I am awesome!!

I cannot even say what is exactly on my mind other than complete gratitude for my professors, friends, family, and others in my life that helped me through this crazy journey I have been on for almost five years. I never thought I would have ever made it this far, but I did. I did because I'm awesome. Now, some of you may say that I am being a snob, but I have never been one to ever give myself a pat on the back or give myself props or any type of credit for all the work I have put in. I was told at a very young age to not count on going to college because of my learning disability and that I should find a job that does not involve math, but look at me now. I couldn't be as awesome as I am without great friends that I have met along the way and absolutely amazing professors that have kept me going. I will be forever grateful for everything they have done for me and for what I have learned. I am incredibly grateful for my classmates that have helped me along the way, and that have given me someone to look up to.

I am very grateful for this class and all of the tools I have learned through this class experience. I have learned things I never thought I would, and I believe we learned things without even realizing it. This class has helped me develop my critical thinking skills and show me a little bit about how to market myself. The classroom dynamics was awesome and helped me come out of my comfort zone which is something that is incredibly valuable to me. I am glad I signed up. It was a great experience. I am looking forward to my future beyond my undergrad. I have met an amazing man and I am so excited to share my life with him. The future looks bright from here, but it definitely will be what I make of it. Thanks to you all for teaching me. Good luck to you all and kick some butt along the way!

-Becky

Final Draft of Contextual Analysis- Should "One nation under God" remain in our pledge of allegiance?

Religion and faith have always been a controversial subject. Many people are guided by religion and spirituality, but not everyone is guided through these particular topics. Many times it can cause friction between individuals because of the nature of the subject. I saw a post on my Facebook feedback over a month ago. The image had a picture of an American flag and a silhouette of a cross behind it. The lighting was just right. To me, it was a beautiful illustration of something I had a strong belief of.

Above the image contained the caption, “One nation under God”. I got a comment right after my shared post that simply said, "Interesting story about that". The comment also contained a link to a story about the American flag and the man who wrote the original.  http://www.smithsonianmag.com/.../the-man-who-wrote.../…

My main purpose for this analysis is to show that it is important to know facts before getting too emotional tied to an event, and before becoming defensive when someone offers a new perspective or new information. It is also important to acknowledge that we live in America. The United States of America is a melting pot of many different religions, many different individuals, and that living here is a privilege because we have religious freedom along with so many other freedoms. This particular image created quite a stir. The comments regarding the post generated over 77,326 comments. I had a completely different mindset before reading this new found information and reevaluated my own thoughts about this image and what I learned about the original pledge of allegiance.

Physical

This particular topic has been trending all over social media. I am sure that it has reached beyond the US, but this is where it seems the most controversial. 

Psychological

Many individuals on social media displayed their emotional reaction in many different ways. It made many people angry. It caused individuals to get very heated with one another. I was moved in many different directions, when I first posted it, I was one of those that agreed that "One Nation Under God" should be kept in, but after reading the literature, I was conflicted. This started to make me physically ill, not because I was upset at my friend, but I think it was because I did not know quite how to approach this without getting defensive like many people on social media displayed. I was concerned how my opinions would affect the relationship I had with others in my family and friends. So that affected me emotionally. I noticed other posts in regards to the image carried many emotional feelings as well. Mostly I had to change my attitude over this situation. The change of attitude did impact how I felt about it emotionally and I was able to make more sense of how I felt, and how I would share my opinions in the future.

Social

The social impact was quite significant. This particular image sparked quite a lot of debate. This is where citizen journalism came into play. Many people voiced there opinions regarding the event/image, and created quite a stir. Many individuals come to some very strong conclusions without knowing all of the facts. That is why it is so important to obtain and seek credible information so that you can make an informed and rational decision before reacting. There were many mixed views. Christians were praising the image and commenting in agreement. Others who knew the original story commented how the original pledge did not include the words “One nation under God”. I remember standing with my classmates and proudly repeating the pledge of allegiance. This was something that was done every morning before school started and began a routine that I was comfortable doing. There was a lot of controversy with this image. Some people were angry because they wanted “One nation under God” kept in the pledge and others protested that it did not belong there. Separation of church and state was also a remark that sparked a debate among the people making comments.

Cultural

The cultural aspect of this image is America is a melting pot of many different religions as well as individuals who do not practice religion.  Christianity is one of the religions that is practiced in the US, but it is not the only religion. Not everyone is guided by religious or spiritual beliefs. There are many religions. I think that problem that was being mentioned within this context was the fact that people that did not want religious beliefs to be forced upon them and many people felt that religion was being forced on them.

Temporal

The temporal impact of this image is different for everyone. I think the timing of this particular even impacted me in a different way now than it would have done several months ago. I do not think that I would have been as open minded.

My Thoughts

Immediately after my friend posted this link I was frustrated. I did not understand why I had to read literature telling me that I needed to understand where and how the original pledge was in its original form. I immediately assumed it to be a negative post and link, but then I finally read it and was surprised at what I had learned. It really did open my eyes that everything that I had grown up knowing and reciting was different than its original form. I learned that I need to wait before I react. When I read the post after all of the emotion subsided, I had a great deal more insight and understanding for those that voiced their opinions against the phrase, "One Nation Under God". It definitely opened my eyes and heart about being more mindful and respect others who have a different opinion and faith that I do.

Facebook Analysis

Mission Statement: Food tested Becky approved is a delicious page where I test recipes found online or in the store to see if they are as good as they appear.

 I used a very colorful and enticing picture of a meal I had helped prepare and thought it would be a good back drop for my page. 

My profile Image I thought was fitting as it displayed right under my cover photo

My original plan and intentions for this page was to look online for recipes that look amazing. I wanted to test these recipes out, find things that may need improvement for my own taste. If there needed any changes due to allergies or just taste then I could change those accordingly.

My Plan: I was planning to find a recipe each week and test those recipes out. I was hoping to post at least one recipe that I would try out each week.

My first product...272 reaches 10 likes and 1 share

I was happy for my first post and I had fun doing this. I received some positive feedback as well. 

Tactics: According to one of my classmates I was a tease. I guess he thought I was mean that I made him hungry and wouldn't share. My intentions were not to be mean, not intentionally anyways, but to make people curious for what was next. I found that posting pictures of food to be very effective to get people talking it helped my page grow. Everyone loves food and it gets people sharing and engaged wither sharing a favorite dish, or reminiscing on how food reminds us of good times. 

This particular post reached 127 People and 16 likes and 5 comments

I also took it a little further and asked what their favorite comfort foods were and people shared what they loved to eat. 

Likes: The first week, actually first few days I was able to quickly achieve the amount of likes to obtain data for my page. The first week I had over 100 likes. I noticed people sharing my page with others, even people I had not expected to do so. Currently I have 136 likes for my page. 

Reaches: I was surprised how many people saw my posts and how many reaches that I got. My most recent post for this past week I have 212 reaches.

Posts: I think the most successful posts that received the most reaches and the most engagement is when I posted a picture and asked for input from friends.

This was very interesting seeing the statistics of when friends are online and the times that they post. 

People: I was excited that my post was liked by others outside of the US. It was also interesting to see the different ages who viewed and to know the percentages of men and women viewing my page. 

76% were women and 24% were men 

Personas:

Donna is a 45 year old mother and grandmother who enjoys cooking. She also loves to look up recipes that fit her health needs. She also struggles to find recipes that her picky seven year old son enjoys eating. Health concerns are an issue for both her and her husband so finding recipes that are health conscious and yummy is something she is interested in looking for. 

Kirsten is a 38 year old mother of three growing teenage sons. She loves to cook and find new recipes to keep her family happy. She is a busy mom, so she appreciates finding food that does not take long, and things she can adjust to fit her needs of 3 hungry teenage boys and her husband. 

Kim is a 50 something busy mother and wife who is also going to school and working full time. Time is a struggle when it comes to creating meals for her family. She also enjoys finding ways to save money, and tries to make multiple dishes so she can freeze them and take them out later when she is too pressed for time to make dinner. Some of the recipes that she finds online help her to find new creative and yummy meals that she can do when time is not an issue. 

Page and Tab Visits: It appears from this screenshot that people stay mainly on the timeline or view the status of the page. 

Refection: I wish that I would have thought this out more. It was difficult for me to carry out the trying out of new recipes. Time was a huge issue for me. I should have planned out the type of meals to be easy, quick, and in expensive, instead of creating something that was difficult for me to carry out. I feel that I should have been more consistent with my original plan. I found towards the end of the semester that I was just putting random recipes on my page just to fulfill an assignment which was not my original intention.  

Driving out of my comfort zone

When I was six years ago I went through a extremely traumatic event. My mother had a seizure disorder. At the time it was controlled by medications and she was able to drive and do many things without any incident. However one day, my life and the life of my siblings took a drastic turn. We were traveling from Kearns to Holladay to visit my aunt. We were on the freeway when one of my greatest fears became a reality. My mother went into a grand-mall seizure while driving. We were on the freeway. I was sitting next to her. I immediately stood up and attempted to release my mothers tight grasp from the wheel. She was convulsing violently. My brother and sister who were in the back seat jumped in front to try to help. I was trying to also control the wheel to keep us from hitting other cars. My sister took a hold of my mothers hands and I had the wheel. I over corrected and we ended up underneath a semi. I was screaming for my brother. He slipped behind me after my sister pulled my mother out of the drivers seat and my brother was then able to get his  feet to the pedals. He then had to release my tight and terrified grasp. He veered us from underneath the semi to the lane next to the semi I am not sure what happened after as much of what happened became a blur. The next thing I remember is being parked next to the guard rail and all of us kids sobbing. My mother finally came to, and had no clue what had just taken place. When we thought she was able to drive we allowed her to drive us back home. We arrived home and she pulled in to the driveway only to have started seizing once more. She put on the gas and we ended up hitting the back part of the railing of our split level home which led to our basement. That was the last day my mother drove anywhere and the day that changed my life.

The years went by, I turned sixteen, went through drivers ed training, I struggled to obtain my license as I had severe anxiety behind the drivers seat. Everyone just thought it was typical nerves, but it was something so much deeper for me. It wasn't until I moved to Alaska that I recognized my issue of my driving anxiety. I started a new job working for a company that helped individuals with developmental disabilities. It was part of my job to drive clients to and from Dr appointments and shopping. When I got home from work, I would go to bed and have reoccurring nightmares about my childhood experience. I thought at that time that it was simply a terrifying dream. I wasn't able to sleep because of the dreams. I talked to my sister about being absolutely exhausted and drained and about my panic attacks before having to drive my clients. She then told me that it wasn't just a dream. I had apparently blocked that out of my mind for many years. Ever since I have made every attempt to avoid ever driving. Anytime anybody tried to help me overcome my fear I was panicked. I became physically ill. Whenever I applied for jobs they were always close to wherever I lived. I walked everywhere. I biked and did everything to ever avoid getting a car. Yes, it has been economical, but at the same time disabling for me. I can't just jump in a car and drive. Well, it is time that I quit allowing my fears to dictate what I do in my life. My fiancee Roland has been incredibly supportive, but also knows how important it is to me to overcome my fear. This summer will be my time for change. This girl is getting behind the drivers seat. I'm tired of being dependent on others. It is my time to gain control over my fear. I am terrified, but at the same time I am ready to conquer this fear. I will keep you all posted on my journey.

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Okay, technology is not my friend today. I know this is microscopic. I will work on how to properly screen shot and make this bigger, so that everyone can see. But, now I know how to create an ad if I ever intended on doing so. Now, if I can just figure out the screen shot...

Content Analysis

I am going to do my content analysis about educating young people the dangers of posting suggestive photos on social media, and how easy it is to track where these photos are coming from and how fast these inappropriate images can get around. These children do not understand whose hands their pictures can get into.

This subject terrifies me. I have young nieces and nephews that can potentially be subject to these dangers . Luckily, their parents are very into educating them of how dangerous social media can be if they do not  properly protect themselves and they way they inappropriately display themselves on these sites. I think this is so crucial to address.

The future of learning-What would I change.

I had a horrible experience when I was in jr. high school. I was struggling. My mother was very ill and my second home was the University hospital. I was one of her primary care givers. I was also only 14 years old and learning to figure out where I fit in this big world. I went to school often very exhausted because my home life was incredibly stressful and emotional. I went to school and felt frustrated and incredible alone, because nothing made sense. My first class was math. Many times I would go to class and fall asleep because I rarely slept well at home, so my teacher assumed I was a lazy teenager. I failed most of my math tests, so the "obvious" choice, was putting me in a resource class. I ended up with the same teacher who came to the conclusion that I was unable to learn and told me that I should find a job that did not require a college education, nor one that required me to do math, because I was one of those special kids that could not learn like the rest...She gave up and then I gave up on myself. I fell into a deep depression. I did not want to go to school, and I was beyond intimidated of my math teacher. My dad thought I was making this all up until he met with her during a parent teacher conference. He tried to call to find some help for me, but he too felt overwhelmed with the school system. This feeling of insecurity carried on through all my classes through high school. I did better in my understanding, but still had that thought in the back of my mind, I would never succeed as a student.

It took me 17 years until I finally decided to go to college. My saving grace was the Trio program. It wasn't until that program and Mace Jacobson, did I realize I was very capable. Her dedication and unconditional determination that I had what it took to be successful gave me the drive I needed to keep going with this journey. I still struggle with math, and writing, but slowly I learned the skills and gained the confidence to realize, yes, I learn differently, but I'm not stupid, and I have an incredible potential. I'm not the greatest writer, I'm not the greatest at academics, but I am an amazing person that can mentor and help others achieve their future goals.

My plan for would be to start with the students confidence. Building someones confidence and understanding how they learn could offer educators a deeper understanding what works best for the student, instead of the student adjusting their learning styles to the way people teach. We talked about this in class. Offering more programs such as Trio and upward bound, would be fantastic to implement in elementary schools and middle school to start creating learners, and kids who can create a good foundation for wanting to learn instead of fearing they are unable to because of learning differences. I say learning differences instead of disabilities because the word disabled to me is so detrimental for a young learner..those labels only hinder a learners progression.