April 10th is a national holiday I will never celebrate technically. National Siblings Day is a holiday that 77% of US families and children celebrate. Both my parents have siblings of their own. I have multiple cousins on both sides of the family. Most of my friends have siblings.
And yes the "only child syndrome" jokes do get old! (although I strongly attempt to never allow people to have the ability to guess I am an only child).
Throughout my life, I have gone through different stages of how I feel about this fact of being an only child. A few times during my early childhood (ages 3-5) I asked for siblings to no success. As I aged it fell out of priority for me it just didn't matter. I began to develop friendships that became my brothers. As I got to high school sometimes I felt I missed out on the relationship I could have had with a sibling.
Until I realized that I had become someone who cherished friendships and close friendships maybe a bit more than most. I firmly believe this is because of how I grew up. It is something that I am proud of. The ability for those brothers and sisters that I developed such close friendships with to rely on me like we were our own little family.
With all this being said as I enter the next stages of my life I will continue to think how my life could have been different if my family had one more member.
But instead of wishing for a difference I find the benefits behind it. For all of you reading this with siblings, the bond you have with those siblings can not be replicated. However I received one benefit none of you got. I chose my brothers and sisters I chose those that I wanted to have the relationships with, something that I don't think I appreciated until recently.
One thing I know I never appreciated was the relationship it created between me and my parents. There were, and in all honesty are times where it is a negative, but an equal if not more times where it is a positive. My parents and I are close, has it been an easy road no. Were the screaming matches in the kitchen worth it? I think so. Have my parents adjusted to immediately becoming empty nesters? If this weekend was any indication, my father's quote "we are just getting used to doing dinners without you" should let you all know how they stand (I have been gone 9 months).
The family a person grows up in creates the person they become. Only children are given all the attention of their parental unit, ALL OF IT! Only children also benefit from being the only child that has to be spent on. Only children may sometimes feel more pressure than other children with siblings to lighten the load. However only children if given the right environment and freedom can become extremely independent people.
As I continue to get older the fact of being an only child will continue to have an impact on me. As my parents age I will be the only one to look after them. I will also be the single beneficiary of their will, I hope. For much of my life I have ridden an emotional roller coaster as to what it means to be an only child and I will continue it.
There are always multiple ways to look at a situation. This one however is an ever changing look.
Showing posts with label Relationships. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Relationships. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 10, 2019
Monday, February 11, 2019
Social Media Strategy
As the semester continues we have transitioned to a new book. Social Media for Strategic Communication written by Karen Freberg. Published in this year Freberg expands on the development of social media and how it can be used for communication and marketing throughout the business and personal world.
Throughout the early stages of her book she tries to impress upon her readers that the balance can be struck to make social media a valuable asset. Social media she explains is an extension of your community. The ability to balance the need to create new entertaining and informative content while also being personal enough to feel a connection. Freberg stresses that every user is different. With different motivations and uses for social media. The key however is still to find the balance between those motivations and uses along with personal connection.
Her first major tip is that social media is keen on first impressions. Whether it's through profile pictures or bios there is a need to stand out and be remembered.
Tip two you don't have to be on every form of social media. Users need to realize the audiences they hope to reach and work to narrow down which platform gives them the most effective reach. Identify the relationships you have already created and the goals of moving forward with those.
Tip three create content that works towards the goals you have set forward. Innovation is a key for creating traffic to pages. Finding ways to be new and creative in what profiles consist of helps with standing out and being remembered.
Social medias balance has become a new tool in business that organizations are working to perfect. The ability to connect while also getting important messages across when optimized correctly can help bring major benefits to a company. Expanding the reach of the company along with touching new members of the audience.
Throughout the early stages of her book she tries to impress upon her readers that the balance can be struck to make social media a valuable asset. Social media she explains is an extension of your community. The ability to balance the need to create new entertaining and informative content while also being personal enough to feel a connection. Freberg stresses that every user is different. With different motivations and uses for social media. The key however is still to find the balance between those motivations and uses along with personal connection.
Her first major tip is that social media is keen on first impressions. Whether it's through profile pictures or bios there is a need to stand out and be remembered.
Tip two you don't have to be on every form of social media. Users need to realize the audiences they hope to reach and work to narrow down which platform gives them the most effective reach. Identify the relationships you have already created and the goals of moving forward with those.
Tip three create content that works towards the goals you have set forward. Innovation is a key for creating traffic to pages. Finding ways to be new and creative in what profiles consist of helps with standing out and being remembered.
Social medias balance has become a new tool in business that organizations are working to perfect. The ability to connect while also getting important messages across when optimized correctly can help bring major benefits to a company. Expanding the reach of the company along with touching new members of the audience.
Tuesday, January 29, 2019
Connection?
Living in an era of connectivity. Social media along with other electronic advancements have made it seem like the globe is shrinking. The ability to talk to a friend spending a semester in Europe at the touch of a button baffles me. Living in this age adds a lot to society and what has become the perceived norm.
Communication is at an all time high but it takes many forms. Snapchat allows you to see people minute by minute of their life. Facebook connects friends from years and years back allowing you to stay connected in people's lives no matter the distance or time. Twitter gives hot takes and news faster than ever before. All of these factors have changed communications and connectivity and public relations for the foreseeable future. Everything is faster.
The importance put on communication on continuous level adds to already increasingly stressful situations. Teenage relationships both platonic and not have come to rely on the sense of constant communication and over analyzation on all social media platforms.
In a 2014 research survey done it was reported that 45% of millennials reported social media had a major impact on their relationships. Advice about relationships may seem like common sense but the top advice given is.
1. Prioritize time without media: Spend time with them while being disconnected and away from the hustle and bustle of technology.
2. Check in before you post: Always communicate with your partner let them know about your sharing especially when it comes to details about you and your partner.
3. A golden rule, if you wouldn't say it or show it in person don't do it on media.
4. Don't Snoop/Trust them
Social media has its benefits and its downfalls. When properly used it gives us connections that in the past would never have been able to be made. When used poorly it adds to it adds on to an already stressful and hectic world we live it.
Communication is at an all time high but it takes many forms. Snapchat allows you to see people minute by minute of their life. Facebook connects friends from years and years back allowing you to stay connected in people's lives no matter the distance or time. Twitter gives hot takes and news faster than ever before. All of these factors have changed communications and connectivity and public relations for the foreseeable future. Everything is faster.
The importance put on communication on continuous level adds to already increasingly stressful situations. Teenage relationships both platonic and not have come to rely on the sense of constant communication and over analyzation on all social media platforms.
In a 2014 research survey done it was reported that 45% of millennials reported social media had a major impact on their relationships. Advice about relationships may seem like common sense but the top advice given is.
1. Prioritize time without media: Spend time with them while being disconnected and away from the hustle and bustle of technology.
2. Check in before you post: Always communicate with your partner let them know about your sharing especially when it comes to details about you and your partner.
3. A golden rule, if you wouldn't say it or show it in person don't do it on media.
4. Don't Snoop/Trust them
Social media has its benefits and its downfalls. When properly used it gives us connections that in the past would never have been able to be made. When used poorly it adds to it adds on to an already stressful and hectic world we live it.
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