What You Get Is What You Got (Class Blogging #5)

This is the last post in the Class Blogging series! This one was about creating a three-track soundtrack to my life as a brand. It was harder than I thought it'd be! Anyways, without further ado, here's my post:

I had to do some hard thinking on this one--I think in part because I usually try to relate to songs, even if they don't directly apply to me! I went through my Itunes list quite a few times before I finally found three songs that I though really represented my brand.

The first one is 'Into Yesterday', by Sugar Ray. I feel like this one represents my brand because it's got a laidback, relaxed vibe. Sugar Ray sings about how amazing everything is after it rains--which, to me, speaks to the idea that if you hold out until after a string of bad days, it'll get better. I relate to this, and I often try to be positive about my life and reflect that onto my friends and family.

My second song would be 'Waiting on the World to Change', by John Mayer. I've loved this song since I was a kid, and it has always resonated with me. Like I said above, I'm a very optimistic person, and this is definitely the case when I put my outlook on the world. I try not to be as cynical about things as most people these days are, and I genuinely want to help make the world a better place. But, like in the song, I feel like since I'm young, no one will listen to me while all I can do is sit back and watch the world I live in destroy itself. I genuinely want to make the world a better place, and I think this song expresses that pretty well!

And, my last song is 'I Lived', by OneRepublic. I love OneRepublic, and I love that their music is always so positive and generally upbeat. This song in particular is about living life the way you want to, and not allowing anyone to get in your way. I've always lived my life to the fullest, doing everything I can to experience what I want to. I think this represents my brand because I am always happy and I genuinely want to live life as much as I can. I think that comes across with the way I speak and how often I smile.

The soundtrack for my brand overall would definitely be about positivity and staying true to yourself and what you believe in. I think the songs I chose reflect that pretty well!

So, there's my response! What three songs would represent your 'brand'?

Jump Around (From Stadium to Stadium) (Class Blogging #4)

So, this week's challenge was to find a brand that was pandering to open its market to the masses. I thought this was an interesting topic, but I cannot tell you guys how long it took me to come up with an answer! I'm a huge sports junkie (you probably didn't know that--but, you do now!), so I decided to go with a sports-y kind of answer:

When I think of pandering, for some reason, my mind goes right to sports. I'm a huge Wisconsin Badgers fan (my whole family is from Wisconsin, so it was bound to happen!), and going to Camp Randall Stadium for a football game is unparalleled. The feel of the crowd is awesome, and you can just feed off the energy by being there.

One of the big things that UW does is during the break between the third and fourth quarters, they play a song by House of Pain called "Jump Around"--you've probably heard it! It's been a tradition at the university and at Camp Randall since 1998, and it's definitely an experience. The whole stadium shakes as over 80,000 people jump and dance like you wouldn't believe.

But, what I've noticed while watching other football games on TV, Chapel Hill has tried doing the same thing, at the same time (between the last two quarters), by playing the song and telling people to "Jump Around". Chapel Hill certainly didn't start this tradition, and though the song isn't licensed to UW, it still feels like Chapel Hill is trying to get the same tradition going in their stadium, and get the same feeling of Camp Randall in Kenan Memorial Stadium. I'm not sure a brand (like Chapel Hill as a university is) can pander a feeling, but that's what it appears they're doing. They want their fans to get just as loud and get crazy as Badger fans by playing a song that makes you want to, well, jump around.

Well, Chapel Hill, hate to break it to you, but there's nothing quite like "Jump Around" back home.

Hope I don't have any Chapel Hill fans following me--if so, sorry, but your Athletic Department is pandering! :)

(Any of you guys have some brands or universities or whatever that you think are pandering? Let me know!)

October Favorites!

Wow--it's already November! Where did the time go? It's also almost been a year that I've had this blog, which is crazy in of itself.
Anyways, October has been a lovely month for me, and I've got a good list of things this month!

Let's get started!

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First up is The Martian--the movie!

the martian, starring matt damon.

This movie is just incredible. I've read the book three times now, and I can't explain to you how much the movie follows the book. It's probably one of the better adaptions I've seen. Even for people who haven't read the book (I saw it twice with people who hadn't seen it), it's a great movie as a stand-alone. There were a few major changes, and though I wished they hadn't changed what they did, it made more sense from a director's perspective. I hear there's supposed to be an additional 20 minutes of footage on the DVD, though, which is awesome! Seriously, for a movie about a guy stranded on a desolate planet alone, it is so uplifting and gratifying to see the world come together to save him. Go see it!
(And, check out this post for a full review!)

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Next, we've got my new iPhone 6!

iphone 6.

So, I brilliantly shattered my phone at the end of last month. Luckily, my parents were planning on switching phone services, so I begged and begged that they do it quicker than planned. So, here we are! It's amazing, honestly. I've got 64 GB of space now, which is a huge jump from my last phone that was only 16 GB! I still haven't filled it up! But, it is nice knowing that I won't really have to worry about storage for a while. I have a lot of music. I will say, it took a little getting used to as far as size goes. It's considerably larger (even though I don't have the plus), but I do like it. Watching videos is way more of an experience, and the camera is so much clearer. So, if you're teetering on the edge of getting it or not, I'd definitely go for it!

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Next, we've got fall/Halloween decorations!

fall decorations.

I just love all things Halloween and Autumn, and this time of year is my favorite. Granted, as soon as November 1 hits, I'm in full-on Christmas mode, but I do keep my autumnal decor around the apartment until about Thanksgiving. I love leaves especially, since the colors this time of year are so incredible. We just actually came in 3rd place in a contest for my RA's residents! We had to decorate the outside of our apartments by the 25th for Halloween, and we apparently did a nice job! I'll definitely be keeping the decorations I can reuse, and hopefully we can decorate again next year!

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Finally, we've got the World Series!

the kansas city royals #takethecrown.

I've been a baseball fan as long as I can remember. My team is the Milwaukee Brewers, but they haven't been spectacular in a while. So, every season, I pick five teams to follow (including the Brewers--they will take precedence over every other team, terrible or not) on the MLB app. This year, I picked the Brewers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Red Sox, Seattle Mariners, and none other than the Kansas City Royals. So, as the season waned into the post-season, the only team that made it out alive was KC. And, damn, did they make it out alive! I've become somewhat of a Royals fan over the past two years--between Escobar + Cain being traded to them from the Brewers, and their opponents in the past two World Series--the San Francisco Giants and the NY Mets. I really don't like either team, so I just kind of side with the Royals, and damn, are they a team worth the crown. They played hard, played spectacularly, and made me realize why I love baseball so much. Because, at the end of the day, I'm a baseball fan before anything else.

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So, there are my October favorites! What were you all loving this month? Hope you have a great November!