My idea is to use these images to create a magazine cover type of layout that displays the minor ways that PCOS is integrated into my daily life. Humor is my friend, so I’m gonna lean on it.
Photoshop Tutorials: Learning the Ropes
Here are my 5 completed tutorials for the basic functions of Photoshop! Took much longer than I’d like to admit, but I learned a lot in the process.
Get to Know my Topic
The time has come for me to reveal what this blog will be focusing on throughout the semester. Any guesses? Well, I’ll be taking a risk by going off the beaten path and discussing something deeply personal to me: polycystic ovarian syndrome. Also called PCOS for short, this syndrome affects my day to day life in more ways than one.
Choosing this topic didn’t come easily. I played with the idea of talking about dual credit enrollment for a while, but that just seemed too forced and overused from my own perspective. I think having a personal stake in my blog topic will encourage me to make the content better overall, and will help raise awareness about this common struggle so many women face.
Focusing on a medical disadvantage of mine sounds all fine and dandy, but collecting raw material would seemingly be a daunting task. Here’s where a hidden benefit of PCOS comes in: 1 in 10 women have this syndrome, and I’ve already met several since getting to campus! Okay, not really something to be excited about. However, the abundance of women going throughout life with PCOS also means there’s an abundance of first hand personal experiences to share and strive to understand.
Through meeting these women and hearing excerpts of their individual narratives, its come to my attention that many people with PCOS feel alienated and misunderstood. Approaching this semester-long blog assignment with an almost documentary-style approach could help with collecting raw media like pictures, audio clips, and videos.
Although this idea is still in the introductory stage, some creativity is starting to flow as far as how I’ll approach each media unit project. As far as the logo project goes, I’m really excited to create something that incorporates elements of PCOS that are usually kept under wraps (excess body hair, acne, weight gain, etc.). I believe that creating a simple logo would catch the attention of people who may not know about the condition in order to help spread awareness. As far as the video story project goes, I’m gravitating toward a “day in the life” set up, showing the ins and outs of dealing with PCOS on a daily basis.
Since my topic is medical, I’ll be drawing a lot of “inspiration information” from reliable medical journals and websites, in addition to personal blogs and awareness groups. Throughout the semester I’ll not only culminate an easy-to-understand blog about what I and so many other women go through, but I’ll also gain a deeper understanding of this syndrome for myself.
Looking forward to learning, sharing, and creating a better sense of understanding.
Until next time,
Lauren
About Me
Hi there! My name is Lauren Green and you’ll come to realize very quickly that I type like I talk – with enthusiasm and optimism.
Here’s the basic rundown on me: I’m from a city in western Washington called Port Orchard, right across the water from Seattle! Currently I’m still 17 years old (not for long), but I never let that stop me from doing anything. In Port Orchard, I attended South Kitsap High School before enrolling in the Running Start dual enrollment program. Through Running Start, I began attending classes full time at Olympic College in Bremerton, WA when I was 15. Just after I graduated high school, I also graduated from OC with my Associate of Arts degree which was a huge personal success of mine. After graduating, I transferred to Washington State University to earn a degree in Strategic Communication with a focus on Public Relations. Now you’re caught up (mostly) on who I am, so let’s get into the nitty gritty.
Why does a 17 year old girl even have a blog? Well, this is where I’ll be posting all of the content that I’ll be creating in my Com 210 Multimedia Content Creation class at WSU. Stay tuned for a bunch of really cool stuff in the coming months!
Outside of school, my interests aren’t all too exciting. Like any teenager, I absolutely LOVE spending time with the friends I hold close to my heart. Back home, I also used to focus a bunch of my time on working several jobs because I apparently have a knack for putting a lot on my plate at once. Things are a bit different now that I’m at WSU. I’m 6 hours away from everything and everyone I was so comfortable with, and now I’m aiming to discover new ways to allocate any free time that comes my way.
Right now, I’m looking at a minimum of 2 years for WSU, depending on if I decide to pursue a Master’s degree or not. After that? Still a work in progress on my end, but I’m hoping that I’ll have a much more concise direction once I’ve taken a few more classes here. In a general sense, I’d love to work in the field of Public Relations to help form better relationships between businesses and the general public, especially their consumers.
Whew, that’s enough about me for now. If you’re interested in seeing the kind of content I’ll be making (or attempting to make) in my Com 210 class, be sure to check back for updated blog posts!
Until next time,
Lauren
Lauren Green 