As I've gone through my previous blogs, I noticed that my tone of voice in my writing changes according to my interest in a topic and the amount of stress I was under when I was writing my blogs. At the beginning of the semester, my blogs were quite impersonal and I wrote as if they were supposed to be short essays. As the semester continued, I got to know my classmates more, I got to know the professor more, and I felt better about writing about more personal stories and thoughts. I feel as if I have grown much more close to my classmates in this class even though it is an online class. Honestly, I never really expected to actually get to know any of my classmates in this class. I intended to simply go through the class independently because I only needed it to fulfill my study abroad credit requirement. Much to my surprise, I actually formed relationships with all of you through this blog and our tweets.
When I read through my previous posts and compared them, I noticed that I talked a lot about things that worried me about the topic. I did this especially during my ILP blogs. I expressed my concern, but also tried to stay positive about everything going on. My writing has also changed since the pandemic forced us all to go online. I expressed hope and positive thoughts for those who are going through major life issues caused by COVID-19. I hope everyone gets the happiest ending they can when all of this is over. I especially enjoyed writing about things that interested me. The Daily Creates were probably my favorite thing we did in this class. I loved writing about them and doing them. Doing them made me feel productive and I was happy with the work I achieved while taking the challenge. In fact, I may revisit the posts I made about them and I may even do a daily create challenge once in a while to keep myself on my toes. I truly value the ability to rant, express worries, and express hope through my blogs. It is apparent in my blogs with every change of tone of voice. I value writing my feelings, as I am not usually able to do that in other classes. This class has given me a chance to express myself through writing especially. I know I will miss everyone in this class. You all have been so good to work with and it feels great when you comment on my blog. I have been replying, so if you remember a blog you commented on from the past, feel free to go back and see my response. I'd love to continue hearing from all of you even after the class is over. You have my twitter handle and my blog site if you would like to reach me through either of those. I still plan on doing a travel Instagram next year for the trip, so if you're interested in seeing my travel experiences, please do re-visit my blog and Instagram. I promise I will have some fun posts on it! I wish everyone happiness and recovery from this pandemic and I hope nobody is drastically affected by it. Thank you all so much for reading and have a happy summer :)
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I took a trip to the sandhills this last weekend and I learned a little bit about myself in the process. It has been about a year since I last "disconnected" completely. I didn't have internet or cell service on this trip and I found it to be more difficult than I expected. I have been contemplating the events of the weekend a lot since I got back home and I used my phone for the first time in four days. It felt good to get it back, but I also feel like it didn't last long enough. I almost wish I could get away from my phone again like I did last weekend. I felt a sense of freedom. My stress level went down. I found myself to be happier and more involved in face-to-face interactions and small-talk conversations with my family. I was with my great aunt, my mom, my mom's cousin, my granddad, and my great aunt and uncle all weekend. I was the youngest person there, and yet because I was raised playing outside rather than sitting in front of a TV, I found myself to be alright talking to the older folks of my family.
I didn't find as much discomfort with face-to-face interactions as I thought I would. I found myself forgetting that I even owned a phone because I kept busy with cooking with my mom or petting the dog. I rarely noticed my phone not being on my person this past weekend. At some points it even made me feel lighter not carrying it. I felt like I didn't need to check it because there was no use. I knew I wouldn't have cell service or internet, so there was no point in checking it. The few times I did use my phone was to read books. I deeply enjoy reading and it was so nice to sit back and relax with a book without worrying about replying to people. I am admittedly a people pleaser and sometimes people dislike when you disconnect or don't reply to them for days. With the excuse of being out of cell service, I felt like a burden was lifted off of me. I was much more relaxed and felt like I didn't owe anyone a reply. It was very nice. So there you have it. My take on disconnecting. This last week, it was harder for me to disconnect than I thought it would be. I ended up having to help a friend move, and of course, that came with a lot of communicating over the phone back and forth. I also had quite a bit of homework for other classes. I had a sculpture to finish up and I had to take photos and submit them online. Needless to say, I did not get as much disconnecting in as I should have. I was constantly on my computer working on homework. I also used YouTube and Pandora every day because music helps me to focus on homework and get stuff done. Since I didn't get to disconnect as much as I wanted to last week, I decided to do a "take two" of disconnecting this weekend. I figure it will work out perfectly because I will be going to my great aunt's ranch for branding. I am leaving tomorrow morning (Thursday at nine am) and I will lose cell phone service around two in the afternoon. After I lose cell phone service I will not have access to the internet or my phone for two and a half days. I honestly can't wait for this opportunity to get off of the internet and off of my phone and not have to worry about people calling me and needing my help. Though I am not currently working, I still have a lot of friends who ask me to help them with things. One specific person I have been helping a lot lately is my boyfriend. He has been constantly asking me for different favors. While I am happy to help, I will be relieved to not feel like I have to do anything for anyone.
When my mom and I get to the ranch, we will help my aunt cook branding dinner, we will help with the housekeeping for people who stay the night, including ourselves, and we will hold the branding on Saturday. This year my mom and I are going up a day early so we can help my aunt. I have already downloaded a book on my phone so I can read. I would have gone to the library and checked one out but it's closed right now. I go to the ranch for branding every year on the first Saturday of May. I am especially excited to go this year because I haven't gotten to go to the ranch yet this year. Usually, I go up on several weekends while I am in college, and I go up with my mom and grandad when my aunt is moving cattle, and we also go up every summer for a week. I have quite a bit of experience with disconnecting for long periods of time because of all of these trips we take on a yearly basis. Below is a picture I have posted before, but it perfectly displays what my trips are like every time I go up. Unfortunately, this post is going to be short and sweet. I really don't have much to say about my ILP.
I am feeling a little disheartened at the fact that the trip is postponed until next May. I am excited for the opportunities for in-country travel that have opened up for this summer, but I'm also likely to be working a lot this summer (hopefully). I am thinking about traveling to Arizona or Texas. I've heard both are beautiful. If any of you guys are from either of those places or have been there, I am very open to suggestions on what towns/sites to visit. I am excited and nervous to travel without my parents or any of my family members. I haven't been anywhere(besides in-state trips) without my parents or one of my siblings. I have been sheltered for much of my life, but I also know that I won't regret traveling. I will certainly be inviting some friends from college to share this experience with. It is about time I spread my wings and get the H-E-Double Hockey Sticks out of Nebraska for once. This is not to say I don't love my home, but I feel like I have been isolating for my whole life. I am going to decide soon on where and when to go so I can get plane tickets for cheap (if I need them). I am looking for any and all blessings to come out of the unfortunate Pandemic. I would encourage you all to do the same! Take this opportunity and time-off for travels if you are able. I can't wait to experience new places and things. I hope everyone is staying healthy and happy! I can say that these articles and the video really hit home for me. I have found myself to be distracted by my phone or homework while I could have been spending quality time with the people I care for the most. I even find myself getting distracted when I am around my mom or my significant other. Lately, I have been so consumed with homework that I can't focus on anything else. It is crazy how busy life gets these days, yet we look at our phones and devices even while we are doing something else. Multitasking has become a skill I use almost always. As I write this, I am also listening to music and occasionally exchanging a few words of conversation with my man.
All of the articles discuss taking a break from the internet, or give pointers on what to do without the internet. I have considered yoga, meditation, and resting many times. I have often considered meditation, but I have never tried it out. I never feel like I have time. I am a very busy woman, but once my homework load dies down a bit, I might try it while I have time! It is almost May. We only have three weeks left of classes and then I will finally feel like I have a little free time again. With this free time I might try meditation. Most of the time I spend on my phone is spent on Snapchat and Facebook. Lately, I have been so overwhelmed with homework that I haven't been replying to everyone for 15 or 16 hours! When classes were still in-person, I would reply almost immediately or at least within 2 hours. It is crazy how our world has changed so quickly with the coronavirus taking away some of our independence. I have noticed also that while I am around my family, I become distracted by the noises of my parents going about their daily lives and working from home. However, when I am at a friend's house, I focus on my work and he focuses on his. This gives me some feeling of independence in this isolation. He also encourages me to stay off of my phone so I can get my homework done. I feel so much less attached to my phone than I did before I met him. People can be very positive influences on one's life if you let them be. The Ted Talk discussed this when he talked about his sister and nieces and nephews. It was something that really resonated with me. Many people are attached to their phones even while they are on dates. I am happy to say that I have been better about not being on my phone as much. I am also confident that if I went without my phone for a while, I would simply read books. I am a book worm, so I would be in my element if that were to happen. Thanks for reading! Let me know what y'all think. This post may be short because it is Easter Sunday and I am trying to spend time with my family and I also do not have a lot to say at the moment.
I have come up with an idea in light of recent news. Study abroad students were recently informed that the Study Abroad trip to London and Dublin will be postponed until next May in 2021 rather than this coming May or August. This means that if we can still go on the trip (I will be able to ), we can take an "in progress" option for the trip meaning I will not have to take another class to fill the study abroad requirement, and I will just fulfill my extra requirements for this class in a year when we go on the trip. They will also hold onto my money and I will be able to go without having to pay again. This news was very exciting for me. I am not as upset as I initially was about this for a couple of reasons. One being that I have settled down and now understand that the circumstances are not so bad. The other reason is that this allows me time this summer to take a couple of trips of my own within the US as I have not traveled nearly enough. I'm thinking about going South to Arizona or Texas potentially. I want to go on this trip with close friends of mine so I can hold memories of a fun trip with my college friends before life gets too hectic for us not to go. I would like to go south simply because it is warm. While on this trip, I may even do a few blogs and post to my travel account to keep it going and interesting. If you all would like to keep up with it, just continue to follow my blog and my Instagram account. I am going to start my physical travel journal soon with potential locations, packing lists, and what I've learned from past trips. Stay tuned to see it evolve! Thanks for Reading! and make sure to stay inside :) There have been many instances that I have come across real-life examples of digital activism. I have even participated in a few "mini movements" on facebook and Instagram. One article I read on this topic mentioned the website DoSomething.org. I have been to this site and I even get emails from them occasionally. There is another site called Change.org that I have been on. These sites are wonderful and useful tools on which to promote one's beliefs and ideas. While I have never really been the person to really get passionate and participate in these acts, I have thought about many different things a great deal and I understand how they are helpful. I tend to steer clear of making many Digital Activism posts for fear of being trolled, hated-on, and threatened. It certainly takes a brave and strong individual to continue to post things that people disagree with.
A second article I read on this topic discussed Digital Activism posts and rallies done by many women in Saudi Arabia. My heart goes out to those who go through gender inequality due to the government of their countries. I can't imagine feeling the way that they do and having to fight as hard as they do often with little success. It is because Digital Activism has become so popular that women and men in such countries have voices to express their needs, desires, ideas, and beliefs. The one thing I would say to these people is to be aware of trolls, terrorists, haters, and those who threaten them on their posts about digital activism. These people can be very dangerous. The first article I read discussed that internet trolls would often cyberbully the founders of blogs and platforms promoting and participating in Digital Activism. Some bloggers even received death threats and rape threats along with hackers finding the home address of a blogger and sending it to the blogger in a sort of threat to stalk and re-enact a rape scenario. People on the internet can be so sick and twisted to threaten with these types of things. It is because of these things that I am not sure I would be able to continue to post and participate in Digital Activism. So, if you're thinking about becoming a part of a community that promotes topics considered under the term Digital Activism, kudos to you for being brave and strong, but be careful and keep your personal info locked tight. Thanks for reading! *This post may be short due to my inability to travel pretty much anywhere right now*
Right now, all I know regarding the London & Dublin Study Abroad trip, is that it may either be cancelled or postponed. I am working with Dr. Cox to revise my ILP. I would like to reach out to all of you guys, my readers, for ideas on how to continue to carry out my travel journal plans while in isolation. I have a few options and ideas of my own including continuing to post about past travels (though most posts will be about the sandhills), starting lists(packing, prep, etc.) for the trip even if we don't go, or just putting this on hold, starting anew, and picking up where I left off when I hear whether the trip is postponed or cancelled. Please do give me feedback as I am at a loss. I am leaning towards sharing stories of my trips to the sandhills in more detail on this blog. I have plans in May to visit some family on the Ranch and help with the annual branding. While some of you may not like the idea, thinking it is animal cruelty, I am not forcing you to read my blog, and I will warn you now I will be putting details into the story I plan to right about branding, and I will give reasoning as to why branding is important. I also have plans to go out to the homestead if the London/Dublin trip gets postponed or cancelled. During this trip, the plan is for my mom, grandad, and I to go out to the homestead where there is no indoor plumbing or usable stove, and cook steaks for "the cowboys" over an open fire. The cowboys are neighbors and ranchers who help my aunt and my mom's cousin to round up cattle on a day each spring, and at the end of the day, they come to the homestead ready for a nice meal. Below is a picture of last year's steaks over the fire! That's some mouthwatering meat! Some of the best memories I have made were during trips like these. Let me know what you guys think about this! Thanks for reading :) The first article I read about digital civil engagement truly opened my eyes to what that title entails. I realized that I had been participating in digital civil engagement for years now without knowing it had a title. By my understanding, digital civil engagement includes political commentary, views, and debates among other things in many different forms. The first article I read which we were all required to read this week described the many platforms that young people use to express their ideas within civil engagement. Many teens and young adults use memes, satire, and sarcasm on platforms like twitter, snapchat, and facebook. I have been a part of my generation's expression of ideas and views within civic engagement. One platform that stood out to me right away when I was reading is Twitter. Many politicians themselves have twitter and post to it often. Twitter is rich with civic engagement. I often post to platforms about politics, mostly in a humorous or sarcastic way. I find humor to be a filter for otherwise often vulgar, hurtful, or offensive political topics. by using humor, my readers and followers understand that I am trying to be as lighthearted as possible about my views so there is less of a chance of them getting "butthurt". After reading about digital civic engagement and the items that are categorized under that umbrella term, I feel that I may not change what I post, but I will certainly be more aware of when I am posting something that counts as digital civic engagement. During this pandemic, digital civic engagement is almost more important than ever before. everyone is being asked to stay inside, so much of our expression of political views, conspiracy theories, and debate topics has to be expressed digitally. Recently, though it isn't digital, we have been asked to send in our votes for the election through the mail to avoid gathering at the voting booths. I, for one, am wary of this and I haven't decided on whether or not I will do this or vote the traditional way.
Next, I read an interesting article on trolling. I thought "What can trolling have to do with digital civic engagement?" The article was essentially about being mean and bullying others on the internet. This and digital civic engagement seemed to be in two separate digital realms, but then I recalled a time where I experienced the two at the same time. It started out with a post my cousin made which contained very left-leaning ideas. As a Conservative, I commented on the post asking a question and inviting a friendly debate. My cousin took my comment as an attack (though it certainly wasn't) and retaliated with calling me vulgar names. Though I was upset, I left it alone and stopped commenting. This was the end of the comments. My family expressed to me that they were proud of me for being the bigger person (though I am 20 and she is in her mid 30s). Unfortunately this caused some tension between my family and her and her siblings, but the important thing is that I didn't "feed the troll." Below is the popular meme associated with trolling on the internet. Thanks for coming to my blog! I hope everyone is staying healthy and happy :) This post may turn out to be a bit of a rant, so hear me out please. I know that you guys have been asking whether I would still be able to go on the Study Abroad trip due to the recent Coronavirus outbreaks in the United States. I have not been able to answer your questions as solidly as I would have liked to over the past couple of weeks. We all seemed to be in the dark about what would happen, and I was relying on a hope that nothing regarding the Study Abroad trip would change. This was admittedly wishful thinking. This past week, study abroad students (including myself), received an email with a link to a poll discussing whether to postpone the trip until August, or to cancel the trip altogether. If I am completely honest, receiving this email broke my heart. There are reasons behind my sadness. For one, I have never traveled out of the country. I've hardly traveled anywhere within the country, let alone going overseas. I want to live this dream which I have already put time and effort(the sole reason I'm in this class is to get credit to go on the trip), (not to mention the time that pre-departure meetings and planning and getting a passport take), into. Another reason I am upset is regarding the cost of this trip. I have put quite a bit of money into this trip. See details below.
Rant mode (worst-case scenario is the trip gets cancelled and this happens): I took out my very FIRST college loan out in order to go on this trip. I have never taken out a loan before in my twenty years of living. I went through all of my freshman year and both semesters of my sophomore year without taking out loans and I plan to continue to do so for the remaining two years of college. But, the ONE loan I took out now might all be for nothing. The sole reason I took out a loan for this trip is because I didn't have enough saved to pay for the semester AND the trip. Now, a $6,000 loan may potentially go down the drain and I will still have to pay it back. Now I know what you're thinking, won't I get refunded if the trip gets cancelled? I will get about a third of that $6,000 back as a refund. To be exact, I will get $2,144 back should the trip get cancelled. They say it is a 50% refund but that does not include any of the flights or the CSC fees which are non-refundable. That means almost $4,000 potentially goes down the drain. However, there is still hope that it won't get cancelled. This is the worst-case scenario, keep that in mind. If the trip does not get cancelled (which I'm praying that it doesn't), it will be postponed until August. This is a brighter side to this whole scenario. There is a possibility that COVID-19 will be over and done with by the time August comes around. An upside to going in August is that I will have more time to plan for the trip, and the weather will be better in London and Dublin around that time as opposed to May weather. A downside to going in August is that I will have to look into altering my ILP to fit into the allotted time for this class, and I will have to complete the supplemental assignments somehow while the semester is still going rather than doing them while I am on the trip (I think). I don't know all of the details of how this will work out. I will be talking to Dr. Cox about altering my ILP this coming week so please be patient and stay tuned while I figure this all out. If you have any more questions regarding this, comment below and I'll reply as soon as I can. As always, thanks for reading, and enjoy the pictures of England and Ireland in August below :). |
AuthorDaria Dart Archives |