I have been a college student for three years now. Within the last year or so, I chose to major in graphic design and business management, as I have always had a passion for design and promotional materials. It was tough making a final decision on what to major in when I was the first in my immediate family to attend college - there wasn’t much of a blueprint for me to follow. I’ve also received many criticisms and doubts in regards to what I chose to do, but I picked what I felt my skills and interests were best suitable for… and I haven’t regretted it for one moment. Although it took me quite some time to finally settle on my chosen career path of design and business, I have also always known I wanted to be an advocate for many subjects. I have always wanted to speak out against negativity and injustice, or help minority groups (such as animals and individuals with disabilities) who rely on the help of others to provide them with the best life quality. Part of this trait to help others (specifically individuals with disabilities) can be credited to working with them for just about my whole life. Even when I was just a young girl and couldn’t actually work with them just yet, I always hung out with them and enjoyed their company because my family or close friends worked with them. I am tremendously grateful that I was recently granted the opportunity to combine both my design and marketing skills with advocating and helping individuals with disabilities. I was reached out to by a company I am familiar with who specializes in assisting individuals with disabilities improve their skills and overall quality of life. They asked me to create design ideas for a fall fundraising event, as well as rebrand some of their promotional and marketing materials. This would also require me to reach out to brands who can produce all of the fundraising merchandise the company requests. This would of course be beneficial to me in many ways, but most importantly it would benefit the individuals and spread awareness on the importance of taking the time to understand these people and not just their disabilities, but the other many wonderful characteristics that make them all unique and fun to be around. It honestly breaks my heart to hear when these individuals are mistreated, mocked, or overlooked by others. Over the years I have interacted with these individuals, they have proven themselves to be some of the most kind, caring, smart, funny, and unique people one can ever come across. Though I am again tremendously grateful for this opportunity because it will allow me to achieve many personal and professional goals (such as complete an internship for my schooling, expanding my design and marketing skills, and allowing me to build connections with more individuals and companies), I am most happy to be helping to spread awareness and benefit such wonderful, kind people who are often overlooked or misunderstood. And this internship is only the beginning of my plans to help others or speak out on certain ideas through creative expression.

Here is the entire list of sixteen words that I came up with for my connections puzzle: jackets, stone, card, submarine, log, like, rate, list, royals, ribs, team, liability, hindrance, burden, nuisance, and drag. The four categories are: pop culture: yellow_____ ; Letterboxd activities ; Lorde songs; and synonyms for liability/inconvenience. The first category is POP CULTURE : YELLOW______ (fill in the blank) - jackets, stone, card, and submarine. These are all fill in the blanks referencing iconic subject matters in pop culture. The first two pertain to tv shows ("Yellowjackets" and "Yellowstone"). The other two pertain to music (Yellowcard as in the band, and "Yellow Submarine" as in the Beatles reference). The second category is LETTERBOXD APP ACTIVITIES - log, like, rate, list. These are all activities a user can do with a movie in the Letterboxd app. The third category is LORDE SONGS - royals, ribs, team, liability. The fourth and final category are SYNONYMS FOR INCONVENIENCE (or liability) - hindrance, burden, nuisance, and drag. I thought this final category mixed with the “Liability” Lorde song would be an interesting way to add some confusion in the mix. I love playing the daily Connections puzzles as well as pop culture and appreciating it, so taking the opportunity to combine the two has been such a fun challenge!

When I was a kid in elementary school, two of my favorite Disney Channel shows were Hannah Montana and A.N.T. Farm. Although A.N.T. Farm came along right after Hannah Montana ended, I think it would have been cool to see a crossover episode between them. The episode would be titled “Hannah Montan-ANTs,” and it would take place at Webster High, where the students, especially Chyna, would be a-buzz because they have just found out that Hannah Montana is coming to their school and selecting certain prodigies to help her write a new song, as well as creating a music video. Hannah would end up choosing both Chyna and Olive to help write the song (because Chyna is a musical prodigy and Olive is practically a word encyclopedia), and Fletcher and Angus to help create the video (because Fletcher is an art prodigy and Angus is a computer science prodigy). She arrives on a Monday and tells them they have two weeks to come up with everything, and then record the song and shoot the video. They are all celebrating together about being selected at first. However, they all become utterly starstruck and then start to resent each other because both teams complain about having “Hannah time” stolen from them by the other team. Eventually, the teams have a huge blowout as they’re trying to begin shooting the video. Hannah tells them to stop fighting and acts as the voice of reason. She tells them about how she and her best friend, Lola, used to fight over gaining the attention of celebrities, but in the end nothing could stop them from staying best friends. She tells them that although they have different tasks, they should take one more day to put their minds together so it can be an absolute hit. The group stays awake all night, mapping out their plans for the song, the video, and how to put them together in a way that makes the most sense. The next morning, Hannah walks into the “A.N.T. farm” room to find them all asleep at the table. She wakes them up and asks what they’ve come up with. A lapse of them running through their plan is shown and Hannah is ecstatic to dive into recording the song and shooting the video. After hearing Chyna sing a snippet of the song she helped write, Hannah offers Chyna to sing with her on the song. Chyna gleefully agrees and they go to a studio to record the song. Then it shows all of them working together to put together and shoot the music video. The episode would conclude with them showing the school their video (allowing the actual audience to see it as well) and Hannah telling them all how talented they are at each of their prodigies. Not only would it make for an interesting episode with a good message, but it also provides Disney channel fans with something they love: iconic Disney songs. Especially when those songs are sung by singers who have such powerful, amazing voices like Miley Cyrus and China Anne McClain.

Many Spider-Man fans have debated over which actor suits the role the best, especially after the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home, the long-awaited film in which all three live action film versions of Spider-Man come together. I have been a huge fan of Spider-Man since before I could even remember and therefore have seen every film. I can say with certainty that I appreciate each of them for their similar, yet also unique portrayals of the character. I think they all nailed the general character traits that both Peter Parker and Spider-Man are known for. However, they all add their own flare, and that’s why it is hard to say who is the best. Tobey Maguire’s portrayal is unique for having natural web-fluid superpowers and being the most introverted. Andrew Garfield’s portrayal is recognized for his playful humor and intense grief after losing almost all of his closest loved ones. Tom Holland’s portrayal focuses on the character’s life after getting bit by the spider, but his story has been full of loss, betrayal, and the struggles of growing up while also keeping heavy-weight secrets. As I said, I think they should all be appreciated rather than compared because of their intriguingly diverse takes on both characters, Peter Parker and Spider-Man. When it all comes down to it, I must say that Tobey Maguire is my personal favorite version of Spider-Man. One reason why I favor Tobey’s adaptation is because I have a personal connection to his Spider-Man films. I have been watching those movies with my loved ones since I was born (quite literally because the first movie was released in 2002, the same year I was born). I also favor his version because of his natural web fluid ability. While I must give credit to the others for showing Peter Parker’s intelligence by creating their own web fluid, I feel like the natural web fluid adds to the introduction of Spider-Man’s story, allowing the audience to see how he adjusts to his newfound capabilities. I also may be a bit biased because Tobey Maguire is one of my favorite actors. In many of his roles, he’s either really nonchalant or about to explode - and that’s what’s so great about him playing both Peter Parker and Spider-Man. He is shy and awkward as Peter in the first two films, but he starts acting the exact opposite in the third film, allowing the fame he received while wearing the suit to get to his head. Outside of how he portrayed the character’s personality, Tobey Maguire went above and beyond physically for the character as well. He dedicated months to working out to get more muscular for the role. What’s most fascinating is he practiced the reflex lunch tray scene from the first film many times so he could perfect it rather than using effects. Finally, I love his Spider-Man’s suit the most. There have been many beautifully-detailed Spider-Man suits in the films, but there’s just something about the classic red and blue with the silver web-like lining as the cherry on top. It is hard to choose between the different adaptations of the character because of their unique qualities, but I will always choose Tobey Maguire because I fell in love and grew up with his version and have more personal connections to it.

I have been an absolute show and film fanatic since I was born almost 22 years ago. Therefore, I have seen many of Netflix’s original shows and films. A variety of them comforted me while growing up because of their interesting characters and the situations they end up in or the emotions they conveyed. No matter what emotion you’re feeling, you're practically sucked into their worlds. One Netflix series that I particularly hold in high regard is Sex Education, a series that focuses on British teenagers (and adults) struggling with school, sexuality, friendships and relationships, family issues, and growing older. Thanks to the wide range of issues they cover in the series, it allows many viewers to relate and be drawn in and keep watching. Watching Sex Education as an awkward teenager who either heavily related to - or heavily disagreed with - their impulsive behaviors, I thought it perfectly captivated what it’s like to be a confused teenager struggling throughout their high school years. The writers enhanced that by focusing on many diverse characters' stories, without it feeling muddled between each one. They also enhanced the series by throwing in intriguing plot twists or cliffhangers that left the audience angrily hanging on the edge of their seats. I’ll admit, sometimes I get disinterested in Netflix originals because some of them feel forced or cheesy and go over the top with the dialogue or scenarios - but this show does not apply to that. Even though there are a lot of scenes involving or revolving around sex, the plot lines feel cohesive, the humor is actually really funny, and the emotions feel raw and real. I think it’s important to have a series that provides sexual content that allows viewers to have a good laugh, but also to help them gain an understanding of sex education, no matter a viewer’s age. In the show, they discuss multiple times how sex education has been such a touchy subject for so long, and that’s why even many adults need it to better understand not just basic anatomy, but to better understand themselves and their personal preferences. Aside from the well-developed dialogue and plot lines amongst the characters, there are many other reasons this easily became not just one of my favorite Netflix shows, but one of my favorite shows in general. Sex Education creates the perfect blend of emotions for the audience between comedic relief, anger, tragedy, heartfeltness, and even moments that make your jaw drop or make you physically cringe. The cast is amazing and they all portray their characters and their development so well. It also gets bonus points for having a fun-filled soundtrack full of iconic songs. Overall, it’s a great show with many bold characters, grasping storylines, and relatable moments that is guaranteed to be your next greatest binge that you won’t want to end!