Dating Can Be Fun

Last week I had an experience where a guy came up to ask me if women would rather date a male with money versus one who was still in school or had student loans to pay. He asked what women consider when going on a date with a man and if the cost of the date mattered. I told him that being a graduate student allowed me to completely understand his worry but I also made him aware of different options. I told him that personally I would look not at the money someone makes but at the potential of the individual. I would rather date someone who has no money but has great work ethic that could potentially increase his future revenues.  Basically the moral of the story I told him was to look for women who would help him as an individual progress and be supportive in nature. Along with that advice I gave him some cheap date ideas that are still creative and romantic. So I just wanted to share a couple of those ideas on this blog. Some of the ideas I had were from the Marie Claire website, located here. 

1-Drive in Movie- You could stop at a supermarket on your way and buy all the snacks you want, then head over to the movie for a creative cinema experience in a comfy private setting.

2-Dinner Reservations- You plan, shop and cook your favorite meal together, it is a great way to have a good conversation and see how the individual works in the kitchen.

3-Shaving Cream Art on the Table- This is a fun creative way to spark each others artistic abilities, it can also help with conversation starters if  this date is your first.

There are many more creative inexpensive date ideas on the web, you can also take a look at  niftydateideas.com for creative first date ideas. Dating can actually become something to look forward to and it doesn’t have to burn a hole in your pocket. Have fun!

Helpful Hints You Should Know As A College Freshman

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Five years ago I started a new chapter in my life. Some say it is the happiest time in an individual’s life. Others say it is the most stressful time in one’s life. For me, it was a mixture of emotions that I didn’t know exactly how to cope with. As I take a look back now there are 5 main thing I wish I would have known as a college freshmen that I believe could have helped me accumulate the most knowledge from my college experience. In today’s blog post, I will share these tips with you!

Tip #1: Be Open-minded – College is a great time to grow into your skin. As you mature you find that your hobbies and interests may change. If you keep an open mind, opportunities to experience new activities will arise and by willingly trying new things you may find that you have a talent or ability in an activity that could play a key role in your future happiness.

·      Tip #2: Roommate Relationships – Most people have horror stories about roommates throughout their dorm experiences. You don’t have to like your roommates but you do have to co-exist in small spaces. In order to make your experience more enjoyable try not to take things too seriously, remember that finals are a stressful part of school for everyone; so don’t take school stresses out on others. This will help eliminate the tension at home keeping your house a safe haven. Having good relationships with your roommates can help your networking circle and help you further your people skills. Learn from each other and forgive each other for any differences. These relationships can blossom into life long friendships!

·      Tip # 3: Professor Knowledge – Your professors are great assets to your friendship pool. Make sure to keep a professional attitude when working with a professor. This way, you will be able to ask for a reference later on in your education or even after you have graduated. Professors are also experienced and they possess wisdom that can be a great benefit to your future.

·      Tip #4: Stay Healthy – Living a healthy lifestyle can greatly affect the way in which you perform with your daily scholastics. It can also help keep stress levels to a minimum. A great resource on healthy eating habits can be found here. 

·      Tip #5: Have Fun – Work is important but it is also important to balance your work life with your social life. Having fun helps you release endorphins creating a less stressful student, making your work more focused and precise. 

If you would like more tips and tricks to make your college experience more enjoyable you can visit here.

Steve Jobs: How To Live Before You Die

The most impactful businesses usually have intriguing stories behind their brand. TED.com is a website that hosts many videos that showcase diverse and inspirational speeches. One in particular that I would like to discuss is a graduation speech that Steve Jobs gave at Stanford University entitled “How To Live Before You Die.”

            Throughout his speech he discussed three main stories from his life that were very inspiring to me, as his speech was geared toward recent graduates.  One in particular I would like to discuss pertains to his struggle with college and how he was never actually a college graduate. He discusses the reasoning behind his choice to drop out of the required classes for his chosen degree and how he started attending lessons that just carried a personal interest for him, with no actual direction or final education. One class in particular that made a huge impact on his future career path was a class dedicated to calligraphy. The class discussed typefaces and the psychology behind using different styles. His passion was sparked by the nature of creativity that surrounded the class. It was ten years later when he began the construction of the Macintosh Company that he brought back the love of calligraphy to the designs of his computer. Without that class he might have never had the idea to design a computer with such an artistically creative look that the Mac computers now have, making them successful and unique when compared to other computer programs.

In his speech Jobs states that, “You can never connect the dots looking forward” and that you have to follow your heart and passion while having faith that everything will work out how it is suppose to. Then, and only then, will you be able to look back and connect the dots once you are finished. This speech was very inspiring to me personally. It reminded me that the most important thing to remember is to love what you do. That is when your personal happiness will flourish, and if you follow your passion you are bound to accomplish great things. You can learn more about Steve Jobs at http://www.biography.com/people/steve-jobs-9354805.

Subtext

I would like to get a more in-depth approach to story telling in this post. Over my last couple of posts I have been discussing the dramatic arc and the elements that are used to telling a story. Whether it’s for song, literature, film, or stage productions, throughout this process we have found that it is important to have a story with a strong structure. I have also shown some examples and walked step-by-step through different versions of stories and discussed storylines and structure. Now I would like to talk about Subtext, which for me adds excitement and depth to a story.

Subtext is the hidden meaning between the lines or a character’s personal journey throughout the development of a story.  It is said that a good writer can create a story, but a great writer can create the subtext within the story.  Actors, for example, are taught that as soon as they receive a script they are to read the story twice, from a different perspective each time. First, they read the script to understand the overall story. Next, they re-read the script, looking at the character they portray in a deeper way. Many actors take their character beyond the scope of the story, and investigate the character’s life. They may go from birth all the way to the time of the story that is being presented.  The purpose for doing this is to gain knowledge of the physiological reasoning behind the character and see how they developed their characteristics. Essentially, the actor gets inside the character’s head and really becomes them.

As an audience member that has an actor’s training, it has become easy for me to predict story plots and the ways in which characters develop. This is usually because of the subtext. I would like to use another example; in light of Halloween I will use the first film in the Saw series.  We, as an audience, find out within the first scene that one of the main characters, Lawrence, is a doctor who has been kidnapped and placed in a room where he is given clues that will help him survive. As soon as he said he was a doctor, I began to think to myself, “What kind of relationship do doctors typically have with their families?” I realized that doctors often have a reputation for putting their work before their families, so I guessed that he probably has major family issues, so somehow throughout this film we will discover his weaknesses with his family and he will learn to appreciate the importance of their role in his life.  Because of the subtext, I was able to predict exactly what the characters personal struggle was and realize the basic reason why he was kidnapped and pushed into a deadly scenario. As you can see in this example, subtext makes stories more realistic. I give this challenge to my readers: The next time you watch a film, look for the subtext and I promise you will be able to predict any twists and turns before the movie is even close to a finish. Be aware, though, sometimes filmmakers surprise you and make things difficult to predict, so don’t feel bad if you are unable to predict it! Enjoy!

If you are interested in learning more about subtext or practicing your subtext skills here are two links that will help you discover the magic of subtext: WiseGeek or Script for Sale.

9 Crimes

        So to continue from my last post in regards to depicting the hidden meanings or the subtext within any film or song I would like to take a look at Damian Rice’s song and music video entitled “9 crimes”.  This song is a very emotional, personal piece.  In order to discuss the analysis or subtext of the song I would like to post the video. I would also like to point out to not only listen to the lyrics but watch the video I think the visual representation is very deep in meaning as well.

Story Telling

Would it be safe to say that since the beginning of time life is created around the basis of story? Everyday we individually create our stories; we live, breath, and dream stories. For me I see my story in film shots, I picture the depth of emotion, and I draw final conclusions to my actions. As I take a deeper look I find the meaning for my emotions and the reasons for my reactions. When I watch films or music videos I don’t just listen but I analyze their stories, I try and depict the reasoning behind lyrics or character development. I would like to share a music video that I believe has many artistic angles of telling a story it is by Sia entitled “Breath Me”.