A Guide to Self-Reflection

Zodiac Signs

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Welcome classmates! I am beyond excited to begin my passion blog this semester. This blog is a guide to self-reflection, using simple everyday pop culture topics to discover one’s individuality. It is designed to help you think about what is important to you, what you value most in life, how you view yourself, and so much more! This week we will be focusing on a popular controversial topic everybody is familiar with, Zodiac Signs!  

At some point in your life somebody has asked you “Hey, what’s your sign?” You either get annoyed or excited by this question. Everybody has their own opinion on if Zodiac Signs are “real” “fake” or simply not worth anyone’s time. Whether you support your sign completely and know every planet on your chart, or have no interest in nonsense about the stars, everybody has something to learn from their Zodiac Sign. 

Humans are complex beings, we often attempt to understand ourselves and each other and fail miserably. No matter how you feel about Zodiac Signs, they provide a seemingly “foolproof” list of qualities based on the date, time, and place you were born. Nobody is confined to a chart or sign, but the descriptions they provide can help you evaluate yourself.

When I first read my Zodiac Sign, Aries, I was utterly disappointed. The stereotype depicts Aries as people with anger issues who can’t commit themselves and are extremely conceited. As I read further I learned that Aries is the sign of pioneers and adventure, and although Aries may be childish at times they are natural leaders. Of course, this description doesn’t describe everyone born within the month of April, but it resonated with me. As you read the description of your sign, you find yourself going “yes,” “no,” “I sort of see myself like that,” or “most definitely not.” No matter the case, you learn what is important to you and what you value in yourself. 

Since I read about my Zodiac Sign, I realized how important I value adventure in my life. I constantly need to be engaged in strenuous mental and physical activity or I get bored very easily. I love to explore new places, anywhere from the power lines behind my house to a new country across the sea. I also see myself as a leader, becoming Student Council President of my high school and taking a leading role in group projects. Personally, I relate well to my Zodiac Sign and I am proud to call myself an Aries. This is not the case for everybody, and that’s ok! Perhaps you read your Zodiac Sign and thought to yourself “never in a million years” or “that could apply to anybody.” You would be right, it could apply to anybody. What you choose to apply to yourself is up to you, and by reading other Zodiac Signs and diving into your chart, maybe you’ll discover something important to yourself you never fully embraced or recognized. 

I hope this blog helped you look deeper than the “reality” of Zodiac Signs, but rather how you use them to discover yourself!

Until next week 🙂

Kairos: Rosie the Riveter

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Rosie the Riveter was the face of a local campaign that became a national legend. In 1942, a Pittsburg artist named J. Howard Miller snapped a picture of Rosie as a factory worker for the Westinghouse Electric Corporation. The poster encouraged women to join the workforce with the headline “We Can Do It!” During World War II, there was a shortage of workers due to the men going off to war. The magazine took advantage of the kairos, meaning “right time” or “opportunity” in Greek, to encourage women to join the workforce while their husbands were at war. 

This campaign is the perfect example of a company seizing the moment. Not only was it a necessity for women to replace men in their absence, but many women remained in the workforce after the war. The company took full advantage of the kairos and created a national figure. The advertisement used the time of war to persuade women it was their patriotic duty to work. The impact on women in the workplace during World War II changed the course of history. 

Women enjoyed their financial freedom and thrived without men being involved. After working for themselves women no longer felt inferior to men and began fighting for their rights. In an urge to get women back into the household, American propaganda returned to pictures depicting women as housewives after the war. However, the image of Rosie the Riveter stood the test of time. Shortly after the campaign, Redd Evans and John Jacob Loeb wrote a popular song called “Rosie the Riveter,” letting the name go down in history.  The iconic image of Rosie the Riveter was used again in the 1970s and 1980s as a symbol for a broader women’s movement. Today the image is used in history books to present to children the strength of women and their role during World War II. The Rosie the Riveter campaign is an excellent example of  a company using kairos to to persuade their audience and turn a time period into a movement. 

 

Filed Under: RCL

Blog Topic Pitch

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Welcome classmates to Emilie Rose’s Blog! I am very excited to share my thoughts and ideas with you. My version of happiness comes from deep within myself and my core beliefs. In today’s culture happiness is often seen as less powerful or intense than sadness or anger. However, I believe that happiness is the most powerful emotion we have as humans. Happiness is the emotion or state of being that everybody chases. We long to be content and at peace with our lives and will do anything to achieve complete and unconditional happiness. People have driven themselves mad searching for a meaning in life or a reason to be happy. Society attempts to persuade us that we need certain things such as true love, money, or status to be happy. In reality, happiness is different for everybody. Doing the things you love or that matter to yois going to fill you with the happiness you have been searching for.

My version of happiness comes in many different forms; love for my family and friends, curiosity, adventure, and self-identity. Self-identity is one of the most difficult things to define as humans because we are so complex and we are always changing. Finding new ways to define ourselves and finding new beliefs and rituals to call our own is one of the most beautiful things about being human. Through self-reflection I have divided my passions into two categories for my Passion Blog: how pop-culture has shaped me as a person, and how art, dance, and music have shaped me as a person. Both categories could be combined into my self-identity and how I find deeper meanings in the simple aspects of my life. 

My pop-culture blog would feature posts describing the lessons and messages delivered by different TV, shows, movies, and novels. For example, Harry Potter is a widely popular franchise that I grew up on as a child. The series not only consists of an entertaining plot and lovable characters, it also includes valuable messages. Harry Potter centers around the importance of friendship, the power behind determination, and even the acceptance of death. These lessons were an important part of my upbringing and have shaped me to become the young woman I am today. Another example would be lessons I’ve learned from certain characters in a TV show such as Brooklyn Nine-Nine. The varying character dynamics not only provide the audience with a laugh but also teaches the importance of individuality and being yourself. 

My art, dance, and music blog would feature posts describing how different art forms were important creative outlets for myself as a child. An example of these blog posts would be descriptions of how I turned song lyrics into sketches to express emotions and thoughts. Not only is art essential for expression, like pop-culture, I have learned many life skills from my practice of dance and music. As a dancer of 15 years, throughout my childhood I stared at myself in a mirror correcting my artistic form in class. By doing so I built confidence in my body and self-imagine. I was also taught how to properly present myself with grace and strength. Through pop culture, art, dance, and music, I was taught many valuable lessons at a young age which have shaped me into the person I am today.

Commonplace in Advertisement

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Successful advertisements use commonplaces in order to reach their intended audience and persuade them to buy their product. Companies will go to extreme lengths in order to reach their audience. For example, companies hire celebrities, models, and use comedy in order to connect with their audience. Knowledge or experiences commonly shared among an audience or a community is called a commonplace. Commonplaces are used in advertisements in order to relate to their audience and convince them to buy their product.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hfcZll-qxY 

In the previous advertisement, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is the company and donating to their hospital is the product they are trying to sell. In America, celebrities are viewed as unattainable god-like figures. The advertisement features A-list celebrities including: Jennifer Antison, Sophia Vagara, Michael Strahan, and Luis Fonsi. By using these celebrities, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital invites the nation to join their role models in donating to a charitable cause. Another commonplace used in the advertisement is the generosity of the holiday season. The advertisement aired November 2014, using #ThanksAndGiving as their slogan. Giving thanks by donating to charities and doing community service is commonly practiced among families in America. Thanksgiving and Christmas are both holidays dedicated to being thankful and caring for others. Everyone in the country is familiar with the holiday spirit, and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital took advantage of this commonplace to give awareness to a good cause. The celebrities in the advertisement emphasize to the audience that they may have healthy children, but there are parents who do not have that luxury. The children at St Jude’s are suffering from cancer, and the advertisement is a plea for help. The advertisement uses pathos to appeal to the emotions of their audience and through this the commonplace becomes human empathy. By airing the faces of the children suffering from cancer, everyone in the nation feels for the children and their families. The life of the family is another commonplace used in the commercial. Every parent would do anything for their child, and imagining their child suffering like these children is a nightmare. By using commonplaces such as the use of celebrities, holiday generosity, family life, and human empathy the commercial for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital touches the hearts of America.

Filed Under: RCL

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