iPhoto Experimenting

For this assignment we are to manipulate three photos in at least three different ways. Below I will show you the three photos I chose to work with and describe what I did to change their appearance.

Photo 1: In this photo I changed the tint to a purple color just for fun and to experiment with color. I also turned the saturation very high to make it look like he was in the light or something along those lines. Finally, I shifted the picture slightly so that it was not straight up and down. I think it looks more interesting at an angle.

Photo 2: For this photo the first thing I did was I brought down the level from 100% to 77%. This made the background of the photo not as prominent and brought more attention to the little girl's face, who in my opinion, is the focal point of this photo. Next, I boosted the color to make the colors more vivid. I think that the setting of this photo is a fun and playful time and that the colors should show that. Finally, I upped the sharpness of the photo because I wanted the viewer to be able to see more detail in the little girls' clothing and face.

Photo 3: I thought it would be interesting to try and make this picture look more realistic or bring it back to it's natural color because it was black and white. So obviously, I had to change the tint of it to green because that is the color of grass and trees. After I did that I boosted the color because it still didn't look that green because before it was black and white. Lastly, I changed the contrast of the photo to make it look much more dark and make it look like there was a lot more dimension and shadows then there were before.

Traveling

What makes you feel alive? What makes you feel like you’re living and not just surviving? I know those are somewhat deep and cheesy questions to be asking, but seriously. You know the feeling when you just feel like you’re on top of the world and nothing at all could bring you down? Like you just could not be any happier? I get that feeling when I’m out seeing the world and traveling. I love going and seeing other places and how other people live. I think it is so beneficial to anyone to get away from what they are used to every once in a while. The same thing for too long gets boring, you know? Maybe this is just me, but I even like to just go for a drive every now and then, without a destination just to see where I end up and to see new places. To me that is interesting and adventurous. I think that in order to get the most out of life you need to explore what else there is in this huge world, and not just stick to the surroundings you’re used to.

I’m going to take some time now to write about past vacations. This is not me bragging, this is more me reflecting on and remembering good times with my family. 

Some of my favorite places I have vacationed at are Playa Del Carmen, Mexico, Naples, Florida, and Isle of Palms, South Carolina. Two places that mean a little more to me because of family are Mari-Dor Beach in Vermilion, Ohio and Sunset Beach in North Carolina. Mexico was awesome. That was only my second time being out of the country (besides Canada), and it was just really interesting to see how differently people live there. At the actual resort we stayed at, there wasn’t anything to culturally shocking, but from the airport to our resort it was really interesting. The way that they drive is different, they have military people on the sides of the roads, and there are also people everywhere. The water was beautiful and the food was great. 

Below is a picture of the road we were on coming from the airport going to our resort. You can see how crazy they drive!

Naples was one of the more relaxing trips I have been on. It is at the very southern most part of Florida and was very hot and humid. There were a lot of alligators, surprisingly (some a little too close for comfort)! The beaches we went to were very nice and clean and family friendly. On this trip we also decided to visit Sanibel Island because it was close by. That is probably one of the most beautiful places I have ever been! I would love to go back. Another great trip I took was this past summer with two of my best friends. The three of us road tripped from Columbus, Ohio to Isle of Palms, South Carolina (with no parents). It was kind of a big deal because of how far we were going without our parents there. We stayed at one of my friend’s aunt’s condo that was right on the beach. It was beautiful. We would wake up, put a bathing suit on, pack lunch, and head over to the beach right away. This was a very nice trip because there was really no need to drive anywhere! 

I will insert a picture bellow of the beautiful beach

Two places that are a little closer to my heart are Sunset Beach, North Carolina and Mari-Dor Beach, Ohio (Vermilion). My grandma and grandpa have a condo down at Sunset Beach and we like to go and vacation there to visit them when they are down there. It is not very crazy at all. The majority of people there seem to be a little on the older side and like to golf or sit on the beach all day. Regardless, I love going there to have a nice, relaxing time with my family. Mari-Dor Beach is in Vermilion, Ohio and my family (aunt and uncle) actually owns it. There are probably about 20 or so cottages that they rent out in the summer time, as well as spaces people can rent to park their campers/RVs and stay. Mari-Dor is a family owned business and has been passed down through many generations. The cottages are very small and did not have air conditioning up until this past summer. There is nothing fancy about this place AT ALL, however people still bring their families back every summer to enjoy a relaxing week on the shore of Lake Erie.

Here is a picture of the beach from the bank

Places that I want to go but have never been before are New York, Chicago, LA, Nashville, and Australia! I have always wanted to go to New York City. It’s just somewhere that ever since I was little decided I wanted to go. I think because it’s so big and has so much history behind it and everyone talks about how crazy and fast paced it is. I have always wanted to visit Ellis Island and see the Statue of Liberty. Not to mention, New York is known for it’s shopping. A more recent place I have wanted to go to is Chicago. My mom and sister took a trip there about a year ago and had nothing but great things to say about it. I love going to cities and think that Chicago seems gorgeous! I have also always wanted to go to LA. I have never really been out west or to the west coast. I have this image of what I think LA would be like in my mind and I would love to see it and experience it for myself. I want to go to Nashville mainly because of how much music history is there and how much music is still prevalent there now. I have heard it is very pretty, and I think I would enjoy it very much. As for going somewhere out of the country, I think it would be sweet to go to Australia. Everything I have heard about it and all the pictures I have seen seem so amazing! I think it would truly be a great and adventurous vacation to go on. I can’t go to all these places right now, so in the mean time I will stick to being a student and trying to save up any little amount of money I get. Maybe I should start taking donations and asking people if they would like to fund my trips (haha).

Where are your favorite vacation spots and where would you like to visit? I would love to know!

Sorority Life

Everyone has something to say about sororities. Either they hate them, love them, or just don't really care. Well, before I came to college I was one of the "I don't really care" people. None of the older women in my family had been in one before me besides my older cousin. Because I didn't know much about them or what they stood for, I just wasn't that interested. However, my mom and dad still thought I should research it and look a little more into it because of the whole networking situation (not to mention all the friends you would make just after getting to college and how it could help the transition).

I was really stressing out about whether or not I wanted to join, and didn’t know who to talk to about it. I decided to ask my cousin, because she was really the only person I was close with who had gone through the process of being in a sorority. Of course she suggested that I join one, but she was also very understanding and tried to see where I was coming from and what my concerns were. All I really “knew” about them was the stereotypes you see in movies and hear about from other people (not the best things). She assured me that it was not like that at all, and suggested I go through formal recruitment in the fall. She explained that going through recruitment you get to visit all the houses and meet girls in each sorority to help you find your perfect fit. She even explained to me that after going through recruitment, if I still felt unsure and didn’t really want to do it I didn’t have to join.

UNREALISTIC:

REALISTIC:

The recruitment process was long and stressful, but also so fun. PNMs (potential new members) were all over campus those two weeks, all dressed in the same assigned attire for that day. I remember being so nervous waiting to go into each house, wondering what they were going to ask me and even more importantly how I was going to answer! At the end of the first day, it was crazy to think that one of the houses I had been to earlier would soon be my sorority, and the girls that I met could possibly be my sisters. The process of narrowing down houses and figuring out which ones I liked and didn’t like seemed crazy to me at first. You had to compare and look at the pros and cons and try to remember the girls you talked to and how you thought the conversations went. You also have to take into consideration if you liked their philanthropy and felt strongly about it and if you could, one day, see yourself living in the house. Now for me, as someone who knew basically nothing about sororities, I was very confused as to how the actual process of who picked you and who you picked worked. It is basically a ranking type of thing. You rank the houses you went to from your favorite to your least favorite, and each sorority has to decide if they want to ask you back again for the next round or not. Everyone that I had talked to about this process assured me that it all worked out the way it was supposed to. Honestly, I did not really know what they meant by that and didn’t really have that much faith in the system. But one of the girls said something that made sense to me. She said, “if you had a good conversation and got along with the girls, they will most likely ask you back and you will most likely rank them higher”. If you think about it that way I think it makes total sense. Why would you want to be asked back to a house where you did not get a long with the girls? Anyway, when it comes time to turn in your top three picks everything gets a little more stressful. This was such a hard decision for me (I even called my mom). I was torn between two that I really loved. I chose the order based on what I thought would benefit me more in the long run. 

Bid day comes next. This is a day that every sorority girl looks forward to. There is so much excitement in the air, and everyone can’t wait to unite with their sisters. For bid day this year all the sororities and PNMs gathered at McCracken field waiting to see where they would end up and waiting to welcome their new babies into the sorority. The moment we were finally able to rip open our bids was insane. When you saw who your bid was from you ran to meet up with all the other girls who had received a bid from that same sorority. Then, one-by-one each group got to run to be united with their new sisters! It really was just a giant celebration. 

Below is a photo of my two friends and I after receiving our bids on bid day

The next few months you go through a new member period before getting initiated. You learn all about your sorority and you spend time getting to know all the girls. Joining a sorority has already made me so much more involved on campus then I would have been had I not joined. We are always doing things to raise money or help promote for our philanthropy, as well as supporting the other sororities and fraternities with their events. Another thing that I think being in a sorority has helped me with is keeping up my grades and staying focused on my studies. You have to keep a certain GPA and have a certain amount of credit hours to remain an active member. Last but not least, I have met so many new people that I probably wouldn’t have, had I not gone Greek. I am incredibly thankful for the sisterhood and friendships that my sorority has provided me, and can not wait to see what the future holds.

Bottom line, I am SO glad that I went through with it and made the decision to accept my bid and join a sorority.

Peace, Love, and Chi Omega :)

P.S. click HERE for more information about sororities at Ohio University

Who Am I?

Because this is my first blog post (besides the assigned one we were told to do in lab last week), I feel like it is only right to introduce myself. 

My name is Lauren and this is my first official blog! I have used MySpace as a type of blog in the past, and enjoyed keeping my thoughts and ideas in one place. I also currently use Tumblr as a photo blog (blogging and re-blogging photos that I like). If you consider Twitter as a blog (which I do to some extent), I "blog" on there as well. I am a freshman in college this year at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio studying media management. I'm from a suburb of Columbus, so coming here was a lot smaller and different than what I was used to. I like to think I have the best of both worlds, the small college town and the big city.

Below is a photo of Columbus, Ohio (my hometown)

Below is a photo of where I am currently living, the college town of Athens, Ohio

 

What I mainly want to write about for my first blog entry is my love of music. Music is essentially what landed me here at Ohio University. It all started with this little boy band you may have heard of before called the Jonas Brothers. Back in middle school that's all my friends and I would talk about. We would follow what they were up to on the Internet, listen to their music constantly, and go to as many concerts that our parents would let us go to. Needless to say, we were pretty huge fans. We started seeing pictures of people with them and would always wonder how that happened and could only dream that one day that would happen for us (funny, because now I could care less). We figured out that the people who had pictures with them had known them for a while from running fan clubs for them when they were just getting started and trying to promote their music and shows. My friend, Jordyn, and I decided that we wanted to meet famous people too, and if it couldn't be the Jonas Brothers it would have to be other up-and-coming artists. We started multiple fan clubs on MySpace that we referred to as "street teams". Before we did this we had to get in contact with the artist's management to make sure it was ok and so that we could be considered official (it also helps for communication purposes so that they knew we even existed). These street teams were for the whole state of Ohio, and fans from all over the state would request to be our friend so that they could stay up to date with their favorite up-and-coming artist(s). We would be informed of when they would be performing near or in Columbus, and sometimes we would even work with them to book the show. Usually at the shows we would set up an interview and ask questions that the people from our street teams wanted to know and later post it to YouTube. This stage of our lives slowly came to a stop, mainly because Jordyn and I became busier with school and went off to college. My obsession with concerts did not stop after the street teams stopped, however. I have been to around 40 concerts of all different types of music, and going to see live music is still one of my absolute favorite things to do. My love for music, booking shows, and interviewing is what has lead me to where I am now. Media Management is the perfect major for me, and I don't think I could be any happier with my decision. I hope to have a career that involves working in the music industry on the business end of things. I am confident that being in the Scripps College of Communication will help me to achieve this, and I am proud to be in my school.

Below is a picture of one of the bands that Jordyn and I promoted and interviewed, Push Play.

Another person that Jordyn and I interviewed was Jordan Pruitt. I will post a video of her signing below.

From now on this blog will be where I share with you just some of my college experiences, as well as some things that are a great part of my life. I hope you get some sort of entertainment out of them.