Final E-Portfolio!

Hello, and welcome to my E-portfolio! My name is Sarah Aronson and I am currently on the road to earning my undergraduate degree in Psychology at the Pennsylvania State University (Class of 2015).  After I graduate from Penn State I hope to further my education with a masters degree in an area that will allow me to become a councilor or therapist.  Since I began college many aspects of my life have changed and have forced me to grow as an individual and as a student.  I hope to display these changes to you through the work I chose to put on display in this portfolio.
In order to be successful in the career path I have chosen I must have good communication skills.  A therapist or councilor has to be able to connect with their patient and be able to associate with many different types of people.  Throughout this year, I have taken different courses that have enhanced my ability to use rhetorical tactics and varying communication skills.  All of this new knowledge will help me to connect better with my audience.
In addition to helping me be successful in a future career, my understanding of rhetoric and communication skills also can assist me in everyday life.  I have become better at expressing my thoughts and persuading people, and also have become more comfortable public speaking.
Like I said earlier, I have certainly grown this year because of all the events that have occurred in my life, as well as my college experience.  You can look at a collection of just some of my work so far this year in this portfolio in order to fully grasp the changes I have gone through as a person, and my newly found knowledge of rhetoric tactics and communication skills.

You can access my E-portfolio with the link above, or right here!

Happy Thursday Bikers!

I was waiting for the walk sign at an intersection downtown one of my very first Thursdays here at Penn State.  All of a sudden a huge group of people biking streams around the corner and I thought, "well, that's strange, but I guess it's just another club or something."  However, I realized it was more than just a group going for a daily bike ride when a man in a gorilla costume riding a bicycle came around the corner and then all 20 or so people started shouting, "HAPPY THURSDAY!" over and over again.  Needless to say, I was extremely confused...

It wasn't until I saw them about two more times I connected the dots and realized that they did this every Thursday.  When I found out that a group of people actually gets together just to ride around campus and make people smile by saying happy Thursday I was so impressed! I was happy that people were going out of their way to bring a little joy into people's lives. 

The video I posted above is a short 4 minute documentary about the bicycle group that does this and why they do it.  You should all take time to watch!  The one guy talks about how all they want is to remind people that college life doesn't have to be dull and boring during the week, class after class, work on top of more work..  they want to bring a little randomness into people's lives and make them smile when they are in bad moods, or simply stressed out from college.

I honestly look forward to Thursdays now because I love seeing them ride around. They are always so jolly and happy and it never fails to put a smile on my face!

Celebrity Status

It has always perplexed me how obsessed with celebrities we are as a society.  Many people know more about celebrities and what they wear and tweet than they do about national issues and the government! Why is this? People put celebrities on pedestals.  They consider all their actions to be of more importance because they are rich and famous.  They have in some cases become role models for people today.  Every magazine on the stands cover the lives of celebrities, from their break ups to what they eat.  They even have articles like this one below that try to justify that even though we treat them like this, "they're just like us!"

The first time I ever saw this article I laughed out loud. "They fly with pillows" and "they feed parking meters", really?? It is so absurd! Of course they do these things! They act like they are gods and the fact that they do these things too should make us feel like we can relate to them.  This monthly article is a subtle way to keep us interested in them and keep us thinking that maybe we can be like them.

Celebrities are people, just like us.  They have relationships, they buy clothes, they go out to eat.  The only difference is they have money because they ended up very successful in their careers!  THEREFORE, they eat at nicer places and buy nicer clothes!  That does not make them untouchable or good role models.  I won’t lie, I like looking at their outfits and reading about their lives.  But in no way do I consider them people to base my life goals on or think that they are perfect.

I know that saying these things won’t change the way society, as a whole views, celebrities.  Their faces will always be plastered all over magazine racks and their actions will always be viewed in a different light than “normal people”.  I know this has pretty much turned into a rant about celebrities, but my main point is that celebrities do normal everyday things, and there is no reason we need to be obsessed to the point where we base our goals in life on them.