, courage and support for each other, when most had never actually met in person. They were transformed through the telling of one girl’s story and were inspired to tell their own. They were nurtured by each others’ kind words while coming together on a simple Myspace page as well as through music, literature, and kind words, into a thriving community of hopefuls. I will also incorporate any hardships or ridicule that TWOLHA has encountered over the years to avoid biases. In ‘the hope’ category I will tell stories of recovery from my interviews and incorporate pictures and video as well as provide information on how to get help or get involved.
I plan to create a website using the web service www.freewebs.com. The domain will probably be www.freewebs.com/thetwlohaproject or something of the like. On the website, I will upload (or at the very least link to) sound bytes of interviews I’ve conducted with advisors at the MSU Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) as well as other advisors at the MSU Counseling Center. Additionally, I plan on interviewing those who have been severely affected by depression, whether it be directly themselves or through losing a loved one to suicide. Finally, I plan on interviewing as many of the TWLOHA staff and interns that will be willing to talk to me. (Believe me, I can be quite persuasive!) I have joined the TWOLHA street team and am currently completing many “orders” that will progress my rank forward and increase my chances of directly communicating with the main staff, perhaps even founder, Jamie Tworkowski. I will upload pictures I’ve taken relating with my topic. Additionally, I plan on using other medias such as mind maps, google maps, google charts, and the like to express information I’ve acquired for my topic visually.
Also, I am planning on applying to start a TWLOHA Uchapter here at Michigan State. CMU and U of M already have chapters started so I think that MSU should, too! I also may talk with or interview members of those university chapters and perhaps the people who first started them. I plan to document this as well.
As you can see, this is something I am very passionate about. I’ve talked with my journalism professors and they approve and feel this has the potential to be an incredible project and are willing to help me out if I need. If this does not currently meet your expectations, I am willing to do anything and everything until it does.
Mhmmm... Credit Cards...
I also just purchased the following books which are available on the TWLOHA website for research purposes!
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Be a man!
Today's discussion reminded me of the Simpsons's episode: Homer's Phobia. Homer is convinced that his son Bart is gay so he takes him into the woods with a bunch of men to drink some beers and kill a deer. They have trouble finding a deer for Bart to kill until they stumble upon a reindeer ranch. Bart doesn't want to kill the reindeer but Homer demands that he does, because it will make Bart a "man". Fortunately for the reindeer, they turn out to be quite vicious and Homer and Bart are the ones who need saving, and are ironically saved by Bart's homosexual friend.
At my school, boys who were at school on opening day were often ridiculed. So I know exactly how that goes...
"Too much of a sissy to miss school to hunt, huh?"
I was going to embed a clip of the episode instead of describing the whole thing, but I could not find one without copyright issues...
Additionally, I looked up "old family feeling" and surprisingly enough, it is not a song!
Now for my topic's news!
The professor I was going to talk to was MIA in class again. >:(
But, 'stuff' happens so I suppose I am going to have to deal! As he always says, if you can't get something to work, don't give up; you've gotta figure things out yourself until it does!
So, that's exactly what I'm going to do!
I'm going to press another professor for as much information as I can possibly get out of him, talk to reliable elder students and whoever else I can get to listen to be in the Com Arts building!
I've been mulling it over quite a bit. I have all of my general stuff essentially figured out, the only thing I'm seriously lacking is a web service to use to host my project. At the moment, I am leaning towards this. I've used the the service before, and I believe it will serve my needs quite well! At the very least it will provide a place for all of my various projects to be located into one huge collaboration!
So, because I feel like I somehow have to make something in this post multimedia-y, here's a clip of the song I appropriately had stuck in my head for the rest of the day after our discussion. Night!
At my school, boys who were at school on opening day were often ridiculed. So I know exactly how that goes...
"Too much of a sissy to miss school to hunt, huh?"
I was going to embed a clip of the episode instead of describing the whole thing, but I could not find one without copyright issues...
Additionally, I looked up "old family feeling" and surprisingly enough, it is not a song!
Now for my topic's news!
The professor I was going to talk to was MIA in class again. >:(
But, 'stuff' happens so I suppose I am going to have to deal! As he always says, if you can't get something to work, don't give up; you've gotta figure things out yourself until it does!
So, that's exactly what I'm going to do!
I'm going to press another professor for as much information as I can possibly get out of him, talk to reliable elder students and whoever else I can get to listen to be in the Com Arts building!
I've been mulling it over quite a bit. I have all of my general stuff essentially figured out, the only thing I'm seriously lacking is a web service to use to host my project. At the moment, I am leaning towards this. I've used the the service before, and I believe it will serve my needs quite well! At the very least it will provide a place for all of my various projects to be located into one huge collaboration!
So, because I feel like I somehow have to make something in this post multimedia-y, here's a clip of the song I appropriately had stuck in my head for the rest of the day after our discussion. Night!
Monday, October 18, 2010
NEW TOPIC
Yep! That's right!
I went to Office Hours last week and realized I was wasting mine (and our prof's) time by writing about something that I didn't really care about. Therefore, we talked it over and I will now be writing about the organization To Write Love On Her Arms. (TWLOHA)
Below is TWLOHA's mission statement, because I honestly cannot say it better myself.
To Write Love on Her Arms is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery.
Additionally, instead of writing a paper, I am going to create a website about my topic and how it relates to the idea of community. TWLOHA started off as a myspace page. It was an online community for others to seek refuge and help those who were suffering, no matter how far away they were. The very idea that people can be so close emotionally no matter how physically far away they are is an incredibly inspiring one.
I will post information, pictures I've taken, as well as sound bytes of interviews I've conducted concerning the topic. Also, I plan on using ways of expressing information visually that I have learned in my visual communication class such as: mind maps on bubbl.com, google maps, google charts, youtube videos, and many other forms of media.
I am VERY, VERY excited about these new ideas because they directly correlate with my journalism major.
At this point, I am unsure as to which website I will use to create my website. I conversed with my JRN 200 professor about the topic, but since he is an older man, if you will, he did not have much to say about the website part, (he barely knows how to work youtube) but did give me helpful interview tips. I have my JRN 203 class tomorrow at 4:10 where I plan to talk with my amazing professor, Karl Gude. He knows everything internet, everything visual, everything media and more. I am very excited for the ideas that we may come up with together!!!
I went to Office Hours last week and realized I was wasting mine (and our prof's) time by writing about something that I didn't really care about. Therefore, we talked it over and I will now be writing about the organization To Write Love On Her Arms. (TWLOHA)
Below is TWLOHA's mission statement, because I honestly cannot say it better myself.
To Write Love on Her Arms is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery.
Additionally, instead of writing a paper, I am going to create a website about my topic and how it relates to the idea of community. TWLOHA started off as a myspace page. It was an online community for others to seek refuge and help those who were suffering, no matter how far away they were. The very idea that people can be so close emotionally no matter how physically far away they are is an incredibly inspiring one.
I will post information, pictures I've taken, as well as sound bytes of interviews I've conducted concerning the topic. Also, I plan on using ways of expressing information visually that I have learned in my visual communication class such as: mind maps on bubbl.com, google maps, google charts, youtube videos, and many other forms of media.
I am VERY, VERY excited about these new ideas because they directly correlate with my journalism major.
At this point, I am unsure as to which website I will use to create my website. I conversed with my JRN 200 professor about the topic, but since he is an older man, if you will, he did not have much to say about the website part, (he barely knows how to work youtube) but did give me helpful interview tips. I have my JRN 203 class tomorrow at 4:10 where I plan to talk with my amazing professor, Karl Gude. He knows everything internet, everything visual, everything media and more. I am very excited for the ideas that we may come up with together!!!
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Beard Lust
A very informative video I found about the strike ;)
So if you couldn't tell from the above emoticon, this was a highly sarcastic post. I feel like men will use any excuse they can to grow a beard... speaking of which, No Shave Novembeard is almost upon us! Darn female hormones. I would definitely partake if I could!
I actually hadn't considered using youtube as a means of gathering information for my paper, but thanks to a fellow student, now I have much more media to choose from! Tomorrow will behold many new discoveries! But seeing as how my roommate just turned off the light on me, I suppose it is now time for slumber. Good night and good luck! (Love that movie)
So if you couldn't tell from the above emoticon, this was a highly sarcastic post. I feel like men will use any excuse they can to grow a beard... speaking of which, No Shave Novembeard is almost upon us! Darn female hormones. I would definitely partake if I could!
I actually hadn't considered using youtube as a means of gathering information for my paper, but thanks to a fellow student, now I have much more media to choose from! Tomorrow will behold many new discoveries! But seeing as how my roommate just turned off the light on me, I suppose it is now time for slumber. Good night and good luck! (Love that movie)
Brick By Boring Brick
For some reason I've been listening to a lot of Paramore lately, which is a band I used to absolutely hate.
It's probably because I saw Flyleaf last weekend and now I'm on this girl-power trip. Whatever works, I suppose!
Anyways, how this actually relates is I feel like I've been putting together brick by boring brick lately to get things accomplished. Nothing is outrageously fun or captivating, but it all needs to be done, and it shall be done.
However, I am extremely excited about the extra credit opportunity! I LOVE MUSEUMS! This will surely be a treat!!
On to class on Thursday and Office Hours slightly afterward! I am taking time off of work to go to Office Hours this week. Normally I would mind a lot, but work has been quite dreadful as of lately, so again, this could possibly be the treat I so desperately need! And of course I'll hopefully get my paper more figured out so that of course will be of use!
It's probably because I saw Flyleaf last weekend and now I'm on this girl-power trip. Whatever works, I suppose!
Anyways, how this actually relates is I feel like I've been putting together brick by boring brick lately to get things accomplished. Nothing is outrageously fun or captivating, but it all needs to be done, and it shall be done.
However, I am extremely excited about the extra credit opportunity! I LOVE MUSEUMS! This will surely be a treat!!
On to class on Thursday and Office Hours slightly afterward! I am taking time off of work to go to Office Hours this week. Normally I would mind a lot, but work has been quite dreadful as of lately, so again, this could possibly be the treat I so desperately need! And of course I'll hopefully get my paper more figured out so that of course will be of use!
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Dissertation Abomination
Writing, writing, writing...
...about the Writer's Strike of 2007-2008!
Writing about not writing... irony, anyone?
Anyways, back to this abomination of a dissertation...
My paper will be golden, I swear it, for some reason I just can't do rough drafts. We don't get along, at all. But I suppose it's something I need to overcome or I'm going to majorly fail at this life thing... or at least the surviving college aspect of it!
...about the Writer's Strike of 2007-2008!
Writing about not writing... irony, anyone?
Anyways, back to this abomination of a dissertation...
My paper will be golden, I swear it, for some reason I just can't do rough drafts. We don't get along, at all. But I suppose it's something I need to overcome or I'm going to majorly fail at this life thing... or at least the surviving college aspect of it!
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Gingervitis
So, it never actually occurred to me to think about where all of the ginger/Irish stereotypes actually originated. And in class today we actually talked about it! I suppose I've always just taken those kind of things for granted, like they always were... this class is definitely making me a more curious person these days!
Anyways, here's a link for a poor chap who takes things a bit too seriously. I probably shouldn't have laughed at this, but oh well...
Gingers Do Have Souls
Anyways, here's a link for a poor chap who takes things a bit too seriously. I probably shouldn't have laughed at this, but oh well...
Gingers Do Have Souls
Monday, October 4, 2010
October
Hayrides! Cider! Haunted Houses! and History 201!!!! WOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
Don't really have much to say, but I figured I would update. I've been doing research for my topics although I don't really know what I'm doing. Hopefully class tomorrow morning will help. Additionally, October just puts me in a good mood, with its plethora of lovely activities and happenings, so hopefully that will be of use as well!
p.s. - I was assured that the coffee at Michigan State is Fair Trade. So huzzah! Now to fix MSU's food waste problems and then onto being coal free!
Don't really have much to say, but I figured I would update. I've been doing research for my topics although I don't really know what I'm doing. Hopefully class tomorrow morning will help. Additionally, October just puts me in a good mood, with its plethora of lovely activities and happenings, so hopefully that will be of use as well!
p.s. - I was assured that the coffee at Michigan State is Fair Trade. So huzzah! Now to fix MSU's food waste problems and then onto being coal free!
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