Portrayal of PR

Public relations in mass media, I feel, is depicted as a high-class career with high-status clients. Shows like Sex and the City, Madmen, and Scandal romanticize public relations and show the extremes of the daily tasks of public relations practitioners. Mass media makes public relations seem like a job that hides the dirty secrets of their clients and turn them into positives instead of negatives if they are ever leaked to the public. This type of exposure gives public relations a bad name. Still, public relations is considered a high-profile career.

 I am not sure if the media’s representation of public relations is a good thing or a bad thing. Like I said before, some of these shows give the field a bad name because it delves into the dirty work that may come with the job, but on the other hand, media also makes public relations look like a cool, high-paying career that involves interacting with important people. Personally, I think the way media portrays public relations is helpful to the field. As the saying goes, “There is no such thing as bad publicity.”

 I must confess that part of my reasoning for choosing public relations as a major was due to the high-life the PR practitioners lived portrayed in the media. Even though I knew the job was not exactly how it is shown in the media, I thought PR was a great fit for me.

 Honestly, I don’t know how far I am willing to go for a client. I guess it depends on the situation. I would say that I would try my very best to keep the client’s reputation even if that means bending the truth a little bit, but I would not blatantly lie to the press… maybe just downplay the cons. I would not break my personal ethics in order to accomplish a task for a client though. As much as I would want to help them, I couldn’t throw my beliefs away for someone else. With that being said, I am a flexible person so it would probably have to be something pretty extreme for me not to go along with it. 

Why PR?

Many little kids know what they want to be when they grow up. A doctor, a lawyer, a firefighter, an astronaut, a ballerina. I was one of those kids who didn’t really know. Even as I started getting closer to college, I was clueless as to what I wanted to do for a career. I was pretty well-rounded in all my subjects but I did not particularly like one more than the other. It wasn’t until the end of my senior year in high school that I decided on public relations. Still, I was declared undecided in my first semester in college at Georgia State University.

I do not remember how I found out about public relations but when I heard about it, I figured that I would give it a chance. I was always good at writing and communicating to people so it seemed like a good fit. Now that I am taking public relations classes, I can’t imagine going into any other profession.

Although I have found my general calling, I still do not know what I want to do with public relations when I graduate. People often ask me that question when they find out I am a PR major and I always say the same thing: “I don’t really know what I want to do yet. I figured that PR is so broad that I could go into anything if/when the opportunity presents itself. I’ll figure it out later. For now, I’m just going to go with the flow and I’ll see where that takes me.”

 

Sochi Problems

I must admit that the 2014 Sochi Olympic Winter Games have been quite… interesting. It had a pretty rocky start which was probably a sign that that was just the beginning of their problems. Don’t get me wrong, the athletes are amazingly talented, but everything that is around them makes a mockery of Sochi and the Olympic games. Poor Sochi had good intentions but maybe hosting the Olympics was a little too much for them to handle. First of all, the hotels that are housing the athletes should have been completed long ago. That includes safe electrical wires, lightbulbs, doorknobs, clean water, the whole shebang. They could have at least made it look like the hotels were finished. The fact that the hotels are safety hazards and were left a mess for their guests makes it very easy for people to make fun of and insult Sochi and the games. Secondly, I know that mistakes happen, but for something as big as the Olympics, there is absolutely no room for error. They should have made sure that the opening ceremony lights were fool-proof. I’m sure when they practiced, it opened seamlessly each time. Of course the one time it actually matters, one of the rings doesn’t open which makes it look like a big joke.

Speaking professionally, I would keep the focus on the games instead of the problems. I would try to help fix the accommodation issues by responding to social media and having specialized people fix the problem immediately. If the problems are solved, then there would be nothing else to focus on except for the games.

My favorite winter Olympic sport to watch is figure skating because I enjoy the tricks as well as the artistry. Figure skating is a weird concept if you think about it. Who ever thought that attaching sharp blades to their feet while jumping and spinning on ice was a good idea? Still, I find it fascinating. Although I want to root for the U.S., my favorite figure skater is 15-year-old Russian Yulia Lipnitskaya. I knew Russians were good but WOW. She is unbelievable.

Pet Peeves

When it comes to things that annoy me, I feel like the list never ends. Usually, instead of thinking of things that I dislike, I compose a list of things I enjoy. It tends to be a much shorter list. I know this may seem like I am a perpetually angry (for lack of a better word) bitch, but I promise I am not nearly as mean as I may come across. Still, there are many things I would call my pet peeves. I suppose one of the things that really irk me is middle school kids. They think they are hot stuff for no apparent reason. Here are a few reasons why middle schoolers think they are cool (in no particular order):

1. They graduated from elementary school, and now they get to walk to different classes instead of sitting in the same room with the same teacher and the same group of students.
2. No more recess; they are much too mature for that. Wake up sixth-graders! That was you yesterday.
3. Turning thirteen makes them a legitimate teenager. Now they are one of the big kids.
4. Their bodies are changing with the arrival of puberty which means they are becoming “adults” and should be treated as such.
5. Eighth-graders are almost in high school which automatically makes them cooler. No, they will just be lame freshman.
6. They get to go to school dances where no one actually dances or knows how to dance (“Leave room for Jesus”), boys chase each other around the gym, girls giggle about asking a guy to dance or cry in the bathrooms, and it is mandatory to remove your shoes (at least at my school).
7. Their fashion sense is unmatched by all, now and forever. I am sure when they look back at those pictures in a few years they will feel the same way…

Not all middle schoolers are like this though, but I would say a lot of them are, and if they aren’t, then they are really good at making it seem so. If this was you, do not be ashamed. It was just a phase, and (hopefully), you have outgrown your puerile ways of thinking.

 

Inspiration

Whenever someone asked, “Who is your inspiration?” I never knew how to answer. There have been people who I thought were commendable and certainly deserving to be an inspiration to others, and although those individuals may do remarkable things, I either found myself feeling inferior or too insignificant to make a difference. In brief moments in my life, there have been people who I looked up to and wanted to be just like, but these infatuations were fleeting as my hobbies and interests changed oh so often. I guess I never really had a person who inspired me to do something, be something, or change something.

According to Merriam-Webster, inspiration is a person, place, experience, etc. that makes someone want to do or create something. This definition made me realize that I am not so much inspired by people, but rather, the future and what it holds in store. This, then, makes the question, “What is your inspiration?” My inspiration stems from places I want to visit, adventures I want go on, things I want to be, and activities I want to try. I am inspired by what I could accomplish in the future and what is to come. Reflecting on my goals inspires me to do the best that I can and be the best I can be. It is as if I am inspiring myself, as conceited as it may seem.

As for me, I do not think I am that worthy of a person to inspire others, and even if I was, I would not know why.

Super Powers

I am sure most, if not all, of us have thought of a super power that we really wanted to have. Maybe it was a childhood fantasy or an imaginative way of making our lives easier or adventurous or perhaps, it was simply something to let the time pass. No matter what the reason, everyone, at one point or other, has pondered this fanciful notion, and although not everyone may have a definite answer, I, speaking for myself, would have to say otherwise.

For me, I have always wanted the power of teleportation. I came to this conclusion years ago for the mere fact that I am not always the most punctual person. I have never been a fan of walking from one place to the other, and driving has never produced the thrill of freedom and independence for me like it has for many novice drivers. Instead, I always thought of driving as more of a chore than anything else. This may make me sound high-maintenance but I would rather be driven than to drive myself, and with that being said, sitting passenger-side allows me more time to get ready. Doing makeup while driving (like I tend to do) is a safety hazard, and I believe that the roads would be a safer place if I could just teleport to my destination. This way, I would be on time without waking up earlier or having to anticipate and then sit in traffic.

People that I have talked to in the past said that they would rather fly or have super speed to which I explain that both of those powers, though excellent in their own right, require physical activity, and as a very lazy person like many people would admit about themselves, I would prefer to expend as little energy as possible. Teleportation allows a person to transport from point A to point B instantaneously; flying and speed, as fast as they may be, can only get you so far.