What I learned from our documentary

1) editing is time consuming:
While filming we kept coming up with awesome ideas for music, scene changes, and overall polish for the project. It wasn't until we actually had to add them that we realized how hard it would be. We needed to make every shot feel like a smooth transition to the next, make sure the music wasn't too overpowering, and somehow get three different audio clips on top of each other. Suffice to say, it was quite a challenge.

2) film is much harder than theatre:
I did theater in high school and after this experience, I can without a doubt say its easier and less stressful than film. A camera isn't a live audience, so you feel so much pressure to redo every scene to make it just perfect. I can't tell you how many times we did some scenes because one of us felt like we stuttered or was out of character.

3) bloopers are hilarious:
While this project was hard and time consuming, it was also a lot of fun. When we messed up shots we laughed and had a good time. Some days of shooting seemed more like a group just hanging out, instead of a school project.

4) acting is the weirdest way to meet someone:
 Coming into the project I knew no one in my group. At first I thought this was going to be a hard challenge to overcome, but it ended up being really interesting. It felt like those cheesy AARO icebreaker sessions. We were so out of our comfort zones that we felt better around each other. Watching Frank do poetry, lauren do math, and kevin dance really showed us some quirky talents. We had a much easier time talking after working together like this.

What if: I listened to country

Image via WikipediaA friend once told me I am constantly going from one place to another, on task to the next, and generally not resting. He thinks it is attributed to me listening to techno and hardcore, and that the bpm is so high that it keeps me motivated. This seems really true because I do feel empowered while listening to that. This made me think of what would happen if I listened to country.


I picture myself taking much more time on projects, moving slower, and feeling more connected to my surroundings. Country music has a sense of deeper meaning and enjoyment, and less about what you do while you listen to it. My friend kale who listens to country agrees and says that he drives slower when listening to country and just experiences things more.

It's interesting how music can affect how you live your life. I wonder how other genres can influence what you are doing as you listen to them?

Fake ice, fake people

Ever see something that looks real, but is actually fake? I saw a bucket of ice and was thinking "oh man, that's a bucket of ice" but it ended up being a prop. The initial feeling of shock and let down can be really similar to when you find out a person's attitude or something you like about them is actually fake.

Sometimes people act in certain ways to get friends, but they end up just being a visage and then get enveloped in it. One of my closer friends pretended to like music they really didn't just so he could impress a girl. While at first this seems harmless, you can see how it could cause a lot of problems.

People who lie about one trait are more than likely to end up lying about other traits. And before they know it they are a completely different person, and are too worried about what the others would think so they never fess up to who they truly are. If everyone was able to just be truthful, then we wouldn't have to worry about being wary of people's traits.

Enjoy the little things

Image via WikipediaMy mom has seriously been on my case for the last week, but it probably isn't what you expected it to be on. Its not over exams, or grades, or food, but Christmas decorations. She was so adamant about me decorating my apartment for Christmas and I couldn't tell why. After a week of this constant reminding I asked her why it was so important to her since she wont ever see it. This answer is what really got to me.

She explained how much the holiday meant to her. She sets her decorations up the day of thanksgiving. She says that she feels so close to me and my brother because that was the time that we had school off and we would just hang out with her and my dad. She thought that having the decorations up in my apartment will help with stress, and really remind me of what I am coming home to in a few weeks.

What I got from her is that you should always enjoy little things, because they are what can really help when other situations are bad. So, after talking to her I put up my lights and tree and can say that I look to them to remind myself of home during these last weeks going into finals.

You mean there are still magazines?

I recently had to do a project where I needed to find articles on a subject I am interested in and write about them. This seemed like an easy assignment until I read that they had to come from a magazine and not the internet. This shocked me because I thought we got over this whole "internet not be being a credible source" like 7 years ago.

Project, a magazine created by the Virgin group, is the first of its kind to be iPad only. This new creation is truly blurring the lines between print and digital, and I believe to be the future of the magazine industry. I brought this to my professor and they still scoffed about it being an "internet source".

I couldn't believe the resistance this teacher had to technology, and how set they were in their old ways. If this professor ran a company I guarantee you it would be on the brink of bankruptcy. Professors should be the beacons of adaptation, taking their knowledge and using new techniques to teach it. It was at this point I realized how different generations thought. Here was someone who was not connected to the internet, and probably has no idea of the exponential changes it has received in the last ten years.

If more people could learn to adapt to changing ways instead of clinging to tradition, I feel like our world could innovate much faster. At our current trend we ramp up when generations shift, but then slow back to a crawl while one has power.

PROJECT magazine demo - issue 1 from PROJECT on Vimeo.

caffeine withdrawl

Image by terenceleezy via FlickrI have been having headaches for the last couple of days and had no idea why. It wasn't a hangover, I didn't feel sick, and I was well hydrated. After the third day I got worried, then i remembered that I had not had a cup of tea in days. While in Vegas I stayed away from energy drinks and tea because I was simply too busy.

I never considered myself addicted to caffeine so I was shocked to see how much it really effected me. This made me think about how you can get so used to something you don't even realize. Sometimes in life we just get so used to something that we don't even know how much a part of life it becomes. This doesn't always mean a bad thing. Sometimes you don't realize how much people become a part of your life. This happened to me when I left for home for my freshman year Christmas break. It was only until then I realized how much living with my friends in my dorm really shaped my life. I was so used to going back after classes and seeing them, that it was hard to be away from that comfort.

Its weird how some things can really connect in your head. It took me by surprise how a simple caffeine aversion lead me to realize how much I put my life on autopilot. I need to stop living by weeks and start living by day. Sometimes you just forget what you did yesterday completely, and that isn't ok. People need to live for the day.

Ancient ceremony, modern philosophy

Image via WikipediaWhen I was in Vegas over the break I went to a tea shop and participated in a gongfu tea ceremony. This is a Chinese tradition and it consist of many mall cups of tea and a very ritualistic way of drinking it. I have read about the method of tea drinking, and have always been intrigued to try it. But I got more from the people, and not the ceremony itself.

Before and after the ceremony I spoke with the main woman in charge. I was enthralled by her passion for her traditions. She brought this tradition with her from china with the goal of sharing it to the world. She didn't care about the money she made from the teas she sold, but instead, she cared about the people she sold to. She saw her job as merely a gatekeeper. She showed people the power of relaxation with tea, and would do anything for the customer to feel satisfied.

This drive really affected me because it was another true tale of happiness. She didn't need a huge paycheck or a nice car to be happy, she woke up every day with the goal to help people, and whatever else she got was extra. A lot of people could learn from her about how to enjoy life, and how to appreciate what you have.

Failure of cooking

Image via WikipediaIn my previous post I talked about embracing the fear of failing and just going on a limb and attempting. While that sounds great for writing your new ideas, it didn't apply too well to me and cooking. I have never been someone to cook, favoring eating out and easy make meals. But I decided to go to central market, buy some ingredients, and attempt to cook.

As I went through the store I was charged with energy because I was finally going to try to cook. I bought all the things I needed, a steak, oil, and a spice rub. I could see the finished product in my head and it was looking awesome. I rushed home, found a pan and began to prepare. This is where everything started going downhill.

I overheated the oil, and when I added the steak, it freaked out. I am not over exaggerating, the oil went from a calm liquid to a raging torrent of pain. Oil was flying everywhere with the loud pops of bubbles and surface tension. I quickly turned off the stove and ran to the other side of the room to avoid any more burns.

When the popping and hissing finally stopped I went in and surveyed the damage. The steak was the color of charcoal, and my kitchen was covered in oil. As I went about cleaning I thought "well the worst is out of the way, now I know what to expect". I took this failed dinner and turned it into a learning experience. I saw the extreme of error and can now work to get better. I mean, what worse could of happened trying to make a steak?

Fresh notebook syndrome

Image by edwardkimuk via FlickrI always have the problem of writing in a new notebook. When I go to a bookstore I always see moleskin notebooks and think "man I could really use that to jot down some ideas". So I buy them and then they just sit on my desk. Every time an idea pops up I think "is this really notebook worthy?". If you are a fan of Seinfeld then you can relate this problem to Elaine's "Spongeworthy" dilemma. I feel like this notebook will be a pristine record of my rise from college kid to millionaire entrepreneur and I want it to be perfect.

My friend told me her solution to this is to completely destroy the first page. Write anything that comes to mind, draw anything you imagine, and just fill the page. This will negate all of your worries and allow you to write freely. Now some readers may think this is just stupid and are thinking I should just write, but its not a uncommon problem. A lot of people are held back attempting something because of the fear of failure. A lot of bloggers put off posting because they want every post to be perfect, and in the end, end up abandoning the project entirely.

My advice is to just jump in and start writing. Notebooks are meant to be imperfect, and if you edit your ideas then you might lose a good one.

In the company of others

You are the median of your ten closet friends. This statement has changed the way I see myself. It also rings truer than the old proverb of “you are the company you keep”. It’s amazing how other people can influence your life.  

I have a friend who is the extreme bad example. He is a slacker and addicted to multiple substances, but he is still really close to me. We have a close bond some people just don’t get because we are so radically different. What I learn from him is what not to do. He treats life as an experiment, willing to do anything just to see what it feels like.  I take his mindset and try to incorporate it into my life, but just to a lesser extent.

Another friend of mine is a triple major here at SMU. I met her at AARO and ever since then she has been dedicated to the school. She is mock trial captain, a member of both a professional and social sorority, and still has time for grades. I look to her as a motivational person because she helps me keep my school in perspective.

My third friend is the idealist. Him and me can talk about new business ideas and theory craft them for hours. People say that when we are together we think every idea is the next google or Facebook, and its true. He believes in the “land of yes”. Which means you always agree until there is a good reason to disagree. This mindset is what helps me try out my new websites and business pitches. While others say “its already been done before” he says “yeah, but I can do it better”.

These are just a few of the reasons why I truly believe in the statement said above, and I think it relates to everyone. Friends are here to influence you through life, and shape who you are. So embrace it and enjoy the ride.

Food as Art

Over the years great chefs have made names for themselves not by the taste of their food, but the design of it. The last few years have been a boom for food creatives. These people are using food as a medium for their art.
After eating at a few high end restaurants in Vegas I realized how entertaining this could be.

At a sushi place named sushi samba, they use the dishes as a visual as well as taste experience. The sushi was placed in shapes, the sauce was used to design the plate, and the lighting all accentuated this. It's funny that this reminded me of advertising.

Advertising has a purpose, to inform. But it can also be a form of entertainment. Creative people have known for years that if a message is engaging and fun, people will pay more attention to it. This is a lot like the creative movement in food at the time.

While this fusion of form and function is good, it can be overdone. Some places I went to tried to hard to obtain the "wow" factor and ended up making the taste suffer. This can happen with ads; try something too experimental and the originals goal could be lost.

The key to the equation is balance. Create something edgy that grabs attention, but remember what your overall goal is.

When the scaricity model dies

Image via WikipediaI have been watching a lot of reports about the economic shift in the entertainment industry. People talk about howthe iPod, Netflix, and Amazon have drastically changed how consumers perceive entertainment. We used to live in a world dominated by hits. What I mean is that space was limited and retailers only wanted to stock products for the lowest common denominator for people. This lead to a lot of missed opportunities and products.

Now we live in a world run by hits and misses. Both take up the same amount of space so who cares how many each sell, they are now on equal ground. If you give the consumer the ability to choose and go as deep as they want, they will find new products and niches that can make you money. This made me think about comprimises in life.

People often compromise to achieve something or to stay 'in reality'. This could be as small as not being with friends to study, or as big as changing majors because you feel like your dream job isn't financially secure. That is the scarcity model, in today's world everyone's talents can be used to make a living. Look at how many people make money blogging passionately about their topics.I believe we are in the middle of the abundance economy, which means everyone has an outlet and a chance to do what they love.

Flight delays

Image via WikipediaSo what do you do when you find out your flight has been delayed?

Due to weather or something I will be spending four hours in the lovely Las Vegas airport. Watching people pour their money into slot machines, carry around over-sized souvenir drink glasses, and generally looking hungover; this is what I get to occupy my time with. While looking at all of these things I realized how much of an escape from life vegas is to people.

People gamble with the hopes of winning big and changing their lives, they drink to get away from inhibitions and problems. This shows just how people really want to live, and how they want to be different from their day to day lives. This made me think about how I escape my reality.

I generally like to play video games and write. These activities help me zone out and get away from all my problems like school or friend drama. I can definitely relate to the art of Flow, and it really does make a big difference in my life. Being able to focus on just one thing really helps put everything else in perspective.

Getting caught up in everything

Image via WikipediaI have only been away from SMU for a day and I can already feel the effects. I feel slowed down, feel like I have more time, and can just relax. Its amazing what getting away can do for you. I am currently in Las Vegas with my family and I am really enjoying myself, but not because of the activities.

Waking up I realized that I did not have a million things to do. I wasn't stressed about class or homework, or even what all my friends were doing. It was this feeling of unconnectedness that really lead to me slowing down. I could just enjoy the time I was having here.

What  I really understand from this is that you cannot be in one environment for too long. I have been at my apartment and SMU for months without a break and realized how a schedule and routine can take over your life. I started seeing every day by what I did per hour and tried to optimize my time. While that kind of mind set can help productivity, it is not good to stay in for that long.

Another thing I realized was how easy blog ideas for deanelazab.com have been coming to me. Now that I am not in my usual routine I am seeing different things and relating them to what I write about. Basically everyone should realize that there is more to life then your immediate surroundings, and getting away from that surrounding can really help you.

If you sell with sex, at least do a good job

Is there a positive way to sell with sex? Too often advertising agencies just go with something that will work, and do not really care what implications the ad will have. But a reason for them to do this is that it is effective: sex sells. Agencies have known this since the birth of advertising and why should any one campaign be looked down upon if that is the generally accepted belief? Here are some examples of good and bad advertising with sex.

 The advertisement above took a very low-brow approach to marketing its shoes. The advertisement says nothing about the shoes and just shows some attractive women. While this really doesn't cause explicit harm, it isn't helping the industry either. This ad has no real copy to be seen other than the logo, and is just used to grab attention.

 Now this is another sex sells type of ad, but at least they are mocking themselves for doing it. They blatantly  mock the images other companies use to "suggest" sex.  I actually find this ad entertaining because of the nature and the target market for this product. A body gel for men, who enjoy looking at girls. This one makes sense in its context, sure old spice could have done a different ad, but they decided that this one worked. At least they put effort into the copy and not just an image of an attractive girl.
 The difference between these two ads shows the effort put into the campaign. Old spice knew its market,  knew that they wanted to still be funny and witty, and used that image appropriately. Sketchers just wanted to get some attention on its shoes and decided the best way was for a shock image of two attractive girls to gain attention.

Viral Ad Woes

Are viral ads deceptive? Sure, but aren't they also entertaining? This clip was one of my favorites when I was in High school. I showed a ton of my friends because I thought it was an ingenious idea. I remember when this released and people believed it was real. When MTV posted an article about how Activision creating this ad, there was a huge public back-lashing. People immediately discredited the video and starting talking about how bad it was.

This made me think that these people were simply overcompensating for being tricked. No one enjoys being told they were deceived. But Activision did it in a way that really brought us closer to their brand. They showed a committed fan and his friends making a video that showed guitar hero in a new light, and I think that it sparked a real discussion about the upcoming game.


In the end I think people should view viral ads as a experience, not a lie. The agency tries to immerse you into the brand by pretending to be just another fan, but they are actually stimulating discussion. This can lead to a lot of entertaining content, and come on, its better than watching an ad talking about the new tracks in the game and how it is better than rock band.

Are our identities held back by our "identities"?

The newest social network Path launched this week, and it made me question a lot of things. It is built on being personal and has a friend limit of 50 people. Its reasoning is that they know you censor what you put on Facebook and Twitter because of how public they are, and that you want to have a service to just talk to friends.

This made me think about how we censor our true identities. We all say we want people and friends to love us for who we are, but then we lie or make images of ourselves that show only one side. We try to show who we want to be, not who we are, and this may hurt us more than it helps. If everyone just stopped worrying about what others thought, then I'm positive the world would be a better place. But currently we are too entrapped in what we want to become to just be content with ourselves.  Do we also deny our natural progress by trying to fit ourselves in a mold we wish to fill out? Creative people are told that they should not follow their dreams because there is no money in them, and some conform to this. Do they deny their true selves because they see themselves as someone who needs money to be happy?


I know this post is a lot of questions, but if I had all these answers I'm sure I would be on some motivational speaker circuit and having my face on my #1 best seller "Dare to be you" or something equally as cheesy. 

Fear of your expectations

Have you ever wanted to start a new project, but the fear of failure stops you? I remember when I first got my apartment that I thought I would learn to cook. In my head I had this vision of cooking every night after class, learning new recipes, and really experimenting. The closest thing to cooking I have done all semester is baking a frozen meal in the stove. I wondered why I never attempted to cook and it was not the fact that I didnt have the time, resources, or drive. It was the fact that I didn't want to fail.
This feeling of breaking the first barrier inhibits people from doing a lot. I remember when I first wanted to start playing paintball. I kept convincing myself it was the weather, or that I was busy. But it wasn't for those reasons, its because you don't want to not leave up to your expectations.
To get over this obstacle, I realized I need to expect to fail. If you set yourself with high expectations, they will actually hold you back more than help. 

My creative work

When I got my blog review grade I was pretty impressed. I felt like I put a lot of work into this project and and was happy with the grade, but one thing was apparently lacking; personal creative work. This made me think about what is technically considered creative in what I make on a day to day basis. My conclusion was my professional blog at deanelazab.com. Every day I put a few hours into creating a post, moderating, and spreading my blog. But then I thought about how this was just type, and maybe not considered "creative". I then realized that I create something else everyday. This product is intangible, but still measured. It was my online identity.

I spend hours crafting not just a blog, but my identity online. I show myself as a professional in the social media world, and doing this is what I consider creative. I take type and use it to personify on a screen. I create the illusion of knowing me without ever meeting me in person. It might be my fever that is making this seem like an amazing idea at the present, but I like it.

The power of doing nothing

I know that sounds like a corny title, but it really describes what happened to me today. I woke up today and realized that I have been working on school, being with friends, or working on deanelazab.com pretty much non stop for a month. This lead me to being stressed out and feeling tired constantly, and I really wanted to make a change. I sat down with my friend and asked him how I should go about doing this and we discussed how I could start taking it easier.


After a while of talking, I thought of how little I watched television. I then decided that I was going to try and just lie down and watch tv for a night. This was a lot harder than it sounds. I have grown attached to my computers and social networks, and it took this experience to learn just how much it affected me. When I was laying down I kept thinking that I should check my phone or check my computer. It took a lot to just sit there unconnected to the world. I realized how much I feel the need to be connected to the world, either through friends or news sites.


After this day I actually did feel more relaxed. I learned that it is ok to disconnect from the world and just be by myself.

The calm before the storm

Today I have my first two advertising exams. Over the course of the week I have been pretty nervous and studying every day, but no matter how much work I have due the night before always feels the same for me. I don't study or stress out. I feel prepared and try to give myself a night to relax. Cramming the night before actually hurts my performance so I have learned that instead you need a clam night with a decent amount of sleep before you go in to take your test.



People who cram the night before and go in to the class still reading their notes are putting themselves through a lot of mental stress. This could actually cause them to panic during the test and "blank out". After having that happen to me a lot through high school I managed to come up with my current way of studying. 

Wait, I havent turned on my tv in how long?

Today marks the two week mark since the last time I have used my TV. Even now, I haven't turned it on to watch cable, but to play some games on my ps3. Its crazy thinking how dependent I used to be on cable. I used to always keep my television running for white noise and just a way to combat the solitude. Now I use music and podcast, and it really made me think about the shift in media.



Ten years ago televisions were the number one source of entertainment in the home. I remember everything coming from there, whether its news, cartoons, or music. Now we have shifted this focus to the computers. User generated content and the freedom to choose what you read has made the computer a huge hit in the entertainment field. People no longer want to be told when to watch what they like, they want to do it on their schedules. I just think this is really interesting and makes me wonder what the next evolution of entertainment will be. Televisions are starting to add "apps" in an attempt to stay current, but I do not think this enough. I would like to see more unibody computers that will replace televisions that come with a wireless keyboard. This way we can really move the user generated content to the couch and living room. 

Conformity

"I know they are wrong but why should I be the one that stops it?"
This sentence and others like it are one of the biggest detriments to innovation.  People in meetings do not stand up for an idea because they do not want to be against everyone, people do not speak up for whats right if everyone around them is staying silent. Its things like this that really hold us back as a society. Its the people who see this situation but still speak up who help push our culture to new edges.
This made me think about college and how much people use this rationalization to support what they do. People black out because they think its what they are supposed to be doing at this age. They see the image of cramming for test and partying and decide if that's how everyone else is doing college, that they should too. Another example is greek life. Different fraternities and sororities have stereotypes. And when people join these they begin to shift their lives to fit this scripts, in order to fit in with the rest of the group. I am not saying that every greek does this, but it does happen.
I feel like our culture needs to support the radical, the one who stands up for themselves, but at this time this isn't the case. 

What if: I wasnt a geek

Yesterday I was reading a web comic in class about two gamers who are living together. I find it really entertaining because so much of it relates to the conversations I have with my friends. While reading it my friend sitting next to me said that she couldn't get any of the comments and asked why I found it so entertaining. It then hit me how hard it would be to explain all the references that have been made by this comic. All these things that are just in my memory are completely missed by this girl. I found that really fascinating.
This got me thinking about how different my life would be if I wasn't geeky. I spend most of my time working online and with computers, and its crazy for me to think what life would be if I just didn't have that knowledge. But then again people who know about other stuff probably couldn't imagine what life would be like without that. For example, is a sports fan didn't know the name and stats of every player on their favorite football team they would probably think it would be the end of the world.
Its these multiple knowledge bases that make human thought so interesting. If ten people are given a problem to solve they will each reach into what they already know and make a decision based on that. That would lead to ten completely different answers.

its cool to hate on america

Isn't it weird that in today's culture everyone wants to hate on America? And I don't mean other countries, but teenagers and adults here. Everyone wants to say that we are wrong, and that we do not know what we are doing. A lot of this comes from hatred toward our presidents. Bush sure had a lot blamed on him and now Obama does. I think people need to stop with the complaining and hatred and just think for a minute about where else they would go.

People have grandiose visions of other countries, but they do not really know the difference economically. America is where capitalism reigns, which is a blessing and a curse. Our system allows anyone one to prosper with enough determination. I know people think that phrase is corny and outdated but it is true. My dad graduated high school and worked at a local donut shop, then, through years of hard work, made his own pharmaceutical company that now brings in millions in business every year. I think his story, and others like his in the technology field, really show the power that America has as a land of opportunity.

When Flow become reality, not a concept

Image via WikipediaWe talked about Csikszentmihalyi's concept of flow and how it envelops people who are in the activity. I can relate to this when I am free running. When I am running I do not feel like the gaze of people watching me, the awkwardness of misunderstanding, or the fatigue that comes from pushing myself, I only feel the activity. At times I will be so involved in parkour that I don't even realize where I am going, I will go to take a break and realize that I am in a section of town I have never been to before.



This feeling is amazing because you can just let go of every in the world except yourself. You aren't worrying about your text next week, what your friends or doing, or what you are going to do next weekend; you only think of whats in front of you and how you are going to get to the next obstacle. After experiencing this, you start to put your life in perspective. You start to think of how much you worry about small things and how to relinquish that. You got an 86 on that exam you wanted an A on? no big deal. Four points on a test will not change your life, do not waste your time thinking of what could have been or how you will never get your dream job because that teacher put a tricky multiple choice.
In the end, you have yourself; not your money, not your career, yourself. Take the time to enjoy life and do what you are passionate about. 

Plane manners

Do you ever see people in an airport and just ask "why are they acting like this in public?" Today while I was in the airport I saw some people do things that just made me want to call them out so badly. One person seriously cut the entire line for the medal detector and then said that "he needed to see the end of the game at the bar" as his excuse. It was funny that for a split second, everyone was feeling and thinking the same thing. It was a kind of general hatred for someone which, if rallied, could have caused a small riot the likes of a wallmart the day after thanksgiving and destroyed the cultural concept of lines and order.


This made me think about how everyone tries to follow these unspoken laws of civilization; not cutting people off driving, holding the door for someone behind you, and letting people in front of you actually use the service before you. When one person breaks these rules, everyone questions whether they should follow them as well. I mean, who cares if some strangers give you a weird look, you came out on top and got to go in front of everyone right? 
Sometimes it is just entertaining to think about how humans would act in a certain situation, I would encourage my readers to take some time when you are in a public place and just watch and see if you can spot an event similar to the one I encountered.

Cant escape your childhood

This weekend I came home to see my parents and go to a show in New Orleans. When I got home I realized how much you cant escape being a kid. My parents immediately wanted to hear everything I have done, bring me to dinner, and generally want to help me any way they could. After living for a two months in my single apartment I started feeling pretty independent and self-sustaining; but that feeling quickly melted away when I was home.



Waking up and being around my family, having cooked meals, and just seeing everyone really made me feel special. Its hard to see why everyone wants to grow up and leave their home when you realize how much you leave behind. My parents were extremely happy to see me and that to them, this was the return of a child who they hadn't seen for two months. It must be hard to go through that and I have been so involved in my own goals that I forgot about this. I think that everyone should really take a break from being an independent college student and just revert back to being a kid in your parents home every once in a while.  This will give you a fresh perspective on what you have been doing and give you a new view on how you live on your own.

Art and Copy, what I got from it

I'm sure I am in the minority when I say this....but I really enjoyed the documentary. I have always been struggling to find my place with what I want to do "when I grow up". My dad was a successful entrepreneur who graduated high school and then had to work to support his family. He managed to work hard and then came up with the idea that started his first business. Even though the business was doing really well, he sold it when I was two to help raise me. After I turned 13 he created another one and brought it from a three man team to a multimillion dollar business in four years. After living around him and seeing this story myself I decided that I would follow in his steps and create my own company.



But the struggle I had was what industry I wanted to work in. Corporate business is so traditional and set in stone that I couldn't handle even thinking of working in it.  I have always been drawn to social media and the ".com rebels:" of Silicon Valley. So after watching this documentary and seeing how these people talked about advertising, I have decided to follow my dream even harder. These influential people didn't talk about how many people they had under them, or how much money they made, instead they talked about content. They were successful because they were driven to work hard intrinsically, and that is something I admire.  I found each speaker as a source of inspiration for relentlessly working toward your goal and not regretting it. It gave me hope that if they could do this with advertising, I could do the same with whatever field I went into.

The suprise in Advertising

Today we talked about the creative roles in agencies, and I have to say I found the lecture very enlightening. I have always thought of myself as a creative visionary with no follow through due to skill. I can come up with some awesome ideas and see them come to fruition in my head, but when it comes to drawing or creating them I falter. Because of this, I thought that I would have to move to the business and account management side of advertising, but after today I am rethinking that.

Art director seemed like a great position for me because I know I can explain my ideas to artist and help keep an overall project going, but I thought that the lack of artistic experience would really hold me back. Now I know that I can at least try to break into this position with the skills I already have. Today's lecture really helped me put my major in perspective and to see what I want to do with this degree after I graduate.

social psych lab happenings

Today I had my extra credit appointment at the Holden lab. I was told the test would include me watching a video while hooked up to some monitors to see how I am feeling during it. The initial survey was about parents and abuse so when the video started and it was about how to write a paper, I was a little confused. After the clip ended the person monitoring me got agitated and told me that I must have messed with the equipment and that I had to rewatch the clip. At first I was surprised by how he was acting and then it hit me, that he was the test. The true measurement was how I reacted to negative comments about my actions, and how that affected me.


What I realized today was how fast I process my surroundings and compare them to previous experiences.  After his comments I realized that someone conducting an experiment would never treat a voluntary subject that way, which triggered my previous thoughts on how this reacted to my parents and how they raised me. As humans we all want to take the unknown and make it more manageable by  comparing it to what we already know. An example is how we compare new foods to ones we already know, or how we relate bands to each other. I guess this experiment just made me realize how fast your mind can process situations when you aren't even aware what is happening.

Not enough hours in the day

Between school, social media, my startup, and gaming I usually do not find a time to relax. Over the last couple of months some of my projects have really ramped up and its getting harder and harder to find free time. My startup's newest application, Proxomo, is about to be released next month and with that, the start of my major responsibilities. I am the social media expert for our company and it's my duty to drive traffic to my site. Because of the nature of this job, I'm not sure how much time its going to take to get the required amount of people to start making our business profitable.



Even with all of this going on, I know I need to make time for myself. I have been trying to set aside an hour or so for tea and reading, but sticking to this schedule is hard. Hopefully I can keep my grades up with all of this going on, and I still need to remember that I am just 19 and should not have this much stress in my life at this time. 

SMU pride, a recent discovery

Last week was the infamous football rivalry game between TCU and SMU. I used to not think too much of school spirit, but that weekend really showed me something I didnt know about the school. The "beat tcu" campaign was so strong around campus that it really put a feeling of community into the game. You could see that phrase posted on buildings, on posters around campus, and even in teachers' power point slides. The school gathered to show their support against TCU, even though the odds of winning were slim.


My dad came into town for the weekend and I brought him to the boulevard before the game. As you saw the entire campus in red and cheering it really made me feel like I became part of something greater over the year here. This event truly showed the power of a common goal and how people can really set aside differences and get along. It didn't matter if people were in a rival Greek organization, or even not in one at all, people were still talking and cheering for the same team. 
I guess I'm trying to say that sometimes the power of community is hard to see unless you witness an event like the boulevard before the game, but it is always there.

Definition of: Mastery

David Belle is considered the father of free running and has inspired thousands to pick up the activity. When I look at his work the word that comes to mind is Mastery, and not just over free running. David has a mastery over his body, and his limitations. He knows his body more than most people ever will, and can understand how to use it in creative ways. David also has mastery over his environment. He does not see walls as restrictions, but instead as a vehicle for movement, as a challenge, as something to use. He has a different view of the world, and can see opportunities for creativity that others cannot.
I see him as an inspiration because I picked up the sport after watching him and have used the principles of free running in life. When I am held back by something I try to see how I can use it to motivate me instead of trying to avoid it. Also, the constant pushing of my limits has really helped me feel more familiar with myself.

Anything for the grade

Today in accounting we had a major project due. We were basically auditing a company and using everything we have learned from the text book in real life. My partner and I worked for around ten hours in total and after it was done I felt a sense of pride in my work. I took a companies expenses and revenues from a year and basically turned them into a readable document. While I know I will never do accounting for a job, it was a cool feeling to know I got a taste of what they do for a living. When I talked to my partner he was only worried about getting an A on the project and passing the class.
 This made me realize how different mastery and performance oriented learners truly are in a college world. Some people wish for nothing else but a perfect transcript to get a job straight out of college. They do not care what material they learn, they see it the same as they have seen every course from high school; a set of data to memorize in order to pass a test. This makes me worried for the future of our work force because people who do this are seen as the best coming out of college, but hey may not truly understand what they have learned.
On the other hand, mastery learners do not care about the grade, but instead how well they understand the material. These people will retain the knowledge from classes much better than there performance oriented counterparts. But these people may not have the same drive to get perfect marks, which makes them look less desirable in the eyes of employers. This schism needs to be resolved or I feel like the system will only perpetuate. The highest end of learning may need to stop giving grades and instead use a non-numerical grade system to really show how hard the students worked.

When I realized my dad really did rub off on me

  My father is the kind who will do anything to make someone laugh. As a child I loved the effort he put into making me and my brother laugh and have fun. But of course, as we grow up, children find that annoying and I shut myself off from him doing that. It took me till I was around 17 to realize that he acts this way because his father died and he didn't get a chance to have someone there for him like this.



  This past weekend my friends were having a fight due to normal drama and I decided I was going to end it. I just started saying and doing the stupidest things I could think of until even the maddest people were laughing. The feeling I got when I saw that everyone was feeling better really made me realize why my dad did it all these years. As long as people are laughing they forget about small stresses and details, and just enjoy life for a moment.

What I Learned from my Mindmap

The mindmap project has been the first hand made project I have done since I can remember. Between school and my work I have always used computers. This mindset gives you a comfort zone of having text and spell check and basically makes you feel like you have complete control. But when I started the mindmap I realized how overwhelming it was.

Every letter, every line I drew was coming from my hand. It became about my hand eye coordination, not about my skills with computers and knowledge of formatting.  I became obsessed with planning it out because I was afraid to make mistakes, the fact that I was writing something permanent really scared me, but I soon found it freeing. It gave me the mentality of freedom, that I would have to let stuff go. I usually obsess over writing for my blogs because I always have the option to edit.



 Another feeling that came from this project was the sense of accomplishment. Seeing that paper filled with words and images felt much better than seeing a post written on my site. I felt a much more personal connection to my work because it was actually drawn by hand, not through a program. Overall, I learned that sometimes its nice to work offline and actually create something in the world. 

Its not "us vs them", it's we.

In high school I thought it was me and my friends against the rest of the school. We were the rebels who didn't want to conform and looked down on most of the people on campus. I realized junior year that I was horribly wrong.
  What gave us this mentality was our numbers. We had around ten of us and that made us feel secure. We carved a niche and stuck to it. One day in gym I was talking to a girl who wasn't "one of us". I asked her why everyone didn't get along at our school. She then said what really changed my life "We all do, yall just choose to ignore it". I then realized that my friends just perpetuated this self isolation, but we never bothered to figure out why we did it.
   I went to my friends and told them what I thought and they had a rather negative reaction. They thought I was only listening to her because I was into her and wanted to date her. They quickly put the ultimatum that it was them or her. After much deliberation I decided that I was not going to spend the rest of my time with them and left. This was the best decision of my high school life.
   I quickly realized that there was an entire world I was just shutting out and that I had many experiences and opportunities for friends waiting, but I was the one shunning them. This change lead me to become the outgoing, social person I am today, instead of the jaded loner I used to be.

Inspiration Bicycle: the Power of Persistence

   This video shows the power of music and the master of an art-form.  Danny MacAskill, the bike rider in this video, shows off his dedication and talent with the bicycle. The beginning of this video starts by showing him practicing a specific stunt. The use of this scene shows that even a skilled rider has to put a lot of effort to get a trick right and can even fail at times. The song then hits its crescendo and from then on it is a amazing ride with Danny through the city of Edinburgh.
  I enjoy parkour and other extreme sports and what we strive for is to have our instruments, as well as the city, be extensions of ourselves. This is what this video truly shows and highlights. Danny and his bike become one and you can tell through both the way he moves and the emotion when he crashes and is fixing his bike. Its the "get up and try again" mentality that keeps all extreme sports people going.
   I will be posting a lot of videos like this and talk about how the sports have impacted my life, but I really wanted to highlight this one as my first post because of the power that this video holds. I feel like it can inspire everyone who watches, just like it inspired me to keep pushing myself in parkour.

First Post

Image by RabiD Son via FlickrHey everyone, this is my first post for my blog. This blog will be for my intro to creativity class and will be where I post my ideas on the subject.