Tran Siberian Orchestra

 Hey everyone!

This past Saturday I attended the Tran Siberian Orchestra Show at The Nutter Center. I previously attend one of their shows back in 2019 in Columbus. My seats then were on the side of the stage, so I did not get the whole effects of the lights. This time, my seats were row 15 on the floor. I was so excited to be that close to all of the musicians.

 

One thing that I will not shut up about for I don’t know how long is that when one guitar player was above me on the lift, he looked me dead in the eye and smiled because I was waving at him. He then goes to throw down a guitar pick (to be obviously) and since it is so light it floats just out of my reach and the girl in the row in front of me gets it. I was and am still so bitter about it. He was definitely throwing it to me. Besides this instance, the show was beyond amazing and they even had “snow” fall from the ceiling during one song. I had such a fun time. I think I could see the show over and over and never get tired of it. 

 

After the show I tried Crumbl Cookies for the first time ever. I tried the classic chocolate chunk one and the new gingerbread one. The gingerbread one was to die for. I loved it so much. Now that I know there is one sort of close to my house I can go more often and try more flavors. 

THANKSGIVING

Hey everyone!

 

This thanksgiving break was a much-needed break. I made sure to sleep in and enjoy time with all of my family since I do not get much of either of those things during the school year. 

 

I started out Thanksgiving Day by watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. This is a tradition and I always love every second of it. The Radio City Rockettes are my favorite part of the whole thing.

 

We made the journey to Chillicothe, Ohio and were welcomed with open arms by my mom’s parents. We do not get to see them very often, so we were able to catch up on what was happening in our lives. My dad’s mom also came along with us. We had our turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, and all of the classic foods. One tradition we have is that my grandma forces me to eat one singular green bean every year. I hate green beans with every bone in my body. I have to smother it in mashed potatoes and scarf it down so that way I do not throw it back up.

 

We have ice cream pie for dessert and then we are on the road again to Thanksgiving number two with my second family. All the girls get matching shirts and when we show up the guys get confused and we act like we do not know what is going on. After eating we play Euchre, Bingo, and Cards Against Humanity. It was so much fun.

 

I love getting to spend uninterrupted time with my family and I cannot wait to do it again soon at Christmas.

 

TEXAS

 Hi everyone!

 

This past weekend I had the wonderful opportunity to attend PRSSA ICON in Grapevine, Texas. We flew out of Detroit on Friday. It was Dr. Aggie, Andrea Hoffman, Colette Liepert, Emma Smith, and I that all flew together. Alyson Hoffman, and Isabella Crego were at the conference as well, but they flew in separately.

 

Each day was filled with fun, learning, and networking. Some of my favorite speakers that I got to listen to were Brandi Boatner who called herself “the Beyonce of the Business World”, and Marlee Matlin who is a deaf actress.

 

The place we stayed in was called The Gaylord Texan Resort. At this location they have a celebration called the 40 Days of Christmas so the entire place was decked out head to toe in Christmas lights and decorations. They also had activities that you could pay for such as snow tubing and ice skating. As a group we all did the activity called ICE. We got to go into an area that was nine degrees and see the story of The Polar Express made out of ice. Since it is so cold in there they give you a blue parka to keep you warm along the way. It was so much fun.

 

I loved getting to spend so much time with the girls that went. We were not the type of people that hung out before we left but learning so much about them this weekend made my love for them and for PR grow even more.

 

The plane ride home was nice and smooth unlike the way there that had turbulence that made me very nervous. 

 

I had an amazing time and cannot wait for next year’s conference. It was truly a weekend that I will never forget. To everyone that made this possible, thank you! Now bring on Thanksgiving break!

Meet Jack Jack

 Hey everyone! 

 

This blog post and hopefully others to come are at the request of Dr. Aggie. 

 

Yesterday, I went into Aggie’s office not knowing what I was about to get into. She tells me that the big fish in her fish tank have eaten the fins off of the little fish in the tank.  The big fish are named Malfoy and He Who Shall Not Be Named. The little one is named Jack Jack. I then volunteer to take him home and try to nurse him back to health. The only method of transportation I had from Aggie’s office to my room was Emma’s straw cup. He even got to attend PR Issues before making the grand trip to my room.

 

The only small clear thing I have is a measuring cup, so that’s where I put him. Since he has no fins to help him swim he is stuck upside down and cannot swim up. He did however eat the food that has fallen to the bottom of the cup, so he is at least eating something.

 

I wake up this morning expecting him to be dead, but here he is still alive almost 24 hours after I received him. Except now he is not upside down, he is on his side. He is still at the bottom of the cup, but what small amount of fin he has left is moving. 

 

If you ask me, Jack Jack is very much alive and will be back and better than ever in no time. Stay tuned for an update on my new friend who will hopefully still be alive tomorrow let alone next week.

Spooky Season

 Hey everyone!

If you know me at all, you know that I hate anything scary. I am beyond happy that Halloween is finally over. 

I think this all stemmed from when I was little and I would go out trick or treating and all the “big kids” would have scary masks on and I would just start crying. I always loved getting to dress up as whatever I was into that year and getting free candy, but the bad always outweighed the good. 

I remember this one time when my sister was a freshman at Ohio State Lima and my family and I went up to visit her. We were taking her grocery shopping at Walmart and I was alone with my sister in an aisle looking at something. These older kids came up to us in scary masks and were trying to scare us. I backed away and was yelling “Stop!” My dad heard us from the next aisle over and came over and yelled at the kids to go away and to stop tormenting us. I was almost in tears I was so upset and scared.

I have never been one for scary movies either. At a middle school volleyball sleepover, we decided to watch "Woman in Black". I was petrified. The girl who hosted the sleepover’s mom came downstairs and yelled at all of us to turn it off because we were screaming so loud. I did not watch another scary movie for another probably 5 years after that. I just recently watched "The Purge", which I enjoyed for the most part. It was not too scary. But then I watched "Annabelle Comes Home". That was the scariest movie I have ever seen. If I ever watch a scary movie again, it will be too soon.

Since Halloween is over, that means Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming up. Those are my favorite holidays because I get to spend so much time with my family and now I don’t have to worry about being scared all of the time!

 

PITTSBURGH

 Hi everyone!

This past weekend I went on a trip to Pittsburgh and man did so many exciting (and not so exciting) things happen. 

Let’s start with Thursday...

I am on my way home due to all (but one) of my classes being cancelled on Friday. I was so excited to be able to listen to Taylor Swift's new album not in my tiny room so I could take it all in on full blast. Well, I was about halfway home and I'm at a stop light and a big work van hits me FOUR TIMES in the back. Luckily me and my car are both okay for the most part. It has a few dents and scrapes, but nothing too major. Then midnight was finally here and Midnights by Taylor Swift was out. If you have not listened to it yet, I highly recommend it. Three hours later she then dropped a surprise seven more songs to the album.

It is now Saturday morning and our whole group wakes up and goes to the Duquesne Incline. I was a bit nervous on it, but the concept of it was very cool. It is finally time to get in line for the Fletcher concert which is the reason we went to Pittsburgh in the first place. While in line I notice a girl who I follow on TikTok. Her name is Ally Bellair and her wife was with her as well. She has 1.7M followers on TikTok. I get so excited and ask her for a picture. She is one of the funniest people I watch and they were both the nicest to us engaging in conversation and not being rude at all. Once inside we have the time of our lives and never want it to end as always. 

Every time I go to a concert I post a video on my Instagram story afterward and tag the artist in hopes that they will see it. I also post a picture with the Bellair's just to show off that I met someone famous. I wake up the next morning to see that Fletcher reposted my Instagram story to her story. That means she watched my video and loved it so much that she wanted all of her followers to see it as well. I have never wakened up in a better mood. I was so excited that she noticed me. Along with all of this excitement, on my way home Ally Bellair reposts my post of her onto her story too! I had two famous people notice me and post me on their story in the same day. How insane is that?

Jaw Problems

 Hi everyone!

Not everyone knows this about me, but I have had what we think is TMJ for a few years now. I say we think it is TMJ because I have been to numerous doctors, dentists, oral surgeons, and no one can seem to give me any relief.

TMJ stands for Temporomandibular Joint. Basically, the cartridge that is right below my ear goes in and out of place (usually out in my case) and it is just bone grinding on bone. The cartilage is supposed to be in a certain spot to ease the opening and closing of the jaw, but mine does not do that.

Just imagine every time you open your mouth or try to chew something it either pops super loud and painfully or just does not open all the way because it is completely locked up. All of this along with a constant headache and not being able to eat steak, gum, or anything super chewy. This is what I suffer with every day. 

It all started out when I took a 25-pound medicine ball to the chin the summer before senior year of high school. The doctor said I sprained my jaw and that was it. A year or two later I start getting constant pain and popping in my jaw every time I chewed or even opened it in general. Here is when all of mine and my families money started to go down the drain.

I started out by going to my normal dentist, and then them referring me to a specialist. This specialist said the problem was somehow linked to my hips (crazy I know) and then I was referred to a chiropractor. That chiropractor used a tool to "pop" my jaw back into place which never failed to leave me in tears. (He never did anything with my hips.) I later came to find out that whatever he was doing with his "magical" tool was actually making me worse. 

The next person I went to was supposedly "the best TMJ specialist in our area". I go to a few appointments and get this mouthpiece that is supposed to help me glide my mouth better to keep my jaw on track. After I get the piece I go back for it to be adjusted and he heats it up a little so it can form to my teeth. Well, when he heats it up and says, "don't worry it is just a little warm, it won't hurt", I believe him as I should, right? He sticks it in my mouth and it is hotter than an Arizona desert in the middle of summer. It left me with what looked like second if not third degree burns on the roof of my mouth. I could not eat for days. My mom called to complain and they did nothing about it whatsoever. Did not even apologize or act like they cared. This was the last straw for us because this mouthpiece cost us about $2,000 out of pocket along with months of our time with no improvement. How can someone tell us he is the best and he scams us out of that much money along with literally burning me?

We found out that the mouthpiece was basically a scam when I went to the next doctor. He said that the piece was not going to do a thing for my condition and if anything, it was also making it worse. It did not let my jaw relax in the position that it needed to be in. This doctor proceeded with another method of relief which was kind of shaving my teeth down so my bite aligned better. And of course, I did this a few times and still had absolutely no relief.

Every day my mom, dad, and I search for someone or something that can help, but we have had no luck. I know it sounds almost like a sob story, but I have learned to live with it hoping that one day I will get relief. Honestly at this point someone just slice me open and give me a new jaw.

If anyone has any recommendations please let me know!

 

Fall Break

Hi everyone!

After a long week of being sick and miserable, I think it is safe to say that I really needed this fall break. I wish it could have been longer. 

My break started out by celebrating my sisters birthday at my Grandma Barb's (dad's mom) house. She lives with my Aunt Peggy and Uncle Bugs. It is always so much fun when we go there because Uncle Bugs love to be crazy and have the best time possible. I added a picture of him wearing his Cleveland Browns gear when they did not even play until the next day!

On Sunday my family and I drove down to Chillicothe to celebrate my Grandpa Ron's (mom's dad) birthday. He is 75! My grandparents good friends Jerry and Vestina were there as well. I had not seen them in a very long time, so I was very happy to see them. We took a big family picture to remember the moment because we do not know when we will get to see them again.

When Monday came around I started to get a bit sad. I was having lots of fun spending uninterrupted time with my family and cuddling with my cats. I had to wake up early Monday to go to the dentist and get my wisdom teeth examined because I am getting them out soon. The second I got back home I went back to bed and sleep for another couple hours and it felt great. Sleeping is honestly one of my favorite things to do.

It was the Tuesday and the last day of fall break. Me along with several others decided to go on our yearly in-state firm trip with PRSSA. We visited ODOT, Columbus Crew, Nationwide Children's Hospital and Side 9. We ate a delicious lunch at The Walrus and stopped for Graeters ice cream on the way home. We took two separate vans since there were so many of us and my van had Dr. Aggie, Emma, and Brooke. 

My fall break was full of events and good times, but I just wish it could have lasted just a little bit longer.

Q & A Session

 Hey everyone!

The day you have been waiting for has finally arrived...

Last weekend was the end to my weekly concert run. I do not have another one until later in October, so you get a break after this one. 

However, this concert was much more special than all of the others because I had the Q&A package. I got to go into the venue early and participate in a Q&A session with Conan Gray. There is one girl who goes viral on TikTok because she goes to every single show and is always front row, so my only goal for this show was to beat her and be first in line. I got in line at 2 A.M. on Friday. No, I am not joking. It was freezing cold until the sun came out, but it was all worth it because I was first in line. 

Included in the package I got a signed VIP lanyard, a candle, a notebook, and bookmark all relating to songs he sings. It was the best concert I had ever been to just because of how intimate it was and how close we were. 

During the show one of my friends held up a sign that said, "Take my BeReal". Conan read the sign and took her phone and took her BeReal. We were all freaking out. I attached a picture of it below. I am in the front row on the left side!

The two other photos I have attached are one that I took with my phone during the show, and the other is the selfie that Conan takes cat each Q&A session!

I wish I had more Conan concerts to go to, but since I don't I guess I will have to talk about something different next week.  

CLEVELAND

 Hi everyone!

I spent this past weekend in Cleveland for, you guessed it, another concert. I saw the same person as last week, Conan Gray, but I won't bore you with all of that again. I did get to do a few things in the city besides the concert, so I'll share some of my favorite moments!

The hotel we stayed in was just a Holiday Inn Express but boy was it nice. It looked like a five-star hotel to me. Our room was on the 13th floor...I did not know buildings had 13th floors because they are said to be bad luck. Luckily, nothing bad or spooky happened to us while in the room. 

Right down the road from the hotel was a Taco Bell Cantina. If you do not know what that is, it is a Taco Bell that serves alcohol. I did not eat there, but just walking by was so cool to me and I hope I get the chance to try it sometime in my life. 

I ate Wahlburgers for lunch on Saturday. I do not actually like burgers but they did have chicken, so I got the spicy crispy chicken BLT sandwich. I proceeded to pick off the lettuce and tomato because I do not like those either. Overall, the sandwich was absolutely delicious and I would totally get it again. 

On the drive to and from Cleveland we passed this place called Grandpa's Cheese Barn. It is a place full of every type of cheese, dip, pickles, and so much more. Right next to it is a chocolate and candy store. It is always so fun to go in there and just look around even if you do not like half of the things that they sell. I love just looking around. 

One last highlight to my weekend does have to do with Conan Gray himself. During the encore song I had put my phone down and stopped recording just to take it in and enjoy the moment. I was waving as he came over to the side of the stage that I was on and he waved back. CONAN GRAY WAVED AT ME! I got so excited, but then remembered I wasn't recording. Once the show ended I then went on to ask everyone around me to send me the video so I could have proof of it. Below is a screenshot from one of the videos. 

I hope you aren't too tired of my concert stories yet, because I still have a few more coming up!

LOUISVILLE

 Hi everyone!

This past weekend I went to Louisville for a Conan Gray concert. Conan is one of my favorite artists at the moment (besides Harry Styles, duh).

We drove down Friday afternoon. I made a pit stop at home to eat lunch and see my dad and cats who I missed very much. Once on the road we did not arrive at the venue until 7:30 because of traffic in Cincinnati. I tried to go around it, but my GPS told me that it was faster to just go through it versus going around it. 

It was the opening night of the Superache Tour, so I had no idea what was going to be on the setlist, or what the stage would look like, or anything. I was so excited to not know what was coming next. 

I was dripping sweat from dancing and singing, the show finally ended. He did not play one of my favorite songs from the new album and I was so upset about it. I am hoping he adds it to the setlist since I will be seeing him again a few more times. 

Our post-concert tradition is to get Taco Bell. We found one nearby, and then hit the road to come back home. That was the longest drive of my life because I was so tired. I crashed the second my head hit the pillow when I got home. 

I attached a picture of a BeReal that Conan took during the show. If you look straight down the middle there is a flashlight on...that's me!

It was so much fun and I cannot wait to do it all again next weekend!

Week Four Check-In

 Hi!

We are at the point in the semester where we all have our schedules pretty much down pat, and we know what we are doing. Our classes are starting to pick up, and some even have exams coming up. Lucky for me none of my classes this semester does exams at all, so that is one less thing that I do not need to stress about. 

Getting up early never seems to get easier no matter what time I go to bed. I can wake up just as tired when I go to bed at 10 p.m. versus 3 a.m. Caffeine is my best friend in the mornings. 

For my PR Issues class, we have been reading a book called Stamped. It is about the history of racism. It is teaching me so much that I did not know. People like Abraham Lincoln are not who we were taught that they were when we were in middle and high school. While I hate history books, this book is actually pretty interesting and I am glad we are reading it in class because I would not of chose this book on my own. 

For this class that I am doing the blog for (PR Strategies) we recently chose the company we wanted to work with and I chose Ohio Valley Region. My teammates are Brooke, Sam, and Alex. I love all of them, so I am super excited to work with them on this!

None of my other classes have had really anything special that is worth mentioning but stay tuned for a later post if they do. 

I hope you all have a good week and weekend!

Social Media Presentation

 Hi everyone!

This past week I was given the opportunity to give a presentation to Elida Middle School about the Do's and Don'ts of social media. I did not work alone; Emma Smith was also by my side for this.

Emma and I woke up bright and early on Friday morning to drive over to Lima to help out Dr. Aggie in giving this presentation. We were not really nervous because social media is such a big part in today's world, so we felt like we both knew what we were talking about. 

A few things we talked about is filtering what you say about other people, and the fact that nothing is ever deleted or private even if you think it is. As middle schoolers, they were probably just happy to get out of class and did not really care about what we had to say, but we tried to make it somewhat engaging so they really know we are not lying. 

After we finished presenting, Emma, Dr. Aggie, and I went out for brunch. We went to Lulus and it was delicious! I got pancakes, eggs, and bacon with chocolate milk to drink. I am a kid at heart because chocolate milk is my favorite drink ever. 

After brunch we hung out at Dr. Aggie's house for a while and then we had to head back to ONU to get to our PR Issues class because we had a news quiz that day. 

Overall, it was a fun experience and I even got two practicum points out of it so it was a win win for all of us!