My Resume!

Lauren Krueger

Education:
Southern Methodist University—May 2011
Bachelor of Arts in Advertising, Journalism minor
Overall GPA: 3.65
New Trier High School Honor Roll, 2004-2007
Pi Beta Phi Honor Society, awarded to sophomores
With GPA 3.6 and above

Experience:
Dance Instructor, 2005-2008
Nicchia-Retail Store, salesperson, 2007-2008
Child Caretaker, 2003-2008
Winnetka Park District, counselor, Summer 2004
Three at your Service Catering Company, founder, 2004-2008
Save the Schools Fundraiser, Chicago, IL, member, 2006-2008
“Big Sister” to Intercity Girls Dance Foundation, 2005-2008
Northwestern Settlement House Charity, volunteer, 2006-2008
Soup Kitchen, Chicago, IL, volunteer, 2006-2008

Activities/ Interests:
Advanced Dance Competition, competitor/ High gold trophy, 2005
Tremain Dance Competition, participant, 2004
ELS (Work with mentally challenged Students at New Trier High School), member, 2005-2006)
Habitat for Humanity, member, 2008
Pacific Coast Dance Fest, participant, 2007
Adventure Treks Wilderness Camp, participant, 2006
Relay for Life, volunteer, 2007
Fisher Dance Studio, member, 1996-2007
Pi Beta Phi Homecoming committee, member, Fall 2008
Pi Beta Phi Philanthropy committee, member, Fall 2008
Pi Beta Phi Mr. University committee, member, Fall 2008
Pi Beta Phi Skit- 22 girls personally selected, member, Fall 2008
Interests include: Dancing, running, rollerblading, skiing and writing

Those few pages in the textbook opened a whole new world of “things to know” when constructing a resume. I learned quite a bit while reading this chapter. For instance, I was not aware of the purpose of an objective and when or when not to include one in your resume. When I began, I was also somewhat skeptical of whether I was allowed to include any of my high school information in my resume and while reading the chapter I soon discovered that it is expectable up until senior (acceptable as a freshman or sophomore) in college when you future employer does not care if you were president of the Chess team your junior year in high school. Another little fact that I found interesting was that the date is the least important piece of information and should always be listed at the end of the description and your resume should NEVER exceed one page. This chapter helped me organize my accomplishments into three categories (Education, Experience and activities/interests) and provided examples that helped me along the way. My resume still consists of a great deal of my high school accomplishments but I am hoping that will change shortly as I progress through my college career and obtain more experience through internships and hopefully studying abroad in London or Florence the second semester of my junior year.

NOT FOR ME…

It is not that I find this job to be the most unappealing job offered in the text but it is one that I definitely could not pursue a career in. This is the job of a MEDIA PLANNER. First of all, I am technology challenged and this job requires a great deal of computer skills. This job also involves a great amount of creativity and while I do have some creative juice in me, I would definitely consider it not my strongest suite. I prefer the more management side of advertising. Working with all of the digital information and consumer tracking does not interest me. I also do not find it particularly appealing to stare at a computer screen all day. I would much rather be out working on hands-on tasks that directly work with the client. A media planner's job involves a great deal of analyzing data and trends of consumers. Rather than being the one who gathers the research, I would love to be the person who is in actual personal contact with the client because I am a very social person and would love to be given the opportunity to work one on one with all types of people. “Good media planners are creative thinkers who know how to use numbers and research to help justify their choices. It’s strategic thinking in its purest form” (Morrison 116). This quote does not describe me AT ALL. Math and numbers has never come easy to me and I have also struggled with problem solving quite a bit. I am far better at reading people on a social and personal level rather than reading their thoughts through number and statistical trends. With this being said, I am looking for my future job to involve direct interaction with the client. I feel as though this job would not give me these social opportunities and therefore, is NOT the job for me.

MY FAVORITE… AND HOPE TO BE FUTURE JOB!

MY GOAL: Out of the six job descriptions discussed in the chapters of the text, I found that becoming an ACCOUNT PLANNER may be the best match for me. Account planners are the “social scientists” of advertising. They are the main connection to the client and are in charge of discovering the wants and needs of consumers. I am a very personable person therefore allowing me to be particularly good at reading situations and being empathetic and aware of how others around me are feeling. I also consider myself a very social person and interacting with people is what I love to do. This job would allow me to use my social skills to reach the business goals of the company. I think that I am going to go towards the management side of advertising and this particular job in the advertising field is business oriented. I find this job to be very interesting because they are the ones who magically make everything come together in the end. I am very organized and always follow deadlines. I do not procrastinate and get things done in an orderly fashion. I also am aware that this job entails being the one who presents the idea to the client. I have always been a very persuasive person and I do not get stage fright. I am a person that voices my opinion and is not afraid to speak up. I also am the one who will stand and present ideas to a room full of people without hesitation. My dream is to be the one that makes a meeting an overall success by pitching an idea that works and being confident in doing so. This job would allow me to be apart of the social aspect of the company by being able to personally interact with the clients while also tying me to the management side of advertising, which is where I hope to be in the near future.

Afterthesemessages.com REVIEW

I have never been on the afterthesemessages.com website before so I thought that I would take a look at it tonight. The featured review was entitled "Don’t Vote" and the client was Declare Yourself. A quick summary of this ad is basically that it featured many different celebrities who all in their own words said to not vote. They used the tactic of reverse psychology in hope that stating that we should not vote that people would do the exact opposite and participate in the election. I'm not sure that this strategy of promoting the election does it for me. I feel like this backwards way of portraying this ad it bizarre and should be put in a way that is more straight forward and honest. We always talk about how honesty and respect for the consumer is a key virtue in advertising and I think that this review does the exact opposite. It disregards respect for the consumer and I think that the ad should be the featured celebrities true opinions and feelings on why they think that people should vote. But I do understand in one sense that by continually saying that we shouldn’t vote people would think to themselves "why shouldn't I vote?" and in turn vote. This may have been an effective ad for some people but I personally would not have aired a vote campaign by using this technique of reverse psychology.

The 2008 Presidential Election

The final polls for the 2008 presidential election was 53% Obama and 46% McCain. I don’t want to go on about my personal political views but I would like to point out all of the negativity that was publicized over the last month. Whether it was over college student’s facebook status, on T.V or an article in a newspaper. People were bashing each other left and right, which kind of puzzles me because in the end we are all supposed to be on one side and represent America TOGETHER. It just doesn’t make sense to me. I think that we should look at the positive and over everything stand by one another and represent our country.

Dreams

Do dreams have meaning? I don’t know whether or not to believe the things that I see online when I try and look up my current dreams. Honestly, I think that dreams are just thoughts randomly put together from throughout the day. But who knows? A part of me does want to believe that dreams do have some truth to them. Maybe it’s our subconscious’s way of telling us something and the only way it can get through to us is through our dreams when we are asleep. I guess we will never know but I think we should all for the fun of believing, take dreams as a look into how we are really feeling. Even though that we have no real proof of their accuracy and true meaning from now on I’m going to take a deeper look into my dreams and I think that you should do the same. Who knows, it may be fun.

Lately, I have been taking a lot of pictures. I am not in any photography classes or anything but I have always had a million pictures laying around my room either in picture frames or cut up neatly placed into ribbon boards hanging on my walls. I like the feeling of catching the moments that you know you will probably never get to live again. Taking pictures makes me feel as if I can capture the way I was feeling during the picture and every time I look at it, it brings me back to that exact time and place. Being surrounded everyday by the people who are in my pictures puts me at ease. It makes me happy for some reason. I guess it’s the comfort of knowing that I have people who really care about me and when I look at all the pictures I am reminded of all the great times that I have had with them. Pictures capture moments and emotions and I think that’s why I find them so fascinating.

My opinion on how we should live our lives...

“Live like there is no tomorrow, sing as if no one can hear, love like you have never been hurt, dance as though no one is watching you.”

I know this is a very well known quote that you hear a lot but I have always loved it. I think it’s the perfect combination of inspirational words that explains how we should live our lives. Take each day as it comes and don’t worry what others think, do what you want to do and do it for yourself. LIVE YOUR LIFE.

Mind Map!

This is my Mind Map! I chose asparagus because it is the one food that I have yet and probably never will like. Simply the smell of it cooking makes me nauseous. I wrote a paper on how much I disliked asparagus in fifth grade and I find it funny that since then my opinion of it still hasn't changed!

Texting: A way to avoid confrontation?

I think that most kids nowadays chose to text rather than talk on the phone or god forbid talk in person. It seems as though texting has almost replaced face-to-face conversations. Is texting a way to avoid conflict and avoid what you are REALLY feeling? Rather than calling your friend and talking about the fight you had last night many chose to text. However, this eliminates any tone of voice that you use and alters the way you naturally speak. When you text person, you have control over what you say, how long you take to respond and whether or not you actually want to respond to the text that you receive. It gives us a greater sense of control over what we are saying. On the phone, there is no time to think about what you are going to say next because these conversations cannot be planned. This is the same with "face- face" conversations. You are asked questions on the spot and do not have time to plan what you are going to say and are not given to option to simply not respond. Texting has opened a world to avoiding confrontation, awkward moments, etc. It has limited our ability to have real conversations with people. Or maybe it's just a quicker method to get what you want to say across and eliminates the hassle of having to call the person. Who knows? It may be different for each person but I think that overall it has inhibited the level to which we communicate to one another.

Puzzles

You either LOVE them or you HATE them. Personally, I think you have to be a person with A LOT of patience. I am a somewhat patient person yet I can’t stand them. I get bored within the first five minutes. All of those tiny pieces lying in front of you are overwhelming. I can’t stand staring at all of the different edges not having a clue as to where they fit into on another. You have to be a certain type of person to enjoy puzzles. I feel that some people enjoy it strictly for the outcome of seeing the puzzle fully assembled. Others I think are disappointed when they are finished because for them it is the process that they enjoy: the search to find the piece that fits just right. However, I do have to admit that it is a great feeling when you do happen to find that piece that just fits. It’s a moment of ease, but soon followed by frustration as you try to search again for the next piece that fits. In my opinion, it’s a very tiring and stressful process that is not MY idea of a good time.

Privacy... or what we have left of it.

It’s hard to believe that cell phones have not been around forever. Our generation is so dependent on these portable phones its unbelievable. However, it is not just cell phones that we are dependant on, its technology in general. Thinking about a time where you couldn’t just reach into your back pocket, dial a number and talk to a person of your choice is hard to imagine. My parent’s generation did not have this luxury along with many more before. Communication in the earlier generations was not seen as important as it is today. My mom told me that when she was a kid she would leave her house in the morning and be back by dinner. No questions were asked. She would check in once by a pay phone, but other than that there was no way of getting in touch with her. Parents had very limited means of communication with their children which I think in a way helped kids find themselves and learn to be independent. My generation has lost our sense of self, independence and privacy is now very limited. We used to have a far more privacy before technology began taking over. Now you can track down a person’s exact location from just the press of a button. Don’t get me wrong, technology is very useful and is continuing to help advance our society in a positive way but in terms of keeping our privacy, I feel as though it is working against us. I value my privacy and sometimes I feel as though it continues to slowly slip away as our society becomes further advanced.

Names

At birth, our parents give us all a name. From then on this is our identification, what we are called by for the rest of our lives. But what is fascinating is we have no control over this. You would think that something that will be apart of us for our entire lives, we would have some say in. However, this is not the case. What’s funny is even though we do not have a say in the name that our parent’s chose for us, everyone’s name seems to fit him or her perfectly. Have you ever been introduced to someone and when they say their name you think to yourself “wow, she would be named Grace.” Each name has meaning, whether it’s a family name that is passed down through many generations or is randomly picked. Many do not approve of their birth name but I think that when people change their name it alters a piece of their identity. Parents chose a name for their baby for a reason. It’s the name that comes to mind when they take their first look at their child. It’s a special connection between a child and their parents. Names have meaning; they hold a piece of an individual. So the next time you complain to someone about hating your name, think that it was given to you for a specific reason by your parents and SHOULD NOT be changed.

Destiny

Do we make our own destiny or has it already been planned out for us? I am firm believer in the saying “Everything happens for a reason.” However, It can be so hard to believe in it when a tragedy happens or your heart is broken. But one door does lead to another and sometimes you have to lose something in order to get to that greater something or someone. Even though it can be hard for us to believe in this outlook on life when something terrible happens, but I believe that you have to know sadness in order to feel happiness and you have to know pain in order to feel pleasure. I guess we will never know, but I believe in taking fate into your own hands.

Cravings

CRAVINGS: We all get them. They are unique to each individual and hit us all at different times. But my question is why do we crave certain foods? Is it a sign that our body is lacking that type of nutrients and really does need that exact food in order to keep working properly? Cravings also hit us in different situations and come in waves. They may be affected by our mood. If you are sad your cravings may be entirely different than if you are excited or in a good mood. Some may think cravings are simply random, but I think they do have meaning to them. I have a feeling that they are our body’s way of communicating to us. So next time you do have a craving... LISTEN TO IT!

When will it END?

Reality shows are TAKING OVER our lives. Each year a new pointless show airs and is publicized during every commercial. We used to consistent shows that played over a several seasons, now we are being taken over by shows promoting losing the most weight (“The Biggest Loser”), pointless jeopardy-like shows supposedly proving if you are smarter than a fifth grader and my personal favorite a reality show in search of a best friend for Paris Hilton. Has the television industry run out of ideas for acceptable, meaningful shows? How can we be at this point where the only way to broadcast your show is through promoting celebrities participation? We as a nation are overwhelmed with shows such as, American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, So you think you can Dance? etc. When will it end? When will people start writing television shows that matter and have a purpose? Actually, I may have an answer to that question. NEVER. Why? Because these shows are aired strictly for entertainment purposes. We are at a time where pure entertainment is what majority of people desire. Maybe in time the reality shows will die down, but for now they are TAKING OVER.

Symbols

"A picture's worth a thousand words." Symbols prove this famous saying to be true. Think about your everyday life and how many symbols you see and interpret on a daily basis. Just by a glance at a symbol, you can sum up the product in milliseconds. For instance, the McDonalds arc, the words unhealthy and fast food come to mind. The Nike swoosh screams athleticism and Nike’s slogan “Just do it.” Whether we are aware of it or not, symbols direct the majority of our thoughts and behaviors. They guide our everyday lives and the advertising that catches our eye on that particular day influences what we are going to do, see, buy, etc. For an example, an advertisement for a restaurant featuring a juicy steak may remind you that you are hungry or may have you consider eating at that restaurant the next time you go out. Next time you are out take a look around and try and pick out the symbols advertised around you. I think you will be surprised when you notice that they are EVERYWHERE.

I am NOT by any means a poet. But since I was little, I have loved this poem by Robert Frost. I think it sums up life. Everyday, we pick and choose which direction we would like to head. Each of these decisions makes a difference even if we are not aware of it at the time. Along with the many opportunities that we are given each day, comes regret. Regret that you made the wrong decision and the anxiety that comes with thinking that you took the wrong path in life. We cannot take both roads so if you find yourself in this situation of having to choose, choose the road that is less traveled.

The Road Not Taken
Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair 
And having perhaps the better claim, 
Because it was grassy and wanted wear; 
Though as for that, the passing there 
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay 
In leaves no step had trodden black
Oh, I kept the first for another day! 
Yet knowing how way leads on to way, 
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh 
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Pepsi Commerical featuring Britney Spears

This Pepsi commercial staring Britney Spears displays qualities of both horizontal and vertical intertexuality. Britney Spears is the main focus of the commercial and takes us through various eras in chronological order by mimicking the music, wardrobe and famous icons that were apart of each particular era. Similar to the example that we discussed in class regarding Lindsey Lohan, this commercial displays qualities of horizontal intertexuality by focusing on the different stages of Britney Spear’s image. In the first segment of the commercial, Britney Spears is shown in a very conservative outfit representing when she was first seen as “America’s sweetheart.” As the commercial progresses she is shown singing and dancing representing when she moved on to be an actress and a singer and finally the last shot of Britney is in her typical scandalous outfit showing her present image as a sex symbol and party girl. This commercial along with all of the other Pepsi commercials staring Britney Spears, also displays qualities of vertical intertexuality. Pepsi does this by requiring the audience to be knowledgeable of previous eras by selling their product in a way that mimics old music and famous people that are no longer around. If one is not familiar with the time periods shown it will be difficult for them to grasp the meaning of Pepsi’s overall message. I interpreted Pepsi's message as it is a timeless product and that it has been a favorite beverage for many generations and will continue to be so for many more to come.

H2O

There are a variety of brands of water sold today. Why are their so many different brands selling the exact same product? Are the different brands of water really that different? Actually, I think they are. For instance, Dasani tastes completely different than Smart Water. Smart Water has a much fresher taste than Dasani, which tastes as though I am drinking tap water. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that Smart Water has far more electrolytes in it or maybe it has to do with where the company got the water. I think that the level of filtration also has to do with the taste. It just seems odd that all of these water brands don’t go out of business because they are all selling the same product.

Superheroes

Batman, Spiderman, Wonder Woman, Robin, Superman… The list continues. What do all of these figures have in common? They all represent STRENGTH and POWER. It amazes me that we are predisposed to this supposed definition of a “hero” starting in elementary school. However, what amazes me is how our definition of what a hero is changes, as we get older. Rather than strictly relying on the physical attributes of a hero (built, tall, handsome, etc.) we begin to focus on the actual qualities that classify a person as a hero. We also tend to drift away from a consensus view of who is a hero and begin to focus on the individual qualities of that person on an emotional level. As individuals, we choose who are our heroes through our own personal relationships. Heroes are seen through each of our eyes and all possess different heroic qualities based on our personal opinions. Whether your hero is your mom, dad, sister or a dear friend, they all possess different qualities that we admire and the best thing about a superhero is that they are uniquely special to YOU.

Tired? - I recommend taking a POWER NAP.

NAPS: The perfect cure to your puffy eyes. Just as your eyes are beginning to shut, falling asleep in the closest chair, works wonders. Naps are tricky though because the length of the nap is crucial. If it is too long you could risk being groggy for hours after, however, if they are too short they may not do the trick. From my personal napping experiences, I have discovered that a 30-minute nap is the most effective, as I like to call it a “power nap.” It gives you that burst of energy that is needed in order to make it through the rest of the night. So if you are feeling like taking a nap anytime soon, I would recommend a 30- minute nap, a 45- minute nap MAX....zzzzz

10/1/08- The Zogby Report

THE ZOGBY REPORT: Transformation of the American Dream - 10/1/08

John Zogby began his lecture by announcing the two main areas that he would cover in his hour’s stay: His book regarding message transformation and the election. Mr. Zogby summed up his book using three words: HOPE, CHANGE AND OPTIMISM. These particular words were used because his book focused on a variety of people earning all different salaries but how they were somehow all in the same situation. Whether they were a single mom trying to raise her kids and pay the mortgage or a husband struggling to support his family, they were all cases where each person was being paid significantly less than at their previous job. Each person also refused to give up their current lifestyles as a means to adjust to their new salary. Many of them chose to skip a days worth of meals if it meant keeping their BMW and their large home in an area that they can no longer afford. They all had one thing in common: their refusal to let go of the American dream. They wanted to hold on to what’s good and positive and still wanted to live a life with meaning and self-fulfillment. This is confusing to me because then I ask myself why make your family suffer when you could easily give up a few luxuries and be fine? WHY DON’T YOU JUST CHANGE YOUR PURPOSE IN LIFE? Mr. Zogby used the phrase: “WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS, MAKE LEMONADE.” I agree with this saying, sometimes you just have to deal with what life gives you whether you like it or not. The next topic Mr. Zogby covered was the election. He informed us that 75% of Americans say that the U.S is in a crisis and 80% say that the U.S is heading in the wrong direction. He rated the president at a 20% and the congress at an embarrassing 9%. However, he also did include that locally the congress is favored but that quickly changes as soon as they begin work in Washington. Another interesting point that Mr. Zogby brought up was that he thought that Katrina was the main reason that drove all of the numbers down because it “didn’t work.” Lastly, he touched on the fact that this year’s election is transformational and no matter who is elected (McCain or Obama) the U.S will have a period of 6 months to a year of change. He referred to it as an “or else” election. This year we have a total of 132- 135 million voters, which is far larger than the previous years, for the simple reason that no one wants to be RESPONSIBLE for creating a loss generation in American politics.

Are we headed toward a Great Depression?

Look in the Mirror- What do you see?

SKINNY

ORGANIZED

PRETTY

SOCIAL Do you actually possess these charactertistics or are they merely characteristics that you WANT to possess? How do you know that you don’t perceive yourself in an entirely different light than your neighbor? Are our personalities simply molded around what others tell us? This makes sense because how else would we know what we are like. THE ANSWER IS FEEDBACK. Do we shape our identities by listening to others perceptions of us? When we look in a mirror is the reflection staring back at us actually our true reflection or what we wish we looked like? Perhaps this answer is based on a person’s self-esteem or maybe as humans we actually do rely entirely on others opinions and from that we can then shape our own identities.

INTELLIGENT

FRIENDLY

RESPONSIBLE

DANCE- This picture sums up my life until I left for SMU. However, last year I was fortunate enough to get into a jazz class my first semester. I have been a dancer my entire life and I will probably never stop associating myself with dance. It helps me communicate certain thoughts that I cannot say with words-- Rather I communicate these messages through movement. I did not choose to dance in college and sometimes I regret this decision because I've realized that dance defines a part of me. It is my way to escape from the world. Though I do have to admit that the extra free time that I now have in college is nice, I know that a piece of me does miss it...

"Skinny Mirrors"

Since I recently became an advertising major I have noticed a particular feature in the dressing rooms of high end department stores: THE MIRRORS. They are the most unflattering mirrors that are surrounded by lightning that is also not in the least bit attractive. Standing in front of one of these mirrors is a death wish and a huge blow to any normal persons self -esteem. The lighting keys into any imperfection on your body and magnifies its existence. This layout confuses me because I wonder why department stores do this when their main goal is to sell clothes. Wouldn’t you think that they would be willing to sacrifice a few extra dollars to make their customers feel good in their clothing? This would increase their sales and save us the humiliation. Since we all know that stores such as, Sax Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus can afford it, I think investing in a few “skinny mirrors” is just what these department stores need. Why not let the customers keep their self-esteem and give the department stores a few extra sales? It’s a win- win situation that should DEFINITELY be considered.

BUMPER STICKERS- Just a decoration?

Do YOU ever see those cars that are covered from rim to rim by a dozen bumper stickers? I do, and it wasn't until today that I actually read what they said. Many of them were political statements or a mascot indicating what school/university that either they or their child attends. It seems as though the people that flaunt these stickers want to be heard, as if they want random strangers to understand even the smallest piece of them. A WAY OF EXPRESSION. I have to admit, I do have a few bumper stickers on my car as well and I guess I put them up out of pride. One sticker is of a mustang representing SMU and the other is a sorority sticker. On the positive side, squinting to read the bumper stickers around me does provide me with a slight bit of entertainment while stuck in 5 o' clock traffic. Are these stickers simply a meaningless decoration or rather are they small pieces of someone's identity? A question to ask yourself the next time your in bumper to bumper traffic.

Sleep...zzzzz

Are you one of those people who can function on 6 hours of sleep without so much as a yawn the next day? Or are you like me who becomes useless if you don't have at least 8 hours of sleep a night. Why is this? Why do some of us physically need more sleep a night than others? I think that it is how are bodies are built but I'm not entirely sure. Another question that I have is why do we categorize people in two very distinct groups: night owls and the morning people? I personally will not talk to you if I don't have at least one cup of coffee in the morning. Trust me you do not want to see me in this situation. IT'S UGLY. So I guess I can be categorized as a night owl. The morning doesn't do it for me, my brain is a slow riser. I think the best at night when my brain is fully awake and alert allowing me to make sense of the countless number of ideas that bounce around in my head on a daily basis. Just something to think about what type a person are YOU?

Are you a twin?

Each person is different in some way even if it cannot be seen with the naked eye. Whether it's hair color, eye shape, height, weight etc. These differences in appearance are due to DNA. What if this isn't entirely true? What if we all have a twin? What if there is a person that has similar or the same DNA as us? How can we be so certain that we are ALL unique? This just does not seem realistic. What do you think are the chances of ever meeting this person at some point in your life? I could be just thinking out of the ordinary or we really COULD have a twin out there. THINK ABOUT IT.

Stress or Hereditary?

My grandmother's hair was all gray by 30 years old. Meanwhile, my dad is 53 with jet-black hair with a couple gray streaks. Why do some people gray pre- maturely while others die with their original color? Is it due to a change in pigmentation or simply due to hereditary? Is stress a dominant factor when determining at what age a person will begin to gray? I feel that stress could be a relevant factor in this mystery. Just as stress will make a person appear older at a younger age, shouldn't it also be able to gray a person’s hair at a quicker rate? So just a thought to keep in mind... RELAX and your youth will be prolonged.

What is love?

I find the question of whether or not there is one person out there for each of us very interesting. Do you think people can truly be monogamists? I feel that I am a monogamist person. Is there just one person out there for each of us? I am starting to believe not because the divorce rate is so high. I can't fathom the idea that there is one soul person in the world that we are destined to be with. I feel that you can be soul mates with a handful of people as long as they all categorize under similar personalities. I do not think as humans we can define love with one individual. But when we do find love are people willing to put in the effort into their marriage to make it work? How do we even know when love hits? Can we be in love with a person and not consciously know it? What are soul mates anyway? Two people that are in love. Well many people fall in love with different people many times throughout their lives. So does that mean that monogamy is in fact unreachable and there are many people in this world who have the potential to be our soul mates?

From sexy to unacceptable

As shown by the infamous, Audrey Hepburn, smoking in previous century was considered to be sexy and acceptable. Famous icons such as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Marilyn Monroe would not be caught dead without a cigarette dangling between their fingertips. Cigarettes went hand in hand with being intimate. Couldn’t they figure out that inhaling constant smoke into your lungs would cause long term health risks? It amazes me that times have changed so drastically that the “marble man” and “lucky strike” used to be status symbols to now cigarette commercials are banned from television. It shows how far our society has come in terms of health.

The Next Life.

Since I was little, the reoccurring thought regarding death has never ceased to leave my mind. I have always been curious as to where we go after we pass. I personally believe that this life is not all that is in store for us. It can't be, there’s far too much that is offered in this world. Therefore, I believe in reincarnation. More specifically I believe in the term "old soul." My grandmother for an example is just this. She has sworn to me that she has been many different types of people in her past life and there has been many times where we are at a certain location and she swears that she has been there many times before. With this being said, do you think that a person's energy and soul determine whether they will be put back on earth again after their death? I find this to be a logical reasoning because a person's soul is the basis of their existence. Without this inner drive, a person simply cannot exist. So a question to think over is, will your energy/soul take you on to a next life or is this life all that you have?

So, what are the odds?

My mom. Aunt Pam and grandmother stopped to say hi after their extended weekend in Las Vegas. It is a yearly tradition for them and this year I was fortunate enough to have them visit me on their way home. During their visit, the topic of one dinner conversation consisted of analyzing the inter workings of a video poker machine. I found this topic intriguing particularly because it had never crossed my mind. I understand that gambling is a very risky game and is largely based off of chance. However, after our conversation, I began to look more deeply into the subject. I began asking questions such as, every time you push the video buttons are the cards shown a result of pure luck, timing or is the machine simply programmed to allow so many wins in a certain period of time? I understand that there are many options to choose from once the numbers are displayed but I still have many uncertainties regarding the topic. I just recently got into poker so I do understand that there are several possible options within a hand, such as, a flush, straight, three of a kind, full house, two pair, etc. But what are the odds of choosing the winning hand?

A Balancing Act.

Skiing is a matter of balance. The positioning of your skis against the snow is crucial. One false move and the snow will quickly move from under your feet to inside your mouth. However, this does not happen all of the time. You may ask yourself why people participate in this sport when there is a great deal of risk involved? Well I would answer that question by saying that everything we do in life involves some aspect of risk and danger even if we are not aware of it. However, this risk is worth taking because as soon as that spark of adrenalin hits you it’s all over. The rush of energy that subsides over you pushes you further down the mountain allowing you to forget meaningless daily problems. It's an indescribable feeling as you watch your snow covered surroundings fly past you. I have been skiing since I was little and have grown up with a dad who can't get enough of the sport. We have a house in Whistler, Canada where we are fortunate enough to be able to escape to the mountains. I used to fight my dad when he chose a skiing vacation over the beach but now that I have grown up I appreciate the beautiful surroundings that for years I had taken for granted.

- The Picture shown is our complex (At Nature's Door) in Whistler!