Probably my absolute favorite thing that I learned in Social Media was all of the apps that we explored and learned about on Wednesdays. There is so much out there that I didn’t even know existed. It really opened up my eyes to all of the options we have as Social Media and tech savvy individuals.

Another thing I’ve learned is how important it is for company’s to have some sort of Social Media Marketing. I knew this before, but after this class I feel like it should be necessity for companies to have a Social Media presence if they are looking to grow their company and customer base. I think it’s interesting how they use activity metrics in doing this. They decide when is the best time to post a status, promotion, or video. They use this metric as a way to post at the most opportune time so a large number of their followers/fans will see it and react.

Another thing that we stressed in this class is how important it is for you to watch what you post online and to be careful. You never know you is watching your activities on Social Media. This is a huge issue that I personally see all the time. I see fellow students on Social Media all the time posting things that would never put off a good impression of them if a future employer looked at their profile. The last thing I learned is how creepy it is that check-in apps can let other stores know when you are in the area. It’s kind of cool because a lot of times they will give you digital deal/ coupons, but still kind of creepy. I didn’t even know that was possible.

All in all, I really enjoyed this class. I feel like I personally gained a lot of real world information. It is definitely a class that I would suggest to any marketing major or minor. The topics I’ve learned in this class have prepared me for my future career or any position to work in social media.

As some of you might have guessed, I love quotes. Sometimes I just need a little pick me up or some motivation to conquer the rest of my day. Personally, I’ve needed a little more quotes lately because I am STILL job searching and it’s starting to really wear me out! I found a website that has some pretty good ones!

http://addicted2success.com/quotes/37-inspirational-quotes-that-will-change-your-life/

You should check it out. It’s kind of sketchy because a lot of them have unknown quoters, but I mean, they are still just as inspirational! My favorite one I saw was..

“Nobody ever wrote down a plan to be broke, fat, lazy, or stupid. Those things are what happens when you don’t have a plan.” – Larry Winget

Slightly humorous, yet oh so true! 🙂

One company that I absolutely LOVE is Blue Kite. They are a local boutique in downtown Conway. I think they are pretty new. I first heard about them this past Fall. They have all the latest trends and have the best prices. They have a social media presence on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Personally my favorite Social Media that they use is their Instagram. They use their Instagram that I have never seen other stores or designers do. During the week they hold sales and coupons using their Instagram. For instance, sometimes they will post a picture saying, “10% off all purchases today only.” The catch is that you have to show them the picture that they posted on Instagram to get the 10% off. This gives the customer the incentive to follow their Instagram. Another thing that they do is rainy day sales. As you can probably guess, on rainy days they will post pictures of certain items that are on sale for the day. This motivates individuals to get out of their house on a dreary day and spend some money. Another thing the boutique also does is they have yoga on Tuesdays and Thursdays. They use their Instagram and also their Twitter to keep customers and also just members of the community informed about their yoga classes.

All of these things that Blue Kite does on their Instagram is valuable to me and also to other customers. It gives them an edge and i’m sure it has enhanced and grown their customer base. Their prices and deals are very important to me because being in college I still want to look good, but also keep my checking account open. They way Blue Kite keeps up with their Social Media helps them build trust and a relationship with their customers.

As you guys have learned from some of my previous posts, I’m really into working out and just being healthy. It’s not weight loss, it’s because I want to gain weight. That’s right, gain weight, or muscle, if you will. Muscle actually weighs more than fat. On top of all of that, muscle is hard to get. It takes a lot of hard work and eating right. It’s lots and lots of protein and “healthy” fats. I know that some of you are working out and maybe trying to get in bikini shape for summer. I know personally, I’m trying to get a little bit more toned up. I want to share with you a picture that really gives me inspiration. The picture depicts the girl as always being skinny but once she starts working out and getting toned, she actually gains MORE weight! Sometimes, I think too many girls focus on LOSING weight than just being healthy. You can actually gain weight from muscle and look a million times better in a bikini than you did before. I hope when you see this picture, you focus less about the number on the scale and get inspired to think more about how you can just change your lifestyle in a healthy way by eating healthier foods and fitting a little exercise in! Don’t forget, you are beautiful no matter what the number on the scale is!

Multiple Sclerosis is a neurological disorder/ disease in the brain. It basically tells your immune system to attack the myelin sheath (or protective covering) of your nerves and causes irreversible nerve damage to your brain and spinal cord. This can, if serious enough, leave your paralyzed. Scary huh?

My mom has had this disease ever since I can remember. I never even thought it was a big deal because my mom has always put on such a brave face for her kids. It was just something that never scared me growing up, especially since she is in remission and she hasn’t had any symptoms of it (besides temporary memory loss here and there) for 15 years. It’s not genetic, but if a parent has it the doctors said it is more likely that you will have it.

Low and behold though, a month after my sister had her baby, she started having leg numbness. At first we thought the doctors may have hit a certain nerve during her epidural, but unfortunately, she has MS; a bad case at that. She has been in the hospital for 2 weeks. At first she was doing steroid therapy, but her headaches from it were so bad and the steroids weren’t working so they had to try something else. Now they are doing a procedure where they take out her blood and take the plasma from it and give her new plasma. Apparently this is very painful and it breaks my heart to see someone so young (only 19) going through this.

I’m sure you’re probably wondering why I’m putting this in a blog that is supposed to be “inspirational.” Well, one thing that I have noticed is that even though my sister has tubes in her and bruising from of all the shots she has been having to get, she is still her normal self. I haven’t seen her cry once, and she even had the chance of being paralyzed in the beginning because her case was so bad. Every time I have visited her she’s been cracking jokes and being her same old goofy self. This really opened my eyes. It almost made me feel guilty. It seems like I am always complaining about something so petty; school, work, homework. I should be greatful that I am healthy. I don’t have a debilitating disease, and even more than that, my sister is getting treatment and will soon be able to leave the hospital. If I was in her shoes, I would have been freaking out. We should be greatful for the time and health that we have.

There is no cure for this disease, but research is ongoing. Next Saturday is the annual MS Walk in Little Rock to promote MS research and raise money for the cause. It not has big as the Relay for Life, but I feel like it should be. I encourage you guys to look into it. My whole family is walking in it and if you want or need more information just let me know. Also, if you know someone who has it, encourage them to go. Walk with them, maybe even start a team. My sister and mom inspire me everyday with their bravery and love.

http://www.nationalmssociety.org/Chapters/ARR#

My sister and cute little nephew…isn’t he a little stud? 🙂

In the world we live in there is so much negativity, Evil, if you will. It’s everywhere. On the news, in our towns, even in our blogs. Sometimes there is just so much negativity slapping me in the face that I can’t see the positivity. Positivity is inspiring. I feel like besides knowing and believing in a higher power, the next best thing is positivity and goodness in people. I can think of so many instances where people have been so good to me when I don’t deserve it. My parents, numerous friends, my boyfriend, have all shown me so much love and compassion, even sometimes when i’m the last person on Earth to deserve it. The relationships I have with good people are what keep my going and keep me happy and inspired.

Since yesterday was April Fools day, I was paranoid all day. I made sure and warned people, mostly my boyfriend though, not to prank me because I would be so upset. Luckily, for him, he didn’t, so it was a good day! Anyway, I just got through looking through my Twitter feed and I came across this video. Unlike many harmless and annoying pranks, this one lady’s friends decide to prank her, but not in the way that you would expect. I hope this video makes you smile just as much as I did.

http://youtu.be/p2zUf06iy1A

If ya’ll are like me, you have a million tests this week. Well, actually I only a have two but Policy and Strat is absolutely so terrible. I would rather have tests in all 4 of my other classes than have 1 in Policy and Strat. It is just that horrible. So, for those of you out there that are stressing, I feel your pain. I decided to make my blog inspirational partly because it feels good to motivate people and also, sometimes I need some motivation myself. A good website for inspirational quotes is Forbes.com. Plus they just have really interesting articles and stuff. Totally nerdy I know. I found this quote today:

“Whatever the mind of a man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” -Napoleon Hill

This is very relevant to how I feel with tests. My first Policy and Strat test, I made a horrible grade. I know it’s possible to make a good grade. I just need to stay motivated and study really hard. Making myself study is the hardest part. I can always find a million things that I would rather be doing. Basically the only thing that is keeping me going is the fact that Spring Break is right around the corner.

I hope this quote can motivate ya’ll to keep studying and working hard! I know it made me feel more motivated. Anything is possible when you push yourself hard enough. Can you believe Spring Break is almost here and even the fact that when we get back, it’s already going to be April. Then we will only have a month left of classes! Keep going!!! 🙂

Funny story you guys. So I WAS going to write about Spring and how the weather should inspire us to do more things outside and be active and FINALLY be happy and warm and not freeze, BUT mother nature had other plans.

WHAT IS UP WITH THIS WEATHER RIGHT NOW? I seriously don’t understand how it can be nearly 80 degrees one day out of the week and then a few days later we are getting sleet. It honestly blows my mind. If anyone can explain to me how this happens, I would really appreciate it because I just can’t wrap my mind around this craziness.

But anyways, hopefully at some point we will get a long period of sunny beautiful days, just not soon enough for me to write a blog post about it. 🙁 On a happy note though, you should all get really excited because Spring Break is right around the corner! Now I know that inspires you! We just have to make it to Friday!

Have a great week everyone and when you’re feeling bogged down and defeated by so many tests this week (like me) just get happy and inspired to push through the studying because Spring Break is almost here!

Since we all suck at writing blogs, I hope i’m doing mine right. I want your feedback. Do you guys get a lot from my blogs or should I switch it up? Let me know because I will gladly make changes! 🙂

But anyways, today I was scrolling through my twitter, which I do very often because i’m addicted to my Twitter. If you have one and don’t follow me yet, you should. @Coutney_Dragon So yeah, I’m scrolling through and someone tweeted this as a quote.

Why would you want to live a life and not see your true potential?

This really hit me. I know a lot of us, including myself, just settle instead of trying to be and do our BEST. Isn’t that what we should strive for? I know it is impossible to be perfect in all aspects of our lives. If we try our hardest though, we CAN reach our full potential. Sometimes that is perfect enough.I know I’m not the only one who struggles with this. I could go on and on about all the people I know of and people that I’m friends with that simply settle. Not because they necessarily want to, but settling is easy. There is a fear of actually trying and then failing. When we settle, failure is easier to accept. We should live bolder lives and learn from those failures and be better because of them, not let them stop us.

For me lately, I have just been slacking in school. My grades are okay, but they aren’t at what I know they can be. My struggle with senioritis is SO real. I’m just ready to get out of here. Haha! When I saw this, it inspired me to get motivated and try a little harder. I want to finish college strong and be proud of myself for all of these years of hard work. I also love this quote for working out. Sometimes I catch myself saying, “I don’t really need to workout, I’m skinny. That should be enough. I can slack.” That’s not true though. I want to have cute girl muscles, not be so scrawny. So whenever I’m feeling lazy or not motivated, I’m going to look at this quote and be thankful that I got another day to try and reach my full potential.

Something  I have always loved, but have gotten away from lately is working out! I think I just haven’t been as motivated as I should be lately because of school and work and all that jazz. Health is so important though. I’ve always been such a stickler for eating healthy-ish and making time for exercise as often as I can.  I feel like too many people put off exercise as something that is optional. It shouldn’t be that way at all, in my opinion. Eating healthy and getting at least a little bit of exercise is SO detrimental to us! Even though it is really hard to do so, we should always make time for some physical activity or at least watch what we eat. What we put into our bodies is so crucial.  I learned this after my step dad got colon cancer when I was a Senior in High School. The doctor’s said he could have avoided it if he had just made better choices when picking out what he ate. If avoiding getting certain cancers doesn’t motivate you to eat healthy then I don’t know what will. I found a few facts online about how eating healthy and exercising can benefit us:

-Reverses the detrimental effects of stress

-Lifts Emotion

-Makes you happier and smarter

-Builds self-esteem and improves body image

-Keeps your brain “fit” such as preventing memory loss

These are just a few of the many benefits that we can gain from staying healthy. There’s more on this website:( http://health.usnews.com/health-news/diet-fitness/slideshows/7-mind-blowing-benefits-of-exercise ) I have personally recognized that when I work out i’m a lot less stressed and I just feel happier and more positive. Right now in my fitness journey, i’m just trying to stay healthy and maybe gain a little bit of muscle because i’m so skinny.

Staying on track is definitely difficult and there will be days when all you want to do is eat junk food. You are guaranteed to have a few cheat days.  I usually have a cheat day once a week where I just eat whatever I want for one meal. I’ll usually have taco bell or something. haha. You don’t have to be a stickler. As long as you are making a few little changes here and there will notice results! I hope after reading this, you feel the inspiration to make a few minor changes to your diet or maybe exercise plans! If you have any questions or feedback, I would love to hear from you! 🙂

 “You may regret not going to the gym, but you will never regret actually going.”