My Reflections

This past semester has been a rollercoaster let me tell you. Taking this public relations course has really stepped me out of my comfort zone and I am thankful that it did. I have learned so many things about myself and what I need to keep an eye on to improve my academic ability. I started this blog for this course and had to post certain topics. Throughout blogging this semester, I have learned a lot.

What I have learned

When coming into this course, I have really learned what public relations is and why it is so important to the business world. My preconception of what PR meant was that this field was to help the public and make things better for businesses. As to my assumptions, I was on the right track but didn't completely understand it. Public relations is a strategic communications process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics. This strategic communication takes time and research to build up certain strategies to help brands grow.

What has Improved

When looking back at my previous blogs, I can see how much I have improved in my work. In my first blog, I had no idea how to write the way I wanted to and show people my personality. I didn't know how to professionally write down my thoughts without overwhelming myself because I was thinking too hard about

it. I had no idea what was right and what was wrong work. That would stick to me the whole time I would write. Down the road, I learned to go with my gut feeling. There are so many people out there that have their own imaginations and views about different things and topics, but I thought I had to write like everyone else. I wanted to fit in, but in the end, fitting in isn't always a good thing.

People like to see unique work. Creating a website to have a blog for this class was very intriguing to me. At first, I had no idea how to design a website and make it my personality. I didn't know how to add certain special features to add for pazazz to the website. It took me over 10 hours to figure out how to somewhat edit my website with transitions and add advanced features to my home page. I would not say that my website is perfect by any means, but I did put in the effort to make it more designed than how it used to be at the beginning of this course. This class really inspired me to keep up with my website and improve my editing abilities.

How our Homework has Shaped my PR Knowledge

Within this semester in my PR course, we had a campaign to work on for our client, Moddest Co. Moddest Co. is a recycled billboard vinyl company that makes dog collars. The goal for this client is to get more brand awareness for the company itself. We came up with an introduction, secondary and primary research papers, an action plan, a budget and timeline, and an appendix. I had no idea how to even write out a campaign. When the professor showed us the outline of the campaign, it really freaked me out. Now that I have finished the campaign, I have gained more knowledge on what to do to help out a business and how to form a campaign.