Today there are only three days left of 2019. As I reflect it becomes so easy to dwell on the errors and disappointments I have experienced this past year. They’re beyond easy to list,
A math professor who caused more tears than instruction
The stress surrounding changing majors
A miscarriage in my family
My third knee surgery this December
…and so many others. This being said, I have also had more joys than ever before, such as,
My sister’s wedding
My other sister’s engagement
A successful first year of college
The fun of living with my best friend this past semester
Helping lead our annual Antioch retreat at St. Ambrose
…and so many others. For some reason however, when I think of 2019 I’m so eager to start over in 2020. It’s as though the negatives overpower the happiness that has also come from this past year. The funny thing is, it was actually much easier to find joyful events to list compared to my struggles of 2019. And now after writing down things that sparked joy, I feel better.
Today was not a fun day. My mother and I drove 3.5 hours to the Quad Cities to have my post-op appointment after my ACL re-reconstruction. I got my stitches removed, had a nice/mean lady yank my knee around, and then drove another 3.5 hours back home. Seven hours in a car for a 45 minute appointment. It was hard to feel joyful. So when I started this blog post, I was rolling in negativity. Every bullet point in my list of struggles seemed to weigh heavier on my shoulders. It felt like a climax of the days since my surgery, like the pains and frustrations I’ve had recently just balled up into one massive snowball. Thinking about making a list of gladness seemed unfeasible.
I think many of us can experience feelings like this. Once consumed by some bad vibes, it’s easier to just sit in it than to stand up and reconsider the blessings we have. I experience this often. It felt like a breath of fresh air when I started to list off the good things that have happened to me. Breathing now feels easier.
Today I saw this post on Pinterest, and it resonated with this battle between pain/joy that is bound to occur every season of life.
I can choose to praise God amidst the sorrows, or blame him for every wrong step I take. This walk of life is centered around the path to heaven, and I refuse to continue to get bogged down in the mud of displeasure. I prayed for healing after my first knee surgery. My other knee failed. I prayed for healing after my second knee surgery. My ACL failed again. I have begun to pray again, and regardless of what happens next, God is still good. This year I lost my nephew while he was still growing in the womb. Our God is still good.
Father Thom, our chaplain at St. Ambrose, told me once, ‘God is not a god of death. He is not the cause of our failures, our problems in this life. What He is however, is the reason for our life’.
Our faith amidst these highs and lows is the only thing that can keep us tethered in the storms we will indefinitely experience. We were not made for the happiness of this world, and especially not for the trials of this world. We are made for Heaven with Christ.
Going into 2020 I am going to work on not counting down the days till the next holiday, event, or weekend. I don’t want to dwell in darkness when something difficult comes my way. I am going to sit down, reflect on the blessings of this life I live, and praise God, regardless of the circumstance. I won’t be perfect, and I don’t expect for this to happen immediately, but I’m looking forward for the chance to try.
Have a merry Christmas everyone, and praise be to God for another year.
So you wanna be a blogger? Maybe even make it big?
lololol I want to do that too (these college loans aren’t paying themselves). Most of my posts have all been assignments from my professor, and even my blog site just consists of criteria I had to follow. However, I will say I have learned from my journey, and now I will spew my wisdom at you.
Never write about something you’re not interested in. You’ll have crappy material and zero enthusiasm.
Following #1, find something you DO enjoy, and pursue that topic, even if it takes more time. An extra hour or so is completely worth it when you can look back and be proud of your post.
Use humor. Or be weird. Either way, you’ll have more fun.
Don’t write for views, write for you. You know how many moms have blogs these days? A lot. You won’t stand out unless you be yourself.
Wait till midnight at least to write your posts. It’s currently 12:30 a.m. right now. I’m thriving. My material couldn’t be better. Even if my material is awful, when you’re as sleep deprived as I am anything sounds good.
Use your blog as a plug for your other social media pages. Forget advice #4. We’re here for fame boys and girls.
Spell correctly. It’s vary importent en a blahg poste.
Last but not least, remember me when you all, my prodigies, get famous off of my advice.
Father Adam MacDonald fits in quite well on our St. Ambrose University campus, and knows how to take a lit selfie.
This week at St. Ambrose University I participated in our chapel’s “Busy Student Retreat”, a four day event held on campus. Students only have to sacrifice 30 minutes to an hour of their ‘busy’ day, and spend some time in prayer before meeting with their spiritual guide. Participants then take 30 minutes to discuss anything they want with their spiritual guide, which could be anything from daily readings to what has been weighing on their shoulders.
The Busy Student Retreat is held every semester, and this year is my second time participating. Father Adam was my spiritual guide for the week, a retreat veteran who has helped lead this retreat at SAU since 2011. I was so blessed to meet with Fr. Adam, and this week has been a much needed breath of fresh air from the struggles of college. We talked about anything and everything, including boyfriends, coffee, and even nuns who dress in pink from head to toe. More than anything, I was able to express what’s on my heart, and how to grow closer in my personal relationship with God.
Fr. Adam joined the Divine Word Missionaries in 1988, as a 17 year old freshman in college. The Divine Word Missionaries is the largest international missionary congregation in the Catholic Church, and focuses on ministering and helping anyone in need. In 2000 Fr. Adam became ‘Father’ Adam, and was ordained a priest.
Serving the Divine Word Missionaries, Fr. Adam is a vocation director, and he helps minister to anyone interested in religious life, especially men considering a priestly vocation. This job causes Fr. Adam to travel all over to meet with people, participate in retreats and events, give talks, or to promote the Divine Word Missionaries. He clarifies with a laugh,
“I’m a vocation directer, not a vacation director, just because I travel often.”
It’s his humor and kindness that makes him a leader for Divine Word, and Fr. Adam has a large presence on social media. Fr. Adam uses Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, along with the Divine Word Missionaries personal Facebook account. In a time where many blame social media for our societal problems, some wonder if a priest should be active on these platforms. Fr. Adam believes that this is exactly why he should post. If he can reflect just one glimpse of God’s light to someone scrolling on Twitter, it’s all worth it.
As a vocations directer for the Divine Word Missionaries, Fr. Adam knows their mission better than anyone, and that’s to share Christ’s words with the world. Name a better way to do that than on an international social media site!
Fr. Adam explains how he promotes and educates about the Divine Word Missionaries online in three ways:
Report about current events in the community. This allows people to feel like a part of the organization when they hear about new members, events, and special announcements.
Let people know what they do, what they’re doing, and where you can find them.
Share media to give people tools and resources for discernment.
These actions help followers understand and stay interested in Divine Word Missionaries, and Fr. Adam is a social media pro.
However, the Busy Student Retreat is now over, and it’s back to homework (like this blog) and stress eating cafeteria food. Maybe Fr. Adam should come back. I need more guidance.
Before anyone reads this and panics, don’t call my mom. I’m still Catholic. However, if I was unaware of Christianity, or looking for a new church, or never had heard of Scientology before, I would be intrigued.
So I feel as though I should give some background information before any readers decide, ‘hey, maybe I should look into Scientology’!
NO.
Scientology is the belief that we are all ‘immortal spiritual beings with unlimited potential’. This belief was founded by L. Ron Hubbard, and Scientology followers believe all writings and quotes stated by Hubbard to be law above everything else. Scientology states that to reach your spiritual peak however, you pay a crap-ton of money and basically commit your entire life (and possibly your entire family) to the one church. You don’t go back. Even after this, you have to work through levels to reach your ‘true self’, and this costs even more money.
What this basically means is that to belong to the church of Scientology you have to pay to have a spiritual relationship. In my opinion, if we’re all immortal spiritual beings should we even use money? What is money to an immortal ghost? These are strange questions.
ANYWAY, now that I’ve hated on their religious practice, here’s why I would be (hypothetically) interested in joining.
The Church of Scientology actually makes some good points. They focus on eliminating drug abuse, illiteracy, immorality and environmental destruction.
It’s a global church. They are active in all parts of the world.
They have a tight knit community. (aka you never leave)
There are countless celebrities who belong to the organization, such as Tom Cruise, John Travolta, and Elisabeth Moss.
They seem to make humanitarian efforts to help those in need.
The Church of Scientology believes that the press is evil and aims to lie to readers. However, they are pros at the public relations game. Scientologist executives spin information and current news to make people believe that the only way to help society is to join Scientology. They skew statistics, cut off critics, and promote celebrities to sell their ‘religion’.
Not only do they spin stories to promote their church, they make their religion seem inviting to those who know about Christianity. The Scientology logo looks like a cross, which makes people who belong to Christian churches believe that they are walking into a similar religion. This is not the case. There is no Jesus. Only founder, L. Ron Hubbard.
If you are interested in learning more, I highly suggest watching the show by Leah Remini, “Scientology and the Aftermath”. Leah Remini was a Scientologist for over 30 years, and now has made a show with three seasons worth of episodes featuring the lies behind the glossy front of Scientology.
I want to close by saying that Scientology is known for shutting down their skeptics in any way they can, so can someone please check up on me in a few days? For all I know the immortal Hubbard is going to smother me in my sleep for posting this.
I could write 100 reasons. Seriously people go into a trade. We need more plumbers.
So background info., if ya don’t know I go to St. Ambrose University and I am a sophomore majoring in psychology. This being said, I’ve now had two years of experience listening to SAU spray information at their students to make them feel like their school is better than it is.
Home page of SAU’s website.
I’m going to give you 10 ways most colleges make their school sound more appealing than it actually is. Some are specific to Ambrose, but many apply to colleges throughout the U.S.
1st lie: “You’ll get MORE than an education at our college!”
This is very true! You’ll get an education, an extra 15 pounds, and more debt than you can ever pay off!
2nd lie: “We are involved in our community!”
Direct quote from SAU’s website, “While many good things happen in our classrooms and on our campus, St. Ambrose University students, alumni, faculty and staff are part of making good things happen in the Quad Cities community.”
According to the Quad City Times, at the annual ‘house crawl’ that happens off campus and in the Davenport community, neighbors and police had to deal with “…public intoxication, public drug use and public urination”. The community loves college kids!
3rd lie: “You’ll make friends and have a great first-year experience in our residence halls!”
Here’s another quote from Ambrose because it’s too funny not to cite, “In our residence halls, you’ll be surrounded by peers who challenge and support you. And you’ll develop meaningful friendships during late-night conversations about hopes, dreams, and an unbridled future”.
Fun fact; last year I had to sleep in our bathroom because my roommate was having sex with a guy she brought home from the bar. Can’t say that that experience created lots of “late night talks about my dreams” with my roomie.
4th lie: “We have a state of the art recreation center for students to use!”
This doesn’t matter. I will tell you right now, you WILL gain the freshman 15. Sorry to tell ya.
5th lie: “You will find out who you truly are at our college”
I am stressed and depressed. That is what I truly am.
6th lie: “Our professors educate their students with a passion and an academic prowess”
Last week 90% of my professor’s multiple sections of pre-calc failed their tests. He responded with, “hey it’s not my fault guys”.
7th lie: “We promote student health, and are therefore a tobacco free campus”
I would LOVE to count how many juuls I could find in a freshman dorm. I would also love to see how many students lose their minds after they get their juul taken away.
8th lie: “Our cafeteria is full of healthy options and great tasting meals!”
HAHAHAHA NO. I can promise you that your cafeteria is going to serve you a medley of pasta, potatoes, and pizza. Did I mention freshman 15? The rare frozen vegetable appears half-cooked most days, or you can go to the salad bar with wilted lettuce. Eat up kiddos.
9th lie: “You will be able to graduate in four years!”
That’s if you don’t ever change your major and take at least 18 credits per semester. You can only pick two out of three; sleeping, studying, or socializing.
10th lie: “After graduation our students are prepared for a successful future!”
Today we’re going to discuss profiting from heartache. Death mostly. Does this not seem as fun as my last post? Sorry, but if I’m sad you can just suck it up and just be depressed too.
Misery likes company. I’m no different.
On Tuesday Sept. 24, 2019 the Women’s Choice Center of the Quad Cities held their annual fundraising gala. This center focuses on helping women, all in the hope of saving children. They offer clothes, diapers, medical procedures, counseling, and more, free of charge. In order to make these life saving services possible, the Women’s Choice Center depends desperately on donations.
Hence the center’s main fundraiser, their annual gala.
Attendee’s walked into the Waterfront Convention Center, which may I say, is a high class establishment, and started the evening with an assigned seat and catered dinner. I’m talking tea, coffee, water in a fancy glass, salad with assorted greens, hot dinner rolls, butter in the shape of a ROSE (I was amazed), classy chicken, and cake. Our Sodexo cafeteria could never compete.(https://us.sodexo.com/home.html seriously Sodexo I hope you see this post because you need to get your crap together). Anyway, my point is they went HIGH CLASS. I loved it.
Besides food, attendees listened to speeches from those involved in the center, we heard stories from those who received help from the organization, and we watched a video of what abortions truly look like. Watching an abortion isn’t something most people put on their bucket list, and for most it’s an extremely disturbing procedure to view. It was for that exact reason that the Women Choice Center projected the video onto their screens. Not to scare, but to educate. It wasn’t out of hate, it was out of love for their cause.
Needless to say, there were many tears during their event. But the question remains, why make a gloomy gala when they could’ve instead just told their happy stories and pictures of cute babies? Studies have shown that sad marketing projects higher donations than happy marketing. This is because viewers react to sadness in a way that makes them want to solve the problem at hand. https://associationsnow.com/2017/07/happy-sad-nonprofit-marketing/
Myself (left) and two friends from SAU attending the gala
Last but definitely not least, why did I choose to focus on the Women’s Choice Center for my post about PR and communication?
Because today I added my nephew’s name to their memorial wall for babies.
He was my sister’s first child. He made me an aunt for the first time. My parents are now grandparents.
I will never be able to hold my nephew. I will never visit my sister in the hospital for his birth, never give him advice on how to sneak out of the house, never attend his graduation, his wedding. I am grieving something that was never there, yet so present and real it’s been hard to breathe since his death.
How do I go to class tomorrow when I know my sister and brother in law are burying their first child? How do I tell people the reason my eyes are swollen is for something I’ll never hold? How do I console my sister when every time I call her my chest shakes into heaving sobs? How do I thank God for my life when I would give it up for my sister’s son?
My questions will never be answered.
He was named after Saint Jerome and Saint Michael, the two saints who had feast days on his death. It’s been getting easier to cope, but I’ll never forget this pain.
I go to St. Ambrose University, so you know I bring the sting. In honor of this, I’m trying out the app Bumble.
It’s assignment #3, and I have been told to review an app I haven’t used before. I mentioned in my last post I have been unsuccessfully using the app Tinder, and since that has turned out terribly, I thought I might as well download another dating app and try that too. If my brother can find a girlfriend on Tinder, I’ll try for a boyfriend. Without further ado, here’s my enlightening insight about Bumble.
I want to start by saying that it is very aesthetically pleasing. Bumble’s app is a happy yellow and pictures a honeycomb in the middle. Once you enter the app, you go straight to viewing the men or women you’re interested in. It’s simple, very clean, and easy to navigate.
To view your options simply swipe up or down to see more pictures and information of the person you’re looking at. After you’ve ‘graded your homework’ simply swipe left to pass, or swipe right to say you’re interested. At this point you have 24 hours to send them a message, and they only have 24 hours to reply. This is Bumble’s attempt to remove inactive users from the dating pool.
This 24 hour feature isn’t a favorite of mine, simply because if I have two tests within a day do you think I’ll be checking my dating apps? No. I’ll be doing homework, and if I have any spare time at all I’ll do a quick twitter scan to read my news. What if within those precious 24 hours Justin Bieber or Channing Tatum swiped right on my picture? I would lose my shot at my very own Prince Charming. #sad
From a 19 year old college girl, I’ll give y’all an idea of what I think qualifies for a swipe to the right.
no typos (we’re in college get your crap together)
no snapchat filter selfies (that stopped being cool in 2016)
no more than two lifting pictures (I get it you drink testosterone for breakfast)
Another issue that for me is that if you swipe in the wrong direction on accident your dream boy is gone forever. If you pay for a Bumble account you get privileges such as going back if you make a swipe mistake, but I don’t know any college students with money to burn like that.
Overall I think that Bumble is great because you can cater it to what what you want, whether you’re interested in casual hookups or serious relationships. That being said, I believe that a majority of users aren’t using Bumble for serious relationships, so be aware of that when using the app.
Will I continue to use dating apps? Probably not. Nothing against apps like Bumble or Tinder, more because of stupid boys. Let me end by quoting several of my worst conversations.
note: Some of these messages are from Tinder. These examples are just to explain why dating apps can be frustrating. Not all boys are awful. These boys definitely are.
I have been told to discuss my social media usage. Which is great, because now I can brag about how my iPhone screen time has gone down 9% since last week. Now I’m only wasting 4 hours and 18 minutes each day. What an achievement.
I got my first iPod when I was around 11. My older siblings had already succumbed to the online world by this time, but I just wanted to play ‘pocket frogs’.
When I had reached 13, I already had my own Snapchat, Facebook, and Instagram. I listened to the music my high school siblings downloaded, and I wasted time editing pictures and watching stupid videos. I’m so grateful that I still had a childhood before social media expanded to what it is today, but I almost wish I had a few more ‘screen-less’ years.
I currently work at an after school program, and I watch children as young as 8 years old using their own smartphones. When we go to the playground, 4th graders spend their time posting pictures on snapchat or making videos for TikTok (a social media based video site). It’s hard to get enough kids to even play a game of kickball.
If I can spend over 4 hours on my phone every day, even after working two jobs, extracurriculars, and schoolwork, I can only wonder what will happen to these children growing up with a phone in hand. I’m not even entirely sure how I find those 4 hours. Most of my day is spent stressing about schoolwork as it is.
Regardless, my favorite way to destress is to bitch about my problems on Twitter or to unwind on Hulu. I spend time every day snapping my friends, checking Instagram, VSCO, and browsing Tinder (Don’t give me crap for Tinder. My brother met his girlfriend of now 7 months on there. I deserve love too.). I use my MacBook, AirPods, AppleWatch, and iPhone daily. The amount of my time thrown away on social media every day is honestly sad. I hope that, day-by-day, I can begin to spend more time unconnected.
And now that I’ve complained about social media, here’s the link to my twitter feed. You’re so welcome. https://twitter.com/meganschultzzz Maybe after you follow me for awhile you’ll be so annoyed you’ll delete social media to cleanse your own life!
Assignment #1 is here, and I have been instructed to evaluate a blog and follow up on its content and design. Feels slightly hypocritical seeing as though my blog is a creative mess but gossip is gossip, so let’s get a little judgy here boys and girls.
Tonight I’m evaluating the blog “SPINSUCKS”, and more specifically I will be focusing on the article, “How to Find Your Authentic Brand Voice” written by Gini Dietrich. I chose this article not because I’m a subscriber to the blog “SPINSUCKS”, but because I don’t know what I’m doing and I probably need to find my own brand voice.
Right off the bat Dietrich hits her readers with a definition of ‘brand voice’ that explains authenticity beautifully. She quotes,
“…it’s important to everything we create, including blog posts, videos, and email marketing. More than anything else, your brand voice provides the personality that makes your communications engaging and consistent”.
This applies to everyone, regardless if you’re a writer, a student, a grandma, or even a dog. What is your brand voice? What do people think when they meet you? Do you exude business? Are you a creative genius? Do you shine positivity? How you act and present yourself should allow anyone around to feel as though they know who you truly are.
What you read should be the same. That’s why I like “SPINSUCKS”. It’s clear and lets their readers know exactly what they should expect from the blog. It has a pleasing design, and is user friendly.
I will try to implement this authenticity into my blog as well so that you truly know who Megan is and what this blog stands for.
I’m also attaching a link to an article that helps you find your true self as well. If you don’t know yourself how will you make your personal brand? I mean they are probably just 6 steps of nonsense, but I’m trying to make you a better person so if you’ve made it to the end of this post you might as well read this too. https://www.success.com/6-steps-to-discover-your-true-self/
Megan's Gossip 