SCAMPER this.

While learning different techniques to boost my creativity, I can't help but wonder who actually uses these crazy techniques. As I sat enjoying my delicious Birthday Cake Oreos, I realized companies probably use techniques all the time. Honestly, look at some of the crazy inventions that have come to fruition. 


The first crazy invention that was SCAMPER-ed into existence is the Snuggie. Like I could mention anything else. 

The original blanket with sleeves combined the problems of cold hands while texting, a constantly moving blanket and the need for an additional wizard robe into one magical garment. A website (snuggiesightings.com) allows you to post pictures of when you've seen a Snuggie in the wild. You can even get one for your dog.

Next we find nail stickers.

Someone (like me) who couldn't paint their nails thought how can I combine the beauty of exotic prints with the ease of no mess application. Hence the nail sticker. These strips make sure that your nails are never stained or sloppy looking. If applied right.


Finally, we have the BookBook. 

Someone sat their thinking, "Man, I'd really like to have a device that protects my phone, carries my wallet necessities and looks like a book so I can hide the face that I have my phone out," and created the BookBook.


 You can even get them for your Macbook.

All of the above examples illustrate what can happen when you look at the uses, functions and needs of different objects and combine them into a new product. These things sound crazy until you realize how great the combinations are. I couldn't live without my Snuggie.


Seeing these inventions helped me find perspective on Thinkertoys and realize that maybe, just maybe, I will too find use for them someday. 

Putting the PR in professional

Public relations is a profession with a multitude of responsibilities. One of the most important and commonly overlooked is professional development. Students enter this major eagerly anticipating when they can begin planning special events and making a difference by helping nonprofits with writing, design and promotion.

Few arrive at Waynesburg and think, "wow, I can't wait to attend some great conferences." Actually I don't think anyone says that. I sure didn't. It wasn't until my first PRSA Pittsburgh Professional Development Day during my freshman year that I realized I loved learning about the profession as much as I enjoyed practicing it. 

Go ahead, say it. I'm a huge nerd. I know. Nothing inspires me more creatively than hearing an industry professional share their insight and offer advice on how to replicate their success. I think this love of knowledge will help me be successful one day because I never believe that I know everything and I know I can always improve. 


This week at Waynesburg University was our second annual Public Relations Week. Embracing the need for professional development, the PRSSA Chapter diligently works to bring in speakers that will directly benefit all those who are interested. While some members don't see the value, I've learned a lot this week. I leave each presentation with pages full of notes with ideas for the future. 


By far, my favorite presenter this week has been Melissa Monk. While her background isn't PR specific, she discussed the importance of branding and networking. Her essential advice was crucial to everyone intending to enter the work force. 


While she included a lot of great information, her discussion on Linked In was my favorite part. 

While listening to her presentation, I took copious notes and made a to do list of things to update on my Linked In. I learned I need to include all experience to show that I'm well-rounded and a multitasker. Your profile should reflect the professional you. 


Her advice made me  realize there are so many more things I could learn about Linked In, so I scoured the Internet machine and found this rad video.

Not only does it give an overview (which I needed), it shows another way to use the social medium. The site is valuable for making connections and finding the right businesses to help you out. It shows you connections of who is right for you and how to narrow down what you find. 


Next, I found this article discussing how to optimize your business. Because at this point I'm selling myself, the advise is still valuable.

One speaker's presentation caused me to research an underutilized social media site and find ways to enhance my brand. The more speakers you see, the more you learn. While most people don't realize it, conferences and speakers are sometimes the greatest places to find inspiration. You just have to be willing to hear it.

Loose tweets sink ships

At Waynesburg University, we spend a lot of time learning about old and new school public relations. We have classes dedicated to teaching how to effectively use these tactics, but most of the focus remains on old school. This means we are drilled on the importance of releases, stories and conferences.


But what about social media?


Sure, we all use it in some capacity, but we're not taught how to use it professionally. Because we are a small school, we don't have the staff or probably the numbers add a course like that. I think that George Cicci, director of integrated marketing at Waynesburg University, is considering teaching a course next spring, but that won't benefit me. 


All of that to get to this point- I found the coolest  example of learning to use social media ever. 


UNT Students use Twitter, other social media to recreate Titanic experience 


At the University of North Texas, students in the Strategic Social Media course imagined that social media existed in 1912. They used Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook, among others, to see what it would've been like. Pinterest boards were created to model the White Star Line product and intrigue potential travelers. 


Twitter server numerous functions, including a live discussion with White Star Line and the families of Titanic travelers to keep them updated. Additionally, students were assigned real passengers and they had to tweet about their experiences both aboard the luxurious liner as well as the sinking. 


On top of that, the students had to do research about the Titanic. This included reading reports about the incident and case studies conducted. Not only were they learning how to use social media both professionally, personally and in a crisis situation, but they also learned. 


In my opinion, this is wildly creative. It sparked such a strong interest in me that I've been trying to get Waynesburg professors to adopt the idea and implement it both in class and in organizations. Unfortunately, I have no takers, but this is still a unique idea that helps teachers present the material in a way that students will be interested in and want to pursue. Also, it helps me think for the future of project ideas and ways to incorporate fun and learning. 


Essentially this is creativity and public relations done right. A model example for classes to come. 

For good measure.

The generation that will change the world is the generation the world can't change.

I think we all want to make a difference in the world, at least I hope we do. The recognition to do something great comes from, in my opinion, the great commission from God. We want to be movers and shakers. 


Personally, I would love to do something that shakes things up. I've spent a majority of my life complaining about something, so it would be nice to actually do something about it. My degree in public relations will give me that opportunity to make a difference. 


Sure, I probably won't spend years in a third world country trying to end world hunger or create world peace, but when did that became the only thing to be changed? By continually following God's plan, or doing my best, I think that I'm in the position to be revolutionary. 


By this point, you're probably wondering where I'm going with this. I am, of course, going to discuss the Invisible Children/Kony 2012 fiasco and all the viral implications. 


The Invisible Children organization exists to help children affected by Joseph Kony. Basically, this guy is bad and in the middle of the night he steals children for his army. Not cool. Recently, Invisible Children exploded with their campaign "Kony 2012."

The above video was released and attracted more than 80 million views. It hit 31 million on March 13 alone. Most experts believe the simple and universal themes contributed to its massive success. Most videos that go viral are shorter, which adds to the impact this video clearly had on viewers.


Unfortunately, with any great thing, something negative follows. Soon after, Invisible Children's finances were examined and questioned based on how much they generate and how little they put to the cause. In reply, they released this video to explain their situation. 


Basically, there an organization designed to raise awareness and they explained that. After releasing the video, it seemed as if they had handled the crisis appropriately and it would die down. Until this happened. 

Jason Russell, director of the Kony 2012 video, lost it. Publicly. Apparently the stress of the scrutiny got to him and he had a mental breakdown. Unfortunately, he's going to be hospitalized for a few weeks. While his case is sad, it's leads to an important thought.


If you're going to do something huge and try to make a difference, there will always be haters. I recently spoke with a sports blogger who told me that if you don't have people against you, you're not being loud enough. Pretty revolutionary.


You're probably asking what does this have to do with Chelsea Nicole Cummins, future PR practitioner? Absolutely nothing. 


I kid, I kid. It has everything to do with my future. If I end up working for an organization like Invisible Children, I need to know that there will be backlash for what I put out. I just need to be creative and be prepared. These two aspects are crucial. 


This article basically says the same thing. Be prepared for success, have reliable spokespeople who are prepared and prepare for close scrutiny. Sure, it makes my job harder to prepare for backlash, but then again it's necessary so I don't end up releasing statements about my boss running naked in the streets screaming profanities. 


I want to make a difference and I want to do it right. 

It's only because of problems that we grow mentally and spiritually.

This week has been awful. Sometimes in life it feels like everything that can go wrong, will go wrong. Generally speaking this whole semester has been terrible, but this week more so. It's hard to be creative in any sense (especially when writing a blog about creativity) when you can't see past your problems. 

And I know how much things could be, and I know how blessed I am. Even this knowledge doesn't make me feel better. It's overwhelming when you can't find time to do your work and people expect so many things from you and you know you can't accomplish. I'm not used to feeling helpless. 

I guess I've reached that point where I'm wondering whether my education is worth it, I mean I know what everyone says about how college is the best way to be successful, but is it worth the stress? I just want to sell fine jewelry at Sears for the rest of my life. Just kidding. 

I decided to research whether or not my time spent nearly losing my hair  would be worth it in the end. Turns out, I just may have some luck.

According to an article from PR News, public relations is one of the fastest growing professions. It's followed closely by marketing and sales and media and communications. All are showing at least 20% growth. In this economy, it's good to know that I have a decent chance at getting hired.

In a way, that does help justify the stress because I know that my hard work should ultimately pay off. The more creative I am and the better I do will help me achieve my dreams of one day not being unemployed and living with my grandparents (my mom has a strict no moving back home rule). 

During my search for information, I also discovered that public relations is one of the most stressful jobs. An article from Ragan's PR Daily explains that in 2011, PR was the second most stressful job as determined by CareerCast. This caused a lot of drama because military professions weren't included. 

Here is the full top 10:

1. Enlisted military soldier
2. Firefighter
3. Airline pilot
4. Military general
5. Police officer
6. Event coordinator
7. Public relations executive
8. Corporate executive (CEO)
9. Photojournalist
10. Taxi driver 

So after all the dangerous jobs, we have event coordinators and public relations executives. Basically, in the world of blue collar, PR is the most stressful in some way or another. While this is slightly upsetting because at some time I would like to stop being stressed, but at the same time it validates my stress now. Maybe I'm just getting prepared for the long road ahead. 

Life right now may be tough, but I can remind myself that I'm working for something better. My future is important and soon my hard work will pay off. At least I hope. 

The rarest of all things in American life is charm. We spend billions every year manufacturing fake charm that goes under the heading of public relations. Without it, America would be grim indeed.

Because I naturally think like a public relations practitioner, everything I see inspires me. When a new commercial or campaign is unveiled, I naturally ogle and judge it based on how creative I think it is. 

Like the nerd I am, I love reading articles about grassroots campaigns and causes that use innovative techniques or fail epically. From this, I can both take away ideas that inspire me or teach me practices that I should never repeat. 

This week, I stumbled upon (not literally this time) an article about the inventor of Spanx. Yes, Spanx. The wonderful containing method for women of all shapes and sizes. This invention has revolutionized the way we get dressed. Without awkward lines and cellulite, we're free to try new styles.

Would you believe the inventor became a billionaire without ever advertising her product? 

How Spanx Became a Billion-Dollar Business without Advertising

If you doubted me, read that article. 

Simply by word of mouth and contacting Oprah, Spanx grew into one of the greatest current companies. Sara Blakely, inventor and owner, used completely nontraditional techniques and became a huge success. 

This story inspires me for obvious reasons. It's generally taught that new ideas take time to catch on, but Blakely proves that innovation pays off and hard work can get you places. 

This picture isn't necessarily public relations specific, but the sentiment is true. Any PR major at an institution with a respectable program will tell you how hard the program is. We don't just sit around and hope to be hired by a great company, we work our asses off to achieve what we want. I hate the assumption that comm majors don't work. This inspires me in a weird way because I operate under that knowledge that yes, life will happen the way it's supposed to, but you can't just sit around and wait for it to happen. 

I like this photo mainly because it simplifies the different between advertising, marketing and public relations. Honestly, the relation to my creativity comes from my enjoyment of the image. It makes me laugh and appreciate my profession, which makes me want to continue excelling. 

Stories like Sara Blakely tell me that if I work as hard as I can, I will most likely achieve great things. I say most likely because sometimes life is strange. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about. 

Faith is courage; it is creative while despair is always destructive.

Faith and creativity constantly go hand in hand for a plethora of reasons. As the title of this blog illustrates, the courage derived from faith inspires our creativity while despair will always bring us down (quote by David S. Muzzey). 

Instead of focusing on how my faith inspires me to be creative, I'm going to focus on how I should desire to emulate the Great Creator himself- God. 

When you think about it, God is truly the greatest and most creative being. You don't even need to look far to see an example of this magnificent work. In fact, simply looking in a mirror is the perfect example of His amazing design. 

As a future public relations practitioner, there are many things I can learn from God. Whether it be His writing, design or overall planning skills, He is the master. 

The picture above is a fragment of one of the most iconic Bible verses from 1 Corinthians 13:4. When you think about it, the Bible is one of the most heavily quoted books in history. Additionally, it's also referred to as the greatest love story ever told. 

For a book to reach that stature, the writing has to be fantastic. Sure, God didn't sit in Heaven completing this masterpiece, but they're His words. He inspired His followers to write down these beloved stories and life commandments to be passed on to the generations of Christians that would follow. 

Pretty deep stuff. There hasn't been a time that I've opened my Bible and not been inspired. There is always a verse just waiting for me to read it and have my perception altered. Because I'll probably be writing for a majority of my career, I don't believe there's any better writer to look up to. 

Now I know the picture above isn't a great picture and there really isn't anything special about it, except what it illustrates. God's great design can be seen throughout every aspect. First, we have the lovely ladies featured. Both examples of how complex God's designs are. 

Second, we have the location. The subjects are in Key West, Fla. and enjoying the Caribbean and beautiful sunshine. The clear blue water, white sand beaches and wonderful landscapes are all examples of the genius of God. With his divine imagination, He thought up our world. 

The cruise ship is also an example because it is was AMAZING and technically some men designed the technology but I still give it to God because He gave them the inspiration. If you have never been on a cruise, try it. Solid proof that God loves us. 

I digress. 

There's an old saying that I really love- man plans, God laughs. While I'm not one of those yuppies that sits around saying life will happen the way it's supposed to without trying, I do firmly believe that every action I take affects my future. 

Sometimes I become overwhelmed with nerves about my quickly approaching future and I wonder where I'll end up. At these points I remind myself that whatever decisions I make are the ones God knew I was going to, and it all works into my purpose for living. I have to remind myself to relax because God's in charge. 

I'm a bit of a planner, but God put me to shame. In seven days He mapped out and designed the world. Insanity. I can barely put together small gatherings when I have months to do it. He has vision, and if I can ever even be a small fraction as efficient as Him, I'm good to go. 

I included this highly pixelized quote because it seemed like a good idea. For all those worriers like me, we have to remember that planning our lives can only go so far. We have a larger purpose waiting to be achieved. By letting go and realizing that God's plan are far greater than my own, I can mellow out and let go of my fear and be more creative. 

Whether it be writing, designing or planning, God sets the standard. Now, I know there's no way I can ever achieve what he has, but it doesn't mean I can't try. 

Faith

This is my faith blog. I should probably edit it a little more.

Other things may change us, but we start and end with family.

We all have something to say about our family. They drive us nuts. The constant pestering, worrying and antagonizing is awful. I get it, it's because they love us, but it doesn't mean we have to enjoy it. 

I look at family in the traditional sense of blood relations and in the sense of friends who are the family God let us choose (how cliche, I know). Both have molded and shaped me into the person I am today, and they continue to do so. My creativity stems from my interaction with them. 

Generally speaking, your family can inspire you to do some pretty crazy things. I once rode the swings at the fair with my sister after I told her I was sick. I finally proved to her I was sick by throwing up half processed gyro all over the crowd below. 

Granted, not everything we do for family is bad. Sometimes it's quite good. 

The scene above is from Little Miss Sunshine. If you haven't seen it, shame on you. The movie is about a strained family and their journey to finding each other again. This is one of the final scenes of the movie, when the youngest child Olive performs her dance routine to Super Freak at the Little Miss Sunshine pageant. Seeing the reaction from the crowd, her once broken family joins her on stage in support. 

This is a great example of the outrageous things we do for the people we love. They give us the freedom to let loose and be silly. When you're being crazy, you're more open and more creative. When my sister and I are goofing around, I feel awesome. 

Because of how much time I spend with family, both related and not, I am a firm believer that they shape who we are and how we think. Yes, we can still be original but we are still products of our environment. 

Discovering this quote helped me shape my thoughts on the influence of family. I think it's one of those hard to grasp notions that every interaction helps to mold us in every way. Especially creativity. 

When I think about the times I've been inspired, I realize that the ideas came from conversations with the people I'm closest with. Whether it was my father or best friend, something about talking to them caused me to flow with creativity. I think that without strong connections to others, we lose an important element of what causes creativity. 

To define family in the simplest terms, a family is about love. Sometimes we don't get love from our biological family, but we find it anywhere we can. In fact, most of life pursuits involve love, whether it be in the traditional sense or in our love of creating and living. In some way, we all live for our love. 

I decided to check the greatest love letter of all for a quote about love and its importance in your life. If you're not aware, I'm referring to the Bible. 

This verse from Colossians 3:14 really stood out to me. It's so simple yet profound, "most of all let love guide your life."

When love is guiding your life, you are filled with it in some capacity. When you have love, you have creativity. It is a huge force in life and without it what you do is empty. Surrounding yourself with your family creates love. 

Families inspire through loving, making you be silly and molding you. Without realizing it, these things happen to us regardless of how we feel about it. Without these things, we wouldn't be the creative beings God intended us to be. 

Living young, wild and free.

Freedom is one of those great things that means something different to each of us. Personally, I view freedom as the gift to be exactly who you are. When you're free, you're invincible. 

Currently, I view my freedom as an extension of my youth. For a long time, I was trying to grow up too fast and be too mature. I was afraid to live my life. After I read the Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, my perspective changed. 


Now my level of creativity reflects how young I'm feeling. When I wake up with a lot to do, I tend to feel like an old woman bound to my routine. When I'm spontaneous and realize that work can wait, I tend to be off the charts creatively. 


These days, when I'm feeling a little too old, I listen to this song by Fun. 

It's called We Are Young, and every single time I listen to it, I'm inspired. Everything about it intrigues me. It's not about making good choices or past regrets, it's about embracing the fact that at this point, we're free to be young. I think sometimes students in general become overwhelmed with the haunting thoughts of our futures, but this song is a reminder that the future can wait because tonight we are young. 

My favorite poet/person to find quotes from is e. e. cummings. Typically, poetry is not my favorite form of expression, but I love cummings' style. I love him so much that his quote "It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are" inspired my tattoo.

If you're wondering, it's on my hip. Not a tramp stamp. It symbolizes this time in my life where I'm finally figuring out who I'm supposed to be and leaving behind the person I thought I was.

I searched Google Images for pictures of e.e. cummings quotes, and I found the following:

While this wall decal isn't necessarily centered around youth, it still makes the point that believing in yourself leads to unlimited curiosity and creativity. Being young is about finding yourself and accept whoever that person is. When I read this quote, I not only want to wall decal, I also realize that it takes the confidence that I'm creative to excel. 

I found this picture in my pursuit of information and I loved the message behind it. It serves as a reminder that I'm growing older every second. As I mentioned earlier, I believe that life is for living and youth is for embracing. The more I realize it's important to enjoy my life, the more creative I am. This comes from a combination of experiencing new things and not being so anal about everything. Being young teaches me to keep calm and carry on. 

I. Love. This. 


First of all, the design element is simple but it makes clear the purpose. It's messy and deliberate. One of my greatest fears is failing. In my creativity class we talk a lot about how failing is just finding a way that doesn't work, but it still hurts when something doesn't happen the way you thought it should. This picture reminds me that I'm only 21, things aren't going to work out all the time for me. I'm still figuring out who I am and what I want to do, so how can I expect anything else? 


It's important to realize that in some way we all fail. But we should embrace failing because it teaches you more about a situation or yourself. If we all constantly succeeded, we would never grow as individuals. 


The greatest lesson I've learned to date is enjoy being young. Don't let yourself grow up too fast. Enjoy all the rejection, the heartbreak, the pain and the misery because someday we won't be experiencing so many new and exciting aspects of life. Realize that without the heartache and the failing, we would never discover who we truly are. 


Be inspired to be creative by your youth. When you're stuck in front of your computer trying to write a press release or design a new logo, escape and do something spontaneous. Allow ideas to flow to you instead of trying to generate them artificially. 


Being young is a unique experience that most can't wait to get away from. Embrace the challenges of growing up and embrace yourself. I guarantee your creativity will flourish. 


I believe Ralph Waldo Emerson summarized it best when he said, "Passion rebuilds the world for the youth. It makes all things alive and significant."

I imagine that yes is the only living thing.

If you haven’t determined this already, I’m a bit of a worrier. There’s no limit to the things I worry about on a daily basis. Before I even knew about my problem, my mother would withhold certain information to keep me functioning.

Worrying is the main inhibitor of my creativity because I always see the negative consequences. In every situation. From my writing to something I say, I examine everything that can go wrong and worry more. It’s ridiculous.

As a child, I used my imagination as an escape from everything in life that worried me. I would gather my toys and create worlds and universes where things would go wrong, but they would always get better. I would recreate my troubles through my toys and subsequently solve them.

This continues to be a coping mechanism even into my adult life. It’s almost embarrassing to admit, but I still spend time each day dreaming of a life I don’t have where things go right and my problems work out and everything is happy. Surprisingly, it doesn’t make me sad or give me false hope about reality. It just helps me.

Unfortunately, there is one area where I can’t simply think my way into a new scenario.

Nature is one of the greatest gifts from God in my opinion. It’s constantly changing and becoming even more beautiful. Stellar Kart even has a line in one of their songs that adequately expresses my thoughts on nature:

“All around me Your creation brings me to my knees in adoration.”

Now you’d think that I’m about to discuss how a beautiful sunrise makes my cares go away and I’m enraptured. How the beauty of the ocean at dusk with the waves softly rolling against the white beach causes me to explode with wonderful ideas. How driving with the windows down during a summer evening with the right song playing makes me invincible.

While I enjoy everything listed, nature does something more than amaze me. It terrifies me. Growing up, I loved every horror movie you could throw at me. I don’t care how much blood or how many victims. They just didn’t scare me because I knew it was pretend. A killer wasn’t going to come through my dreams and kill me while I was asleep. In my opinion, my fears are much more practical.

I can’t watch Twister without hearing every gust of wind and thinking an F5 was about to rip my house apart. After I saw Dantes Peak I spent the next year of my life terrified lava was going to roll through my bedroom. Don’t even get me started on movies like Deep Impact and The Day After Tomorrow.

If I wanted to, I could list a thousand more movies that I can’t watch past a certain point in the day. It’s simple- acts of nature that can actually happen cause me to panic. I spend most of my time thinking of ways of escape or shelter in every situation. This line of thinking always leads me to believe that the worst has happened.

When I went to Cancun last March, I worried every day that a tidal wave would come sweeping across the beach and destroy the resort I was staying in. I still had a lot of fun, but the fears are never silent. [Unrelated but it was the Friday I left Cancun that Japan experiences the earthquake and tidal wave.]

I’ve been this way ever since I was a child. Every day that we learned about volcanoes and other natural disasters in school was a day I didn’t want to go. You’re probably going to think I’m crazy after reading this, but I think I function fairly well considering my overwhelming fears.

Most of the time, I’m completely fine. Yeah, things still scare me, but overall no big deal. Other times, it hits me and I can’t function. I will lie in bed terrified of everything that can go wrong and convince myself that the world is going to end before the next morning. This is a crazy view, but it helps to increase my belief that every single day is a miracle.

When I was younger, the fear would get so bad the only thing I could do was take my blanket and pillow into my parents’ bedroom and sleep on the floor. And clutch my toy dog Scruffy (my best friend and confidante since age three).

Because I’m now an adult, I cope without my parents. When it gets so bad that I can’t focus on anything except lying in my bed and panicking, I talk to God. I know this is technically praying, but I’m not really asking for anything or inquiring about anything. It’s really just a conversation.

I talk to God about my fears and how I know I’m ridiculous, and I thank Him profusely for allowing me to be alive each and every day. And I tell Him I’ll continue to do my best with the gifts He gave me because I know without Him, my gifts are wasted.

Typically, after a while I’ll fall asleep peacefully and sleep without nightmares. I don’t think God is mad that I fall asleep on Him though, considering He knew it was going to happen.

I also watch movies when I’m scared. Watching other peoples’ lives unfold in a mostly positive manner helps me realize it’s going to be ok. Sometimes, I don’t even change the movie. I’ll watch the same one over and over because it helps.

Eventually, after a few days, the panic is gone and I’m a normal functioning human. I’ve become significantly better. I can’t even remember the last time this affected me. Apparently, my coping methods are effective.

The point of this is simple- my imagination is awesome but overactive. It is not only good for creation, but also destruction of my sanity. I recognize this and often when I feel my imagination fighting against me, I retaliate and think positively and talk to God.

Maybe one week I’ll blog about things that strictly make me creative, not things that cause me to lack a creative spirit. 

Don't Bring Me Down

I had no idea what to write about for this weeks assignment. I just figured if nothing else I could BS my way through some post about why this pretty picture inspires me to be creative. Everything changed when I read the Yellow Jacket. 

Through my position in Student Senate, I planned an event called Can WU Duet (which was a success). Naturally, the newspaper did a story about the event. I wondered how they would handle it, considering the event was a day before it was on campus so a preview wouldn't work because the event would have happened and a follow up would be pretty late. Their solution was to write the story as if it already happened. Except a winner wasn't included.

Although I was a little upset, I thought it was still good to have exposure so I moved on. As I read the article, my anger returned. Because the event hadn't happened, there were many errors, including how many groups performed (two dropped out due to illness) and the spelling of a judge's name (she graduate last may from the Department of Communication). Also, like I mentioned before, they included how people voted, but not who won. 

On top of all that, my major was wrong and my co-chair from my committee in Student Senate had an incorrect title. To me, it's lazy journalism. As a writer for University Relations, I understand deadlines, but I also know that checking your facts is crucial. When something is published, there should never be speculation that information is inaccurate. 

This may seem like minor details and like I'm overreacting, but this isn't the first time an article about Senate or a Senate event has contained errors. I don't think it's a vendetta, but I also don't understand how they can't check what they're reporting before they publish the information. 

This all happened while I was in class, trying to work on a grants writing assignment. My mood was extremely negative and I couldn't focus on the task at hand. We talk a lot in class about how negativity makes you less creative, and I experienced that this morning. 

In fact, every time I think about the paper I'm upset and it puts a damper on my day. I'm not blaming the paper for that, it's more the fact that I hate when Senate is misrepresented in any form because I feel it reflects badly both on me as well as the entire body of students involved. 

As I write this blog, I'm reminding myself that while the article wasn't to my liking, the event was a success and that's what mattered. My hard work paid off into an event that was well-attended and much enjoyed. The article can't change that. 

I have a lot of writing to do this weekend, and instead of thinking about what went wrong, I'm going to focus on the good things. It's amazing that just by writing about the success of the event, I feel more creative and ready to do my work. 

And yes, I waited until the last second to do this and it may not be as long, but at the same time I'm actually applying concepts from class to a real life event instead of fabricating something to get the assignment done. 

Bows and Sparkles,

Chelsea

The Pursuit of Happiness

Throughout your life, people are always asking what you want to be when you grow up. As you age, the question becomes more appropriately tailored. As a college student, it becomes what are you going to school for and what do you want to do with that degree. A public relations student will also have to explain what their major means. I've literally corrected more than ten people who thought I wanted to publish books. 

Anyways, being in my penultimate year of school, I'm faced with the horrifying reality that I actually need to have an answer. I can no longer just say I'll figure things out when the time arrives. It's here and I'm supposed to select a field that I'm most interested in and find something to help pay my bills. 

Terrifying. Exciting. Depressing. Intriguing. That's how I view my future. 

When you can't decide what you want to do or who you want to be, your life is in turmoil. I had resigned myself to a future of being a bum living under a bridge in Pittsburgh. It was easier than facing the truth.

One day, like magic, I stumbled upon a quote by John Lennon. Literally I was on Stumble Upon. Anywho, it made me realize that I knew what I wanted out of life. 

“When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.” 

Apparently, there is some debate as to whether Mr. Lennon actually said that, but no matter. From the moment I read that quote, I knew that I didn't care where my life took me, as long as I was happy. 

I realize that sounds a little counterproductive in the sense that I have no direction, but I believe that God is in control and everything happens for a reason. By trusting this, I know that even if I end up being a fine jewelry sales associate at Sears for the rest of my life, I can be happy. 

It was a simple yet revolutionary thought. 

Now I know you're wondering, how does this inspire me to be creative? It's quite simple, really. 

I've stopped being so uptight. Granted, I'm still pretty out of control most of the time, but I've calmed down quite a bit. I see improvements in my writing because I'm not so worried about everything all the time. I see it in other areas as well, but because writing is the number one activity in public relations, that's what I notice most. By calming down, I've become more creative.

Last week I sounded like a hipster. This week I sound like a straight up hippy. 

Why is it called a bucket list?

I'm fairly certain I've said "add that to my bucket list" a million times in my lifetime, but I've never actually created one. Nor do I remember most of the things I said I'd do. Things happen, I get busy. Story of all our lives. Most likely, I'll be too busy working at a job I hate to accomplish anything on this list. 

Who knows, maybe I'll accomplish everything. Que sera sera. 

Things to do before I croak:

1. Live in Pittsburgh. 

2. Be fabulously single living in Pittsburgh. 

3. Have an apartment that looks like the ones you see on television. 

4. Find a temporary sugar daddy to see what it's like. 

5. See Boston in the fall. 

6. Meet a celebrity.

7. Meet Zac Efron and have fun with him.

8. Plan a major awards ceremony (I'm hoping for the Oscars, but I'll take the Teen Choice Awards)

9. Be a famous publicist. 

10. Own my own event planning firm.

11. Be as awesome as Samantha Jones from Sex and the City (minus the hooker nature)

12. Be an extra in a movie.

13. Go to Europe.

14. See the major concentration camps (Auschwitz, Sobibor, etc.)

15. Punch a German in the face for the Holocaust and subsequently denying it. 

16. Meet J.K. Rowling and bow at her feet. 

17. Have a tight group of friends that I can always rely on. 

18. Fall in love.

19. Marry a rich old man for his money. 

20. Own a Forever Lazy.

21. Meet Matt Thiessen from Relient K and thank him for his contributions to the world of music.

22. Punch a hipster in the face and steal their greasy hat. 

23. Make my mother proud.

24. Spend New Year's Eve in New York City. 

25. Take a picture supporting the Leaning Tower of Pizza. (I'm pretty sure that's not the proper name but I'm too lazy to do the research)

26. Visit Rome. 

27. Pose with one of those British police officers while doing something ridiculous. 

I know you probably read a majority of them and thought that I'm out of control, and you're mostly right. Some of the things on this list I really want to accomplish, but I can't make a definitive list. 

I may sound like a hipster, but I live life for the moments that just happen. I'm pretty sure the things I want to do will be fun, but I guarantee the things I don't plan and don't realize I want are some of the greatest moments in life. I live for the infinite moments. 

Mock me if you will.