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.