Week 4: Media and a Memory

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When I was little, I just couldn’t do without my favorite stuffed dog, Bester. It was the most fun animal ever. I would sleep with him, play with him, do everything with him. Bester was the best thing in the world! He had the softest fur, nice brown eyes, floppy velvet ears, basically everything you could ever want in a dog.

While I snuggled it, I pretended Bester was a real, living dog, all for me. I could play with him and dance with him whenever I wanted to. I would talk to him when I was sad; I would talk to him when I was happy. I would play with my sister’s stuffed dog, Hope. Bester and Hope; the best of friends— just like Rachel and I. Bester reminded me of old times, of times where we jumped on the bed and when I threw him up into the air, promising to catch him. When I would toss him and twirl him, it was as if I actually had a puppy.

Bester never failed to make me laugh and smile. That’s why Bester was my favorite stuffed animal. Without Bester, my life would be incomplete. I would no longer have a fantasy little puppy.

Week 3: Favorite Apps

I may or may not be slightly obsessed *sigh* with apps. Gasp. I know, I know, scandalous. Here are my top 5 (with added commentary and praise and amazingness and — let me just get to it) :

1)Tumblr: TUMBLR. Where have you been all my life? In tumblr you get to choose whose blogs you follow, and all of their posts appear on your dashboard: an endless stream of posts. There are over a million different blogs, all with different topics! Some are hilarious, some motivational, some serious, and some sad. Tumblr is good for any situation, but no chance, no way; I won’t say I’m in love.

2) iFunny: Número dos. iFunny. Well, the name is pretty self-explanatory but it’s just this massive app filled with funny posts. You can post, you can subscribe to people you like, and there is a featured set everyday at 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM. There’s also a collective set, where everything is, and similarly a popular set: with posts that have a lot of likes. iFunny can get you laughing out loud in no time.

3) Pinterest: Pinterest is like a big a bulletin board. As you scroll down your home screen — where all the board’s and people’s pins you’re following shows up — you see pins: little sticky note type of things. As you click on one particular pin, the picture enlarges, and you have the choice to like it, share it, comment on it, or repin it. You can creat multiple boards, where you post pins with a certain category in. For example, a board could be called “Books” and every pin that you repin that you put under the category books shows up. When you repin, you have the option of which board that pin goes in. You can follow just one of a user’s boards, or the entire user, so all of their boards. Pinterest is a great way to procrastinate.

4) Pandora: Pandora is love. Pandora is life. Pandora is music. Pandora is everything. I use Pandora for anything and everything. You can make radio stations based on an artist or a song. Pandora gives you the perfect range of new and old music. You can like a song, and Pandora will play that song again and more songs like it; you can put a song on the shelf if you are tired of hearing the song but still like it; or you can dislike a song, and Pandora won’t play that song again or songs like it. Pandora is great for homework.

5) Messages: Messages are a great way to talk to your friends. Without having to face the fear of actually talking on the phone, you can just text them and BABOOSHKA. It’s done. On Messages, you can put read receipts on, which tells the person you’re texting when you saw the text, and you can see when the person is typing. You can have group messages with as many people as you want, and with emojis that express feelings that I’ve never felt before, Messages is the perfect package.

Those are my five favorite apps, and I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. Wow. I guess that since I could say that much about apps, I guess I am classified as — gasp — obsessed.

Week 2: A Day in Austin

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You get off the plane, the first thing you notice right away as you walk is the hot Austin air. It’s your first time to Austin, and you’re ready to have the greatest vacation. As you slowly descend down the escalator, you see colorful massive guitars hanging around the baggage claim area, drawing many tourist’s attention. You get your baggage and make your way to the big double doors. Walking out, a huge gust of hot, humid air blasts onto your body. You get a taxi and begin your journey.

Downtown is the best place to go when you’re visiting Austin. Just waking around, you see more of the real Austin than anywhere else. With shops on every street, you see many “KEEP AUSTIN WEIRD” shirts, and Tyler’s clothing everywhere. As you look up, you see fluffy white clouds littering the sky. Directing your gaze lower, you catch sight of the UT Tower, many tall skyscrapers, and office buildings. People fill the sidewalks, some walking in groups of friends, some hurrying to get somewhere. The sound of car engines is constantly in the background.You see many college students as you start to walking in the campus of UT. It’s a friendly community; a warm atmosphere.

Another thing about downtown is the food . I mean, we all love food, but Downtown Austin has the best food. With the perfect mix of food trucks and fancy restaurants on every corner, Austin has a great variety of food. Places like Halal Guys and Chipotle are my favorite. Finally, when you’re all done eating, you could just go across the street to Yogurt Planet for a good cup of frozen yogurt.

Downtown a great place to go for a day out with friends. From Segway tours to the Capital, it’s possible activities are endless. You could even go bowling in the underground bowling alley that’s part of the University of Texas. There’s music literally everywhere, but that’s what you get in the Live Music Capital. With great stores for shopping, it’s a great place to go to with all your friends. The Graffiti Park is a great place to go to. With beautiful art all over, it just is a great thinking place. Finally, you can go see the popular graffiti, ” HI HOW ARE YOU” with the frog, and ” I love you so much,” a great place to go with your best friends or family. If you want a day packed full of fun, definitely go to Downtown Austin.

As you enter your hotel room, you think, This really was the greatest vacation, and I will be there in the background saying, wasn’t it? All because you went to Downtown Austin.