Video Project Update

My video project is coming along better then i expected it to. I have all the information that i need which includes the quotes, pictures and statistics to add in the video. The only thing i will need to do is start filming some of the scenarios that are going to be throughout the video. I don't think filming will be hard because i will do most of the filming while my friends and I are getting ready to go out to the club. Most of the scenarios that will be filmed are actual Southern college students preparing to go out and drinking as well as the club life in downtown New Haven. I will also show what some terms that college students use mean ( for example pre game).

I feel like my video will be much different than my midterm video because in my midterm video I had a bunch of interviews and got peoples opinion about certain things. In this video, it’s going to be my own depiction about the party and drinking life of a college student. I want to make my video funny as well as informational. And I think by being able to do that the information that is being taught has to be shown instead of read. If I have all the different scenarios, the viewers won’t get tired of looking at the same thing all the time. I also feel like if I have different engaging lively songs throughout the video it will keep people’s attention.

Another thing that I still have to work out in my video is finding out how to make it different from everybody else. If everyone is going to add some type of video clip or scenario in theirs, I want to make sure my video stands out and I still am working on how to do that.

Video Project

For the final project video i think i will discuss the problems with social gatherings in college. By social gatherings i am talking about partying and drinking/smoking. In the beginning i plan to show how going out to social gatherings with your friends can be fun and interesting by showing fun pictures, interviews from students on how fun it can be and quotes. After i will introduce the problem which will be “does partying interfere with college students lives academically".  Since the problem is introduced i will have short interviews and some statistics that talk about partying in college. As well as talking about partying i will also bring in other information about drug and alcohol abuse that goes on in college. I will show those by also having interviews about life experiences and what students have witnessed. Then i will talk about how to solve each of these problems and how affective these can be.

Once I do these I will add music that pertains to situations that will be talked about. Instead of having just once song play without the video I will have multiple songs with quotes and lively pictures that make the video more engaging.

I know that I don’t want to just make the whole video just interviews and quotes. I just don’t know what else I can put in there to make it more interesting. I could try acting out a scenario or adding short clips within the video. I can also have summaries of each interview and of the end of each section so that the viewer’s remember the amount of information that is being presented to them.

A trip to the Health Center

During the week, my friend and I took a trip to the health center. I had only gone there to see if i can sign up to get flu shot but ended up looking at all the different brochures and information that was around. I read some brochures that talked about all the common diseases that students get in college like chlamydia and gonorrhea because they are bacterial diseases that have no symptoms and are curable. I also got pamphlets about how to remain safe from sexual diseases by using condoms or remaining abstinent. Another way to stay on top of your health is to make sure you always get tested every 6 months for any type of disease out there.

Being Sociable

Being a sociable person in college is kind of hard to do especially if you don't know anybody. For me, it was hard because even if people didn't know a lot of people, they still knew some students that went to their high school. I came from New York and knew no one so i felt lonely. I felt like in order to be sociable i had to open up and not act like i didn't want to talk to anyone. I would say hello to everyone that I met as well as engage in conversations. Even though that worked a little i still felt like i wasn't being sociable enough. I said to myself " why is it so hard for me...I had a lot of friends in high school and i was always the one talking". But now i felt like the outcast. In Hanna's groups they posted an article about how to be sociable. The article “The Top 8 Ways to Build a Social Life in College" gives you examples on how to be sociable. All of these ways can be helpful but it depends on the type of person you are. I joined two clubs and I still feel like i don't know anybody in the clubs that well. Now I have a few friends but I’m happy with that because i learned from high school when you have a lot of friends and your constantly hanging out or with them , you start to slack on your work amount. I feel that next semester when I join a sorority i will have more friends that i can do more stuff with besides the friends I have now. Plus I know that when you have a lot of friends you always have to worry about who to trust and who not to and I find that I don’t have time to do all that so I stick to a few friends.

The left side

Louie's group is doing a presentation about the left side of the brain. One article called " The Left Side" talks about how some people are dominant on the left side than the right side. Everybody knows that the sides of your brain work in opposite ways. The left side of ones brains controls the right side of the body and the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body. I learned this because a couple of years ago my grandfather had a stroke in the left side of his brain so his right side was paralyzed. Now he is able to move his right side of his body but he moves much slower than before. In the article it is said that people who are left brain dominant tend to do so:

• Prefer Classical Music
• Your Left-Brain controls the right side of your body
• Prefer things like instructions to be done verbally
• Good at math
• Like to read
• Follow Western Thought*
• Very Logical
• Dog lovers
• Don't enjoy clowning around
• Can't be hypnotized
• Usually remember things only specifically studied
• Need total quiet to read or study
• Like to read realistic stories
• Like to write non-fiction
• Prefer individual counseling
• Enjoy copying or tracing pictures and filling in details
• Also like to read action stories
• Usually rational
• Usually do things in a planned orderly way
• If you have to answer someone's question, you won't let your peronal feelings get in the way
• Good at algebra
• Can remember verbal material
• Almost never absent minded
• Like to tell stories but not act them out
• Can think better sitting down
• Like to be a music critic
• Attentive during long verbal explanations
• Prefer well structured assignments over open ended ones
• Read for specific details and facts
• Skilled at sequencing ideas
• Likes to be Organized

I believe that a person wouldn't know if they were left brain dominant just by saying their interest and skills. But someone else who is aware of these traits would be able to tell.

College life

In college , the temptation to drink and use drugs are really high. In the article " College drug use, binge drinker" is states that college students have higher rates of alcohol and drug addiction than the general public. I believe that this is true because most students want to fit in with their peers. I know some kids who feel like if they don't party and drink or use drugs , then they won't be accepted or have friends. I feel that kids drink and use drugs as an escape of their problems going on in school. If someone has a midterm paper due and they are really stressed out , one night just drink a bunch of alcohol and black out so you won't have to think about your paper that is due in a couple days. Or, if you are studying for a final and you find it hard to stay awake or pay attention , pop some pills so you are able to cram all that information in. Even though most students have been exposed to these things while in high school but now in college there is a more population of people who do it. In high school , you would generally hang out with people who like to do the same thing as you and that's it. But now in college there are over thousands of people who enjoy doing the same thing as you and more so you are opened to new things. I just believe that if students are going to become alcohol and drug users , then they should be able to do it responsibly. If you can't then i don’t think you should be doing the things that you do. But for the people who don’t part take in activities as such , I don’t think they should feel like they have to because by doing so they aren’t considered as a part of another statistic.

Parenting ways

Adriana's group is presenting to the class about parenting styles. I believe that the ways kids were raised back then and the way they are raised now have DEFINATELY changed. The way i was raised would seem like torture to kids who are being raised now. In the article "Ineffective parenting techniques" it shows how sayings that parents would tell us are now not affective. When i was younger, if my mom had to tell me something again i would either get a beating or i would get punished. Most of the times, my mother wouldn't even have to say anything, she would just give me a stern look and i knew to stop whatever i was doing because i knew the consequence wouldn't be good. I feel like the way that kids are being raised today are in spite of how some parents were raised. Some kids tell me that they will never treat their kids like their parents did. Or they would never act like their parents. I feel like because of letting kids not have any punishments , they feel free to do whatever they want. With little kids, if you tell them to do something that they don't want to do, they usually have a tantrum. Now if my mom would of told me to stop i would of stopped. Today, if kids have tantrums and their parents tell them to stop , they won't. And in order for parents to make their kids stop having a tantrum, they just tell them never mind or try to make them feel better. I think that parents try to be their kids best friend instead of being a parent. You can be your child’s best friend but at least know where to draw the line.  I just feel like the reason why some children are out of control are because of these different parenting ways.

Talking with my CC

This week me and my friend talked to our CC Jen on our floor.We asked her what does it take to become a Resident Assistant. She told us that you have to at least complete one semester of your Freshman year to be considered. You also need to have two references from one of your teachers or staff in the university. They usually put the application form out on the internet and they also had a previous informational about how to become an RA. She also told us that to be an RA you have a lot of responsibilities. You have to participate in everything in your dorm as well as work the front desk in the lobby of your residence hall. But the perks of doing that is that you get a stipend as well as getting your own room. You also get FREE room and board , so that's a load off your parents back when it comes to paying your student bills at the end of the semester. Nothings wrong with that!