Future Business Writing Students

I thoroughly enjoyed this class!!
After taking this class I feel better prepared to face the challenges that may come after college, ie. finding a job. I have always been good at doing homework and little projects for school, so I did not have a hard time keeping up with the daily grades and blog postings. I find that it is much easier to do things as soon as you get the assignment. Get the little things out of the way, so that you don't have to worry about them the rest of the week or risk forgetting about them totally.
I haven't ever done anything similar to our client project, so it was a new experience for me. I must say that having a good group makes a world of difference. Make sure that you get along with your group members and that all "jobs" can be divided up within the group. For example, do not get into a group of people who are all quiet organizers, none of you will want to talk with the client or be the spokesperson. Get in a group of people who all have different strengths.
Take each project seriously! You are going to use your resume later in life! You are going to need to turn in your portfolio before you graduate! Take advantage of the help that Mrs. Rogers is willing to give you! See knows what she is talking about!

Client Project Reflection

I have enjoyed working in a group for the client project! I do believe that 4 minds are better than 1, when it comes to brainstorming. We have been able to bounce ideas off of each other and collaborate to get the best ideas for our client. When you work with other people you get a piece of their ideas, which could be something that you never would have thought about. I think working in a group has the ability to cover all areas of a project.
I knew this all along, but working in my group reminded me that not everyone thinks the same. This can seem like a frustrating concept when working with a group. You expect everyone to know what you are thinking and want to do the same thing you do. But this is an unrealistic idea.
The best thing about this project, along with our e-portfolio, has been learning how to create websites. I feel like with the major advances in technology, having the ability to create a website will be very beneficial in any career.
The biggest challenge that I have faced while working on this project has been our group meetings. There were a couple of group meetings that I felt like we did not get much accomplished, sometimes that was because there was nothing that we had to do. I think that it was very helpful to have an agenda for each meeting. It helped to see what we needed to get done, even if there were only a couple of things on the list. The minutes became very helpful in later group meetings.
After working on this project I have learned that sometimes you have to be patient when waiting to hear back from the client. Even though the project is very important to you, replying with needed information might be a low priority on the client's list of things to do. You also have to be flexible and willing to alter ideas to meet your client's wishes.

Dual Coding

This picture gets me excited to compete. As an athlete I hear and see many short motivational quote that are meant to gets someone pumped up, like this one. The color red in the advertisement quickly draws your attention to the quote at the top "Practice Like Champions." The quote seems to be writing above a door way, possibly the door the leads to the practice field. It is placed in a location that can be seen easily and seen often. I do not believe that the sign that follows is not as intense or exciting. This could possibly be because of its color. The word "We Believe" is very straigth forward, but means nothing without heart behind it. If you are going to practice like a champion you have to believe that you are a champion. I think much of athletics is mental. This advertisement drives home the personal, mental aspect that must be taken at each practice. This advertisement is not very bright, which show that just like ones body, becomes worn down because of its daily use.
One major aspect of the advertisement comes in the placement of the second sign. It is placed in such a way that the view of the field is blocked. The person passing through must first believe, or at least read "We Believe" before that can view what is before them.
All in all, I think that the words provide hope and strength to those who pass through the doorway. I think that dual coding is very interesting in the fact that any advertisement can be interpreted in a different way by different people. Even though the picture is seen the same way visually by every person, it is not understood or processed the same way, which leads to many forms of interpretation.

Miscommunication

I did have an experience with miscommunication in my summer job as an assistant swim coach a couple of years ago, it was that bad that I remember it. Being an assistant coach you are working under someone else, which means that you do not have enough responsibility as the other person. There was miss communication about days that the head coach was going to be absent from practice and what I was suppose to do. I showed up to coach one day, not knowing that I was going to be the only coach on deck. It make me look like I didn't know what I was doing, because not only was I stressed, and upset, I had to keep a bunch of kids practicing in some type of order by myself. There was another incident in which I did not know that I was suppose to put together the line up for a meet. She had good intentions behind letting me make a line up on my own, so that I could learn, but it would have been more beneficial to everyone at the meet had I known and been helped through my first attempt. These situations could have been prevented if we had made sure both of us knew the days that we were going to miss practice and if we had gone over the specific "jobs" that she wanted me to perform, as her assistant. The one way to prevent any miscommunication would be to discuss all possible mishaps that could occur with every party that is involved. This could only happen in a perfect world, because there is no way that you can know in advance every possible mishap. So, as we go on through life, encountering many issues with miscommunication it is best to remain calm and collected, be kind and just do your best to deal with the situation at hand.

Mock Interview

This mock interview process was very beneficial to me. I have not ever had an interview, so it was my first experience. I was nervous, but I get nervous about everything. To deal with this I kept reminding myself that it was not a real interview, so I might be freaking out a little more in my first real interview. Breathing helps me get relaxed. I also thought through the things that I knew like answers to possible interview questions and convinced myself that I was prepared for the interview.

The first comment of the interview actually threw me off a bit: Tell me a little about yourself. It makes sense that this would be an opening comment for the interview but it was something that I hadn't planned out. Or maybe it was the fact that it was the first thing that was said, like realizing "oh, its time to start". I reply to this first comment I simply within a few milliseconds pulled back out of my life and took a look at where I was in life at the moment: student at Clemson, on the swim team, studying Health Science, and then composed and simple introduction. I will remember this section of the interview and plan for it better next time.

From this experience I was able to learn that it is much easier to communicate when you relax and just try to be yourself. I didn't want to go into the interview making a big story and telling crazy things about myself so that I could look good, I just wanted to walk in and be very genuine and honest. I tried to think of the interviewer as a friend, someone who I wasn't nervous to be around. It was after the first few questions were asked that I was able to take a quick breath and simply answer the questions.

It is hard to search in your mind for the best answers to say and think clearly when you are nervous. Being relaxed is going to be the hardest but most important thing for me to do in my real life job interviews.

Class Presentations

I really enjoyed this week of class presentations. It gave me a chance to learn more about the people in my class.
One of my favorite presentations was about cheese cake, by Kit. I love food, more specifically dessert! Cooking sounded like something that Kit really likes to do, so she seemed very interested in her topic, which made me more interested as well. I will definitely be adding her chocolate chip cheesecake recipe to my box of recipes.
Another favorite presentation of mine was about Gatorade, by Jamie. Being a collegiate athlete I have been provided many performance enhancing techniques, but it all boils down to your nutrition. I kind of knew how Gatorade came about but I did not know about all the testing that has and is being done to prove its positive effects on athletes. Jamie would be a great spokesman for Gatorade!
Another favorite presentation of mine was about the importance of music in education by Danni. I love music and think that it has a huge impact on people. I think it is great that Danni emphasized actual Music Advocacy Projects that are going on to promote music in education today. It was easy to see that Danni loves music which made her presentation more motivating.

Free Topic: Sarah Palin Glasses

I do not have much time to watch the news, though I probably should.

The latest news that I have been hearing about are the highly sought after Sarah Palin glasses. Why have these become such a phenomena? I understand that the designer loves the fact that everyone wants a pair of his glasses! Even my roommate, who has perfect vision, wants a pair of these glasses.

I personally, do not find her glasses to be very cute. With this latest fad you can definitely see how celebrities own the fashion world.

With this opportunity to free blog I would like to brag about my dog :)

Her name is Annabelle. She is an Airedale, golden retriever mix. No, she is not for sale!

This photo of her was taken right before school started. Much to my dismay I do not live in a huge apartment that would allow her to stay with me. I know that she is being well taken care of by my family at home.

My family thinks that I come home to see them... but deep down it is to see my dog :)