Taking Charge of Your Life

As some of you may remember, I previously posted about my cousins both having cancer due to a cell mutation called Lynch Syndrome. My cousin Christina had surgery to remove her tumor and is now in the process of recovering. Her older sister, Stephanie, started chemotherapy.

This Saturday, Stephanie held a party at her house to shave off her hair. In this coming week, her fourteenth day of chemo. After the fourteenth day, hair starts to fall out in clumps. As opposed to letting this happen, Stephanie got proactive. She lost her hair on her own terms. With her mom, husband, baby boy and close friends, she shaved her head. Stephanie already purchased a wig that looks so close to her natural hair, others would never be able to tell the difference. Below are the before and after pictures of the hair shaving party!

I continue to be inspired by my family, especially Stephanie. Instead of letting cancer get the upper hand, she took charge and lost her hair on her own terms. When I asked her if I could use these photos for my blog, she told me, "My bravery is sustained by the strength and love of my family and friends." Honestly, any bravery I have stems from knowing I have amazing family like Stephanie in my life. She's stayed so positive through this whole experience, and I've never had a doubt in my mind she's going to beat this. I know whenever I feel as if something's impossible, I'll remember her approach to a scary situation. You can't always control what happens in life, but you can control your response.

How to Save a Life

On October 1, "Good Morning America" had an idea to kick off "GMA"Goes Pink day. As many of us know, Robin Roberts of "GMA" just recently survived her battle with breast cancer. The show planned to give the public more information about breast cancer, such as any confusion about the disease and information about survivors. Their kick-off idea was to have Amy Robach, ABC News correspondent, to have a mammogram live on screen.

According to Robach, she was first very hesitant about the mammogram. After much insisting from Roberts and producers, Robach decided to have the mammogram. She's 40 and had never been screened before the show, making her the perfect candidate to inspire others to be checked themselves. Little did Robach know, she was saving her own life.

A few weeks later, Robach was called with her results and was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her initial surgery was scheduled for November 14. The doctors performed a bilateral mastectomy and reconstruction before deciding the next step to take after her recovery. I have not found any other articles detailing plans for her recovery or how her surgery went.

When I first heard the story, I thought how lucky Robach was to have so many caring people around her to encourage this screening. Then, I thought how brave it was for "GMA" and Robach alike to film a mammogram live on air. What a brave way to encourage others to take a proactive step toward protecting themselves against cancer. Because of that episode, and especially because of Robach's diagnosis, I'm sure multiple women have rushed to local clinics to be screened.

"Big Fish" Fails to Make a Big Splash

To the dismay of many musical lovers, the new Broadway musical "Big Fish" is set to close in late December. The musical was about a sick man sharing his larger-than-life stories. Based on the 2003 movie, "Big Fish" created a large amount of buzz in the Broadway community. Tony Award winner

Norbert Leo Butz is the starring role, another huge noteworthy aspect. Because of Butz's high acclaim and the intriguing storyline, the musical had very high expectations. Unfortunately, these expectations were not met in the minds of the critics.

Personally, I was very intrigued by the musical. I had seen the movie and hoped to one day see the show. As an aspiring public relations specialist for a Broadway show, I have to wonder if the problem was in the marketing for the show. I mentioned before the buzz the show created among the community. They had a larger-than-life story and a Tony Award winner to play the role. For some reason, the show was a complete miss. Perhaps, the timing wasn't right. Maybe the target audience wasn't at an age to have the ability to see the show.

To me, the show sounds like a family show. A show parents and their children would see together to indulge in the beauty of storytelling. The critics might not have felt the musical hit this mark. Also, reaching families with an entity as expensive as a Broadway musical is difficult. Tickets are very expensive, and unless it's "The Little Mermaid," younger children would rather be somewhere else than in a theatre for a couple hours.

Working with a Broadway show is difficult. Sometimes runs are cut short on a show most think is incredible. If the show is unable to make money, a higher power in the Broadway community decides they're done. Although upsetting, sometimes musicals are revived and thrive more than the original. I suppose all we can hope for is that someone in the future decides to do exactly that. I was really touched by a statement from Dan Jinks, one of the "Big Fish" producers, quoted in the above article. He is quoted saying, "‘Big Fish’ is about the passing on of stories, and from the tremendous audience reaction we have received, we know our tale will live on." As actors and actresses, as well as in public relations, the most important part in touching those who are exposed to your message. Striking a fire within them to change the world. Maybe it won't happen right away, but we can only hope the messages we send out will inspire others to share it.

Social Media is Changing the Game

In Katie Delahaye Paine's book "Measure What Matters," she redefines the rules for public relations and social media. As all public relations specialists know, social media has made our job easier, and at the same time more difficult. Real-time communication is simplified, but now audiences expect more from the company and measuring success is much harder. With Paine's new rules, perhaps the relationship between the two can be more mutually beneficial.

Her first rule is titled "You're not in control--and never have been." Well, I don't know about any other people, but that's very difficult for me to grasp. I like to believe I'm not a complete control freak, but I have moments where I like to be in control. Knowing I don't have control over something that will be a crucial part of my future job is hard to accept. Paine explains the inability of controlling those with independent minds. She also mentions how social media users become wary when they believe someone is trying to control them. Although this is still difficult for me to accept, I definitely understand what she is saying. Looking beyond the perspective of a company, I wouldn't respond if I felt as if someone was trying to control my mind.

The second rule is titled "There is no market for your message." Wait, what? Aren't we drilled over and over again to NEVER send out a message without a target market in mind? Paine explains how difficult it is to break through the clutter online to reach your target audience, so the most important aspect to focus on is the action people take when they read or hear your message. Conversations and relationships can be influenced if a new approach is taken. Costumers are more able accept or reject the company your message sends, but if you appeal to them as people, they are more willing to converse with you.

Rule three is titled "It's about reaching the right eyeballs, not all the eyeballs." Okay, now this sounds like familiar territory. It's impossible to measure how many people see your message, but if the right people see the message, it will spread. Measuring what happens when a visitor to your website shares information is much more accurate than counting the amount of views. Just because a person visits your website doesn't mean they were influenced by any of your information, or even read anything. I know I go to the wrong websites all the time. I mistype a letter and then I have to correct my mistake once the page loads and it's not the website I wanted. I didn't read any information, I just saw it was the wrong site. So, would it make sense counting me as an influenced visitor? Absolutely not.

Paine's last rule is titled "It's worse to not be talked about at all." Once again, this sounds very familiar. If the public isn't reminded of your business, they will not keep you in mind when buying a product. Your competition may be talked about in negative terms, but if you're not being talked about at all, who is really in the worse situation? According to Paine, your company would be in a worse situation. Even if the company may be in moral dilemma, at least costumers know to look at their product when debating on buying. If your company is not present, costumers won't even think about searching for your company.

Life is Good

Last evening, I had the opportunity to attend the first alumni dinner for the public relations alumni of Ohio Northern. Obvious by my attendance, current students were also invited to join in the celebration. I am always so proud to say I belong to our public relations program, and I had the chance to meet many more alumni that felt the same way. Ironically, I sat next to Kelsey Giesler, my PRSSA mentor from last year, and we had a chance to FINALLY get to know each other. Let's just say the pairing was perfect, and had either of us been on top of our email game, last year's mentoring would have been a blast. Both of us are trying to persuade Dr. Agozzino to pair us together so we can take another shot at the relationship!

After dinner, Dr. Agozzino and Dr. Fleck read short biographies submitted by the alumni detailing their work after they graduated. As if I wasn't proud to be a polar bear, their amazing accomplishments solidified my love of our program. Next, Dr. Steve Iseman gave the keynote speech. As always, he was witty and educational at the same time. He definitely has a talent for that perfect combination.

This morning, while working in the costume shop, Dr. Agozzino brought prospective students to ask me about my double major. A very dangerous task to leave on my shoulders. I have such a love for both of my majors, I could spend weeks talking about why students should join the program. The poor students were probably just waiting for me to shut up. Even if they were, they were very polite, and I led the group through the back hallways of the Freed Center.

I know I have made multiple posts on my blog about being extremely overwhelmed. Well, that fact still remains, but I don't think I've stressed the fact that I love what I'm doing enough. I wouldn't do all the work I am without the overwhelming feeling of joy it brings me in the end. I love the opportunity I have to have hands-on experience with a pr campaign before I leave college. I love going to PRSSA meetings and events. I love being involved in University Singers. I love the opportunity to create costumes for shows, and the fact that I'm now on payroll doesn't hurt. I love going to my voice lessons every Friday and having the chance to work with Summer. I love learning more about theatre and developing skills to make me a better performer. Yes, the work can be rigorous. Sometimes, I don't feel like I'll be able to crawl out of the hole filled with work, but life is good. I'm surrounded by people who care about me and lead me towards success, and I love both of my majors.

Becoming One With the Customer

In almost every pr class I take, the overlying lesson (well, one of many) is the power of word-of-mouth. Companies cannot only present their product, they have to truly sell it in order to create buzz. That way, Jimmy can post on his Twitter how much he loves a product. Then, Suzie, a follower of Jimmy's, will retweet it because she feels the same way. Sally follows Suzie and is intrigued by this new product both Jimmy and Suzie love, so she buys it for herself.

So, now that an overall lesson of word-of-mouth is stated, we all realize how much this can spread. This also means if one person has a bad experience with customer service, the world will know. And, being the insane "Newsies" fan that I am, I had to attach a link to a song from the movie musical. Enjoy!

Getting back on topic, part of Chapter 1 in "Measure What Matters" by Katie Delahye Paine talks about engaging individually with the customer. In this section, she mentions how customers are more willing to trust other customers rather than the business, in other words, word-of-mouth is more powerful than advertisements. The specific section I'm referring to is titled "Social media isn't about media, it's about the community in which you do business." The title intrigued me because I had never thought of it in that way.

Sure, I knew to appear as human as possible so the consumers can feel the business is easily accessible. Especially when launching a new product, engaging the community through social media is a top priority. If the community is engaged, the media will create a story around the buzz. The top priority for companies should be listening and responding to customers. That way, the company can better serve the customer, which will add to the longevity of the company.

Laughter is the Best Medicine

So, I don't know about anyone else, but the past few weeks have been extremely stressful. Who am I kidding? The entire semester has been stressful. I'm starting to think taking 21 credit hours MAY not have been the best idea. But, there's nothing I can do about it now, right?

I am a firm believer that laughter is the best medicine. Last night, I was searching the Internet for funny "I've made a huge mistake" memes, and I thought I would post some of them here. We all know Ohio Northern is a great school, but that doesn't make our work any less stressful. Please enjoy the below pictures, and I hope they give you the laughing-so-hard-I'm-crying laughter they gave me.

My personal favorites are the last two, but if one picture made you slightly chuckle, I would count this post as a success. It's important to always remember to take time each day to laugh. Sound easy? Yes, but I find it more difficult sometimes, especially with deadlines hovering over my head. Hopefully, some of you are able to come back to this post every so often and relieve some stress through laughter. I will leave you with two more pictures that I find just as funny, and I find myself saying this to myself when I maybe spend too much time reading "House of Hades" instead of reading as closely for a class.

Until next time, live life and laugh often.