The Secret Life of the American Teenager

Recently, I have begun to watch the series "The Secret Life of the American Teenager," and yes I know I am late getting started on this show since it premiered back in 2008. I am not sure why, but I never really seemed interested in watching the show until about two weeks ago. So far I am hooked. I am on the second of five seasons. The show takes you through the journey of a 15 year old girl who finds herself pregnant, and how she handles it. It is no secret that teenage pregnancy is an epidemic in our country, and likely all over the world. The show really highlights on the hardships that teen pregnancy  creates and how it effects girls on a financial and social level. Perhaps this show would help to decrease teen pregnancy rates by showing the true side of it. All in all, I think the show is great, between the message, acting, and plot.

Compare and Contrast: Recap

For my compare and contrast paper, I decided to look at how Fox News and BuzzFeed news may have covered the recent presidential elections similarly or differently. At first glance, it appears that Fox and BuzzFeed are extremely different. One is aimed to an older audience, the other to a younger. Even the tone of how they conveyed the story was different. Fox was very sincere and serious, while BuzzFeed tried to keep a lighter tone. However, they did have some similarities. Both stations were very concerned with trying to deliver accurate news in a timely manner. Both stations also seemed to be very surprised with the results of the election. All in all, it was a very eye opening project. I did not feel that one news resource was better or worse than the other, it just depends on what the viewer is trying to get out of the program.

Research Project: Recap

To my surprise, I actually learned a lot from my research project. It went a lot smoother than I was anticipating. I worried that there would not be very much information to find to help me research the concept of a celebrity. How we view a celebrity has really changed over the last 100 years. It used to be that people would not be able to become famous if they did not star in a movie, or sing, or have political backgrounds. Now, the internet viewers can essentially choose who is famous and who is not. People like the Kardashian's and Jenner's are now becoming very well known and wealthy for not having any essential talents. There are people who can now make a living off of Twitter or YouTube. We are living in an ever changing world, and how we view "famous" people now reflects that.

Anti

Fair warning, this may be slightly biased due to the fact that I am a huge Rihanna fan. Anti is Rihanna's latest album that she released in late January of 2016. This album features 13 brand new songs. Each song has a completely different feel from any of the other songs on the album, and it's so refreshing. These songs are classic Rihanna, and show her as the badass she truly is. If you don't want to flip through the entire album to find your favorite, I highly recommend Higher, Love on the Brain, and Desperado. Click here for the full free album. I hope you all enjoy this album as much as I did!

Gone Girl

Gone Girl--the movie that sank the understanding of the term "plot twist" into my brain. This movie contains a fascinating story that follows a man through his journey of accusations placed against him after his wife went missing, presumably murdered. Of course accusations are just accusations, right? Unless maybe he did do it. Or maybe he was set up, but by who? Not only is the story line fantastic, one of the best of 2015, but the movie was shot brilliantly. Riddle me one person who has watched this movie that says they could predict what happens next. Go ahead, I'll wait. The entire movie kept me pulled in waiting to see what was going to happen next, not a single minute I was not on edge. Simply phenomenal.

Media Journal

For a full week, I kept track of every piece of media I used. And trust me, when I use the word every, I really do mean EVERY piece of media; whether it be books, radio, TV, etc. This was without a doubt, one of the most tedious school projects I have ever had to do. That being said, it was also probably one of the most eye opening and useful projects. In most projects that college students are forced to do, they are usually boring and completely unrelated to them or the course. These types of projects do not help the students in any way, if anything, it just wastes their time that they could be using to do other homework. Our Journal Project was different, it helped me to understand how much media I use. I truly did not think that I would be using 62 hours of media each week, especially with the busy schedule I keep. Most of this time was spent using textbooks for school or various websites for work. That part I expected. What I did not expect, was to learn how much time I spend on useless apps such as Twitter and Instagram. It really is quite eye opening, perhaps this will encourage me to change the way I use media.

Introduction

My name is Lauren Thompson, I am 19 years old, and this semester at FCC begins my third year of college. Before FCC, I studied at WVU as part of the Biometric Systems Engineering program. Shortly after being admitted to the program, I realized that it was not for me, so I transferred back to FCC to complete my associates degree in General Studies. I know that now a days, it is very difficult to even compete for a job without at least a bachelors degree; however, I have not decided on whether or not I will be continuing my education after I am finished at FCC. I believe there is much more to experience in life than just completing four years of college and then seeking a job that most dread going to every Monday-Friday. I am hopeful that I will be able to travel, see the world, and fill my life with great experiences that I could have never obtained with a 9-5 job. In addition to being a full time student, I also work two different jobs. By the age of 18 I was a licensed real estate agent and have been working for the Remax Results company in Frederick ever since. Despite the fact that I am very fortunate to be where I am, and to be so successful at such a young age, I do not plan to be at this job for much longer. I have never been much of the "office type", so going to a job where I have to sit behind a desk for hours is not ideally where I would like to be. I also work as a waitress at the Chili's by Westview, so if you're ever in the mood for some killer food stop by and see me!

Check out some blogs I enjoyed:
http://zottoladanny.blogspot.com/
http://electronicmedia.tumblr.com/
http://ashlylparedes.blogspot.com/