Assignment #10 : Wild Card

"It's the oldest story in the world. One day you're 17 planning for someday and then quietly, without you ever noticing, someday is today and that someday is yesterday and this is your life."-One Tree Hill

I became obsessed with this show back when I was probably in 8th grade it has forever been one of my favorite shows to date. Every time I decided to rewatch the show, I think to myself "How stupid are you? You know you are going to cry."Which is true, I cry more often than I would like to admit when it comes to the show. I currently just restarted it again with season one. There are nine seasons total with 187 episodes. And as of now, I do not plan on stopping anytime soon. 

One Tree Hill started in September of 2003. It ended in April of 2012. I think the main reason I still love One Tree Hill to this day is because it is always there for me on Hulu. It was on Netflix for a long time and then Netflix dropped it (not a smart move on their part.) Eventually Hulu picked it up and I have been a happier person since then. No lie. I do have several other shows I tend to watch over and over but this is definitely the main one

 I think I love it because it is so easily relatable to the small town high school that I grew up going too. You have your athletes, cheerleaders, and nerds and somehow they all become some of the best friends. It is so relatable for many people especially those in high school at the time or someone who just loves drama, romance, sports, and action all packed into one tv show. 

This show reminds me that we have just a little bit of time left as kids before we reach the full adulthood. It is the times that we are going to look back as adults and realize it led us to this point in life. Not just because of all the high school drama, but because it teaches us the things we do in life .. they tend to stick with us for the rest of our lives. 

So let's take a look at the live lessons One Tree Hill has taught us;

1. You will survive
It's easy to feel like everything is the end of the world when it is actually happening to you in the moment. But, if Brooke and Peyton can escape Ian's basement then you can get through anything. 

2. Don't let ANYONE tell you who you are.
We all come in many different shapes and sizes, and that's what makes us so special. You're allowed to break through the labels that society has given us. Don't let people put you in a box.

3. HOES OVER BROS (My fav)
Brooke and Peyton taught us so much about friendship in 9 seasons. There was so much going on between them and the boy world, nut at the end of the day, they knew their friendship was way more important than a boy. 

4. Family has no boundary

Keith may have been Lucas' uncle, but he loved him like a father. Dan was Lucas' father but might as well have been a stranger for the most part. The senior Scott brothers prove that you don't need to be bound by a family title to care for someone in any sort of way. 

5. Rough patches may happen, but Love always prevails.

Nathan and Haley were the perfect love story couple, but they had relationship problems of their own. I guess that tends to happen when you get married at 16. They prove that "always and forever" isn't just for the good times. The rough patches make people stronger.

6. It's okay to cry

Tears are a healthy release that free you from the pain you feel in your chest. It's okay to bawl when you're having a bad day. Let it out, hug it out, and let your heart smile again. 

One Tree Hill may have been taken away from many people if they do not have Hulu, but the life lessons they show gave people are memorable and will last forever. There may only be one "Tree Hill," but you can take the life lessons you learn and change for the better. Be like Nathan and change for the better. Be like Haley and pursue your dreams. Create a career out of the hard times you had like Brooke. Be a friend like Lucas. Learn bow to heal like Peyton. 

And always remember, there's only One Tree Hill. 

Assignment #9 : Classmate Blog Critique

"Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again"- Walt Disney

Throughout the semester there have been so many well done blogs. Some classmates just have a certain flair to their blogs and they definitely deserve the recognition that I am about to give them. You can tell with these two students that they went above and beyond when they were writing their blogs throughout the semester. They had great pictures and amazing interactivity when it came to links and videos. I know it is hard as a college student to actually want to do the work sometimes. It is a true test of motivation to have everything done on time. Here is the classmates' blogs I will be discussing;

We have the lovely and talented Katie Graham. 

I've known Katie since freshman year of college and you can tell that her blog is truly a reflection of her personality. She is one of the most creative and extraordinary people I have ever met. The creativity Katie put into her blog is so professional looking. It draws you in as soon as you glance at it and makes you want to read more. I love her signature at the very top. Katie always has an amazing amount of interactivity and always chooses the coolest topics to talk about. She definitely is someone everyone should look up to when writing and creating blogs. 

My favorite blog from Katie has to be her Wild Card blog. I have always loved Katie's pictures and videos (be prepared to take my senior pictures next May, Katie.) I have referred her to everyone I know that needs pictures. I love how she promotes herself all over social media. She is so talented at what she does and takes some of the best photographs. I love how when she first started this blog she says "A question that all of us are asked as early as when we are first able to talk is :What do you want to be when you grow up" I love that introduction. I also love how she's known she always wanted to be an artist. 

Katie, you did a great job this semester and to anyone who ever needs senior pictures, family pictures, wedding pictures, engagement pictures, or literally any picture, hit up my girl Katie at Katie Graham Photo and Video. 

Every year that we have blogs, I am always so impressed with the amount of content there are within the blogs. We have so many talented people in our class it is so hard to just choose one person. Good job to everyone this semester and I hope to see some of y'all next semester (that's if Corona allows us too)

Assignment #8 : Predictions

2020 will be the year of social media, or will it?

This year was supposed to be everyone's year. We're all graduating, moving off, getting married, having children, but corona ruined all of that for us. (thanks China) But, 2020 can still be the year for social media. There are a lot more options for us to have on social media. With people having to learn and adapt to social media through the time of the virus, people are enjoying how amazing technology is. 

Here are my predictions for some updates in technology

1. VR and AR adoption

Snapchat filters is one good example of how you can see and view locations and specific videos. Gen Z will mainly be the advocate for these technologies since according to the web index 22% is using Geofilters each month.  I think online stores will be excited with the virtual reality adaption.  

With AR adaption (augmented reality) some online stores can help customers try on virtual clothing versions before buying what they want. Amazon, Facebook, and Instagram should really consider exploring ways to implement AR into their marketing strategies. Or if you want to see how furniture would look in your house. 

2. Social Media CEO's

We all know how The Hype House is more or less like the CEO of Tik Tok. Well, now we need CEO's of each social media platform. There are so many things to understand how the formulas  work with social media. With social media CEO's, they can help other people understand 

3. Chatbots

When having an online business, a chatbot is something that is a necessity. Chatbots are created to help people get the answers they need when someone is not available. With this, you would not necessarily have to have someone always available. You could use it to make reservations anywhere, get a location, or answer simple questions. 

Hopefully all of these things will potentially be implemented this year. I think AR and VR would be a cool invention with social media. 

Assignment #7: Binge Watching

Did I Just Sit There For 7 Hours?

I do not really binge shows as much as I would like too. Sometimes I normally just watch the same shows over and over. Now with all the time I have, I might start binging more. When I do binge, I have to blink multiple times over and over to get my eyes readjusted to light after sitting in my dorm room with pitch black around me and nothing on except my TV and my LED lights. I've only binged a couple of shows here and there. Stranger Things, One Tree Hill, Grey's Anatomy (currently addicted now), and a few more.

The most recent show I binged watched was Tiger King. I hadn't planned on watching it until my friends told me too. They said they watched it in one day and I thought maybe it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. 

It is no doubt one of the strongest contenders for most watchable TV show of the year, which is honestly kind of crazy. It has been ranked #1 on Netflix since it was released. There are seven episodes in the documentary ranging from 45-52 minutes long. You can watch the whole thing in a weekend, or sit there for 7 hours and keeping your eyes glued to the screen like I did. 

Within this series, it follows a man that loves the attention he receives with camera crews being there. His name is no other than Joe Exotic. He is the owner of a semi successful private zoo with the hundreds of tigers and other big cats. You think that is crazy? He also ran for President of the United States, then he ran for governor of Oklahoma (also got 19% of the votes), THEN this is the craziest part, he supposedly tried to hire someone to murder his arch nemesis. This woman was DEDICATED to shutting down his zoo; Carole Baskins. 

 

Joe Exotic is far from what you would picture him. He's a ball cap wearing, mullet having gay man who swaggers with a knee brace after getting mauled by one of his tigers, a weird southern drawl, some strange combination of fringe vests, chaps, and sparkly shirts. I promise you, you think you've seen everything until you watch this show

. 

When you are watching this show you think "wow, nothing more wild than this could happen," if you say that, you are far from right. This documentary goes by fast so you have to make sure you pay attention. You find out that Joe married two guys at once and  had a business partner that snuck baby cubs into a casino and then sleeps with the women. Each story gets stranger and stranger as time goes on. Then out of no where, it gets dark. It shows accounts of manipulative and abusive relationships, suicide, and Joe Exotic's hate campaign for Carole. He believes she killed her husband for his money and fed him to the tigers.   

If you want to watch all of this go down you definitely should and then you can understand all of the memes that are going around.  

Here's the trailer for the Netflix show.

Assigment #6 - Global Trends

Hi, I'm Your Number Neighbor

When you live on a street or in a subdivision, you normally know who your neighbor is. Sometimes, you get close to them and get to know them well and they eventually become some of your best friends or even family. 

Last year, someone on Twitter started a trend where you text your "number neighbor." It became the newest trend people where doing and it was definitely something different. But what exactly is that and how does it work? It is actually pretty simple to understand. The instigator texts someone with the same number as them, with the last digit being plus or minus one. For example, if your number is 234-567-8910 your number neighbors would be 234-567-8911 and 234-567-8909.

 

Once you have texted your "number neighbor", you then post the screenshots on social media platforms (mainly twitter) and let everyone see what goes down when you do this.

Some guy named "Ryan" started the trend in late July 2019. He posted his conversation with his "number neighbor" on twitter and ended up getting over 127k likes. 

Even celebrities began to get in on the fun. Bebe Rexha, a pop singer known for her hits "Meant to Be," "Call You Mine," and many more texted her number neighbor and then proceeded to post it on twitter.   

Sometimes the whole number neighbor scenario can be pretty funny. Other ties, it can turn for the worse. One woman in California reportedly filed a police report after she played along with the game, and then received death threats in response to the whole incident. 

All in all, I think the number neighbor trend was pretty cool. I texted mine and I never got a response :( But, it was worth a shot. You should consider texting your number neighbor. You never know. You could end up being best friends with them. 

Here are some examples of number neighbor text messages: