What a lovely surprise!!

Spent the last two days cracking on with the proposal and researching for the topic I’ve chosen for the dissertation, and it’s seems harder than ever with my partner away in another country and he’s the only support I have here at home. Communication is so difficult with him being in another country too, the internet access isn’t great and the calls and text cost a bomb, so I don’t get chance to speak to him as much as I would like. When he does get internet access it feel like Christmas!

My Iphone rings, and it’s Tyler on facetime. We talk about our days, and how they’ve been going, and I moan about the work that I’m doing, one minute I’m ok and I know what i’m doing and the next I panic and fret about it, and he tells me about the things he’s done too, he’s working with the kids in Africa, and he puts them on the phone, trying to teach me some words in their language!

All of a sudden I get a knock on the door, not expecting anyone or any delivery.. it’s a box from a florist. Tyler sent flowers with a lovely card, such a lovely surprise and the lift I needed! Only a few more weeks to go until he’s home, when I do say to people that he’s in Africa doing a 10 week project they think i’m joking! Made me smile like an idiot and he’s in another continent!

Tick Tock!

Los Twindignados.

An article I have found while searching the internet, on social media and Los Indignados; mainly in relation to Twitter and the event that happened on the 15th of May. Los Twindignados: The Rise of the Indignados Movement on Twitter. What I would like to know is, does social media really make a difference. If you are searching for something specific on twitter then all you need to do is simply us the hash tag – # and it shows what people have been saying around that topic. Members of this group organised themselves in this protests and set up camps, while tweeting and using Facebook to do this. “Members of DRY called for public demonstrations to be held on 15 May in more than fifty cities across Spain”.

On twitter the hash tags they used;

#democraciarealya – Official DRY platform hashtag
#Nolesvotes – Do not vote for them (i.e. PP or PSOE)
#Novotes – Do not vote
#15M – 15th of May protests
#spanishrevolution – Comprises all the spanish protests
#acampadasol – Related to Madrid’s camp/protests
#acampadabcn – Related to Barcelona’s camp/protests
#nonosvamos – We are not leaving
#notenemosmiedo – We have no fear
#nonosrepresentan – They [politicians] do not represent us

While reading this article I went on my twitter account and searched “#15M” and there are still posts now, with people protesting / campaigning. More than 3 million tweets were tracked via the hash tag from 500,000 different twitter accounts, through the analysis of social media it showed the the tweets weren’t just local but regional as well as the camps that has been organized and set up.

“Our results support the idea that Twitter was heavily used by grassroots movements, likely helping them to share and promote a message of social change. Indeed, it seems to us, the revolution was tweeted.”

“Mother Bear”

I will always miss the most amazing women who I called Mum. She was my best friend, I was able to talk to her about anything, even the things you would consider as embarrassing. I ended moving into her home, on Christmas Eve 2009. From that day, I will always cherish the memories I had in my home. She wasn’t just my career, she was my “Mother Bear” as she liked to call it, you could see that she really cared for me, and she treated me like her own daughter. I was in a bad place, she was the one who brought me out of it, she became the light in my day, she gave me hope, she helped me pick myself back up, and begin to live life again, I don’t think I ever experienced true happiness until I entered into that home that day. One morning when I was waiting to be dropped off at college, I was having a fight with Brendan, he was trying to take my phone off me, and I was shouting “Mum, tell him” I realized what I had said and felt embarrassed but she was smiling. The things I loved about her, was the fact that she would always be there for me, even late at night or even in the early hours of the morning, we would stay up late chatting away about anything and everything, while she would listen and give advice but never judge. She made me see things in a different light. All the things I had missed out on my childhood I got them all back, when it was Easter she would put some mini chocolate eggs under my pillow, she would treat me the same as she did with her son Brendan. I remember having fights with Brendan while he would chase me round with mosquito spray which was disgusting. When I am having a good day or bad day, I think of calling her. She said “I see so much of myself in you, and I am so proud of you, you are my daughter”. She called me “Cinderella” I was always cleaning everything, and didn’t have a chance to have a life outside of that before I moved in with my Mum. I always want to do my best not only for myself but for her too. She never failed to make me laugh, or put a smile on my face. It’s coming up to her two year anniversary of her passing. I was angry the day after her passing, because everyone was going about their daily chores, and I stood outside thinking – what are you doing?! Why are you all carrying on, do you not realise what just happened?! But then I soon realised life does carry on, what is important is what you do with it, it doesn’t get any better, it just get’s easier to cope with, she told me to continue to be strong, don’t ever be bitter about what happened, and don’t stop letting people into your heart.

My Perfect Day..

My Perfect Day.. The best days are going for long walks with Tyler my partner, and Kingston the little puppy. (American Bulldog Johnson)  There are many places where I can go where I live, from the nature trail, to the canal which leads to a reservoir, or to the river. Kingston has a friend called Nesta (Boxer). A few weeks ago, I went round Lymm Dam with Tyler’s Mum and her dog too.

Inspirational poster – New edit “80% of success is showing up”

80% of success is showing up.

Inspirational poster, a moment that I think of often while in my final year at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU). The first thought that come to mind in relation to the line “80% of success of showing up” which made me think of graduation. It’s a must to attend lectures, to be able to pass the year and graduate. They always say “The world is your oyster” you can achieve anything you want, but it won’t come and knock on your day, and present it self, you also have to go out and get it. I googled the image, and downloaded an app called “PicLab” where you can choose photos from your camera roll, and edit them with words also, giving you the option of color and style of writing. I then emailed the photo to my student account, once I had finished editing it, I then logged onto my emails on the computer, once I had downloaded it to the desktop I was able to complete this blog post. All that would be involved in producing this poster would be the printing, there are companies that can do this at a price; for 125 posters to be printed it would cost £65.03 for A4 sized gloss posters from Poster Printing. 

Does it really get better?

An article from The Atlantic questions the “It Get’s Better” Project. Views can’t be changed if all you see are views that you agree with, so peoples views can’t change. So how do you know what is really going on, before having an opinion, you haven’t been able to see both sides before deciding. The “It Get’s Better” Project just has the same message from people in similar situations. There is no explanation of how it does get better for young adults, and no way of measuring that. Just holding on to the idea that it will get better but how long do they have to wait before something changes. Why do these young adults have to wait? Why can’t people views change without having a filter bubble. Surely they wouldn’t be in this situation experiencing these pressures time after time again. I’m struggling to understand what “echo chambers” are, so maybe after some more reading I will try and come back to that point.

Can you create a community online?

Community.. Can it be created online? Personally I believe it can.

The theory of McMillan and Chavis (1986) believe so to, they say that a “Sense of Community is a feeling that members have of belonging, a feeling that members matter to one another and to the group, and a shared faith that members’ needs will be met through their commitment to be together.” (Online;1986). This also relates to Maslow’s (1943) hierarchy of needs of which “Belonging” is stage 3 which follow closely to Physiological needs of an individual, and through passing each stage the person can reach stage 5 “Self-Actualization” in order to contribute to social capital. So which ever way they feel part of something even if it is an online community, does it really matter? McMillan and Chavis identified factors that work together to create a community of which these are; Membership – which relates back to a sense of belonging to Maslow’s (1943) hierarchy of needs, Identifying those who belong and who don’t, emotional safety through belonging contribute to this factor, the individual may or may not feel comfortable in sharing their stories like individuals do on the “It Get’s Better” website. Those who are Gay, Lesbian, etc are part of this community, knowing that those who join are in similar situations to others, and it enables them to share their experiences. Influence – is key to these factors, individual members making a difference to the group and the group having an influence on its members, so they gain validation and feel accepted. Integration and Fulfillment of Needs – the feeling that members’ needs will be met by resources of the group and through membership, reinforcement, rewarding to members, status of membership, group success, will follow, and serve’s the individual’s needs by belonging. Finally shared emotional connection – similar experiences; positive experiences among group members, of which the “It Get’s Better” Project has. These factors could contribute to a sense of community online, does it always have to face to face, at events, or support groups?

#commactivism

It Gets Better – Analyse.

The goals for “The It Gets Better project” is to get the message across to people in a similar situation who have experienced the same as others. One video was posted by couple speaking out after what had happened with the young boy, to say that it has happened to them too, in regards to the bullying because of who he was and is, and to explain that they now have such a different life, and others can have that too. I don’t think they intended for it to become as big as it has done. People are sharing their stories online with others, and it gives young people hope that things will change for the better. A survey can be completed maybe a few weeks or months after to see how they feel within themselves after becoming part of the project. Whereas “The Stonewall Charity” do use social media platforms, but the main goal is more on research / policy, things that will matter in the long run. Things like this will take time to measure if things have changed. On the “It Gets Better” hub, a video of staff members taking about their sexuality, the dean said “Research from Stonewall shows that people who can be themselves at work are going to perform better, they will be happier, they will be more comfortable”

Directed Study – Difficult trying to get motivated but here goes.. The Issue..

Mariola Mak

It starts with tweet, face book post, a blog, and in this case a you tube video to get a simple message out to others.. “It gets better”

With enough attention it starts a rolling ball effect.. The benefits of being able to use social media, such as you tube, twitter, tumblr etc.. is not only that it forms a community for people to help others with similar issues, but you can do a simple search in the privacy of your own home, where you feel safe, and wont be judged in a negative way by those who are physically around you. It’s also attracted the attention of others with the same experiences, then to Obama and then on to the media. The stigma that comes with labels such as gay / lesbian / foster kid etc, automatically targets individuals like that.. I know that when I was in school…

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