Gabby Shen

Some things that I realized during this campaign is that… WOW it sure does take a lot of thought and commitment to do social media. It was fun, but to have a purpose and to be successful definitely takes a lot more. So the post that I found to be more successful were my Instagram and Facebook post. If I used my original platform on Instagram instead of creating a whole new account for it, I think I probably could’ve seen more results, but for starting from scratch I think it’s what to be expected. I think because I already had a bigger audience on Instagram because that is my main use of social media, I guess somehow a lot of people and friends/family started following my account for the campaign and gained followers only this past week. But in general I think Instagram is just such a huge platform and so many people young and old are using it. It’s just so easy to find what you are looking for through hashtags it makes it easier to find people or post. So that’s why I think it ...

Are you starting to see a theme here? For everyone seeing this, just reaffirming the idea of this blog. It's to keep it real and just to be relatable. I want to stay true to myself through this process. The greek word maraki means to do something with creativity, love, something of yourself. So I named it that because during this whole campaign I have been pretty real with life struggles as they come. Its a part of me that I'm giving to you guys. Maybe you can say, "me too" or "that's so relatable." But at the end of the day we are all in this together and that was my other goal of this. That we can have a place to be real, to share, and just to do life with. That is also why I added the lous part to maraki-lous because it is truly miraculous with the things we can accomplish together  and who doesn't love a pun?

So I realized I have been sharing quite a few of real and personal things, and I haven't even like really introduced myself or anything. For starters my name is Gabby! I love traveling, love being in the ocean, I love my family and friends, and hiking isn't my friend. But if I love you I would literally go the extra mile above and beyond for you, even hiking. That there already says so much. I think if you follow me on any platform of social media you will see pretty much those things maybe minus the struggle of me hiking because I love a family/friend that much. But I will show the views because I do love photography! Did I mention that? I probably didn't, I kind of thought I didn't need to say it, but why not? I love the idea of just being able to recall things, capture moments, capture beauty of everyday life, and most of all capture inspiration and creativity.  Hmm let me see, I also love Mexican food, ramen, and buffalo wings. Love dancing, I don...

So for my classmates, remember that quiz we took in the beginning of the semester? The one about your passions? Anyways well I remember I got communications. Which I thought was interesting because that's what I'm majoring in and I really do get that good feeling inside when I'm just doing life with people, but I thrive going through life with my family and friends. My tribe. My support system. My family. We are all in it together.  Some say be a doctor. Maybe a lawyer.  Or an accountant. The list can go on, but I feel more now days,  that many will say, "Go Big," or "Follow your passions," and "Life is too short to be doing anything else than what you love." And I agree with all of those things. Life is way too damn short to be doing something that makes you question your very existence. Don't get me wrong being a doctor isn't bad, but if it's not something that isn't you/dread doing, then don't do it. In the end y...

Passion. According to the dictionary, Passion is  an intense desire or enthusiasm for something.  That sounds about accurate. To me passions is something you can do all day and never get sick of it.  Something you spend your time and just get lost with time while doing it. It's not a chore, its a hobby, but you love it. For me passion is equivalent to inspiration. I pretty much associate the two things together. For me my passions and inspiration comes from my family/friends. But also photography! I love the feeling of going on and adventure and capturing a story, a memory, a feeling. When I see a picture, it's like a little movie playing in my head. I remember the exact things of what happened and what was said in that moment that was captured. A picture can make me miss something, it can make me smile like crazy, and I just get a whole bunch of feel good sentimental emotions. I know I was made for this. I can't really explain it, but yo...

First of all I would like to apologize for my lack of organization. Now back to business...You would think about now, that I am 21 years old I would be on somewhat of a path that portrayed a life of "having it all together." But what does that even really mean? You may see some people in college either A) The Partier- having fun all the time, skipping class, never does homework. B) the Juggler- who has a job, goes to school full-time, is paying for everything, (maybe while possibly raising a child) C) the Bat- one who never sees daylight, always studying, may see them in front of the classroom as close as possible to the teacher. The list probably could go on, and obviously some of it is stereotyping. My point was that there are different types of students, but everyone has their life with its own thing going on. Life is great but to be honest a lot of things happen. Life is full of great moments but a lot can be thrown at us as well. I know I'm a little late, but la...

To be quite transparent...Life is pretty rough sometimes. Sometimes a little overwhelming. Okay so I have to be honest. The month of March was definitely a painful one in all the areas of my life. Even a little bit of April but its gotten better. So to make this long story short and to the point. March is my birthday month. I was getting over a really bad cold like the day before my birthday. On my birthday I finally feel a little better and enough to get out of the house. My friends and family we were gonna hang out go to the beach, have a dinner, and then go out with my friends after, which was great! Then I received that phone call, the one that no one ever wants. It was a call saying my great grandmother wasn't doing so well and she was dying. Now my great grandparents were very involved in my life and had everything to do with helping to raise me. My great grandma especially. I have so many very fond memories of her. The kind of memories where even as a toddler I loved adven...

We all have a story of how we got from point A to point B. But what about the in between? Well that’s me, I have this goal and I started having real goals so much later than everyone else. I am so distracted in this world that is so loud and trying so hard to tell us how we should be and how we outta act. But I want to just keep it real. I want to show you my good days and bad days. I want to bring the realities of being a college student. Let’s do life together and struggle, cry, laugh, etc. together. Let’s encourage one another and help each other grow, because there’s only one way to go from here my friend and that’s up. The only desire I have is to get to share my real life and have someone say “I’m so glad I’m not the only one” comment appear in my notifications. Because let me tell you friend I have no idea of how to or where to start off in this life that has so many things that weigh us down. It all came like a big wave at sandy’s and I’m just trying here. And from a pe...