Hey everyone (or Mr. Webb and Nikki, who I'm pretty sure are the only ones sticking with my posts)!
Tomorrow I'll be on a fieldtrip to the College of Southern Maryland for their Communications Day, and I can't wait to hear everyone talking about their pursuits and how they got to where they wanted to be. I hope to use both my fieldtrip and the week at Mason to piece together a goal for my dream job, and I'll be sure to utilize all the skills that I've picked up along the way.
At the moment I am set on pursuing film as a career, whether I be an editor, producer or even the director.
I know I've said it a lot, but truly, without my family I never would have been able to make it to this conference, and I can't thank them enough for helping out when I needed them. They've always stood by and supported me, and I'm glad everyday that I have them to call my own. I also have to thank my teachers and everyone at school who's been congradulating me ever since my principal announced my selection a few days ago :)
I know the length between posts has been kind of sketchy, so in the coming weeks I'll be trying out some new formats and probably submitting shorter posts on a more frequent basis to keep everyone up on my journey to the conference.
Thanks for reading!
Leena
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Monday, March 28, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
So Close!
Once again, I've neglected to keep this as updated as I once did, and I apologize. However, I have some great news.
I'm getting closer to having the tuition for the conference. While I'm not sure of the exact numbers, its very close. I'm very fortunate to have such a supportive family that was willing to help me out even when my own community either neglected or was not able to. I plan to have all of my payment in on the 15th of March, fully registering me and guaranteeing my spot as a National Youth Correspondent representing both my school and the state of Maryland.
One of my newest ideas was for a fundraiser, something that I hope will be a success so that there won't be so much stress on my family to come up with the rest of the tuition. I recently learned that the local bowling alley does fundraising events for interested parties, and if I were to get about 24 people to participate on the same night for my cause, I would raise enough to not only pay for the rest of my tuition, but set aside money for anything else as well.
This spring I plan to revamp my wardrobe for the conference (that means actual skirts and blouses - so professional!), and I'm very excited to have the opportunity. Every day it gets closer and closer to the summer, and I honestly am counting down the days until my drop-off at George Mason.
136 days. In four months and some change, I'll be standing in the halls of George Mason as a rising senior, a girl representing a small town in Southern Maryland among 249 other students. The thought itself is surreal. Just to think that this is an opportunity for me to not only shine, but to have contacts for the future - it almost seems like the time should go by faster just so I can wake up tomorrow and start packing.
This is definitely going to be the greatest week ever. I can't wait!
Thanks as always for reading,
Leena
I'm getting closer to having the tuition for the conference. While I'm not sure of the exact numbers, its very close. I'm very fortunate to have such a supportive family that was willing to help me out even when my own community either neglected or was not able to. I plan to have all of my payment in on the 15th of March, fully registering me and guaranteeing my spot as a National Youth Correspondent representing both my school and the state of Maryland.
One of my newest ideas was for a fundraiser, something that I hope will be a success so that there won't be so much stress on my family to come up with the rest of the tuition. I recently learned that the local bowling alley does fundraising events for interested parties, and if I were to get about 24 people to participate on the same night for my cause, I would raise enough to not only pay for the rest of my tuition, but set aside money for anything else as well.
This spring I plan to revamp my wardrobe for the conference (that means actual skirts and blouses - so professional!), and I'm very excited to have the opportunity. Every day it gets closer and closer to the summer, and I honestly am counting down the days until my drop-off at George Mason.
136 days. In four months and some change, I'll be standing in the halls of George Mason as a rising senior, a girl representing a small town in Southern Maryland among 249 other students. The thought itself is surreal. Just to think that this is an opportunity for me to not only shine, but to have contacts for the future - it almost seems like the time should go by faster just so I can wake up tomorrow and start packing.
This is definitely going to be the greatest week ever. I can't wait!
Thanks as always for reading,
Leena
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Attempt #2
There's only so much hope in the world before you realize that you're not getting a response.
It has officially been a month since I appealed to the local businesses of Charles County and abroad for small donations to go toward my conference tuition, and not a single one has replied as to whether or not they would be able to contribute.
What's strange to me is that if this were a college acceptance I was waiting on, at least I'd be guaranteed to get some kind of message. But nothing.
Registration for the conference officially opened 5 days ago, and due to the fact that a full payment of tuition is due upon making the final decision, my chances of getting in are slimming down. I have yet to actually contact any DC businesses though, and hopefully I'll be able to have some luck with them.
Basically, it's about $285 holding me back from the experience of a lifetime. I say this because ever since I got the letter in the mail from George Mason, I've found out just how supportive my family is. They're willing to go above and beyond to help me out, but the reason I'm appealing to all these businesses is because I wish they didn't have to give so much.
If I could get a few major sponsors, not only would I be able to register sooner, but it'd be less of a burden on the ones I care about.
I have until the 30th of March, and I will be sending more letters. A lot more. I'll be posting more blogs. I'll record more videos (even if the original ones were horrible). Somehow, I'm making it to this conference, and I'll continue to use this blog as a way to keep everyone posted. Right now, its just proving to be a little more challenging than I expected.
Thanks for reading,
Leena
It has officially been a month since I appealed to the local businesses of Charles County and abroad for small donations to go toward my conference tuition, and not a single one has replied as to whether or not they would be able to contribute.
What's strange to me is that if this were a college acceptance I was waiting on, at least I'd be guaranteed to get some kind of message. But nothing.
Registration for the conference officially opened 5 days ago, and due to the fact that a full payment of tuition is due upon making the final decision, my chances of getting in are slimming down. I have yet to actually contact any DC businesses though, and hopefully I'll be able to have some luck with them.
Basically, it's about $285 holding me back from the experience of a lifetime. I say this because ever since I got the letter in the mail from George Mason, I've found out just how supportive my family is. They're willing to go above and beyond to help me out, but the reason I'm appealing to all these businesses is because I wish they didn't have to give so much.
If I could get a few major sponsors, not only would I be able to register sooner, but it'd be less of a burden on the ones I care about.
I have until the 30th of March, and I will be sending more letters. A lot more. I'll be posting more blogs. I'll record more videos (even if the original ones were horrible). Somehow, I'm making it to this conference, and I'll continue to use this blog as a way to keep everyone posted. Right now, its just proving to be a little more challenging than I expected.
Thanks for reading,
Leena
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Coming to a screen near you!
VIDEOS!
I made about three today, not counting the random clips that I plan to use once I get my head around this Movie Maker stuff that I have discovered I have. I am in the process of collecting tips on YouTube video popularity, and one such video gave me this general idea:
To make it on YouTube, you've gotta be a girl. I was not aware of this, but maybe there's some truth to it. As for dressing up specifically for the camera, I personally have decided it's a no-go. You will probably be seeing me in whatever I decided to wear to school that day. I might be cute, but bum-day is a usual for me, especially when it's as cold as its usually been outside. The only thing that's not 100% legit is the fact that I don't wear my glasses during my videos, because my webcam is evil and produces a really fugly glare.
This guy also said to be as random as possible, make your videos long (the very next video I watched said under 3 minutes, oops.) and make one everyday. You know what? I'm going to try that.
Not only am I shooting for 5 videos a week, I'm also going to vary their content. One day we might be chatting in my room, and the next I'll take you guys on a walk around the block. Maybe elsewhere? This is for a journalism and media conference, so I figure that I should be well-versed in keeping things fresh for the audience.
Tomorrow is going to be more than a little busy what with me going shopping for X-Mas pictures and such, as well as finding time to study for an AP test I JUST found out about, but I will work in some time for video editing and hopefully 2-3 posts by Wednesday night.
I love you guys already, even though I am aware of the fact that only my aunt is following this blog at the moment. I appreciate you Nikki, and yes, I am going to bed now!
Thanks,
Leena
I made about three today, not counting the random clips that I plan to use once I get my head around this Movie Maker stuff that I have discovered I have. I am in the process of collecting tips on YouTube video popularity, and one such video gave me this general idea:
To make it on YouTube, you've gotta be a girl. I was not aware of this, but maybe there's some truth to it. As for dressing up specifically for the camera, I personally have decided it's a no-go. You will probably be seeing me in whatever I decided to wear to school that day. I might be cute, but bum-day is a usual for me, especially when it's as cold as its usually been outside. The only thing that's not 100% legit is the fact that I don't wear my glasses during my videos, because my webcam is evil and produces a really fugly glare.
This guy also said to be as random as possible, make your videos long (the very next video I watched said under 3 minutes, oops.) and make one everyday. You know what? I'm going to try that.
Not only am I shooting for 5 videos a week, I'm also going to vary their content. One day we might be chatting in my room, and the next I'll take you guys on a walk around the block. Maybe elsewhere? This is for a journalism and media conference, so I figure that I should be well-versed in keeping things fresh for the audience.
Tomorrow is going to be more than a little busy what with me going shopping for X-Mas pictures and such, as well as finding time to study for an AP test I JUST found out about, but I will work in some time for video editing and hopefully 2-3 posts by Wednesday night.
I love you guys already, even though I am aware of the fact that only my aunt is following this blog at the moment. I appreciate you Nikki, and yes, I am going to bed now!
Thanks,
Leena
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Quick Update
Hello,
So far, I've discovered that this blog thing is harder than I thought it would be. See, this isn't my first time starting one. In fact, I've had about 2 already - I just didn't expect anyone to read them. With this one though, the intent was to connect with others and possibly get the attention of future sponsors. I did contemplate deleting my latest and first video, and am still debating it right now.
The thing is...I could. But if I decide to go "Forget it, it doesn't matter", what am I learning? The whole reason I wanted to attend this conference is to learn something and get to the point where I can make business contacts after I graduate from college.
This blog isn't amazing or anything, but it is in its early stages, and I'm sure that even the more popular ones weren't the best from their first posts. My videos will eventually get better, even if I've discovered that my webcam has a pretty poor quality when it comes down to it. I do take part of the blame but again, I'm pretty nervous knowing that someone will be able to watch them pretty soon.
As far as where I'm at now, I am very close to securing all of the money for my tuition for the conference.
I'd like to thank my parents, my grandma as well as all of my aunts and uncles who have donated way more than I ever expected.
Today I'm making efforts to get letters to not only corporations but local businesses and even my school board. Not everyone is answering my calls, but hopefully having a solid letter in front of them will inspire something. Before I jump into my homework for the day, I'll be looking up addresses and printing out cover letters in order to have these things out by the weekend.
Still working on things,
Leena
So far, I've discovered that this blog thing is harder than I thought it would be. See, this isn't my first time starting one. In fact, I've had about 2 already - I just didn't expect anyone to read them. With this one though, the intent was to connect with others and possibly get the attention of future sponsors. I did contemplate deleting my latest and first video, and am still debating it right now.
The thing is...I could. But if I decide to go "Forget it, it doesn't matter", what am I learning? The whole reason I wanted to attend this conference is to learn something and get to the point where I can make business contacts after I graduate from college.
This blog isn't amazing or anything, but it is in its early stages, and I'm sure that even the more popular ones weren't the best from their first posts. My videos will eventually get better, even if I've discovered that my webcam has a pretty poor quality when it comes down to it. I do take part of the blame but again, I'm pretty nervous knowing that someone will be able to watch them pretty soon.
As far as where I'm at now, I am very close to securing all of the money for my tuition for the conference.
I'd like to thank my parents, my grandma as well as all of my aunts and uncles who have donated way more than I ever expected.
Today I'm making efforts to get letters to not only corporations but local businesses and even my school board. Not everyone is answering my calls, but hopefully having a solid letter in front of them will inspire something. Before I jump into my homework for the day, I'll be looking up addresses and printing out cover letters in order to have these things out by the weekend.
Still working on things,
Leena
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