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Parents: Yay or Nay?

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by ashleytwigg on November 16, 2011

I was one of the lucky kids that grew up blessed with “cool parents”. I never got really got grounded or in trouble, and as long as I was honest about where I was going and what I was doing, my parents were usually alright with it. As great as they were (and still are) there is a fine line between friend and parent, sharing and uh… oversharing. I like to think I can tell my parents everything, but at the same time- I don’t want them to know everything. Here are the pros and cons of being close (but not too close) to your parents while in college.

YAY! THEY’LL HELP YOU OUT

We all have those days where we vent to our friends about our 26 hours of homework or our rude boss, and even though it’s part of the friend contract to listen and nod your head no matter what, sometimes you need to give them a break. On the other hand, your parents LIKE talking to you and hearing about your life at college. Even the mundane events of your day may seem interesting to them. Where your friends may be listing off the same complaints, your parents will sympathize and occasionally feel bad for what you are going through. So if you need a lift home for the weekend, a couple more Flex dollars added to your account- if your parents know how hard you are working they may help you out along the way.

NAY… THEY FACEBOOK CREEP

I love my parents and they are aware of probably everything I do while at school, but that doesn’t mean I need them clicking through my Facebook photos. My aunts, cousins, and even Nana  are one thing but something about Mom and Dad seeing every little thing I do is just a little much. I am certainly not doing anything outlandish, but still. I’ll show you my pictures on my terms!

YAY! LIVING GUILT-FREE!

I was born with the inability to tell a lie and I I have (almost) always told my parents the truth. Your parents respect it when you are honest about what are doing. Being close and real with them means no guilt for you. For example, if you are getting a D in your class, be up-front. The last thing you want over winter break is a guilt trip and a conversation about “working up to your potential”.

ACTUALLY, THERE’S STILL SOME GUILT…

My first three years of college, I lived on or near campus. Now as a Senior, I took three steps backwards and I am commuting from home. Before moving home, my parents never knew my college schedule or even what classes I was taking. Now since I am home, they know my whole schedule. The problem is that I can’t really get away with skipping every now and then because my parents just don’t see the need for it. Unlike your Freshman roommate, your parents aren’t going to understand that you needed to take a “personal day” and they’ll probably just scold you about saving those absences for emergencies.

In the end, your family will do more good than harm in your life. Sure, they nag you and irritate you, but deep down they are just looking out for your best interest. Be honest with them about your life and they may lay off a bit knowing you have everything under control.

How involved do you let your parents be in your “college life”?

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Hello Video Squad

jpeg of students filming a movie

by rmortonbsc on May 5, 2011

Next year will be completely different for me, instead of writing, I will be filming.  I will be completely in my element.  I love film, and everything about it.  I am majoring in Communications Media Studies and really focusing on the film aspect.  Hopefully when I graduate I will be able to work on some cool movies and instead of reading my blog posts, you can watch them!

As most of you know Campus Moviefest wrapped up with the big finale last week!  It was such a fun event as it always is.  This year around 500 people attended the finale in the RCC Ballroom.  Last year I entered the movie A Loss Refound.  The movie made the top 16 and I was beyond excited.  But knowing the competition here at Bridgewater State University I knew if I was to ever win I would have to step up my game to the next level.  So over the last year me and my friends have been planning a comedy.  This was my first time to dabble into comedy, and I had no idea how to go about this.  But sure enough when that week came, we were ready and Interquenchin was born.  I accomplished my goal and we won Best Comedy of 2011!  It was unbelievable.  It is my life goal to be a filmmaker, and to win this competition, especially here at BSU has just solidified my goals.  We are going to be traveling out to Los Angeles in June to attend the international Grand Finale.  BSU has some great movies going out there; Sacrifice and Bliss won Best Picture made by Jim Sass, and Kevin Eam’s Best Drama Unattainable. I think I can speak on behalf of all of us going to the West Coast by saying it is going to be a great learning experience for all of us.  We get to attend a ton of great seminars and workshops throughout the whole trip.  This whole thing has been a great experience and it keeps getting better!

My next year is going to be a busy one.  I am taking 19 credits, I am the President of the Bridgewater Video & Film Association, I am working on the RCC Video Team, I am working as an Edit Lab Tech, and I will probably be doing some side projects.  Hopefully I will be able to do a guest blog post and update you on how I’ve become the master of balancing. With all three of my positions I will be fully enveloped in video stuff. Don’t get me wrong though, I can’t wait!

Thank you all  for reading!  Its been fun! Be sure to watch for the RCC Video Squad in the Fall!  Good luck with finals, and have a safe and fun Summer.

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Don’t Be a Rebecca Black

by Courtney Cormier on March 25, 2011

Last week I was one of five people who didn’t know who Rebecca Black was and why she was having such a difficult time deciding where to sit. After watching her video, and about 20 videos mocking hers, I started to get the picture. For those of you still clueless, Rebecca Black is a 13 year old hopeful that wants to become the next Bieber. Unfortunately for her, her video and song have turned into her into an overnight joke, as well as over night sensation.

With her video reaching 3 million views within 3 days of being posted on The Daily What, a popular entertainment blog, Black became an overnight viral video sensation- just not the way she had intended. Instead of waking up to comments from adoring fans, she found comments mocking her video and ability to sing.

With the use of social networking sites videos spread like wild fire on an hourly bases. What is popular at 10 in the morning, is dead by 5 pm. The same goes for a funny tweet, or someone slandering someone else (oh hey, Kayne.) It’s important that when you put something on the Internet that you make sure it is the best representation of yourself. Unfortunately for Ms. Black, she thought that the video was.

Manage Your Digital Identity:

A Digital identity is basically an electronic representation of you. The difference being it’s availability to way more people. When you think of how many people you interact with on a normal basis, just walking to class it’s probably..at most 50. Online it’s more like 50,000. Because of the popularity is social networking sites, and the instant access it provides more people are turning to sites like Facebook or twitter to find potential employees.

So, all of those article’s we’ve written on keeping your Facebook profiles private are starting to make sense..right? Although it’s important to have a presence in Social Media, it’s important to have the right presence. If you aren’t willing to change the way you have your Facebook, set it to private and remove your name from the searching tool. Next create a Fan Page, or a work only profile, both which you can limit who is writing on your wall and what pictures you are being tagged in.

For Twitter, do not block your tweets! This is deadly if you are looking for a job in the current market. Most recruiters are looking for employees that have a background in twitter, and can tweet relevant things. By having your twitter blocked, you are basically cutting yourself off from future employers. If you are that concerned with saying the wrong thing on twitter, then don’t say anything for a week. Pick some big whigs in the world of Twitter and watch how and what they tweet. This will give you an idea and hopefully calm your nerves.

Last but not least blogging. Like it or not, blogging is here..and will probably be hot for a couple of more years. Jump on the bandwagon and start your own blog! Not sure what to blog about? Check out some of the blog’s from blog-fest to get a feel for writing styles and topic ideas.

Some Things To Remember:

Never post a video you wouldn’t want your grandmother to see. Whether it is on Facebook or YouTube, it is essentially visible to everyone. This includes future employers, so even though the video of you going down the stairs in a cardboard box is hysterical…keep it off the web.

Add a voice to your writing. The reason people continue reading Penelope Trunk’s blog is because she has a specific voice, it’s raw and relatable. Finding a voice in your writing is not the easy thing to do, but if you keep writing and keep practicing you’ll find it eventually.

Don’t tweet about mundane things. Tweets such as this “Just woke up, hoping in the Shower in 5″ get an immediate unfollow. Make sure to tweet helpful things to your followers, like articles that you may find interesting.

Just remember to treat your presence online like a really long job interview. You still want to have fun and show how great you are, just with a tad of professionalism.

What types of things do you do you better your digital identity? Do you participate in Social Media Week? What was your favorite part?

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