WEEK EIGHT BLOGS
Monday, May 4th, 2020
May the 4th be with you!
I’m not even a huge “Star Wars” fan, but I had to say it!
I used to watch “Star Wars” a lot as a kid with my cousins, but those days have been gone for a while. I’d love to get back into the franchise, though!
Happy Monday! It’s finals week and I’ve already made my list of all my priorities this week. Items on the agenda include (but are not limited to): Communication Theory paper, Media Literacy paper, Writing Across the Media final assignment, Anthropology final, and internship meetings/tasks. All in all, not too much to handle!
The first two papers are already submitted and off my mind, which means the only two classes left for me to worry about are Anthropology of Food and Writing Across the Media. They shouldn’t be too difficult (famous last words), so I’m hoping I can focus more energy into my internship.
Speaking of, we had our social media launch today! We’re posting the stories of young adults in the Kansas City area who have been affected by coronavirus. There are a lot of really cool stories about what some people are forced to face and how they’re handling it. It’s really inspiring! I’m definitely going to shamelessly promote my work with them because I’m super proud to be a part of this project. Go check us out @covidkidskc on Instagram and Twitter!
For the project, I’m handling a lot of the graphics. I will be working on putting lower thirds graphics on all of the videos and creating posts with quotes from the interns. I’m really excited for the role I get to play in this project! Our girl gang shares a lot of respect for each other’s ideas and contributions, which creates such an amazing environment to work in.
I’m excited to see what this week will bring for me. I hope it’s exciting for you, too!
-Maddy 😃
 
Tuesday, May 5th, 2020
Surprising a friend
My best friend from high school and I attended different colleges this school year. It was difficult to not be together as much as we were in high school, but we did our best to hang out when our schedules permitted.
I decided that I would surprise her with a sweet finals care package on her doorstep. It was pretty small and simple, but I thought it was a sweet idea. I filled a gift bag with some of her favorite snacks, some tea and a face mask and left it on her porch for her to find. We live really close to each other, so making the drive over to her house was short and sweet.
She was really appreciative of it all and I’m glad I did it. Small gestures of love and support like that can really go a long way for some people, so I think it’s important that we all take some time to do something kind for someone we care about.
Feeling pretty good today. I hope you are, too!
-Maddy
 
Wednesday, May 6th, 2020
A surprise for me!
Lucky me! In reciprocation for my treat to her, my friend dropped off a care package for me today! It had some candy, chips, sparkling cider (a running joke for us), and a sweet little card! She also left a sweet matcha latte with it, which is one of my favorite drinks at Starbucks.
It definitely gave me a boost of good energy to help me power through the rest of this week. I’ve been missing my friends and family a lot lately. I wouldn’t necessarily call myself a huge extrovert, but I miss my normal social interactions with my extended family, friends, coworkers, etc.
I’ve finished up my writing assignment for my Writing Across the Media final, which feels good. We’ve been working on conceptualizing a blog/website and our final was to create our second installment. My blog was about lesser known young adult novels, so I just wrote about the series I recently finished. It was not only fresh in my mind, but I also adored the series. It made the assignment loads easier and more enjoyable.
My last final is tomorrow! The second semester of my freshman year really flew by fast. I want to say that quarantine made the days almost meld together, but all I really know is that it was over in an instant. It wasn’t the freshman year I imagined, but it definitely wasn’t a bad one. It was memorable, that’s for certain.
I can’t wait for school to be out for the summer!
-Maddy
 
Thursday, May 7th, 2020
Great ideas
First things first, I think my last final went well! I won’t know my score immediately, but I felt really good about all my answers (open note and book tests are a lot easier than normal exams). Goodbye, school year!
Secondly, I met with my pitch competition group again today. We had to schedule a check-in with a business mentor and it didn’t go super well. We all realized we weren’t as prepared as we needed to be and had to come up with a better pitch for the competition, quickly.
Someone suggested offering food services to people in food deserts. Another suggested an app where Plaza businesses could advertise their products. Neither really took, but I then combined the two ideas to create a virtual farmers market.
Basically, we would team up with local farmers markets and small businesses to help bring fresh and nutritious food to people who live far away from grocery stores. That’s the main idea. It would also be open to everyone in the counties we chose to serve. We would set up an online delivery service, similar to Walmart and Hy-Vee. What makes us stand out, however, is that we would deliver everywhere in our counties.
I live in a rural area and we have found that no restaurant or grocery store will deliver to us. This service, named Bread Basket Deliveries, would change that issue. Also, we’d help support local businesses and farmers. There are still some kinks to work out, but everyone was really excited about the idea. I won’t lie, it felt good that it was my concept.
I’m excited to see where this idea will take us in the competition!
-Maddy
 
Friday. May 8th, 2020
Taking on projects!
In the span of three days, I have taken on lots of different responsibilities. I am going to handle all of the graphics for COVIDKidsKC’s videos and attempt to animate my group’s one-minute pitch video. On top of that, I’m going to also try to design a logo for my neighbor’s diesel mechanic company.
I’m a little nervous that I’ll get overwhelmed by it, but I’m ready to take on some work. School’s over, so more time is going to free up. I’d love to spend it developing new techniques in Photoshop, Illustrator, Final Cut, Motion, etc.
Today, I created a simple generator that will make the COVIDKidsKC work a lot easier. This way, I can simply just edit the name on the lower third. I think it will help me focus on working on these other projects.
I started conceptualizing the logo today as well. I don’t have a ton of experience on making logos, but I came up with a couple designs that I think have a lot of potential. Out of the three I drew out, I was able to flesh one out this evening. I like it a lot, but I know something is missing. These are the times I miss bouncing my ideas off my professor/faculty advisor at the Muleskinner.
I’m wanting to get all the potential designs done over the weekend and send them over to my neighbor.
Wish me luck!
-Maddy
 
Sunday, May 10th, 2020
Appreciating Mom
Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms and motherly figures out there!
My mom has been feeling a lot of appreciation this past week. Since this week prior was Nurses Week, my family has been doing little things all week to show we are grateful for everything she does as a mother and as a nurse.
I’m positive almost everyone says this, but my mom is a superhero.
But really, my mom is a real life superhero. As a little kid, I thought my mom was larger than life. She did everything for us, committed all of her time to us, and gave my sisters and I amazing childhoods. As I’ve grown up, I’ve realized my mom is amazing in every way. My mom has made me who I am today and without her, I’d be lost.
She’s an inspiration and role model to me. Solely as a nurse, my mom has left shoes that I’ll spend my entire life trying to fill. On top of that, she’s insanely courageous, kind, hardworking, loyal, and supportive.
I know I’ll never be as amazing as my mom, purely because she’s one of the most amazing people out there. I just feel so lucky to call her my mom.
❤️ Maddy
 
WEEK NINE BLOGS
Monday, May 11th, 2020
Snapchat games and family rivalry
Since quarantine has my family stuck at home, we’ve been finding lots of different stuff to do around the house. From buying new games to starting yard projects, we’ve all been spending a lot of time together.
One new game that my little sister showed us is on the popular social media, Snapchat. It’s called Bitmoji Party and it’s actually really entertaining. Basically, you and your friends can all join a party together and play all sorts of funny games with each other.
Some of my personal favorites are Zombie Escape (one person is a zombie and tries to infect the others), Pool Party (one person tries to sink the floaties everyone else is floating on), and Hide & Saucer (hide and seek, but with a flying saucer and grass bushes to hide in).
My little sister has been playing it for a while with my aunt and just got the rest of my immediate family to join. When we all play together, we all get competitive and start knocking each other out immediately. It’s super funny!
There’s so much fun stuff to do in quarantine, you just have to know where to look!
 
Tuesday, May 12th, 2020
Time flies… in quarantine?
Every time I start to type the date for these blogs, I start to type March instead of April or May. I don’t know why my mind still thinks it is March, but I think it’s crazy how much time has passed since quarantine started.
I just feel like time has passed so quickly these past few weeks. My days start to blend together. My nights run longer. Normally, I would have school to help me keep my days in order, but online schooling has made that a little difficult as well.
I’m the kind of person that enjoys a routine and having a schedule. Of course, that changes a little with summertime, but there’s still stuff to do throughout the week.
I don’t know, maybe I’m just going a little stir crazy. I’d love to get out and do something soon.
-Maddy
 
Thursday, May 14th, 2020
Going out (for important stuff)
Well, ask and you shall receive! I wanted to get out of the house this week and was able to! I had to meet our Muleskinner lead advisor to file some paperwork.
Honestly, it was so nice to chat with her, even for fifteen minutes. Over the past semester, I started to get along really well with my coworkers. We all joked around and had a good time together, so I miss seeing them almost every day.
I also got to go to the orthodontist today. It was a little weird since they were following a strict COVID-19 protocol, but I understand why. It was my first time having my temperature checked as I walked through the door, so I can check that off my list of firsts.
As the world slowly begins to reopen, it’s nice to get out, even for little things. It’s still extremely important to ensure the safety of everyone around us, so be sure to maintain social distancing and keep a mask on!
I hope you all are staying safe, healthy, and sane.
-Maddy
 
Friday, May 15th, 2020
Week..? I don’t know
I don’t know which week of the CommunityAmerica internship I’m in now, but I know we’re nearing the end. There’s a lot I’m sad about ending, but part of me is also ready to be done with it.
This social media project I’ve been working on is really a ton of fun. The girls I’m working with are super sweet and we’re all really supportive of each other. I’ve never worked in a group where we click so well. Maybe part of it is just being online so we don’t have to deal with each other in person, but I really enjoy collaborating with them.
I think once all of this is said and done, we’ll all try to meet up. It’d be so nice to actually meet them, especially since they’re all so sweet.
My pitch competition group just finished our final summary for the competition. I think we have a really solid concept and our group mentor helped us refine all the little details. We might have a serious chance of being semi-finalists.
It’s a crazy thought. Our simple idea could actually become a reality and help a ton of people in our community. I’m not trying to raise my hopes up crazy high, but it’s natural to wish for the best. I’m really hoping that we can help make a difference for the world around us.
We find out on Monday if we make the semi-finals. I’ll be sure to let you know!
Fingers crossed! 🤞🏼
-Maddy
 
Saturday, May 16th, 2020
Next semester
You know, I really enjoy college. I love walking across campus to my next class, being a five-minute walk from my job, my professors and my friends. College has been exciting and new. I’ve loved almost every second of it.
With all the boredom of being stuck at home, I’ve had a lot of time to think towards next semester. My sister and I are planning to rent an apartment and live together, which is an exciting thought. I’m also looking forward to my courses for next semester. I’ve finally starting to get into all my major-related courses and I’m so ready to dive in headfirst.
There’s been a lot of talk about the fall semester being online as well. I really want to hope for the best, but I’ve already heard of some schools in America cancelling. I know I can do another semester of online schooling, but man, I don’t want to.
There’s so much to look forward to in this next semester and I’d hate to see it all go away. I’d have to change my schedule and not move in with my sister. 
Please people, let the world go back to normal. I need my life back.
-Maddy
 
Sunday, May 17th, 2020
Not-so normal church
I’ve grown up my entire life following the Catholic faith. From holidays to simple prayers, our faith is a strong belief in our family and is part of who we are. 
COVID-19 caused all the churches in our diocese to close their doors for a while. My family goes to Sunday mass every week, so it’s been really strange not to go these past few weeks. At times, I feel like a bad Catholic, but what can I do? Church is closed. For the first time, ever.
A truly strange time, don’t you think?
The priest at my church has started offering mass again, sort of. Since social distancing is limiting people to groups of ten, he’s chosen to stick to that rule (which is completely the right thing to do). This means that we have to sign up to go to church.
It’s a little funny to think that my family of five will now take up half of the room. Overall, it’s really weird to see how the world is changing because of COVID.
When we do eventually get back to church, I’ll have to write about what’s different there. Honestly, I’m curious how it will change. I’m hoping that not too much will be changed, but I won’t know until we get there.
Happy Sunday 😊
-Maddy