thebabyperks

Since moving back to school I've been pretty open about adjusting to change. At one point I became frustrated with myself because I realized that I had to accept my new normal and I was okay with that, I mentally just wasn't doing it.

Then I tried to stop putting pressure on myself to be happier and embraced every each day as it happened. This week I finally felt good again. Tuesday I hosted a PJs and Pancakes event for Kappa Delta's International Women's Friendship Month. Yesterday chapter members wrote letters with alumnae members to mail out to other women who have made a difference in our lives and that event was also successful. To round off the day we had a sisterhood at a pumpkin patch here in Springfield.

It may have taken a bit to get here but I'm really happy with life right now. I'm forever thankful for the people in my life who have motivated me and surrounded me with love, even when they didn't know I needed it.


Going into October there are so many exciting things: I'm going home for a wedding this upcoming weekend, Kappa Delta initiation, running my half marathon and celebrating 11 months with David, Halloween and a KD date party.

There will undoubtedly be challenges in between these good moments, but I will not let them consume me with negativity. I'm trying to make a long term impact on my attitude and mindset, especially as I go into mid terms and the holidays.

Until next time,
Taylor xx

Hello everyone I'm backing with my biweekly blog post reflections for class. Over the past week we have been learning about quantitative content analysis. For the sake of this blog post though I'm going to be recreating the mini quantitative content analysis over a website. I will be analyzing the website's design and navigation, content and interactivity.

If you have been following my blog for a while you will already know that the reason I started blogging is because of a blogger and YouTuber named Zoe Sugg. Zoe, also known as Zoella, was so relatable and inspiration to me back then as a thirteen year old but also to me now. She's authentic, she's personable and she is not afraid to talk about the difficult stuff (like anxiety). As a teenager just trying to figure it all out it was reassuring that someone else "famous" understood how I felt. She now has over 11 million subscribers on YouTube, 10.5 million followers on her personal Instagram account and 1.5 million on her brand Instagram account. Today I will be analyzing her website/blog in the areas of design and navigation, content, and interactivity.

Zoella said in a tweet that her main demographic is 18-25. I would say that her demographic would be more focused on 15-25 because she does have a lot of very active, younger fans. These are girls who are interested in lifestyle and beauty tips. Her audience is looking for a "big sister" or someone to encourage them. With that in mind let's jump into the quantitative content analysis.

Design and Navigation 

Content 

Interactivity

I enjoy Bread Co., but I enjoy Bread Co. even more when it's free. Drury hosts "real world discussions" led by professionals within the Springfield community and they are always catered by Bread Co. I went to one my freshman year and loved it because I got a free lunch out of it (the discussion was good, too). For the leadership program I'm a part of we're supposed to attend 2 sessions but I started having classes when the department held them. This semester, though, I have a small lunch break and I was able to attend a session all about saying no. 

It was really interesting to have someone I don't know have us discuss why we say yes to things. I've had this discussion before with friends but it was interesting to have an "outsider" come in with a different perspective. A lot of students at the session talked about how Drury is a small school and how we feel obligated to help out especially if the person asking is someone we know. We also talked about the fear of missing out and regretting not getting involved enough. 

She then had us write down three reasons why it's hard for us (individually) to say no. My three reasons all come down to being a people pleaser (shocking). On my paper I wrote that I can't say no because I...
1) Feel guilty
2) Feel like I'll disappoint people
3) I'm afraid people will think I don't care enough

I feel like I talk about this a lot but I think I need this reminder often. In society today it's deemed good to be busy all the time. If you aren't busy you should be adding on something else. I found myself almost doing that this semester. I work at the gym from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. every weekday morning, I have class from 10-3 or 10-4 most days. I then almost added on a second job working from 4-6 and/or 6-8. While it would've been nice to have some extra cash I realized that by saying yes to that second job across town I would be saying no to opportunities to go to Kappa Delta sisterhoods or get coffee with my friends. I realized that having 13 hour days wasn't going to be beneficial to my academic performance and that I wouldn't be as connected with people as I wanted. 

Just because I have a few hours a day to myself now doesn't mean I need to fill it with things to do. Now that I have the time I can properly allocate it to studying but I can also make dinner plans with friends or go to an intramural game.

I've also learned that sometimes you just can't make people happy. You can try as hard as you want but sometimes that isn't good enough and you have to give yourself the opportunity to say "no". 

Saying no is a powerful tool, when you say no you open your world up to a lot more yeses that you want to be doing rather than committing to something you don't enjoy.

Until next time,
Taylor xx

Hello everyone, you may have noticed my content between blog posts is a little different-- that's because I'm in COMM 413 Campaigns this semester and I'm using my blog to reflect on concepts we've talked about in class. If you want to read them you can search my blog using the #ducomm413. I'll still be trying to post new, original content as often as possible but if you get email notifications to my blog I wanted to explain my posts. 

When engaging in social listening organizations learn so much about their audience. Words are powerful-- what consumers say but also within the advertisements companies create. This couldn't be illustrated better than with Nike's "Dream Crazy" ad.

Colin Kaepernick continued his controversial career through his feature in Nike's advertisement. Originally, I thought his ad was a singular print ad but I later found out it was a part of a promotional video with many more athletes.
Kaepernick's "Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything" blew up on social media leading people to burn and destroy their Nike apparel. Through social listening companies can observe consumers' feedback to further develop campaigns.  Nike knew to capitalize on the controversy already around Kaepernick and ultimately it worked. Even if you are mad or upset that he's featured their advertisement worked because people are talking about it.

Nike was prepared for the backlash before the company released this advertisement because of social monitoring. The company most likely studied top influencers and trends amongst their target audience. By studying patterns in interests or conversations Nike was better able to create an advertisement through data and analytics.

Through social listening Nike has been able to observe the comments and feedback about the ad (and there's been a lot). From the comments they get in return the company can continue to create advertisements that generate conversations. Nike is a secure enough company in that they are able to take these risks.

Nike used an influencer to make a statement and it ignited a conversation about what to do when a brand you support use someone who is seen as a "political figure." Do you continue to support the company or do you cut the Nike symbol out of your socks?

I've started and stopped writing this post over three times because each time I get to typing I'm at loss for words. I know what I want to say but everything becomes jumbled. Today in class I had the opportunity to talk it out with some friends and I finally said it in the way that makes sense (I think).

So enjoy me rambling about how I need to suck it up and deal with the present.

In high school I was obsessed with going to college, I so badly wanted that getaway and fresh start. Coming into college it was exactly what I needed.  I got connected, I found friends and I have continued to grow so much.

Junior year is tough because a lot of "my people" have graduated. I still have friends and social events to attend but it's extremely different from my past two years in school. It's week 3 of school and I feel like I should've adjusted to that change by now. What I found when I was talking this out with my friends is that I've always been so focused on the future. I'm so excited to graduate which is exactly how I was in high school. Once a major happens I get comfortable but then quickly move on to the next thing.

So this is my Bitmoji and honestly it's a real mood

My feeling that I haven't adjusted comes from the fact that I'm always so futuristic but recently I've had a mix of living in the past and the future. I've been reminiscing on how great my semester was last year socially but longing for the future where I can settle down.

All in all, life is weird. I love Drury, I love the program I'm in, I love KD. I'm just learning to embrace each day and make the best of it.
I guess I wrote this blog post to share that it's okay to be in the in-between stages of life-- life isn't always going to be incredible or the worst. This blog post is also a place to remind myself to suck it up and enjoy the present. No good occurs from trying to live in the past or fixating on the future.

As I go forward into the remainder of this semester I'm going to remind myself to be present in the moment and make the most of it.

Until next time,
Taylor xx