Bye Bye Baby

“Essentials of Social Media” was one of the better college level textbooks I have been forced to read in my life. I am not a huge fan of reading when it is not something I am interested in. I find it hard to be still for a long period of time. I especially liked the feature that read the chapters to you. I would push play and be able to do other things while listening to the chapters.

The chapters I enjoyed the least were about Twitter or X. I just do not think my interests line up with the platform and therefore I did not find it all that interesting. I learned a lot about the platform, but I did not wish to learn more about it hands on.

The chapters I enjoyed the most were about Pinterest

. I use Pinterest quite often, so I already have a background with the platform. I go through phases where I use the platform all the time, but then do not use it for a while. Listening to the chapter in the book I was able to learn more about the platform. I got to see the background of the things I used to not know what they did. Something that I had not realized was how different business accounts on Pinterest were from personal accounts. I also enjoyed the graphics and overall statistics the book provided with every chapter. It was cool to see the

Overall, this book was not too terrible. It was not my favorite thing in the entire world, but I learned something, and I can never complain about that.

The last Taylor Swift song that I will finish out the semester with is Bye Bye Baby. We are almost at the end of the semester! One last push to the end and then a nice break or just the end if you are me.

Long Live

This semester is coming to an end! It is crazy to think that I am almost done with my time at Ohio Northern University. I remember my first day here and I was so excited, yet so scared of the future! I still don’t know exactly what is in my future, but I think I am more confident in my ability to survive it! I know a little more about adult life now than compared to freshman year. I also have learned how to cook more meals than just pasta. I still love pasta, but only have it once or twice a week.

again the door!

rushing out the door!

Something I have truly enjoyed this semester is community. I live with four girls, and I thought it would be a lot of work, but I really enjoyed living with them this fall. We sit down and watch TV together while doing our homework. I like that we can just exist in unison and not have to put any effort into conversation. Right now, we are watching Once Upon a Time. We are watching season three and have a long way to go, but I don’t think I’ll be able to finish it with them. Sad, but true. We plan to have a little movie night before I completely move out. I am excited about moving to Columbus, but also sad to leave my friends so far away. I have learned to have long-distance friends so hopefully we will all stay in contact.

homework time!

The Taylor Swift song that I think sums up my feelings about the end of the semester is Long Live. This song is about Taylor’s relationship with her fans. How she wishes that she could remember the moments she has on tour forever. I relate because I want to hold on to these memories with friends forever, but I know it won’t. In the song she asks, “Will you take a moment?, Promise me this, That you'll stand by me forever, But if, God forbid, fate should step in, And force us into a goodbye, If you have children someday, When they point to the pictures, Please tell them my name, Tell them how the crowds went wild, Tell them how I hope they shine.” I love this verse and I think it sums up senior semester vibes perfectly.

You Need to Calm Down

We finished our internship simulation this past week. Overall, my biggest takeaway from the experience was that it was very time-consuming. At the start of the internship, I would spend upward of two hours working on the posts and studying the information given. Something that helped a lot was keeping a document of notes from the past weeks. Something that was difficult was only doing one round and then the next week I forgot what worked well. Searching for the best photos to use as content was the most time-consuming part. Most photos cost too much money. The free ones were not the most marketable. We had very limited options. There were a few select photos that worked well. I liked how in the organic posts section we were able to plan when the posts were posted. I did not like how in the paid content we could not chose the times and days the posts were posted. I think that being able to find the best times was something that helped my overall goals. The paid posts were the most successful rounds for me. I did not do too well on the influencer rounds. I wasn’t the lowest, but I was on the low end. The influencers were so temperamental. One round the bargaining would go well and then the next would go horribly. I didn’t get the hang of it and the benefits were not worth it. The last rounds we had the option of posting all the different types of content on all the platforms. I did not realize until the second round of the section that we didn’t have to, but that it was an option.

Overall, I learned a good amount of information about social media marketing. I think that it is a lot of work though. The amount of time it takes to complete the internship along with the other things that come with the class was quite a lot.

The Taylor Swift song that I relate to the simulation internship is “You Need to Calm Down” because some of the influencers need to take a chill pill.

Christmas Tree Farm

After the race!

Happy Thanksgiving break! I know it was much needed. This break has been very restful, but I can’t help thinking about all the stuff I need to get done! Senior semester is going way faster than I expected it to. Anyways, the first thing that I did on break was run another 10k! My friends Madeline and Xixi competed in it as well. We were able to train for about a month for this race. I think it was their first time running a road race 10k, but they have both competed in the Buck Fifty. It is a much longer relay race that goes on through the night and into the morning.

Friends!

The morning of the race was very cold! I had forgotten my gloves, but it ended up being a good thing because I wore too many layers. I would rather be warm and then shed layers during the race than start super cold. Zach and I were in the first group to be released. We started running with the 8 minute and 30 second pacer group, but I broke away from Zach after the second mile. Zach is a good sprinter, but I think I’ve got him in the distance races. I kept the 8:00 pacer group in my sight, but I didn’t pass the flag holder. The middle two miles felt like the longest miles of my life. They were full of straight aways where I couldn’t get the energy to pass people. The course for the 10k was combined with the 5k at the end of the race. Which was not the best choice. In the end, where I should have been giving it my all, I was trying not to pummel little children walking in the 5k. I finished in 48:58. My best time yet! I was proud of myself for not throwing up afterwards too!

Overall, Thanksgiving break was spent hanging out with family! I enjoyed being home and seeing my siblings. My favorite thing about break was getting our Christmas tree! We went to our local farm and cut a tree. We took it home and set it up. I am particular about how we go about decorating our tree. I think it is best to go lights, garland and then ornaments. Zach’s family puts up lights, ornaments and then garland! I think it looks like the tree is too wrapped up when you do it like that.

I didn't have photos of the tree

Christmas Tree Farm is the first original song Taylor Swift has put out. She has previously released a Christmas album, but they were all covers. The song is just the perfect mix of cheer without being annoying. As we have learned in class, I am not a big fan of Christmas music, but I do like this song.  

invisible string

Reading the chapter on TikTok was interesting. It was weird to read about a platform that I saw come into existence. I joined TikTok in high school. I distinctly remember making a TikTok with my friends when I would spend the night at their house. My friend, Samantha, went on a trip for her birthday. I was able to go along, and I have the memory of us making a TikTok in the bathroom engrained in my brain.

The first time I leaned in to TikTok was during the pandemic. It was during the summer when the trends took off. I completely leaned into making the clumpy coffee that was trending. I followed the workout videos that went viral. I got my little sister to join as well! We would set up our yoga mats in front of our living room television. Then we would pick a video to watch and work out together. I also remember skincare took off during the summer of the pandemic. I had not known about the levels of skincare before that summer. On the one hand it was informative to learn all about different skincare products. On the other hand, it was over consumption being promoted. I liked learning about new products and seeing the results from a real consumer.

I worked a lot and did a lot of nothing which is why I think TikTok was able to be so successful during this time. I remember a couple more trends that were from that summer. There was one where people took photos with bed sheets over their heads in random places. One of the most memorable trends was the start of “things that just make sense.” It was people showing things in their life that functionally make life easier. It was also the opposite, people showing things that absolutely do not make sense in their life.

At a random mall

Bluebird Cafe

The most important thing that came out of the pandemic was folklore by Taylor Swift. My friends and I took a trip to Nashville because our senior trips were cancelled. We had been planning for about a month and the morning we were leaving for the city; Taylor announces folklore is dropping that night. I was ecstatic. We drove to Nashville, and it was so much fun! I got to visit where Taylor was discovered, her high school and got to see the outside of her museum exhibit. We stayed up to listen to the album and it was surreal because in invisible string she mentions centennial park which is in Nashville. The next day we were able to go to the park and listen to invisible string. The whole trip was a dream and we found most of our destinations from TikTok.

Is It Over Now?

Happy Veterans Day! I was surprised when we had class on Friday. Most of the colleges around Ohio Northern University had the day off from school. Every Veterans Day Zach and I go to restaurants and stores that offer Veterans Day discounts. Last year we went to a bunch of traditional restaurants to get the most out of the offers. This year we only went to a couple places nearby. We went to Bob Evans for breakfast. There is a Veterans Day menu that Zach chose from, but I just got coffee and something else. We went to get a free smoothie and free ice cream. Zach was thriving. It was a fun time.

OSU Game!

Zach and I also attended the Veterans Day football game. It was so cold! We walked in the freezing cold to the stadium. We have a tradition of getting a big block pretzel. It hit the spot! The game was okay. They played well, but I expected them to play better. It was still a good game! It will be an interesting rest of the season. Zach and I headed out before the game was over. We were so cold, and they were winning by a lot so we thought nothing else exciting would probably happen. We were right! They didn’t score in the fourth quarter!

I ended the weekend with a movie night! We watched The Greatest Showman. I loved this movie when it first came out! I went to see it multiple times in theaters. We made hot chocolate and Christmas cookies! They were very good! I know its not Christmas time yet, but the cookies are always very delicious!

Movie Night!

In other news, Taylor Swift is back on the Era’s Tour in Argentina! I love that I can see content from her again! She had to postpone a concert because of rain, but she is in Argentina all weekend! We received some new photos and videos of her and Travis Kelce at the concert! It was so fun seeing the photos of them happy and in the company of Taylor’s dad. He is famous for giving out guitar picks!

The song I chose for this post is “Is It Over Now?” I cannot get this song out of my head! Since first listening to it a few weeks ago it has been on repeat! I love the upbeat nature of the song. The lyrics have so many references to Harry Styles and Taylor’s relationship. I love the line about coffee dates.

Shake It Off!

One thing that stood out to me while reading this chapter was the effectiveness of businesses being on YouTube. I thought YouTube was only for content related to gaming, music or vlogging. This chapter made me think about the usefulness of long form video content to big brands. What determines if content should be on YouTube is the target audience. It does not make sense for some brands to be on YouTube, but specialized content can be a big driver.

This chapter on YouTube reminded me of the prime days of YouTube content. When I was in high school, I was obsessed with a few content creators on YouTube. Safia Nygaard was someone I followed throughout her career on the platform. She started out working for Buzzfeed. After a few years she started her own channel. I loved watching her try on crazy outfits. I liked her makeup combination videos. I would genuinely look forward to when she would release more content. I fell away from watching her because she started posting longer content, but less of it.

OG holo taco

Another content creator I followed was Simply Nailogical. I was obsessed with painting my nails in high school. I would paint my nails, and the next day paint another design. I found her through a popular video that went viral, but I stayed because she was so funny. I also thought it was interesting that through all of it she kept her full-time job. Cristine Rotenberg went on to make her own nail polish brand! I was lucky enough to get her very first release. I stopped watching when I stopped painting my nails all the time.

super girl nails

Something I still do on YouTube is watch reaction videos. I love watching reaction videos to Taylor Swift albums. It is cool to see other people’s reactions to your favorite songs. I especially like it when people react to music videos. I enjoy looking at the tiny details of them and it is interesting to see other perspectives.

The song I picked for YouTube is Shake It Off! It was Taylor’s top watched music video on YouTube when it was released. It also created a lot of buzz around her first release of 1989. The video contained pop culture references and real fans dancing with Taylor. I thought it was funny because the public had made fun of Taylor for her dancing, but then she made a whole video on how she doesn’t care and is going to dance anyways. 

Bejeweled!!!

Another busy weekend! I feel like I have not had a weekend to myself this semester! I enjoy being busy, but I also like to curl up into a ball and chill while watching a movie. 

Dinner peeps!

Northern Christian Fellowship (NCF) and Kappa Phi had events this past weekend. NCF had Over/Under which was an overnight event for underclassmen. A few upperclassmen were invited to learn about mission opportunities within Central Ohio Cru. Ohio Northern University students drove down in two groups. My car was the one filled with people going to the Kappa Phi event after the NCF event. The others drove separately. They had alumni of the program speak about their experiences within the organization. It was cool to hear from a variety of perspectives. It was interesting to learn how the program influenced their career choices later in life. It was also just nice to get dressed up and enjoy community with friends from other campuses. The food was catered and they served cheesecake for dessert. My group decided to go to Swensons after the event. I was stuffed, but it was nice to spend time with friends.

Painting!

When the event was over my car drove to Athens. Kappa Phi Gamma Get Together (GGT) was being held at Ohio University.  GGT is a gathering of Ohio Kappa Phi alumni and active members from all over Ohio. It was at ONU last year which made it much more convenient. I had not been to Athens before, so I was excited to see the campus and city. My car arrived late  because of the NCF event. The alumni were headed to bed when we arrived. We met the two ONU students who arrived before us and played a few games. We headed to “bed.” By bed, I mean the floor. We were sleeping on the floor of a church. We were on the third floor in a room with no doors. The other actives from other schools were already asleep.

Deer!!!

The next day we had a full schedule of activities to attend. My friends and I went on a run in the early morning and saw a beautiful sunrise. We also saw deer! We saw two groups of them! My friend tried to pet one, but it ran away. During the day we attended events and socialized with people. I got a little burnt out from talking to so many new people and not getting much sleep. It was fun and entertaining. The theme for GGT was Barbie. I am not the biggest Barbie fan, but it was cute to see the alumni excited. One of the alumni recreated an old Barbie outfit.

Awards!

The Taylor Swift song I chose to embody this weekend is Bejeweled. I think it just gives sparkle and shimmer. I also love the visuals in the music video. I think Barbie would approve.

 

 

Come In With The Rain (Pancake recap)

Homecoming weekend was filled with fun and exciting activities! I started Saturday walking in the homecoming parade! I worked at the homecoming tent! I had the chance to talk to alumni about their experiences after graduation and test their knowledge about hospital beds. I watched the homecoming football game. It turned out to be a great watch! We lost, but I expected us to do a lot worse than the team did! I enjoyed watching the game with friends!

Flipping signs!

Pancakes!

The most exciting event this weekend was pancake outreach! I had to navigate Twitter/X for this assignment. I spent a little time figuring out how the platform worked. I set up a new account since my old one was connected to my high school email. I set up an account to advertise for the event. The cover photo has the information for the event. It included the location and time of the event. I also linked my blog in the description so people can follow up with the event! I tried to gain followers by following accounts from other clubs, but it did not work out. I had Northern Christian Fellowship share my account on their Instagram page to see if people would follow from there, but that only gained me one follower. I had two followers for the live tweeting assignment.

I posted a day before the event to let people know that the event would be happening. During the event it was interesting to keep up with posting. I was standing at the table handing out pancakes, but also posting on Twitter/X. It was not difficult to do both. I have helped at this event in previous years, but it was much slower this year. I think because of the many Halloween events happening this weekend people did not come out in big groups or as often. It was fun to post during the event because I got to make content with my friends! I gave them prompts and they would flip signs! The one thing I couldn’t find was someone to repost about the event. I searched for a good amount of time and did not find anything. We ended up with a ton of leftover pancakes! We wrapped up exactly when we were supposed to wrap up!

I enjoyed live posting about the event, but I do feel it would have been better used for a different event. I think it can be useful for sporting events and concerts. I do not think that this event was a good choice for live posting. I would have live posted the homecoming football game, but I was not sure if I was going to it. I think at least we were able to have fun while giving people free food! If you want to check out the account, I’ve linked it here! 

I chose Come In With The Rain for this blog post because it always rains during this event!

I Know Places

1989!

1989 Taylor’s Version! Thursday night my friends and I stayed up to listen to Taylor’s Version of 1989! It was a bonding moment for sure. We first did homework while waiting until midnight. We listened to five new songs from the vault. I kept track of our rankings in a google document to compare later. I liked the vault songs a lot! I think my favorite is probably a tie between Is It Over Now? And Now That We Don’t Talk. The biggest change I noticed within the album was in the song I Know Places.  I liked this song, but it was not my favorite on the album when so many others stood out. In Taylor’s Version I think there is a change in production that makes it better. The lyrics are what made me love this song, but with the new production it makes me love it even more.

Homecoming weekend! The festivities started Friday. I went home for a night to Zach’s parents house for their yearly Halloween party. Zach’s mom makes the best peanut butter pie. There was lots of food. We ordered from Godfather’s Pizza in Dayton. I am not a huge fan, but everyone seemed to enjoy the pizza. I am picky when it comes to toppings. I don’t like mushrooms or sausage on pizza, but I survived. We watched a scary movie, and the younger kids went downstairs to watch a less spooky movie. The movie they chose this year was The Boogeyman. They gave a warning before the movie started that it did not have a lot of gore, but it was unsettling. I ended up going downstairs with the kids for a bit because I cannot handle scary movies. Th kids decided to watch the newest haunted mansion. That is a movie I can watch! I watched about half with them and then finished The Boogeyman upstairs with the adults. I was on my phone for the scary parts. They also make fruit punch with a frozen hand in it.

KP Banner!

Parade!

Saturday was the homecoming parade! I walked in the parade with Kappa Phi. We walked with our banner that a lovely member of the officer team painted. She spent so much time on the details! We were disappointed when it didn’t win the banner contest. The parade was fun! It consisted of waiting an hour in the cold to start walking. We ran out of candy to hand out right before the end. Somehow that always happens!

We had more events Saturday and Sunday, but you will hear more about that in the next blog!

The Man

Reading the LinkedIn chapter brought me back to Career Planning with Dr. Lambdin. In that class we learned about how to build your profile and make connections with alumni. We also learned about how to make your resume. We practiced interviewing each other. That built my confidence for real like interviews. LinkedIn is a platform that I started using in college. I did not know how to use it at first, but that class helped me navigate around the platform. I think LinkedIn is useful for my personal brand. It can be used to help me stand out against other job applicants. It is educational by offering classes and certifications for different skill sets. It also helps connect people with other professionals in the same career field.

I also think that LinkedIn can be useful for professional accounts. Within LinkedIn companies can share content that build brand advocacy for potential employees. It is engaging for followers to interact with trending posts and informational brand opportunities.

LinkedIn also allows companies to have a brand persona. I find it hilarious when companies post funny things on LinkedIn and interact with their audience. I also find it funny when people or companies are on LinkedIn who are not the ideal person you’d think would be on LinkedIn. I am going to go through my favorite person I follow on LinkedIn.

Ryan Reynold's LinkedIn

It is none other than Ryan Reynolds. It makes sense for him to be on LinkedIn because he is an owner of many businesses. He has his business endeavors on his profile going back to his forklift operating days. His feed displays his personal comedic attitude and stature. He recently posted about a popular reality television show while promoting his company Mint Mobile. It is common to find him posting about this nature of content.

The Taylor Swift song my friend Madeline suggested for this blog post is The Man. I think this song is perfect because it calls out bias in professional environments. It was Taylors way of saying how hard she works and the double standards she is held to. It reflects the frustration that she feels about gender inequality. Taylor imagines how differently she would be perceived and treated if she were a man. She explores the double standards that exist in society. It goes on highlighting how accomplishments and behaviors are often judged based on gender. The lyrics convey a desire for equal recognition. A challenge to the traditional gender roles and stereotypes that are in the world. It was an interesting song to be on the album Lover, but it was a successful single. 

Labyrinth

I have been saving this song for the perfect moment. Labyrinth is from Taylor Swift’s album Midnights. It was originally a poem that Taylor put into song form. It is a slow song that is about having so many thoughts in your head that you can’t hear yourself think. It went viral on TikTok because people were criticizing Taylor saying that all her songs sound the same. People have always argued that and probably always will. This one fan made a TikTok of her dancing to Labyrinth as though it was an upbeat song. I thought it was funny. The song itself is not my favorite, but I can appreciate the lyrics. It is a vulnerable song, but I just don’t vibe with it.

corn

we made it out!

The reason I chose Labyrinth is because this weekend I went to Suter’s corn maze! I do not know the difference between a maze and a labyrinth, but I do know that they are both difficult to maneuver! I am the social officer for Kappa Phi. Suter’s corn maze was an event I planned for us to do back in the beginning of October. We have been to Suters in the past, but what is hard about planning trips like this is the weather. I checked the weather on Monday of this past week and it sight a slight chance of rain. I checked it again later in the week, but it turned out to be pouring down rain when we went. It was fine. We brought umbrellas and raincoats to brave the outdoors. The only thing I didn’t think of was the ground within the corn maze. It was muddy. It was very muddy. The group walked through the maze very slowly and carefully. The rain had lightened up, but the ground was very slick. We were almost out of the maze when someone slipped and fell in the mud. This member had mud up and down her pants. She was a trooper. Even with the rain and mud, I think everyone still had a good time and enjoyed the company.

pumpkins

We headed back to campus to change and get warm! We had picked out pumpkins to carve back at my house. We found out the one of my roommates had never seen Halloween Town before! We had to watch it while we carved pumpkins! I had not carved a pumpkin since I was little. Everyone had a bit of trouble brainstorming what to carve. I decided to carve 1989 because Taylor’s Version of the album comes out this Friday! I did not think that numbers would be hard to carve, but I was wrong. I carved with a bread knife so maybe that made a difference. All in all, it was a fun time and I enjoyed hanging out with friends this weekend!

Daylight

 

lil brother

While reading this chapter I realized that I wasn’t using Snapchat during its prime run. I think my parents let me download the app during my senior year of high school. All my friends had Snapchat and I was grateful to finally feel included. When I first started using Snapchat I did not know what to do with it. I mostly used it to take funny photos with my little siblings. Now, I like it because of the number of filters that one can find. On other applications I spend too much time looking at weird filters, but on Snapchat there are more that fit the aesthetic I am seeking. I like and dislike the memories feature. Sometimes it shows nostalgic photos that leave me feeling good. Other times it shows cringy photos that I would rather not remember. I thought it would be funny to go through my Snapchat memories from today so that is what we are going to do.

Taylor?

Two years ago, I was at a Harry Styles concert in Cleveland. I had never been to

feather boas

Cleveland before so it was a new experience driving there. My friends met me in Ada. We got ready and then headed to the venue. It was a long drive there, but even a longer drive back. This photo is of us getting collected in the bathroom. I forgot we wore masks to this concert. The feather boas got fuzzy stuff everywhere! I painted my own boots, but they were comfortable! I also took a photo of the disco ball at the concert. I made a joke that Taylor and Harry Styles were in the same room. (Taylor has a song called mirrorball if you missed that blog.)

Puppy

This memory is from three years ago. I took Zach to meet my nana and grandpa for the first time. My nana breeds purebred golden retrievers. She had a litter of puppies a few weeks before this photo. Zach did not grow up with animals. He was a bit skittish, but I made him hold at least one puppy. When I was little I used to help birth the puppies, but now I can’t be in the building. I like playing with them when they are a little bigger and covered in less fluid.

The song I chose for this blog is Daylight because Taylor Swift and Harry Styles both have a song with that title. I also have a tattoo inspired by these songs. Daylight was a full circle song for Taylor. It showed the growth that she has been through in terms of songwriting. She ended the song with an outro of her speaking. It is worth the listen, but these are the words. “I wanna be defined by the things that I love, Not the things I hate, Not the things that I'm afraid of, I'm afraid of, Not the things that haunt me in the middle of the night, I, I just think that, You are what you love.”

Bad Blood

This weekend was not very exciting. I was sick Thursday and so most of my weekend was spent in bed because it hurt to move. I thought I had strep, but it ended up not being strep. I still don’t know what I had, but I am glad to be feeling better! I was supposed to go to the Taylor Swift movie on Friday, but I had a high temperature. I decided that it was best not to go that night. I was a little sad seeing all my friends go out and see it, but I have plans to see it this coming weekend. I chose Bad Blood because I’ve been sick, but the song is good too. The music video was full of cameos from celebrities and friends of Taylor. I loved watching it with my siblings when I was in high school.

I was still feverish Friday night, but my fever broke that night. Saturday I was feeling a little better. I was hoping to feel well enough to go to my brother’s last soccer game. He is a freshman and plays on the junior varsity team at my high school. I also played soccer there for a bit when I was in high school. I ended up driving down to see his game, but I was unaware that it was going to rain. My family and I watched the game in the rain, but my parents were more prepared for the rain than I. My dad held a giant umbrella for the game. The weather was not too bad, but it made the ball slippery. On top of that the lines on the field were yellow and that made it hard to see. My brother played well! He plays offense and it was cool to see how much he’s improved since last season. Their team won 4-0.

ice cream

Sunday was a very busy day. I had an alumni event for Kappa Phi in Findlay. We all met up beforehand to drive there together. We stopped at Culver’s for lunch. I had not had Culver’s in a hot minute. I forgot their ice cream was so good! It had to be a quick stop because we were running a little late. The event was at the public library in Finlay. There were a couple of Kappa Phi alumni there, but my car brought the most active members. Most of the alumni were from Ohio Northern University which was cool! It is interesting to see so many members still contribute to the organization in some way. There was a little girl there and her name was also Loreilei, but spelled differently. I had two more meetings after that. I ended that night watching the Queens Gambit with my roommates.

Enchanted

Pinterest is my favorite platform. I usually use it when I have a rush of creativity, but no actual effort to put into that creativity. It is relaxing to make boards that encompass everything from photography to plants. One thing that I’ve learned about Pinterest is that keywords are super important. It allows content to be found by the right audience and is key for pins to be successful. I’m going to walk you through the history of my Pinterest account. There are some boards that are outdated so bear with me.

Calligraphy

In high school I went through a phase where I would constantly practice my handwriting. I would find pins I liked on Pinterest and copy them over and over to practice lettering. I got fancy pens that helped make the lines clear. I specifically practiced writing Taylor Swift lyrics. Many Taylor Swift lyrics. At one point I had made so many of these little calligraphy papers that I started putting them on my wall. I taped them up until I had an entire wall covered. It was a pain to take down, but at the time it was my greatest accomplishment.

Photography

My friends and I created a shared photography board. The main use was for inspiration for homecoming poses, but we also used it for photoshoots. My friends and  I loved getting all dressed up and going to take photos. I remember we went to this garden and were searching through Pinterest for ideas on how to dress and pose. When I got engaged, I replaced the big photography board with a board for just engagement photos.

Apartment

When I moved into college I made a dorm board, but it quickly felt outdated and not my style. I then made a board called “Grown Up Apartment.” I tried to find things that had a sense of maturity to them, but it became more about plants. I did not realize this while I was making it, but pins I pinned involved plants.

Beginning

End

In high school I also went through a phase where I painted my nails almost every day. I looked to Pinterest for inspiration. To be fair this was the age of galaxy print nail art. While I was looking through this board, I realized that my style has certainly changed throughout the years. It started with ambitious patterns and designs. It has turned into solid colors and pastels. The first photo is the beginning of the board versus the end.

Taylor Board

I couldn’t talk about my Pinterest boards and not talk about the one I have for Taylor Swift. I have one for each of her albums, but I haven’t made one for Midnights because I’ve been slacking. Most pins are lyrics and album art. I have saved many photos from each tour.

I chose Enchanted for this post. It represents dreaming of what could happen. I feel like dreaming embodies Pinterest. The song is a representation of meeting someone for the first time and being enchanted by their personality. I think most people are enchanted by Pinterest.

Cruel Summer (Fall Retreat?)

Fall break! This weekend was extremely needed! Last week was terribly busy and I was starting to feel burnt out. I was also looking forwards to this weekend because it was Fall Retreat for Northern Christian Fellowship. NCF is affiliated with Cru which is a larger organization that connects Ohio Northern University students with other colleges throughout Ohio. They put on a few joint events each semester and this was the first in person Fall Retreat that I was able to attend. One of the things that I love about these events is that some of my high school friends attend as well! Elleanna goes to Wright State University and we can connect often through collaborative Cru events. It is such an enjoyable time to reconnect with friends!

The retreat was at a retreat center just north of Columbus and it was such an amazing time. We had nine ONU students attend and it really allowed us to bond and grow together. The first thing we did was get settled into our cabins. We had seven girls from ONU so we were paired with students from Wittenburg University to fill our room. That brings the grand total for our room to eleven girls in the same room and we had one empty top bunk. It was chaotic, but we were not in our room too much expect to sleep. Of which we got little! We went to the first main session which consisted of a message, some worship, group and campus times.

dodgeball!

The night ended with a bonfire and a dodgeball tournament! We were broken into random teams and then they drew up a bracket. My team was not particularly good. One game I caught two balls the other team threw, and I was immensely proud of myself! During the last couple of matches the person running the music put on Taylor Swift’s song Cruel Summer. A frenzy broke out amongst the groups of people watching the game! It was so cool to see everyone screaming their hearts out to one of my favorite songs! It is one of my favorite songs from Lover and has been a fan favorite for a while!

mini game winners!

Saturday consisted of another main session in the morning, but before that my group went on a walk around the campgrounds! It was so gorgeous with the trees in the middle of changing colors! We even saw deer! After lunch we had free time. We painted mini pumpkins! They did not turn out exactly like what we had in mind, but they were still cute! We then discovered that they had all sorts of games on the campgrounds! We were able to act like children for a few hours by playing gaga ball, carpet ball and all sorts of other games! It was fun, but I am so sore! I do not know how I was able to play like that for hours! It was one of my favorite moments because we were just goofing around and having fun being kids. 

costumes!

There were other things going on while we were goofing off like ultimate pumpkin and mini games. After free time, we went to the last evening session. It was filled with enjoyable conversations and lessons. Later that night we watched the costume contest! I did not dress up, but everyone else at least brough a onesie! 

lots of games

Another favorite memory from this weekend was the amount of euchre we played! At night we stayed up and played all sorts of games including euchre, jimmy and codenames. I learned how to play euchre last year and I love it! We now teach everyone how to play and it has become a staple NCF event game. The last night of the retreat we were playing games and then everyone wanted to go outside at around 1 o’clock in the morning. I was terrified of getting in trouble, but everyone was determined, and I was not going to leave them alone. We walked outside to where the fire pit was, but there was no longer a fire. It ended up being fine and we did not get into trouble, but I was still nervous. In the morning we had a short session then packed up and headed out! It felt long and short at the same time, but it was worth every second of it. I genuinely loved growing deeper in faith and in friendship with others.

You're On Your Own Kid

 I’ll be the first to say that I don’t really understand X. I don’t use X. I did make an account in like 2018 to check on Taylor Swift fan accounts, but I have not been on the platform in a long time. It’s hard for me to believe that it’s one of the most popular social media sites. It made sense to me that more males are on the platform than females.  I honestly just don’t know how X works. I understand that people can post their thoughts and opinions on a page, but I don’t see the attraction to it. Reading through the chapter helps explain some factors about why people are drawn to the platform. I think that people like the platform because it connects them to a larger audience.

Football Meme

One thing I do know is that I see a lot of Taylor Swift related tweets, but on Instagram and TikTok. I’m going to go through some of my favorites as of recently. This first one is referencing the first football game that Taylor showed up to. The Chiefs were scoring way above the other team. The joke is that Travis was wanting to score more to impress Taylor.

This one is about Travis Kelce’s before game outfit. I didn’t realize that football players dress up fancy before their games, but they do. Travis Kelce showed up to the game in a blue and white patterned suit. It was the same aesthetic as Taylor’s album 1989. It is set to be re-released on October 27^th! People speculated that Travis took inspiration from the album in reference to Taylor.

Meme

I found this one to be hilarious. At the Era’s Tour this summer fans traded friendship bracelets. This was in reference to Taylor’s song, You’re On Your Own Kid (YOYOK). “Make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it, you’ve got no reason to be afraid.” Fans made hundreds of bracelets to bring to Taylor’s concerts and traded with other fans. Travis attended one of Taylor’s concerts over the summer and wanted to trade a bracelet with her that had his phone number on it. It did not happen, but he did get a chance in the end.

Friendship Bracelet

The song, YOYOK, is at its core about Taylor and her rise to fame. She tells us about young love and the yearning that comes with it. The song goes on to tell us about how Taylor turns to writing and how it became her everything. In the end, she is by herself and always has been. The song became an anthem for the Era’s Tour this summer. I know I personally made over 200 bracelets. It was something special.

Mary's Song (Oh My My My)

 I watched football this weekend. I have little knowledge about football, but my fiancé is a fan. I am slowly learning increasingly. I learned recently that there are three teams within one football team. My fiancé’s favorite team is the Dallas Cowboys. His dad is from Texas so it is just a family favorite team. My family has never been interested in watching football. My grandparents would have it on in the background during Sunday lunch, but for me that was prime time for napping. This weekend I watched the Cowboy’s game and the Chief’s game. Which brings me to Taylor Swift. This woman has the audacity to date a football player. I knew of Travis Kelce because of Momma Kelce during the Super Bowl last year. I was surprised when I saw she was going to games and bringing all her friends to the games. It is cool to see her at the games. This is a safe way for Swifties to see her without stalking her apartment. I do not know how I feel about Travis Kelce as a person just yet, but we shall see how he treats Taylor and then decide.

I chose Mary’s Song (Oh My My My) because of a particularly interesting lyric. This song is from Taylor’s first album which is self-titled. She wrote that album at 14 years old and it was released when she was 16 years old. It is about a girl and a boy that grow up together. It starts with describing two kids in the backyard just playing around. Then moves to the couple being 16 and being grown up. It includes the lyric, “I’ll be 87 you’ll be 89.” This is interesting because Taylor’s birthday is in 1989 and Travis Kelce’s jersey number is 87. Now I am not saying that she predicted the future, but I will say that this is a weird coincidence.

Big Smiles

Caramel Apples!

Along with watching Taylor’s football game, I also did a couple fall themed activities this weekend. Saturday, Northern Christian Fellowship put on an off-campus bonfire. It was fun to get away and roast marshmallows in the creepy deep dark woods. The stars were so gorgeous that night. It was successful because I came out of it with no bug bites! My roommates, a few friends and I on Sunday made caramel apples at home. It was harder than I thought it was going to be. The caramel was very melted and it would not stay on the apples. It was messy, but in the end it was worth it. 

Look What You Made Me Do

 

Taylors Instagram Reset

Taylor Swift has been on Instagram for longer than I have been on Instagram. However she has not always been active on the platform. In 2017, she completely reset her entire Instagram page. This deleted tons of personalized posts from previous years. She did this to promote her next album reputation. She then strategically posted clips of a snake as a hint for the album. The song that she was teasing ended up being Look What You Made Me Do. The song was immensely popular and the music video was so elaborate. It has many clues and hints for fans to search for and find. This debut marked the first time Taylor had made an appearance in the public eye in quite a while. I think since then her Instagram brand has been different. It is now more professional. It used to be personalized posts with lots of behind the famous star moments. Now it is used to promote things and is effectively less personal. She also doesn’t allow comments on her posts.    

Single Promotion

Instagram
has always been my default social media platform. I think I have liked it in the past because of its visuals. Instagram is the highlight reel of people’s lives. Instagram only gets the best photos of the most exciting events. The platform lets users lean into creativity. Using Instagram for business is a little . I think the pros of using Instagram for this is that it allows a brand to be more personal. It gives the company the ability to become friendly and recognizable through their posts.

I think that Instagram has changed over the past couple years. They have implemented more services such as shops and reels. In my opinion, these changes have made Instagram worse. I am not a fan of how it’s changed to be more like other social media platforms. It added shops to be like Facebook. It added reels to be like TikTok. I don’t use either of those functions. I find them slightly annoying. I think that the way Instagram has changed their algorithm has made the feed odd. It used to all be one page, but now you can change between following and your list of favorites. The original feed operates on an algorithm and the following feed generates the most recent posts by the accounts you follow. I like the following option because it ensures that I am seeing my friend’s posts.