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RANKING MY PREVIOUS BLOG POSTS

(most of which have been rankings)

Going into my eighth and final semester at BU also means entering my fifth semester as a COM Ambassador. While I won’t miss being shocked that my blog deadline has suddenly approached, I will miss the small creative outlet the blogs provided me.

That being said, let’s do the least creative thing possible to wrap up my blogging experience: repurpose old content! I hope this nostalgia blast brings me some emotional catharsis and some entertainment. 

Here is my ranking of my old COM blog posts.

4. Three BU Related Movies to Watch In Quarantine.

This one gives me bad vibes for many reasons, the first is in the name: “quarantine”. I made this list sitting on the floor of my living room, deep in my feels… because I was in quarantine. I don’t want to dwell on this part of my life anymore, so let’s move on.

3. THE DINING HALLS: RANKED BY A SENIOR WHO LOVES FOOD & LACKS A DINING PLAN.

I wrote this one last semester. As a first semester senior, I think I was projecting a distinct longing for caretaking onto my blog. Cooking for oneself can be fun and delicious, but it’s an adult activity, and adulthood is scary. My main takeaway is: I wish I still had access to prepared food.

2. The Best Places Near BU To Escape Your Room

I like this one because it offered some physical escape from the trappings of going hybrid, as well as mental escape. Walking still helps me refocus and destress and there are plenty of great places to walk around campus.

1. What I Gained From Being On-Campus This Semester

• This blog was a means for me to share one of the most positive experiences I had in the midst of a pandemic and presidential election: covering said election. BUTV10’s The Vote went on to win an Emmy, but that award indicates the passion that I experienced being part of the project. It was a fulfilling experience that reminds me of the multitude of reasons why I love this school.

HONORABLE MENTION: THIS ONE!

You’re probably thinking “Huh? This is too meta for a student ambassador blog.” You’re right. However, this is a list of ALL my blogs, so it’s gotta be here. It only receives an honorable mention because it doesn’t offer anything new, just nostalgia and graduation goggles.

Thank you to anyone who ever read these posts, and to anyone I may have crossed paths with while at COM. I am truly grateful for this wholesome experience.

 

 

 

China Anne Mclain singing Calling All the Monsters … need WE say more? 

We have officially arrived at my favorite time of year. Fall is here — leaves are turning, the air is crisp and it’s (kind of) socially acceptable for me to solely order pumpkin spice lattes every time I get coffee.

The best part of October is undoubtedly Halloween and all the festivities it brings. So, happy spooky season to all who celebrate. As a child, a key part of my Halloween season was watching Disney Channel movies: Halloween Town, Twitches, Mom’s Got a Date with a Vampire, Hocus Pocus, The Haunted Mansion — must I go on?

But, a highly underrated aspect of Disney’s Halloween content is the specific Halloween episodes for each Disney Channel show. I’m not a certified Disney adult, but I certainly know my stuff. Here are my Top 5 Disney Channel show Halloween episodes

5. That’s So Raven — Season 2 Episode 2: Don’t Have A Cow

As a That’s So Raven fan, I think this show is highly underrated, including its Halloween episode. Chelsea and Raven turn into cows after botching a spell, and they have to figure out how to turn themselves back to humans. I love that they were able to incorporate a bit of magic into this Halloween episode, which already aligns well with the main storyline. This is a great, goofy watch.

4. Jessie — Season 2 Episode 1: The Whining

Will I get some complaints about including Jessie over Wizards of Waverly Place? Probably. But, hear me out: the Jessie Halloween episode has a better plot line and title (the Wizards episode is literally named “Halloween”). The kids think Jessie has turned on them and is trying to kill them. In reality, Jessie is just tired and stressed from trying to get her manuscript to a magazine owner at a Halloween party, and she wanted the kids to be in bed before she left for the party — see, that’s funny.

3. Good Luck Charlie — Season 2 Episode 25: Scary Had a Little Lamb

Good Luck Charlie always did holiday episodes well, and Halloween was no different. The costumes — notably Bob Duncan’s blonde wig — the decor, the plotline, everything! It’s a 10/10, and it gets bonus points for its Mrs. Dabney feature.

2. A.N.T. Farm — Season 1 Episode 14: mutANT farm

China Anne Mclain singing Calling All the Monsters … need I say more? 

1. The Suite Life of Zack & Cody — Season 1 Episode 19: Ghost of 613

There is no question of whether or not this episode of Suite Life deserves the top spot. The crew gets stuck in an infamously haunted room, and they try to speak to a ghost. Esteban has a notably spectacular performance. The effects, the eerie music, the wonderful scriptwriting, the acting — it WAS the moment and still is.

 

FALL-ing for these Autumn Activities

As a Senior and California native, fall definitely has amazing festivities that you must do at least once while living in New England.

• Apple picking 

This one might be obvious and I promise the fresh produce will be a nice addition to your dining plan. Apple picking my freshman year made me 1. Understand how little variety of apples California has and 2. How amazing the smell of apple orchards is.

Grab a group of friends or find a school-sponsored trip and make your way out to a local orchard. It can be a nice break from the city and a fun day trip.

• Dog show at Faneuil hall 

Every year around Halloween there is a dog costume event in Faneuil hall. It is fun to go downtown and see some puppies. I know I miss my pets a lot at school so seeing all the furry friends looking cute is nice before thanksgiving break.

• Pumpkin drop 

Multiple universities around Boston and Cambridge have done a pumpkin drop event in the past in October. Students and whoever else was a part of planning the event will drop pumpkins (sometimes in sync with music) from really high buildings on their campus.

Sounds simple, but is rather pleasing to watch. 

• Apple cider + Cider donuts 

If you can’t make it to an orchard, try to find some hot apple cider and cider donuts and have a little picnic in the park! Your tastebuds will thank you and you’ll find yourself craving these two treats all year round. 

They are also nice to accompany you on a stroll as the leaves change along the esplanade.

• Leaves changing 

Walking around campus might feel like enough sightseeing after a day full of classes, but I promise it isn’t! Try and find time at the beginning of fall to check out Boston neighborhoods and parks as the leaves begin to change color. 

It might spike your allergies, but it isn’t anything Zyrtec can't fix.

I know as a freshman juggling all the firsts of college can be overwhelming, but try reminding yourself half of college is immersing yourself in where you are living. Living in New England for the past 4 years has been both very cold but also very colorful. I hope you give yourself the chance to see it for yourself. 

 

 

Why you should start a podcast

I get it. No one wants to be that annoying friend who promotes their podcast on Instagram. But maybe that annoying friend is onto something. A few friends of mine started a podcast awhile back. I confess that I didn’t listen to it. Story after story, conversational reference after conversational reference—I didn’t care. I don’t know what it was that compelled me to finally click on it. Quarantine boredom, maybe, or possibly the desire to support my friends’ misguided passions. To my surprise I found myself loving it. It felt like I was just spending time with the homies. And I couldn’t help but wonder. Are all our conversations just potential podcast episodes? Should we, in this age of late-stage capitalism, be trying to profit off this? Answer: probably, yes. Why not? You and your friends are hilarious and adorable. Everyone would be lucky to hear your conversations. And what’s more COM than getting involved in the latest trend of information exchange? My roommate and I had this thought in the fall of 2019 when we decided we

1) were bored and
2) needed something a little eyebrow-raising to add to our resume.

We looked into WTBU’s podcast situation and applied with our concept: we planned to do weekly wellness challenges—drink 8 glasses of water, walk 10,000 steps a day, meditate regularly—and discuss them together on the airwaves. We decided to call it Just Another Manic Monday, after the Bangles song, and aimed to release episodes on Mondays. While it’s been a bit of a mess of pauses and sometimes poor audio editing as we figure out Adobe (BU gives its students subscriptions for free!), we’ve put together a fun show that my boss, her high school history teacher, and our parents listen to. We didn’t think anyone listened. Anchor showed us that we had a couple of random listens in Kazakhstan and Bolivia, but we knew those were spam of some kind. But then we got a message on our very sparse Instagram. It was from a random account with a hundred or so followers. It was a Canadian girl telling us that throughout Ontario’s intensive lockdown, our podcast made her feel like she was hanging out with the gals. All of a sudden, it felt like something bigger than just a cute weekend activity. We’ve been riding that high ever since. One piece of advice, before you start: Pick a concept. Don’t just do the “we talk for an hour and hope someone listens” shtick. As adorable as you are, you’ll want something to guide the conversation. Now get going! We’re ready to hang with the gals.

Why I recommend a social media detox

By Colbi Edmonds

At the beginning of the new year, I decided to challenge myself and my usage of social media. I deleted Instagram off of my phone, turned off the notifications for any other platforms I have and do my best to limit my screen time. 

Social media is a great tool for connecting with friends and family, keeping up to date on current events and having a laugh every once in a while when you come across a funny video.

But, for me, social media has also turned into a really toxic environment, one where I constantly compare myself to what everyone around me is doing. I’m also prone to doom scrolling — when you just keep scrolling and scrolling through bad news — which isn’t great for my mental health.

So, in an effort to prioritize the things that make me happy and are productive for my well-being, I knew taking a serious detox from social media is what I needed. And it’s already been so amazing.

You don’t realize how easy it is to mindlessly scroll on Instagram or TikTok for hours taking in everyone’s picture-perfect photo ops, everyone else’s amazing successes on LinkedIn and the awful news of yet another unprecedented event on Twitter.

I think you will find that it’s much easier to focus on your work and stay present in the moment when you don’t have the urge to constantly check your phone. I also just feel so much more intentional with the things I do. Have you ever found yourself doing an activity just to post about it? I know I definitely have. I want to have fun and see people because I genuinely want to — not because I need a new photo to post.

It’s definitely a difficult task, especially for certain professions. As a journalist, I need Twitter and Instagram for reporting and crowdsourcing. It’s something that will definitely be in my life forever but I am slowly learning how to create those work life balances.

I would rather nurture the relationships in my life than feed photos to a 1,000 people on Instagram who I haven’t talked to since high school. So, if you have this mindset as well or just need a break from all of the current chaos, I recommend stepping back from social media for a bit.

Photo by dole777 on Unsplash

Why I Chose BU

When I became a COM Ambassador I was thrilled. I was so excited to give tours, mentor first years, and immerse myself into the College of Communications. After I had begun giving tours, I found myself looking forward to the end, not because the tour was ending but because it was the time in the tour where the CA’s talk about why they chose to go to BU. I loved hearing everyone’s stories and enjoyed telling my own. It was always the perfect ending to every tour. Now, seeing that this is my last blog post for COM Ambassadors, I felt it was only appropriate to share why I chose to go to Boston University, and why it’s going to be so incredibly hard to leave.

My story starts differently than most, mainly because I didn’t spend my freshman year of college at BU. I started my college experience at Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York. After my first semester I realized that it wasn’t the place for me, and I decided to start applying to schools as a transfer. Before anything, I googled the best schools for majoring in television and on every single list, Boston University was charting. I immediately applied to BU for Film and Television and screamed in the middle of a parking lot when I got accepted. I knew it was the place where I wanted to be. And now I can’t believe that I’ve begun my final semester.

The first time I visited BU was in May after I had finally said goodbye to Ithaca. After one minute on campus, I had fallen in love. The fact that BU could provide an urban environment but still have a college campus vibe, totally sold me. And above all, I loved everything about COM. I loved that it was a small school in a big university, providing every student with the best of both worlds. I loved that it wasn’t competitive but instead, collaborative. I loved the people, the faculty, and the opportunities. And I still do. 

For the past two and a half years, Boston University has become a second home where I’ve made the best friends a girl could ask for, participated in some amazing clubs, and found new passions everyday. Now, I understand that this may be cheesy, but it wouldn’t be a real “Why I Chose BU” from me if I didn’t say it: COM may stand for Communications, but it also stands for Community. That’s what I’m taking away from my time at Boston University, and I hope that anyone who’s thinking about coming to BU, whether as a freshman or transfer, gets something out of that. 

So, in short, thanks BU. See you on the flip side!

While I was thinking about what to write my blog post about, I wasn’t really sure what to do. For past blog posts I seemed to focus on more outward topics such as organizations I’ve been involved in, places to go, or things to do. I wanted to avoid that this time around so I decided to focus more inward. I then thought of one of my brothers, Robby, who has a great way of thinking when it comes to goals, resolutions, or mindsets. It can be summarized in three words:

Thinking, Reading, & Doing.

My brother utilizes these three terms in a fantastic way that clearly lists what he hopes to accomplish or realize in this upcoming year. You can see his specific blog post about his most recent plan at his website here: https://robbyhume.com/

His tagline for his website is “Constant Questions, Occasional Answers” which I love to make fun of him for because of its pretentiousness, but it contains some truth to it as well. Again, go to his website to see what I’m talking about. Now for my own thinking, reading, and doing list.

Thinking –

In terms of thinking, there is a lot that needs to be taken care of for myself. I’d like to spend more time self-reflecting for one. This can be a simple weekly task to assess if I accomplished my goals for the week, but I would also like to spend more time thinking about the future. It is of course important to think about and focus on the present, but how I envision my future often shapes where I focus my time and energy. One thing I have noticed that I do is constantly shift my attention drastically from one passion to another (photography to BUTV10, vice versa) instead of spreading my focus more evenly. I would like to fix this by thinking more about my priorities and what is truly important to me, and in a year, I hope to have a much more solid and constructive system for myself.

Another thing to think about is personal growth and development. I highly enjoy learning new things and taking on new challenges, and often times these end up falling into the artistic or creative category. With that in mind, I would like to establish a basic understanding of graphic design. I have always found digital art and design to be interesting, and I think it’s about that time to put it into practice. Through YouTube and other online sources, I can gain basic knowledge of Photoshop and other programs which would enhance my other creative passions. I do not want or expect to become an expert, but learning some would be fantastic.

Lastly, I’d like to think more about the environment. I have always made it an effort to care for the environment and keep the planet in mind, but I could be doing more. For example, I could be utilizing my filmmaking and photography skills to be an advocate for conservation and a voice against increased carbon emissions. Documentaries such as Planet Earth are also a great example of higher-level environmental works that I can strive to take part in. In the next year, I hope to make at least one type of PSA or video that focuses on the environment.

Reading –

This is a tough one. I used to read all the time in elementary, but as high school came around I slowly stopped. Now it is quite rare if I end up with a book in my hand that isn’t required reading. I believe that reading and engaging with stories can be extremely rewarding and beneficial for who I am personally and professionally, and would like to incorporate books back into my life.

There is a book I actually started over winter break called “The Peregrine” which shares the story of a man keeping track of falcons near his home. I got a great start on the book but let myself fall out of my reading habit when I returned to school. I’d like to finish that book up in the last month at BU before summer, and then read at least three books over the summer itself.

At first, I expect to read about topics that specifically interest me such as photography or read genres that I know I like such as fantasies, but I hope to eventually delve more into other types of reading. This could include simple news or other genres such as history.

Doing – 

This section somewhat encompasses different things mentioned in thinking and reading, but focuses more on making things come to fruition. Listing out what I would like to do would be an easier way for myself and others to understand what I really mean, so here goes:

1. Film

Going out into the world to capture things through my camera is the entire purpose of my major, yet I fail to do that in so many situations. I choose to leave my camera at home or just choose to stay home altogether. Sometimes I’m blocked because of not having a plan or subject in mind to shoot, but creating more content in general would help me grow and would leave me feeling more fulfilled with my time.

2. Explore

This ties in with my last point in the sense that I often have opportunities to get out into the world and see something new, even if it is only thirty minutes or an hour from wherever I am at the time, but I often choose the comfort of what is familiar. Changing this by going on three new adventures this summer would be a great start to get out of my current rut and also get new content for filmmaking and photography.

3. Plan Ahead

Planning is essential to life. Whether it be a daily plan or long-term plans, it sets you on a course for success. Following through with plans you create as well typically always feel rewarding and leave you with a sense of pride or accomplishment. Personally, I’d like to create more day to day plans and be more focused on my schedule on a week to week basis, as I usually focus on what I’m doing in a given month but not how or when I will be doing those things. I hope that makes sense. I’m also going to London this fall and need to plan out trips and excursions now so that I don’t sit around the whole time. That would be such a wasted opportunity and I get scared thinking that I might mess it up somehow.

Thinking, reading, and doing. These are simple words we all think about in our daily lives, but taking a moment to think properly about what they mean for you and your life can be so beneficial. It can lead to positive change that can in turn set your life in a new direction that you’re happy to follow. I know that’s the case for me at least. Simply writing this blog has me eager to fulfill what I have talked about and embrace the future with open arms. Take 15 minutes to sit down and do the same thing and I’m sure you’ll feel the same way.