Our blogs have moved! Keep up with the newest updates and changes to the Hopkins Interactive blogs at our new blog central: http://blogs.hopkins-interactive.com/lauren/.
February 02, 2010
girl talk
My first day at Girls’ Life Magazine started, like any other first day at a new job, as kind of a mess. When I woke up at 9:00, I looked in the mirror on my way to the bathroom – and found that my bangs were flipped straight out in the air. I guess they were still a bit wet when I went to sleep, so pressing up against my pillow all night had set them into a funky sort of pompadour that doesn’t exactly scream “modern tweens.” {Mine did not look as cool as that photo, I assure you.}
After stressing about my hair and my perfect "first day of work" outfit {like you've never spent a long time picking out your outfit for the first day of school - don't lie}, I left my apartment around 9:45 and, I kid you not, hit every single red light on the way. When I was about 3 minutes away, Argonne Drive ended up being almost completely blocked because of a house fire, which did not seem that serious from the road but apparently needed the firehouse’s entire stock of engines to get it under control. I kept checking the time and getting even more nervous that I would be late - the steering wheel took quite a beating with my anxious taps.
But, somehow, I made it! I checked in with Cait {the editor who hired me} and she took me on a grand tour of the place: I saw the conference area, beauty closet, fashion closet, everyone’s desks {though I forget a lot of their names already – luckily, they have huge sheets of paper decorated with their names above their computers}, the kitchen, the bathroom, etc. I walked past the editor-in-chief – which is still kind of a “holy moly” moment for me, since I had read her editor’s letters for years when I was younger. I also found a really cool light table that they rarely use for issues anymore and that I can really see in my apartment as an unconventional breakfast table.
My very first assignment with my new editor, Katie, was to brainstorm ideas for web articles in different areas, like their “Tressed Out” section that talks about how to follow hair fads and how to fix hair problems. But this assignment – to brainstorm article ideas for 3 sections and a title for one section of the magazine – worried me as I got to it. How long should a brainstorm take? I don’t want to send it right away, because then I’d seem too eager and miss the chance to come up with some really good ideas. But I also don’t want them to think that I take three hours to generate ideas when they would really like me to only take one.
But I came up with a pretty good balance as the day went on. And the day itself actually went by fast, since Katie eventually asked me to write the articles for three of the ideas I came up with. {Since then, I have gotten to brainstorm and write even more articles, plus I’ve learned how to become a moderator on the website – I will even get paid to moderate for four hours on Friday evenings after I leave work!} I left a little after 5:00 with so much experience after just one day, lots of excitement for my second day, and a few things to remember:
- It is cold in there by the intern table. My light stripey cardigan was not enough – next time, bring a sweater or sweatshirt so I don’t have to wear my winter coat the whole time.
- Wake up early enough to bring breakfast and lunch {and snacks} with me. By 11:00 my stomach was growling. Loudly.
- Green Day makes me much more uncomfortable than I once thought. Do not sit on the Green Day poster side of the intern table. Unfortunately, this poster is directly under the NSync at Madison Square Garden poster, which makes for quite the conundrum. My heart still beats a little bit faster when I think of that concert {which, yes, I still have taped on a VHS} and Justin’s curly, curly blond hair.
- THIS IS COOL. This mag was my Bible as a tween and now I’m part of it. My name will even be on the masthead {the page at the front of the magazine that lists the names of all the editors, contributors, etc.}. I like that.
- Terms like BFF {best friend forever}, BGF {best guy friend}, girlie, omg, crush, etc. are not ok to say in everyday conversation outside of the Girls' Life walls.
- Lusting after the bags, shoes, and dresses in the fashion closet is totally ok. But never pick one up and see how it would look on you, because you are going to have to put it back eventually and then you will be sad. Two words: separation anxiety.
- My fellow interns: Meghan, Molly, Lizzie, and Gabby. Check!
Now, I get so excited the night before coming into work. When my second day on Friday was over, I was actually bummed that I wouldn't get to come back until Wednesday again. But luckily, the weekend went by quickly - I'll be back to the office again tomorrow!
January 20, 2010
The Johns Hopkins Film Society
Group Name: The Johns Hopkins Film Society
Category of Group: Campus programming/publications
Year Founded: 1996
Name: Lauren Carney
Year: Class of 2011
Hometown: Westmont, NJ
Position: Director of Marketing
To put it simply, The Johns Hopkins Film Society has one goal: to make people watch some movies. Deeper than that though, our "mission" is basically to try to make critically acclaimed films {films that everyone should see} accessible to the Hopkins community and surrounding area. In college - especially if you're not majoring in the Humanities - it's can be hard to seek movies out, learn more about them, and appreciate the art of filmmaking itself. There are a lot of reasons people don't see movies: the cost of a movie at a theatre is expensive for a student's budget, it's frustrating when a movie you thought was going to be good ends up being disappointing, etc. So, as Film Society, we try to choose quality movies and bring them directly to the Hopkins campus. And to make it even better, most of our film screenings are completely free to Hopkins students.
In the fall, we have regular screenings right here on campus. They're normally related to one another in some way, but it is a great chance to see a variety of different films for no cost at all. For example, this fall we went with two themes: a "Rebellious Youth" series and a short Stanley Kubrick revival series. We showed films like A Clockwork Orange, If..., Rebel Without a Cause, The Warriors, Gummo, and 2001: A Space Odyssey. We had reserved a screening space for every Thursday night of the semester and some of the bigger movies, like 2001, were shown on weekends. We also had a double-feature on Halloween: we showed Funny Games in the early afternoon and The Exorcist as it got dark. It was a lot of fun, both for Film Society and for our friends, to know that there would be a great movie - sometimes two or even three! - on campus to see every single week.
In the spring though, most of our focus goes towards the Johns Hopkins Film Fest. JHFF used to be a really popular Film Fest, both in Baltimore and beyond. Though it took a hit when some of its founders graduated and left the area, we have an incredible group in Film Society who are dedicated to bring it back, improve our relations to the Baltimore community, and make "Johns Hopkins Film Fest" a well-known name. Currently, we show feature-length films, student films, and short film submissions that have been sent to us from around the world. All of the films are free for Hopkins students, faculty, and staff {but festival, day, and show passes are completely affordable for everyone else too}. Last year, we showed films like Adventures of Power and Elling, plus a student film showcase featuring projects by quite a few Hopkins film students. We also screened some great films by independent filmmakers from the United States, Spain, Germany, France, and more.
Sometimes, we're even lucky enough to show big feature films before/very soon after they were released in theatres nationwide. The production company will get in contact with our faculty advisor, discuss the terms of our deal {the price we will charge, the amount of advertising we will promise, etc.}, and send us the film and sometimes even advertising materials. Just as an example, soon we will be showing Law Abiding Citizen starring Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler. The admission fee is only $3 - much cheaper than a movie theatre! - and it's going to be a lot of fun.
It's important to the members of Film Society to maintain their integrity by showing films that we all love and believe in - but we also need to remember that we wouldn't be a campus organization at all if our fellow students didn't actually want to see the films. That's kind of where I come in - I hold the job as Director of Marketing for Film Society, so basically I work on recruiting new members, marketing our screenings/meetings/events, and maintaining our campus relations - in other words, trying to make Hopkins love us and come to all of our stuff. Sometimes, I also feel like the person in the group who reminds everyone that Film Society isn't just a club where they can watch their favorite films with their buddies - it's a delicate balance between quality films and films that will catch the eye of the non-film fanatic, so I constantly look at our film line-ups with the Biology major, the athlete, or the general Baltimore community in mind. Luckily, I have a lot of help with all aspects of my job - we try to split ourselves into certain "roles" in the group, but everyone helps everyone else out. I do primarily marketing-related tasks with a group of members who are also interested in the advertising/promotion side of things, but I'll also help set up for an event, sell tickets, etc. We also need people to stay in contact with film distributors, train to use the projectors, keep on top of our budget/apply for student group grants, and more. It's a lot of work and a lot to coordinate - but, as our advisor said recently, we're a fine tuned machine! {The photo is of Aljosa, me, and Clare at the Student Activities Fair in September, telling everyone about Film Society.}
Freshman year, Film Society was the very first club meeting I ever went to. I was really excited to learn that there were actually student groups like this at Hopkins - intimate, fun, and a group of relatable people with whom I could make big things happen across campus. But, because of the time meetings were scheduled back then, I wasn't able to go to any for two semesters after that - I went to some events and kept getting the email updates, but I thought I would never get involved again because I had failed to in the beginning. But it goes to show you that things sometimes work themselves out for the best: even after all of my time away, I sucked it up and went back to a meeting sophomore year. Now, I have a leadership role and it is truly one of my most rewarding activities. I've learned a lot about marketing to a wide variety of people, organizing a group in the role of the "leader" {when we need to do an advertising push}, and more about how to plan and successfully host an event. They're all valuable lessons that I can take with me in the future, to jobs and in life. But I think the best part about Film Society is, at the end of the day, we get to do one thing we really love: come together, watch movies, and spend time with some incredible people.
January 12, 2010
intersession 2010
At Hopkins, Intersession is a really unique 3-week period {after our mandatory 2-week winter break} during which students decide to do all sorts of things: stay at home, hang out with friends, travel, work for extra cash, get a head-start on internship/job/grad school applications, explore the city, and/or take short classes. I've chosen to do quite a few of those things: I am taking two 1-credit classes, working a bunch in the Admissions office, and spending some quality time with friends.
Both of my classes are in the social sciences, which is perfect because, in place of a core curriculum like other schools have, every student majoring in humanities at Hopkins has to take a certain number of credits in social science, natural science, quantitative science, and/or engineering as part of her "distribution requirements." It's a clever system because we are really encouraged to explore other areas outside our major, yet it is completely up to our discretion which subjects we pursue. I've gotten to strengthen my background by taking a lot of classes related to my interests as well, like The Structure of English {a cognitive science class} and Monuments and Memory {in the History of Science and Technology department}. So, this Intersession, I am taking:
Through the Medical Sociological Lens: Tuberculosis in Literature, Opera, and History.
I knew I would enjoy this class from the get-go, considering how Moulin Rouge! is pretty much my favorite movie of all time. I know it is neither literature nor opera {though it's close}, but I think it's fascinating to examine the role of tuberculosis in society, then translate that into knowledge of the role of disease in art as a whole. Our readings and discussions have been so interesting and I feel like I've already benefited: I can absolutely see myself approaching illness in my creative writing in a much more tactful, realistic way. And plus, we've gotten to watch La Boheme and Les Miserables in class. Not so bad. {The only painful aspect of the class is that it meets three days a week from 6:00-8:30pm - it makes me want to take a nap break in the middle!}
About the House: Anthropology of Domestic Space. It's no secret that I am a very domestic person. I love to cook, I
love making sure people are happy, I love to decorate, and I've always
seen myself keeping a house and having a family in the future. So,
when I read a course description that asked the questions, "How do the
spaces in which we live our daily lives shape our sense of
family, work and public space? Where does 'home' begin and end?," I was
thrilled. I think I had slightly high expectations for this class and
I can't say that they have all been met, but it is interesting to learn
about the social construction of "home," as well as how it evolves and
is reworked as is necessary. A pleasant surprise in this class was the
parallel we have been drawing between anthropological writings about
the house/home and the actual architectural designs of domestic
spaces. We're actually going to use that knowledge to create a design
for a house as our final project. I've never had the chance to take an
architecture class before {let alone get to be this creative in a
class} so that part has been fun.
Aside from academics and spending long hours in Admissions to earn some much-needed money, I have been having a lot of fun as well. I've been tackling some new recipes and cooking real food {as opposed to the pizza/macaroni and cheese/soup cycle I was on towards the end of fall semester} including the mini skillet meatloaves that I'm going to try tomorrow night {not tonight though because I have way too many leftovers to get through!}. Plus, I've had quite a bit of time to scout out Baltimore's vintage/thrift store scene. I've found a few places with great reviews that I'm really excited to explore.
I've also seen a few movies {like the ones below}, with plenty more on my "must see" list {including The Paranoids, A Single Man, Police, adjective, and Alice in Wonderland - to name only a few!}.
Broken Embraces
Inglourious Basterds
Fantastic Mr. Fox and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Nine
{ok, ok, I saw this over winter break - but it
was too beautiful to resist putting it on the list!}
In addition, I've been searching for interesting summer internships and expanding my music collection. Though it has only been about a week so far, it has been a great Intersession and has been exactly what, I think, was intended by the university when "Intersession" was created in the first place: a time to explore, to grow, and to do something different with your time.
January 08, 2010
here's to tomorrow
Greetings from a new year, a new decade, and a new day of Intersession 2010! Now, to the first order of business in every new year of blogging: resolutions.
I'm a traditionalist in most senses, so I'm not the type to shrug off New Year resolutions. Most of them obviously end up broken in the long run {Remember the time I vowed to work out regularly? Ha.}, but there is something refreshing about a serious self-evaluation and setting some real goals. And really, the idea can be a great stepping stone to change if used appropriately: even though December 31 and January 1 don't ever really feel different, sometimes that theoretical "fresh start" is just what people need to feel like they can actually, really, truly leave the garbage behind and do something different.
But going into New Years Eve, I had no idea what I wanted my resolution to be. I mean, there were the obvious things: Lose weight. No more soda. Stop procrastinating. No more jealousy. Throw more dinner parties. Et cetera. But those are always so easily broken and, by extension, really easily disheartening. And it is a permanent New Years resolution of mine to always treat myself better - so that means impossible goals are a no-no.
It took me a few days {ok, a week}, but I finally decided on a deceptively simple-sounding resolution: stay hungry. Sounds inspirational, right? And very vague. Basically, what I meant was not just picking one aspect of myself to make better for the time being, but to focus on the whole me and stay motivated to make general, long-term, long-lasting improvements. Just as an example, I've been in quite a fashion rut lately. It sounds superficial, but fashion is the one way in which I know I can express who I am as a person. By not knowing what to wear and how to wear it, I'm having a subtle personality crisis. To apply my resolution here, though, I'm not going to panic - I'm going to stay motivated and find a way to express myself. I'm going to crave the perfect wardrobe, to send the perfect message about who I am and what I am like, and I'm not going to get discouraged while I seek it out.
Now that junior year is half over, I am thinking even harder about life-after-graduation. I don't know what I want to do or where I want to be. I know some things that I like and I know some places that get me excited, but do I really want to spend my life there? But I'm telling myself not to worry - to pick one, work as hard as I possibly can, and see how it feels. I'm young and I have plenty of time to work my way up to a job that has everything I want, so right now I need to enjoy every minute and do as much as I can with the opportunities I have. And besides - I think my goal, to put it more plainly, is to never be satisfied. Once you're happy and satisfied, you allow yourself to get comfortable - and then you stop trying. I never want to stop trying, when it comes to anything. I never want to be bored.
And so, my readers, stay hungry in 2010. Whatever your resolutions, vow to navigate the year passionately and take off boldly towards what you really want. Today, I simply want to enjoy a free day of Intersession and possibly take a walk in the snow - and I wish you were here to do it with me!
December 19, 2009
Lauren - We've Moved!
- We've Moved!Our blogs have moved! Keep up with the newest updates and changes to the Hopkins Interactive blogs at our new blog central: http://blogs.hopkins-interactive.com/lauren/.
