My Top 5 Moments of 2015

It hasn’t even been a week yet and I already miss 2015.

A year full of new memories has led to an end of an era for me. From exploring new places to expanding my dedication to try daring things, the changed man I have become will succeed in starting the next chapter of my life.

But I can’t move forward without remembering what’s behind me. So here are six of my top moments of last year:

5. Tigers Game

ballparkThe very first pitch of this game landed 10 feet to the left of me. That’s because Anibal Sanchez was unexpectedly giving up a bunch of home runs early in the 2015 Major League Baseball season.

The Detroit Tigers lost miserably, but it was fascinating to watch the dominance of the Kansas City Royals, who would eventually become the 2015 World Champions.

Regardless, that game was an excellent reward after my toughest semester of college.

4. Spyson Hour Voicemail

One of my forms of entertainment is listening to podcasts, and I caused a hilarious moment for the hosts and listeners.

In June, Rob Cesternino, Tyson Apostol and Spencer Pratt hosted Spyson Hour. They discussed their time on a program called Marriage Boot Camp, talked about odd news stories and played voicemails.

Tyson also described his successful campaign to create fake Tyson accounts to get him verified on Twitter. I called their voicemail under the alias of one of those fake accounts and did a Tyson impersonation, leaving them them laughing hysterically.

That was a proud moment, so much so that I replayed that moment for days. Click this link and fast-forward to 49 minutes to hear it.

3. New Years Chicago Trip

silverbeanIt seemed like I was the only person I knew who hasn’t been to Chicago. It was time to change that.

At first, I thought it was very cold, and I was so paranoid of getting mugged outside that I traveled with pepper spray hidden in my coat sleeves. Luckily, the other folks on the streets were tourists like myself, so I felt safe after a while.

Checking out everything at the Navy Pier and the Silver Bean made the trip worth it though. My only mistake was being the only one not wearing a tux at that awesome New Years party at the end of the pier.

2. Runners High at Warrior Dash

The horn just blasted, and dozens of us took off. About 10 seconds after that, a wide smile came across my face. The feeling of joy flooded my mind for a few seconds as I realized what I was doing in that second was really cool.

Being surrounded by runners, knowing I trained hard and could keep up with them, made me genuinely enjoy this Warrior Dash race. Since then, I’ve felt that feeling of joy after the start of every race, and it keeps me motivated to keep running.

1. Completing My Undergrad

This 6.5-year journey was a huge deal to me since I was academically dismissed.

My first five semesters in college were spent on parties, outdoor adventures, work and writing. My apathy for university requirement courses that had nothing to do with what I wanted to pursue couldn’t have been higher.

That behavior led to two years at community colleges, I turned that time into a way to gain more writing experience. Most of those nights were spent planning out my class schedules semester-by-semester for when I would inevitably return.

The college eventually let me return, and I followed my schedule plan to near perfection up to the commencement ceremony. I even sacrificed the writing job I was once so dedicated to in order to increase my chances of passing the classes.

That overdue journey made me really appreciate the chance to take that rolled-up piece of paper from a family friend at commencement.

What should PR students do during winter break?

The fall semester is over!

You’ve stuffed your car with all your belongings and are on you’re way back home. You have a whole month of baking cookies, playing video games, shopping for Christmas gifts and hanging out with your parents and siblings you haven’t seen in months.

Winter break can be used as a nice getaway from an environment meant to develop our careers. A wise student should use their winter break to do the opposite, especially a public relations student.

So what can you as a public relations student do during your month-long hiatus?

  1. Start a Blog

Writing is arguably the most important skill anyone in the communications field could have. It’s a skill you must exercise every day, just like how someone who wants to get in shape has to work out at least once every two days.

What I recommend is a daily 500-word post with a photo on WordPress about a topic you are passionate about. Use AP style and edit your draft twice, trimming down each sentence so it can fit into a tweet. Post to Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook and use as many hashtags related to your topic as possible.

  1. Get Adobe Certified

One of the other top public relations skills you will need is designing, and the Adobe Creative Suite is what we use these days. Imagine your potential employers browsing your resume and reading about how you’re certified in Adobe InDesign rather than just saying you have experience with it.

What you need to do is go to their website and schedule your exam. It costs $180, but it shouldn’t be too hard if you remember what you learned in class and watch enough YouTube walk-throughs.

  1. Join an Online Fan Base and Stick With It

In 2010, I started following a podcast called Rob Has A Podcast, which is a podcast recapping shows like Survivor and Big Brother with former contestants. I stuck with it every since, leaving comments on their their website and consistently tweeting to the show host and other fans. Today, it has won five Podcast Awards and attracted hundreds of listeners, all of whom are aware to some extent I was one of the first listeners.

Putting yourself out there as a fan of something can open the door to several networking opportunities. Keep up with your favorite news topic or television shows on social media and have conversations with other users (don’t troll). Turn those conversations into followers so when you’re in an interview one day, you can show them you have a lot of followers whom interact with you and your work may spread to more audiences.

  1. Job shadow

Back home, you probably have friends or relatives who have other friends working at the company you’re interested in working for one day. Reach out to them for a job shadow opportunity before their Christmas break starts in mid-December.

By talking with them for an hour and observing them as they do their jobs, you’ll get a feel for what the job is actually like in a way you haven’t learned about in the classroom. You’ll also gain another connection which could potentially turn into a reference, or at the very least a LinkedIn connection.

Favorite 5k Races So Far

With tired legs and a body still thawing from the cold, my mood couldn’t be any better.

Thank the 2016 Resolution Run at Uptown Bay City for that.

Today’s run by the Saginaw River was the second icy running event I participated in, as well as the second time I ran for more than five miles. That feeling of running your longest distance while maintaining the pace you set out for is awesome, as most experienced runners will agree with.

Prior to that, all of my races took place in any other season besides winter, with no snow. Needless to say, my preference is to run without bundling up. But since there’s so much time for me to run since college is done, I might as well start training for my 10k goals now.

The 5k races I started out with will be missed as I begin training for 10ks and half marathons. These four 5k races will be missed the most:

The Mt. Pleasant Striders 5k in downtown Mt. Pleasant | July 30, 2014

Ah, my first ever 5k. My first 38.33 worth of running in races will always serve as a reminder of how far I’ve come. Obviously, I was one of the last ones, but it was worth it to get a taste for my future favorite hobby.

Starting off with dozens of others made the energy exciting for me, and hearing my running buddy cheer me on as I crossed the finish line had me hooked from then on.

CMU Homecoming 5k at Finch Fieldhouse | Oct. 3, 2015

Aside from completing my undergrad, my 2015 New Years resolution was to run a 5k in 30 minutes at this specific race. I earned my current personal record at 30.04, and I gave myself the benefit of the doubt for falling four seconds shy since I had a cold.

This was the most important race for me last year since my schedule would become too busy to focus on running after that point. There was even a cool opportunity to do public relations work for the 5k in a classes, but I adamantly turned it down since it would’ve been a conflict of interest.

Labor Day Run at the Chippewa Nature Center | Sept. 7, 2015

The humidity was strong that morning while running in those woods. This event, put on by The Bay Area Runners Club, required us to bring food for a feast after the race was done. I brought a giant plate of Meijer cookies and brought home half of them.

At that time, I set a personal record of 31.56, and I exaggerated on Facebook how I got the “medal.” The only guy runner in the age 25 to 29 group was myself, and the room was clapping for everyone whom won “medals” in their group. My Facebook post read, “They just called my name and the room applauded. Never thought I’d experience this! #firstplace #5k” and received 39 likes on Facebook.

Warrior Dash in Mt. Morris | Aug. 1, 2015

The challenges I watched during “Survivor” were always entertaining to me, and this event was the closest thing I could do. This was actually the second Warrior Dash I completed after doing it in Grand Rapids in 2014, but this one was tougher.

The wall with the rope we had to use to climb over said wall defeated me the first time, but I slowly got over that one with a couple other participants encouraging me. The steep muddy trails and swimming through ropes were tiring, but my training in running kept me at a consistent pace between obstacles.

 

Books For My Future Career

Many people read books for inspiration or entertainment. Gaining knowledge and learning new skills is what makes me read.

This Christmas, my gift cards went straight to Amazon book purchases. After completing my undergrad last month, one of my concerns is forgetting everything I learned in classes and past jobs.

Luckily, my book collection will serve as a fallback for quick reminders in future jobs. My ambitions require me to know about writing, reporters, speeches and building loyal readerships.

Some books have been bought recently, while the rest have been slowly collected over my college career. Time is too limited to read all 21 books right now, so my focus will be on these four (The Associated Press Stylebook doesn’t count since everybody in my field knows to read that book):

      1. How to Blog for Profit: Without Selling Your Soul by Ruth Soukup

To get better at writing and promoting paid blogs (like this one), a book to serve as a crash course in blogging is needed. This book was the result when searching Amazon.

After reading six chapters, this book gives a realistic view of what professional blogging from home can be like and what you have to do to grow your audience. Soukup gives unique advice on what your posting schedule should look like, what your blog’s design should look like, urges you to blog every day (currently on my second day), which social media sites to focus on and how long it takes to earn income.

  1. Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content by Ann Handley

It seemed like a decent choice to help improve my writing, but just looking through the table of contents make this book jump toward the top of my list. After reading her chapter on writing for Twitter and writing better blog posts, Handley can explain her tips simply and in a way where you can visualize her point.

Writing short, clear and concise has always been important for me, and doing that while making the reader highly interested should be easy after reading first two parts.

  1. unSpun: Finding Facts in a World of Disinformation by Brooks Jackson and Kathleen Hall Jamieson

This was a textbook was from one of my reporting classes. The concept it explores is how to recognize when you’re being misled in the world of the media. It was very fascinating to me, but I only made it two chapters in because college life became too busy.

The book’s warning signs about stories being too good, the “pay you Tuesday” con, etc. are the things a reporter should look for, and things anyone representing a client should avoid. One of the most important goals in either job is to establish and maintain relationships, and knowing the examples this book explains can provide the wisdom to know the context of each relationship.

  1. Trust Me, I’m Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator by Ryan HolidayOne of my all-time favorite books is “The 48 Laws of Power” by Robert Greene, and Greene’s recommendation of this book had me sold.

From reading the introduction, Holiday knows several behind-the-scenes tricks to get media outlets and bloggers talking about his client. Those tricks include allegedly vandalizing billboards he himself designed, allegedly fabricating documents and leaking them and allegedly paying for ads on websites supporting the opposite stance of the ad.

You won’t hear or read me publicly say this author is awesome, but his tactics will be interesting to learn about.

How I Lost Weight

Does your New Years resolution have anything to do with trying to lose weight?

Most likely.

It’s arguably the most common goal set whenever we enter a new year. But we give up on it after about three weeks.

It may seem impossible if you didn’t grow up playing sports or have fast metabolisms, but let me tell you it’s not. Last summer, I went from weighing 285 pounds to 242 pounds in roughly two months.

Here’s how I did it:

1. Running

Once you start running on a regular basis, it becomes addictive and fun. What makes even more fun is using the Nike+ app to keep track of your pace, jamming out to AC/DC, wearing cool running gear and watching a cool sunrise or sunset.

Joining a group of other runners also helped me stay accountable. We would do sprint workouts on the track on Wednesdays and hill workouts on Mondays. A part from that, I ran three miles around my town three times per week.

  1. Eat Your VeggiesSuck it up. Certain vegetables take a lot of energy to deal with in your stomach, which burns a lot of calories. Daily servings of five pieces of cut-up celery, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers and cherry tomatoes had big results.

Make the broccoli and cauliflower less difficult to eat by steaming it, spray butter on it and dab some pepper on it.

3. Cut Carbs

Many people focus on calories as the measurement for what to eat and what to not eat when dieting, and I’ve found that ineffective. You actually want to pick out foods containing as few carbs and sugars as possible.

Foods like soft-served eggs, baked chicken, turkey ground breast, strawberries and yogurt work for this. Don’t cut out carbs completely because you still need some for energy, but pick out foods that say fewer than 20 grams of carbs and make your daily limit 60 grams of carbs.

  1. Lift

Running is good for burning off fat in the immediate future, but your metabolisms slowly start to increase the more you lift. Honestly, I only added lifting and other exercises like crunches, wall sits and squats to train for the Warrior Dash.

I prefer not to have a gym membership, so I use a bench and 20-pound dumbbells on days I’m not running. Consistency is also important with lifting, meaning if you’re trying to challenge yourself with too much wait, you will eventually not be motivated and quit. So try weights that are a moderate challenge, and do fewer sets with more reps, like two sets of 20.

  1. Track Your Progress

Every morning since I started the diet, I wrote down what my weight was on my calendar. My goal was to lose at least three pounds each week, and each time I looked at the progress from each day my confidence grew.

  1. Let Yourself Brag

Tell all your friends about your progress. Talk about your runs on Facebook. Share your creative healthy meals on Instagram. All the positive responses you get will give you another boost of confidence to keep up with the weight loss.

Don’t feel bad for acting cocky about it because you’ve worked hard and deserve to feel proud.

JRN 551 Blog Assignment: Survivor

“Survivor” has been on the air for 30 seasons, so who is the best to ever play the game?

There was a time when the average viewer would watch the CBS reality television show and perceive it the way viewers perceive “Naked and Afraid” now, a show about surviving in the wilderness with nothing but your whits. Thanks to a polarizing former contestant named Russell Hantz (seasons 19, 20 and 22) and a postcast created and operated by another former contestant Rob Cesternino (seasons 6 and 8), viewers watch the show as if watching a poker game and view contestants not based on their survivor skills but how well they can lie and manipulate their opponents. There’s even a fan made hall of fame dedicated to the reality show.

With that all being said, here are three of the top names that come up when talking about the greatest “Survivor” contestant of all time.

1. Parvati Shallow

Viewed by many as the queen of flirtation, Parvati (seasons 13, 16 and 20) is said by many to be the greatest contestant of all time. It took her playing one time to grasp the concept of the game in season 13, but she won season 16 by flirting with certain guys, recruiting ladies that looked up to her and created a “Black Widow” alliance that tricked several guys into being voted out until the final four contestants were all women. She did the same thing in season 20, a season full of returning contestants who were savvy contestants themselves, with her skillful idol play and winning individual immunity challenges toward the end of the game. She was a triple threat because she was social enough to make everyone like her, strategic enough to make big moves or manipulate her allies into making big moves for her and she could win immunity challenges when she needed to the most.

2. “Boston” Rob Mariano

Boston Rob (seasons 4, 8, 2o and 22) re-invented the concept of strategy for “Survivor” during the show’s first all-star season in season 8. He enacted the concept of “if you aren’t with me, you’re against me,” meaning he would vote out anybody who would even dare consider voting him out, no matter how much they help them in challenges or around camp. This made everybody obedient to Rob, treating him as if he were a king. Like Parvati, Rob is a triple threat. However, where Parvati’s worst season made her come in sixth place, half of Rob’s seasons (seasons 4 and 20) resulted in him being voted out in the first half of the game, where the other half (seasons 8 and 22) had him at least in the end of the game. He won season 22, and married the winner of season 8.

3. Sandra Diaz-Twine

She is the only contestant to win the game twice. What’s there left to argue? Her philosophy to the game is “as long as it ain’t me,” meaning she always, apathetically votes with the majority. She is also good at recognizing when she might get voted out, and planting seeds in people’s minds (or in her terms, a bug in their ear) to vote out someone else to protect herself. Many people think of her has the opposite of a triple threat because she’s brutally honest and argues with everybody, cannot win an immunity challenge to save her life and doesn’t appear to be a leader of any alliance. Those things get her to the end because she’s not perceived to be a threat. Her ace in the whole to win is by trying to stage a coup against the person everybody dislikes, knowing she would fall short and can tell them “told you so” when they’re on the jury and voting for a winner.

Student Disability Services at Central Michigan University holds 5k event with dogs to support veterans

A Central Michigan University program put on an event to help raise money for those who’s been through war and are looking to lead regular lives.

Student Disability Services at CMU put on the Warrior Project 5k event Saturday to raise $1,137 for Student Veterans of America at CMU chapter.

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Kristen Miller, a CMU Senior and part of SDS at CMU, organized the event. She said about 70 people showed up and participated during the event. CM Life also helped put the event together.

“A lot of the original sports teams that were in our original count didn’t show up, most likely because of the weather. It was a little chilly outside,” she said. “We all banned together to create more awareness about (wounded warriors).”

The event, lasting from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. outside of Warriner Hall, featured several different times people could run or walk in. After the participants paid the $20 fee, they could run in the 5k that took them north on Franklin Street, turn left on to East Bellows Street until it merged on to West Campus Drive, turn left again on to West Broomfield Street until it merged into East Broomfield Street, turn left on to East Campus Drive, left back on to East Bellows street and finally left to go south on Franklin Street back to the event.

Other participants could bring their dogs and walk in the dog walk, which took place later in the afternoon and followed the same route.

Senior Helen Hoffmann took part in the dog walk with her friend’s dog Bella. She said she came to help a friend who was helping to put together the event.

“I asked if I could borrow (Bella) for the day. She’s really laid back and she’s really well-tamed. She’s not about running around with all the other dogs right now.”

The money raised from the event will be able to help out many veterans in their daily lives. CMU junior and SVA President Shane Taylor said they all sat down and tried to decide how they’re going to split this money, and they decided it needs to benefit the veterans.

“We came up with a 90 percent, five percent and five percent split. 90 percent went to (SVS), five percent to SDS and five percent went to Wounded Warrior National,” he said. “Our 90 percent will go toward giving financial support to veterans in this area.”