THE SIMPLE THINGS IN LIFE: (UNIT 9)

In honor of today's terrible tragedies and losses, as well as in coordination with the overall theme of UNIT 9 ('The Future and Understanding the Past') as well as the theme of my blog (a simplistic theme, free of clutter and focused on the small yet important things - one of my previous posts was on organization and 'remembering to breathe'), I decided to make my blog post about how important it is to remember the simple things in life and also how easily we tend to forget this.

After following the news throughout the entire day, hearing that the shooter at large in Seattle earlier this afternoon and learning that Seattle Police had finally tracked him down and that more information was being discovered was somewhat reassuring - it allowed Seattleites to feel more at ease while at the same time bring a sort of justice to the horrific acts.  The first shootings took place less than a block away from my apartment, the woman was someone close to people I am associated with, and the suspect was finally caught just blocks from where I mainly work.  Finally earlier this evening, the news released more personal information on the suspect as well as his victims.  I read one specific article (you can find the link below) that caught my attention; the article was one of few that mentioned small pieces of background information on one of the Cafe Racer Ravenna victims and chef, Leonard Meuse.  Details included excerpts from his father about who Leonard is as a person; he studied Japanese and zoology at UW, is extremely intelligent, went through pastry school at Seattle Community College and aspires to be a baker.

While these little tidbits of information initially seemed irrelevant to the 'hyped up' information on the shooters whereabouts, condition, etc., I found them to be extremely touching and heartwarming; they reminded me of the simple things in life, such as personal interests or hobbies, achievements (both academic and personal) and what comes to mind when our family members think of us.  Most importantly, they brought me 'back down to earth' and allowed me to think of Leonard Meuse as a person with interests, friends, family and a life, rather than simply a victim of Seattle's unexpected 'Deadly Day.'  It really made me think about my past, future and how important it is for all of us to recognize the little things in life every once in a while.

Check out the article here:

http://o.seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2018320941_meuse31m.html

K.

REMEMBERING TO SMILE (UNIT 8)

While my blog initially started out with quite a general, open theme (always seems easier but can leave things 'too' open versus a specific topic/theme), over the last few units I've come to find myself writing posts on the things I think are important to remember, and just things that can make life easier, more enjoyable and stress free.  I personally am always trying to find ways to relax, de-stress and stay focused, remembering that while things can seem so chaotic at times, there is always a calm at the end of the storm, and that in fact chaos can be a very motivating thing as long as we know how to 'deal' with it.

On that note, I wanted to write a post about something that keeps popping up; through Instagram, Tumblr, personal experiences, etc.  I recently have kept coming across little sayings about smiling.  Yep, smiling.  Simple, not something we ever think about but rather something we do without thought; an automatic human instinct and reaction.  Or do we do it as often as we think?  I was going through an Instagram that I regularly follow and discovered a little snippet of advice: "Smile - it confuses people."  I immediately thought, 'that's silly, people smile all the time, so why would it catch someone off guard?'  But after a few minutes, I realized it was true.

After that, I started paying attention to 'smiling.'  As I walked down the street, I took the time to look at peoples faces.  For the most part, everyone seemed pretty smile-free, especially those by themselves.  Of course, someone would have no reason to be smiling if they were quickly trying to get to work or school, but then again, what wouldn't they have to smile about?  Maybe not everything in their lives (or mine, for that matter!  I applied this to myself, as well) justified a smile, but there had to be at least one thing.  And even though these smile-less folks didn't seem overly sad, they didn't seem overly happy either.

Next I began to focus on the smiles I was seeing; people smiling for what seemed to be no reason at all, friends laughing with each other, boyfriends and girlfriends smiling at their significant others, and my favorite of all: people smiling at their phones.  I know that sounds weird, but think about it.  Whenever I see someone looking at their phone and suddenly breaking out a huge smile, it always makes me wonder what they're looking at that made them happy enough to smile like that.  I think it's something we've all done at least once, or I know I have (but more like a million times).  When I happen to be the one smiling from a text, message, or whatever, I know that it always feels really good.  Whether it be a simple little text or huge, amazing news, it's a great feeling.  But I ended up enjoying these smiles the most, partially because I couldn't help but smile at the person smiling.

So yes, we all smile or laugh throughout our days, but think about how much we don't smile.  Sometimes we forget how uplifting it can be, whether it's us doing the smiling or simply seeing someone else smile.  It's truly something that, if even for a second, can bring a bit of light to a bad day, enhance an already great day, or just make someone else feel good.  It sounds corny, but seriously - don't forget to smile every once in a while.

One of my favorite quotes:

Cheers,

K.

REMEMBERING TO BREATH (UNIT 7)

"Peace.  It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work.  It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart."  -unknown

Having recently gone through a bit of a chaotic month (and because I created my blog theme with ‘organization and simplicity’ in mind), I thought it would be a great idea to have my newest blog post be about helpful tips and ways to keep life organized, stay stress free and remember to not sweat the small things!

"That's the music - when you never know what's gonna happen."  

- unknown

While I like to think of myself as an organized person (I am in certain areas), there are a lot of moments in my life where I wish I was a tad more coordinated (and I’m speaking in terms of homework, work, etc., not clumsiness!).  It’s always been a goal of mine to master this for more than a few days, ie. make it a permanent ‘lifestyle’ that comes without thinking, like eating healthy.  

"All great changes are preceded by chaos."

- Deepak Chopra

Although I haven’t mastered it 100% yet (since I seem to be organized for 24-48 hours and then become very disorganized and have to re-organize once again...yikes, it even sounds chaotic typing it out!), here are some of the main tips that seem to truly help me in my moments of disarray (and hopefully they can help those of you in need, too!):

1. Have everything ready the night before: on the rare occasion that I'm able to have my lunch packed and ready to grab from the fridge, my car keys hanging by my door, my outfit for the day chosen and laid out (and little things like setting the coffee timer to go off before I wake up or having enough gas to get to work), I've realized how much smoother my mornings go.
2. Visually mapping out my week: when I say visually I mean literally drawing out my week; sometimes I like to buy one of those big blank calendars to hang on my wall so I can sharpie in the week tasks ahead of me, while other times I'll just use my day planner and fill out things I need to remember before the week begins and map out a general 'game plan.'
3. Chalkboard door: this is one of my favorite tips; if your apartment or home allows, I highly suggest going to a craft store and picking up some chalkboard/blackboard paint (it's cheap!) - a few months ago I painted the entire back of my bedroom door with it, and it now serves as my massive "reminder" of tidbits I would normally forget...I'll write down important stuff on it so that I literally can't miss seeing it as I'm walking out the door!
4. Purging clutter: every once in a while (or during the 'Spring Cleaning Season' or after a horribly awesome episode of Hoarders), I think everyone enjoys getting rid of some clutter; no matter what it is - old, duplicate bathroom products, expired food, random junk in our desk drawers or purses, clothing we haven't worn in 2 years (or 6 months for that matter)), when you can get yourself to let go of things that are truly unnecessary (also known just as 'stuff'), it always feels as if you can start the next day with a clean slate.
5. Remembering to breathe: I think in today's world where everything moves so fast and we're constantly updating our Twitter, Facebook, Blogss, etc. while simultaneously following all of our friends updates as well, a lot of us forget how important it is to breathe; even in the middle of the day, I'll make five minutes to get some fresh air or take a break and do a few deep breaths; it can be surprisingly calming.
6. Taking a step back - don't sweat the small stuff!  This is one of the utmost important things I try to remember and channel as much as possible, and it's helped me in more situations - big and small, serious and petty - than I can count.  Like with forgetting to breathe, it is so easy to lose ourselves in the chaos and stress of our everyday lives, where we end up 'zoning in' too much but never 'zoning out;' ie. things that actually aren't as important, worrisome or stressful as we believe them to be at the moment get blown out of proportion.  It never fails to alleviate a cluttered day or make me feel better in general to remember to zone out, take a step back and remember that I shouldn't be wasting my time or energy sweating the small stuff!

"You need chaos in your soul to give birth to a dancing star."

- Friedrich Nietzsche

What are some things you guys do to stay organized and stress free?  

Cheers, 

K.

BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITY: HELLO LA

Touched down in LaLa Land last night!  My stepsister picked me up from the airport and we went and had an awesome dinner somewhere in Silver Lake (the name is escaping me at the moment); jalapeño mac & cheese, croque monsieurs and some good wine...

I didn't realize how big Los Angeles is.  I haven't been here for years, and the last time I was it was on the freeway booking it to Arizona with a jam-packed car full of my stuff.  It's very 'gridlock-looking,' especially flying in at night, but also so pretty - like coming down on a massive Christmas tree or something - everything sparkled.

Looks much different in the day now - woke up to 'wild parrots' (which literally scream; I didn't mind it - I'm used to the seagulls in the morning in Seattle so bird noises don't bother me) and palm trees.  I enjoy the scenery and environment much more than I anticipated, although I haven't had to experience any of the infamous traffic yet.  The hills dip up and down and have a city-jungle feel to them, with small, very narrow, winding roads, mexican-ish casas that still have a retro feel.  All the houses are packed together but not in a claustrophobic way because each one is different from the next...almost has a 'Capital Hill in LA' vibe to it.

Has anyone else ever been to LA or lived here?  I would love to get some insight on good restaurants, cool parks or fun things to do here!

Cheers,

K.

OFF TO LALA LAND!

I'm headed to LA this afternoon to visit my step-sister, see some friends and to do a few job interviews - so excited to get out of Seattle for a little while (as much as I love this city).  It'll be nice to - fingers crossed - wake up to some warm[er] weather for a change.

I've spent the last few days trying to get ahead in my online classes (doing school work when you're on vacation is never fun or as easy as you plan it to be), so I'm not feeling as overwhelmed leaving town.  I do still have homework and tests coming up this week considering midterms are already here (how did that happen so fast?!), so I'm planning on bringing my laptop and iPad.  I downloaded Your Life, Uploaded into my 'library' on my iPad, which I've been meaning to use more.  I also have the hard copy of the book (I still enjoy physically turning a page), but I'm actually enjoying reading some of the chapters on my iPad, at least more so than I anticipated.  It allows me to access certain features that the hard copy doesn't, like being able to search for specific terms or phrases.

I have the first version of the iPad, so unfortunately it doesn't have 3G or internet roaming capabilities, but it can at least latch on wherever wireless is available.  I always forget that this is accessible almost everywhere now, including airplanes!  Considering I've only been on one trip - that involved flying - since moving back to Seattle from Honduras (my parents took my brother and I to Las Vegas for his 21st birthday last year), I haven't had a chance to use my iPad for educational purposes while traveling - I'm looking forward to making my discussion posts, a few blog posts (especially seeing how capable it is with my fashion blog posts that require a lot of photo editing and specifics in order to make them perfect) and writing emails on it.

Also excited to report back on my experiences in LA; I've been to/drive through Los Angeles tons of times, but not since many of my friends moved down there/I've had a step-sister that lives there.  Especially anticipating the trip considering I'll be moving there by the end of the summer!  Oddly enough, job interviews sound challenging in a fun way...

Still need to pack up a few things - I've always been a procrastinator when it comes to that.  Time to get moving...

Cheers,

K.

MORE OF AN INTRO (UNIT 6)

I’m a Seattle native, went to Seattle Academy of Arts and Sciences for high school and graduated in 2007.  I attended the University of Arizona in Tucson for two years, before deciding to travel to Central America.  I planned on being there for two months, but before I knew it I'd been living in Honduras for nearly a year earning my PADI diving certification through Utila Dive Centre and eventually teaching tourists how to scuba dive as well as managing the shop bar.  I recently started my own fashion blog called W by HARRIS - feel free to check it out. I love gaining new readers and followers. 

My objectives and goals seem to be ever-changing, but over the past year I’ve felt more sure of my decisions (at least things I want to and am willing to try!), giving me a bit more of a ‘direction’ for the next few years of my life.  Having recently gotten involved in blogging and furthered my knowledge and consequently interest in social media, I’m hoping to move to LA by the end of the summer in pursuit of a social media-based position like I have now.  I’ve been itching to be in a new place with new people, so I feel the move will be an exciting and possibly life changing event!

Although my blog has a somewhat general theme, I was excited about the ‘freedom’ my new blog allows me (versus the pretty ‘strict’ theme of my fashion blog); I look forward to writing about my experiences as a student, social media enthusiast & blogger. 

Want to reach me? Easy (the beauty of social media)!

TWITTER

FACEBOOK

LINKEDIN

EMAIL (kharris313@southseattle.edu or wbyharris@gmail.com)

SCCC DISCUSSION FORUM 

Cheers, 

Kate

Welcome!

Hey everyone,

I'm excited to start the blogging portion of CMST 275!  As I mentioned in my WEEK 5 SOCIAL ACTIVITY post, my blog will contain much more writing than my already-established fashion blog, W by HARRIS.

I plan on writing entries as they come to me (in addition to our assigned posts), focusing on my daily experiences, random thoughts and opinions and life in general in regards to being an online student at South Seattle Community College, social media manager, marketer and enthusiast and a blogger looking forward to gaining more experience!

Feel free to check out my related social media sites (links can be found at the top of my blog in the 'menu' as well as on the right-hand sidebar).  I'm always looking for advice, tips, criticisms, comments, etc. when it comes to my social media presence and blog especially, so please don't hesitate to drop me a comment, send a message, shoot me a tweet (I think you get the picture!)...

Cheers,

Kate