Before beginning this post, I want to address the tragedies that happened over the weekend. I don't want to ruin the mood of this blog, but sometimes it is good to talk about something a little bigger than us, so I am going to do that quickly. I am in no way fit to discuss something of this magnitude, but I would like to say that Paris and all the places in the world affected by terrorism are in my mind and thoughts, and this is something that should not be taken lightly. The only way for us, the people who aren't on the front lines of this war to support our allies, is to love everyone equally. The reason why these things happen is solely because of hate. Everyone can argue their own opinions, but at the end of the day, acts or violence of malice happen because of hate. So this week and the next and the one after that, and for as long as we live as a human race, we need to love. Because at the end of the day, the only way to overcome such evils as terrorism and war, is to love. So instead of sharing all the negative posts on Facebook about how France is going to war against ISIS and about how they wrote "Love Paris" on their bombs, just focus on the positive. And if you're going to share something about Paris or France, just share the little peace sign made of the Eiffel Tower. That seems to be the easiest way to show your support and that you want peace. Now let's get to the rest of post.
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Sorry this post is a little late, but I have been having a difficult time finding a topic to talk about because I already talked about events in November this month and I haven't seen any new movies or read any new books or anything like that. So I decided to talk about something that isn't extremely serious, but is just kind a good thing to keep in mind as you are going through life!
The world changed on February 4th, 2004. A brilliant young man named Mark Zuckerberg and his college roommates decided to launch a little website called "Facebook", opened only to students at his school. Eventually, he decided to open the site up to a larger audience, expanding access to all colleges in the Boston Area, Stamford University and the Ivy League. During the year of 2004, Facebook earned a total of 1 million users. I'm sure Zuckerberg and his friends very, very pleased. Little did they know, this was only the beginning. Today, Facebook has 1.49 Billion users, has over 4.5 Billion likes generated daily and is currently worth around $245 Billion Dollars. That's right, all of those numbers are in the billions or hundred billions, and they are correct. I checked all of these numbers like 4 times and I found them on real websites. I will put the link for the websites at the bottom if you would like to check yourself, just in case you still think your eyes are playing tricks on you (I don't blame you.) Facebook rules the internet, it is the second most visited page on the entire internet (right behind Google). It was the most popular app of 2014, with more than 114 Million unique visitors (new users). I might even go as far as to say that Facebook is ruling the world. Not literally, but I mean a seventh of the entire WORLD is registered on this website! If every single person who has used Facebook even once made an army, they could conquer the world. No questions asked. But what does all of this mean. What does it matter? Why do so many people use Facebook? Two words to explain Facebook: It's easy. It's easy. It's easy to talk about your life. It's easy to rant about things. It's easy to share media on. It's easy to start a brand on. It's easy to market on. It's easy to spend time on. It's easy to sign up for. But the easiest thing to do on this website is talk to people. All you have to do is type in a random name in the search bar, and click message. You don't even have to be friends with them (unless they have different privacy settings, I get it). But you can basically just message them and that's that. You can also call people on Facebook now as long as you have WiFi and have a microphone on your phone or computer. Facebook (and texting which is essentially the same thing) is 100% the easiest way to talk to people in our generation. We don't even need to move. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with this. I text people all the time. I would say I probably send like 75 messages minimum a day. Probably way more but that is just an estimate. Anyways, texting is just way easier than an actual verbal conversation. That's is just the truth and everyone knows it! However, the best things in life are never easy. Everyone also knows that. And in my opinion one of the best things in the world is sitting down with someone and having an amazing conversation. One that is so good that hours pass and you have no idea, because your just so caught up in the moment and caught up in being present. You might be thinking," I've had some pretty great conversations with people on the phone," and I don't doubt that for a second. I have too! But nothing compares to actually having someone with you, being immersed in the conversation and just having fun....talking. It is so much more real than the words on the screen, whatever they might say. I promise you, they will sound infinitely better if you actually hear them, physically with your ears. Weird, I know, but I hope this is making sense. Another thing I would like to add, just because you are "friends" with someone on Facebook doesn't mean you are friends with them in real life. I learned that one a while ago, when I walked up to someone and said, "Hey! We're friends on Facebook! What's up!" and they just gave me the weirdest look on the planet. I don't blame that person, I looked really dumb. Relationships aren't based on statuses, they are based on real human interaction. They are based on moments and memories, not a notification that says "Hey! You've been friends with _______ for 3 years! Click here to post MEMORY.) That's not a memory. Facebook sending you a notification that 3 years ago you scrolled past someone you think you saw at a party but you don't really remember and hit send friend request and now you're still friends isn't a memory. See, you aren't friends with that person. You might not even be acquaintances, you might not have even met them! And don't get me wrong, I can go through my own friend list and probably find 70 people I haven't even met before. I'm not going to lie, I keep them on there because I like seeing the high friend count. It makes me feel popular inside and that feels good! I'm not being hypocritical or blaming anyone because we ALL do it! We all have people on that list that we don't even recognize, and we all post those ("I've been friends with ________ for ___ years!) It's fun! It really is but there is only so far we can go with it before we start living a kind of digital life. We start living the number of likes we get and the number of friends we have and who commented this and who said that and it just gets to be too much. It's sad, and it's happened to me and probably a lot of the people reading this. Our egos expand and or pride increases, we just aren't nice or kind to many people EXCEPT people on the same "level" as us. Again, not blaming, I've done it too. So my challenge for you is to start a conversation with someone in person. It can be simple as "hello" or "how is your day going" or anything along those lines. Or it can be an actual like long, immersive conversation. It doesn't matter how long. Just talk to someone without the help of technology. Maybe it might be a good time to revisit old friendships you feel drifting? Whatever the case is, just go talk to someone. I know this isn't an original idea or anything like that, but I have kind of an original ending. When you are done talking to someone, don't post about it. No #Talktosomeone. Not one status. Not one tweet. Not even a comment on this blog. That would ruin the entire concept of what is trying to be accomplished. Just have the satisfaction in your heart that you talked to someone without using your cellphone or Facebook or whatever. Again, I don't want this post to seem like I'm hating on social media or texting or anything like that. My entire job on this council is social media and statuses and tweets and this blog and all of that that entails. And I can say that I absolutely adore it, from the bottom of my heart I love what I am doing right now. I just want to remind everyone that the likes aren't everything, and when the grown ups tell us to put our phones away, maybe we should just listen next time, because they are right." We need to be present, because it is a gift. That's why it's called the present." I heard that on a cheesy Family Channel movie or something like that, but it makes a lot of sense. Another quote I remember hearing is "We walk through this life but once," so let's do more walking and talking that texting and calling. Verbal communication is truly a gift, so let's use our beautiful voices. That's all for this post. Lot's to think about :) I know, I know, I know. No one wants to read one more thing about the strawpoll. But I must just say two more quick things about it and then I promise you will NEVER hear another word about it. Well, unless it's about a different topic ;) Anyways, let me get through these quick little announcements so we can get to the good stuff. The strawpoll has been up now for at least a month, and I am now no longer going to be asking for any more votes. The results basically showed the top three topics were: 1) Cool things going on in Welland 2)Books/Movies/TV/Video Games/Music and 3) Pop Culture. So, I have decided to base the blog off basically these three topics as well as a serious topic at the end of every month. I won't call it "Real Talk" because let's be honest, that has been used like a million times. So before the end of the month, I will make sure I think of a catchy title or something. Second thing,
if you still want to vote for a topic or propose a new idea you can do still this on the home page of this website! That will be up for the rest of this year. So the topic for today is going to be a little inside information on some of the coolest things going on in Welland this month! (It's not really inside information, you can find the event calendar on the City of Welland website (_) November actually has a lot of events scheduled, so let's get down to business with the biggest event of the month (in my opinion) None other than Saturday, November 21st, the Santa Clause Parade! MYAC has a HUGE hand in this event, including walking in the parade, handing out candy, giving out hot chocolate after the event, and 100% the most stressful job of the entire operation: Plugging in the lights AS SOON as Santa touches his nose. I can't stress enough how big of a deal this is. This is like landing a plane, it is absolutely vital that there are NO mistakes during this process. If you are even a second late to plug in the lights, you will be left with hundreds of very confused children that have no idea why Santa can't do his job. Not good. I never volunteer for this job, it is simply too much pressure. Anyways, mark your calendars for this because it will be pretty awesome. Not too mention I will be there and absolutely ready to sign autographs ;) Kidding. Another amazing event going on is being held on Saturday, November 14th! It's called Join the Wave and it is a 5km walk starting at the Seaway Mall to help end domestic violence. I mean let's be real here folks, violence is never the way to solve a problem, especially among our relationship and family members! Also, if you raise money for the event, every 100 dollars you raise enters you in a draw to win an Americana waterpark and one night stay pass! Sounds like a win-win to me. My favorite thing about this event is actually the acronym, WAVE stands for Walk Against Violence Everyone. Very, very clever. I need to think of something like that for the month end serious talk, but I doubt it will be as cool as that. The third event I will mention is being held by the greatest, most creative and passionate group on the planet, The Welland Mayor's Youth Advisory Council! That's right, we are holding our second monthly teen skate Friday, November 20th, 2015. I can not stress enough how great of an event this is! I am not saying these things just because I am on the council, I genuinely believe that this event really is a an win-win situation for you and people in need. Let's break it down really quick. You get an hour of free skating, you get to listen to tons of awesome music and get to meet new people and maybe even make life-long friendships and IT WILL ALL BE BECAUSE YOU WENT TO A MYAC TEEN SKATE! What could be better than that? Also, it's the perfect date, if you are looking for something to do with your boyfriend or girlfriend, just going to throw it out there ;) But it really is a great event and all you need is a student I.D. card and a canned good! That is it! So grab some skates, and some canned beans and your card and get with the program people, because this event is going to be a hit, mark my words! This post is becoming extremely long, but I hope you enjoyed what you read. If you did read to the end, I would like to gift you to the link of our facebook (_) and also our twitter (_). If you liked this, please leave a comment so I know that someone is reading it :) Makes me feel pretty great. Have an awesome week and I'll see you next Tuesday. Write on, |
Caleb FastPublicity and Promotions co-coordinator for Welland MYAC. Archives
February 2016
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