{goodbye 2015}

I WAS BORN
in Medicine Hat, on Superbowl Sunday, on a weekend in late January. I can't remember the last time I watched football. Most of my weekends growing up were spent at Hidden Valley snowboarding, or on ice rinks around the city playing ringette. I drive a truck, and I listen I faithfully listen to CHAT94.5.

This is my place.

It doesn't seem to long ago that I was begging my parents to let me move to Australia- but it might not be what you're thinking. My go-to strategy when I was younger and in a tough situation was to imagine what it would be like if I just packed my bags and went far, far away. I think we all envision this. However when I did eventually leave many years later, I didn't feel like I was escaping. In fact, I felt as if I had established myself a nice little life and I was quite sad to leave that behind. Sometime between my younger days and graduation, I realized that my attitudes would follow me wherever I went, and that my situation was a result of that.

I still see that today.

Being home again has brought many emotions- but I am happy to report that most have been positive. Several things have changed since I have been gone but I do believe that what changes most is us- how we perceive things is what differs most when we return to a place. Stores and businesses will come and go, but Medicine Hat will always be the same place where my roots link back to.

2015 has seen a great deal of change for me- much more than previous years. But despite all of the changes, I feel as if I am going into this new year with the best mindset yet. One of my biggest goals will be to use what I've been learning and write much more about my experiences on my blog. I'd like to see my list of drafts diminish and my number of posts increase!

People like the use the phrase, "new year, new me!" to express how they will believe that life will suddenly become completely different when that clock strikes midnight on the 31st of January. Perhaps the greatest realization is that things do not change within the blink of an eye or a tick of a clock. Great work takes great time. This year my challenge (and yours) is to be both persistent and patient in making those things happen. Think about your goals and make realistic plans to make them happen. Small progress is still progress.

That being said,
{You are under no obligation to be the same person you were last year, last month, or even 15 minutes ago}
....... so take advantage of that!

I want to say thank you to everyone who touched my life in 2015. It's been an incredible year.

- Kel

{the grass isn't greener}- a social media perspective

The following post popped up on my Facebook newsfeed a couple weeks ago (Portraits of America):

Source

This semester, we have been learning about Mass Media, including the presence of social media.

This morning as I was scrolling through Facebook, I clicked to a race (running)that was happening near me, hoping to find some information on the venue and a few more details. Within the description, it lists some of the things that are included in the "race package"- that is, the things you are will receive when you register for the race. The list included typical things like a t-shirt and water bottle, but what I read next truly surprised me:

... Wait...

You're telling me that I should participate in this run, not for health benefits, to spend time with my friends, or to train for a goal- but 
for an increased following on social media? 
So I can have a pretty profile picture that is "guaranteed to get HEAPS of likes!"? 

Not surprisingly, a little more investigation revealed that similar events in surrounding areas made the same promises.

It is one thing for a company to create a brand image and rely on the lifestyle and social media presence of it's users to carry that brand and promote it. Many fitness events and companies rely on this exact method to promote their events and products. The wearing of a branded clothing item can be seen as you paying the company- after all, you are a walking piece of advertisement and other consumers may be more inclined to buy their products as a result of you wearing it (consider how celebrities do this). This can be seen across all brands and companies, to some degree. It can be argued that it is inevitable and undoubtably a smart marketing technique. But something definitely "clicked" inside of me when I read the advertisement from this particular company. While I understood the message from a marketing perspective, what really irked me was the way in which they targeted the importance that we put on our social media presence. As a marketing technique, it's brilliant. But from a social perspective, it is a bit disgusting to consider how many people many have been convinced by those "priceless promises". Indeed, it was a also a true awakening about the what we post on social media as compared to what's really going on in our lives.

It's undeniable that many individuals care deeply about their social media presence and spend a great deal of time building platforms on which we can present ourselves in a particular way. For some, this might be so that others can identify them as a part of a group or ideology. Perhaps we resist posting certain things because of our job titles or audience. We hand-select things that we think will show a good reflection of our character. While this might seem good for us, it can be bad for others.

What is possibly most interesting about this concept is our somewhat unintentional desire to maintain "face". Positive face is better known as the desire to be well-known, liked and needed. Negative face is, naturally, the opposite. Social media users today are a great example of displaying the need to maintain this positive face and be "liked". We post pictures of our family, friends, new purchases, celebrations, and happy times in our lives. It is somewhat rare to see a post about a negative life event, unless it is concerning health. People who do post information that is revealing about negative details are often ridiculed (knowingly or unknowingly) by their peers as being immature and having exposed "too much". 
We have a natural tendency to sweep things "under the rug" and present our best possible faces to others, and rightfully so. The problem begins when we forget that others are doing the same.

I'm not suggesting that we should post a minute-by-minute playback of our lives, or that we should let the world know when our sky is falling. But perhaps we must remember that we what so from our peers is not a reflection of reality. The man in the portrait explained this well.

"“We’re surrounded by so much stimulation on social media that it’s hard for me to look at what other people are doing—or how they’re portraying themselves—and not think that I’m doing less well in comparison. At least, I don’t have the pictures to prove that I’m doing better. Because I know everyone is trying to show their best side on social media. We all bullshit. I think we’re all scared not to.”

Linking back to the advertisement for the race, it is clear to see why it is easy to target this need to be "liked". Selling an event by promises of an increased following on #instagram, flashy content for Snapchat, and new matches on Tinder (a dating app), uncovers shifting morals and values in our generation. 

A quick read through the comments section revealed a great piece of advice that sums up this great story. 
"Stop comparing your behind-the-scenes to someone else's highlight reel" - Amanda Roy

Social media is here to stay, and it is something that my generation, and older generations have generally come to accept. 
When we cut ourselves off from the online world, we lose increasing amount of opportunity, knowledge and connection. 
As the world shifts away from pen and paper and onto computer screens and mobile phones, the pressures to conform get stronger and stronger.

It is daunting to live in a world where we are sometimes more concerned with our online profile than our physical one- a word in which people go to extreme measures to increase their popularity. Our challenge is to understand that what we see is not a true reflection of those around us. When we look at our neighbor's grass through rose-colored glasses we miss the imperfections and downplay our own grass' positive qualities.

120 likes on a selfie might make you feel good for a while.
A handful of matches on Tinder might make you feel hot.
Retweets on Twitter might make you feel important.

The advert claims that all of those things are "PRICELESS".
In reality, people buy fame all the time. Numerous apps and websites make it possible to buy popularity in the form of likes and followers. Endless amounts of websites exist that explain how to increase the numbers of followers and likes that we receive. Not only do we as civilians do it, politicians and celebrities do, too. We are all guilty of being sucked into this false, constructed concept of power and fame.

{priceless}- of inestimable worth, invaluable

Our challenge is to see that what is TRULY priceless are moments that cannot be captured, time spent with people, the growth of children, revisiting a childhood hangout, seeing your closest friend get married, knowing that someone has changed positively because of something you did, finding something important that you lost, witnessing a miracle, falling in love, the list goes on......

Remember that.
Grow with that.
Try to let your existence in your corner of the world be enough to make you smile at least once day.
And if not, petting a dog usually helps.

{the greenness of your grass is only based on your perception of it}

- K