Hannah Brubaker

       I first became aware of the term “vegan” during the forgotten era of tumblr and hipsters back in 2012. At the time, just about everyone was making fun of people who were vegan, assuming they were odd or annoying just because of their diet. I began to truly research veganism freshman year of college, after I had gained the infamous freshman 15. Those extra pounds hit me straight in the gut, and I wanted to seek ways to become healthier and kinder to my body. Trying a brand new diet, especially veganism, in college is practically unheard of. College is a time when one should be shoveling pizza into their mouth on a Friday night, or trying every suspicious meal item at the dining hall just to say that they did. I, on the other hand, was looking to alter my college lifestyle. Those slices of cheese pizza and odd casserole dishes from the Cafe did not work well with my body, and I decided it was officially time for a change.       While I started to dabble in veganism late freshman y

Technology is a large part of my life, as it almost entirely takes up my day. I wake up from an alarm on my iPhone, walk downstairs and make a cup of coffee using an espresso machine, complete work for my internship on my laptop, run errands in my car, cook lunch/dinner using a stove or microwave, watch a movie before bed on the television, and repeat the routine another day. Each step that makes up my lifestyle cycle involves an aspect of technology. From the coffee maker to the television, both technological inventions impact important tasks in my life. Even though I am constantly surrounded by technology, I have never really given much thought regarding my individual relationship with technology. Instead, I’ve focused and honed in on other people’s relationships with technology in their lives. Cyberbullying is a large effect that has spawned from the development of media, especially on social platforms and conversational sites. Comment sections are always bound to have nega

One of the most prominent and infamous political figures in today’s world is North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. He is widely known to be a dictator, and has a quite ominous reputation. Un was back again in the news recently, but not for any usual political reasons. Instead, it was reported that he was “gravely ill,” leading to his “death” after undergoing cardiovascular surgery. This was a shock to people everywhere, as nobody would have thought Kim Jong Un, a powerful figure having been credited with killing several people, is now on his own death bed. This left all who heard the news wondering, is he dead or alive? The headline that Un was seriously ill first emerged a couple weeks ago, and stated that he was not doing well after having heart surgery in months prior. Normally, reporters fact check this by investigating the claims--but North Korea is different. North Korea is largely shut off to the outside world, with no negative press regarding the country being broadcasted t

The “Mediasphere” is essentially the collection of any and all media within the world, whether it be broadcasted and published, or a simple post on the internet. The media is something that one can never truly escape, as it is what makes the world go round. Without the news, the public would not know what’s occurring locally, nationally, or world wide. Eliminating the media would essentially cause a frenzy, as it would leave the public to fend for itself. To be more referential, the coronavirus is a topic that would have never gone away if it was not for the reports from the media. If there was no media, then the world would not have been aware of what the virus was, how to combat it, or the detrimental effects of the illness. Millions, if not billions, would have died from the disease. The existence of the media, however, has allowed the virus to slowly decline--as people know (from the media) to stay home and wear a mask in public. The mediasphere is a wide realm, with many elem

When applying for a job, it is now a known fact to make sure your online reputation is spotless. If an employer sees an inappropriate image on one’s Facebook or Instagram, that employer will most likely not hire that person. Just the other day I found out a girl in a sorority in Texas got fired from a job because her company saw a month old Snapchat that she had posted to her Snapchat story. The company paid another company to unlock her social media accounts, where all of her previous posts were displayed. Even though Snapchat claims that a story is only visible for 24 hours, it essentially lasts forever.  An online footprint, or “electronic tattoo” as Juan Enriquez calls it, is incredibly important in regards to one’s reputation online. A post from years ago could easily resurface once uploaded to a social media platform, which we have seen over and over in today’s current climate. For example, Kevin Hart was let go from hosting the 2019 Oscar’s due to an emergence of a previo

Social Media is an aspect of life that I feel like will never decline, as new innovations are created every day. Anyone and everyone is always trying to make their mark on social media, whether it be a company, organization, celebrity, etc. Marketing on social media is a huge part of society today, and we have seen it a myriad of times. For instance, Kim Kardashian started her own interactive game for users to play; the plot being the user being a D-list celebrity trying to work their way up to the A-list. It was a huge hit, and several of my friends played the game and became addicted to it. This example shows that new additions to the social media realm are always being created, with some becoming an instant hit. TikTok fully debuted in September of 2016, under the original name of “Musical.ly.” At first, Musical.ly was a social media platform with the primary intent of users uploading short second videos of themselves lip synching to any song of their choosing. In 2017, the pla

The Coronavirus has shocked the nation, and the entire world, and catapulted society into a new normal. Instead of leaving one’s house to go about their day, people are having to stay indoors--indefinitely. Speaking in regards to American culture, this is a jolt to the millions who call the U.S.A. their home. We are used to going out to eat, working out in gyms, greeting one another with a handshake or hug, grabbing a cup of coffee from a local cafe in the morning, sitting down in class, hanging out with friends, and the list goes on. Overall, the coronavirus has surely rocked the nation as a whole. With all this being said, there is one state that has been affected the most--the state of New York. I have yet to ever meet an individual who does not like New York. The state, and specifically New York City’s ambience and essence of nostalgia makes an adult feel like a kid in a candy store. With the city being the most populated destination in America, it became an instant

Social Media is a huge part of my life, and I use it everyday. I am currently signed up for almost every platform you can think of: Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Snapchat, Spotify, Twitter, etc. Each platform serves a different purpose, but collectively they all let me interact with others online and share posts I am interested in. For example, I use Facebook to post pictures and keep my family members updated on my life every now and then. I mostly use this specific platform to see what my relatives are posting and keep myself updated with their lives, since their generation uses Facebook much more than mine. To connect with my generation and my close friends, I go to Instagram and Snapchat. There, I can post trendier photos and message my friends directly. Twitter is where I can connect with anyone around the world, and share creative or funny messages back and forth to each other. Twitter is also where I primarily stay up to date with important news stories revolving

  Public opinion has always been something people have, whether they proclaim it or not. Back in the 1800’s and early 1900’s, the government made it a crime to criticize the government (sedition & espionage act). This was later eradicated in the future, as one can freely comment on the government and disagree with its process however they wish under the first amendment. These acts were passed to prevent the rapid spread of dissent aimed at the government during the time when the Acts were passed (war time). Many Americans were extremely against the government and executive office at the time, causing them to comment on their actions in a harsh manner. This upset the government, thus making them pass the acts to make such dissent illegal. In today’s world, this would definitely not be okay--as people are extremely vocal on their opinions of the government today.  More specifically, the government is currently dealing with the global pandemic due to the Co

  Netflix is a website my friends and I frequent everyday, as it is a never ending source of entertainment for us. From TV shows to movies, to cartoons to reality TV, Netflix has it all. Even though some competitors have emerged throughout the years, Netflix still remains at the top. It is a platform that is both easy to access, and convenient in terms of payment.  Netflix was founded in 1997 by Marc Randolph and Reed Hastings after Hastings forgot to return a rented movie and got charged $40 in late fees. After Hastings sold his software company for hundreds of millions, he then invested around 3 million dollars towards Netflix to get it started. The term "Netflix" was coined as "net" being a slang for "internet," and "flix" being a slang term for movies. Through the entrepreneurial minds of the two, they developed the online service in 1998 with a monthly subscription as the method of payment. By 2005, the movie platform

The Printing Press was an invention that catapulted the world into the communication field, as it was the first of its kind to ever print words onto paper. Invented by Johannes Gutenberg in 1440, it was truly a technological innovation. Gutenberg’s design was so important due to his development of replacing wood with metal to print each letter on paper. The first book ever printed on the device was the Bible, which makes sense to me since it was so universally known to those across Europe and the world. It is estimated that he printed around 180 copies of the Bible, each with 1300 pages. After researching this, i was left wondering how long that would have taken for the device to print so many pages. Since the device was new in the olden days, i'm assuming it must have taken a while. Now with the printers in the 21st century, printing that many pages would only take an hour or so, but i'm sure it took much longer with Gutenberg’s invention.   The news of th

War is a word with a heavy undertone, as it usually reminds people of a particular event in history or the general sense of consequence. Some wars that people know in detail are Revolutionary War, Civil War, WW1, WW2, and more. All of these fights throughout world history are incredibly well known as they changed the world forever. The Revolutionary War established the United States as an independent country, the Civil War granted the freedom of slaves, and WW1/WW2 altered the economic and political sphere forever. All aspects of war never truly have a happy ending, as a multitude of lives are lost and the economy takes a great toll. Despite a potentially happy ending or win for one’s country, all of these downsides lead some to be heavily anti-war. Such anti-war commentary can be seen on sites such as Antiwar.com and The American Conservative.  Antiwar.com lists a myriad of countries on its front page with lists revolving war in the country underneath the headline. It