Women

Take a second to look at the title of this post. What is the first word that comes to mind? Power? Strength? Success? I genuinely hope those words came to your mind, but I fear that words like sex, object, submission and wear were the first to arise.

I have been home for three days and this is the first time I have actually sat down to watch TV, and I'll admit I have done a lot of it. While watching female empowerment movies such as The Princess Diaries and Legally Blonde, the display of commercials aired on TV contained extremely objectifying and sexualized images of women, and I am truly disappointed.

As a 19-year old woman, I hope to enter an equal opportunity world. I should be able to walk alone on a street and not question every man that walks past me. I recently read a fantastic article from 2013 (which may be outdated, but the ideas are still extremely relevant) which provides examples of how society views women in different types of situations. The examples outlined in the article really make me question how society functions this way. Women make up half the population and the world would literally stop expanding if women didn't exist. So why is there a gender gap? Why are women degraded on a daily basis? Why is this ok?

To me, this is a major problem. I hope you agree with me because something needs to change in this society and women need to be seen as more than boobs and a butt to advertise a man's cologne.

Home for the Holidays

Exams and classes are finally over, and it is time to just relax, spend time with loved ones, and enjoy the holiday season. Tonight is my first night home since Thanksgiving break three weeks ago. Being able to eat a nice dinner with my family makes me happy and I realize how much I truly miss seeing them. The best feeling in the world will be sleeping with my puppy tonight :)

I have a lot of hope for this three week winter break. Not only will I be catching up with friends and family, I am hoping to change my lifestyle habits. I have discussed my New Year's resolutions, but I want to start now. My goal is to go back to ONU more in shape and with healthy habits. The first goal is completing the "30-Day Shred" by Jillian Michaels. I have started this program but I never finished, and I plan to finish this time. I need to finish. Eating healthy is extremely important, especially in college, and I'm planning to make a change in the way I eat and actually considering what I put into my body.

I'm ready to bring in the new year with some ongoing goals and I'm going to try my hardest to follow through. Keep an eye out for update post!

Nonprofit Organizations and Universities

For the final reading assignment of the semester, "Measure What Matters" explained how nonprofit organizations and universities need to measure in order to be the most successful. Both nonprofits and universities rely heavily on voluntary support and they must maintain strong relationships to grow and become more well known. The seven steps of measurement can be applied to both groups in similar ways, and it is important to understand how measurement can help an organization grow.

Nonprofit organizations are strongly based on relationships because they typically require mostly volunteer work and these relationships are the foundation for reputation and awareness. You probably have heard the bells ring at stores and malls to encourage people to donate spare change to the Salvation Army. These bell ringers consist of volunteers who decide they want to help out a good cause and stand in the cold to hopefully convince passers-by to drop money into the little red towers. People volunteer because the Salvation Army has built a strong reputation, and the system is working.

The main steps to measurement in a nonprofit are to define objectives using main mission, prioritize your audience, establish a benchmark. choose a metric, select measurement tool, analyze results and repeat. While planning a project, it is especially important for a nonprofit to stay within the boundaries of the organization's overall mission. Anything that goes against its core values will lead the audience to wonder what the organization actually wants to accomplish.

Universities are similar to nonprofits and need to establish strong relationships. Alumni, parents, prospective students and faculty are the main audience for universities. It is important to measure what people are saying about you, use of social media in an academic environment, what people think about you and behavior. Universities are unique because there is one main goal to achieve and measure.

Attending a university or showing interest in a nonprofit begins the relationship and the organization will need to maintain that relationship in order to be successful. Think about some of the nonprofits you are familiar with and understand that without support of volunteers and members, that organization would not be present in your mind.

Closing Remarks

The semester is finally coming to a close and I have a few loose ends to tie before I can leave ONU and spend three wonderful weeks at home with my family. This blog post is part of my final "to do" list.

Over the past 15 weeks, I have been assigned to write three blog posts each week and I believe I have successfully fulfilled the assignment. I'm beginning to realize that I was not simply writing blog posts every week, but I was also improving my visibility on social media. Many of the topics discussed in my Social Media Principles course have carried through into my everyday life, and I find myself actively participating on Facebook or blogs. Social media is a truly wonderful invention and I learned a lot about the benefits of maintaining social media, especially this blog, and engaging in conversations.

Social media is a fast, easy way to share information to people all around the world. In my experience, sharing my blogs on Facebook resulted in more page views. This is an indicator that people actually look at the different links you post on Facebook. Although it might be losing its hype, Facebook is still a good network to use because it allows you to communicate with people you might not see on a regular basis. 

I am extremely glad I decided to sign up for Social Media Principles this semester. Social media is the newest frontier and educating yourself on how it works and how you can benefit from effectively using your profile is important for the 21st century.  

Small School, Close Community

When I began looking into colleges two years ago, I knew I was looking for something small and somewhat close to home, and I found exactly what I was looking for when I came across Ohio Northern University.

I grew up in a small town outside of Bowling Green, OH, so I have always been accustomed to small communities and the 30 minute drive to reach an actual city. In my high school of close to 1000 students, I knew mostly all of the other students in my class, as well as the other classes. Some of my former classmates ventured off to places like Ohio State University, Penn State University, University of Michigan and, of course, Bowling Green State University, but I would have drowned in a sea of thousands of people had I attended a large school like my peers.

Well, what is there to do in Ada, OH? Honestly, not much, but that's ok with me. I can spend time with my friends, studying, making trips to nearby cities and simply enjoying the beautiful campus. As I mentioned previously, the thought of driving a half hour to go shopping is not a problem for me because I have done it my entire life. Anyway, what's more important when deciding what college to go to: shopping centers or the well-accredited academic programs?

Most people think going to a small school means you will know everyone on campus, but that is not true at all. Maybe it's just me, but there are still a lot of people I see on campus that I do not know. Ohio Northern is also a warm environment. I feel like even if I don't know someone on campus, we might exchange greetings and warm wishes.

I'm beginning to realize that I made a wise decision two years ago when I decided ONU was the place for me to further my education. Hopefully I will have the opportunity meet new people and enjoy what the next two and a half years of college have to offer.

A Fresh Start

As the calendar year and school year come to a close, I start to reflect on this year and wonder what I could have done differently. Well, it's safe to say that I would change a lot of things if I could go back in time and restart this year, but I can't go back and I am stuck here with a month left in the year 2014.

What can I change for the future? How can I improve my life and relationships? Who do I want to become? These are the questions  floating around in my head, and they are the questions I'm not sure how to answer. December always seems to be a month of reflection, celebration and longing for change. We always wait for the first day of the year, January 1, to begin any new idea or project or diet or anything. Why are we always waiting?

I suppose it is easier to make a difference when you are beginning something new. I tell myself I'm going to workout on Monday because it makes more sense to start at the beginning of the week. I tell myself I will apply myself and study more next semester. We look for that beginning because it makes sense to start there and make a change.

My hope is to make an extreme change in my lifestyle, but why not wait another month to get started? A new year seems like a good time to make a change.

I guess I can call the list I'm about to make my New Year's resolutions. January 1, 2015 will bring change to my life and here is my promise to follow through with the changes I want to make. Now, I'm going to apologize for the cliche resolutions I will have, but I believe these are necessary to living a happier, healthier life.

1. Eat well balanced, healthy meals every day including a breakfast, lunch, dinner and three snacks.
2. Exercise at least four times a week incorporating fun, effective workouts
3. Get to know more of my sisters and other people outside of my small friend group
4. Begin a yoga routine to improve mind and body
5. Sleep at least 8 hours every night
6. Get all homework done in a timely manner and avoid staying up until past midnight working on the homework due the next day

I am genuinely looking forward to the new year so I can begin a new lifestyle. For all of my close friends out there, please help me follow these resolutions. Change can be extremely difficult, but I know these changes will improve my outlook on life and overall success.