Final Blog or a final Project

For my group’s Social Media Platform Module, my team chose SoundCloud. SoundCloud is a music app and website that allows users/members to record, promote, and distribute their own music and/or sounds.

We chose SoundCloud after consideration of many other social media platforms, such as: YouTube, Netflix, SnapChat and Instagram Marketing. A group member brought up SoundCloud, and we built off of basic information and internet studies. Once the topic was decided, we quickly split the project into different roles. Jamie did supporting materials, Briana chose the quiz, Chris chose the assignment, and I had chosen the discussion. We asked Jamie to pull together the supporting materials because he had originally proposed our using SoundCloud and knew a little more about the platform than the rest of us. We each picked our own roles from there.

When it comes to the audience, SoundCloud covers a decently large group: tech-savvy millennials (ages 36-16), and other starry-eyed, hopeful musicians. That itself is a large age group, covering 75.4 million in the U.S alone (according to Pew Research; http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/04/25/millennials-overtake-baby-boomers/”.

In creating these assignments, I had asked Chris for help, since I had partnered with him previously and was more sure in our interactions. With that, I joined a free 30-day subscription to the site to learn a little more, and get a better idea on what to create in the discussion. Overall, we collaborated, group members raising thoughts about their piece for affirmation or adjustment by other team members. We communicated solely through Google Hangouts, in the conversation Mr. Depner arranged for us.

In all, our team worked well together, and we released a final project that was impressive.

What Do You Want to be When You Grow Up?

'What do you want to be when you grow up?' The BIGGER QUESTION. A question that every teacher asks and every child seeks to answer and fulfill. That's the question we're asked to decide our education paths in high school and college as well. When I was younger, I never wanted to be any of the stereotypical things. I went through two stages: scientist and educator. 

Until I was 13, I wanted to do almost everything that had to do with science. I wanted to be a Geologist or Ecologist until I was 8, Astronomer from ages 8-10, and Marine Biologist from birth to 14. It is still something I have considered. I lived in the backwoods of Pennsylvania until I was 10, and found so much that fueled my love for the sciences in everything around around me. The quartz deposits in Chickie's Rock, the owls that circled my house, the stars, the whales and dolphins I saw when I went whale-watching with my aunt & uncle in Maine. I was determined to go to Duke University and become a Marine Biologist forever. That is, until, I moved to the desert.

Even then, I tired to find ways to study Marine Biology on the internet, from the library. But I lost the fun in the exploration and the experiences I could have with water environments. So, I occupied a lot of my extra time with church activities, mostly working in the nurseries and Sunday School. It wasn't until I was 13, and on my last year of middle school, that my Mom noticed how good I was with kids. She, as a substitute at the elementary connected to my middle school, started a program with my class of 8th graders helping the kindergartners she worked with. Over the course of the Spring semester, I realized how much I loved watching them learn, form bonds with them, and as I helped them with a sign language song at their graduation, I realized that was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I want to do what  can to provide children with a safe learning environment, a good education, and hope for their future. And I thought, but I can't do that as just a Kindergarten teacher, I'll have to be a middle school teacher too! Probably a Principle, and maybe even a Superintendent! So, that started my pursuit for an education degree. I immediately applied for my Early College High School, and started looking at what classes I would be taking over the years. Now, as a finishing Junior, soon to be Senior, I will start my fall semester with child development classes, and all that good stuff to get a head start on my Bachelors in Early Childhood Education.

Something I figured would be fun to write about today is siblings. There are all types of siblings; step, half, full, the ones we don’t talk to, and so on. As a little sister, there’s things I’ve learned along the way just by being. I learned things like how to connect to my adult siblings, and how to improve our relationship.

I, personally, am the youngest of five. I have 2 half sisters, one half brother, and one full-blooded brother. My father had a family in his previous marriage, so my half-siblings are in their late 30’s, and I am an aunt to my three nieces and one nephew. Oldest to youngest, my siblings are: Angela, Andrea, Anselmo II (Mo), Jonathan, and me. Jonathan is my full-blood brother, Since my half-siblings were out of the house and across the country long before I was born, we did not talk much as I grew up until I moved closer. They still live quite far, but I have been able to see them about every year or so. Something I learned that is important with adult siblings is keeping up contact. I call them on their birthdays, visit when I can, keep up with them through Facebook, and vice-versa. Facebook especially is a  big help, because I can keep up on their lives, message my sisters and my oldest niece quickly and easily (as they are the only ones with a Facebook page).  My youngest big brother (If that isn’t complicated) just moved out last month, and since he works 12-18 hour days, we rely mostly on his initiation of phone calls. He is not huge to Facebook, or any social media I use, so we text and call when we can.

Growing up, it was me and Jonathan, who is older by 18 months, as he never let me forget. We were always butting heads, a lot more than normal siblings. When we were younger, it was fist fights. We would destroy things in the house sometimes, hurt each other severely. He once even left a dent in the wall after hitting it with my head. As we extended of our vocabularies, fights became gunfights of insults. We looked to hurt each other as much as we could. We had a very bad relationship, and we had a lot of problems.. It really took us both going through our Sophomore year in high school that we realized how unacceptable our behavior was. We backed off, gave each other space, but also found sanctuary with the other when we went through a really difficult time. Once we gave each other space, and made time for sibling bonding, it became harder to hate each other, we were able to appreciate the other as a person rather than our older/younger sibling. Now that he has moved out, we have stayed that way.

Sibling really are sometimes the only family you have, and may be once parents pass away. It’s important not to leave home with any deep-seated resentment.

How I Tried Getting Twitter Followers

Throughout this week I have been following the (what seem to me like) mysteries of #Twitter and gaining followers. I tried to gain as many Twitter followers as I could this week through methods such as reposting well-liked content and posting semi-consistently. I can not say I have gained a lot, not nearly as many readers I get each week on my #Wattpad fanfic, but enough to let me know I am sort of doing decent at this, and don't completely suck. I started this module with seventeen followers on Twitter, as of this post I currently have 26 followers.

 

On reposting, I have mostly re-posted Buzzfeed and BuzzfeedNews, because that is where I find some amusing, important, and sometimes even helpful content! I mean, who does’t like corgis on a beach?

On my constant posting, I added hashtags I though worked with my post. Usually I post pictures, and tags related to them. For my first bouquet of roses, I added hashtags like #roses #homegrown and #gardens. I post about random things, whatever catches my eye at the time; clothing, weather writing, anything really. 

Twitter reminds me an awful lot of Snapchat. It is another form of micro blogging, with text being only small bursts.  The major media in Snapchat being pictures rather than text. But like most social media, the two do go hand in hand.

I do not have much to say. The results were what I expected, I did not gain many followers, but I did get some. I learned as I went along to repost more popular things, add tags that people are likely to be curious about, like #doggy or your state.

My Writing Life

I sat here in front of my laptop thinking about what to write for I think 2 hours. I just could not find anything in my head.  But then, I figured I could write about what I have done best in my life. Writing. Ironic almost.

For a long time, I was trying to find my talent. Something that made me different from everyone else. I tried Geology, Marine Biology, Sports, Dance, Music, and Art. By my 5th grade, a surprising amount of people had figured out their ‘talent’; what they could do happily and do well. Coincidentally, this was the same year my family and I moved to New Mexico and faced what felt like an existential crisis. A month before we moved, my Dad gave me a box set book trilogy almost as an ‘I- am- sorry- we- are- moving- the- family- 1,000- miles- away’ present. As a budding book worm, I accepted it begrudgingly. The first book in the set was Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani. The books follow the life of 35 year-old Pharmacist  Ave Maria Mulligan in the tiny town of Big Stone Gap, nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. It is a wonderful everyday-life tale of grief, love, and to sum it up in one word: Charming. This series made me want to do something I had never tried before. I wanted to write my own story.

I spent the next year writing my first story, and turned it in as a class project the next year. The Protector is a twelve chapter (two pages per chapter) book I’d like to forget I ever wrote. It is a quite terrible mash of Murder Mystery/Romance. I got a little carried away that first time.

After I wrote that, I realized how many opportunities there were to write. All kinds of mail-in competitions that got me started in writing poetry. My first few poems were titled: Hold On, Broken Family, Demon of the Night, and Soldier’s Daughter. A lot of my inspiration came from how the bullying, depression and anxiety made me feel. As I started recovery, it helped me release frustration and write about what I hoped for myself in the future. It helped me realize I had a future. 
 
Some people find therapy in music, art, or dance. I found mine in writing. Writing what I’m going through or losing myself in my own characters, sending them into their own troubles and hurdles, losing myself in the story. I can write out my own story in verse, speak my verse to others and find closure in exposure. I am glad I went through some of the stuff I did, that my Dad gave me my books, because I have made myself better, and found my niche, my talent. And I'm so happy to be a poet, a writer.

#writerslife #middleschoolsucks #poets #militarybrat #livingwithdepression #newtonewmexico
#findingmyself

After watching The Social Network, I am curious about what is the difference between some of my person favorite social internet platforms. I do not do incredibly much in reference to social media, but I spend a lot of times on two sites specifically. Facebook and Wattpad.

    

First, I want to look at the difference in their function. Facebook’s formal description is “ Connect with friends, family and other people you know. Share messages and get updates.” The website’s purpose is to connect people to others they know, though it stemmed from an idea of a site made to hook up. You create a free profile on the site, and you can search for people you know, and catch up, share messages and write updates on your life or share your opinions on relevant subjects!

Wattpad’s  formal function is that “Wattpad is the best place to read and share stories” On the site, you create a free profile (much like Facebook), and you can read stories from twenty-two genres written by other users, follow different writers, and write stories of your own, even enter them into competitions!

The next thing to compare are the profiles themselves on each site! Unlike Facebook, Wattpad works for anonymity just as well as true identities.  I will be using my own profiles as example.

↓

FEATURES	WATTPAD PROFILES	FACEBOOK PROFILES
Name	Yes, usually anonymous	Yes, not anonymous
Personal Description	Yes	Yes
Can you view recent activity?	Yes, under the conversations tab you can view their comments on other book. Under activity, you can see what books they coment on, vote for, or add to their public reading lists	Yes, scroll down to see their activity.
Can you post pictures or view others?	No, instead of pictures, Wattpad’s media is books; be it fanfiction or original works.	Yes. Look for the pictures tab on the prafile page and click to see specific albums or loose photos.

Besides the above, you can view the Friends/Followers of each profile unless hidden by the user. 

Both social media sites can be an incredible waste of time, or create a spark of creativity, or hold truly important information. So why choose between the two? Enjoy both!

Spring Break Vacay

This Spring Break was really quite calm compared to the time I spent out on my last few, but it was more enjoyable for me then the ones I spent jam-packed with plans. It was truly a stay at home vacation. And even with the fun, I got two dog sitting jobs, and spent the free times with puppies!

In all, not much happened till Wednesday. Sunday afternoon was spent with an old friend, catching up on each other’s lives. She is one of my closest friends as well, and it was nice since we haven’t talked in a while. I think those are my favorite friendships, those low-maintenance ones that you can call after a few months and still laugh with. Monday and Tuesday were equally uninteresting, as I spent my hours cleaning, listening to music, and browsing social media. All and all, peaceful.

Once Wednesday hit, I started going out. I went to market with my mother, afterwards going to my dual credit college advisory meeting. After a few hours in between, I went to see Zootopia with my mother as well. I am a huge animation fan, especially anything Disney. It was actually a lot better than I expected, quite realistically addressing issues of racism and prejudice. It also had a twisted plot, and turned out very differently than I expected or any scenario I planned out. Afterwards, my parents went out to see a movie, and I got to relax in my room for the evening.

Thursday was active. My mother, father and I took our Pit Bull Thor out with us to the Prehistoric Track-ways’ ridge-line trail. We did not expect the hike to as strenuous as it was, as we would have brought Athena (our German Shepard- a working dog). Thor was ill-suited for the trail, and 1 ½ miles in, we had to stop and turn back. Thor was very tired, and obviously overheated. The ride home consisted of listening to his heavy pants from the back of the car for 25 minutes.

Friday might have been one of my favorite days of break, as I got to invite two of my friends from school over! I brought my friends Ally & Maya to the WSMR Aquatic Center’s Flick n’ Float night, and we got the whole event to ourselves (plus the pool staff)! They were showing the first Hunger Games movie. Afterwards, we stopped at McDonald's before dropping Ally off at her house, while Maya slept over at my house! We ended up not sleeping till after midnight because of the movie timing.

Saturday was and early rising, and my Dad took Maya & I to IHOP for breakfast. Once her parents picked her up, I went back to bed for a much needed siesta. I woke up mid-afternoon and rushed to a coffee meeting I was having with a church friend at Spirit Winds. I had never been there before, and I think it is incredible! I have a special liking to their incense scents and fruit teas.

Sunday was the top of the cake. I went to church, and my parents went hiking while I stayed home till my Youth group at 4pm, and I ended up tripping and scraping my knee less than 3 minutes into the first game. Everyone loves to make jokes as to how I am our group’s most clumsy member, though the oldest.

I am so happy with the time I got to spend with my friends, church, and parents. I don’t often get to spend much quality time with my parents, so it was nice ^^ 

How to Be a Better College Student Alejandra Delgado, Jerica Gomez, and Christopher Hinojosa

The transition from high school to college can be one of the most daunting that someone can make. In some aspects, they are exactly the same. You have to go to class, finish homework, and study for exams. The thing about college however, is that the stakes are raised exponentially. Your performance in college will dictate the money you make and the career you get.

We’ve all heard the old saying “C’s get degrees”, but in reality this is far from the truth. Realistically speaking, employers are always going to choose a candidate that has a higher GPA because it shows them that you are a competent and hard worker. For these reasons, we have chosen to write this blog and our lecture project about how to become a better college student in order to maintain a high GPA and grow a stronger work ethic.

Jerica - My tips to becoming a better college student including taking your first semester seriously. It’s hard to adjust to the difference of being in highschool and having your hand held once you enter college you are all on your own, it's up to you to take the initiative to do your assignments and to turn them in on time. Professors are there to teach you its up to you if you want to learn. I’ve been in college for a while now and even the little things we didn’t think mattered that much our first few semester come back later when you're trying to get accepted into a program that is very competitive and you tried your best.

My second tip is to use your time wisely. Time management is probably the most important part of being a successful student. We are all busy in our crazy lives outside of school it's important to make time for the assignments and studying we have to do for school. Setting aside a specific time for school work such as studying and doing homework will be beneficial to you because you get to learn the material at your own pace and can be ahead of the game by not having to rush at the last minute.

My third tip is being organized, organization can make all the difference especially if you are taking multiple classes. I personally use different binders for each class with dividers and tabs separating the different kinds of assignments. Using a planner to  lay out your schedule of when your assignment are due and other kinds of techniques to keep yourself organized is the a great tip to be a successful college student.

My last tip to being a successful college student is to have a good support system. We need to surround ourselves with people who want the best of us and want us to succeed, and try our best not to have people who want to push you away from your future to go out and have fun. We all need a little fun in our lives but we have to put what's most important first and having fun come after.

Chris - During my first year at DACC, I was kind of just “winging it”. Whenever we had upcoming assignments I would never write them down, opting to just try to remember them and hope for this best. This would often result in me getting bad grades on quizzes that I would forget to study for.

To combat this, I did some research and realized that I can import my Canvas calendar into my Google Calendar. After this I was able to create a Google Calendar widget on my phone and put it on my home screen so whenever I unlock my phone my agenda of homework is easily viewable.

My current home screen, showing my upcoming assignments.

Along with this, my second tip to become a better college student would be to print out your syllabus’, hole punch them, and then place them into a binder so they are easy to access. This has saved me from having to take the time to log into Canvas, navigate to the class in question, and then click the link to the PDF copy of the syllabus.

Alejandra- I’m a near finishing junior at Arrowhead Park Early College High School, and have been going to DACC classes for two semesters. I’m still not very amazing at it. But I have pulled a few trips out of the little experience as a Duel Credit Student I have.

Number One, DO NOT IGNORE THE WORK. It is not like the rest of the high school classes, you have to keep track of assignments and do the work. The professors are different from high school teachers, and will expect you to pull the same weight as the adults. Let them and your classmates know that you and other kids your age can pull that weight. I have definitely faulted that a few time, and realized how horrible an idea it was. Not only does it project a poor image, it sends your grades spiraling downwards, and that is really hard to repair.

Number Two, spend your free periods wisely. The off-campus college classes are often at different times than the LCPS school schedule, so you’ll have some free time. And yeah, it’s okay to take a little time to talk, there’s also a lot of work to do so that you can graduate with a HS diploma and an Associate’s degree. Spending two or three class periods between classes gossiping and messing around can not only get you in trouble with campus security, but also with your grades.

In conclusion, it's not difficult becoming the best college student you can be. It takes hard work, hours of dedication, and a strong work ethic. We had a great time creating this blog post and lecture, and we hope that the tips we have given you help you get the degree and job that you are working towards.

Chris’ Blog: http://chrish67.blogspot.com/

Alejandra’s Blog: http://acdn240662.blogspot.com/

Jerica’s Blog: http://jericasadventures.blogspot.com/

My Start With Google- Not very Good

As a millennial who does not use much technology, I feel very out of place sometimes. We are the generation of technology know-how, I go to a high school focused in the STEM education (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics), and I have the resources; but I never became a tech person. I have used it for family connection, music and schoolwork; and even that was more CMT. Now in my current class, I am branching out; with Blogger, Twitter, YouTube and Google+. 

Google+ for so far is very weird, and I feel ridiculous saying that. I still have not used it much, starting with our group project, getting connected with the group. It is an interesting process. I’m starting to use Google Hangout, and that seems a little easier. I also have always enjoyed Google Calendar. It puts pop-ups on my phone, reminding me of doctor appointments, quizzes, and other important deadlines and such.

I really like learning about the background of Google itself. From how the founders do not really like each other, to how they run their company. Their ‘campus’ buildings are incredible. Growing up, many of my friends talked about wanting to work for Google. Be it at that time, it was solely for the fun we had seen in the company. I did a report last semester on their driver-less vehicles and the progress they had made. I personally think it is incredible technology that could prevent a lot of vehicle accidents, though not something to be put into place regularly for a long time.  To truly have accident prevention, it would need to be widely available, affordable, and used. 

But when it comes to the connection parts, I lack. But I suppose that is what this class is for. Improving my lacking social media skills, and provide background. Crossing my fingers, hand on a textbook, here’s to hoping. 

Internet History

The internet. An expanse of data and color and options a lot of us have become taken with, be it via mobiles or computers. Social networking especially, has become part of our daily lives; Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc.  But to better understand the present, you must understand the past.

            In my English 211 class, we are leaning about the history of social media.  So far, we have learned about BBSs, MySpace, and Live Journal. Of those, I find the most interesting to be Live Journal.

            In Live Journal, I’ve seen that it’s not as customizable as sites like Facebook, and there are no larger multi-media groups like Buzzfeed, YouTubers, etc. Some of the steps take longer, and searching is much different.

            We thought about why it might not be as well-used, or popular. I found that slower processes, lack of multi-media groups, and lack of customization to be major hindrances. No one wants things to take longer, and why would they? Lots also enjoy following their favorite celebrities, YouTubers, and what they do in their lives. Live Journal does not have that feature. It does have communities that are nice, poetry and such.

            With MySpace, we learned about the dramatic uptake and downfall. It started through e-mail spam for recruitment of members, but once outlawed, lost its marketing technique. It also had a tight block on other apps and made users very unhappy. It is incredibly customizable, and has available anonymity from the usernames.

            However, we have started using some of the modern sites as well. Twitter, Blogger, Facebook, etc. I personally have only ever used Facebook, never getting connected to the rest of social media. I started using Facebook only as a way to keep contact with family after moving away, and it became a part of my daily life. Because of the class, I started a Twitter and Blogger. However, I’ve come to enjoy Blogger already, I am likening writing everything down, documenting what I do and learn. 

My Dog Infested Life

As a certified dog person I can say, while I love my pups to death, there are just some times I wonder what I was thinking with them.

“Mom, can we please get her?”

“Mom, Dad, can we keep him? Nobody else wants him!”

Well, now I have three dogs and the hair never goes away. I suppose I should introduce my troublemakers.

•       First came Buddy. He is a small Cockapoo that never became more than 22 lbs of spoiled. We got him back in 2008, meant for my brother, but loved the rest of us more. As a puppy he was so sweet. Loved everyone, but now hates every dog. Still loves people, but if either of the other pups look at him wrong, they’re dead. He’s our grumpy man.

•  Next we got Athena. Now she is my dog 100%. I love my parents for dealing with not just me, but my German Shepard who’s just as crazy.  We got her as a puppy in early 2013, with all intention for a mild-mannered girl. That attitude left as fast as her fur sheds. But we love her dearly, and I certainly have nothing to worry about at night with her by my feet.
  
  

• Finally, we got Thor (The God names, I know). The cubby black & white American Pitbull Terrier belonged to my father’s friend up until a year ago, when they moved and left him with us. We meant to foster him, but his intense laziness, licking, and cuddling pushed its way into my older brother’s heart. He became part of the family. After he left last month, Thor cuddled up to me.

Each of these dogs is amazing their own way, and is gold in my life, but how much I wish sometimes that they weren’t so stupid.

For example, most of being a dog owner is 

(a) Pulling things out of their mouth or 

(b) Making sure they won’t die from what they just ate. 

My Shepard has eaten so many things, I’m certain she’s invincible. This dog has eaten a tin of cupcakes, a loaf of bread, a cake, ½ lb. of butter, ten double chocolate cookies with mint chocolate chips, two pork chops, a jar of Vaseline, powdered cement, liquid cement, set cement, easy 4 lbs. of dirt, and the stuffing out of a few stuffed animals. Every time, I’d stare at her and go WHY?

Buddy was more complacent. He loved everyone, and was so fluffy no one could get mad. As we got more dogs, we discovered that he did not like being a sibling. Stomping over puppy Athena, and nipping at her, he gained the nickname “The Grumpy Old Man”. He regretted that once she grew bigger. Now he barks at the two bigger dogs and flees to his room.

Thor was always a gem. A fat gem, but one nonetheless. He loves to cuddle, and though looks vicious outside the door, once in, you can discover he’s a very lovable, licking menace. He gets excited and forgets how big he is, and sometimes ends up tackling people when trying to get some lovin’. He’s a simple dog, not too many stories with him yet, excepting his licking addiction. He once licked my brother’s face all night, and he woke up with a very raw face.

But even with all these quirks, I could never get rid of them. The best part about owning these dogs? The bonds we share, and the happiness we give each other. 

Life Hurts Sometimes

As a continuing high school student, I've had big dreams in mind. From Geologist, to Marine Biologist, to Writer, to Teacher, I've wanted to be something great. Who hasn't? But there's always something that gets in the way. For me, like many people, it was Depression. It's been around for long enough now, it's like a familiar friend. It most certainly does not help with my dreams.

It hit in middle school, following me to where I am now, and it is a persistent little parasite. Bullying never made any victim  feel good, and my case is no different. It started with just one boy who thought it'd be fun, and spread to the entire school deciding I was a fat girl that had no future, no purpose. The teachers became my closest allies. Along the way, it's destroyed my self-confidence, my relationships with people around me, and my faith in Christ, which used to mean everything to me. I cannot count anymore the times mental scars through myself became physical, and how many times I tried to leave it all behind. I've been told I look like a broken etch-a-sketch. Depression is monster I don't wish on anyone. In high school, it destroyed my grades, my work ethic becoming a near zero, and not finding the strength to do anything, nonetheless spend 4 hours on my various schoolwork. My dreams started fading, I began hating the sciences, maths, basically everything except English, because writing became my salvation, posting poetry online for people to read and say, "I'm in the same place. I understand." That too faded from interest, I stopped writing. I learned that life hurts.

I have yet to gain a valiant story as to how I became my own knight in shining armor, slaying the towering beast of nagging voices and hateful words. I'm working on it though. Freshman year I got a therapist. She listens to me, and actually gives helpful exceptions, despite what a lot of people tend to think, they do give a crap about you. I also found a group at school that supports me when I'm sad, mad, or fine. I went back to church, and found myself friends in my Youth Group leaders and members, weekend camps being holy retreats that help me get closer to God. I found faith. The biggest thing I've done is make myself happy with me. I lost weight, got rid of acne, got braces, and changed my hairstyle until I reached a point that I could feel happy just being me. And that changed so much on it's own.

I'm happy with me!

While I still have yet to heal completely, I am on my way. With medication being a hopeful in the near future, I expect a turn around. I found fire to fight in my family, my church, my friends. Despite what I used to think, life hurts only sometimes. Not always.