For my paper, I'll be writing about how technology can cause distractions throughout the writing process. I am referring to texting, social media, television, and such technologies as "distractions." I know that for me it is sometimes difficult to stay entirely focused on an assignment if I have my phone close by. Worse off, if I am typing a paper and have Google Chrome at my fingertips, it becomes too easy to just open up the browser and end up scrolling through Tumblr.

I was hoping that some of you would share some of your stories and experiences with how technology has affected your writing, especially since we came to college. Whether or not it acts as a distraction for you? Or maybe even if a professor's use of technology has been a distraction during class?

Here's a link to one of the sources I found for this assignment. It's got some pretty interesting stuff that I think you guys might like to read through!

Thanks in advance for any comments/help!

Insight to Mood Disorders

In one of our classes last week we briefly mentioned an article published on Upworthy where college student created a photo series called “My Anxious Heart.” I can’t remember why it was brought up, but it sounded very interesting to me so I went back to my dorm and took a look at her work.

The photographers name is Katie Crawford and she is a student suffering from two mood disorders, anxiety and depression. She wanted to give others the chance to understand the weight that so many people bear with this illness, by compiling the photo series.

The pictures themselves speak loudly enough without words, even though she does give an explanation. There is a picture where she has wrapped herself in plastic wrap, and it covers everything up to right under her nose. This picture is supposed to symbolize the fact that she cant breath, and that she feels like she is suffocating all the time.

Psychological disorders usually begin by early adulthood, and with added stressors like college and working you can see how likely it is for someone you know to have a mood disorder. I think that this photo series is a really great thing because it gives you a chance to see how someone with a psychological disorder feels, although everyone has their own experiences. So many people suffer from anxiety and depression and I think that this article will give everyone a little bit of insight on the mood disorders.

 Here’s the article if you guys want to check it out: http://www.upworthy.com/12-grave-photos-that-capture-how-depression-and-anxiety-can-feel

My petty post

Recently my Mother set me up on a date with a guy that she met while he was waiting on tables at The Green Turtle. Since I'm single and since I figured any date that my Mom set up would most likely be safe, I decided to give it a shot. So this guy, we can call Him Bob, found me on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. He then requested to follow me. Obviously I followed him back so that I could stalk his profile's. I found out that he went to WVU (and was in a frat) and from his profile I could assume that he either dropped out, or failed out. This was the first bad sign. Next he messaged me on Instagram DM's and we chatted. Later he asked for my number and I gave it to him. Over the course of the next few weeks we texted back and forth basically all day and night. It was kind of obnoxious, but it is always exciting to get to know a new person, so I went along with it. Finally he asked me on a date. He asked me to go to dinner with him, but when he figured out that driving to Shepherd would take him an hour he asked to meet me somewhere else for dinner. I agreed, and met him in Hagerstown to have a sushi date. Another red flag, he wouldn't make eye contact with me, then he continued to talk about every ex-girlfriend he ever had. I was a little annoyed but I tried to stay optimistic. After dinner was over he insisted that I go back to his house with him and meet his dogs. Right away I said no because this was literally the first time I had ever met him. So we got ice cream instead. While walking into the ice-cream place his head searched around as if he was looking for someone he knew. This was yet another sign. Still I stayed positive and tried my best to not judge (although he was wearing a sweatshirt and jeans and I was wearing a nice sweater). The date ended and we said goodbye. He leaned in for a kiss, but I said "I don't kiss on the first date". I got out of his car, into mine, and then headed back to Shepherd. I was nervous that Bob didn't like me since I wasn't really myself on our date, so I texted him and apologized. He texted me back and asked me to go to DC with him this Saturday. So thinking that he liked me I asked him to go to the Delta Zeta banquet with me. However, things started to go terribly wrong this whole week. He wouldn't reply to me although he had time to tweet and snap chat. I was trying not to read into things but I began to feel really nervous. The rest of the week continued this pattern. He wouldn't even send me his emergency contact information and birthday, so that I could take him to this banquet with me. Then last night I told my Mom on the phone that I was going to cancel going to DC with him since I hadn't heard from him at all. Then this morning I received a text form him saying that he couldn't go to DC because he was busy and something school related had come up. Then an hour later he double texted me apologizing for being busy this week. I replied and said that I understood and that I would be extremely busy these next few weeks of school and he never replied back. So I got ditched before I could do the ditching and I told my Mom it hurt even though I had planned on canceling just the same. So here I am, still single, I follow the same routine everyday, and now I don't have a date to banquet either. I WILL NEVER DATE SOMEONE MY MOM HOOKS ME UP WITH.

Thoughts on my Thesis

Hey everyone! I think this is the thesis that I want to go with for this paper but I just wanted to make sure that this makes sense and see what you're thoughts of my topic are. 

I plan on exploring the influence of third-wave feminism on Disney films such as Zootopia, Frozen, and Big Hero 6. Disney producers are working towards promoting third-wave feminist ideals and emphasizing the idea that women are in control of their own futures and their own bodies. (Thesis) Although Disney’s monolith Frozen seems to support third-wave feminist viewpoints Big Hero 6 and Zootopia truly embody and support feminist ideals by challenging traditional masculine traits in young men, including women in primarily masculine careers, all while not undermining or alienating women who choose more traditional female roles.
Please let me know what you guys think and any points you would like to bring up or discuss about my thesis or topic!
Also an April Fool's idea for people today!

 

Yik Yak

Over the course of my project I have seen a lot of positivity from students. So, I wanted to share some with you to make a happy Friday. "To the guy who complimented my dress outside of Shaw I know I said thank you but I'm having a shit day and you made me smile, so thanks again." "To the girl who paid for my meal in rams den today. God Bless. Time to pay it forward." "To the girls who are never mentioned in Yaks: You look beautiful today." I love this and I think it's a wonderful thing that people are being so kind to others. These are just a few of the many I have. I don't want to give away too much from my project because then it won't be any fun later on, but I'm glad that it's looking like I'll have a good report when I get to present later on this month.

Online Dating Advice Books are Hilarious

I have been reading a lot of advice books about online dating for both men and women for my critical essay project. There is a lot of quality information in them, but there are also some pieces of advice that just seem awful to me. One of the books says that if a man does not ask you on a date in four messages, you should give up on trying to date him. The same book also says that a woman should always wait at least 24 hours to respond to a message from a man that they want to date. Purposely waiting to respond to someone just seems crazy to me. If a person is interested in another person, they should want to talk to each other. Dating is so difficult because it has become like a game to many people. I don't want to play games with anyone. If two people want to be together, they should just get together. It's as simple as that.

The Case of the Unsure Author

My last blog post asked you guys if I should look at more than four groups of people that fandoms influence. Specifically the Sherlock fandom. Today, however, as I was rereading my thesis, I realized that I just wanted to focus on two of those four groups that I picked out. The two I want to focus on are the LGBTQ community and those who have developmental issues. The reason for this, is because I think I can write more than four pages on both of these topics because they are so broad. But I’m not sure if this is a good idea or not. The drawback of narrowing it to two groups is that I’m not certain I’ll get eight whole pages from them. If I stick with all four of the groups, it would give me two pages for each category and I’ll only be able to gloss over the issues of each; however, I know all four groups will give me eight pages. So which should I do?