Man In The Mirror

“It has been said that something as small as the flutter of a butterfly's wing can ultimately cause a typhoon halfway around the world." - Chaos Theory

Have you ever questioned your purpose in life? It seems impossible to not, at one point, dwell upon this question. I quite often think, “Why am I here? What am I even doing in life? Will I ever make a difference?” These thoughts cause me to tumble deep into a state of mind that I call mediocrity. In this this state, nothing will ever get done. Nothing will ever be achieved or accomplished unless I take the first step. This first step is life-changing. This first step, down the road, will help change someone’s life. This step is parallel to the small flutter of a butterfly’s wing. 

The Chaos Theory shows us that a small change, though a putative minute factor, can have large effects elsewhere in a system. Take, for example, a ball placed at the top of a hill. If one were to release it, the ball could potentially roll into several valleys, all dependent upon slight deviations of the initial position. To focus 

my point let me use a little bit of parallelism: YOU are the ball and LIFE is your mountain course. Each step you take changes something and makes a difference. So, to answer the opening questions: Will you make a difference? The answer to this question is, YES YOU CAN!! As we see through the butterfly effect, every action counts. 

I believe in living a life that is a catalyst for change in another’s future. How does one go about saving a life? We are but college students. We are not policeman, Oprah, the President, or ambassadors to a foreign country. We cannot give all of the money that we don’t have to a cause. We cannot fly to every conference in the country that evokes change in human rights. We most definitely cannot do this by ourselves. But…there is a light at the end of this tunnel. Let me tell you some things we can do.

We are bright, educated lights of the future. The future is now. We CAN make a difference. We CAN have our voice heard. We CAN work together to create a better tomorrow for someone who never thought the sun would rise again. Today is our first step.

     Get a passion. Get a burn for something. Get a love for a cause.

 In my previous blog I mentioned the lemons in life that are sitting in our hands. In the blog before that I created an equation for change: You + Your Computer + Internet = Social Change.

 

I know that this blog today didn’t really embrace social media…but in a way it does. You are reading this and being affected by the words that I am saying. I am using my blog to send you a message. Here is one thing you can do today that will be a part of the butterfly affect: use your blog to make a change. 

Michael Jackson, despite controversies, was a very inspirational man. His songs, music videos, and life are nothing less than a true inspiration. His song "Man In The Mirror" has a message: "if you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself then make a change."

Let's make some lemonade..

             “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.”

     We all remember hearing this phrase from our childhood. I can recall many a time when my mother started a “life-lessons conversation” with this saying. At those moments I wanted to roll my eyes and complain about the same talk we had had million times. The moral and message of her stories were all the same: if there is an opportunity right in front of you, take it, use it; that’s why it is there. These lessons from childhood have trickled into my present moment in life. This week, I decided that it was time to start utilizing the tools to success that are around me. When I saw the grade that I deserved for our blogging project thus far, I was not pleased. I am not a C+ person in life. I have always strived to do my best. I am in Corinne’s social media class to be educated on a subject that could potentially set me, and you, apart from the rest of our peers in the business race. She is teaching us the tools to be successful, and I have not utilized that. So at this moment I say, when life literally puts the lemons in my hands, I better go and make some lemonade. 

     This week we needed to read several chapters titled The New Media University.  In reading the content this go-around, I was not simply passing my eyes over the words while my mind was off thinking about what I was going to have for dinner. I read the book as if I was already working for a business and learning ways to 1. Create a job title for myself and 2. Become educated on how to improve, express, listen, and communicate the values of the company with customers in a way that was not selling our product to these people. Brian Solis, author of the book Engage, said that this is a mistake that many companies make when they begin to blog, tweet, facebook, and any other tool in the social media realm. These instruments of communication are about building a community around the people that keep your business running: your customers. Social media is a participatory world where, for example, our business can build bridges that connect with the world around us. People do not wish to converse with the brand, but instead, the people who make up the company that they have decided to be involved with. Our priority must be to increase our value and connect to anyone who impacts our business. Though social bookmarking, for example, is very frustrating for the majority of us, we can use it to analyze what is grabbing people’s attention and why.  It may be difficult to understand and use this channel of media now; however, riding a bike was not too simple for us at one time as well.  Remember, when you fell off, what did you do? The answer is simple: you got back on your bike and tried to ride again until you got it.

      We go to a school that costs more than a lot of families make a year. We have an outstanding Communication faculty that feeds us their knowledge, experience, and passion every day. Why in the world are some of us not truly taking advantage of these blessings? For too long I have showed up to classes just to make sure I was counted for attendance. What are you going to do with the lemons that life has put before you?  

I thought this video was quite adorable and wanted to share it. Enjoy. 

You + Your Computer + Internet = Social Change

“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending”

-Maria Robinson

On Thursday night I went to the viewing of the new Invisible Children campaign and began to ponder on my life. I began to think, what am I truly doing to make a change in this world? I do not wish to simply pass through having not touched someone’s life. This quote by Maria Robinson is applicable to every single person alive. There is no sense in trying to go back and change the past, but today we can create a new ending. I would like to create a new ending for someone else whose future looks grim.  These emotions and thoughts led me to consider social media and its roots in changing the world. Therefore I came up with a simple equation:

You + your computer + internet = social change

This equation can literally change the world that we live in. We live in a new era where we can and SHOULD all utilize the benefits of social media. Faster communication, networking, and so on can help spread a message. Social media is the medium for the 21^st century “shot heard around the world.” Social media has, literally, allowed each individual to have an audience that we can influence. Looking at our reachable audience this way gives us somewhat of a responsibility. There are things that need to be exposed and spread in the world, and every single person reading this blog right now has the ability to do so. I read an article titled “10 Ways to Change the World through Social Media.” The article offered many options for each person to get engaged and cause a change. I encourage each person to take some time out and read the article. The simple to ask yourself is “do I want to change the world?” There are people that need help, even within our own country. What are you willing to do? 

10 Ways to Chang the World through Social Media