24 Hours. Go!

CreateAthon onCampus gives students a chance to work around the clock to help nonprofits in their area.

www.createathononcampus.org

CreatAthon On Campus is a 24 hour event that allows advertising students to create work to help nonprofits in their area. 

24 Hours. That is all the time we had to finish redesigning the admissions materials for The New Community School in Richmond, Va. 

The New Community School provides a program of college preparation for dyslexic (specific language learning disabled) students, grades 6-12. 

I had never heard of TNCS before, and here I was on a team and on a mission. I had to learn about the school, understand their methods, and make it my world for one day. This seemed like a daunting task because I had never been up for 24 hours straight. I had no idea how I would function during the wee hours of the night. But this was CreatAthon's fourth year in action. It had obviously been done before. It was time for me to push myself to the limit both mentally and physically. I am so happy I did!

I would recommend the CreatAthon experience to every advertising student who wants to push themselves to becoming better in their field. It is important to say that the reason I had such a great experience in CreatAthon was because of our group leader; Marie Linnevonberne. 

Marie enrolled in a semester long class that prepared her for leading her team of six (myself and five other members). She spent months learning about her client and meeting with them to understand what they would like us to work on during the 24 hours of madness. 

Marie had an unconventional approach to briefing us about the client. Instead of just telling us about TNCS and showing us their website, she took us all to the school to sit on the classes and meet the students ourselves. 

CreateAthon onCampus gives students a chance to work around the clock to help nonprofits in their area.

www.createathononcampus.org

CreatAthon On Campus is a 24 hour event that allows advertising students to create work to help nonprofits in their area. 

24 Hours. That is all the time we had to finish redesigning the admissions materials for The New Community School in Richmond, Va. 

The New Community School provides a program of college preparation for dyslexic (specific language learning disabled) students, grades 6-12. 

I had never heard of TNCS before, and here I was on a team and on a mission. I had to learn about the school, understand their methods, and make it my world for one day. This seemed like a daunting task because I had never been up for 24 hours straight. I had no idea how I would function during the wee hours of the night. But this was CreatAthon's fourth year in action. It had obviously been done before. It was time for me to push myself to the limit both mentally and physically. I am so happy I did!

I would recommend the CreatAthon experience to every advertising student who wants to push themselves to becoming better in their field. It is important to say that the reason I had such a great experience in CreatAthon was because of our group leader; Marie Linnevonberne. 

Marie enrolled in a semester long class that prepared her for leading her team of six (myself and five other members). She spent months learning about her client and meeting with them to understand what they would like us to work on during the 24 hours of madness. 

Marie had an unconventional approach to briefing us about the client. Instead of just telling us about TNCS and showing us their website, she took us all to the school to sit on the classes and meet the students ourselves. 

There Is beauty Here

" Richmond Sucks, nothing ever happens here"
"What is there to do in Richmond dude? let's go somewhere else"
"Damn, going back to Richmond"

I moved to Richmond in 2007. It was my first impression of an American city, and I loved it. I thought it was beautiful with a lot to offer. There were (and still are) the occasional parts of town I would rather not  be at midnight but what city doesn't have these places? It is not perfect, but it is certainly not the worse.
Still, throughout my time here, I have heard more negative than positive about this promising city. Everyone compares it to major places like New York and Washington DC. I am not an expert on American cities but I'm pretty sure most would not compare to the big apple.
 No, Richmond is no New York. No, it does not have as many impressive buildings and monuments as Washington DC... but all you have to do is step out of your bubble for a day to see what this city has to offer, and I bet you would change your mind about it being so "boring".

I got tired of hearing everyone talk about how they would rather be somewhere else. Was it really that helpless? Is there really nothing to do in Richmond?
It is important to mention that attending VCU opened my eyes to the possibilities surrounding me. There, I learned that around every corner, there is a lesson to be learned. The secret was to keep an open mind and a resilient personality. So I called my friend, got in my car, and drove down to what is in my opinion Richmond's most beautiful feature; the James river.

The James River is Virginia's largest river 

We decided to explore from the Pipeline bridge area.

The Pipeline walk has been open to the public for about five years, but not many people know about it. It is a very nice spot to get away and clear one's mind. 

It also offers beautiful, serene nature and wildlife in the middle of the bustling city. You can see anything from blue heron and osprey to beavers and bald eagles. If you sit on the rocks long enough, it is a free show! 

(The Herons were having a really good day, hence all the pictures) 

Home

I have been wanting to go back to my home town of East Jerusalem, Palestine for quite some time now.   When I first left in 2007, I promised my friends and myself that I would be returning as often as possible. I told them I would try to go back at least once every couple of years. Little did I know that life here meant commitment after commitment. Long gone are the days where I can leave everything at the drop of a hat to go on vacation. I suddenly became an adult with responsibilities. Every step I make needs to be planned well ahead of time and everything needs to be taken care of before my departure.

Every time I scrounged up enough money for my $1600 ticket; something happened to set me back and forced me to start from scratch. My car broke down and it took exactly $1500 to fix it the first year, My financial aid did not go through which caused me to use my savings to pay the second year, and every

Origins

When my family and I made the decision to move to the United States; I told my friends that I would be back to visit them yearly when I was out of school. Little did I know that it would be seven years before I could set foot in my hometown again.

Every time I made plans or saved enough money to make the trip back overseas; something would happen to change my plans and hold me back a bit longer. My car problems alone were responsible for much of the delay. Each time I managed to save enough money, my car would have an episode and break down. Ironically, it would cost me $1400-$1600 to repair the damages which is exactly how much a ticket to Palestine would cost me. After many car problems and trying and retrying to save; I was finally able to scrounge up enough money for a ticket. The success came in a very good time considering I had just graduated from VCU. For the first time in seven years; I was free to go without having to worry about classes or work to hold me back. 

I just got back from my month long trip a couple of days ago. I can honestly say that it has been one of the best months of my life. 

I spent one week in Jordan and three in Palestine.  

During this time, I experienced holding a live jelly fish from the Red sea

Climbing a mountain in the desert

Seeing Petra; one of the seven wonders of the world, 

Visiting the Israeli/ Palestinian separation wall, 

Picking olives from an olive tree that my father planted by our house on my third birthday, 

Watching a gorgeous sunset every single day, 

Riding a camel on the beach, 

Riding a speed boat, 

Frustration

I know that every worthwhile project brings a period of a certain level of stress and panic. It is a part of the process that adds that much more satisfaction to finally finishing it and totally bossing it.

I'm at that point.

I feel stressed and frustrated mixed with sad and a little bit of angry. There's also a sprinkle of hope in there... but just a sprinkle.

I was making decent progress on this project. I had a perfect balance of work, project editing and Taekwondo classes going for a few weeks and I was feeling great about it. But life got in the way. No it was the opposite actually... Death.

I have dealt with death before. Living in a country where fatality was just a number and watching both my grandparents pass away in a critical time of my high school and college career have certainly built up my resilience and ability to get work done under extreme pressure. But this time was different. This time I was not prepared.

My 2 year old cousin's life was taken much too soon in a tragic accident that left the entire family paralyzed. I suddenly found myself in an unfamiliar situation with feelings I had no idea how to deal with. By the time I snapped back to what I had going on I realized that a week had passed with no progress done. I haven't even reached 50% of what I need to get done.

I have one week to recover. One.