Change

I have unofficially decided to change my career path on more than one occasion, as noted in at least three of my previous posts: To Be or Not To Be... Psychology!, Actually..., and Forensics. These impromptu changes were most likely because of how it was fictitiously portrayed in some particular movie or TV series. And yet again, I have decided on a new field of study.

Major: Communications/Journalism           
Minors: Psychology & Media Arts Studies

However, this decision is not based on a new TV show I have discovered. It has been influenced by a combination of my love for writing and the growing YouTube community.

Ever since I was young, I have displayed a great passion for writing. I've always dreamt that I would become a famous author, but alas, my short attention span and lack of patience has prevented me from completing even half of a novel. I had finally settled on the fact that writing would never be part of my career - it would simply remain a favorite hobby. Instead, I pursued psychology. Don't get me wrong, I love it! As a writer, I am very interested in people and how they think and interact, but I dread the research aspect of this field. There is no way I want to be stuck in a lab working all day, or constantly conducting experiments.

But how does YouTube play into this, you may ask? I will be the first one to admit that as I watch my favorite YouTubers throughout the day, I'm not just fangirling and drooling over their attractive accents. They are using relatively new media platforms to reach out, often on a global scale, in order to contribute for good. YouTube has been increasingly effective in educating and uniting people from around the world, and I want to be a part of that.

Ideally, I want to travel the world in an effort to educate my readers/viewers about the conditions in which some people must live, whether this is their housing, health, or social conditions. I would immerse myself in a particular project - interacting, filming, researching, and writing. The finished product would be an article or blog post paired with a short 5-7 minute video, both informing the audience about the project and what they can do to help. I believe that when these mediums of publication are combined, a larger audience can be reached, more people will be influenced, and more changes for good can be made throughout the world. Below are examples of videos that accomplish just this.

Comic Relief - South Africa

JacksGap

 

The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation - Toronto, Canada

Troye Sivan

 

The Rainbow Centre - Sri Lanka

JacksGap

 

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Pinnacle Studio 16

I am extremely happy as I have finally purchased some descent video editing software! Yay, no more Windows Live Movie Maker! I knew I didn't want to spend an arm and a leg for it, especially seeing as I am a novice, so I went for the Pinnacle Studio 16. I was initially torn between that and Adobe Premiere Elements 11 (there was only a $5 difference between the two), but one of the employees at Best Buy recommended the former, so I went with that!

However, I am a bit frustrated at the moment. Seeing as my personal computer still does not want to connect to the internet without shutting itself off, I had to put in a URL on this computer in order to retrieve my activation code for the software. But the darn URL doesn't work! I emailed tech support, so hopefully they can help, and I plan on taking my computer in tomorrow to see if I can finally get it fixed.

And what makes this all even more frustrating is that I have a ton of new bucket list footage that I so desperately wanted to go through and edit by today! Oh well, I suppose you are all going to have to wait. That shouldn't be a problem seeing as the number of readers I have is quite minimal... Sorry!

In the meantime, go ahead and watch this incredible video by JacksGap about their trip to Sri Lanka. Beware, many feels will be felt.

VidCon 2013

Well it has been a very fun weekend! I went to spend a few days with my older sisters and their kids, and I got to see my newest niece for the second time since her birth this past December! I am not even exaggerating, she is the cutest baby you will ever see.

At the moment, I'm still trying to fit a bucket list item into my schedule for this week, but that is really hard to do when all my friends have jobs. I really am grateful for my empty schedule, and I'll be sure to cherish it before I move to Disney World and start working 40-50 hour weeks...

But I think I have found another item that deserves to be on the bucket list: VidCon. In a nutshell, it's an online video/YouTube convention in Anaheim, California from August 1st-3rd. They will be featuring loads of special guests that include (to my extreme delight!), but are not limited to, the following:

Alfie Deyes                             Caspar Lee                             Jenna Marbles
Zoe Sugg                               Jack and Finn Harries             Sam Pepper                      
Marcus Butler                         Alex Goot                                Shay Carl
                   
                              
Excited is an understatement. The first road block is, like it will be for the rest of my life, money. I have it, but I still have college to pay for. But in my head, I figure that I will just make the money back again once I start working in Florida. Second, I don't have anyone to go with, and I doubt it will be much fun if I'm there alone. I know people who would love to go, but I don't think they'd like to drop that kind of cash in one weekend. Tickets alone are $110... We'll see what happens.

To visit my Disney College Program blog, click here.

 

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Beach Bum

I felt as if I hadn't posted in a few days, so I figured I'd give you all an update on my life. Then I realized I posted yesterday. My sense of time is complete crap.



Edmonds, Washington

So I had a nice orthodontist appointment today, and I decided I was going to stop being patient and actually ask them when they plan on taking this contraption out of my mouth. I mean, it's been nearly two years already and yeah, moving off to college set me back a bit, but I am seriously tired of being that-nineteen-year-old-with-braces. The final verdict is February, but seeing as I'm going straight back to school after Florida, it's more like next April. *insert swear words here*

On a brighter note, I went beach hopping tonight with a good friend and enjoyed the beautiful sunset. That's one of the things that I love about living near water - a coastline will definitely be a prerequisite for my future residence.

I also found out yesterday that I received a very generous scholarship from my university! However, I am alotted half of the total award during both fall and winter semesters. Since I won't be at school for fall semester, and I sure don't want to waste that money, I am officially going to be attending school for spring and summer terms next year in order to still get the other half of the scholarship. Holy crap, and I just realized that this will mean that I will be away from home for exactly a year. That is definitely a downside. But in the long run, it will be totally worth it!

And be sure to check out some great videos from a few of my favorite YouTubers:
JacksGap featuring FunForLouis: The Bedroom Ball Pit
PointlessBlog featuring ThatcherJoe: The Tin Can Challenge
MarcusButlerTV featuring dicasp: Two Boys With Helium

Boxes and Packaging Tape

I just got back from mailing off three more packages full of my stuff. Including my bedsheets, so tonight will likely be rather uncomfortable. Unfortunately, being the procrastinator that I am, I still haven't arranged for a ride for me and my luggage to the airport yet. That is potentially a problem, but not currently, so I won't worry too much about that.

At the moment, I am running off of 8 hours of sleep for the past 48 hours, and a diet consisting of fruit snacks, calzones, and V8 Splash. It's safe to say that my brain is only 10% functioning, and I'm probably one sleepless night away from being deemed clinically insane. What do I resort to, then? The internet of course (I may have a slight addiction).

So I have been watching a lot of YouTube lately - at least a couple hours worth per day. I suppose that's what happens when your only purpose in life at the moment is packing and cleaning. Anyway, I've been watching loads of JacksGap, and have discovered a few more interesting channels: dicasp, Sam, PointlessBlog, and MarcusButlerTV. I may be going through a phase, and once you realize the commonality between these channels you will see what I mean exactly... But one thing I love is that the guys that run these channels often collaborate and make videos together, and they are so darn entertaining! Visit the "Videos" tab above, and I will link in some of their uploads!

P.S. Please bear with me as I experiment with different blog templates over the next couple days!