Megan McGuire
READ ALL ABOUT IT
Since I have moved to Florida State University it has been very important to me to stay in touch with my loved ones: friends and co-workers. Most importantly I have kept in close contact with my family, I am the oldest of my siblings and the first to go away to college so it is not easy. Even though my parents say that it doesn't affect them too much that I am gone, I know it does because of how much they try and stay involved with my daily life and how ecstatic they are when I come home. I keep in contact in numerous ways whether it be texting, Skype or Facebook I believe in having many ways to show the people in my life what I do on a daily basis, what struggles I face and what my accomplishments are on a weekly basis. What surprised me the most was how much I have been using social media and technology since I started attending Florida State, especially Facebook and Instagram, back home I never used so much social media.
Texting is a huge part of the way I stay in touch with my friends, family and co-workers. It doesn't take a lot of my time up- just a few seconds I can remind someone important to me that I am thinking about them and miss them. The person I text the most is my mom. She sometimes has a hard time with me being away, because we truly are best friends and to be quite honest I do the chores around house and my sisters, well lets just say our house must be a mess without me there. So when I stay in constant communication with her it makes it easier for her, which makes me feel better too. All moms are the same they like to know every detail that is going on in your life and my mom is exactly that way, she likes to know what I had for breakfast to how many questions and format my exam was. So just sending a quick text on my way to class lets me show my mom she's in my thoughts and it takes no effort on my part. I not only left my mom behind when I moved up to Florid State from Miami I also left a lot of friends back home; a majority of those friendships I had my entire life and sometimes I start to become homesick when I see all my friends back home together and having fun. So I text all the time, usually in group chats so I can hear the latest gossip, what their doing for the weekend and how their new college experience is.
COMMUNICATION IS KEY
September 10, 2015 9:09 AM
Megan: Hey mom, good morning!
Mom: Hi sweetie, whats your plans for today?
Megan: I have work from 10-6, then I am working on some homework and going to this social in my dorm- should be fun!
Mom: Sounds good, make sure to eat at work and I hope you meet a ton of new friends at this social!
Megan: Thanks ma, hows dad and the girls? Are Shannon and Sam doing good in school?
Mom: They are doing great, of course Shannon is getting great grades as usual but sam is having a much harder time getting acclimated to high school. I think she feels a little inferior to Shannon, you should probably text her and see how she's holding up.
Megan: Will do, I love you I will text you tonight when I get home from work.
September 10, 2015 8:43 PM
Megan: Hey Sam, hows the new school year so far have you made a lot of friends?
Sam: Hey Meg!! We miss you over here, yeah its just okay so far I am still trying to get used to it.
Megan: I know how you feel I am still trying to wrap my head around being here and so far away from you guys, its weird.
Sam: I know what you mean, cant wait to come up for one of the football games and see you soon!
Megan: Me too Sammy, miss you guys I will call you later in the week! Love you!
Having an Instagram and Facebook is my way of showing people that aren't here with me in college what I am up too, what my sorority is doing and how I am evolving at Florida State University. Instagram is predominately pictures, I get so excited when an event happens at my sorority and I get to show my friends back home- like bid day for example. Bid Day was where I received my “invitation” into my sorority, when the me and the new pledges arrived the entire sorority was outside waiting for us; they had balloons, music blasting, and my favorite part, the food. Of course its house full of excited girls so pictures were inevitable, my cheeks hurt for a week after all that smiling! And with a last surprise on my bid day was a helicopter with confetti poured all over the house, what this generation calls “candid”. All of the pictures that were taken I quickly posted on my Instagram to show my friends what awesome and new experience I was going through.
Facebook Status and Replies:
“Just received my first college essay back….with an A+!!!!” -Megan McGuire
“Excellent job Megan, keep it up!” -Ray Berry
“Can’t believe it, me and Karli are so proud of you!” -Kim Fratina
“FSU looks like its treating you well, miss you!” -Kellie McCartney
“Just joined Relay for Life FSU ad Nole Med, so excited!” -Megan McGuire
“Great to see you getting involved Megan, keep up the good work” -Jean McCoy
“I know a few friends in Nole Med, text me so I can give you their numbers!!” -Viana Lora
Having friends and family support me as I adjust to Florida State is what personally makes this whole transition easier for me. Moving away from your family and friends, sometimes I doubt my abilities to do great at Florida State but when I post a status on Facebook like I showed above my families kind and encouraging words really help me move past those doubts. What I have learned in my three months at FSU is that you can’t do everything on your own, sometimes you need help, support or encouraging words to boost your performance. And the most rewarding part for me is when I do good, like getting an A+ on my first exam, it feels really nice to show the people that are cheering for me that I can do what they believe I should do. Making my family proud is the reason I try so hard in school and try to be involved not just in my sorority but in the Florida State community as well. Having a way to show my family what I am doing- showing them with texting, Skyping and a quick status on Facebook of what the newest update is in my life it is almost like I can feel how proud they are of me through my screen.
Whether its a short conversation through text, a post on Facebook, pictures through Instagram or half an hour on Skype, communication is key. All of this communication has helped me adjust to Florida State University, I have decided that through my journey these next four years at FSU that I want to share every moment, the good and the bad, with the people in my life. Because life is meant to be shared with the people you care about, and just because I left most of them back home does not mean they wont be as equally involved in my new life as my roommates or sorority sisters. I want to show my friends how happy I am to be a “Nole” and how thrilling it is to get involved in something so fresh and new. Most importantly I want to make my family proud, my family is everything to me and without their approval and support I wouldn't be in the shoes I am in today. All of the ways I use to communicate will help me accomplish these goals, without all the communication I have talked about I would not be able to show everyone in my life my goals, my accomplishments and yes sometimes even my failures. Communication is key to success and staying in touch and what I plan to do for the next four years.
Reflection:
I wanted my paper to really have a personal touch to it, it was important to me that who ever read my paper felt like they were just talking to me. I wanted my reader to have specific examples on how I interact with family and friends and that is why I wrote down some text messages with my family members. The goal was to show them how interact with my mom and sister- I showed a real conversation because I wanted a realistic view on my life really is. When I decided to add in pictures from my Instagram I did so because its much easier to visualize what I am talking about when my reader has images to look at as well. And finally with the Facebook messages I wanted a contrast on how my tone is with my family and with my friends- I wanted to show that sometimes I am more detailed in responses with my family than with my friends. The way I laid out my design for my text messages and Facebook replies is because I wanted it to be very simple to read, I like having an easy read I didn't want my paper to be too scattered or unorganized so I kept it simple. I included texting because it really is something I do all day and I wanted my paper to get as realistic as possible, I used Skype because I wanted the reader to understand that I do have face to face interaction with my family and to show that sometimes that is better than just words. Lastly, I included Facebook because it has a great variety on how I can communicate-from my status to the replies and that is why I included those responses in my paper.
