First Things First...

If you've made it to my humble little blog, I'd like to say welcome! I hope you kick up your feet and stay so we can get to know one another.

My name is Makel and I'm a 21-year-old senior at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington. I'm a double major in English (Professional Writing) and Communication Studies with a double minor in Journalism and Creative Writing. If you'd like to learn more about me, feel free to click here!

I've thought a lot about this blog within the past few weeks. What kind of blog do I want to run? What would it look like? Or in other words...what is my brand? (Hey! That's from IMCI! Thanks, Dr. Persuit!) I ended up deciding that I have many hobbies and I wanted my blog to reflect that. Yes, I like going out for dinner, but I also love cooking up low calorie meals at home. I love photography and graphic design, but I also love the simpler pleasures of curling up with a good book, watching a heartwarming film, or revisiting my favorite television shows. I don't want my blog to cater to one thing specifically--I want it to reflect myself. After all, variety is the spice of life.

I use my DSLR to take selfies often and I have zero shame about it.

Of course, I didn't decide to start a blog out of nowhere. There were many reasons that led me here (some obviously more important than others).

Expression: Yes, I have Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, etc. and while all of these forms of social media are great, I wanted somewhere that I could place my thoughts collectively. I am young and I have a lot to say, and I'm sure that some people would like to hear it.

Accountability: If I write it down for the world to see, I'm more likely to live up to it. Doing something for myself is one thing, but doing it for others is a whole different ball game. There are many things I want to do (write more, photograph more, lose more weight, etc.) and if others are pushing me to go harder and further, I'm more likely to do so.

Establishing a persona. If my communication studies classes have taught me anything, it's that image is very important in today's society (and not only for a company, but also for individuals!). I will be graduating from UNCW in May 2015 and after that, I'll be on the hunt for a full-time job. It's never too early to start developing your image (and honestly, I wish I would've started long ago!) and I want mine to be successful, creative, and determined.

So stay for a while! I may still be figuring this blog out, but I'd love for you to experience this journey with me. Hold on tight, we're in for an adventure.