Reflective log weeks 1 - 5

For a long time, I struggled with coming up with ideas and would constantly change them. I had a few ideas in the beginning that, I thought, were good, however, it tuned out they have to be either local or just suitable for Truthfal. I had to change a few of them and I knew what I wanted to do only for the podcast and the advice piece.

During those first few weeks, I didn't work on anything, I was trying to figure out what to do for the feature and live event while focusing on my creative writing because I needed to have my first draft finished by the end of March.

I planned to interview C. G. Drews, the author of A thousand perfect notes and The boy who steals houses because I've spoken to her on a few occasions and she's made it clear she accepts interview requests and for the podcast, Melissa and I were going to talk about K-pop.

BOOK REVIEW; The Kingdom of Copper by S. A. Chakraborty

REVIEW OF THE CITY OF BRASS

(You can also find this review on GOODREADS.)

This review will also be just my rambles that I hope end up making sense.

I wasn't completely sold on the whole plot for a while and the book was a solid 3-star read for me until the middle and after that, especially the last 200 just raised the stakes and my rating because, oo my god, the DRAMA, the fights, the DANGER and that ENDING!

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BOOK REVIEW: The City of Brass by S. A. Chakraborty

REVIEW OF THE KINGDOM OF COPPER

(You can also find this review on GOODREADS.)

Finally, after God only knows how long I have finished a book and not just a book but the City of Brass itself.

At first, I thought of writing a proper review for it but as I kept reading I just realized I didn't know how to put everything into words so it could all make sense. Instead, I'll present you with my rambles and hope they make at least a little bit of sense.

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'Social Media improves your life.'

   Social Media plays a big role in our daily lives. The first thing we do when we wake up in the morning is checking our phone for the newest events in the world, check Facebook for the most recent news from our friends and family, scroll through Instagram's amazing pictures and add to our Snapchat story that we are now awake. We are constantly online, documenting every part of our lives and the last thing we do before bed is to check all the social media accounts again as if we haven't been on our phones the whole day.

   Does it really help us in any way? With social media come a lot of pros and cons.

   For example, it can help people who are introverted, shy or suffer from social anxiety connect with others through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and even YouTube. Not having to go out in order to find friends is a great advantage for people who feel highly anxious even at the thought of it.

   It's no secret that a lot of big YouTubers started their channels as a way to deal with depression. Look at Lilly Singh, also known as Superwoman, who is one of the richest and most popular YouTubers with thirteen million subscribers.

   The advantages of having a lot of followers on your social media accounts are countless. One of them is that you can start and/or grow your own business from it. For example, a lot of bookstagram accounts (Instagram for books) use their following to open their own shops for candles, cosmetics and subscription boxes with bookish themes, a lot of people get sponsored by publishing houses to just share a photo of a book they got sent. The same goes for fashion and food accounts.

   In other words, some people make a lot of money from showing off their hobbies, they receive a lot of love and support which motivates them to expand their platforms even more.

   Look at all of the famous YouTubers such a Logan Paul, Pewdiepie and Liza Koshy - they are all multimillionaires thanks to social media.

   Another advantage of social media is that we can stay in touch with relatives and friends who live far away from us and the only thing we would need is a good Internet connection.

   One more amazing part of social media is that we can always stay up to date with the latest news no matter if we have missed the morning or night news on the TV, our friends and family on Facebook would probably share them if it is something scandalous enough, it would be all over Twitter in seconds.

   These are only some of the pros of course and bearing in mind all that social media do for us, one can conclude that it really improves our lives.

   However, it also comes with just as many disadvantages.

   Social media is a great way to promote one's business but it also takes a lot of time.  Sometimes we have to spend more time on social media to attract and appeal to new audiences than actually do our job. It also isn't a one-time thing, it's a long-term relationship.

   Additionally, there is the issue of cyberbullying.  Social media can help one deal with their mental illness but it can also cause one as well. There are people all over the Internet who take pleasure in insulting others online, not taking into consideration that behind the screen of a phone, computer, laptop or a tablet is sitting a real human being who also has feelings and can be hurt. What's worse is that sometimes people with depression and anxiety get cyberbullied as well which could lead to self-harm or even worse- ending their own lives.

   Anonymity is a blessing and a curse. You can hide behind different nicknames on social media and you can allow yourself to say everything you cannot while being yourself. Unfortunately, a lot of people use this opportunity to throw obscenities at present and future successful people.

   What is more, with social media and the excessive use of Photoshop, more and more people feel pressured to be something impossible because all they see all over the Internet are extremely photoshopped pictures of various models. This, in turn, has made the beauty standards impossible to be achieved by normal people who have regular nine-to-five jobs or go to school and cannot dedicate three hours to the gym every day. Even though so many of us know that these pictures are photoshopped and edited, that they are taken from a specific angle, some people still believe them and try to be like them.

   Trying to live up to the unrealistic beauty standards have caused so many young and middle-aged people mental health issues and eating disorders which then scar them for life.

   Social media is a great invention that comes with a lot of advantages and disadvantages. It can help us deal with our daily struggles by escaping reality but it can also cause us even more problems. We know what we are getting ourselves into from the beginning, we know that we will get addicted to all of these various platforms because social media give us the chance to be whoever we want from the comfort of our own homes. We can connect with people, create content, found a business and all of that while sitting on a chair at home or in a café. Even though we come across cyberbullies from time to time we never give up on social media because it is a part of our lives and as many as the cons are, the pros are far more appealing and at the end of they, despite all the negativity, social media does improve our lives.